Archive for January, 2008

Dental Fillings Abroad - Not a Good Idea

toothfilling.jpgIf one is traveling and has a dental emergency, chances are you would have seeked emergency treatment such as a filling or some other procedure. Experts are strongly recommending that you get your teeth checked as soon as possible when you get back home to determine if the filling material used contains no lead for there are high incidents of such. Studies show that when people visit developing countries that do not have access to the latest dental technologies, equipment and supplies that they resort to older style filling materials that have been found to contain lead. These materials have been banned for quite sometime and an immediate visit for removal and replacement is recommended to prevent the onslaught of lead poisoning.

Posted January 29, 2008 * Comments(0)

The Pain - the pain

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A toothache has the tendency to ruin one�s day whoever you may be. The proximity of the nerves of your teeth to the spinal column and brain tends to give it faster reaction times compared to other body parts. An inflamed tooth can put pressure onto the nerves and other vital blood vessels that they can give rise to further problems. An infected tooth if left untouched can even result in life-threatening blood poisoning as pus and other contaminants such as bacteria can enter the blood stream causing major medical mayhem. So what do you do? Visit the dentist twice a year if possible and at least once if not, brush and floss at least twice a day and that should keep the dentist away�

Posted January 25, 2008 * Comments(0)

Teeth - Just what are they?

We all know and of course have teeth when we were born. But do you know that teeth are some of the most dense and strong form of bones in the human body? The average tooth can withstand a bite force that would be equivalent to the bite force of many animals in the wild. True to this, teeth can last us a lifetime with the proper care and maintenance with regular visits to the dentist�s office.
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Many fascinating things have been discovered from the lonely tooth that has spread more insight in how they help us in daily life. Most of us do not know the fact that teeth start to form in the embryonic stage of the human fetus or while the child is still in the mother�s womb. If they happen to fail to form at the said stage, they will not develop at all during the later stages of life where they start to appear on the average at around six months of age. This is when babies start to have eruptions or the teeth start to break out of the gums and become teeth as we know them.

Posted January 21, 2008 * Comments(0)

The Cost of Dental Care

dental3.JPGDental care can be a nightmare if one does not start young in the proper care of one�s teeth. As soon as someone�s baby teeth fall out, the teeth that follow are considered to be your permanent teeth and they are meant to last a lifetime, or are they. It is known to all that the dreaded toothache comes at the very inconvenient time, in the middle of an important meeting, during the night after a hectic day of work and the list goes on and on.
Going to the dentist can be costly enough for many of us and even more if your teeth need constant attention. A visit to the American Dental Association site shows us the wide range of problems and many other disorders that affect teeth and the recommended proper treatment.
Thanks to a re-thinking of the approach to dental care, more and more people maintain their teeth for the rest of their lives. Gone were the days of the toothache/pull-out relationship. Dentists nowadays try to retain and save as much of the natural tooth as possible and for very good reasons indeed. A healthy smile is very much worthwhile.

Posted January 17, 2008 * Comments(0)

High-Tech diagnostic tools

diagnodent.jpgDentists are now benefitiing from up to date technology such as the latest diagnostic tools designed to make diagnosing tooth problems less painful and invasive. Diagnodent, uses a laser diode to check for any tooth decay however small the problem may be. It checks for the proper wavelength of reflected light which can be a sign of decay. The result is displayed onto a numeric display which tells the dentist how the tooth structure is reflecting light, and at what wavelength. Teeth as we all know are quite opaque but healthy tooth reflect or luminesce at a specific wavelength. Decayed tooth can differ in results for the dentin and other underlying teeth structure may change in color as the decay sets in.

The older way for diagnosing problems was the Dentists Explorer, which looked like a curved spike which he uses to probe into the teeth. This method is said to be correct or accurate in only 57% of all diagnosis and can result in a painful jolt if it does get to a tender part of the tooth where the pulp and nerves have been affectd. While the newer laser based disgnostic tool is accurate to about 92%, which is a very big difference in terma of correct dignosis (it also comes without the ouch) for it does not probe/touch into the teeth structure itself. It was so accurate a visible inspection would fail to locate a defect on the tooth if it was so small and inconspicuous.

Posted January 13, 2008 * Comments(0)

Chipped tooth - Bond it!

bonding.jpgThe process is used to remedy chipped tooth/teeth allowing the natural tooth to remain as if nothing has happened. The chipped or cracked-off tooth piece can be glued onto the teeth which is first roughened up with air abrasion to provide a somewhat rough surface for the ceramic compound to stick to. The compound is then applied with some pressure to ensure it sticks without air bubbles and the bonding compound is activated with blue light which sets it into a permanent ceramic compound. The activation with blue light allows adjustment which would be impossible with contact adhesives that can mean the difference between a perfect fit and a misaligned tooth which can be re-processed or left in place to avoid further discomfort.

For advanced problems such as decay that resulted in the chipping of the tooth, further processes might be required such as veneers and dental crowns to repair and return the tooth to it’s previous state. Dentists are benefitting from the latest technology in terms of diagnosis and materials which has allowed them to create perfect smiles from less than perfect ones.

Posted January 9, 2008 * Comments(0)

Dental Emergencies and the Holidays

emergency.JPGTis’ the time to be eating and to be merry but an aching tooth can turn the holidays into a nightmare indeed. Being ahead of problems can help you prevent these kinds of nerve wrecking experiences a lot. Dental check up’s can give you early warning of such problems as cracks, uneven wear or cavities allowing you to get them treated well before the holiday seasons. Have the whole family in a single trip to the dentist so you get the overall health of your family’s teeth.

If a tooth gets knocked-out, don’t panic and carefully take the teeth out of the mouth and rinse ensuring you do not touch any tissue that may have been left attached to the fallen teeth. If possible place the tooth back into the socket where it fell from and contact your dentist ASAP for an emergency visit/appointment. If keeping or replacing the tooth in the socket becomes impossible, get a small container with a lid and fill it with milk placing the tooth inside to keep it moist. The dentist can reattach the said teeth is damage is minimal and the socket has a perfect fit. Not removing the tissue/gums still attached to the tooth allows them to gauge the amount of force that resulted in the said emergency hence speeding up the diagnosis and treatment phase.

Posted January 5, 2008 * Comments(0)

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