About Dental

In this day and age of dental implants and all the new technologies that have emerged during the past few years removable dentures are still part of dental care for patients who have no other option. First, implants cost quite a lot and the treatment goes on for quite sometime making it out of the question for those who could not spare the time and cash. Dentures have gone a long way in their evolution and many elderly people still prefer them for they can be changed easily and removed for comfort and proper cleaning. Those who have gotten used to them stick with them but they need proper fitting and precise measurements to offer the best in comfort and function. Ill fitting dentures are painful and can result in mouth sores that can get infected if not treated properly so communication with the dentist is essential most so when getting new ones.

Posted February 17, 2008 Comments(0)

Dentists 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)