So what is an abscessed tooth.
Ogden Dentist, Dr Jim Ellis tries to simply this, sometimes misunderstood, topic.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Summertime Hydration.
Summer is finally here!!!
And with the onset of summer will come the onset of higher temperatures
and thus higher rates of thirst.
So what are you going to drink when you get thirsty?
Some folks have decided that they will hydrate with something healthier then soda.
The stuff they decide to drink instead is sports drinks (gatorade, poweraid, vitamin water, etc.)
They see the commercials and see professional athletes drinking this stuff
and think that it must be good for them.
Well, Not so fast my friend!!
The following is a study from the university of Iowa. and the results may shock you.
“The University of Iowa researchers covered extracted teeth with nail polish. They left bare two patches on each tooth, one on the enamel and one on the root. Then they dunked the teeth in test tubes filled with regular Coke, Diet Coke, Gatorade, Red Bull, or 100% apple juice. Every five hours, the researchers refreshed the beverages. After 25 hours, they examined the teeth with a microscope. All of the beverages eroded the bare spots on the teeth. But different beverages had significantly different effects. On the enamel, Gatorade was significantly more corrosive than Red Bull and Coke. Red Bull and Coke, in turn, were significantly more corrosive than Diet Coke and apple juice. On the roots of the teeth, Gatorade was more corrosive than Red Bull. Coke, apple juice, and Diet Coke followed in that order.”
So there you have it. People switching from soda pop to sports drinks thinking that they are helping their teeth are actually doing the same damage to their teeth as before. Be careful what you drink. The claims of things being "healthier" for you may be a little misleading.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Say no to crack!
One thing that we see with large metal fillings is cracking.
In this photo you can clearly see a crack running, from a large metal filling,
down the side of tooth towards the gums.
This crack will continue to progress until it may eventually split the tooth.
We removed the old metal filling and placed a new composite (white) one.
These newer types of filling bond much better to the tooth structure
and should help avoid any further cracking.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Send in your teeth and have your stem cells harvested!!!
One of the most exciting things involving dentistry right now is the idea of re-growing teeth.
No one likes to hear the words crown or root canal.
Well don't worry. Pretty soon we will just be able to extract a tooth that
needs one of these evasive procedures and simply grow you a new one.
(Or so they say)
Fact is that we may be a long way from that.
Lots of smoke but very little fire at this point.
But just because we are not yet able to grow teeth in humans
does not mean that people are not yet trying to capitalize on
the future of stem cell teeth.
If you visit http://www.store-a-tooth.com/ you will find
yourself at a place where you can send your teeth.
Why would you send your teeth there?
So that they can harvest your stem cells and keep them on file of course.
They can't use them yet, but when they can you will be the first in line.
You will have to make your own decision on whether or not you
want someone having your stem cells on file.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Threatening your kids when they don't brush.
This post is not meant to be a lecture on how to raise children.
And trust me when I tell you that I do my share of threatening.
"You won't get any desert if you don't eat your beans."
"You wont get to watch the movie if you don't finish your chores."
Etc.
Etc.
The threatening that I am talking about is threatening your children
that they will have to get stabbed in the mouth with a needle by
the horrible mean dentist if they do not brush their teeth.
You may laugh, but it happens ALL THE TIME.
Children come in to get one simple cavity filled and they are out of
control and crying before they even walk through the door.
Their parents have scared them so badly that just the site of me sends
them into a screaming fit.
This wouldn't be so bad if the parent would then help me calm them down.
But that, usually, does not happen.
The parent will sit out in the waiting room and say things like....
"You knew this was going to happen" or
"Okay, you have to go get your shots now" or
"Don't cry, I told you he would drill on you if you didn't brush"
Do any of you know how hard it is for me at that point?
Do any of you know how hard it is on the child at that point?
Not only is it hard right then but this kind of thing will build an emotional
wall in that child that may remain for the rest of their life.
Most people that hate to come to the dentist due to experiences
when they were little children.
Bottom line is this.
If you can't get your children to brush their teeth by saying please or by using some
other type of positive reinforcement that is fine. Threatening to cut off the
x-box is, in my mind, a fine thing to do.
Just don't tell them how horrifying it will be to see the dentist.
It will makes things that much worse now, and later on down the road as well.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Do I need to take my children to a pediatric dentist?
Like many things in this world...... it depends.
Pediatric dentists are an amazing tool in the dental community.
I send children to them all the time.
However, there are many many more children
that I never send to them.
Almost everything that a pediatric dentist can do for your child can be done by a general dentist. Placing fillings, straightening teeth, placing space maintainers, extracting teeth,
doing pulpotomies (baby root canals), cleaning teeth, etc.
All of these services are offered by both a pediatric dentist and the general dentist.
So what is a pediatric dentist for?
The thing that, I feel, pediatric dentists are best for is to treat the nervous child.
Children just don't like dentists, doctors, nurses, etc.
We are always the ones giving shots and swabbing throats and so on.
The pediatric dentist is licensed to sedate children.
Whether through I.V. or orally your child can be put to sleep at a pediatric dentists office.
I suggest starting to bring your child to the dentist with you when they are about 3 years old.
Bring the child in for YOUR cleaning. Let them sit in the corner and see that its not such a bad thing to be seen by the dentist. Do the same thing for you next cleaning. At that next appointment we typically will ask to see inside the child's mouth as they sit on the chair in the corner. We simply look around and get the child used to use being in their mouth. After that is done we congratulate the child for being so good and give them a prize. This exercise clears the way for them to be seen for their own cleaning and not be too scared about it because they have already been into the dentist on numerous occasions.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Cosmetic Bonding of Lateral Incisor
Dr Jim Ellis, Ogden Utah: Cosmetic Touch Up
This patient had a small gap next to her front tooth. She had hated it her whole life but thought that it would take a lot to fix.
- Well, it took about 20 minutes.
- Used some cosmetic bonding techniques.
- Very durable and much cheaper then alternatives.
BEFORE Cosmetic Bonding
AFTER Cosmetic Bonding
Dr. Jim Ellis, DDS
1220 33rd Street Suite C
Ogden, UT 84403
(801) 783-3490
SOURCE: http://www.bestogdendentist.com/2013/05/cosmetic-bonding-lateral-incisor/
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