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Wednesday, November 9, 2016

What is a Root Canal?

People ask me all the time....

"So what exactly is a root canal"?

Well it's really not that complicated.

Let's make it a little easier to understand shall we.

The inside of your teeth are hollow.

There is a CANAL running through them like a

canal that carries water.

The canals run down the entire length of the the ROOT.

The canals in your roots carry the nerves of the teeth.

When the nerve dies, and/or becomes infected, it will cause

pain and/or infection.

A root canal is simply going into the ROOT to clean out the CANAL.

Thus ROOT CANAL.

The picture here simplifies it really well.

The tooth on the left has a cavity that has gotten down into the nerve.

After a root canal, the picture on the right, there is no longer a nerve in

the canals. There is now a filling.

No nerve .......... No pain.

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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Do teeth really make that big of a difference?

Here are a few faces that you may recognize.

Something is missing however.

Can you spot it?

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Monday, June 24, 2013

What a drain in the neck!

What a drain in the neck! What is going on in this picture?

Well I will tell you. The patient had a tooth that went bad. The tooth started to produce infection. The infection needed some place to go. Typically the infection will produce a bump (abscess) on the gums. In this case however the infection decided it would work its way out the bottom of his neck. What you are looking at is a small piece of rubber tubing that is stitched into and incision in the patient's neck. This is what is termed in the medical community as a drain. This drain is attempting to allow all of the infection in this mans mouth and neck come out. This is definitely a rare case but it can happen. Do NOT let things get out of hand with your teeth.

Last thing you want is someone saying, "So what is that thing in your neck?"

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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Dr Ellis explains what an abscessed tooth is.

So what is an abscessed tooth.

Ogden Dentist, Dr Jim Ellis tries to simply this, sometimes misunderstood, topic.

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Monday, October 15, 2012

Do I have an abscessed tooth?

When a tooth goes bad it will begin to produce infection.

That infection wants to go somewhere.

In a typical tooth the only way out of the tooth is out the

end of the tooth into the bone.

Once the infection is in the bone it then wants to find a way out of that.

After making it though the bone it will then try to make its way though the gums.

It is at this point when you will start to see the redness, swelling, and

drainage that are signs of an abscess.

Abscess' can come in different forms and in different places.

Here is an abscess at the top of the front tooth.

This one is very red and inflamed.

Here is an abscess that came out the bottom of the chin.

What you are seeing is a plastic drain that has been inserted to

take away any extra infection.

Here is an abscess at the top of a rear tooth.

This abscess is white and doesn't look very inflamed.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Can Floss be Replaced?

Houston, we have a problem.

No one likes to floss.

Some people do it but even those folks don't find it to be the highlight of their day.

Floss manufacturers know this and so they have been coming out with floss alternatives to try to entice people.

One of these alternatives that is really catching on is a little thing that looks like a piece of pipe cleaner. You take this little pipe cleaner job and push it back and forth at the base of you tooth.

These things are called inter proximal brushes, proxi brushes, etc. But they all do the same thing.

Here are some examples.

So what's the problem?

The problem is that although they do a great job of getting things out from the space right above the gum line, they absolutely do not get to the most important spot in between the teeth.

This most important spot is the spot where the floss snaps.

That spot that snaps is where the bugs that cause the cavities are hiding.

They wedge into the hardest spot to get to in order to cause cavities.

If you do not feel that snap then you are not getting that spot clean.

Don't get me wrong here.

I love it when people use the little pip cleaner jobs.

However, I am starting to see more and more folks that are getting cavities that say to me, "how is that possible?! I am using those pipe cleaners all the time."

Use these cool new gadgets just don't let them replace the floss.

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Monday, June 25, 2012

What kind of bleaching is right for me?

Teeth whitening is a very hot topic these days.

It seems as though everybody and their dog is offering to have your

teeth whitened for life, by tomorrow.

So what is real and what is hype?

As a disclaimer let me just say that tooth whitening can be accomplished successfully with ANY of these methods and that the following is based on fact with my opinion thrown in for flavor.

There are basically 3 ways to whiten your teeth.

#1 With the whiteners you buy in the stores.

This includes strips, trays, paint on stuff, etc.

Couple of things to consider here. The strength of the bleach has to be over the counter strength which is going to be less then bleach you can get form your dentist. Its like buying Tylenol from the store vs getting Lortab from the dentist. Next is the way the bleach is delivered. Below is a picture of a bleaching strip. Since this strip is sold to everyone, it then by nature, fits no one. Administering bleach to the masses can be a very inexact science that could lead to burned gums or uneven bleaching of the teeth.

#2 Is custom trays made by your dentist and you do the bleaching at home.

This way of bleaching has a lot of up side.

First the strength of bleach is prescription strength which will allow you to bleach faster. Second while bleaching faster it is still slow enough to stop when you begin feeling too much sensitivity. Lastly the trays are made specifically for you. They will fit no one else and thus deliver the bleach right to where it is needed.

#3 In office light whitening.

This option is nice because it is the fastest. But there are some draw backs. The machines to do the bleaching are expensive so the cost must be passed on the the patient. Next, you can't stop bleaching when you begin to feel sensitive. You will lay back being one shade and be several shades lighter when you sit up. If you happen to have lightened up too much and your teeth are very sensitive to even breath you are kind of out of luck.

So again, there are probably many of you reading this that have gotten your teeth whitened by any of the ways just mentioned and it has worked well for you. And that is great. I personally have chosen to offer only the 2nd option in my office as I feel it is the best bang for the buck and offers the least chance of complications for my patients.

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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Want to replace those metal fillings?

Here are before and after pictures of a patient that

wanted to get their metal fillings replaced.

This before picture is a little foggy but you can still

see the stark color contrast between the color of

the metal filling and the natural white of the tooth.

This color contrast is what makes most people want to change

out their fillings for white fillings.

Here is a picture of the tooth after we took out the metal and

replaced it with a white composite filling.

Even this close you can just barely make out the transition line

between the filling and the natural tooth.

In real life no one would ever be able to tell that you had a filling at all.

This procedure is quick and fairly inexpensive when compared to

getting crown or other expensive restorations placed.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Its called pericoronitis

That's right. You may have a Pericoronits.

It simple terms it is a little flap of skin that is hanging over the top of your last tooth.

Or it may be that the tooth isn't all the way in yet and its half covered by tissue.

Whichever it is, this tissue will tend to get inflamed from time to time.

When it does get inflamed chewing can become very painful.

The problem can be helped by swishing with a mouthwash and ridding the area of debris.

But this is only a short term solution.

What is the long term solution?

# 1 You can get the tooth that is partially erupted taken out.

That works well if the tooth happens to be a wisdom tooth.

But not so well if it happens to be a normal molar.

#2 You can get the tissue trimmed off.

This works very well for normal molars but not so well if the problem is a wisdom tooth.

Whatever the problem happens to be just know that you are not alone

in having this problem and that there are several simple solutions.

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Periodontitis

Periodontitis is a condition where the gums and bone that surround your

teeth slowly deteriorate due to large amounts of, unremoved, bacteria.

I have seen perfectly healthy teeth be pulled out of someones mouth with

their own fingers because the gums and bone could no longer support them.

It is an absolute must that you get into your dentist at lease once a year to

get the bacteria plaque and other contaminants removed from your teeth

to maintain good gum and bone health.

Here are some healthy gums.

Here are some gums that are in trouble.

One of the symptoms of periodontal disease is swollen, red, painful gums.

This patient is also in trouble.

Another symptom of periodontal disease is that your teeth will begin to loosen up.

As the bone looses its ability to hold the teeth in

you teeth will shift and, or drop out of the gums.

Please please please get to your dentist for a good cleaning BEFORE your

mouth begins to resemble one of these last two pictures.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Meet Mike

Today we are going to meet Mike.

Mike was a good guy.

But, Mike was not having a good day.

Mike really needed that tooth because Mike

Really wanted to meet a nice lady.

This is Mike now.

Ladies, Mike is 29 and now has an AMAZING smile!

Anyone interested can let us know and we will get you in touch with Mike.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Cosmetic Bonding

This is Ms. W

Ms. W had some lateral incisors that came in smaller then they should have.

She wanted to change the way they looked so we helped her out.

Picture of the side tooth that was too small.

and the side tooth after.

The whole smile before.

and the whole smile after.

1 hour - no shots - no drilling into the teeth - one happy patient

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Okay. So my tooth had this HUGE metal filling in it.

Well, now most of what was left of the tooth broke off.

What now?!

Well there are a couple of options.

One of the best options to to do an implant.

There are a number of reasons for this but that

would take more time then we have right now.

First step is to extract the broken tooth.

In this case we placed a bone graft and waited a few weeks

but that doesn't always have to be the case.

After the healing time we place a titanium implant.

Looks scary?

It's not.

It's basically just an artificial tooth.

If we can replace hearts and hips then why not a tooth?

In about 6 weeks we will put a beautiful white (no metal)

crown on this implant and the patient should have no more troubles.

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

What is wrong with my tongue?!

It's called geographic tongue.

Geographic tongue is a condition where the tissue of the tongue will vary in

appearance from one section of the tongue to another.

The location, size, color and duration of the variations is different from person to person

and can even change within the same person over time.

There is no real threat with geographic tongue. Most people with geographic

tongue don't even know they have it. All they know is that they have always

had this funnysection of their tongue that changes texture and color from time to time.

The only main side effect coincidental with geographic tongue is a heightened

sensitivity to spicy foods form time to time. These episodes will occur as

the spots of the geographic tongue go through their phase of appearing and

then disappearing.

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Mr C. came to our office one day with a failing root canal.

Like other medical procedures, root canals can fail.

After weighing the options Mr C. decided to have

the tooth extracted and an implant placed.

(Before the extraction.)

Showing the root canal and a pretty decent sized infection.

Tooth was extracted and a bone graft was placed in the site.

Waiting time will be about 3 weeks.

Day of the surgery went very well.

Head of the implant is flush with the bone so our aesthetics should look great.
Infection now gone and infected area even starting to fill in a little.

8 weeks from now we will have a beautiful new tooth on there.

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Thursday, January 19, 2012

Billie

This is Billie.

Billie didn't like the gap in her front teeth.

Billie didn't want to spend years and money with braces.

We told Billie that cosmetic bonding might be right for her.

Here are Billie's before and afters.

30 minutes

No shots

Cheap as a regular filling.

Billie is a happy patient

Monday, January 16, 2012

I don't have any back teeth. What are my options?

Over the years many people, for one reason or another,

have lost some of their back teeth (molars).

What are the options to replace these teeth?

Some of the more common options are dentures and/or implants.

But there is another option that most people are not aware exists.

It is called a cantilever bridge.

What is a cantilever bridge you say?

Well, first we need to discuss what a cantilever is.

The pictures below illustrate cantilevers.

It is when something is stretched out into space without any support on one end.

So what does this have to do with dentistry?

Below you will see a picture of a cantilever bridge.

You can place a crown on your furthest back tooth and then hang

another crown off the back of that.

The conditions have to be right for this to happen, but if they are

then it can work really well.

Friday, January 13, 2012

There has been a large push in the media over this issue but we are still

seeing it in the office so I think it bears repeating.

Early childhood cavities are bad news.

These cavities are costly to fix, it is harder to keep them intact,

and drilling on children gives them a bad perception

of what going to the dentist is all about, which will stay with them

for a long long time and effect how they view dental care in the future.

Simple rule of thumb here.

Do not give your children anything to drink, that is not water, in between meals.

At meal time they can have lots of stuff.

Juice, milk, koolaid, etc.

After the meal is over have them brush their teeth or swish with a glass of water.

This will help clean the sugars out of their mouths that they got form the meal.

ANY other time you should be giving them water.

It is the child that is continuously exposed to sugars that will get the cavities.

And for the love of all that is good and holy do not, under any circumstances,

put your child to bed with a bottle of juice, milk, or anything else.