Hare are 3 of the craziest wisdom teeth that I have ever seen.
And they all happen to be in the very same patient!!
Pointing backwards, completely upside down, and in the
totally wrong place.
Showing posts with label wisdom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wisdom. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Thursday, December 10, 2015
"How hard will my wisdom teeth be to remove?" It's a question I hear all the time. People who are nervous about wisdom teeth removal, want some kind of reassurance that things will go alright. Truth is, no one knows. We can make assumptions, but that's about it. It's kind of like a woman about to deliver a baby. Some woman deliver in the car on the way to the hospital, and some woman are in the delivery room for 48 hours before Jr. is getting the phlegm spanked out of his airway. It's hard to tell. Sometimes teeth come out fast and sometimes they come out slow.
Here is a case where it was BOTH, in the same patient!!
Take a good look at the x-ray. The wisdom teeth are the very last teeth on the right and left hand side of the picture, on the top and the bottom (4 teeth total). The top teeth (the ones that look fairly parallel to all the other teeth) both came out in about 5 minutes each. The bottom 2 teeth (the ones that look like they are laying on their sides) took about 40 minutes each.
So, Dentists can give you an estimate. But that's about all it is.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Wisdom teeth 101
Do I really need my wisdom teeth out?
More than likely you do.
There is only a small segment of the population that has enough room that would allow for all 4 wisdom teeth to erupt completely into the mouth. Wisdom teeth removal can range in difficulty from very simple to very complex. Which end of the spectrum your own personal wisdom tooth removal ends up being is dependent upon several factors. How far can you open your mouth, how far up, or down, into the jaw do your teeth sit, and at what angle do your teeth lie are just a few of the concerns that must be addressed by you and your doctor to determine what to expect from your own wisdom tooth surgery.
Artist rendering of different kinds of wisdom tooth positions.
Two actual patient x-rays of horizontally impacted wisdom teeth.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
A flap of skin over your tooth?
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.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Are all wisdom tooth extractions the same?
Not even close.
Below is an example of why wisdom tooth extractions
differ in complexity, even from side to side in the same person.
Try getting a tooth out with a big old fish hook at the bottom.
If tooth roots are straight and tapered then they
are relatively easy to remove.
However, if they look like this tooth then that is another story.
The above picture is half of a wisdom tooth that we took out just this morning.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
How hard will it be to pull out my wisdom teeth?
Anytime we tell someone that they need to take out their wisdom teeth
this is the question that we get most commonly asked.
The answer is that it varies tremendously.
How easy is it to deliver a baby?
Well, some women are in labor for 48 hours and
some babies get born in the car on the way to the hospital.
You never know.
Here is a case that we did the other day.
We will go through the 4 wisdom teeth.
#1 Upper left on the screen was the easiest tooth of all.
That's because we didn't even take it out.
Its too far up and might not ever come in.
If it does we can deal with it then but its pretty high.
#2 Upper right on the screen was 2nd easiest.
That one took about 1 minute to remove.
#3 was a little tougher. About 10 minutes on that one.
One of the roots had a little hook on it so the pressure
needed to remove it was a little increased from the upper one.
#4 was the toughest. This tooth took 30 minutes to remove.
As we were removing the tooth it fractured.
This simply means that there was much less tooth to grab onto.
We then removed the roots one at a time (3 of them).
So there you have it.
1 patient 4 wisdom teeth and 4 different difficulties of tooth removal.
So next time you want to ask your dentist how long it would
take to get your wisdom teeth out just realize that he may
be able to give you a rough estimate but that anything, good
or bad, is possible.
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.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Teeth Whitening
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.Thursday, February 17, 2011
Impacted wisdom teeth II.
So you are afraid to get your wisdom teeth out?
And the avenue you have chosen to avoid this surgery is to leave them in.
Here is just one example of what can happen if you chose to do that.
What you have on the right is an x-ray of an angled wisdom tooth that is trying to come through the tissue.
It was trying so hard in fact that it dug a hole right into the side of the tooth next to it.
So not only does the wisdom tooth need to come out but now the other tooth needs to come out as well.
If this were to repeat itself in your mouth 4 times (once for every wisdom tooth) you would need to go through 8 extractions instead of 4.
Still think its a good idea NOT to take out your wisdom teeth?!
Didn't think so.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Impacted wisdom teeth.
When people talk of wisdom teeth stories often surface of friends or family that have had "impacted" wisdom teeth. This word is used as the end all of dental stories. If your wisdom teeth were impacted then everyone feels horribly for you and you are the winner of nightmare dental stories.
Well, we need to dive a little further into this idea of impaction before we anoint anyone as having had the worst dental experience ever.
For you see, not all impactions are the same.
The word impacted simply means, stuck or wedged. If your 2 year old puts their head in between a railing that is too small for them and they can't pull their head out, then technically your child's head is impacted.
Many wisdom teeth become impacted simply because there is not enough room between the back tooth and the jaw bone. If the tooth is in a vertical position, similar to the other teeth, then this is called a vertical impaction. This situation is easily solved by simply shaving a small portion of bone out from around the tooth and allowing the tooth the necessary room to come out.
But what if your tooth is not in a horizontal position?
What if its tipped a little?
What if its tipped a lot?
What if its laying completely on its side!?
As the wisdom tooth tips further and further over it gets harder and harder to take out.
If its laying completely on its side, then my friends, you have what's called a horizontal impaction.
If you happen to have, or had, a horizontal impaction then you may then declare yourself the winner, at your dinner parties, as having the most horrible wisdom teeth at the table.
Below are examples of different types of impactions.
So as you can see.
Not all impactions are the same.
So, if if its going to be bad taking them out then lets just leave them in........ right?
Um...... No. Tune in tomorrow when we will see what can happen if you choose that route.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
But it doesn't hurt?
This is a question we get asked all the time.
"Are you sure I have a cavity. Because it doesn't hurt."
Well, saying that is like saying, "Why do I need to change my oil when my car is running just fine?"
Your car may be running fine and you could save yourself $49.99 by not changing your oil.
However, when you engine seizes up your repair bill is now about $4,000 for a new motor.
You didn't end up saving a lot in the end.
Same is true with teeth and cavities.
you could save yourself the small cost of getting a cavity filled but then when it starts to hurt you will need to get a root canal and a crown. That means that your cost, and your discomfort, will be significantly more.
Save yourself the money and the discomfort.
Get your cavities filled when they are small.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Cosmetic Bonding
Just did this case yesterday.
No shots.
No drilling.
30 minutes.
All for the cost of 2 fillings.
Monday, November 22, 2010
My tooth just tipped over!!!
Most people think that its no big deal to get a tooth taken out. they will say things like "its just one tooth" and "I've got a ton more". Well, you do have a lot more teeth then just that one but this does NOT mean that getting a tooth out will not create many other problems in the mouth.
Some of the problems that can occur are as follows.
#1 The tooth that chews against the tooth you just took out will move up, or down, into the spot just vacated by the extracted tooth. This top tooth is moving down into the mouth.
#2 The teeth right next to the extracted one will begin to tip into the spot just vacated by the extracted tooth. These next two pictures were taken 5 years apart. The patients tooth tipped completely over and needed to be extracted.
Both of these can cause your bite to be thrown completely off and make chewing uncomfortable.
#3 As you chew hard and crunchy foods, they will pinch up against the gums where the tooth used to be.
Moral to the story is this.
If you can fix your teeth, then do it.
If you can't, then get the hole filled where the tooth used to be ASAP.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
The Cosmetic Dentist Myth
Here is a little video I put together.
Its called, "The Myth of the Cosmetic Dentist"
Enjoy
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Just Gross
Probably the grossest thing in all of dentistry, to me, is meth mouth. Years of methamphetamine can rot a persons teeth like nothing you have ever seen.
ENJOY!!!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Halloween Candy
As we are coming up on Halloween it seems only appropriate that we discusses if it is okay to let your kids eat their Halloween candy?
Absolutely YES!!!
As long as the eating of the candy is done in the proper way. After we eat anything (bread, eggs, cheese, etc.) our mouth's will produce extra saliva. This saliva is secreted in an attempt to neutralize the acids that are being produced by the bacteria that live in our mouth's. These bacteria are feed off of the food that we consumed. Typically a person's salivary rate will return to normal in about 15 minutes and at that point the acids attacking your teeth are back to manageable levels. A good brushing and flossing will then get your teeth the rest of the way to being clean.
Therefore, the proper way to have your kids eat all of that candy would be to let them eat their candy for about 10 minutes or so after dinner. Once they have had their little treat send them to brush and floss for the night. Doing this will allow them to eat their candy. Allow you to look like a cool parent. And present only a very slim chance, if any, of your child getting any cavities from their Halloween haul.
The thing NOT to do would be to let them keep the bag in their room and have a piece here or there all day long. This will keep the sugar on their teeth all day and the salivary glands will never get a chance to catch up. And since they will not brush after every piece of candy they will eat the acids produced by the bacteria will have much more time to do damage to the teeth before being brushed away.
So go ahead. Let the kids have their candy. Just make sure its in short spurts and that a good brushing and flossing follows.
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