How do you tell someone they are old?

Almost everyday I have to tell someone, that has

never had a cavity, that they have a cavity.

Many of these people are in the 50's or 60's.

They spend lots of time brushing and flossing and have never had a

cavity and don't understand how they now are getting cavities when

they are doing the same things that they have always done to keep their teeth clean.

At this point I have to be very diplomatic.

The simple answer is...... you are getting older.

As we age things will begin to break down.

These people have no problem accepting that their eyesight isn't what is used to be.

Or that their hearing may be a little worse then it was when they were younger.

But for some reason, the fact that their teeth are also wearing down is a new concept.

Every part of our bodies will break down over time.

Teeth will follow right along with the rest of it.

The forces of a lifetime of chewing mixed in with the fact that salivary flow

rates decrease as we age (thus less protection for our teeth) means that

an increase in cavities over time is almost inevitable.

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Pain after a root canal is finished?

Why does my root canal still hurt!?

Dentistry is medicine.

Although nothing i will ever do, more then likely, will ever rank

up there with treating cancer or preforming heart surgery the

procedures done in dentistry are still medical in nature.

Sometimes I get people coming to my office from other dentists

and they are angry because their teeth still hurt even AFTER

getting a root canal procedure preformed on it.

This is what I tell them.

Although root canals are a very successful procedure there are

still a certain number of them that will not work.

Consider going in for knee surgery to clean out a defective joint.

Months later you still hurt and you go back to the doctor.

You tell him that your knee still hurts.

He does and exam and tells you that there are still some particles in the knee that

didn't get taken out the first time and that he will have to go in again and

get the knee cleaned out for a second time.

This bums you out but you think nothing of it.

In dentistry people sometimes feel like it should be a one and done.

In pain to out of pain in one visit.

In most cases this is true. However, just like the knee surgery, there are times when

the first surgery on the tooth just doesn't work.

There are a few options here.

You can get the root canal re-done by the dentist who did it in the first place.

You can get it re-done by a root canal specialist (endodontist).

The trouble with getting it re-done is that it may not work the second time either.

You are then out another chunk of change and still have the same problem.

You could have the tooth taken out and have a bridge or implant put in.

That would assure the tooth never hurt again but you would have to go

through getting the tooth taken out.

Just talk to your dentist before you get your root canal.

Ask questions.

Feel comfortable BEFORE any treatment is given.

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Dry Socket Part II

Yesterday we covered what a dry socket is.

(If you need to review just go back a post)

Today we will talk about how to prevent them and how to treat them.

First off is how to prevent them.

Do not chew food around the extraction. 

Pushing large pieces of food into the socket is not good.

Do not smoke for the first 48 hours post surgery.

Bathing a wound in cancer causing smoke may cause the

slowing of wound healing and increase possible dry socket.

Minimize pressure changes into, or out of, your mouth.

Blood clots can get dislodged relatively easily.

Sucking on a straw, sneezing, coughing hard, etc. can alter the pressures

in your mouth and dislodge the clot.

Second how to treat a dry socket.

Well, since the problem with a dry socket is that the blood clot is gone

the first thing we do is try to re-introduce one.

You come back into the dentist office, get numbed up all over again, 

we clean any debris out of the site, then we scrape around and make

you bleed all over again.

This fresh blood will form a new clot that hopefully will stay.

If that doesn't work there are medications that can be placed in the socket.

Basically it is just a function of time. The body just needs much  longer

to heal from the extraction if you have a dry socket then if you did not have one.

Hopefully after any extraction your dentist gives you a list of do's and don'ts.

Make sure you follow them. 

Do what the dentist says is the best way of staying away form the dry socket.

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What is a "dry socket"?

The term Dry Socket is one of the most feared, 

and most misunderstood, in the field of dentistry.

Whenever we take out wisdom teeth people will 

often ask if they are going to get dry socket.

Dry socket is very simple to understand.

After a tooth is pulled out of the jaw

 the surrounding tissues will begin to bleed.

This is a very good thing.

The blood will fill the socket, where the tooth used to be, 

and a blood clot will begin to form.

A blood clot in a socket is kind of like a scab over a cut.

It serves to protect the injured areas until healing can complete.

A dry socket will occur when, for whatever reason, 

the blood clot comes out.

If the blood clot comes out then the bone of the socket

will dry out. Thus, Dry Socket.

Dry bone is very painful bone.

It is most assuredly something to be avoided.

Tomorrow we will discuss how to avoid dry socket and how it is treated.

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Should I be scared to get a dental implant?

The question of safety with dental implants is one that seems to persist

among the general population.

Perhaps a lack of news coverage is responsible for this.

Someone getting a heart or lung replaced gets a lot more attention

(as it should) then replacing a tooth.

So lets see if this helps.

This is a picture of an artificial heart.

This is a diagram of a real heart.

This is a diagram of the lungs.

This is a diagram of an idea for an artificial lung.

All 4 of these items are very complex.

Yet doctors, very successfully, place (transplant) these items into patients all the time.

Below you will see a diagram of a tooth implant.

Yup, that's it.

Its a titanium screw.

No moving parts are pieces.

Far less complex then the heart or the lung.

Can there be complications and is it still surgery, yes.

But, If you can implant a heart or lung you can implant a tooth.

The point.

Please please please do not be afraid of dental implants.

Replacing severely broken teeth with implants is safe and simple.

If you think you may be a candidate simply talk to your dentist

about implants and if they are right for you.

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Problems with braces part II.

Yesterday we talked about people getting increased amounts

of cavities when they have braces on. 

Today we will talk about some ways to decrease those cavities.

First, is to simply increase the amount of brushing you do.

Keep a brush in your car, desk at work, locker at school, etc.

Brushing more then the standard twice a day is key.

Second, rinsing with a fluoridated mouth wash is a fabulous idea.

Many companies have them now, Act, Listerine, Colgate, etc.

These rinses will keep up your teeth's defenses to decay.

Third, watch what you eat.

Do NOT eat anything that is sticky.

First time you try to pick gummy bears out of your braces you will

understand why I said this, and most everything sticky is very high in sugar.

Finally, there are a lot of ingenious ideas that people have come up with

to help people with their flossing while in braces.

As the traditional "wrapping the floss around the fingers" thing

doesn't work to well here are some things that might. 

This final one is a water pick. 

Not exactly a flosser but it will do wonders to blow out the stuff

that is hiding around the brackets of your braces.

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Trouble with braces.

If you are in braces right now, or have a family member that is in

braces right now then this is something you need to read.

One of the biggest problems we see with braces is the

amount of cavities that people have right after the braces are removed.

There are a couple of reasons for this.

#1 Is that braces trap food. 

There are lots of nooks and crannies where food can get trapped

and hide out even without having braces.

Once braces are placed the amount of food that can be trapped can triple.

Residual food hanging around in your mouth will feed cavity causing bacteria.

#2 Its harder to floss.

Trapping food is bad enough. But the fact that its even harder to get the 

food out because flossing is now much harder makes it even worse.

Tomorrow I will discuss some things that can be done about this.

But for now just know that those with braces must be more diligent 

then the average person when it comes to caring for your teeth

when you have braces on. 

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