www.BestOgdenDentist.com Blog

Monday, May 9, 2016

Oil Pulling & Stem Cells

There are a lot of questions out there right now about

"alternative" dentistry.

I do not say alternative to be derogatory in any way.

I say alternative to simply denote that there is a more classical

view of dentistry and then there is an emerging view that holds

"alternate" views to that classical thought process.

Classic school of thought about teeth is that there

are bacteria that live inside your mouth.

These bacteria ingest sugar. Their byproducts are acids.

These acids eat away at the enamel of your teeth.

You keep your teeth brushed, flossed, and avoid ingesting

mass amounts of sugar and you shouldn't have a large

scale cavity issue on your hands.

And that school of thought, although very old, still

holds very true to this day.

But what about the newer schools of thought?

What about using oil pulling and re-growing teeth with stem cells?

Well, here's my opinion.

First, Oil Pulling.

If it works, for you, then great. I don't do it.

I don't tell people to do it.

The scientific studies are not yet what I would like

to see on the subject.

However, I see absolutely nothing negative about it,

and if it works for you in regards to making your

mouth feel cleaner and you notice a decrease in the

amount of decay that your dentist is finding, then

go ahead.

Second is re-growing teeth with stem cells.

This one is a little easier for me.

Would I love to get a bunch of stem cells that I could

simply put into a patients mouth and get a new tooth back?

Absolutely.

HOWEVER, if people understood what they would have to go

through to get to that point they wouldn't even think about it.

First off, your tooth has to go bad. It has to break, get infected, hurt,

or any other number of things that would be uncomfortable to go through.

Secondly, you then have to have the bad tooth removed.

Oral surgery.

Shots, forceps, blood, swelling, etc etc.

WHY NOT JUST TAKE CARE OF WHAT YOU'VE GOT?!

You are going to have to brush the newly grown teeth anyway.

Now, for trauma cases, congenitally missing teeth, etc. then

stem cells will be fantastic.

But for all of the other cases, that are far more numerous,

stem cells are not all that they are cracked up to be.

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Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Do old metal (amalgam) fillings need to be replaced?

Everything wears out at some point.

After getting a knee replaced the Dr. will typically say,

"that should last you about 15 years."

I got Lasik done and the Dr, told me that I would

have to come back in to get it touched up over time.

The same can be said for metal fillings.

Over time, they will break down and need to be replaced.

Just beware of a few scams out there.

#1 All of you metal fillings need to be replaced at one time.

#2 The metal is bad for you and will cause a disease so they need to come out.

Neither of these are true.

If all of your metal was placed at the same time then perhaps a few of them

are going bad together but MANY factors dictate rate of decay.

Where the filling is on the tooth.

Where the tooth is in the mouth.

Etc.

Also, it has been proven over and over again that the contents

of metal fillings (in the state they are in in your mouth) do

not cause diseases.

Here is an example of a filling that was going bad.

It's pretty plain to see that there is decay around the

edges of the filling.

We then put a white one in.

The effects are fairly dramatic.

The patient was very pleased.

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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Nothing lasts forever.

I have had lasik surgery and can now see 20/20.

I know however, that at some point the lasik will need to be re-done.

Get a knee, hip, or any other part of your body replaced and the

surgeon will likely tell you how long you probably have till the

prosthetic piece, or your body around the piece, goes bad.

Fillings in teeth are no exception.

They have a certain life span and then the need to be replaced.

Here is an old metal filling.

Here is the new white filling.

This will not last forever either, but it it will function far better

then the old cracking metal that used to be there.

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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

I hate the metal in my mouth!

Well then get it out.

Her are some before and after pictures of a case we did this morning.

Before with old metal filling

After with the new white filling

If fillings are done well they should not be seen.

No one will ever notice that this patient has a fairly large filling in this tooth.

Which is exactly what he wanted.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Before and After

Here is a fairly simple case from today.

this old metal filling was starting to decay around the edges.

Before

Once the old metal was removed the new white filling was

placed and the patient is ready to eat right away.

After

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Before and After Cosmetic pictures

What would we do if we had a tooth that needed a crown,

but for one reason or another we didn't want to do a crown?

Well we could us filling material to build the tooth back

into a more normal state.

Now the tooth won't be as strong as if we did do a crown

but with proper care it will function well for some time to come.

Tooth before.

Tooth After.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Say no to crack.

Age, large fillings, and chewing on hard things can be hard on teeth.

This tooth has begun to crack.

The crack is the thin black line running from the metal

filling down toward the gum tissue.

We removed the old metal filling and the cracked tooth structure.

We then placed a new white filling in both places.

The tooth is now in much less danger of splitting and the

patient loves the look of the white replacing the gray.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Are metal fillings safe?

Fewer and fewer people are asking this question, but occasionally we still do get it.

Are metal fillings safe?

The answer to this is, yes.

There have been studies done by the American Dental Association

and the Centers for Disease Control that both state that metal fillings

are safe to use.

In fact in certain cases we still use this material.

It is rare however, do to the fact that most people do not want the metal look.

You can go on the internet and find sites that tell you the horrors of amalgam.

But you can find a lot of stuff on the internet that isn't necessarily true.

If you have questions ask your dentist.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Changing out the metal.

Although this particular filling was not replaced solely

for the fact that it was metal, you can still see the results.

Here is a before picture.

Here is the after.

Metal fillings are replaced for a variety of reasons.

This filling was replaced do to a fracture that was beginning on one side of the tooth.

Some fillings are replaced because the people who have them want

a more cosmetic looking filling to be placed.

Some fillings are replaced by people who simply want to be preventative

and have decided that it is time to get the old fillings out.

Whatever the reason behind your decision to get your fillings out

and replace them with new ones, the procedure is very simple an inexpensive.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Which retainer is best for me?

Lots of people ask me about retainers.

Most retainers are given to folks from their orthodontists.

The type of retainer you have really depends on the personal preference of the Orthodontist.

Some orthodontists like the retainers that you can take in and out every night.

These come in two forms. The ones that use wire to retain the teeth position

and the ones that are made simply of clear plastic.

Other orthodontists like the small metal wires that are actually

glued to the teeth and can not be removed.

So which one is better?

That depends on what irritates you most.

Would it irritate you more to have something glued into your

mouth that you could never take out?

Or would it irritate you more to always have to remember to put your retainer

in every night and take it with you on every trip vacation and overnighter you go on?

Both will do a fine job.

My Mother has a retainer that she puts in every night and has done so for over 30 years.

My wife has a bonded metal wire that she has had in place for over 20 years.

Both seem to like what they have and wouldn't change.

If you have a particular type of retainer and you would like

to try another kind that is no problem.

We can switch you to another kind, let you try it for a while, and then

switch you back if you don't like it.

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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 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.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

How about a tongue tattoo?

I thought I had talked about all I could talk about on this

blog, but it appears as I may have been mistaken.

It seems as though there is a new phenomenon out there

of getting a tattoo on your tongue.

I have nothing against those that choose to have a tattoo.

Getting a tattoo on your tongue however, may cause me some concern.

Your tongue is very very sensitive.

More nerve endings per surface area then anywhere else in your body.

Don't believe me?

If a stray hair lands anywhere on your body you probably wouldn't feel it.

Get a stray hair in your mouth and your tongue can feel it in an instant.

There are also many more blood vessels in this are then in most other parts of the body.

Thus, getting a tattoo on your tongue would pose some concerns to me.

First is your sense of taste.

If your morning hot chocolate/coffee is a little to hot you burn your tongue.

The spot that you burned is unable to taste for several hours.

I can only imagine that dragging a small needle across your tongue and then

depositing ink would have some of the same effects.

Second is the chance of infection.

Some of my more avid body piercing friends say that the mouth is very sterile and

that there are enzymes to take care of any infections in the mouth.

If that were totally true then I wouldn't need to prescribe any antibiotics after

tooth extractions. I could just let these enzymes take over.

No matter how sterile that mouth may be the stuff that goes into it is not.

So unless you stop eating and drinking for a while after the procedure.

Every straw, fork, piece of food, etc that enters your mouth will carry bacteria on it.

Bacteria need warmth, food, and water to multiply. Your mouth has all in abundance.

Not to mention tons of little places where they can go hide out.

Therefore, the chances of infection are increased over other body parts.

Now I need to point out that I really doubt that anyone has taken the time

to do a long term study on tongue tattooing.

I just happen to think that it may not be the greatest idea in history.

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.

Dr. Ellis Google +

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