My Child Just Knocked Their Tooth Out!

Okay. First of all, as in most traumatic situations.

Do not panic.

Its likely that your child has never gone through this before.

Therefore, they are fairly unaware whether what just happened

to them is simply a minor thing or whether they will soon be in the hospital.

The way they will be able to tell how severe the situation

is is by looking at their parent.

If you are flipping out then they will too.

The first thing to do is to educate yourself BEFORE something like this happens.

It is very important to know when your child's baby teeth will come out naturally.

Here is a chart of, about, when that will happen.

This is important because if the tooth that was just knocked out was about to

come out anyway then there is much less to worry about.

If it's still a year or so away, or you know that its already the permanent tooth

that just got knocked out then there is much more to worry about.

So lets say your child is 8 or 9 years old and it is the adult tooth that just got knocked out.

First thing is to do is obviously check your child for signs of significant injury.

If they hit their face hard enough to knock a tooth out

you need to check for signs of a concussion.

If they seem to be alright except for the tooth then the next step is to find the tooth.

Once the tooth is found treat it very gently.

The tooth is attached to the bone by ligaments.

Parts of those ligaments will still be attached to the tooth and must not be damaged.

First carefully pick off any large pieces of debris.

Secondly the smaller pieces need to be rinsed off.

This is best accomplished by gently rubbing the tooth against the inside of your child's cheek.

This will get all the small particles off and still treat the tooth gently.

Then, are you ready for this..... you need to stick the tooth back in.

That's right, you need to gently place the tooth back into the socket from which it came.

Its pretty simple.

The Skinny part goes in first.

Just simply slide it back into place.

Don't force it. Simply get it as close as you can.

If it wont go or you don't have the stomach for it then place the tooth

into your child's mouth in the bottom jaw in between the cheek and gums.

Holding the tooth there will give it the best chance for survival.

Then finally, in all cases, get to a dentist ASAP.

The dentist will know what to do and will give you options depending on the

severity of the accident and the condition of the jaw and tooth.

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My Crown has a little black line near the gums. what's wrong?

Nothing is wrong.

What you are seeing is simply the metal that your crown is

made out of showing out from underneath.

I know I know, you thought that your crown was white and that

there wasn't any metal in it.

Well, there is. You have what is referred to as a porcelain

fused to metal crown of (PFM).

The crown is made of a metal substructure to give it it's strength and

then porcelainis layered over the top to make it look like a tooth.

The PFM has been used for years and has had remarkable success.

The only draw back to these types of crowns is the metal line showing through

and the fact that the porcelain layers can begin to separate from each other

and cause the pieces of porcelain to fall off the crowns.

Today there are new advances in crown technology that have

eliminated both of these problems.

There is a new material, to the world of dentistry that is, called zirconium.

Zirconium crowns are milled from a solid block and are very very strong.

This milling process means that they are not put together piece by piece.

Therefore there are no pieces to come apart. The crown is one solid unit.

Zirconium is also white so the color is that of most teeth and will never show a

metallic line because there is no metal.

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What is Cleft Lip and Palate?

The word "cleft" simply means a crack or divide. A cleft lip is simply the body incorrectly or incompletely closing the facial structures during development. This incomplete closing leaves a cleft, or divide, in the lip and/or palate of the new born. Below is an ultrasound showing a cleft lip

The word "cleft" simply means a crack or divide. A cleft lip is simply the body incorrectly or incompletely closing the facial structures during development. This incomplete closing leaves a cleft, or divide, in the lip and/or palate of the new born. Below is an ultrasound showing a cleft lip

Clefts are normally very repairable and the scare can be almost unrecognizable.

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Tooth implant completed today

Today we delivered the crown to an implant that we did several months ago.

The patient came in with a broken lower molar.

She decided that instead of trying the heroic measures necessary to save her own tooth that she would get an implant placed.

The extraction and immediate implant placement went very well.

The healing took place over an 8 week period.

The abutment was in for an additional 2 weeks.

The crown was then placed this morning.

Wonderful alternative to root canals, posts, core buildups, etc.

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Does my child need to see 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 does 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.

Now, this service will cost more money for the overall treatment but if it is the only way that your child can be treated due to them being scared to death then that is the best thing.

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.

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Progression of tooth decay

Cavities don't just get big all of a sudden.

If you go to your dentist with a toothache, chances are that your

tooth has been decaying for some time.

This picture shows a chart of how a cavity grows.

The top row shows an example of cavities that you get when you

don't floss as much as you should.

The next row shows the cavities that you would get if

you do not brush as often as you should.

The last row shows cavities that can happen underneath

older fillings.

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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.

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