18 year old this time.
Mother and Son both happy with results.
Before
After
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Cosmetic Bonding
This was one of the more challenging cosmetic bonding cases that I have done.
Some teeth that we bond are slightly tilted.
Some are slightly rotated.
Some are too long or too short.
This tooth is rotated 90 degrees.
Meaning the tooth is turned completely sideways.
The bonding was tough because the proportions are off due to the rotation.
However, The patient was very happy with the result.
She was told that expensive braces was her only option.
Turns out 30 minutes in the chair.....
no shots
no drilling
and the cost of a filling later she looked like this.
This is simply filling material and it can be done in lots and lots of cases.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
When should my new baby get their first tooth?
There is nothing much cuter then an infants big gummy smile. After a while however, parents start to ask the question, "When are my babies first teeth going to start coming in"?
Below is a chart showing not only when the first teeth will come in but when they will come out as well. The first tooth to come in, is typically, the lower central incisor. The last should be the back molars. A quick way to check and see that your youngster has all of their teeth in is to count them. A full set of baby teeth will equal out to be 10 teeth on the top and a matching 10 teeth on the bottom.
Monday, September 26, 2011
What is a 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
Clefts can be simply the lip (cleft lip).
Or they can be more severe and include the palate (cleft lip and palate).
In the cleft lip and palate the teeth are often involved.
Missing, misaligned, and or misplaced teeth can be common.
Clefts, no matter the severity, are normally very repairable
and the scare can be almost unrecognizable.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Can too much fluoride kill you?
You bet it can.
But, ANYTHING taken in too great of quantity can kill you!
Take water for instance.
Water is a necessity for life.
However, you drink too much water too quickly and
you will soon find yourself dead from water toxicity.
People take Tylenol for headaches.
Take 3 bottles of it.
You won't be with us much longer.
People take iron supplements.
Take 3 bottles of that stuff.
See how healthy you feel.
And the list can go on and on and on.
ANYTHING that is taken in the improper quantities can harm you.
Fluoride can absolutely have harmful effects.
That is why it is prescribed by a clinician who is trained
on how to prescribe the drug according to a strict set of
guidelines that take into account the area in which a person lives,
their age, their size, what other drugs they are taking, etc. etc.
"All substances are poisons; there is none which is not a poison.
The right dose differentiates a poison..." Paracelsus (1493- 1541)
I give my children and my patients children fluoride supplements.
I would encourage anyone who is nervous about fluoride to read
up on the subject from CREDIBLE sources and then make
whatever decision they feel comfortable with.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Does your child need to go to 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.
Monday, September 19, 2011
17 yr old bonding case
This is a 17 year old patient at our office.
He just recently got his braces removed.
Two of his front four teeth were too small.
The orthodontist put them in the proper position and then allowed us to fill the gaps.
The before picture.
The after picture.
This procedure took 30 minutes.
Was completed on both sides of the mouth.
No shots.
No drills.
No original tooth structure was removed.
Costs the same as a filling.
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