Years of neglect can do funny things to teeth.
But even the effects of years of neglect can be reversed
in only a few appointments.
Before
After
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
What is a tooth abscess?
When a tooth goes bad it will begin to produce infection.
That infection wants to go somewhere.
In a typical tooth the only way out of the tooth is out the
end of the tooth into the bone.
Once the infection is in the bone it then wants to find a way out of that.
After making it though the bone it will then try to make its way though the gums.
It is at this point when you will start to see the redness, swelling, and
drainage that are signs of an abscess.
Abscess' can come in different forms and in different places.
Here is an abscess at the top of the front tooth.
This one is very red and inflamed.
Here is an abscess that came out the bottom of the chin.
What you are seeing is a plastic drain that has been inserted to
take away any extra infection.
Here is an abscess at the top of a rear tooth.
This abscess is white and doesn't look very inflamed.
Monday, March 26, 2012
How do I know if I need a Root Canal?
Teeth are like any other part of the body.
Sometime they may have a funny little pain here or there.
Sometimes these pains may come one minute and then are gone the next.
Sometimes however, the pains come and stick around for a while.
So how do you know if your tooth is in real trouble or just having
a little irritation that will go away quickly?
Well, there are 3 questions that we typically ask people to
determine the extent of their tooth trouble.
#1 Does your tooth hurt with hot and cold temperature change?
#2 Does your tooth hurt to chew on?
#3 Does your tooth hurt when you are just sitting
around doing nothing (reading, watching T.V., etc.?)
If you answered yes to all 3 of these then you, more then likely,
need to have a root canal.
However, if you answered yes to only 1 of the questions then
perhaps it will be a little easier of a fix.
No matter what it is always a good idea to have a dentist chekc
out your teeth if you think something is going wrong.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Do I need to use mouthwash?
Mouthwash is typically in 3rd place when it comes to oral care.
#1 Would be brushing
#2 Would be flossing.
No matter what mouthwash companies say about their products
nothing can replace brushing and flossing.
If you do a good job at brushing and flossing and you would
like to ad mouthwash to your routine that would be great.
If you want to add a mouthwash, which one is best for you?
That depends on what you want to accomplish.
Some mouthwashes provide extra fluoride.
Some kill bugs.
Some simply freshen your breath.
Some are for people with dry mouth conditions.
So it really depends on what you want from the mouthwash.
Find out what you want, then either talk to your dentist and/or head
to the pharmacy and read the labels on the bottles.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
One tooth shorter then the other?
Toddlers will fall.
That is just a fact of life.
They go running down the sidewalk and then some unseen force
will give them a big push from the back and down they go.
Hopefully when this happens they catch themselves with their hands.
If they don't however, they will end up catching themselves with their
forehead, noses, or teeth.
If they catch themselves with their teeth then several things can happen.
#1 They can get knocked out.
#2 They can break.
#3 They can actually get knocked back into the jaw.
It is this third option that I will talk of briefly.
When a child gets an upper front tooth pushed back into
the jaw from where it came it is called an intrusion.
This is, typically, not a big deal.
The baby teeth should fall out right on schedule.
One side effect may be the death of the tooth that has
suffered the trauma.
This would require a small root canal being done on the
tooth and perhaps a filling to cover an color change that
the tooth may undergo as a result.
Another, less common, result of these types of injuries
would be some slight damage to the adult tooth above the
injured baby tooth.
Only time will tell what the adult tooth will look like when
it comes in and there is nothing that can be done before hand.
No matter the extent of the accident however, it is always a
good idea to get your child into a dentist as soon as possible
after an accident.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Extracting a tooth.
Typically extracting a tooth is not that big of a deal.
With the advances in anesthetics and instruments a tooth
can be removed fairly easily and without too much discomfort.
And that's the end of the story, right?
Well, most of the time.
But taking out teeth does have it's consequences.
For instance, teeth nest to the extraction site can begin to shift.
The picture below should have 4 teeth in it.
Instead the lower back molar has been extracted.
As you can see the top molar is moving.
It is starting to move further and further down into the mouth.
This can lead to several different problems and ultimately
cause the loss of the upper tooth.
So please be sure that before you go to get teeth taken out that
you have discussed all of the options with your dentist and know
that removing the tooth is the correct decision in your situation.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Your Child Needs a Mouth Guard
As spring creeps closer, my kids, and perhaps yours,are starting
up things like soccer, baseball, or many other outdoor sports.
No doubt that these activities will lead to a few bumps and bruises.
In time these bumps, bruises, and even broken bones will heal.
Something that would not heal however, is a broken tooth.
Teeth, unlike bones, will not grow back.
To save teeth requires root canals, crowns, and any number of other things.
Please Please Please.......
get your child a mouth guard to wear during their sporting events.
The ones that you can buy from the store and mold to your
child's teeth will do, but a custom made mouth guard from
a dentist is the best way to go.
I don't care if you get one from me or the other guy.
That is not the point.
The point is to protect your child's teeth.
They will have them for a very long time.
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