In a recent study released by the Oral Health Journal, a systematic evaluation of patient oral hygiene for orthodontic patients has revealed stunning information that links poor patient oral hygiene with impacted orthodontic treatment quality and treatment times.
When a person seeks out orthodontic treatment to fix a problem (crooked teeth, a misaligned bite, etc…), he or she must realize that the bone is actually being remodeled. Orthodontic treatment rearrange teeth into a proper alignment, which pressure transfer to the roots of the teeth within the jawbone. Bone is actually lost and added during this process as the teeth are repositioned to their proper places as reaching the treatment goal.
Poor oral hygiene will influence your tooth and gum structures negatively. The progress of orthodontic treatment consist of inflammatory and regenerative responses. A mouth with plaque and tartar build-up will trigger the body’s inflammatory response, amplifying the already inflamed structures associated with orthodontic treatment and can lead to a prolonged inflammatory stage and a delayed regenerative phase within orthodontic treatment. Poor oral hygiene during orthodontic treatment can and will have a damaging affect on your treatment goals as well. Reports have shown that “poor oral hygiene can increase treatment times from 1.2 to 2.2 months – other consequences of poor oral hygiene during orthodontic treatment affect the quality of the end result of treatment.” Whereas standard orthodontic treatment (in a clean mouth) leads to the balanced loss and gain of bone, poor oral hygiene restricts the ability of new bone to grow, affecting the treatment results.
Orthodontic treatment seeks to improve a patient’s oral health, but what every patient must remember is that a treatment plan can only be fully realized if both the doctor and the patient are making concerted efforts to correct a problem and stick with a course of action. A patient’s oral health cannot improve without patient compliance. If a patient sees his or her orthodontic specialist (or physician or dentist) on a regular basis but does not fulfill his or her duties to maintain a clean and healthy oral environment, no improvement will ever be seen. A doctor and a patient must work together to obtain a successful result.
Remember that your dental professional may be a miracle worker, but that does not retract your obligation to maintain proper oral hygiene (or any other instructed daily routines)! Any orthodontic treatment plan is a dual-sided plan that requires dedication from both the physician and the patient. Without proper compliance from the patient, prolonged treatment time and reduced oral improvement will result.
Have you ever thought “when I grow into my golden years, I’ll never smile – my teeth will have fallen out!” It should be common knowledge that teeth do not fall out naturally as part of the aging process, quite the contrary! Teeth are lost in seniors primarily due to poor oral hygiene, resulting in tooth and gum disease. If seniors properly take care of their teeth and maintain regular check ups with their dentist, their teeth will be healthy and strong throughout their entire lives!
It’s no surprise that senior oral health is a top priority and concern for dental professionals across the United States – senior citizens are the fastest growing demographic due to the baby boomer generation, and will soon make up the largest age group in the country! For such a big group, it would seem common sense that dentists are seeing increasing numbers of senior patients, but this is sadly not true. “Seniors often take long absences from seeing the dentist,” says AGD spokesperson Nick Russo, DDS. “Sometimes they stop caring as much because they’re not out in the public very much, and they think oral hygiene doesn’t matter.” I have even had patients in their 80s and 90s who have even received orthodontic treatment (braces)! A person is never too young.
The truth of the matter, however, is that oral health matters just as much for seniors as it does for middle aged people and even young adults! Deteriorating oral health in old age is a choice, not a factual occurrence – and can be prevented rather easily. A person’s smile is the gateway to their heart, and whether that person is 15 or 115, that smile defines who you are. Keep it beautiful! The most important step for seniors (or their children or caretakers) to remember is that oral health is not a luxury – declining oral health is not purely aesthetic, and systemic problems can arise due to declining oral health. For example, genetic links between gum disease and heart disease have been proven to exist. Be sure to schedule biannual (twice yearly) dental checkups and cleanings. Not only are these appointments important for cleaning the teeth and gums beyond what a person can do at home, these appointments are essential in identifying poor habits, developing oral health problems and even cancer screenings.
After a biannual checkup plan has been cemented, it is key to remember to brush and floss, for two minutes, after every meal. If brushing and flossing is not occurring after meals, food particles turn into bacteria which destroy enamel and gum tissue. Also, stay away from sodas (diet or otherwise!), candy and other sugar-laden foods and drinks. Water or tea would be a much healthier substitute. Extend your beauty and your life by taking your oral health seriously. Your teeth and gums will take care of you, if you take care of them!
“Does it hurt? How long will it last? How long will it take? How much does it cost?”
These are common questions from patients looking for cosmetic dentistry.
If you’re interested in cosmetic dentistry to get yourself a winning smile, whether the problem is mis-alignment, cracked or chipping teeth, unsightly spacing, uneven or dark colored dentition, uneven or too much (or not enough) smile showing, or even gum erosion, the eternal question always arises: What would be the best solution?
In the past, crowns were the primary choice for masking tooth problems, but since the late 1980s, cosmetic dentistry has offered both bonding and veneers to improve your smile. This leads to the eternal question: “Bonding or veneers?”
Dental bonding involves the application of a durable composite material directly to the surface of the tooth, by your dentist, which is then sculpted and artistically shaped to the exact look the patient desires, to blend naturally and seamlessly with the patient’s existing teeth. A laser (or high intensity light) is then used to cure the composite material, hardening and reinforcing it to the surface of the tooth. This bonding technique has many applications, not only for aesthetic uses but also for prosthodontics and pediatric dentistry. The advantages to dental bonding are a quick treatment time (can be completed in one office visit after a consultation), and a relatively low cost per tooth when compared with porcelain veneers. Durability of bonding will be affected by the oral environment. Since composite bonding is a mixture of quartz particle (70% – 80% filled) and resin, discoloration and breakage is inevitable if your mouth has a high acidic pH value (if you are a soda drinker, lemon lover or candy sucker), if the bonding was not supported by a solid tooth structure, or if you are a night grinder.
Porcelain veneers are fabricated in the laboratory. They are 100% filled with hard mineral particles, and are fired at a high temperature with a vacuum (to procure the best physical properties to sustain the veneer’s strength in the harsh oral environment). Compared to bonding, there is more procedural work involved with porcelain veneers. There are different techniques to fabricate the veneer pieces (which call for different methods of preparation for the tooth); the pressing technique produces a stronger veneer, but requires 0.8mm thickness of the veneer. The porcelain powder build-up technique can produce super thin veneers (0.3mm), which produces a very conservative look on your tooth structure, while at the same time keeping a natural silhouette. The veneer piece lays on top of the tooth structure and is similar to a press-on nail. They chemically adhere to the tooth with bonding composite cement; since porcelain is acid resistant and stronger in physical properties than composite material, this restoration provides long-term service. When getting the veneers, the first visit consists of preparation and imprints f the teeth (which might involve anesthetic). After this, you will leave the office with temporary veneers which look like natural teeth. A wafer-thin veneer is then crafted out of porcelain which is seamlessly cemented to the front side of the tooth on the second visit. In addition to straightening teeth, porcelain veneers can close gaps between teeth, whiten teeth that do not respond well to bleaching, and can also be used to protect damaged tooth surfaces. The advantages to porcelain veneers over bonding is that veneers are much longer lasting (and stronger) than composite bonding material.
Whether you decide to invest in dental bonding or porcelain veneers, make sure you have all work done at a reputable dentist, preferably at a practice which has its own in-house ceramic lab. When ceramic work is done by an in-house lab with an in-house ceramist, any changes that need to be made to the length or color of the veneers can be done without requiring an additional office visit. Remember, the result of the cosmetic procedures are truly varied depending on the ability of the dentist, ceramist, your clinical situation and the communication between all parties involved. Do your research!
Both bonding and veneers are additive procedures, depending on the position, alignment and shape of your teeth, which is the foundation for any new restorations. This foundation will need to be in the right fundamental situation to receive restorations to result in a fabulous smile. In other words, sometimes, you do not need to do much to your own teeth before applying cosmetic restorations. It might be necessary to reduce or modify the tooth structure before anything can be added onto it to make it look perfect.
There is some risk involved with cosmetic bonding or veneers, so be cautious with any cosmetic procedure. A comprehensive evaluation of your present dental condition is absolutely necessary as a first step; blue prints of your teeth and of your prospective dental project are needed to establish clear verbal communication between all parties involved (including you), including possible mock-up or wax-up models to preview possible changes, which could avoid costly mistakes.
Do your homework: finding the right dental professional, discussing every aspect of your dental needs, understanding the pros and cons of each procedure, and making an educated decision will ensure you get the smile you’ve always wanted.
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patients has revealed stunning information that links poor patient oral hygiene with impacted orthodontic treatment quality and treatment times.
