Did you catch the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver? The games present an exciting and fiercely competitive time for the globe’s top winter athletes! One thing I noticed while watching the 2010 Vancouver games is how many athletes wore their protective mouth guards during the competition, which was very exciting to me.
It was not uncommon to see athletes removing and replacing their mouth guards before and after events; most wear clear silicon rubber guards while some wear colored ones. I am very pleased to see the awareness of preventing sport injuries on globally broadcast television - all athletes with a chance of injury should be wearing a sport mouth guard to prevent oral facial injury, jaw injuries and even brain concussions.
The dangers of an unprotected oral cavity don’t just apply to olympians – any physical activity can result in an accident without safety precautions! Proper protection in the form of a custom-fitted mouth guard is vital to assure the health and safety of your teeth, jaw and fasciomuscular system. Using your teeth as a tool for anything other than eating food – even opening a plastic bag – can cause a tooth to crack.
Vancouver Canuck champion Kyle Wellwood lost tooth #8 in an ice hockey injury.
Dental trauma usually results from an accidentally cracked or broken tooth. Many times, teeth that have previously been treated with a root canal are prone to breakage due to a weak and/or compromised structure. All root canal teeth should be capped with a crown to protect the tooth structure. Certain hard foods can also trigger tooth breakage, such as corn nuts, popcorn, hard candy, and especially ice! Tooth decay, periodontal disease and even cracked teeth can all be prevented! Most hygienists will inform patients of important daily cleaning habits, but rarely elaborate on dental trauma and how to prevent it.
If you ever find yourself in a situation with missing teeth, try and preserve them in milk. If your tooth becomes cracked, avoid using your mouth and get to your dental professional ASAP! If you have a night guard (or mouth guard), wear it to protect the site. If you can get to your dentist in a timely manner, the teeth may be reattached. Simple chipping can be repaired rather simply (bonding or porcelain veneers can be explored with your dental care professional). Your doctor will be able to evaluate you further and discuss whether more extensive procedures are necessary (like implants or a root canal). Whether you’re jogging in your neighborhood or racing for the gold, being prepared will help you avoid dental trauma.
It’s hard to associate troublesome cavities with adorable babies, but babies are far more vulnerable to dental disease than adults are due to the softer and thinner enamel on baby teeth (deciduous dentition). Baby bottle syndrome and poor cleaning habits are common factors that often lead to cavities in your child’s brand new teeth – the real question is since baby teeth are supposed to fall out and be replaced by permanent teeth, is it necessary to go through lots of work and spend money maintaining those deciduous teeth?
Baby teeth can easily become compromised by bacteria lingering in a young child’s mouth – and if not treated quickly, can decay away in matter of weeks. In many cases, the poor child not only suffers from toothaches, but during the first dental visit an unpleasant memory association of the dentist’s office can develop subconsciously. If your dental professional notes that a severely decayed baby tooth needs a root canal (followed with baby tooth crown), don’t panic – this routine procedure is vital if the tooth is fully compromised! In this situation, the frustrations, the lengthy processes and the expenses might lead to the thinking “why bother with all the work, why not just pull the unhealthy baby teeth?” If the infected baby tooth is left untreated, not only will it lead to a unhappy child, it can also affect the permanent tooth lying below the unhealthy baby tooth.
By the time your child reaches age 2, he or she should have 20 deciduous teeth, as permanent teeth start to grow in around age 5 1/2 to 6. The lower front baby teeth are the first to exfoliate, replaced by permanent teeth. At the same time, permanent molars also emerge behind the baby molars. This process continues as baby teeth fall out, visits are paid from the tooth fairy and new teeth erupt through the gum, a memory in every child! The last set of baby teeth eventually exfoliate around age 12, to be replaced by permanent bicuspids. Even if your child’s baby teeth are not be in the best condition, they serve an important role in addition to chewing and speech function – baby teeth maintain necessary space in the jaw bone for permanent teeth to grow in.
If a child looses a baby tooth too early, the jaw bone misses out on functional stimulation by not holding up by the baby tooth. The consecutive permanent tooth will be affected and will not develop nor align properly. It is for this reason that baby teeth cannot be simply pulled in the event of a cavity. If a baby tooth is lost early, placing a space maintainer will hold the jaw dimension at its original measure, ensuring the proper development of permanent teeth. Take proper care in maintaining baby teeth – they may be short lived, but the effect and influence of deciduous teeth are life long and shouldn’t be overlooked.
Being able to smile is a beautiful thing – we all deserve a beautiful one! Some of us might need some work to obtain a dazzling smile, and cosmetic dentistry has been very popular and reaching that dazzle. Just don’t let your dream turn into a nightmare while pursuing your smile make over!
If you are planning on having any elective cosmetic work done, make sure your physician is familiar with different cosmetic options and has a good training background. The most common cosmetic dentistry problems can be prevented if you do your homework, including unsatisfactory cosmetic outcomes or clinical and technical shortcomings! These problems can lead to a not so happy nor healthy smile, altered speech, gum irritation, increased tooth sensitivity , chipping, loose teeth and even breakage of porcelain (from insufficient bonds between natural teeth and porcelain veneers from an overly trimmed tooth structure or bite issue). These errors end up needing additional work (like crowns, root canals or gum surgery) and can be painful and infuriating.
It is important when considering any kind of cosmetic work – dentistry or otherwise – that you evaluate your own needs, and knowing your own health as a foundation for your own future. The consequences of only looking at cosmetic dental procedures without the health side can put your long term oral health at risk. If you have a fairly healthy mouth with well-aligned teeth, it may be easier to get satisfactory cosmetic results with the average cosmetic dentist . If you have seriously mis-aligned teeth, gum disease or lots of dental work / TMJ problems (or are prone to cavities), you have a much more sensitive oral cavity and must be very careful with who you choose to be your cosmetic dentist. Also, you may require multiple steps in order to attain a healthy, long lasting result.
It is also important to have a well thought-out plan before the procedures starts as good communication with your cosmetic dentist and technician is key. Not only is it necessary to be able to convey your desires clearly, but it is also best to go through the proper diagnostic steps to analyze the problem, plan the treatment scientifically with a mock-up or wax-up procedure and set up the detailed 3-D blueprint of your smile makeover before proceeding with dental reconstruction work. Make sure your dentist and ceramist are well experienced by asking other patients what kind of work you can expect and by checking into his or her credentials, education and training background (www.aacd.com is a good reference site). Look at pictures of past cases the dentist has worked on, and get a feel of what kind of sincerity and caring attitude the dental team will be able to provide you, in order to help make your important decision. Make sure you ask questions about what will make the procedure a long term success before proceeding the work.
It is a wonderful thing to have a great smile, but maintaining it will be just important. Proper home care and regular professional check-ups are musts – proper diet and healthy habits will keep your smile beautiful for a long time! Finally, wear a night guard if you are prone to bruxism as they can help maintain the structure of your oral system.
Mark came in with a severe tooth ache, and after an examination, I could see the tooth was severely broken down. The basic options were to either save the tooth – going through root canal therapy and finishing with a post and crown restoration, or to remove the tooth and restore with a dental implant and crown. “Should I save my tooth, or should I pull it!” This is the eternal question!
Root canal therapy (also known as endodontic therapy) is a procedure of treatment for the pulp of a tooth once it has become infected – the inner pulpal material must be removed, in order to protect and decontaminate the tooth from future microbial invasion to the jaw bone. Once a root canal procedure is performed, however, the lack of nutritional supply in the tooth (once the organic tissue is removed from the tooth during the procedure) will render the tooth brittle, the weakened tooth should be reinforced and restored properly, with a post and crown.
Root canal treatment does have a bad reputation due to the pain and the stigma associated with the procedure. Often times, a patient will have a root canal performed and think the procedure was a success, only to have pain and infection return several years down the line. The complexity of the anatomic root variation could be an obstacle and techniques can often be tedious, which is why specialized service is usually performed by a highly trained dentist or endodontist. Special tools like microscopes are also often necessary for a successful procedure. Advanced instrumentation and technique will ensure long-term success.
Regular dental checkups are vital to properly maintain your dental health. If the unhealthy dental condition requires a root canal treatment or an extraction, have your dental professional explain the pros and cons of each option, then make an educated decision. If there is a mystery pain, a 3-D image (Morita Survey of CT scan) would be invaluable for proper diagnosis. Regular dental x-rays are not capable of capturing images of a cracked tooth nor accessory root canals (which are small and difficult to see). These tiny cracks or canal issues can lead to prolonged discomfort, which you may have thought was a figment of your imagination! If the prognosis was poor, or a tooth has broken down so much that it has become unrestorable, extraction and a dental implant might be a more sustainable investment to you dental health. Prevention is always the best treatment! Brush and floss your teeth twice daily and after meals. If you have any dental pain, schedule an appointment with your dentist sooner rather than later.
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don’t just apply to olympians – any physical activity can result in an accident without safety precautions! Proper protection in the form of a custom-fitted mouth guard is vital to assure the health and safety of your teeth, jaw and fasciomuscular system. Using your teeth as a tool for anything other than eating food – even opening a plastic bag – can cause a tooth to crack.
