Dental Hygiene

SEALANTS / PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY

Sealants/Preventive Dentistry

With a little hi-tech help, preventing tooth decay can become even easier. You may already be aware that daily brushing and flossing are the most important weapons against the formation of plaque, the primary cause of cavities. To supplement your regular routine of brushing and flossing, we can apply a thin coat of resin material -- called a sealant -- on the top, or biting, surfaces of your teeth. This plastic coating creates a barrier between your teeth and the decay-causing bacteria that live in plaque.

As you or your children eat and drink during the day, the food in your mouth combines with bacteria to produce a sticky film called plaque that attaches on and in between tooth surfaces (tooth enamel). Plaque often is found on the chewing surfaces (grooves and pits) of the back teeth, from which it is difficult to remove by brushing and flossing alone. If plaque is not removed regularly from your teeth, it can produce acids which will attack the tooth enamel and create pits or holes (cavities) in the tooth.

This is tooth decay.Coating your teeth with a smooth plastic material makes it harder for plaque to stick to the tiny grooves on the biting surfaces of the teeth - reducing the risk of forming cavities and tooth decay.The procedure is easy and painless, and lasts for many years. The teeth are specially cleaned and prepared, the sealant is applied and a special light hardens the sealant. There is no pain and no injections necessary. An application of sealants is a preventive measure to keep teeth healthy. It is an effective way to reduce the need for fillings and more expensive treatment that may be required to repair the damage from cavities, so sealants can also save you money.

BAD BREATH TREATMENT

Bad Breath Treatment

Ever have the feeling that people have avoided talking to you face to face or that they have backed away when you began a conversation? If either of these have happened to you, maybe it is not you that is offending, but your breath.

Halitosis (also known as bad breath) can affect anyone at anytime. It is estimated that at one time or another between 50% and 60% of the population suffer from halitosis. The bad news is- it's offensive to most people. The good news is - now, more than ever, there are ways to prevent it.

What causes bad breath? Most of the time, halitosis originates in the mouth. It is caused by oral bacteria breaking down stubborn food debris. This process creates by products called volatile sulfur compounds (VCS's), which emit a smell similar to rotten eggs. The type of bacteria that initiates this process needs an environment that is free of oxygen, so they usually inhabit areas that are difficult to reach, such as the pockets around teeth and the fissures of the tongue. In some circumstances, the odor may be caused by a systemic condition such as diabetes, or a problem in the sinuses, pharynx, lungs, or stomach. Therefore the first step in solving bad breath problems is to undergo a medical examination to ensure that there aren't any systemic problems contributing to the condition. Other factors such (tobacco, alcohol, alcohol containing mouth rinses, foods like garlic, onions, and spicy food, hunger, dry mouth, can cause halitosis, but are secondary to the main culprit - oral bacteria.

What can be done? If it is clear that bacteria are the culprits, methods to reduce them are the first line of defense. If periodontal disease or tooth decay is present, the types of bacteria that cause bad breath increase. Be sure to visit your dentist for a complete check up that includes a periodontal examination. Keeping your mouth as clean as possible helps eliminate bacteria. In fact, it is valuable to consider this cleaning process as "full - mouth disinfection," focusing on all areas where bacteria may reside. This "disinfection" includes thorough brushing, proper use of dental floss, mouth rinse, and cleaning the tongue.

ROOT CANAL ENDODONTICS

Root Canal Endodontics

Inside your tooth's hard outer shell (enamel) is a nourishing pulp of blood vessels, lymph vessels and nerves. They can be found inside the tooth in a so called "canal". (marked red- brown) Deep tooth decay or injury can cause serious damage and infection to the pulps nerves and vessels and cause them to swell up. Since they are encapsulated inside the tooth and there is no space for them to swell up, extreme pressure and pain are the consequences. Dental pain is unlike any other pain and very unpleasant.

A root canal, also known as endodontic treatment, cleans out the infected nerve and canals and replaces the organic material with an inert filling.

Some indications of the need for root canal treatment may be:
• Spontaneous pain or throbbing
• Pain while biting or chewing
• Sensitivity to hot and cold

Severe decay or injury that causes an abscess (infection) in the bone surrounding the tooth. The tooth will not heal by itself. The infection and inflammation at this point is irreversible. Without treatment, infection will spread and the bone around the tooth will begin to degenerate. Pain usually worsens until one is forced to seek emergency dental attention. The only alternative is usually extraction of the tooth, which can cause surrounding teeth to shift crookedly, resulting in a bad bite. Though an extraction is cheaper, the space left behind will require an implant or a bridge, which can be more expensive than root canal therapy. If you have the choice, it's always best to keep your original teeth.

So if you have any dental pain, don’t wait. A cavity pain typically comes and goes away and people have a tendency to ignore it. When the pain comes back, it usually is a very painful, throbbing pain, wakes you up at night and is painful without any stimulus. This means that not the cold ice tee or the hot chocolate or the food you are chewing causes the pain but it constantly hurts.

As a dentist with a holistic belief, I try to minimize the use of antibiotics as much as possible. Antibiotics do help but should not be used routinely but left only very dangerous situations. As described above, the pressure inside a canal can lead to extreme pain. In such case the dentist would drill a little hole on the chewing surface to gain access to the canal. The nerve pressure is now able to exit and the pressure will go away as soon as the canal is open.

The pain goes away immediately and the patient will fell a world of differences the moment they leave the office. The canal is done left open and only temporary closed with a cotton pellet. This has another advantage as you can avoid taking drugs because oxygen kills the anaerobic bacteria inside the canal. That means this bacteria inside the canal will only live and multiply in the absence of oxygen. These anaerobic bacteria die upon contact with air. Pretty neat, isn’t it.

To compliment the treatment, we use a very natural and organic irrigation and flush the inside canal with this solution. The solution is a mix of water and oxygen (H2O2) but is much more potent because of the O2 nature of the oxygen, compare to O (one oxygen molecule) only. Another holistic way to kill the bacteria inside the canal without the use of drugs or antibiotics is the use of a laser. A laser kills all bacteria inside the canal. Last but not least ozone can kill bacterias very effectively as ozone is pushed inside the canal and - like the irrigation with H2O2 - gets the job done without the use of harmful drugs .

Please call today if you experience any dental pain, would you ?

A rubber dam is placed during a root canal procedure to isolate the tooth from harmful bacterias entering the canal during a root canal.