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We have now installed earphones which are connected to our televsions in the operatories. Many patients have indicated to us that the sound of dental equipments is often a reason for their anxiety. Until someone invents noiseless dental handpieces, however, we offer our patients personal headphones connected to our entertainment movie system which will significantly reduce ambient noise.

Perhaps in the future this product will become commercially available and when it does, Metro Dental Care will for certain provide it for our patients.

The Doors Are Now Open! Harvest Hills Dentists Accepting New Patients and Emergencies

The doors to Metro Dental Care Harvest Hills have now opened! We thank everyone who had dropped by or called for appointments. We really appreciate the opportunity our new patients have given us to be their dentists and really hope our services will benefit the community.

The grand opening will be on July 25th, at which time there will be full-time staffing to accomodate walk-ins as well as appointments. Until then we are appointment-only, but if you happen to drop by when Dr Lam or Dr Chen is in the office we would love to meet you and show you around. We are sure the kids would love the gaming/play stations in the lobby and the ceiling mounted tv's playing cartoons in the treatment rooms.

As always, we will try our best to accomodate same-day emergencies. Call 403-262-2627 for appointments.

An Alternative to Local Anesthesia as You Know It

For many people, getting 'the needle' is the thing they least look forward to when they visit the dentist. However, local anesthetic is often an essential component of successful, comfortable dental procedure. The days of being a patient before the invention of anesthetics could be quite horrific indeed!

At Metro Dental Care, we offer an alternative method of local anaesthetic delivery utilizing the STA (Single Tooth Anesthesia) Unit. It differs from 'traditional' local anesthetic delivery in that instead of the dentist pumping the anesthetic, the flow is instead controlled by a computer. Since most discomfort during anesthesia is actually from pressure and rate flow from the anesthetic fluid rather than the actual penetration of the needle, using a computer to control the flow rate of the anesthetic so that it is slow and constant could result in a different experience. We offer both traditional and computer-controlled anesthetic options to our patients at no additional expense.

To learn more about the device and patient feedbacks, please visit the following:
http://milesci.com/sta_patients.html

Hollywood Dental Works

This blog is intended to provide dentistry-related information to the general public. However, it may be appropriate to post some more light-hearted and entertaining, though still dentistry related, topics once in a while.

Today's post is a sampling of Hollywood celebrities' before/after dental work shots.

*Disclaimer: Metro Dental Care did not render any of the treatments on the individuals listed below.

To learn more about cosmetic dental procedures, please visit http://www.cda-adc.ca/en/oral_health/procedures/index.asp.

Zac Efron had his diastema (gap between his teeth) closed. Diastemas could be closed with braces, composite fillings or veneers. However other celebrities such as David Letterman and Madona are still proudly sporting theirs.

Katherine Heigl had Invisalign orthodontic treatment for her slightly retroclined central incisors.

'I got them because of this wonky tooth,' she told In Style. 'It's awesome because every two weeks you switch to a new retainer. Pretty much the perfect way to describe Invisalign is Netflix for your teeth'

Demi Moore possibly had a combination of tooth whitening and veneer works?

Catherine Zeta-Jones had some prosthodontic work done on her upper anterior teeth, either crowns or veneers.

It was interesting doing the research for this post. While to the trained eye it's apparent that some of the aforementioned celebrities have had some sort of dental work done, some came as a surprise.

Whatever nature did not give you, as in the case of the sampled celebrities, cosmetic dentistry is available to give you that 'Hollywood smile' if you so desire. However, there is nothing wrong with dental imperfection. A healthy, functional smile is the most beautiful smile of them all!

A Quick Guide to Management of Dental Pain

Everyone (dentists included!) has experienced dental pain at one point or another in life. If you're lucky, your friendly neighborhood dentist may just be one phone call away. But what happens if your tooth starts to hurt at midnight on a long weekend and you can not see a dentist right away?

If in addition to tooth pain you are also experiencing facial swelling, fever, and/or difficulty in swallowing or breathing, you need to go to hospital emergency right away for treatment. Though rare, dental infection can lead to airway obstruction which can be fatal.

If swelling and fever are absent and all you have is a sore tooth, there are a couple of steps you can take at home to alleviate the pain. Depending on the etiology of pain, hot or cold packs on the outside of the face or holding hot or cold water in your mouth may help. Try either hot or cold and see which one works. If both hot and cold make the pain worse, make sure your foods and fluids are lukewarm instead. It is very important to keep hydrated and take in food despite the toothache so your body can keep fighting the infection and also you will be less likely to feel unwell due to low blood sugar when you are at the dental office.

One other important aid is pain medication. It is often easier to control pain at the onset of pain rather than taking the medication only when you can not tolerate the pain any longer.

The first medication of choice would be some type of anti-inflammatory or NSAIDS, such as ibuprofen (e.g. Advil, Motrin) since most dental pains are inflammatory in origin. If you are unable to take NSAID due to history of GI bleeding or allergy, acetaminophen with or without codeine may be the second choice.

If you have any concerns regarding potential allergies to medications, you can ask your doctor for tests. We all know it is not easy to find a family doctor, but the newly opened Oasis Medical Centre is right across the street from Metro Dental Care and they may be accepting new patients.

If your dentist or doctor has prescribed an antibiotic for you, don't expect it to work right away. Depending on the type of antibiotics prescribed, it can take up to 48 hours to kick in.

At the end of the day, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Catching a potential problem with a tooth and treating it early will help you avoid that midnight toothache.

Removing Your Wisdom Teeth: It could be a smart move!!

Wisdom teeth removal is often a rite of passage for teens and young adults. Older individuals are often surprised when dentists suggest their wisdom teeth to be removed because "they have never bothered me!". However, regardless of age, there are many reasons why wisdom teeth may warrant removal and they can be either roughly categorized as
1. Necessary: Wisdom teeth MUST be removed to restore health. Existing wisdom teeth may be decayed or the gum tissues around the teeth may be inflamed (pericoronitis), or the orientation of the wisdom teeth may be causing damage to adjacent tooth or periodontia.

2. Preventive: The removal of wisdom teeth will prevent development of serious pathology in the future. This is particularly true for wisdom teeth that have only extruded partly through gum tissue or partially impacted due to risk for pericoronitis. However even if the wisdom teeth have fully erupted, if one can not brush or floss them properly, removal may still be considered to prevent future decay.

Early removal of wisdom teeth for valid reasons is recommended because a younger body simply heals faster than an older body. Further, the extraction will be simpler for both the dentist and patient if done before the roots of the teeth are fully formed.

Before wisdom teeth extraction a panoramic radiograph is taken to evaluate tooth morphology and its orientation. The dentist will also perform an intraoral exam to assess access to surgical site and discuss with you the benefits and possible risks of the procedure. Different sedation options may also be offered.

The Mayo Clinic has good information on this subject for readers interested in more details.

Visit Our Brand-New Website!!

Apologies to anyone who had trouble accessing our main website at www.metrodentalcare.ca

We had changed our hosting service as well as updated the looks of our pages. The navigation and content remain relatively the same but we are looking forward to updating the 'Clinic' section very soon when construction has progressed more.

Meanwhile please check for more oral-health related postings here! The next posting will be focused on 'Wisdom Teeth'.

Came across this article in the news another day. Although it's not strictly related to teeth, as dentists we are also concerned with the health of all oral tissues and their impact on systemic health. For instrance, research has shown that individuals with gum disease (periodontitis) are twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery disease.

This article explores the link between musical instruments, oral bacteria, and health:

Article written by Nancy Shute

Playing music in the band is good for kids, but maybe not so much if that
clarinet is a cesspool of bacteria and fungi.

 

That's the provocative suggestion from the Oklahoma State University for
Health Sciences, where researchers found germs galore growing on brass and wind
instruments that were used in high school band programs.

The researchers in Oklahoma City Tulsa swabbed 13 brass and wind
instruments, then rubbed the swabs on petri dishes and waited to see what would
grow. They found 295 different bacteria as well as yeasts and molds. The parts
that musicians put in their mouths were more contaminated than the rest of the
instruments, and the two clarinets showed more contamination than the other
instruments. The results were published in the latest issue of
General Dentistry.
OK, that's gross. But does having bacteria in your bassoon really
pose a health risk?

Yes, says Thomas Glass, a dentist and professor at Oklahoma State who was lead author of the
study. In the past he has tested for pathogens on toothbrushes, dentures, and
athletic mouthguards. So he wasn't too surprised to find gunk growing on band
instruments. "The bacteria can produce local infections in the mouth, in the
gastrointestinal tract, and in the respiratory tract," Glass tells Shots. Molds
can cause allergic reactions, and skin infections are a risk, too, he says.
Glass's study didn't look to see if the high schoolers who played these
grubby instruments had health problems. And there's precious little evidence of
rampant infections associated with practicing "Stars and Stripes Forever."
But a few pulmonologists have reported patients coming in with lung problems.
A letter from 1988 in the journal Chest told the tale of a 67-year-old saxophone
player with a cough and shortness of breath. He was diagnosed with hypersensitivity
pulmonitis from candida, and it turned out the saxophone mouthpiece was contaminated with that fungus. The symptoms disappeared after the musician started washing the instrument's
mouthpiece with soap and water.
More recently, a 48-year-old French saxophonist with inflamed lungs from a
moldy saxophone also got a write-up in Chest. In the same issue last September, a pulmonologist at the University of Connecticut Health Center reported on a 35-year-old
professional trombone player who had been suffering from a cough and
shortness of breath for 15 years. Those symptoms cleared up when the musician
started cleaning his instrument with rubbing alcohol.
Now, we have to point out that the General Dentistry study was sponsored by Dr. Lorenzo Lepore founder of Encore Etc., Inc. It turns out that Lepore is a dentist, and Encore Etc., Inc. is a company he founded to sterilize musical instruments.
When Shots asked Glass if he saw a conflict of interest in that funding,
particularly when he recommends sterilizing instruments with ethylene oxide, the
method used by Encore Etc., Glass said:

We are independent of any conflict of interest. All we have to do in the
article is say how we're funded. That has no impact on us in terms of our
findings.

Ethylene oxide is used to sterilize medical instruments, and it does a very
good job. It's also pretty toxic to humans. So we don't think that you're going
to be cleaning your mellophone at home with this stuff.
Glass does say that instrument cleaning products available at music stores
are probably enough to keep the microbes at bay. (Thanks to the magic of the
Internet, Shots just learned how to give a trombone a nice bath. All you need is soap, a bathtub and some fluffy towels.)
Shots can't help but ask if the good doctor isn't being a wee bit alarmist.
"Alarmist? We worry about that, we always worry about being alarmist," he tells
us. "It's not going to hurt anybody to break down their instrument once a week
and clean it." That, he says, is preventive health.
"Playing a musical instrument has a certain level of hazard," Glass says.
"You can minimize the hazard by being fastidious."

Mouthguards: Life-savers for your pearly whites

Sports is an important part of life for many Canadians. Here in Calgary we are blessed with our proximity to the Rockies and the many types of outdoor sports the open outdoors offers. However, while head injuries have often received media attention and brought on awareness of helmets, dental trauma is often overlooked, even though the health and financial consequences are no small matter. 

Dental trauma is one of the most serious oral health problems in active children and adolescents. One of the most effective ways of preventing dental trauma during physical activity is through a dental mouth guard or sports guard.

Mouth Guards can help prevent:

1. Fractured teeth or jaws
2. Lacerations to the lips and tongue
3. Damage to the bone surrounding teeth

Custom vs Over-the-counter Sports Guards

Over the counter sportsguards purchased in pharmacies are often lower in cost than custom sports guards, but are generally regarded as less effective by oral health professionals. These sports guards usually don’t fit well and therefore tend not to be worn when injuries occur. It's like having a pair of pants that's too tight or loose- it will likely be left in the corner of the closet.

In contrast, custom-made sports guards offer the greatest comfort, fit, durability, and protection against dental injuries. Because it is tailored to your teeth forms and mouth shape, you and/or your children will find it to be non-obtrusive wearing the guards during sporting activities.We can also customize the guard with various colors and logos of your choice!

Who should wear a Sports / Mouth Guard

People who participate in contact sports, in activities where there is a risk of a fall or contact with other players or equipment. People usually accept football or hockey as one of the more riskier sports for injuries to the mouth, yet approximately half of all sports related mouth injuries occur in basketball and baseball.

Mouth guard Storage

After wearing the mouth guard, the mouth guard should be rinsed thoroughly with cold or luke warm water. It should be stored in a plastic container to avoid damage. The use of hot water may distort the mouth guard.


 
Mouth Guards are Cool! 













Missing Teeth...maybe not so cool...

Guide to Your Child's First Visit to the Dentist

New parents often ask, "When should my child first see a dentist?". The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry as well as pediatricians recommend the first visit of your child to the dentist to be at the time when his or her first baby tooth appears and no later by his or her 1st birthday. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that children who are at risk of early childhood cavities visit a pediatric dentist by age 1.

The idea of such early dental visits is still surprising to many new parents. Based on our actual experience, most parents bring in their children only after most of their baby teeth have erupted after 2 years of age. However, often cavities could have developed at that time.

To prevent early childhood cavities, parents first have to find out their child's risk of developing cavities. They also need to learn how to manage diet, hygiene and fluoride to prevent problems.
But cavities aren't all that parents need to learn about their child's dental health. The age 1 dental visit lets parents discuss:

• How to care for an infant's or toddler's mouth
• Proper use of fluoride
• Oral habits, including finger and thumb sucking
• Ways to prevent accidents that could damage the face and teeth
• Teething and milestones of development 

Also just as important, it is a good idea for your children to be exposed and become comfortable coming to the dental office, and we achieve that by making their visit to the dentist a fun and non-threatening experience. The benefits of a positive first time dental check-up will have lasting benefits in the future health of a child. For more information please visit Metro Dental Care Harvest Hills

Why do baby teeth needs to be filled?

You're right, baby teeth (also known as deciduous teeth) are really just temporary and most dentists would much rather not touch a fuzzy kid. However, we do have to think about the well being of the permanent (aka adult) teeth that is sitting right underneath that baby tooth waiting to come out.

Structure of baby teeth are much like adult teeth, except they are more fragile. If you look at the diagram from the last entry, the enamal and dentin are much thinner, they are also softer than adult teeth due to degree of mineralization. They have a much larger pulp in comparison. Given all the above, cavities progress much faster in baby teeth compare with adult teeth.

Once cavities (which is really a bacterial infection) reaches the pulp, it can have access to blood stream, or the infection can be localized forming an abcess at the base of the baby tooth which is right against where the adult tooth is. In cases like this you risk having discolouration, malformation etc on the adult teeth. It is hard to predict excatly how the infection will affect the adult tooth until eruption. So we would always fix baby teeth if cavity is shallow or in some cases extract them to prevent this from happening. Another remedy for baby teeth with deep cavity are partial/complete root canals.  It's not always done depending on the situation and also practice philosophy of your dentist. The main goal of this is to keep the baby teeth for as long as possible, so the space for the adult tooth is kept until eruption. It can also provide function (so your child can eat) and esthetic (if it's in the front). Ultimately all treatment goal is to aim to remove the infection which is the most important in any kind of therapy dentists provide.

Aside from this, you probably really do not want your child to be in pain or end up with a systemic infection from a tooth (very rare but possible).

Why do I need a filling?

I've always assumed that patients understand why we recommend fillings until a friend in nursing tells me, "they always say I need fillings even though nothing was hurting".

The answer is because of the structure of the tooth. If you look at the layers, from the outermost there's the enamel, then dentin followed by pulp.
1. Enamel: is mostly composed of mainly inorganic material and has no nerve innervation (so it has no feeling). Cavity starts in the enamel and progress to the deeper layer if left long enough.
2. Dentin: have some sensation because it is connected to the nerve in the pulp by tubules (there's no nerve here but it is connected to nerves in the pulp by some complex mechanism). The closer you are to the pulp the more sensitive it gets. If cavity is shallow and barely into dentin, you may not feel much. The closer it gets to the pulp the more pain and sensitivity you will feel.
3. Pulp: where blood supply and nerve is. It supplies some nutrient to the tooth.

On your exam with the dentist, we try to catch cavities that are still within enamel and dentin by radiographs (X-rays) and tactile sensation (that's the poking most people love). A cavity has to progress to a certain degree before it will show up on the x-rays. X-rays are also the only way for us to see between the teeth. If we do not catch cavities early, when it does reach the pulp, that's when we recommend a root canal or sometimes extraction but that's a topic for another day.

It's actually not a good thing to wait until it hurts to go see a dentist! When it starts to hurt it's usually too late! So try to visit your dentist at least once a year.

Oral health for pregnant women

It had been established that a mother's oral health can impact her baby's teeth and overall health in many ways. Gum diseases (gingivitis and periodontitis) and cavities are both caused by bacteria which effect more than your teeth and gum (just like having a skin infection or an urinary tract infection affected more than just the organ but the whole body). Pregnant women with gum disease have been linked to having an increased risk of preterm birth and low birth weight, which makes babies more susceptible to brain damage, vision, hearing and other problems. So here's a few tips as to how to maintain good oral hygiene during pregnancy

1. Brush and floss twice daily. Continue to use fluoride containing toothpaste

2. Chew Xylitol containing gum.

3. It is best to visit your dentist before you get pregnant especially if you require any work. If it is unavoidable, treatment during 2nd trimester is best during pregnancy. Cleaning is still recommended during pregnancy, best done during 2nd trimester as well. It is best to have all treatment done before you get pregnant just to avoid having an emergency which may require x-ray during your pregnancy. It is important to always advise your dentist that you maybe pregnant.

Having mentioned all that, it is entirely understandable that sometimes, especially during first trimester that nausea can be so severe that the thought of having a toothbrush or the taste of toothpaste makes you want to vomit. In that case I would focus on chewing Xylitol containing gum throughout the day, especially after meals. It is best, if you can only brush once a day that you do it at night rather than in the morning. Or if you have periods during the day when you are least nauseous, brush then. Try switching to a different brand of toothpaste if the one you are using makes you nauseous. If you have to skip brushing and flossing once in a while just to avoid having your meal coming back up, don't worry about it.

If you have any questions, please free feel to contact us here or at our website www.metrodentalcare.ca.


Sources:
AAPD Releases New Perinatal and Infant Oral Health Guidelines. American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. Accessed: July 3, 2009.

Our mission...

Metro Dental Care is a family oriented dental practice that can provide comprehensive dental treatment to your whole family. Our general dentists can provide services in English, French, Cantonese and Mandarin. We will be opening in Summer 2011 in Harvest Hills, Calgary. Please check our blog often as we post update of our construction as well as dentistry related myth/facts that may be interesting to you.