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.