Do I really require twice a year cleanings?

            This is a question asked sometimes by "self paying " patients. They are worried bout the costs of two check ups and cleanings per year. Although no one "needs" two cleanings a year ( I mean, after all it's not a life or death decision), most dentists recommend this as our standard recall schedule.                     

                That's because we feel this schedule allows us and our patients a good chance of avoiding many dental problems and helps prevent bone loss that if left unchecked can cause their patients to lose teeth. With the cost of a single tooth implant somewhere between 20000 to 50000 , not going twice a year to your dentist might not save  money over the long haul ( Sometimes cheap is expensive and expensive is cheap?).

          Most people understand the importance of having oil changes at the frequency their car manufacturers recommend but sometimes this same logic isn't as convincing  where their teeth are concerned. It should be pointed out that taking care of ones teeth is probably more important than car maintenance. A  car can be replaced with a newer and better model, but really teeth really can not.                     Fortunately  missing teeth can be replaced with dentures, fixed bridges and implants, but these approximations  are not truly as versatile as ones own teeth .

                      Teeth that are well cared for both at home and by the dentist can last a lifetime! Why not "get with the program" and have twice a year cleanings? 

Why Dental Diagnosis are sometimes In-Exact.

              Even after after taking x-rays and performing a thorough clinical examination of a patient in pain, it is not always possible to make a definitive diagnosis in just one visit. Sometimes there are multiple possible causes for a patients discomfort. Often a patient having pain originating from one quadrant has multiple restorations and more than one can be  experiencing pain.

             Just last week a patient came in after a trip to Chennai complaining of pain. She hadn't slept all night. My clinical examination showed that the pain was coming mostly the area around lower back tooth , which had previously had a root canal, post and crown. The mesial papilla of the tooth  was swollen and painful. It had a pocket of 5-7 mm, and No drainage.  Clearly her pain could be due to a failing root canal or a fracture of one of her roots or also because of side teeth fillings. The x-rays taken were non conclusive.
                     To make the diagnosis more complicated the Patient had a bad cold and throat infection and fever. So the pain could have been worsened by Sinusitis or general malaise of the patient, which would definitely get better within 2-3 days with medication.

             I placed the patient on Antibiotics and it was decided that the best course of treatment was to do nothing more for the present but to speak with her in the following week to see if she was experiencing any improvement. If there was no improvement he could then check her again to see whether there was an actual tooth problem that required treatment.

                  Although patients in pain often want immediate relief, sometimes the best way to handle  a problem is to do nothing. This is especially true when the dentist is not sure what is causing the problem and there is a possibility that the symptoms will go away if the patient is given enough time. If the problem persists for more than a week or two , the patient should come back to the dentist in order to have him better diagnose the cause of the symptoms and often the source of the problem may become more apparent if given additional time.

What are the best ways to maintain a healthy mouth?

This article attempts to explain some of the habits that people can develop that will help insure the ongoing health of their mouths. I will list my top ten list. Most of the these are no brainers, but still i see people not following them but here goes.
1.Take responsibility for your mouth!
2.Brush and floss your teeth on a daily basis
3.Schedule regular checkups and cleanings at the dentist
4.  Ask the hygienist or dentist to check your brushing and flossing technique
5.Do not chew on bones and ice cubes 
6.Wearing a night guard is usually recommended for patients.
7. Refrain from excessive drinking of carbonated sodas
8.Diet plays a large role in keeping our teeth healthy.
9.Do not wait until you have pain to visit your dentist
10.Find a good dentist (meee) and try to stick with them

Clearly there are many additional habits that play a role, including ., not smoking, and controlling acid reflux, I invite readers to add to this list with their own suggestions in the comment section.

"If nothing hurts me my mouth must be OK, right?"

               This is a line of reasoning I hear from patients at my dental office too often. The patient is usually explaining why they have waited so long to come in and they explain that they assumed nothing was wrong since they had no pain. 

              Unfortunately most dental problems don't hurt until they are rather advanced .Most often dental interventions are best performed at the beginning of the problem when they can't be taken care more easily and inexpensively. 

             Sometimes by the time the patient becomes aware of a problem it is too late for the dentist to come up with a "simple fix". If a small cavity is detected a dentist can easily repair the tooth with a small filling, but a tooth with a large cavity may require a root canal or a crown or even an extraction. 

              Early detection of dental problems is key to keeping your mouth healthy and happy and frequent cleanings and check-ups allow dentists to achieve this worthwhile goal!  

          A HEALTHIER MOUTH FOR HEALTHIER YOU!!!  


For details please go to www.dentalclinicnoida.in   

Some Common Queries

Continuing with the common problems that patients have.. 

Today i have decided to come out with Root Canal Problems...

DOES ROOT CANAL HURT?

         This is the most common question that i am asked from everyone.. including Non Patients also.. and when i say it doesnt.. Patients become all the more suspicious..:)

 Root Canal Doesnt Hurt... Period... 

                  With proper anesthesia root canals can be a pain free procedure. Most teeth respond to regular local anesthesia injections. For Maxillary (upper teeth) dentists usually employ a combination of buccal infiltration and a palatal injection. For Mandibular teeth(lower teeth)a mandibular or mental block is used.

               Some teeth do seem to be hypersensitive at the time that root canal is started and patients still can report some sensitivity when a dentist attempts to access the pulp chamber. When this happens I sometimes use an additional intrapulpal injection in order to achieve complete anesthesia. Usually this injection does the trick for my patient and their endodontic procedure can be completed without further discomfort.

Can Successfully treated Root canal tooth experience occasional Pain/ Tenderness?

            Sometimes root canal treated teeth, that we consider a success, do have some "low grade inlammation ". The teeth are not infected but are not entirely without tenderness.

          Another possible explanation of continued symptoms it that some teeth have a small undetected crack and heavy chewing may cause some small movement of the the crack.

         If symptoms are disturbing sometimes a retreatment of the root canal can cause the tooth to become less symptomatic. After all, most of our check radiographs are two dimensional and do not show the root canal system as it acutally is. Small discrepencies in the 3-D fill also may be responsible for symptoms.

          Also for these types sometimes we do have an additional sitting or two.. But normally Root Canals are generally done in single Sittings.

Do ask me If any query on Dental problems is there... Would like to help it out.. 

Why Regular Teeth cleaning is Important....

A simple talk with a friend of mine led me to write this for all of you... 

               The most important problem in the field of dentistry is the lack of awareness combined with the high costs... I cannot reduce the costs and believe me theres a direct relation between the quality of the treatment and the costs.... This blog and this article is a simple effort to explain why teeth cleaning and a regular dental check up is important...

            Practically every one of us wants to maintain great and wholesome teeth. Nevertheless, we still can’t evade oral plaque buildup and tartar regardless of how great we’re in taking good care of out oral and dental care wellness. Should you still feel that you simply teeth are not that clean in spite of typical brushing, you can always seek for a Professional Dental Check up. Professional dental practitioners use several methods to make sure that the teeth are in leading shape.

           Teeth cleaning could be regarded as as one of the most well-liked procedures becoming performed in a dental care clinic. Should you be doing the simple dental care care like teeth cleaning and flossing, it does not mean that you are already safe. If your teeth are misaligned, there are probabilities that there are corners, spaces and parts which can’t be gotten to by the bristles of a tooth brush.

            Teeth cleaning process is very crucial and very simple and should be performed following the assistance of a dentist. Generally, there’s seated oral plaque buildup as well as other food debris which can’t be removed when you brush. These, together with bacteria as well as other harmful pathogens can cause gum troubles and swollen gum around tooth. Gum and teeth troubles should be minimized and treated as soon as achievable to prevent larger troubles. 

          Also If you can get your regular teeth cleaning done you can actually save yourself from almost 75% of the dental problems... and so please go in for a regular dental check up every 6 months and also dental cleaning of teeth atleast once in a year... 

        Teeth cleaning is often performed to folks with poor oral wellness. If the dentist sees that you simply have the possibility to create periodontal(gum) diseases, teeth cleaning will probably be very much required.

A Periodontal case

A Male pt aged 46 yrs came to us with a problem of swelling in his Lower right Back tooth region.. Pt had a history of a previous flap surgery with bone grafting done around 4 yrs back.. On examination he had deep pockets generalised, expecially in the molar areas.. we had an OPG of 2009 and we again advised for a latest OPG.. and this is wat we got...

OPG - 2009

OPG - 2011

This is wat we did for the Right Lowers for the Patient..

We did a Root Resection for the patient... the tooth is Grade I mobile but it is stable and we r reviewing it closely...
This photo is at the end of 2 weeks of the procedure.
After 1 yr the tooth is still in a very good condition..
Heres an Xray after 1 yr of the procedure..

This a great way to save teeth if the patient is willing to go the long way and if he trusts the Dentist..

3 Common Causes of Teeth Grinding

When someone is suffering from teeth grinding they clench their teeth unconsciously, especially while sleeping. This disease or habit is both noticeable in children as well as in adults. The latter group is given more attention than the former because it is believed that children have milk (i.e temporary) teeth. It is adults that are usually the group that is the major concern of the dentists and other professionals that have to do with this type of teeth issues because their teeth are permanent. If care is not taken a sufferer can grind away the outer covering of the teeth almost completely. This result, I want to believe you will agree with me, is not good in health and socially for the affected person.

1. Stress

Stress is a cause of 'Bruxism' (teeth grinding) that is regarded as one of the most common causes. Most doctors are of the belief that stress is a primary cause of this teeth problem especially during sleep. Stress is most likely to disrupt a persons sleep cycle. When this disruption of ones sleeping cycle occur the affected person might end up clenching their teeth unconsciously and intermittently while sleeping. Because this explanation is the most common research is being carried out extensively on this area to find out more facts

2. Aggressive Personality

This cause is related to frustration and suppressed anger which represents another cause of this disease or habit. This has a cause that involves enormous emotions in the form of expressed anger. The person concerned here lets out his frustration and anger towards their intended subject. This person might unconsciously expressing teeth clenching in the process

3. Abnormal Teeth Alignment

When the lower and upper teeth are not properly in alignment with we have a situation called Malocclusion. This is a physical cause of teeth grinding.

The abnormal alignment of the teeth in this situation usually results in involuntary grinding of the teeth when they make contact. Though this is a realistic cause of this dental problem, or habit, clinical studies is yet to confirm it