Tuesday, July 17th, 2018
One of the most common fears in North America is the fear of dentists. Up to a fifth of the population reports some level of anxiety associated with the dentist’s office. And while most people can bear down and overcome their fear, many of us can hardly even contemplate making a trip for even the most basic procedures or maintenance appointment. While there are many recommended techniques for handling your dental fears, some patients do not respond to the most caring dentist or psychological treatments. For these individuals, sedation dentistry might be their only hope. Sedation dentistry relies on the use of different pharmacological agents in order to help patients experience a more calming and relaxing dental appointment. Various levels of sedation may be used, depending on the level of fear experienced by the patient. For the most part, dentists want to use minimal levels of sedation that can reduce levels of anxiety while allowing patients to respond to verbal and physical cues. More moderate levels of sedation bring deeper levels of relaxation but limit responses only to purposeful stimulation. Finally, in the deepest levels of sedation, the patient will essentially be unconscious and unresponsive to verbal, physical, and purposeful stimulation.
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Friday, July 13th, 2018
Maintaining good oral habits is very important to oral health. Teeth, like other body parts, requires regular maintenance to stay clean and healthy. The best thing to do is to start developing healthy habits from a very young age.
During infancy stage (before the age of 2), the teeth of babies are still rather fragile. Therefore, teeth should be cleaned gently using a damp cloth on a regular basis. When the infant grows older to 2 years old, a tooth brush with soft bristles is highly recommended. As for tooth paste, try not to use products that are meant for adults. These products tend to be too heavy in fluoride. Pediatricians recommend using products that are developed specifically for children. Such products tend to be milder and are more suitable for young children. Also, avoid using fluoride mouth washes for children. Good teeth cleaning habits start from a very young age. For example, you can teach a child to clean his teeth after every meal. Brushing teeth twice a day will be sufficient.
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Tuesday, July 10th, 2018
A gum lift is a dental procedure that involves reshaping the gum line. While this procedure has traditionally been used to treat gum disease, modern applications of the procedure have been developed to address cosmetic concerns associated with excessive gummy smiles or asymmetrical gum lines. Indeed, many patients express concern and embarrassment about a visible gum line when they smile, and a gum lift is a popular solution. A gum lift not only sculpts the gum line, but the procedure can create the appearance of longer and more symmetrical teeth. After all, an aesthetically pleasing smile goes a long way to enhancing your self-esteem. There are many situations where your dentist may recommend a gum lift. In some cases, gums may not recede naturally after a permanent tooth has erupted; your lips may have a natural shape that allows a lot of gum to show; or gum recession may be so extreme that more of your tooth surface is exposed than you would like. Regardless of why you and your dentist have decided that a gum lift is appropriate, the procedure today is more advanced and more common than in the past.
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Friday, July 6th, 2018
A recent study has revealed a possible link between poor dental health and Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK compared the brains of 10 patients with dementia to 10 healthy brain samples. This study found that a type of bacteria that causes gum disease, Porphyromonas gingivalis, was present in four of the brains affected with dementia.
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Tuesday, July 3rd, 2018
What options do you have to whiten a dead tooth? Is it even possible? This is a tricky situation Using whitening treatments to whiten a dead tooth works well for some individuals, while for other people, the results are not quite so successful. The quality of the outcome actually lies in the procedural steps that are taken during this process as well as the method that is chosen to whiten a dead tooth.
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Friday, June 29th, 2018
Many British Columbians suffer from improper or inadequate knowledge about dental care. Dental problems are often easy to prevent but are allowed to continue for too long because people don’t know about them or don’t think these problems will seriously affect their health. If you want to maintain the best health possible, it’s important to know the truth behind these common dental myths.
Tuesday, June 26th, 2018
The wisdom teeth, or third molars, often need to be extracted because there simply isn’t enough room for them to emerge in the average-sized mouth. In most cases, the dental patient needs to see an oral and maxillofacial surgeon for the extraction. Typically, all four molars are removed at the same time. In some instances, the oral surgeon chooses to remove only the wisdom teeth that are impacted and causing problems (crowding and misalignment) for the rest of the teeth. What is the protocol for proper oral hygiene after the surgery? Is brushing teeth after wisdom tooth extraction permitted?
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Tuesday, June 19th, 2018
Useful diagnostic components of annual dental checkups, x-rays, which are also referred to as dental radiographs, are essential to an individual’s oral health. They allow your dentist to see tooth decay, discover cysts or tumors, and identify the causes of pain that you might be experiencing. There are various types of x-rays such as bitewings, panoramic, occlusal, and periapical. Today, digital x-rays are more commonly used than traditional x-ray films. Just how safe are the digital x-rays being used in your dentist’s office?
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Friday, June 15th, 2018
Do your teeth look shorter than you think they should? Does your smile look “gummy” and disproportionate? If you answered yes to these two questions, you might want to take advantage of a cosmetic procedure referred to as a gum lift or gingivectomy. If you want to find out more about how a gum lift can give your smile a boost, continue reading.
What Is a Gum Lift?
A cosmetic procedure, the gum lift reshapes the patient’s gums so that they appear more even and expose more of the teeth. A gum lift is recommended when an overgrowth of gum tissue covers too much of a tooth’s surface.
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Wednesday, June 13th, 2018
Going to the dentist has changed over the last few decades. In the past, patients visited their dental provider for cleanings, fillings, braces, extractions, and dentures. Today, while people can still go in for those procedures, they can also take advantage of a wonderful array of new developments in cosmetic dentistry, a field that promotes a more beautiful smile along with better oral health.
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