Meth Mouth

There is a drug out there known as Meth.

Its not good for a whole boat load of reasons.

But seeing as how I am a dentist I will focus on the dental problems.

The first problem is that Meth causes your salivary glands to stop producing spit.

This may not seem like a big thing, but it is.

Just imagine if your tear ducts stopped producing tears.

Your eyes would dry out in a big hurry.

Dry eyes would be painful and damage would begin to occur.

Same thing with teeth.

Dry teeth will end up being painful and damaged teeth.

(Early meth use)

The next problem is that Meth will make a person grind their teeth.

Scientists really aren't sure why but they have seen it enough to know that it happens.

Grinding of brittle dry teeth will cause fractures to begin happening.

(Moderate Meth use)

Finally Meth will cause people to just not care anymore.

And when you really don't care about your teeth you really don't

take care of them and you really don't care eat of drink anymore either.

The black spots on the gums are what's left of the teeth.

They have either rotted, been broken down to, the gums.

(Severe Meth use)

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Teeth Whitening

Teeth whitening is a very hot topic these days.

It seems as though everybody and their dog is offering to have your

teeth whitened for life, by tomorrow.

So what is real and what is hype?

As a disclaimer let me just say that tooth whitening can be accomplished successfully with ANY of these methods and that the following is based on fact with my opinion thrown in for flavor.

There are basically 3 ways to whiten your teeth.

#1 With the whiteners you buy in the stores.

This includes strips, trays, paint on stuff, etc.

Couple of things to consider here. The strength of the bleach has to be over the counter strength which is going to be less then bleach you can get form your dentist. Its like buying Tylenol from the store vs getting Lortab from the dentist. Next is the way the bleach is delivered. Below is a picture of a bleaching strip. Since this strip is sold to everyone it then, by nature, fits no one. Administering bleach to the masses can be a very inexact science that could lead to burned gums or uneven bleaching of the teeth.

#2 Is custom trays made by your dentist and you do the bleaching at home.

This way of bleaching has a lot of up side.

First the strength of bleach is prescription strength which will allow you to bleach faster. Second while bleaching faster it is still slow enough to stop when you begin feeling too much sensitivity. Lastly the trays are made specifically for you. They will fit no one else and thus deliver the bleach right to where it is needed.

#3 In office light whitening.

This option is nice because it is the fastest. But there are some draw backs. The machines to do the bleaching are expensive so the cost must be passed on the the patient. Next, you can't stop bleaching when you begin to feel sensitive. You will lay back being one shade and be several shades lighter when you sit up. If you happen to have lightened up too much and your teeth are very sensitive to even breath you are kind of out of luck.

So again, there are probably many of you reading this that have gotten your teeth whitened by any of the ways just mentioned and it has worked well for you. And that is great. I personally have chosen to offer only the 2nd option in my office as I feel it is the best bang for the buck and offers the least chance of complications for my patients.

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What are dental implants?

The teeth that you see in your mouth are connected to you by the root of the tooth.

An implant is simply replacing the natural root with an artificial one and then attaching a tooth to the new artificial one.

Implants can replace single teeth, multiple teeth, or be the way of attaching a loose denture in the mouth with a more firm grip.

Almost anyone is a candidate for implants. Certain medical conditions and drugs that people are taking may present problems but other then that implants are getting to be a pretty universal from for replacing missing teeth.

Most insurances cover implants. Occasionally there are some insurances that are still in the dark ages and don't cover implants so you need to check with your particular company first.

There is no dental specialty that is in charge of placing implants. They are done by general dentists, periodontists, and oral surgeons. Just make sure that the person placing your implants can show you some before and after pictures of work they have done and then can adequately explain the procedure you will be going through so that you will fell comfortable with what will be happening in your mouth.

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Are pacifiers bad?

Well, like most things, the answer is ............ it depends.

Sucking is a very natural and calming thing for a baby to do.

I have given each and every one of my 5 kids a pacifier.

None of them are delayed in their teeth coming in, have any speech problems, or had any thumb sucking problems due to using a pacifier.

There are some obvious thing you should be concerned with.

If you use a clip and a cord to keep the pacifier attached to your child's clothes make sure the cord is short enough that can't choke the baby.

Once your child gets to kindergarten make sure that they only use the pacifier at home. Being known as the only kid that had a pacifier in kindergarten could seriously damage your child's chances at getting asked to junior prom.

Well, what about thumb sucking, you may ask.

That my friends, is a whole different story.

We will talk about that tomorrow.

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Impacted wisdom teeth II.

So you are afraid to get your wisdom teeth out?

And the avenue you have chosen to avoid this surgery is to leave them in.

Here is just one example of what can happen if you chose to do that.

What you have on the right is an x-ray of an angled wisdom tooth that is trying to come through the tissue.

It was trying so hard in fact that it dug a hole right into the side of the tooth next to it.

So not only does the wisdom tooth need to come out but now the other tooth needs to come out as well.

If this were to repeat itself in your mouth 4 times (once for every wisdom tooth) you would need to go through 8 extractions instead of 4.

Still think its a good idea NOT to take out your wisdom teeth?!

Didn't think so.

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Stop Sipping!!!

We see it all the time.

People coming into the office with with their teeth hurting.

I tell them that they have a ton of cavities and they tell me that that is impossible.

Since nothing is impossible I ask them why they think that.

They tell me its because they only drink 1 can of soda pop a day.

I tell them that that's not so bad and that lots of people have a soda at some point during the day.

I then ask them how long it takes them to drink it.

They tell me that they sip on it throughout the day and that it takes them about 4 hours to finish off a can.

Here in lies our problem.

Cavities caused by soda happen due to the time that the teeth are exposed to the sugar and not the amount of sugar ingested.

If I drank an entire 2 liter of Mountain Dew for breakfast and my patient only had 1 can on Mountain Dew but it took him 4 hours to drink his can, who do you think would be worse off?

If you said the guy drinking the can then you are starting to catch on.

Although my sugar content is higher and I may experience more symptoms throughout my body my teeth are much better off. I get the sugar in my mouth and then get it out and I am done. The person who sips on that one can for hours at a time has sugar covering their teeth all the whole time they are sipping. So less sugar but more tooth exposure.

Moral of the story is DO NOT SIP!

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Tongue Piercing

You see it all the time.

People with barbells sticking out their tongue.

You may even have one yourself.

But is it safe?

In a word...... NO!

Can you feel a stray hair on your arm? Probably not.

Can you feel a stray hair on your leg? Again, probably not.

Can you feel a hair in your mouth? Absolutely.

The reason for this is because the tongue has more nerves contained in it then almost any other part of your entire body. It is very sensitive and very precise. Therefore, ramming a large steel rod through it will certainly damage these nerves. Piercing the tongue can lead to loss in ability to feel your tongue and ability to taste food.

Besides loss of taste and feel there are also other dangers.

Since the mouth can not be kept sterile, as other parts you may pierce,

the chance of infection is greater. The above picture is a very nicely infected tongue.

Cracking your teeth on a tongue ring is also a very real concern. I have treated many cracked teeth from people biting down on tongue rings.

Want another reason?

How about this one.

If you catch your tongue ring on something. You can actually pull it out of your tongue and cause, this......

Look Fun????

My suggestion, DON'T DO IT!!!

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Electric Toothbrushes

Okay, because you asked.

When the topic of electric toothbrushes comes up there are two big questions that I always get asked.

Questions.

#1 Do I need one.

#2 Which one is the best.

Answers

#1 No. You do not need an electric tooth brush. If you are a diligent brusher then it does not really matter if your tooth brush uses batteries for power or uses you for power. The results can be the same. This is not to say that the results will be the same in the same amount of time. Because they wont. The manual tooth brush will take a little longer but it is capable of doing the same thing.

# 2 This question is like asking which car is the best. Well, a Ferrari is the fastest and looks the best, but a Toyota Camry will do you just fine. The same is true for tooth brushes. There are tooth brushes out there that can run you over $300. They have timers to tell you when to stop. they will talk to you and tell you to switch sides of the mouth. They have pressure sensors to tell you if you are brushing too hard. And they look really cool. However, the electric toothbrushes that cost $10 can do just as much for cleaning your teeth. The whole idea behind cleaning your teeth is just to get the bristles to remove the plaque. Little timers are nice but if you are capable of getting your teeth clean without a timer then what is the point.

So what do I use?

I use an Oral B electric. I like the way it feels when it cleans and it seems to work well for me. My wife uses a Sonicare, and can't stand my Oral B. Conversely I have used her Sonicare and that thing drives me up the wall. So there is a lot to be said here about personal preference.

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A little history of dentistry.

As with most things, the first try is not always a success.

The same can be said about dentistry. The earliest writings we have on the subject are from about 5000 B.C. Way back then all we have is people speculation on what in the world was the cause of a toothache.

Later on, about 300 B.C. we start to get treatments for toothaches listed. Even such noted historical figures as Hippocrates and Aristotle got in on the act.

In the old west it is recorded that the barber doubled as the local dentist. The word "dentist" being very loosely used as most of what the barber did was to simply take teeth that had gone bad.

Personally I can't imagine what it must have been like. I know how my teeth feel after just one day of not brushing them. What must they have felt like after not brushing them for YEARS?!

Oh well, over 7,000 years after the first recorded ideas of dentistry we now have amazing new technologies that make going to the dentist a

whole lot better then it used to be.

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People often ask about veneers. Their number one concern is what exactly happens to the teeth that the veneers will be placed on. This video will hopefully clear that up.

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1/2 off brain surgery!

Who in their right mind would answer an ad for 1/2 off of a brain surgery?

Probably no one.

Why?

Because you want it done right. Your brain is important.

Whenever people are getting major surgeries done, you always hear them say that they got the best doctor they could find. You never hear them say that they got the cheapest.

So why do people jump so quickly for a cut rate dentist?

Please do not misunderstand. I realize that your teeth are not as important as your brain. However, if you like having a nice smile and if you do not want to have problems down the road with the same teeth over and over again you may want to look for the quality instead of the freebie.

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Dental Implants

When we talk to people about implants there is a lot of hesitation because people really do not know what is involved in getting an implant. If your tooth is already gone then its really very simple. If you still have a tooth in the spot where the implant needs to go then things can be a bit more challenging but its still not too bad. Here is a little, 30 second, video that shows an implant procedure.

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When should may baby get his/her first tooth?

There is nothing much cuter then an infants big gummy smile. After a while however, parents start to ask the question, "When are my babies first teeth going to start coming in"?

Below is a chart showing not only when the first teeth will come in but when they will come out as well. The first tooth to come in, is typically, the lower central incisor. The last should be the back molars. A quick way to check and see that your youngster has all of their teeth in is to count them. A full set of baby teeth will equal out to be 10 teeth on the top and a matching 10 teeth on the bottom.

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Painless teeth replacement

"Painless tooth replacement"

"Teeth in a day"

We have all heard these claims and typically they are accompanied by promises that the doctor can, almost magically, take out all of your teeth, put implants in, and place crowns on the teeth

with little to no pain. They may even show the patient biting into an apple right after the procedure.

In very rare and unique circumstances this MAY be the case. But for the other 99.7% of us, its not. anytime you have surgery of ANY kind you need to heal. The picture below shows a site where a tooth was recently extracted. This site will be very tender for several days while the body heals. That's just the way it works. Blood will rush to the site of any injury thus creating inflammation (swelling) and moderate discomfort.

If implants are placed that too will cause some type of discomfort.

To say that teeth can be extracted and implants placed and that you can begin eating right away with no pain whatsoever is just not true. What is typically happening is that these people are trying to suck you in and then sell you on something else.

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Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

There has been a lot of educational material put out there about not putting your kids to bed with bottles, or sippy cups, full of juice, milk, soda, or whatever. But it still happens on a pretty regular basis. The last thing that should touch your child's tooth before they go to bed is a glass of water, a toothbrush, or a pacifier.

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Double implant case

Great Case.

Female. Lost 3 teeth on upper left side. 4th tooth broken at gum line.

Placed 2 implants.

Extracted broken tooth after implants placed.

Went very smooth.

Tons of stability upon placement.

Will update when crowns go in.

WWW.DRELLISONLINE.COM

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What's a root canal?

For those of you needing a root canal, or those of you that have already had one, but have no idea what a root canal is, this video is for you. The posts and the crown are not always needed but other then that this video is pretty good.

Some of you may have heard horror stories associated with this procedure. The problem most people have while getting a root canal is that they do not get it done by a bald dentist.

That makes all the difference in the world : )

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Dental video clips

Here some of my all time favorite dental video clips.

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The black line

I get asked all the time, by patients, why they have a little black line at the base of my crown. The answer to that is because your crown is made partially of metal. It is called a porcelain fused to metal, or PFM, crown. The metal is what gives the crown the strength and the porcelain is what is layered over the top to make it look like a tooth.

That little black line that people see is the metal sneaking a peek out from underneath the crown. And unfortunately that little line will never go away.

In Dr. Ellis' office we do our very best to keep up on the latest technology. This includes crowns that are made of NO METALS whatsoever. This way there will never be a little black line showing through.

These new crowns are called Bruxzir crowns and they are made completely out of zirconium. This substance is incredibly strong and does not present the problem of older PFM crowns with there black lines or chipping of porcelain.

Technology is moving fast and we are trying to to stay up with it. Come in and talk to us today about a beautiful new Bruxzir crown.

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Snoring problem???

Most snoring can be linked to displacement of the lower jaw during sleep.

This new product has only been on the market for a little while now.

Its function is to reposition the lower jaw in such a way that

snoring will be diminished if not done away with all together.

Fabricated by your dentist in just one appointment.

Reports from patients is wonderful.

Stop that snoring, TODAY!

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