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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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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Impacted wisdom teeth.

When people talk of wisdom teeth stories often surface of friends or family that have had "impacted" wisdom teeth. This word is used as the end all of dental stories. If your wisdom teeth were impacted then everyone feels horribly for you and you are the winner of nightmare dental stories.

Well, we need to dive a little further into this idea of impaction before we anoint anyone as having had the worst dental experience ever.

For you see, not all impactions are the same.

The word impacted simply means, stuck or wedged. If your 2 year old puts their head in between a railing that is too small for them and they can't pull their head out, then technically your child's head is impacted.

Many wisdom teeth become impacted simply because there is not enough room between the back tooth and the jaw bone. If the tooth is in a vertical position, similar to the other teeth, then this is called a vertical impaction. This situation is easily solved by simply shaving a small portion of bone out from around the tooth and allowing the tooth the necessary room to come out.

But what if your tooth is not in a horizontal position?

What if its tipped a little?

What if its tipped a lot?

What if its laying completely on its side!?

As the wisdom tooth tips further and further over it gets harder and harder to take out.

If its laying completely on its side, then my friends, you have what's called a horizontal impaction.

If you happen to have, or had, a horizontal impaction then you may then declare yourself the winner, at your dinner parties, as having the most horrible wisdom teeth at the table.

Below are examples of different types of impactions.

So as you can see.

Not all impactions are the same.

So, if if its going to be bad taking them out then lets just leave them in........ right?

Um...... No. Tune in tomorrow when we will see what can happen if you choose that route.

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But it doesn't hurt?

This is a question we get asked all the time.

"Are you sure I have a cavity. Because it doesn't hurt."

Well, saying that is like saying, "Why do I need to change my oil when my car is running just fine?"

Your car may be running fine and you could save yourself $49.99 by not changing your oil.

However, when you engine seizes up your repair bill is now about $4,000 for a new motor.

You didn't end up saving a lot in the end.

Same is true with teeth and cavities.

you could save yourself the small cost of getting a cavity filled but then when it starts to hurt you will need to get a root canal and a crown. That means that your cost, and your discomfort, will be significantly more.

Save yourself the money and the discomfort.

Get your cavities filled when they are small.

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Dental video clips

Here some of my all time favorite dental video clips.

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Cosmetic Bonding

Just did this case yesterday.

No shots.

No drilling.

30 minutes.

All for the cost of 2 fillings.

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My tooth just tipped over!!!

Most people think that its no big deal to get a tooth taken out. they will say things like "its just one tooth" and "I've got a ton more". Well, you do have a lot more teeth then just that one but this does NOT mean that getting a tooth out will not create many other problems in the mouth.

Some of the problems that can occur are as follows.

#1 The tooth that chews against the tooth you just took out will move up, or down, into the spot just vacated by the extracted tooth. This top tooth is moving down into the mouth.

#2 The teeth right next to the extracted one will begin to tip into the spot just vacated by the extracted tooth. These next two pictures were taken 5 years apart. The patients tooth tipped completely over and needed to be extracted.

Both of these can cause your bite to be thrown completely off and make chewing uncomfortable.

#3 As you chew hard and crunchy foods, they will pinch up against the gums where the tooth used to be.

Moral to the story is this.

If you can fix your teeth, then do it.

If you can't, then get the hole filled where the tooth used to be ASAP.

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The Cosmetic Dentist Myth

Here is a little video I put together.

Its called, "The Myth of the Cosmetic Dentist"

Enjoy

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Just Gross

Probably the grossest thing in all of dentistry, to me, is meth mouth. Years of methamphetamine can rot a persons teeth like nothing you have ever seen.

ENJOY!!!

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Halloween Candy

As we are coming up on Halloween it seems only appropriate that we discusses if it is okay to let your kids eat their Halloween candy?

Absolutely YES!!!

As long as the eating of the candy is done in the proper way. After we eat anything (bread, eggs, cheese, etc.) our mouth's will produce extra saliva. This saliva is secreted in an attempt to neutralize the acids that are being produced by the bacteria that live in our mouth's. These bacteria are feed off of the food that we consumed. Typically a person's salivary rate will return to normal in about 15 minutes and at that point the acids attacking your teeth are back to manageable levels. A good brushing and flossing will then get your teeth the rest of the way to being clean.

Therefore, the proper way to have your kids eat all of that candy would be to let them eat their candy for about 10 minutes or so after dinner. Once they have had their little treat send them to brush and floss for the night. Doing this will allow them to eat their candy. Allow you to look like a cool parent. And present only a very slim chance, if any, of your child getting any cavities from their Halloween haul.

The thing NOT to do would be to let them keep the bag in their room and have a piece here or there all day long. This will keep the sugar on their teeth all day and the salivary glands will never get a chance to catch up. And since they will not brush after every piece of candy they will eat the acids produced by the bacteria will have much more time to do damage to the teeth before being brushed away.

So go ahead. Let the kids have their candy. Just make sure its in short spurts and that a good brushing and flossing follows.

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