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Write to the Dentist !!

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Drpreethis, Sep 8, 2008.

  1. Drpreethis

    Drpreethis Gold IL'ite

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    I am posting a query from the Health Forum so that anyone who stops by here gets to read it.. :)

    Dear Vidya,

    Yellow teeth as I wrote in a blog is mainly because of dentin loss. Which also means the tooth is more suceptible to sensitivity. ( The enamel is the one that protects against sensitivity ). This mainly happens because of wrong brushing.
    Other reasons for discolouration are smoking, pan chewing, certain drugs, flurosis tea / coffee stains and so on.
    The whitening agents available in market are decent enough. But when there is already a loss of dentin applying the agents may lead to sensitivity and pain eventually. It may not be immdte.. but over a period.
    The agents usually contain a percentg of acid which actually bleaches the teeth. Anyone of us do understan that bleach consits of acid. If you hav a badly disclrd teeth then it is advised to visit Dentist. Check what percentage of bleach is required for you and then go about buying it. Sometims in severe smokers a hgher percentage of bleaching is done for whitening. This only because if the stain is on enamel.
    Using the stuff available in market is at one own risk if you ask me. What I would suggest.. dont worry if your teeth looks slightly yellow. Keep them healthy and clean. When you have reached your 50s all that would matter is presence of them and not their look !
    Do not stare at your teeth.. look at it as a part of your face.. this way you will understand wether it suits and goes on well with your face.

    Also the tea / coffee stains can be removed with a simple procedure called
    ' Scaling ' followed by polishing done in the Dental office. There is no acid involved and in that pretext your teeth are cleaned and squeaky !! :thumbsup
     
  2. Ambige

    Ambige Bronze IL'ite

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    I have tooth cavity(tooth decay, black in color with hole inside) on both sides upper and lower jaw and these are the ones before the wisdom teeth. How to prevent it and cure it? I use listerine every day and i'm using colgate. Please suggest.
     
  3. Drpreethis

    Drpreethis Gold IL'ite

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    Hi ,

    First of all let me tell you if you have already noticed a cavity then it means ' damage done ' ! So the only treatment is to get them filled. Now, that could be anything from minimal decay to extensiv. Whatever.. it needs to be filled ! Do not delay even if you feel it is too small.. Trust me, you will end up in pain and spending more later !
    How you could prevent it, probably alongwith the mouthrinse you use.. ensure you brush twice in a day. Gargle your mouth after every meal. Use a floss. Get your teeth checked by a Dentist. See if there are minimal decays and try and get them filled.
    Brush your teeth if you have had any sticky meal . This may look like the usual advices, :) But trust me if you follow it religiously there will be lesser decays. For now, open the yellow pages and quickly zero on your Dentist !! :)

    Take care
     
  4. Young@heart

    Young@heart Silver IL'ite

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    Dear Drpreethis,
    Goodmorning. I am not sure if this is the correct place to post a query to you but I could find no other place. If possible, please answer my query: -

    My son is going to turn 6 in april. He started teething only at 15 months. Now since he turned 5, he is getting a lot of cavities. He doesnot take fizzy drinks/ too much of chocolates etc but is fond of cheese. Just this 15th march, I got 6 of his cavities filled, yesterday two more have appreared in the front teeth. Inspite of the fact that I brush his teeth twice a day religiously. The Dentist told me that maybe he has a week enamel.

    My query is that since now he will be losing his milk teeth and getting permanent teeth, what precautions I need to take to prevent damage to the permanent ones. His dentist said that a new solution (sorry forgot the name) is there which can be applied to the permanent teeth to prevent damage. Should I go in for that? Plus in his one tooth (lower inside one) the filling had come out once and I got it done again. Yesterday it came out again. The dentist is doing Glass ceramic filling.

    I am sorry for the query being so long but I am really worried for him. Moreover I have a daughter who is 18 months who also started teething at 15 months and now has two front upper and lower teeth. what precautions i need to take for her so that she doesnot get cavities.

    Thanks,
    Payal
     
  5. Drpreethis

    Drpreethis Gold IL'ite

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    Good morning.. I am Dentist and can surely answer your Q.. :)

    Firstly , dental decay neednt be only due to choclates and aerated drinks.. It can be due to any " sticky " food. The sticky food gets adhered to the tooth and sometimes
    " frequent " brushing doesnt help but
    " correct " brushing does .. :) Let us say.. you brush his teeth like early morning.. Then he eats cheese after an hour or so.. the food is stuck onto his teeth. He eats some more food ( any food ) and now the already stuck food ( cheese like ) gets further adhered to the tooth. The next time you brush his teeth is before he goes to sleep. The way you brush may not be intense ( as it is really not possible to hold a kiddos mouth firmly and brush ) so after the brushing he goes to sleep. But the stuck food is still present on his teeth and now the bacteria present in the mouth ( harmless one till then ) start feeding over the food. This releases an acid and enamel starts to break down. Introducing " TOOTH DECAY " !!
    So, the first treatment.. I would suggest is.. give him his cheese slice in the morning before brushing teeth. Oh it is alright.. since you have brushed his teeth the previous night. Nothing happens.. dont worry about
    " any bacteria rich saliva " :) there is no such thing if you have brushed the previous night. Just swish his mouth and let him feast on his cheese / milk / candy. Now maybe after half an hour brush his teeth.. This way there is no sticky food. After every meal he must be made to swish his mouth. Gargle well !
    Next.. does he have a habit of drinking milk before going to bed ? Then, encourage him to gargle his mouth after the drink. The cleaner the mouth just before stepping onto bed the better.
    I see, that he has not been going through something called Rampant caries which affects all the tooth. This happens mostly on the front teeth and seldom goes behind. But I can read that his front teeth has been recently affected. So, it is just the maintainence. Since he is about to get the permanent teeth by his 6th year .. you can take good care by -
    Proper brushing
    Proper gargling
    healthy food
    no habits related to mouth

    That is it. I suppose your Dentist talked about Flouride Treatment to protect the permanent from decay. That is a solution. I do agree about that. But I also suggest you to make sure his permanent " is actually decay prone " before taking the treatment.

    The filling in one of his tooth would be getting off simply because of two reasons.. It is in such a point where the bite from the opposite teeth is tipping it or that the cavity ( the space made by the dentist after removing the decay ) is a little irregular. It should have been corrected the second time.
    But since it tipped off again.. you will have to check the reason with your Dentist. Has the Dentist told you any reason yet ??? May I know it ??
    I will be able to explain what he / she said and try giving an alternative solution to it.

    You said your post was a long one.. Now after my reply what do you say ?? :) I beat you isnt ?? :)

    Dont worry , payal . It is just that you need to do the right brushing that is all. Encourage them to gargle their mouth after every meal and to eat healthy. So, that is about it. His permanent will be fine.

    About your daughter's teeth.. Slowly start brushing her teeth as well with a wet cotton. She will start developing the habit of brushing and will not fuss once she is older.. :)

    One last suggestion.. I hope you are showing your son to a Pedodontist. They are specialised in child dentistry and it is rather better. You can go for regular
    check- up to the Family Dentist. Not that, the Family Dentist is not versed.. but since he already has too many decays .. I would suggest you to show him to a Pedodontist.
    If you are already .. Great ! :)

    Dont worry too much.. good habits start from home. This sends a message that every child since the first teething should be taken to a Dentist just for a casual check. It is always safe and any decays can be noticed before too late..

    We call it.. NIP IT IN BUD STAGE ! :)
     
  6. Young@heart

    Young@heart Silver IL'ite

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    Dear Drpreethis,

    I disagree with your reply being a long one. For me, it was a detailed one and much appreciated:bowdown THANK YOU for the quick and detailed reply. You cleared many of my misconceptions.

    Regarding his filling coming off, I will ask the reason this time. But i remember the assistant told me it is because my son (Arnav) has excessive saliva and keeps on touching the cavity with his tongue. Will surely check it up.

    Gargling I am not doing now even though Arnav told me about it as he was given a demonstration in school some time back. Will surely start it from today...

    Yes the dentist told me about flouride treatment only but my query is how do I ascertain that his teeth are decay prone?

    Regarding my daughter (Advika), I am brushing her teeth with the soft toothbrush that can be put on my finger. I am using non flouridated toothpaste for both my kids. Do i need to change that?

    I take my kids once a year to Pedodontist and the rest of the time ( once in 4-6 months) to the regular dentist. Arnav's treatment is being done at a regular dentist only. Do I need to change that? And can you please tell me some of the foods which are good for the teeth?

    My M-i-L tells me that since I didnot have sufficient calcium during pregnancy, Arnav is having all these teeth problems. Is it a fact?

    One last question not related to teeth: - I find you quite a balanced person and replying very pragmatically to queries in the personal forum (you did reply to one by me). Where do you get such wisdom and patience from? Please-2-2-2 tell me the secret:)

    A BIG THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN,

    Payal
     
  7. Drpreethis

    Drpreethis Gold IL'ite

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    Hi Payal..
    Am glad I managed to ward off many misconceptions that existed in your mind.. :)
    About the filling coming off.. By saying he has lott of saliva.. the Dentist means it is moistening the filling before it sets. The filling would set on ly on a moisture free environment. Now, they have to keep a lott of cotton etc and keep the are dry. Else you could ask them to restore the tooth with a Composite filling instead. That doesnt really get hampered extensively with saliva.
    To know wether the teeth is decay prone.. you will just have to take the medicine called PATIENCE ! :) Just wait for sometime and see if any tooth is getting decayed. The next minute you fix an appointment with the Dentist. Get the tooth filled and go for Flouride treatment !
    I suggest you use flouridated toothpaste for both your kids. It is good.
    THe regular check up can continue with the Family Dentist. But this time, for the new filling I suggest you take him to the Pedodontist. Also for the Flouride treatment.
    Good food for healthy teeth - Veggies rich in calcium. Any milk products, fish ( if you eat meat ) and good brushing habits after eating them. I do encourage kids to eat chocolates till they hate it but advise them to brush well after eating them. That is all.
    Yes, sometimes insuffecient calcium intake can lead to improper enamel formation in babies.. But not the only reason. It could be heridity. The next time ask your MIL to open her mouth , have a deep look and tell her Arnav got the cavities from her ! ;)
    Lastly, I love your kids' names !! Esp. Advika ! Joins the list of names I chose if I had a daughter. :)
    I dont know wether I have wisdom about problem solving, Payal. But I know for sure that I give my opnion no matter what ! I tell what I feel is right and I got this from my parents' must be. :) Every couple we have known who had a problem used t come to my parents for advice and I remeber them being such patient listeners and ready to help type. My dad used to help people in legal issues too as he was in Govt. service. So, probably counselling runs in my genes !! A family tradition you see ! ;)
     
  8. Young@heart

    Young@heart Silver IL'ite

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    Hi Drpreethis,

    Thanks once more for the quick and detailed reply. Will get the composite filling done this time for sure.

    Will I actually have to wait for the damage in permanent teeth before i go in for flouride treatment? There is no other magical way of knowing:)

    I am glad you liked the kids' names. Advika was Arnav's choice only as he has a girl in his bus named advika. We too liked it and it has such a nice meaning.

    Now i know where you get your wisdom from. Not everyone is able to speak their mind. Your reply to my M-i-L comment was the best. HATS OFF TO YOU.

    Thank you once again. Will trouble you with a query again whenever I have a doubt.

    Love,
    Payal
     
  9. Drpreethis

    Drpreethis Gold IL'ite

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    Payal ,

    When the decay starts of .. immedietley get it filled. There is really no way to know it before hand.. No Magic ! Else you should just go ahead and get the Flouride treatment. It isnt harmful anyways. :)

    One sensible boy your son is.. Liked a girl and named his sister that so that he could call the name everyday !! Really cute. He would go places . :)

    Dont bother about the trouble to answer any Qs you have.. Leave it to me.. I simply love to be troubled !! :)
     
  10. SunitaGajula

    SunitaGajula New IL'ite

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    Hello Dr.Preethi,
    I have an issue with my teeth, I can see some grey spots on my front 2 teeth.. is this because of enamel erosion.. Apart from that, I dont have any other teeth issues.. Initially it was very light.. now it seems to have become a bit more dark.. and the spots have also increases in size.

    Please recommend a good teethpaste for white teeth.. I would also like to know how long should a tooth brush be used?

    Thanks,
    Sunita
     

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