The following "questions
and answers" are designed to provide you with
basic information on dental care and on several of
the more common procedures. If you do not find the
information you are looking for, please do not hesitate
to ask our staff.
Which type of toothbrush is the best?
What about a "Sonic" toothbrush?
What about a "Rotating Head"
toothbrush?
How often should I replace my toothbrush?
Which toothpaste should I use?
How often should I floss?
When should a child first see a dentist?
What should I do if I have a tooth knocked
out?
What should I do if I chip a tooth?
What are porcelain veneers?
Is a "crown" and a "cap" the same thing?
What's the difference between a "bridge"
and a "partial denture"?
Why are "white" fillings better
than silver?
If a tooth needs a crown, does it also
need a root canal?
A toothbrush with a small
head is easier to position accurately in the mouth.
Soft bristles conform to the irregular shapes of the
teeth and gums without injuring the gums. Plaque is
soft and comes off the teeth easily if contacted directly
by the bristles of the brush, “scrubbing”
is not necessary and may damage the gums. A gentle
flexing of the bristles will dislodge the plaque from
the tooth surface.
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Sonic vibration brushes are
great. When positioned close enough to the plaque,
the sonic vibrations will break up the plaque colony.
The sonic vibrating bristles do not have to directly
contact the plaque, but they have to be very, very
close. I think the added therapeutic benefit of a
sonic brush is the stimulation of the gum tissues,
which increases the flow of blood through the tissues.
A good blood flow increases the availability of all
the healing benefits blood brings with it, and reduces
the swelling and unhealthy edema of the gum tissue.
Only a sonic brush can stimulate the gum tissue as
efficientl. The sonic vibration does the work, so
“scrubbing” is not needed. Accurate positioning
and allowing time for the sonic vibrations to effectively
remove the plaque and stimulate blood flow is all
that is needed.
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I am not an advocate of rotating
brush heads (sonic or not), because I have seen too
many patients damage their gum tissues by allowing
the rotating bristles to remain too long against their
soft gum tissues, or press too firmly, so that their
soft tissues became irritated, inflamed, and abraded.
A rotating brush head can be very effective, but requires
much more knowledge about the tissue and tooth anatomy,
with greater concentration about technique while brushing.
A rotating-type brush head requires more time to be
spent brushing than a purely vibration-type (sonic)
brush head.
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If the bristles become bent,
worn, or frayed, the toothbrush or toothbrush head
should be replaced. It is a good practice to replace
the brush or brush head every three or four months.
This is especially true with sonic vibrating-type
brushes because they will rarely look frayed or worn,
but will have lost the required strength to efficiently
remove plaque and stimulate the gums. A difference
will be noticed when a new brush head is put on a
sonic vibrating-type brush.
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Most toothpastes are generally
alike. I recommend you use one with fluoride that
tastes good to you. Flossing and brushing mechanically
remove the plaque from your tooth surfaces. All plaque
removal is mechanical, not chemical.
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Thorough flossing needs to
be done once daily, but only once. Just using floss
to dislodge some food caught between teeth is not
“flossing”. Once a day use floss to scrape
the plaque from the surfaces between your teeth where
the brush does not reach. Effective flossing removes
far more plaque than effective brushing, but it takes
both to remove 100% of the plaque from teeth. Americans
prove, time and again, that only brushing does not
work. I wish it did.
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A child should certainly be
seen by a dentist by the age of three unless dental
problems are already visible to the parents. “Baby”
teeth are critical to the proper growth of your child’s
face and jaws. If there are cavities present in your
child’s teeth while the “permanent or
adult” teeth are erupting, the newly erupting
tooth will not fully harden in the outermost layer
and the child will be forever more prone to having
cavities.
Another benefit from seeing the dentist early is that
the child is familiar with the office and personnel,
and will be less apprehensive about getting any emergency
treatment done at the dental office if the need arises.
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Pick up the tooth and replace
it into the empty socket if possible. This is usually
not painful provided it is done very soon after being
knocked out. Do not rub the root of the tooth as this
will destroy the ligament that will reattach itself
to the bone in the empty socket. If too badly covered
with dirt, keep the root wet, and get to a dentist
as fast as is possible. The shorter period the tooth
is out of the socket, the better the chances it will
reattach, and possibly even not need root canal treatment.
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Immediately bring the chip
with you to a dentist. The exposed part of the broken
tooth may need to be treated to reduce sensitivity
and reduce the chances of the tooth becoming non-vital.
In rare instances the chip may be reattached as a
temporary esthetic fix.
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Veneers are thin shells of
either porcelain or composite, which are bonded onto
the front, and usually the chewing surface, of your
teeth. With veneers we are able to strengthen the
tooth, change the shape and/or position of the tooth,
and create the desired color for the tooth. Using
only veneers we can often create the smile you have
always wanted.
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Both protect the remaining
natural tooth structure after all decay, old filling
material, and weakened tooth parts have been removed
and shaped. These can be made of gold, base metal,
ceramic, composite, stainless steel, or combinations
of these materials. These are usually all called “crowns”
by dentists, but patients often refer to the ones
that are tooth-colored as “caps”.
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Both partial dentures and
bridges replace some missing teeth the upper or lower
arch of teeth. A “full denture” would
replace all of the teeth in an arch. A partial denture
is usually removable, and a bridge is usually fixed
in place. These can also be called fixed partial dentures,
removable partial dentures, fixed bridges, and removable
bridges. You may see any of these terms. Fixed bridges,
which are not removable by the patient, seem more
like natural teeth and are usually more satisfying
functionally, and esthetically.
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In a 1993 U. S. Public Health Service report it was
stated that there is no health reason not to use amalgam
(silver). Most patients request that the white material
be used so it will look more natural. The white material
“bond” better to tooth structure and can
internally strengthen the tooth. Once the area to
be restored is sufficiently large, or fracturing is
occurring, neither the “white” or “silver”
materials is strong enough to restore the tooth for
optimal function. At a certain point of weakness,
a crown or onlay will usually be necessary and will
provide better overall satisfaction for the patient.
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No. It is usually the case
that if a tooth needs a root canal, it will also need
a protective crown. Most crowned teeth have not had
a root canal treatment, but many have, so this is
a common question.
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