Are You an Adult With Crooked Teeth?..Don’t Worry They Can Still be Fixed With Braces.

About 1 million Americans and Canadians over the age of 18 are getting tooth braces or adult braces. Tom Cruise, Isaac Hanson, Jennifer Elise Cox, one of the stars of the Brady Bunch, and Canadian rock star EMJAY are just some of them.

Gaps, overlaps, crowding, rotated teeth — these are just some of the conditions that can ruin your smile and your oral health. Fortunately, these are all conditions curable by orthodontic appliances, or tooth braces. Tooth braces are metal, plastic or ceramic devices that put tension on your teeth to shift them into a more desirable position.

Teeth can be moved at any age; and many orthodontic problems can be corrected as easily for adults as for children. However, since adults are no longer growing, treatment may take longer than it does for teenagers. The average adult wears tooth braces for 18 months to three years. After tooth braces are removed, you may need to wear a retainer to maintain the results of your treatment.

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Pregnancies Linked To Tooth Loss

According to a nationwide study of 2,635 women by Dr. Stefanie Russell, an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology & Health Promotion, women who have more children are more likely to have missing teeth.

Profound biological and behavioral changes related to pregnancy and child birth are likely to be a factor in tooth loss, according to Dr. Russell. For example:
* Pregnancy can make women prone to gingivitis (gum inflammation). Repeated pregnancies are likely to result in more frequent outbreaks of gingivitis that may lead to tooth loss in women with periodontitis.
* A woman may postpone seeking dental treatment because of financial concerns related to having children.
* Caring for more children may lead a mother to cut back on the time she devotes to her own oral health.

Although further research is needed on the specific reasons for the link between pregnancy and tooth loss, it is clear that women with multiple children need to be especially vigilant about their oral health

Source:www.Sciencedaily.com

Dental Implants Preferred Option for Aging Bridges.

Aging dental bridges are a maintenance headache and a recipe for oral-health disaster. They are difficult to floss, often decay, and require replacement with longer bridges. According to the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID), these bridges to nowhere should be replaced with permanent dental implants.

“Many of us have had the same bridges in our mouths for twenty years or more”said Olivia Palmer, DMD of Charleston, SC, an associate fellow of AAID and diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology. Palmer explained that bridges generally fail after 5-10 years as patients have trouble flossing them. “Because these bridges link missing tooth spaces to adjacent teeth, many patients find it very difficult to floss the bridge. Therefore, root surfaces below and around bridgework often decay, if not kept meticulously clean by flossing. It is impossible to repair this marginal decay, so the entire bridge must be replaced requiring insertion of longer bridges that further compromise dentition”.

Today highly precise computer guided dental implant surgery has made the procedure faster, highly predicable, long-lasting and 97 percent successful, which is far superior to outcomes with bridges.

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Licorice Extract Provides New Treatment Option For Canker Sores

Commonly referred to as Recurrent Apthous Ulcers (RAU) ,Canker sores are shallow painful lesions that affect one in five Americans and are caused by food allergies and hormonal changes.

According to a study published in the March/April 2008 issue of General Dentistry canker sores can now can be treated by an extract in licorice root herbal extract. According to the study Licorice root extract was used as a prescribed treatment for gastric ulcers until the 1970s. In its original form, licorice root extract has a very strong taste. However, when combined with a self-adhering, time-release, dissolving oral patch, the taste is mild and pleasant.

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Oxford Dentist Uses DVD’s To Ease Pain.

Fancy watching a movie on DVD goggles while your dentist goes to work on your teeth?

Survey shows that 60 per cent of people worry about going to the dentist and some put up with extreme pain before they even book an appointment. Amit Mohindra, 29, has introduced the novel concept of using personalized DVD’s at a dental clinic in Oxford. The device incorporates a small screen and earphones on a compact headband and has caught the imagination of many of his patients, who now bring along their favorite DVDs while going under the drill.

Says Mr.Mohindra “Getting patients to watch a DVD is ideal for the more lengthy procedures. And as the patients can’t see the drill, or hear what is happening while watching the films, it allows them to relax and helps to take their minds off the treatment. This is not a substitute for an anesthetic though – patients will still need an injection for pain control if the procedure requires it – but it helps a great deal.”

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Altima Dental Launches Advanced Oral Cancer Checking Program

Oral cancer is prevalent and preventable.And the potential for death is significantly reduced if cancer is detected early, making treatment easier, less invasive and more than 90% curable.

In an effort to shed light on the importance of oral cancer prevention, Altima Dental is launching an advanced checking program that will help dentists detect abnormalities in the mouth more readily than ever before. Altima Dental’s advanced oral cancer check is designed to complement a regular dental exam. It works like a highlighter to enhance your dentist’s ability to detect any irregular lesions that could be difficult to observe with the human eye.

An advanced oral cancer check is simple, painless and only takes a few minutes. The process involves an oral rinse and a chemiluminescent light probe. After rinsing with solution, your mouth is examined using the light. A blue dye stain is applied to irregular areas, illuminating lesions that could potentially be cancerous.

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The Market For Instant Smile Makeovers is Booming – But How Safe And Effective Are They?

According to a recent survey by Mintel, the most sought after celebrity smile is Kylie Minogue’s. Our obsession with the look of our own, and celebrities’ – teeth has led to the rise of the quick-fix smile makeover.

Dental practices are now looking more like spas, offering everything from instant veneers, fillings and crowns to diamond polishes and the latest technology in pain-free teeth whitening. Suddenly, improving your smile has become as easy as popping into your local salon for a lunchtime facial or getting a manicure.

But do these new wonder treatments do what they claim – and how do we know if they are safe?

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The Potential of Dental-Protective Chewing Gum in Oral Health Interventions

Chewing gum is being used as a delivery vehicle for substances such as calcium, bicarbonate, carbamide, chlorhexidine, fluoride and xylitol to improve oral health and reduce caries. These substances exhibit properties that are protective of the oral environment and mediate common oral diseases.
The debate for advocating xylitol use in caries prevention is advancing; however, chewing gum use by young schoolchildren in the United States is hindered by choking hazard concerns and lack of specific xylitol dosing recommendations.The authors provide an overview of chewing gum as a delivery vehicle for dental-protective agents, highlighting xylitol and its potential application in caries-prevention programs for children.
The author further states that use of chewing gum containing dental-protective substances, particularly xylitol, in caries-prevention programs can reduce the tooth decay epidemic but the use of chewing gum use by children in the school setting should be reconsidered.

Source:Article by-Kiet A. Ly, Peter Milgrom, and Marilynn Rothen in the Journal of American Dental Association.

Timing Improves Cleft Palate Surgery.

Surgical timing has been a controversial topic with various cleft centers around the world opting for early closure at about 3-6 months of age.

However Research by Dr. Damir Matic, a scientist with Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ontario is changing the way cleft palate surgeries are performed throughout North America and around the world. Dr. Matic has shown that the best time to close the cleft at the alveolus (gum) in patients with either one or two sided clefts is at eight or nine years of age prior to canine tooth eruption.

The study represents a significant breakthrough in cleft research involving an unprecedented sample size of 136 children.The findings were presented at the ACPA meeting in Philadelphia last month where These findings were presented at the ACPA meeting in Philadelphia last month where the overall majority of the participants voted with Matic, leading to a change in recommendation in the way cleft palates will be treated in hospitals around the world.

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