How To Keep Your Child’s Teeth Healthy
February 22, 2010
The most important part of kids tooth care begins at home when the baby’s first tooth appears. Even when the baby is on feeding, the probable birth of bacteria in the baby’s mouth can be prevented by wiping baby’s gums with a clean damp cloth. Following the growth of little teeth, child toothbrush can be used to floss the kid’s gums and teeth to protect them from getting infected.Many people have the habit of feeding their babies while they are sleeping by putting the bottle in his or her mouth inviting dental decay which harms the baby’s teeth as the leftover of the feed stays at the baby’s teeth for hours, leading to a problem in babies called bottle mouth [uneven, or stained front teeth]. In order to solve this problem, a time must be fixed for the feeding or drinking of milk or other liquids so that the teeth can be duly flossed after the food intake.Scheduled Visit to Paediatric DentistsParents must regularize the monthly dental check up of their kids with paediatric dentists who can maintain and advise daily care tips of kids’ teeth and gums.Preventing CavitiesAccording to the American Dental Association (ADA), parents are recommended to take their child to the dentist after his or her first birthday which can help the child becoming habituated to visit the dentist without any fear. Moreover, it may also help in detecting latent tooth problems as they grow older.Fluoride CoatingA kid of around 2½ years of age must have his or her teeth coated with fluoride regularly which smoothes and stabilizes tooth enamel enough to prevent acid penetration, which can emerge from leftovers on the teeth, and protect tooth surface from catching oral diseases like caries or cavities. It should also be taken care of that excessive fluoride can result in stained or decolourised teeth.Regular tooth brushing and flossing can ensure the well-being of teeth and help them stay unaffected by bacteria and germs.Application of Protective SealantUpon the growth of a child’s permanent teeth, the application of a protective sealant on those parts of the mouth where a toothbrush cannot reach may help in preventing bacteria from staying there, provided that daily brushing and flossing of teeth is maintained. Also, if after the application of sealant, the child starts eating sweets excessively, the sealant cannot ensure protection of teeth. Sometimes, even the most regular brushing and flossing cannot prevent a cavity formation where the child is highly prone to catching tooth disease. In that case, affected teeth must be duly treated and checked up regularly.In case of any breakage, readily growing decay or irregular growth of baby teeth, stainless steel crown should be preferred over other alternatives because crowns avert the decay from spreading all over teeth.If due care is taken to keep the child’s teeth healthy and clean, parents can enjoy a long-term benefit out of it in terms of being prevented to spend their hard-earned money for the dental treatments, surgeries and other cures like braces, implants or a major root canal therapy etc.A little amount of effort for your child can ensure a beautiful and healthy smile on his or her face.
Advantages Of Implants Vs Fixed Bridges
February 8, 2010
Dental implant is the surgical placement of a fixture in the jaw and its osseo-integration with the jawbone to produce an artificial tooth replacement which forms a structural and functional connection between the living bone and the implant.
The abtument is the part screwed to the fixture, providing a sufficient platform above the gum line to retain the prosthesis by means of cement or a screw. Last item is the prosthesis itself and can be in the form of a single crown of an abtument.
There are many advantages of dental implants over fixed bridges.
First, they can be placed with no variation to the structure of the face or jawbone, as is often the case when a tooth is removed. Once the teeth are extracted, and the jawbone is not stimulated by the chewing action, the body resorbs that area of jawbone. Secondly, unlike fixed bridge, the teeth on the each side of the implant need not be cut down as abutments.
Thirdly, fixed bridge requires the existence of tooth on the either sides of the space, whereas, an implant does not need to have a tooth on each side of it. And Implants fill up the gaps across the space because of the missing teeth.
In case of implant, there is no need to have the periodic tooth cleaning between the implants as they are made of metal and porcelain, unlike fixed bridges which often have to be cleaned or replaced due to problems like caries (decay), fractures or nerve diseases. Moreover, no root canal therapy or crown replacement is required in implants.
Although implants are comparatively expensive than fixed bridges initially, but on account of their low cost maintenance, reliability and durability, and the osseointegration success rate of 98.5% makes them much less expensive than fixed bridges which have a mean life expectancy of 10 years. The artificial crown on an implant is removed on being broken and that crown has to be redone only. If in very rare cases the abutment gets fractured, it may be replaced, but the fixture once restored, has never to be replaced.
The expected average life of fixed bridge is of 10 years with 15% to be replaced and around 33% of them may require to be redone by 15 years or so, whereas, implant osseointegration rate of success is of 98.5% with a little percentage of unsuccessful results.
Conclusively, dental Implant saves the patient from spending additional unnecessary and excessive surgical treatment costs due to the individuality of the prosthetic crown (which needs to be replaced in a very rare case of breakage or fracture), thus making implants a more affordable choice for people.