Dentist Newington

If our tooth enamel, the hard outer surface of the tooth, grown thin we suffer problems. The thin enamel will not insulate the nerve inside the tooth, so the teeth will be sensitive to hot and cold temperatures. This will cause pain when we drink coffee or eat ice cream. Furthermore, thin enamel is more prone to decay than the enamel on healthy teeth.

Basically, thin enamel leaves us with sensitive teeth, and with teeth more prone to decay.

Causes of Thin Enamel – Dental Newington

Tooth enamel is the hardest substance of the human body, but it can be damaged by acidic conditions and by physical abrasion.

– Brushing too hard, or with a hard bristle brush, will steadily wear away enamel over time. It is better to use a soft bristle brush and lite/moderate pressure. Brush for two minutes twice per day.
– It is a mistake to brush too soon after eating. Many foods and drinks will temporarily soften enamel. If we brush too soon after eating we quickly wear away the softened enamel. Wait 30 minutes after eating before brushing. It help to drink water or chew sugar free gum after eating.
– Drinking anything acidic will thin the tooth enamel. Soft drink, fruit juice, lemon water, sports drinks and energy drinks are highly acidic, as are some foods. When we drink these beverages we damage our tooth enamel. Drinking with a straw and drinking water after wards will reduce the damage, but it is best to avoid these beverages altogether. It is better to eat fruit than just drink the juice.

Treating Thin Tooth Enamel

Thin tooth enamel cannot be reversed, the damage is permanent. In some cases the teeth can be capped, and this removed the problem, but this is an expensive procedure.

However, the pain from thin enamel can be greatly reduced with special sensitive toothpaste. This toothpaste fills in the microscopic holes in the teeth, providing better thermal insulation, so the nerves in the teeth do not react so strongly to the environment in the mouth, and feel much less pain.

Sensitive toothpaste takes a few weeks of use before it becomes effective. Use it twice per day and leave it to settle on the teeth – do not rinse it off. Over time, perhaps a month, it will greatly reduce the sensitivity of the teeth.

Denistone Dentist

Diligent dental care will reduce the risk of most dental problems. Brush daily, and see the dentist even 6 months.

Brushing Dundas Dental

Brushing is the most basic yet fundamental aspect of cleaning. It is simple, yet effective. If we neglect to brush them we greatly raise the risk of tooth decay.
It is important to have the right brushing technique.

– Use a toothbrush with soft bristles, and brush with minimal pressure. Hard bristles or strong pressure will steadily wear tooth enamel and lead to damaged teeth. Some electric brushes have a sensor to show the ideal pressure.
– Always wait 30 minutes after eating or drinking before brushing. The acidity of many foods and drinks will temporary weaken enamel. If we brush too soon we will wear this softened enamel away.
– It helps to drink/gargle water after eating, as this reduces the acidity in the mouth.
– Use a pea sized amount of toothpaste. Hold the toothbrush at a 45 degree angle to the teeth and brush in a gentle circles.
– The inside of the teeth, next to the tongue, is an area that is often neglected. We should brush here to be 100% clean.
– Brush for about two minutes twice per day.
– Convention and most electric toothbrushes will not reach the space between teeth. This area needs to be flossed, or cleaned with inter-dental brushes. Ultrasonic toothbrushes will clean this space between teeth with their high frequency vibrations.
– Spit out the paste after brushing, but do not rinse. Leaving the remnant on the teeth helps provide some extra protection.
– Some people use sugar free gum after brushing. Chewing gum with Xylitol helps to fight bad bacteria and reduce decay.
Mouthwash is also beneficial. Use this after brushing. Or use it at other times of the day.
– If you are prone to bleeding gums we should use mouthwash before we brush. This gets rid of bacteria and prevent them getting into the blood stream.

Wisdom Teeth Rydalmere

Our wisdom teeth emerge when we are in our late teens or early twenties. These are he back (third) molars in our mouth. Often there is not enough room in the mouth to accommodate the wisdom teeth. So these teeth end up partly covered by the gum, or they push other teeth out of alignment. This makes cleaning difficult.
We may need to get our wisdom teeth removed. Else, we may need them sealed to make cleaning easier. Even if they are healthy it is often hard to clean these teeth at the back of the mouth as they are hard to reach.
An electric toothbrush may make is easier to clean the back molars. Ultrasonic toothbrushes also help as they clean the general area of the mouth, not just the area that they physically touch.

Brushing Dundas Dental

Good dental habits practised every day will greatly reduce decay and gum disease. Visit the dentist for regular check-ups.

Wisdom Teeth Denistone

Wisdom teeth are the back molars, the very last teeth to emerge in the mouth. Most of our permanent teeth are in place when we reach our early teens. But wisdom teeth will not emerge until we are in at least our late teens or early twenties. In some individuals, the wisdom teeth either never develop, or never emerge from the jaw.
Unfortunately, wisdom teeth can cause problems. Often there is not enough room in the mouth for these extra teeth, and they either punch other teeth out of alignment or do not fully emerge from the jaw. In some cases, the wisdom teeth are partly overgrown by gum, and become prone to infection because they are so difficult to clean. Often the wisdom teeth are removed.

Wisdom Teeth Rydalmere

Wisdom teeth will be removed if they are causing problems. This is an awkward procedure, but it is often necessary, and the discomfort will not last forever. It should take 6 to 8 weeks for the jaw to completely recover.
The main issue with wisdom teeth is the lack of room in the mouth, the extra molars simply do not have enough room. we might question why the human body has such a disfunction.
Some research suggests that young human babies that chew hard food will develop slightly larger jaws. This allows slightly more room for the wisdom teeth later on. Our culture, which tends to encourage softer food at a young age, maybe inadvertently cause problems later on by not allowing the jaws to develop correctly.
Other research has suggested that injections in the jaw at a young age, usually for anesthetic, will prevent wisdom teeth from developing later on. This is still not fully understood and is open to further research.

Braces Oatlands

Braces will give us straighter teeth and jaws. If we have braces as teenagers we can benefit from the improved teeth for the rest of our lives. Unfortunately, this can be compromised by the wisdom teeth, which will come through long after the braces have been removed.
If we suspect we have wisdom tooth issues we should have the situation examined by a dentist. Immediate treatment will prevent the emerging wisdom teeth from causing too much damage.

Invisalign Denistone

Invisalign is a way to straighten minor to moderate tooth alignment problems without braces. This is sometimes used to fix issues caused by wisdom teeth.

Wisdom Teeth Denistone

Our wisdom teeth emerge when we are young adults. Often they cause problems and need to be attended to by the dentist.

Braces Rydalmere

Crooked teeth can be an issue is several ways. Most people will feel they look don’t look their best, which may be true. But misaligned teeth may also be difficult to clean. The top and bottom teeth may mean unevenly, causing rapid wear. And occasionally speaking and eating may be compromised. It is usually best to fix misaligned teeth, though is some cases, if there is no health issue, people are happy to leave them as they are.
Braces are the most common method of correcting misaligned teeth and jaws. But occasionally less severe or less complex problems can be fixed with Invisalign, or perhaps by crowns or veneers on a few select teeth.

Invisalign Rydalmere

These are popular with adults who do not like the look of braces, associating them with teenagers. Invisalign is effective for minor and moderate alignment issues.
Invisalign consists of a series of clear plastic mouth-guards that gently and persistently push the teeth into alignment. These mouth-guards can be removed for eating and drinking.
Invisalign is only slightly noticeable, and causes minimal discomfort. It may initially make speaking difficult.

Veneers Dundas Dental

Some tooth issues can be neatly fixed with veneers. These are thin coverings that are permanently bonded to the front of the teeth. They look like natural tooth, and can effectively change the shape of the tooth, even to the point where they make the tooth wider to fill in gaps between teeth.
Veneers can be attached in a single appointment, so they achieve results quite quickly.
Unfortunately veneers are not appropriate for jaw alignment problems.

Alternate Braces Telopea Dentist

Despite their good results many people do not like the appearance of braces. But there are some less obvious alternatives.
Ceramic braces work in the same fashion as traditional metal braces, but they are colour matched to the individual’s teeth, so they are less conspicuous. They are not as strong as some braces systems, so they will not be appropriate for all situation.

Lingual Braces Dentist Newington

In some cases the braces can be fitted over the back of teeth rather than the front. This makes them virtually undetectable, being hidden by the teeth themselves.
Having braces behind the teeth can make speaking and eating difficult, but this is true to a lesser extent of all braces. The individual soon adapts.

Newington Dentist

Braces work to give us neat, functional teeth. With a little effort the braces in our teens give us straight teeth for a lifetime.

Dundas Dentist

Sometimes we have all the pieces, but they don’t fit together in the way they should. One example of this is small teeth. Our teeth may be perfectly healthy, but they are too small for our mouth. This often leaves us with gaps between the teeth, and probably a bad bite. Most likely we will find that small teeth just look out of proportion to the rest of the mouth.
Small teeth, or teeth that are misaligned of misshaped, can usually be fixed by the dentist.

Types of Small Teeth – Dentist Denistone

There are several way in which teeth might be too small, or appear too small.
True Generalized Small Teeth – This is causes by genetics, the teeth really are small.
Relative Generalized Small Teeth – A large individual has teeth that appear small in relation to the rest of the face.
Localized – A few Teeth, usually in the upper jaw, fail to fully develop and are smaller than the other teeth.
Overextended Gums – The teeth appear short because they are mostly covered by the gums.
Abrasion – Over the course of many decades the teeth may wear down from grinding.

Treating Smaller Teeth – Telopea Dental

Crowns – By crowning teeth we can make them larger. This can produce a neat set of correctly proportioned teeth for the mouth.
Veneers – These cover the front surface of the teeth. If the size of the teeth is not too far off the veneers can fill the gaps between teeth, and make them slightly longer.
Gum Reshaping – If the issue is with the gums rather than the actual teeth then the gums can sometimes be cut back to reveal more of the tooth surface. This is limited, however, because the gums can only be cut back so far before the tooth roots are exposed.

Oatlands Dental

Some Dental work is concerned with aesthetics. There is no reason not to have better teeth. Let us give you the smile you deserve.

Newington Dentist

Over time the gums around our teeth can recede. This not only looks bad, but leaves us prone to sensitive teeth that feel pain from hot or cold food. The sensitivity comes from the the roots of the teeth being exposed, so the nerve inside the tooth has no insulation from the outside. It is best to avoid this at all costs.
Our Gums can recede for a variety of reasons. Most of the time this can be avoided with some good dental habits.
–   Gum infections, including Gingivitis or Periodontitis, can lead to receding gums (as well as other problems like bone loss and bleeding).
–   Using a hard bristle toothbrush can lead to receding gums, as well as thin enamel on teeth. Use a soft bristle toothbrush instead.
–   Brushing too hard with any brush may lead to receding gums and thin tooth enamel.
–   If we brush too soon after eating we will damage the tooth enamel which has been soften by the food/drink we consume. This might lead to receding gums. Wait 30 minutes after eating before brushing.
–   An injury to the mouth can lead to receding gums.
–   Poorly fitting dentures can lead to receding gums, though people who need dentures already have problems wiht their teeth, so their risk is higher even without the dentures.
–   Smoking increases the risk of tooth and gum problems.
–   Old age and a genetic disposition. This can be reduced with good dental habits.
–   Poor dental habits, bot brushing and flossing every day, greatly raises the risk of gum problems.

Dundas Dentist

We can reduce the risk of receding gums by:
–   Good dental habits greatly reduce the risk of dental problems like receding gums. Brush twice daily, floss once daily and use mouthwash several times per day.
–   Oil pulling seems to reduce the risk of gum problems. Gargle coconut oil for a few minutes then spit into the sink.
–   A diet strong in antioxidants seems to reduce the risk of receding gums. Antioxidants are found in fresh fruit and vegetables.
–   Green Tea fight the bacteria that cause gum diseases. Drink green tea twice daily. Or use green tea chewing gum that is sugar free.
–   Omega 3 fatty acids in the diet seem to reduce gum problems, and keep us healthy in other ways. Omega 3 is found in fish, nuts, and seeds.

Invisalign Denistone

Invisalign can be used to correct many (but not all) moderate tooth alignment issues without braces. This is popular with adults who do not like to wear braces.
Invisalign will not interfere with gums.

Wisdom teeth Rydalmere

Wisdom teeth are notorious for causing problems, not emerging properly, pushing other teeth out of alignment. More than half the population will need one or more wisdom teeth removed.
By removing a problem wisdom tooth we can prevent gum infections, and hence prevent gums from  later on.

Dental Newington

Good dental hygiene habits go a long way to reducing gum and tooth issues. See the dentist is you suspect you might have a problem.

Implant Rydalmere Dentist

A dental implant replaces a natural tooth with an artificial tooth. This is necessary if the natural tooth is badly damaged, or badly misshapen. The dental implant gives a realistic looking, fully functional replacement tooth.
If a tooth has only suffered surface damage it might be crowned (also called capped). This replaces the outer part of the tooth, while keeping the internal nerve, pulp and underlying root. If a tooth in badly damaged, or damaged internally, it is best replaced with an implant.

Implant Dundas Dental

Implants are permanently fixed to the jawbone, where they bond to the bone at a molecular level. This makes them very secure and reliable. There are very rarely and complications with an implant if the individual is healthy.
An implant has two main sections, a metal post inside and a facsimile post on the outside. Titanium is used for the internal post because it bonds to the jawbone, and because it does not rust or cause allergic reactions. This titanium is superior to stainless steel, which contains the common allergen nickel.
The external part of the implant, the facsimile tooth, is made of Ziriconia or Lithium Disilicate. Both of these materials have slightly different advantages. Usually the back molars use the material that is stronger (Ziroconia) , while the front teeth will use the material that looks more realistic (Lithium Disilicate), though both of these materials are fairly strong and long lasting. Older implants used porcelain, which looked fine but was not as strong as either Ziriconia or Lithium Disilicate.
Some recent advancements in dental research have produced some superior materials that might soon replace Lithium Disilicate and Ziriconia in implants.

Implant Oatlands Dentist

A dental implant will require several dental appointments. First, the original damaged tooth may need to be removed, and the metal post put in place. A mold of the mouth or a computer scan will be used to produce a new artificial tooth of the right proportions. The new artificial tooth will be manufactured and put in place at a second appointment, once the mental post has started to bond to the jaw.
If several adjacent teeth need to be replaced it is often possible to replace them with a row of artificial teeth secured by only two metal posts.

Telopea Dental Implant

Implants last for decades with only the same care that we give normal teeth. While the implant will never decay we still need to brush and floss in order to prevent any gum infections.

It would be ideal for everybody to keep their natural teeth. But if we do need to replace a damaged or ill formed tooth then implants are the best option. They are permanent, reliable, realistic looking, and do not need nay special form of maintenance.

Dundas Dental

The invention of cutlery, knives and forks in the West, chopstick in the East, changed the way we eat, and apparently the way our jaws align. Several centuries ago the top and lower jaws of humans usually met so that the front teeth touched. But since the use of cutlery the lower teeth usually sit behind the front teeth. This is because we once used our teeth to bite all of our food, like we still do with an apple. Jaws that met at the front were useful for this. Now we eat pre-cut food, so our jaws align slightly differently.

This change to cutlery is not the only explanation for the change in our jaws. The eating and chewing of slightly tough food apparently alters out jaws too, causing them to grow slightly more forward. Perhaps the change in our jaws is the combination of both factors.

We might expect this jaw change to cause problems. But this very slight overbite is fine. Our jaws suffer the minimal wear if they are not leaning to one side, and if they have the slight overbite. So this is regarded as the new ideal.

Dentist Denistone

If our jaws are not aligned correctly there will be problems. misaligned jaws can make chewing and speaking difficult. And over time the teeth tend to wear unevenly.

Overbite – while slight overbite is normal a more extreme overbite needs correction. This can sometimes be done with braces as a teenager, sometime by combining braces with headgear, sometime by surgery in extreme cases.
Occasionally veneers can be used to bring the teeth slightly forward, removing the overbite.

Underbite – This is where the bottom jaw comes too far forward. Like overbite the less extreme cases may be cured with braces, and more extreme cases altered by surgery.

Crossbite – This is where the lower jaw leans to one side, not neatly meeting with the upper jaw. Crossbite tends to cause uneven wear on teeth that grows worse over time. This may require braces at an earlier stage, or surgery latter on.

Dental Denistone

Talk to the dentist about any jaw issues. Early treatment can prevent problems latter on.