Author Archives: chzechze

Flying With an Abscessed Tooth

Illness during a flight may lead to an unscheduled landing

Illness during a flight may lead to an unscheduled landing. This is expensive for the airline and extremely inconvenient for other passengers. There are relatively few situations where travel by flight is not allowed, and having a tooth abscess is one of them. Although the pain might not be so severe to the stage where the aircraft would have to do a force landing, however, different people have different level for tolerance of pain. So it is generally unwise to deliberately fly with a known tooth abscess in the mouth.

Most people are aware that the air gets thinner, providing less oxygen the higher you go. To help deal with this, commercial aircraft are pressurised to the equivalent of an altitude of 1500-2000m. This still results in a relatively small fall in oxygen saturation of the order of 3-5%, which may be significant for travellers whose oxygenation is already compromised by severe cardiac/respiratory disease. In practical terms, people with severe heart or lung disease who can walk 50m on level ground or ascend a flight of 12 domestic stairs are probably fit to fly. Continue reading →

Difference Between DDS and DMD

Have you ever noticed how some dentists have the abbreviation DMD after their name and some have DDS as their suffix? You’re not alone. I too had this question, and wanted to find out why there are two different degrees for dentists. Here’s the answer:

Way back in 1840 the world’s first dental school was established in Maryland.  It was called the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery (which has since merged with the University of Maryland School of Dentistry.)  The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery admitted students eager to become dental professionals.  Upon graduation, they were awarded the DDS degree, which stands for Doctor of Dental Surgery. Continue reading →

About Toothpaste Tubes Made of Metal

The first toothpaste tubes, appearing on the scene in the 1890s, originally were made entirely of metal. In the 1940s, because of metal shortages during World War II, they were constructed of a mix of plastic and metal. A hundred years after their invention, toothpaste tubes became completely manufactured of plastic as we know them today. Continue reading →

Benefit of Mini Denture Implants

Mini dental implants are around half the size of a regular dental implant

In this modern world of everything getting smaller and working better, why should the same engineering principles not apply to dental implants? With the advent of titanium alloy, we can create stronger mini dental implants that are around half the size of a regular dental implant and just as strong. With over 30 million Americans without teeth, there is a huge demand for dentures that don’t move when patients try to eat. Most of these patients have not been offered dental implants for lots of reasons. More often than not, it is because of the high cost of implant treatment. Continue reading →

Buying Dental Gold

Dental scrap gold is fast becoming an additional resource for people wishing to sell gold. Dental scrap gold consists of any gold that has been used in the mouth and is worth more sold than kept. It can include any failed, damaged or deteriorated gold or silver crowns, any bridges, PFM’s (porcelain fused to metal), PFG’s (porcelain fused to gold), Inlays, Gold Partials and more. In fact here is a list of the dental scrap including gold, silver and platinum that can be sold, and these can be with or without bone or porcelain: Continue reading →

ADA Sealant Coating Specifications

Sealants are essential to prohibiting the harmful expansion of tooth pits

The American Dental Association (ADA) investigates and analyzes all professional aspects of the dental profession, including tooth sealants. According to the ADA website, sealants are essential to prohibiting the harmful expansion of tooth pits, breakages and decay in adults and children. Specifically, studies indicate that dental work of nearly one in three American children between the ages of six and 19 years have undergone sealant coating. The likelihood of developing pit and fissure decay begins early in life, so children and teenagers are obvious candidates for dental sealant application. But adults can benefit from sealants as well. Continue reading →

How to Brush Your Teeth with Tooth Soap

Tooth soap in liquid form

Tooth soap is the product that replaces the usual toothpaste products with far more natural, gentle teeth-washing ingredients. Because let’s face it: You don’t actually need to “scrub” your teeth with sand, chemical preservatives and sweeteners. Some toothpaste products are quite harmful — they’re loaded with synthetic chemicals that simply can’t be considered safe for human consumption by any reasonable person. Cleaning your teeth only requires a type of soap, some water and some brushing action. You don’t need dyes, sweeteners, sand and other unnecessary ingredients. Continue reading →

How to Clean Ceramic Teeth

The process of using ceramic materials to replace or repair teeth is not new. According to the Indiana University School of Dentistry, the first porcelain denture tooth was introduced in 1789. Of the materials used today for tooth restoration, ceramic porcelain comes closest to duplicating the color and translucency of natural teeth. Ceramic teeth are, however, more expensive than other materials and can add up to a major investment. Protect your investment and help your ceramic teeth last longer by cleaning them properly. Continue reading →

How to Fix a Stuck Toothpaste Pump

Toothpaste pump

Toothpaste pumps are handy gadgets, and are also known as automatic toothpaste dispenser. They can pump out a measured toothpaste blob just right for a toothbrush. A toothpaste pump can be used with one hand, making it easy for people in a hurry, for children and for people with hand-coordination problems. Unlike a tube, it is made of a hard plastic and functions by pressing a knob on top rather than squeezing the tube.It was developed by someone in Germany, however, whom by is unknown, but it is known that there were a number of technical difficulties with the item before the item was perfected, these included storing the toothpaste in the tube without it drying out or indeed becoming too wet and runny, and perfecting the function of the tube, and ensuring it works correctly. Henkel were the first known in the world to sell their toothpaste in a pump. Sometimes the pumps quit working even if the pump tube still has toothpaste. With these simple steps you can get the toothpaste pump working again. Continue reading →

How to Cure Smokers Lips

Smokers lips - fine lines around the mouth

Before we start discussing about lip care for habitual smokers let us first have look at what smoking does to your mouth and lips. Smoking is not only bad for your health, it spoils your facial beauty too by causing lip darkening, dry skin and it also sometimes cause what is commonly known as smoker’s lips. Smoker’s lip refers to those fine lines around the mouth. These lines, even though are not always due to smoking, the latter is responsible to a great extent for those drawstring like lines around the mouth. It gives your mouth a puckered look and makes you look much older. Now let us see what other damage smoking does to our health and looks. Continue reading →