Category Archives: Oral Care

What Is a Dry Socket?

pain after third molar removal

A tooth socket holds the tooth in place by connecting its roots to the underlying alveolar bone. After a tooth is pulled, a blood clot forms over the socket to protect the bone and nerves underneath. Dry socket also known as alveolar osteitis is a common condition occurring few days after an extraction where the clot becomes dislodged or dissolves. It attracts air, food, fluid and almost anything that enters the mouth which leads to bacterial infection and results in severe pain. Dry socket delay healing of surrounding tissues and alveolar bone. Higher incidence of dry socket occurs after removal of impacted mandibular third molars followed by upper molars, premolars, canines and incisors. It occur twice more often after single tooth extractions when compared to multiple extractions completed at the same time. It occurs in those around the ages between 20 and 40. Continue reading →

Dental Tools Used in a Root Canal

The following are some brief explanations regarding the instruments used during root canal treatment.

Basic examination kit that is used for examination and diagnosis consists of

(1)Mouth mirror – to provide visualization and facilitate examination.

(2)Periodontal probe –

(3) Sharp explorer – to locate the root canal orifice.

(4)Tweezers/ Cotton forceps Continue reading →

What Is a Denture Reline?

Denture is a prostheses that replaces the missing tooth and the tooth supporting structures. It can either be removable, or fixed. After a denture has been worn for a long time, the shape of the base can change and no longer conform to the shape of the mouth. This can lead to loosening of the denture and resulting in discomfort. When this happens, the denture has to be remade. While waiting for the new denture to be fabricated, the base of the old denture can be changed to improve the comfort of the wearer temporarily. This procedure is known as relining. The reline material will fill the gap between the existing denture base and the surface of the oral tissue, making the denture adapted to the shape of the mouth. Continue reading →

How to Use Fluoride Therapy to Prevent Cavities

credits to greenstudentu.com

Fluoride is available in many ways:

1. Through water fluoridation.

Water fluoridation is listed as one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th century by U.S Centers for Disease control as it is a feasible way to introduce fluoride to the public. Although there may be different opinions regarding to adding fluoride to our water but it is undeniable that water fluoridation is an inexpensive and feasible way especially to people which stay in rural areas and fluoridated water might be the only source of fluoride. Continue reading →

What Is Dental Floss Made Of?

Dental floss is a piece of string that is used to clean the spaces in between our teeth, which is also known as interdental spaces. This is necessary because the bristles of the toothbrush is not able to enter into such fine spaces, and this will lead to debris accumulation if not cleaned by dental floss. Continue reading →

What is a dental bridge?

What is a dental bridge? Post-insertion of a bridge

A dental bridge is also known as a fixed partial denture. It is used to replace a single missing      tooth or a short span of missing teeth. It is a permanent prosthesis, which is joined to the tooth      or implant adjacent to the space created by the missing tooth. Before the bridge is fabricated, the    adjacent tooth on both sides of the missing space is prepared (a cantilever bridge requires only    one adjacent tooth to be prepared). The tooth is reduced to the appropriate size, depending on the   material used to fabricate the bridge. The reduced tooth will serve as the anchor unit, holding the   bridge in place. A dental bridge can be fabricated using all metal, all porcelain, porcelain fused to   metal or gold. Continue reading →

What Is the Function of a Toothbrush?

A toothbrush is a tool that is used to clean the teeth and to maintain our oral hygiene. Tooth brushing is one of the ways to control plaque level in our mouth , which is mechanically. It can also be done chemically, but mechanical cleaning is the most commonly practiced method around the world. It is also the most fundamental way of removing all the debris in our mouth, in which cannot be done by just using the chemical cleaning method alone. Continue reading →

Dental health and Smoking

Smoking is known to bring a lot of side effects to human body including the oral cavity. Most obvious side effect you can notice on smokers is the heavy staining on their teeth. Cigarettes contain nicotine which not only causes addiction but also causing brown staining on smokers teeth which is hard to remove by brushing alone. Professional scaling has to be done to remove them and staining can reappear quickly if patient continues to smoke. Continue reading →