Anthropologic evidence suggests that archaic dentistry, mostly dental drilling, was practiced even 7000 BC. Of course there have been many of developments in the field of dentistry since then. It’s the 21st Century, after all! Technology has enabled us to find new techniques and materials. These include dental prosthesis, dental fillings, and even dental surgery.

How would you feel if your teeth are being dilled using crude stone implements? Ouch!

In dental restoration, dental surgeons and dentists use a variety of materials, depending on the need and type of operation, as well as the patient’s preferences. Here are a few of them:

1. Gold and other base metals
These are usually used for fillings, and are very durable, if not only for the metal sheen that stands out with the whiteness of the teeth.

2. Amalgam
Easily one of the most controversial materials used in dental restoration, it is made out of a mix of several metals, such as silver, tin, mercury, and copper. And while some may cite health concerns over it’s use, no scientific data has yet to solidify those claims.

3. Composite resin
Composite resin is composed of acrylic plastic material mixed with glass or quartz fillers, is sturdy, but is prone to discoloration.

Maybe some would neglect a baby tooth and just wait for it to come off so that a better and stronger permanent tooth will come and be part of the bright smile on your face. Don’t under estimate the little ones, because if you do not take care of them properly, it can also affect the future of your permanent teeth. Baby teeth should be kept in place and given proper treatment until they are replaced by the permanent ones. Lost of a baby tooth at an early stage can cause problems for the growth and development of a permanent tooth. This can cause crowding issues, because there will be inadequate space for the permanent teeth.

If your tooth gets knocked out of place, don’t throw it away or put it under your pillow for the toothfairy to see, instead get some milk. According to the American Dental Association (ADA), there is still a chance your tooth may be re implanted back into your gums.

There is one important rule to consider before you try this procedure. It is EXTREMELY important that you don’t clean the tooth nor handle it by its roots. Instead, hold it on its crown or chewing edge. Once you’ve done this, immerse the whole tooth in milk. Then bring the it to the dentist or emergency room and pray that it’s going to be successful.

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By Aileen Banting

Who would not want to fix something that is broken for it to function normally again? Restoring a decayed or damaged tooth makes everything better, easier and comfortable for you and your pearly whites. Protection would be a main goal for damaged or decayed tooth. When a tooth is being repaired, it means it is to protect the area of the tooth that has been exposed to decay or injury. By protecting it, it prevents losing a tooth. Why? Because decay san spread throughout the tooth and destroy it. If you restore your tooth back to its healthy self, you can digest your food without any problems. Plus, it will improve how it looks like.

After the direct restorations, we move on the indirect ones starting with dental inlays or onlays. These are used to repair teeth with mild or moderate amount of cavity or decay, or restore cracked or fractured tooth.

Usually these things are made of porcelain, composite resin, or gold. For those who want to look normal they go for the first two, those who want to stand out take the last one. As mentioned, last time, indirect restorations happen in a lab of sorts. Therefore, there will be a lot of trips to the dentist to make sure that the in or outlay is correctly done.

We will discuss the advantages of inlays and onlays on the next post.

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Dental braces work on teeth for months to adjust and align them properly. After the right positions of teeth have been achieved, they are removed and replaced with removable braces or retainers that hold the teeth in the exact location for the time it takes the body to grow new bone, stabilizing the teeth into their proper place. Skipping braces gets the teeth back into their wild side, reverting to their original locations or even compounding an already successful procedure leaving them crooked as before. So dentists are getting tough on kids after treatment reminding them repeatedly to wear their retainers, for their smile’s sake(and their parents pockets too)

We mentioned in the last post that dental amalgam is one of the best direct restorative material as of today. However, we also posted here, and here, the possible dangers presented by one of the main ingredients of the amalgam: mercury. Now we’re going to update you on new information regarding this subject.

Norway has taken a stand against dental amalgam. They have totally banned its use across the country as they reasoned that safer alternatives are available. This not only includes dental fillings but also measuring instruments. They consider the mercury as “…among the most dangerous environmental toxins. Satisfactory alternatives to mercury in products are available, and it is therefore fitting to introduce a ban.”

Will the world soon follow suit or will this be disproved? Watch this blog for more details soon.

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Tragically lost teeth can be replaced by dental implants with a great chance of success.
New materials are the basis of today’s dental technology from imaging to exotic materials hot out of the research labs, they all play part in the advancement of dental technology. From extremely resilient plastics, epoxy and other resins used to bond and coat teeth to tough metals the body does not reject and recognize as foreign we should be thankful to molecular biologists and other scientists for.

by: Christine Zafra

A lot of people are victims of the dreaded “sensitive teeth” disease. They have been deprived of the good things in life specially those of ice cream, sizzling spare ribs and other foods that are either extra hot or ultra cold. Some even feel pain whenever they try to breathe through their mouths. It is but a natural phenomenon for the enamel of your teeth to get thinner as you get older (since you have been chewing a lot of stuff, I presume), but to those who have sensitive teeth at such a young age, that’s a different story (perhaps, something to do with the things you eat or your habits).

There are hundreds of toothpastes in the market that will help you sooth your sensitive teeth. But if you want a faster solution, you can have your teeth crowned. Through crowning, your teeth can have a brand new coating and so, the insides of your teeth (or the dentin) won’t experience much of a torture anymore.