The Hong Kong SAR Department of Health educates on the structure of the tooth as part of their effort to increase awareness about oral health care.
We have 20 deciduous or milk teeth and 32 permanent teeth. Each tooth is made up of hard tissues and soft tissues. Enamel, dentine and cementum make up the hard tissues. The enamel is the outer layer made up of minurals and is the hardest tissue of the body. Dentine is the next layer and is where the teeth get its yellowish color. Permanent teeth are more yellowish than deciduous teeth and become even more yellowish as we grow older. Cementum covers the root surface and connects the dentine and periodontal membrance.
The soft tissues are found inside and outside the tooth. Inside the tooth is the pulp, which has blood vessels and nerves. Periodontal tissues are outside the tooth. These include gingivae, which we call the gum, the punk tissue covering the alveolar bone. The periodontal membrance is the fibrous tissue that absorbs shocks to the teeth.
Image from www.toothclub.gov.hk
These materials have been mentioned as alternatives to amalgam. We’ll look deeper into the pros and cons of each type of filling used to restore decayed teet.
Composite, made of acrylic resin with glass or quartz additives, has been in use for decades. It is used to restore decayed teeth and to improved appearance in terms of tooth shape, size and color. It is prone to staining in the long term.
Glass Ionomer Cement consists of aluminosilicate glass powder and polyacrylic acid. It releases fluoride and prevents dental caries. It restores abraded teeth only temporarily because of its low durability.
Compomer was developed more recently from a combination of composite and glass ionomer cement, and therefore has the qualities of both materials–easier to manipulate like glass ionomer cement but not as resistant to wear as composite.
Last year, research teams from different parts of the world made the news when they expressed hope in the use of stem cells to grow new teeth. Separate groups of researchers from the Tokyo University of Science in Japan and King’s College London in the United Kingdom have successfully grown teeth from mouse stem cells and transplanted them into mice, while another team from the University of Southern California has grown teeth from human stem cells and transplanted them into pigs. It appears that the challenge is getting the teeth to form roots, without which the tooth would be rendered useless. Another question is where the stem cells will be taken from, whether they will be obtained from embryos, bone marrow, gums or teeth.
Perhaps when a blogger named dental spas as “the hottest trend” early last year, the declaration was premature. There still aren’t many places where you can have your nails done with your crown. But more and more dental spas are cropping up in cities all over America. Massage, pedicures and aromatherapy: they’re the perfect antithesis to nerve-wracking surgeries and procedures. Certainly not a few have installed zen-themed waterfalls and lighting. Dental clinics have distanced themselves from the scary dentists’ offices of the past with their strong chemical smell and have morphed into pleasant places, and all for the better.
by: Christine Zafra
If you lack a couple of teeth or maybe more, and would not want to settle for the inconvenient dentures, you might as well consider having dental implants. Though it costs higher than the usual dentures, these implants work like the original teeth: you don’t need to be cautious about eating corn on cobs or gnawing your favorite spare ribs with extra thick barbeque sauce. But of course, this doesn’t mean that you’re not going to take care of them just like your old natural teeth (assuming you lost it because of bad hygiene). You still have to make dentist appointments to make sure you’re maintaining your implants well so it’ll last longer (it costs much higher than dentures, mind you!).
by: Christine Zafra
If you look in front of a mirror while smiling, and you see your gums saying hi back at you, there must be something wrong. Your gums should not be seen when you are smiling (not unless you find it cute). Some clinics however, offer this service that you would need: gum lift.
You can have your gum line sculptured to a desired look. Dentists can make an incision on your gums and make it look thinner or make it disappear when smiling. This gum lift is also being used by a lot of dentists to treat certain gum diseases.
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.
By Aileen Banting
This time around, only the visible part of a tooth is repaired, by using the veener procedure. Veener is a thin facing of a porcelain or plastic material which serves to reinstate the perceptible part of the tooth. It is used to repair a damaged tooth and at the same time whiten the teeth lastingly and make the mouth more pleasing to the eye. Subsequent to preparing the tooth, an impression will be created then it will be sent to a dental technician who then will make the veener. The porcelain veener will be cemented into place. Special cement that will bond it to the affected tooth will be used. This is a well known and conventional way for improving the façade of the 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
From the name itself, crown does exactly what it entails. A crown of a tooth would be the head of your tooth. So when you are about to have a crown in dental language, the head of your tooth is about to be replaced or repaired. When everything or a vast area of a tooth’s crown has been destroyed either by injury or decay, the lost tooth matter has to be restored. To start off, the remaining section of the tooth is trimmed down in preparation for a alternate crown. After having the tooth’s impression of the prepared tooth, the dentist will send it to a dental technician who will then make the replacement crown. The new crown will be cemented on the remaining area of the tooth .A replacement crown’s materials is usually either porcelain or gold or even the mixture of both. Meanwhile, temporary crowns use acrylic.