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Welcome to our Wear & Tear page of the Views on Dental Health Section.
Following are many topics pertaining to Wear & Tear published by Dr. Patenaude in our local paper. Scan the list of articles for one that is of specific interest to you. Click on the article title and detailed information will be immediately presented to you.
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A Cracked Tooth
Some people just love to chew ice. Although it's no worse than crushing candy or other hard edibles with you teeth, it can cause lots of problems. It breaks fillings, chips enamel, and cracks teeth.
A cracked tooth may be sensitive to biting pressure but not necessarily to percussion (tapping). If the crack extends into the pulp chamber, root canal therapy will probably be necessary along with full crown coverage. But a cracked tooth may be tough to find -- even with x-rays. Let's not start thinking root canals and crowns without a thorough examination. Often, the problem is a traumatic bite.
Response of an abscessed tooth to percussion is different from a cracked tooth. Here the sensitivity to tapping is not mild but results in a sharp, acute pain and ache that indicates serious infection of the nerve and inflammation of the membrane at the tip of the root. This condition is not reversible. Sometimes the pain disappears temporarily, but the nerve continues to degenerate.
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Abrasion and Erosion
Abrasion and erosion are not forms of dental decay, yet they are the same in the sense that they are also conditions in which substance is lost from the teeth. Abrasion is a mechanical wearing away of the teeth from such causes as nervous grinding (bruxism), excessively vigorous horizontal brushing, and gripping pipe stems between teeth.
Erosion, on the other hand, is loss of tooth substance by a chemical process that does not involve known bacterial action. It usually appears as a smooth, highly polished, scooped-out area on the enamel surface at the junction close to the gum line. Although it might be mistaken for an area abraded by excessive brushing, the condition usually occurs in people who do not brush their teeth.
In many cases of abrasion and erosion, Dr. Patenaude may be able to restore the damage portions of the teeth, depending on the extent and/or the location of the defect.
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Bite Collapse
If any of your back teeth are missing, resulting in "bite collapse". Dr. Patenaude recommends use of a bite plate until the missing teeth have been replaced. A thin plate of acrylic resin, the biteplate covers part of the hard palate. Placed behind the upper front teeth, the bite plate is thickened and flattened in order to make contact with the lower front teeth. This tends to keep the back teeth slightly apart when your mouth is closed.
The bite plate is sometimes combined with other devices such as clasps around the back teeth for added retention. It can also be used with and arch wire to stabilize loose teeth or in combination with acrylic blocks to prevent teeth from drifting.
There are temporary measures to protect your permanent teeth and keep them in proper alignment until a permanent bridge has been prepared to replace the missing teeth. Often a bite plate is also useful in treating other problems such as tooth grinding or jaw clenching which cause teeth to move out of alignment.
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CAN TEETH LAST A LIFETIME?
Can your teeth last a lifetime? Yes! The deep-rooted belief that you must inevitably lose your teeth as you grow older ranks among he most serious of the old wife's tales. There is no reason to resign yourself to replacing teeth with false ones. With good care, your teeth have an excellent chance of lasting a lifetime.
The greatest single cause of tooth loss in adults is pyorrhea (gum disease) and not, as most people believe, cavities. But deposits that cause this gum disease can be regularly removed through good home hygiene and by the dentist.
It's seldom too late to begin taking really good care of your teeth-and it's obviously well worth the effort. Dentures, efficient as they are, simply don't function as well as your natural teeth. For convenience and performance there are no teeth like your own.
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Hot and Cold of It
Hot foods and cold drinks may be enjoyable together, but there is evidence that this combination can result in dental damage. Studies have found that intensive cycles of heat and cold can cause tiny cracks in tooth enamel, inviting tooth decay and possible tooth fracture.
Heat alone seems to do no harm. Cold is the villain, and when warm teeth are suddenly exposed to cold, the temperature drop can be shocking. Thus, if your after-dinner coffee at 140 degrees is followed by ice cream at 35 degrees, the enamel contracts severely. The resulting pressure on the shrinking enamel may make it crack. Repeated exposure to such temperature changes increases the possibility of tooth fracture.
One sure way to injure teeth is to chew cracked ice. The physical pressure from chewing hard ice, combines with the sudden temperature drop, subject's teeth to dangerously high levels of stress. If you wear a full set of dentures, there's no problem. They come out at night anyway-but why take a chance with the ones Mother Nature provided?
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REPLACING OLD BRIDGEWORK
You probably realize the importance of replacing missing teeth with bridgework for your appearance's sake as well as to help keep your teeth in proper alignment. Even the best-made bridgework, however, will show signs of wear in time. This wearing may also lead to irritation of your gums because the bridgework no longer fits as well in your mouth as it did initially.
If you have bridgework that shows signs of wear or if you notice your gums have receded or look red and puffy, ask Dr. Patenaude if he would recommend replacing the old bridgework with a new appliance. In checking your mouth and your old bridgework he may also study signs of wear on the artificial teeth as well as opposing natural teeth.
Before the new bridgework is fitted into your mouth, Dr. Patenaude will want to make sure your gums are healthy. Any infection that is causing irritation, redness, or puffiness will be treated before you begin wearing the new bridgework. In addition to a good fit, he will make the bridgework as natural-looking as possible to it will blend in well with your other teeth.
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Restoring Deeply Decayed Teeth
If you have a badly decayed tooth in which both the enamel and dentin (the bone-like tissue that forms the body of the tooth), have been penetrated, Dr. Patenaude may recommend a new bonding process to restore the tooth. Instead of an acid etch technique, a ferric oxalate solution is used to attach a composite resin material to the tooth surface. This not only improves adhesion; it also requires less tooth preparation.
The use of plastic bonding materials such as composite resin in restoring a decayed tooth helps to maintain the tooth's natural appearance. This material can also be used to fill in chipped teeth or in reshaping teeth to remove unsightly gaps that may detract from a person's appearance. It is also used to cover discoloured teeth and other imperfections.
The bonding technique can also be used in treating cavities along the gum line. Plastic boding is often preferred by patients to dental amalgam or metal alloys, especially in restoring teeth that are noticeable when they smile.
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Worn Teeth
Through years of use, the teeth are likely to become worn and shortened, changing the relationship between the jaws. This can result in pain and problems. Wear includes attrition, abrasion and erosion.
Attrition - Decades of chewing wear down the biting surfaces of the teeth. Sometimes the enamel is completely worn away. The process is hastened by the destructive habit of grinding the teeth. In severe instances the face may lose some of its height, which can change the facial appearance, make you look older and cause pain in the joint.
Abrasion: This type of wear occurs just below the enamel in the material that covers the roots. It is more prevalent on tooth roots that are exposed by receding gums and is caused mainly by overly forceful brushing, although other conditions and a variety of habits contribute.
Erosion: Acids in the mouth may etch away parts of the tooth surfaces. Erosion is likelier to occur if the mouth is dry. It is also associated with habitually sucking on acidic foods, such as lemon drops.
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