Frequently Asked Questions
Q) What is dental Caries?
It is decay of tooth structure initiated by microorganism (bacteria) present in the mouth
Q) What causes it?
Basically not cleaning your teeth properly after each meal, or not brushing with proper technique and not spending any time on flossing will result in lodgment of food particles between your teeth, they in turn get fermented especially carbohydrates and provide rich culture for bacterial growth. These bacteria produce acid, that penetrates enamel and denting of tooth structure, and result in dental caries.
Q) What other damages lodged food particles and caries can do?
Besides damaging oral cavity they can also affect your whole body.
Local damages. They can result in formation of plaque, calculus and tartar, which harbors between gumand tooth structure, damaging gingival (gm) attachment with teeth and as it goes deeper and deeper it also damages ligament attachment of teeth with bone and as a result, bone gripping and holding teeth in place begins to resorb, leaving teeth mobile and eventually loss of bone will result in a tooth loss.
Systemic or general body damages Bacterial present in the dental carries result in endocarditis a heart problem as a matter of fact 40% of all endocarditis are caused by bad oral hygiene. Bad teeth and poor oral hygiene also causes chronic intestinal problems. Research has shown that calculus present in pregnant women result in premature births and the babies born, have many abnormalities.
These are just some of the problems related to poor oral hygiene. As a matter of fact the list of problems caused by bad oral hygiene goes on and on and for detail knowledge you can consult your dentist or a text.
Q) What other damages, signs and symptoms will appear in diseased gingive (gum)?
The gingiva (gum) will become swollen and inflamed (red in color) and it will bleed easily the ease of bleeding depends upon severity of the condition.
Q) Does candy and sweet cause caries?
No, is a misconception that candy or sweets causes tooth decay, is only lack of proper care (such as brushing and flossing) that results in dental caries. However, since sweets and candies are sticky they easily get lodged between teeth, resulting in a quick fermentation and accelerate the process of acid formation by bacteria. If, after taking sweets proper brushing is done followed by Bossing, cavity formation can be avoided
Q) Can caries be cured?
Caries cannot be cured as such, but a dentist can take destroyed portion of tooth structure out and replace it with suitable filling material.
Q) Can gum diseases be cured?
Absolutely, dentists recommend scaling at least twice a year and employed with proper treatment, gum diseases can be cured completely. Unfortunately once the bone loss has occurred around the teeth it cannot be brought back to the same normal level but further destruction of the bone can be stopped.
Q) After the initiation of the caries, when does one feel the pain?
A tooth is composed of three layers outer enamel, middle dentine and inner pulp. Enamel is a non living structure once the caries reaches dentin which is a living and sensitive structure a person begins to feel pain on taking hot and cold food and beverages, as it goes deeper and deeper the severity of sensation increases along with pain once it reaches close to the pulp which harbors blood vessels and nerves a person feels excruciating pain. In some rare cases a person does not feel any pain.
Q) When caries reaches pulp can it be treated by simple filling?
Unfortunately no, once caries reaches pucal issues then filling alone will not do, in this case tooth has to be root canal treated.
Q) What is Root Canal Treatment?
In root canal treatment the blood vessel and nerve supply of a tooth are removed and thus by making a tooth deprived of blood vessels and nerves we make it dead.
Q) What are advantages of Root Canal Treatment?
By performing root canal treatment (R.C.T) we can save patients tooth rather then pulling it out and leaving empty space over there.
Q) What are disadvantages of Root Canal Treatment?
By performing R.C.T. tooth becomes brittle and can break into pieces easily when subjected to chewing forces.
Q) What can be done to avoid braking of a tooth after R.C.T.?
It becomes imperative after R.C.T. to strengthen the tooth by making a post n' core (normally in gold) and a crown, which can be in tooth colored material (porcelain)
Q) What is a difference between Crown and Bridge?
Crown is the prosthesis which is cemented over the natural tooth present in the mouth and it is non removable, while bridge replaces a missing tooth and is cemented over the teeth adjacent to missing natural tooth or teeth it is also non removable.
Q) In case if a tooth is lost what are the replacement option?
In line of priority they are
- Implants
- Fixed partial denture (crown and bridge)
- Cast partial denture.
Q) What are Implants and how they are better than rest of the prostheses?
They are made up of titanium and are placed in the bone of the jaw, which once housed the roots of the lost tooth or teeth. Once the tooth is lost the bone begins to resorb and once the bone of the jaw is lost it never grows again. So, when implant is placed in that bone it stops that loss of the bone, further more, since prosthesis is constructed over implant the adjacent teeth need not to be grinded for the support of a bridge.
Q) What are disadvantages of the bridge?
In order to fabricate fixed partial denture (bridge) at least two or more teeth need to be grinded for the support and sometimes cleaning of the tissues underneath the bridge is difficult to carry. out which leads to gingival inflammation and hyperplasia (overgrowth of the tissues).
Q) What is cast partial denture?
Cast partial is a removable plate made in mental and acrylic (plastic) and it is made where fixed partial denture cannot be made. It takes support both from natural teeth and underlying bone.