DENTISTSECRETS - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

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Thankyou to everyone that has asked us about their dental care. We do apologise that we are unable to answer your questions personally, and we apologise if your questions have not been answered in this Q&A. Please keep reading future editions as we aim to answer all of the important dental queries that you send to us in due course.

(Please note that your questions will be rewritten, not only for brevity in these issues, but to make some questions more easy to understand for other readers ).

Dentistsecrets guarantees strict confidentially for all information received.

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Q1.

I have been getting a lot of pain on one side of my mouth every time I eat or drink anything. Any temperature causes it and it even affects my ear on that side. When I finish eating the pain goes after a few minutes.

Will Sensodyne toothpaste help with this or do I need antibiotics?

Sensodyne and similar toothpastes designed to reduce tooth sensitivity may reduce some of the pain you are feeling. The symptoms you describe do not sound like you simply have sensitive teeth though. A tooth that is causing pain to spread to your ear needs to be checked professionally, you may even have an abscess forming and if so, this needs to be diagnosed and treated quickly. Antibiotics will reduce pain from an abscess for a while, as they will kill the infection that is there. They cannot cure the cause of a dental abscess and the tooth will still need treating. We do NOT advise you to take a course of antibiotics for an undiagnosed condition. You may not have infection and taking unnecessary medication is not recommended.

Our advice is to see a Dentist and find the cause of your pain.

My son had his front tooth completely knocked out playing football. We cleaned the tooth and wrapped it in tissue. When we went to the Dentist he said that it was unlikely that his attempt to save the tooth would now work and has given us some brochures on how to replace the tooth artificially. Why?

If a tooth is knocked out, the best way to get it to the Dentist is to put the uncleaned tooth in the mouth by the cheek. If this is not possible, putting it (uncleaned) in milk is an option. Cleaning the tooth destroys the cells on the root face that help the tooth to reattach following splinting it in place and this reduces the chance of success.

One question for you – Why was your son not wearing a sports guard for football?

For any contact or racket sport it is a good idea to wear a mouth guard to protect the teeth. A professionally made and fitted guard is best. A good, even fit is essential to spread impact evenly across the mouth. Self made and adjusted mouth guards can actually focus impacts as they do not fit evenly. This can make it more likely to fracture a tooth than if you weren’t wearing a guard at all.

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Q3.

My son has been recommended to have fissure sealants applied to all of his

teeth by our new dentist. He is 13 and has never needed treatment before.

Do you recommend that we go ahead or will this damage his teeth?

Fissure sealants are a plastic film that can be flowed into any pits, deep fissures or

grooves found on the surfaces of the teeth. This protects the more vulnerable areas

of the teeth from decay. Before the sealants are applied, the tooth surface is

thoroughly cleaned to remove any plaque that may be present. The tooth surface is

treated with an etchant to help the seal to stick. Sealants do not damage the

structure of the teeth and may help protect the teeth from decay. They are best

applied as soon as possible after the teeth erupt as this is when they are most at risk

of decay.

Q4.

My daughter has brown patches on her front teeth even though she brushes

her teeth well. What can we use to get rid of them? Whitening toothpaste does

not help.

Not all marks on teeth are surface stain. Some marks are intrinsic stains (within

the tooth structure itself ) and no toothpaste or whitening treatment will remove

them.

These stains have many causes which are discussed in more detail in “Whitening –

Is it Whiter Than White”. They can be hidden by covering the tooth surface with

either plastic or porcelain coatings, but again this is covered in more detail in the

publication about tooth whitening.

Q5.

I had a set of full dentures made about a year ago. I have had an appointment

come from the surgery. When I rang to say that the dentures were fine, they

recommended that I attend anyway. Why?

Even if you have no teeth, it is worth seeing a dentist annually as many problems

can arise in the mouth that you may not be aware of. Dentists do not only check

teeth, they should be checking the entire mouth for any signs or symptoms of

disease. Regular checks mean that if problems do arise, they can be identified and

treated in the early stages.

Q6.

At what age do you recommend to start cleaning children’s teeth?

There is no set age recommendation, but you should start to clean a child’s teeth

as soon as they appear in the mouth. There is no need to use toothpaste at this

age, but you need to remove plaque from the tooth surfaces to prevent decay.

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DID YOU KNOW?

Dr West’s miracle toothbrush with nylon bristles.

Nylon was invented in 1937 by Wallace H Carothers in the USA. It was first used to make modern type of toothbrushes in 1938: They were known as Dr West’s miracle toothbrush with nylon bristles.