I wanted to let everyone know about the site dentalheath.org. It is a site by the British Dental Health Foundation. There is a section for the public, a section for the press, and a section for professionals.
Most people will find the Dental Health Information Leaflets section in the for the public part of the website to be useful. There are numerous useful dental related categories such as wisdom teeth, what to do following an extraction, x-rays, and so on.
Since the site is from the British Dental Health Foundation, it’s intended audience is for people who live in Britain so this is important to keep in mind. Even so the information can be helpful for everyone. The site is arranged so that frequently asked questions for each category are asked and then answered.
For example, in the wisdom teeth category, a question is “What are the main reasons for taking wisdom teeth out?” The answer is
Far fewer wisdom teeth are now taken out than in the past. If the tooth is not causing problems, your dentist will not want to remove it. They will only remove wisdom teeth: – when it is clear that they will not be able to come through into a useful position because there is not enough room, and they are also causing some pain or discomfort – if they have only partly come through and are decayed – such teeth will often decay as it will be difficult to clean them as thoroughly as your other teeth – if they are painful.
Another example, in the what to do following an extraction category, a question is “I am still in pain, what could it be?” The answer is
Sometimes an infection can get in the socket, which can be very painful. This is where there is little or no blood clot in the tooth socket and the bony socket walls are exposed and become infected. This is called a dry socket and in some cases is worse than the original toothache! In this case, it is important to see your dentist, who may place a dressing in the socket and prescribe a course of antibiotics to help relieve the infection. You may also feel the sharp edge of the socket with your tongue and sometimes small pieces of bone may work their way to the surface of the socket. This is perfectly normal.