Everything You Need to Know About Dental Implants

Dental Implants A dental implant is a replacement tooth that looks exactly like your real teeth. There is a root that is placed into the jawbone, which holds the replacement tooth in place. Dental implants are a perfect option for people who have lost teeth because of an injury, periodontal disease, or for any other reason. Types of Dental Implants There are two types of dental implants. The type of dental implant that you receive depends on what condition your mouth is in. The two types are Endosteal and Subperiosteal. Endosteal: This is the type of implant that is used most often, and is placed in the jawbone. Screws, blades, and cylinders are used to secure the teeth to the jawbone. Each of the implants holds one prosthetic tooth, and it is used as an alternative for patients with removable … Read more

Cheese may aid in cavity prevention

In an article appearing in the May/June 2013 issue of General Dentistry, it was found that eating cheese and other diary products may be beneficial in protecting teeth against cavities. The study sampled 68 subjects between the ages of 12 and 15 and looked at their dental plaque pH in their mouth before and after eating cheese, yogurt, and milk. In fact, three different groups were used one that eat cheddar cheese another that drink milk and another that eat sugar free yogurt. Each group was told to eat/drink for around 3 minutes and then swish their mouth with water. Then the researchers measured the pH level of each subject’s mouth at 10, 20 and 30 minutes after they finished eating/drinking. The researchers found that the groups who drank milk and ate yogurt had no changes in pH levels in … Read more

New Website For Oral Surgeons Group: MyOMS.org

A new website was launched last month by the Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), a U.S. based oral and maxillofacial surgeons group, MyOMS.org. The press release for the website launch is located over at http://myoms.org/assets/uploads/documents/myoms.org_website_news_release.pdf and titled Web site Gives Patients New Insight into Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. It was known several months ago that a new website was coming, see the post Upcoming Changes to JOMS and AAOMS in 2014. The website is described in the press release as easy to navigate and designed to allow the public access to vital information on conditions of the face, mouth, and jaw. The press release also describes how videos and illustrations explain many of the procedures offered. Furthermore, a Find a Surgeon feature allows patients to find oral surgeons near where they live or work. Reviewing the website, the design … Read more

Wisdom Teeth: Perspectives from the Military

In previous discussions on this blog such as Third Molar Morbidity Among Troops Deployed and elsewhere, a discussion has been made about whether or not wisdom teeth should be extracted in those involved in the armed forces. A new article from Hurlbert Field titled “Wisdom teeth: Should they stay or go” provides a perspective by Staff Sgt. Jeff Andrejcik, was written on December 3, 2013, and is located over at http://www2.hurlburt.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123372876. The article is written by a special operations dentist who performs wisdom teeth extractions. He says he has removed over 300 wisdom teeth and once removed 8 in one patient. He says in the article that most people don’t have room for wisdom teeth and they grow in sideways and are not cleansable. Larkin discusses how pericoronitis can occur in patients who have wisdom teeth that erupt but not fully leaving … Read more

Osteonecrosis of the Jaw As a Complication After Wisdom Teeth Removal

Removing wisdom teeth or a wisdom tooth has risks and in some instances complications can occur. I have discussed numerous complications of wisdom teeth over at http://www.teethremoval.com/complications.html. One of the complications discussed is Bisphosphonate Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (BRONJ). What happens is that when a patient is on bisphosphonates and has a tooth extracted (any tooth a wisdom tooth or not) bone that is exposed can fail to heal. A case of this occurring is described at the Daily Mail titled “Grandmother in agony for FOUR YEARS after dentist removed wisdom tooth without checking her medical records,” by Steve Robinson, published on March 19, 2013. In this case a 72 year old woman had a problem where she kept catching her teeth with her cheek and noticed blood. She went to her general practitioner who performed a biopsy and … Read more