dentist

Orange Juice Bad For Teeth

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Researchers at the Eastman Institute for Oral Health wanted to see the negative effects on the tooth from using whitening products. Eastman Institute’s YanFang Ren, DDS, PhD, and his researchers looked at the effects of 6 percent hydrogen peroxide which the common ingredient in professional and over-the-counter whitening product. They also looked at acidic fruit juices and found that orange juice markedly decreased hardness and increased roughness of tooth enamel. The researchers found that the acid is so strong that the tooth is literally washed away. The orange juice decreased enamel hardness by 84 percent.” However, no significant change in hardness or surface enamel was found when they looked at teeth whitening products. Weakened and eroded enamel may speed up the wear of the tooth and increases the risk for tooth decay. Like soda and acidic fruit juices orange juice … Read more

Wisdom Tooth Extraction Video

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The following is a video provided by PBHS Inc,. which is the same company featured in the previous post. While they may engage in practices that promote oral surgeons to all use nearly the exact same content about dentistry, oral surgery, wisdom teeth, and other procedures on their websites, they also do provide decent content. This video talks about the process of getting your wisdom teeth out. Of course they fail to mention that your oral surgeon or one you are considering does not have to mention legally all of the possible complications that could arise from the surgery. Only the more prevalent complications and life-threatening ones are essential and must be mentioned before any procedure such as wisdom teeth removal.

Oral Cancer Diagnosed Too Late

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Across the world, more than 500,000 new cases of cancer of the mouth are diagnosed each year. The majority are found too late, causing many people to die within five years. There is little information related to early diagnosis and referral. Although the need for prosthodontics was expected to decline with the promotion of preventive measures, it is actually increasing with the aging population. The highest risk of developing oral cancer is in adults over 40 who use both tobacco and alcohol. The majority of oral, head and neck cancer are initially diagnosed in a late stage, which has a five year prognosis of less than 50 percent. If these tumors are found in their earliest stage, the five year prognosis becomes a very good 95 percent. All dentists are  trained to detect these tumors in an early stage. Even … Read more

Dentist Drill Use Dwindling in The Future

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A new technology that spots tooth decay almost as soon as it’s begun promises to reduce the need for drilling and filling. Drilling is one of the top dental phobias causing many to not to go to the dentist. The new technology may be available five years from now, is based on Raman spectroscopy most commonly used to distinguish between different chemicals by identifying each molecule’s unique fingerprint. It detects decay simply and painlessly by pointing a tiny optical fibre at the tooth to check on its health. A preliminary study at King’s College London, where the technique is being developed, found that chemical changes in the tooth could be detected by analysing how light is scattered when a laser is fired at the tooth. Researchers were able to tell healthy teeth from carious teeth because bacteria, responsible for the … Read more

Abandoned Dentist Chair

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I found this great photo of an abandoned dentist chair while searching through photos on Flickr. I think this image captures the fear many people feel when visiting the dentist. You may be feeling that something is going to go terribly wrong and that your life may be changed forever. Or you may feel really uncomfortable and want to be doing some other activity. The original URL is http://www.flickr.com/photos/22793898@N04/2191423773/