How to ensure sound bites

Teeth add beauty to a smile and shape to the face. A toothless grin might look charming – but only on the elderly or infants. Yet, many people are ignorant of the ways of maintaining good oral hygiene which could help preserve their gleaming pearls.
Brushing properly and maintaining good oral hygiene would prevent most dental problems, says Dr. Isabelle Tillen, dental/oral surgeon at Al Zahra Private Medical Hospital.
She lists some common dental problems and suggests how they could be avoided:

Erosion and sensitive teeth
Erosion of teeth happens when tooth tissue is lost to chemical attack. One of the main culprits is carbonated drinks, which have a high acid content.
Erosion of the tooth's protective enamel surface can lead to sensitivity. People who consume excess sugar also risk tooth decay.
One way of preventing this is by drinking more water, swishing your teeth before gulping it.
The clinical treatment would be to prescribe special toothpastes specially created for sensitive teeth, and fluoride mouth rinses.

Dental decay in children
The main culprit is too many sweets and chocolates, together with poor brushing and dental hygiene.
Parents should ensure that children do not binge on sweets. Limit them to meal times or as a special treat.
Teach your children to brush well, and seek the advice of a dental hygienist if you are unsure. "You'll be amazed at the number of patients I see who 'brush' their teeth but do not get them clean,'' says Dr. Tillen.
Dental flossing can start in one's early teens. Today, there is no excuse for poor oral hygiene since dental brushes, floss and pastes are available almost everywhere.
Get your children into the habit of looking after their teeth from an early age.

Badly-aligned teeth
"The most common problem we see is crowding of teeth,'' says Dr Tillen. This is usually developmental – in other words, the teeth have naturally erupted in the wrong way. It could also be due to poor jaw alignment. Early loss of teeth due to dental decay or traumatic injuries are yet another reason for badly-aligned teeth.

Thumb-sucking could also cause badly-aligned teeth, but this condition often sorts itself out when the habit is stopped. An orthodontist would suggest using braces to re-align them. In severe cases, braces combined with surgery gives excellent results.

Discoloured teeth
Your teeth could be heavily stained. It could be hereditary or caused by certain medications administered during tooth development. Darkening of teeth could also be a natural part of aging.
Home bleaching is a common way of whitening the teeth. It involves custom- made bleaching trays containing a bleaching gel. Home bleaches are usually pleasant-tasting and contain carbamide peroxide in different concentrations.

However, if you intend to do bleaching, ensure that your gums are healthy. If they is any hint of decay, it should be treated. Remember that the bleaching agent will not whiten fillings or crowns, and you may find that these become more visible. They may then need to be replaced.

Broken teeth
This may occur due to accidents. The solutions are plenty – crowns, veneers or implants, according to the case.
Even if an adult loses a tooth, it can be reimplanted. The earlier the tooth is reimplanted, the better the chances of its survival, especially in the case of children.
One point to remember is that if an accident occurs and a tooth drops out, put it in milk and go straight to a dentist. Avoid touching the root of the tooth.

Spaces between teeth
This is caused by unproportional size of teeth and jaw, or due to small and unattractive teeth. Orthodontic treatment by a specialist would help close the gaps.
Another choice of treatment would be to place veneers, crowns or bridges on top of the teeth, which would also close the spaces.
Implants could also be an option. The advantage of implants is that it does not involve cutting down healthy surrounding teeth to place the restoration say, for example, as a bridge does.

Loose dentures
Patients with dentures often complain that the dentures get loose over a period of time, especially if they are on the lower jaw. Usually, this could be because the denture has been worn for too long and never been realigned. Imagine wearing the same pair of shoes for years. They too would become pretty worn out, says Dr. Tillen.

Patients wearing dentures need to visit the dentist regularly to check the fitting, especially if you wear a part denture, to make sure your other teeth are still healthy. It's often these teeth that stabilise your denture and keep it in place, even if it is just one or two teeth.

Gums recede with age, and poor fitting dentures speed up bone recession. This makes dentures fit poorly and the patient gets into a vicious circle, resulting in dentures that become difficult to wear and eat with. Now, with the option of implants, patients with no teeth can have permanent dentures fitted.

Impacted wisdom teeth
"As an oral surgeon, I see a lot of impacted wisdom teeth that require removal,'' says Dr Tillen. These teeth often cause pain at the back of the mouth sometimes extending to the region of the ear. A lot of these teeth can be surgically removed under local anaesthetic (a simple injection). More severe cases require you to go to hospital.

Sometimes, impacted teeth are symptomless, but act as traps for food and bacteria, causing decay in the wisdom tooth and the tooth in front. Again these need to be removed.
It is important that if a tooth never emerges to have it checked by a dentist and an X-ray taken. Some of these teeth can develop big cysts around them which you may not be aware of.
The most common dental problems – decay and gum disease – are totally preventable, she says.
There is no mystery, no magic, just good brushing and good dental hygiene!