Author Archives: SH

What are the reasons why teeth may get discolored and how to manage it

credits to dr karthik.com

There are a lot of reasons why teeth may get discolored and it is important for the dental practitioner to recognize the underlying cause before deciding on a treatment plan.  Discoloration can affect the entire arch (generalized discoloration) or maybe limited to few or several teeth in an arch. (Localized discoloration)Before we discuss on the treatment options for tooth discoloration, here are some reasons that might cause tooth discoloration.Tooth discoloration can be due to extrinsic or intrinsic factors. Continue reading →

Common medical emergencies in dental practice (Part 2)

 Asthmatic attack

Asthmatic attack can be induced/ provoked when an asthmatic patient is exposed to allergens and drugs used in dental practice and when they undergoing certain amount of anxiety and stress.  A patient who is undergoing asthmatic attack will normally complain of a tight chest and shortness of breath. You may also hear a wheezing sound (a high pitched whistling sound) when the patient exhales. Rapid pulse can be detected during the attack and this situation can be fatal if the patient is unable to talk to you. Thus, remember to bring along your asthmatic drugs or salbutamol inhalers (if you are an asthmatic patient) or postpone your dental treatment if you had an asthmatic attack recently. Continue reading →

Common medical emergencies in dental practice (Part 1)

Medical emergencies can happen in anywhere including the dental office. It is important to know how to prevent and manage medical emergencies because they can be life threatening. Below are some common medical emergencies that can take place inside a dental clinic.

Continue reading →

What Is a Dry Socket?

Dry socket or alveolar osteitis is a complication of delayed healing following tooth extraction. Dry socket occurs when the blood clot is lost from its socket exposing the bone to air, bacteria and fluid. Loss of blood clot can be due to excessive fibrinolytic activity caused by bacterial, salivary factors and etc. (For your information, fibrinolysis is a process that prevents blood clot from forming) In the absence of a blood clot, healing of the extraction site is delayed because soft tissue must grow from the gum margins to cover the bone and fill the extraction socket.

Continue reading →

What causes dry mouth and how to overcome it

Dry mouth is also known as xerostomia. Xerostomia is not a disease but a subjective complain of oral dryness resulting from reduced saliva flow. However, dry mouth can be associated with certain medical conditions such as diabetes , sjogren syndrome and etc.  This is why you should not ignore and get a professional consultation if you are suspecting that you are suffering from dry mouth.

Continue reading →

What to do when your child knocks his tooth out?

credits to studiodentaire.com

Before I explain to you regarding the emergency measures that you should perform when your child knocks his tooth out, let me briefly discuss about what will happen to a tooth after it is completely displaced out of socket. Success of a replantation depends on the amount of time the tooth is out of socket and storage medium used to store the avulsed tooth. Avulsion is complete displacement of tooth out of socket. Continue reading →

Success Rate and Outcomes of Root Canal Therapy

Every stakeholder in dental delivery system has different definitions and expectations regarding the outcome and result of root canal treatment. As a patient, you might be concerned about the function and esthetic of the endodontically treated tooth where as your dentist will judge the outcome of a root canal treatment based on the results of clinical and radiographic examinations. Continue reading →

Root Canal Obturation Techniques

Sealing the root canal system with a proper filling material is an important step in determining the success of root canal treatment. This is known as obturation which is done to prevent reinfection of microorganisms into the root canal system. Continue reading →

Pros and Cons of Different Dental Fillings

Dental restorations are placed to restore the function, anatomy and integrity of tooth structure which can be lost due to various reasons such as dental caries, trauma and etc. They can be broadly classified into two categories: direct and indirect restorations. Direct filling materials are used for chair side restorations where as indirect restorations such as crowns, bridges, inlays are fabricated outside the patient’s mouth. Before we venture into the pros and cons of different types of restorative materials, let me explain to you the requirements of an ideal dental filling material. Continue reading →