Dental Crown a ..life line...for root canal treated teeth

Root canal is one of the advanced and revolutionary treatments in dentistry to save infected and badly decayed natural tooth. The term “root canal” comes from cleaning of the canals inside the tooth’s root after the removal of infected pulp and followed by disinfecting and filling tooth roots. Once the dentist has an access to the tooth’s roots, the infected dental pulp is removed and the roots are treated with antibiotics.

Why crowns are advised

To better understand the need for dental crowns, it’s necessary to understand why root canal therapy results in large tissue loss

Similar to a cavity filling procedure, tissue is removed from the tooth. This requires the removal of any diseased tissue within and around the cavity. Once a cavity has reached the roots of a tooth, it has usually compromised a relatively large portion of the tooth.

As there is no blood supply, over the time this causes tooth to become brittle and likely to fracture. Permanent fillings after root canals protect the treated teeth from bacteria and to strengthen them in the process but, without the extra protection, which crown provides, there are chances of tooth fracture. Another advantage of crowns is that they restore the natural appearance of your teeth.

Benefits of dental crown

Dental fillings are effective ways of replacing lost tooth tissue. However, they can only fill gaps in a tooth that is otherwise healthy and relatively strong. Root canal therapy tends to weaken a tooth to the point where it shouldn’t be just filled, but also protected on the exterior. More importantly, the dental pulp has been removed, which is responsible for generating new, healthy tissues within a tooth. Consequently, dental crowns are needed for superior restoration.

o    Structural support: Crowns simultaneously fill lost tissue while serving as the tooth’s outer layer. In this way, crowns restore strength to a tooth that would be too weak to function on its own.

o    Protection: By capping the natural crown of a tooth, dental crowns protect a tooth from injury, stress, and abrasion.

o    Preservation: Without a crown, the alternative for many teeth would be extraction and replacement. A crown allows patients to preserve a natural tooth, rather than replace it with a dental implant or bridge.

o     Durability: By using porcelain, dental crowns can easily last 15 years or longer without wear or damage. With the right care, porcelain crowns are effective permanent restorations.  

o    Realistic appearance: Porcelain is the most effective dental material for mimicking the shape and color of natural teeth. And because it’s stain resistant, your porcelain crown will continue to shine for years.

What are the repercussions of waiting?

o    Nothing will happen.

o    The tooth could chip- simple repair. Or it could crack and would need a crown.

o    In rare cases waiting could cause a RE- root canal to be needed.

o    The tooth could split, which could require crown lengthening or extraction.

o    These are things that your dentist should be prepared to talk over with you.

What are the options?

In some cases, while a crown is one option, there can be others. You might opt for a filling instead. Keep in mind, however, that a filling does not prevent you from needing a crown later on. Also, if a substantial portion of your tooth needs filling, a better solution is usually the crown because fillings do not give you the same kind of protection as crowns do. Also, if the filling is extremely large, it can cause the tooth to break, making it irreparable.

Ignorance in selecting TOOTHBRUSH...ES

Oral health is the mirror of general health. Because mouth is the “gateway to the body” bacteria from teeth and gums can affect your overall health in number of ways.  It should be kept in mind that there is no substitute for a regular, scheduled brushing but we cannot take toothbrush to a test drive so some times it becomes difficult to select the right one as there are so many in market with each claiming their own advantages, obviously a point of great confusion.

Broad tooth brush head- lacks proper access in small mouth and posterior areas of oral cavity

Tapered toothbrush head a better access in the posterior areas

Not only regular usage of toothbrush but regular replacement of toothbrush also a key factor in enhancing oral hygiene.

Brush Made of Horse Hair 

Historically, toothbrushes were made of horse hairs, with evolution and technological advancements the less efficient and rough tooth brushes were replaced with nylon bristles, and till today researchers are working on enhancing efficiency and comfortability.

Presently, we classify brushes in 2 broad categories

            Manual tooth brushes

            Powered/electric tooth brushes.

Manual toothbrushes are the most commonly used and are inexpensive, with almost equal cleaning efficiency as that of powered brushes by considering few things.

Brushing time also plays a critical and paramount role in giving a better hygiene and results. The most frequently the average time of brushing less than 1 minute has been seen, ideally to access all corners with effective and efficient cleaning, the recommended time duration is 2-3 minutes.

Commercial availability with different designs, shapes, different lengths of bristles assuring a better efficiency, but the key aspect is regular and recommended brushing technique. Bristles quality defines the cleaning efficiency, as per the general belief, harder the brush better the cleaning, but the fact is medium to soft brushes cleanse better with comfort. 

Rather, hard bristles have a negative impact by injuring soft and delicate tissues like gums and gingival and causes cervical abrasion on teeth.

Maintains Hygiene during Orthodontic treatment\

Another important part is toothbrush head, it hold bristle and carries to the area of cleaning. Thus the common belief “bigger the better” does not always holds true. Criteria for selection is the one which compliments mouth and easier to access the area hard to reach.

Flexible handle limits the amount of force applied

Handle though considered the insignificant part but it should be long, non-slippery and flexible, as cleaning does not require huge force, it just requires dexterity and maneuvering. 

Dental sealant - A Caries Fighter

Dental caries should be managed as an infectious disease by assessing risk factors; avoiding operative intervention as far as possible. 

The chewing surfaces of the teeth have tiny grooves, known as fissures where food can get stuck and where it is hard to clean. Thorough brushing and flossing helps remove food particles and plaque from the smooth surfaces of teeth, but toothbrushes can't reach all the way into the depressions and grooves to extract all food and plaque. While fluoride helps prevent decay and helps protect all the surfaces of the teeth, dental sealants add extra protection for the grooved and pitted areas. 

Sealants act like raincoats for your teeth. When the cavity-causing bacteria that live in everyone’s mouth meet leftover food particles, they produce acids that can create holes in teeth. These holes are cavities. After sealant has been applied it keeps those bits of food out and stops bacteria and acid from settling on your teeth—just like a raincoat keeps you clean and dry during a storm. The decay will not spread, because it is sealed off from its food and germ supply.

 

There are several benefits to using sealants, including that they:

·         take a few minutes to apply

·         do not cause pain

·         do not need injections

·         do not need to be drilled

·         do not dissolve in saliva and are safe.

Having sealants put on teeth before they decay will also save time and money in the long run by avoiding fillings, crowns, or caps used to fix decayed teeth.

Dental sealants are a quick, easy, and relatively cheap (as opposed to the dentist bills you’ll accumulate for root canals) solution for preventing cavities.  Kids are notoriously bad brushers and tend to ignore the problem areas in the back of the mouth that lead to cavities and decay, making them ideal recipient for sealants. Dental sealants can be clear, white or have a slight tint depending upon the dental sealant used. Dental sealants can last many years. If necessary, it is also possible to place a new dental sealant on the tooth. Dental sealants only protect the surface area that they are placed on. Sealants can also be used over areas of early decay to prevent further damage to your tooth.

Common myth “Scaling/cleaning of teeth causes negative impact on teeth”…..????

Fact- Your mouth is a jungle-home to myriads of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. It has been established that the environment present in the human mouth allows the growth of characteristic mouth microorganisms. It provides water and nutrients, as well as a moderate temperature which are conducive for microbial growth. Resident microbes of the mouth adhere to the teeth and gums to resist mechanical flushing from the mouth to stomach. Scaling helps in maintaining oral hygiene, by removal of tartar and deposits on the base of teeth, there by health of gums is also restored, scaling also enhances tooth color by removal of extrinsic stains.

Above graph depicts changes in the quantity of microbes in oral cavity within 24 hours followed by brushing, Hence, its clearly evident that scaling/professional cleaning has for more reaching affect on reduction of microbes and attaining the health of not only oral tissues but the general body too.

The problems that are answered by scaling are:

Bleeding gums

Bad breath

Ugly looking deposits on teeth

Thick inflamed gums

Increase in firmness of gums on teeth

Prevention of bone resorption, thereby better support hence prolonging life of healthy teeth
Reduction of oral bacteria thus less germs to the stomach so healthy body too
With the reduction of microbes, the rate of progression dental caries/cavity is also delayed a lot