The Importance of Preventative Dentistry

Good oral hygiene is important for maintaining your overall health.

Prevention is always better than cure and it is advisable to be educated on dental health by your dentist through regular dental checkups and treatments.

Dental care can sometimes be the forgotten part of a healthy lifestyle, and while its importance is often underestimated, the need for regular dental care cannot be overstated. Our teeth can last us a lifetime with the proper preventative dental care.

Preventive Dentistry aims to reduce the required dental restorations throughout your lifetime. This process allows you to keep your beautiful, vibrant smile whilst still maintaining the healthy structure of your teeth and gums and also saving a large amount on future dentistry bills which can prove expensive when intensive remedies become necessary.

Poor oral and dental health can result in serious infections of the mouth, the teeth, and the entire body. Preventive care minimises your risk of developing tooth decay and periodontal disease (gum disease).

Poor oral health has been linked to heart and lung disease, diabetes, stroke, low-birth weight, and premature births. Often, diseases give their first warning signs in the form of oral problems.

• There are four basic steps to maintain good oral health:
• Brush twice daily with fluoride toothpaste
• Floss everyday
• Limit the number of times you snack
• Visit the dentist regularly

To prevent poor oral health, visit your family dentist and always ensure that your children are seen to by their dentist from a young age.

There are a number of options available for overall family dentist treatment, if required but always remember the importance of looking after your teeth by general everyday brushing, flossing and eating healthy!

The Difference Between Full and Partial Dentures

The loss of a tooth or multiple teeth can be a devastating occurrence and has the potential to create a significant impact on the well-being of your mouth and subsequent overall health. Restricted ability to perform natural functions, a weakened jawbone, permanent damage to remaining teeth and an aesthetically lacking smile, are just a few of the changes which may occur after tooth loss.

An effective and popular solution to this problem can be found in the use of dentures – either in full or partial format.

A full denture is placed in the mouth after any remaining teeth have been removed and tissues have healed. Healing can take several months, during which time you are without teeth. The complete full denture replaces all the teeth in the mouth.

An immediate full denture is inserted immediately after the remaining teeth have been removed or all teeth lost, allowing the surrounding area of gum and tissue to heal whilst the denture is in place.

After tissue and gums have healed, the denture may need to be reshaped or relined as it becomes loose during the healing process.

Partial Dentures fill in the spaces where there are missing teeth and prevent other teeth from changing position. Partial Dentures rest on a metal framework that is attached to your natural remaining teeth. Crowns can sometimes be placed on some of you natural teeth and serve as anchors for the denture. Partial Dentures offer a removable alternative to bridges.

A new denture will not last forever as the mouth and face change shape and the denture will either have to be replaced or realigned.

There are different types of dentures depending on the individual need and variations on the structure are made in accordance to your specific requirements.

Here treatment to find the best type of denture for you, and we can advise on every aspect of your dental treatment, in the quest to find the most elegant solution to your problem. Full or partial dentures, upper or lower dentures, conventional or immediate dentures, we have the answer to your needs.

Where’s the money? by Pam Johnson (As featured on July 29, 2009 - dentalproductsreport.com)

Dr. Steven Little’s eyes are fixed on removables.

Dentists hate to do them and patients today don’t want to wear them. But when the fixed prosthodontic work that’s been in their mouths for 10 to 15 years begins to fail, aging patients run out of options and it’s time to consider removable solutions. And it’s not just the older generation that may be choosing less expensive dental treatment today. The current economic environment has eaten away at expendable income and made patients much more cautious about selecting expensive treatment options.

The one thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the high patient demand and expectation for treatment solutions that provide natural-looking esthetics and function. That’s why Dr. Steven Little, whose practice is located in Portland, Ore., is back in class, educating himself on the latest techniques in removable prosthodontics.

“The dental profession as a whole needs to shift its mindset away from cosmetic dentistry,” said Dr. Little. “Not only am I experiencing an aging patient base now left with limited treatment options, but patients considering less expensive alternatives. After the economic meltdown this past year, patients are tending to be more pragmatic. I’m seeing a huge shift in my practice away from cosmetic dentistry. I think patients are rethinking what’s most important and looking around at other treatment options. The cosmetic option is not the only one on the table being considered anymore.”

What Dr. Little is experiencing in his practice will most certainly be an important driving force in the dental market for the next several decades. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 12.4% of the 306 million people currently living in the U.S. are over the age of 65. That percentage is projected to increase to 18% of Americans by 2025 and to 20% by 2050. Couple this data with consumers’ shaken confidence in an economic recovery any time soon, and a new opportunity exists for general dentists to take advantage of an emerging market.

Projections published in 2009 by iData Research indicate the total market value for dentures will increase from $2.3M in 2009 to $3.1M by 2015 with an annual growth rate of 5.0% to 6.0% per year. For general dentists who surgically place implants for implant retained overdentures, the future is even brighter with growth in this market projected in the double digits for the foreseeable future.

Educational challenge

The problem and challenge for dentists who want to offer removable prosthetic treatment and improve their skill set are the limited educational opportunities. The fixation of the last 30 years on crown and bridge and esthetics has driven removable CE courses nearly off the map. To make matters worse, dentists graduating dental school today or even in the last 10+ years have limited clinical training in removable prosthetics.

“One of the biggest problems I see in the dental schools is that students graduate with absolutely no respect for the dental technician,” said Dr. Little. “This is due to the fact that dental students are not required to do their own lab work. If you are not trimming your own dies or don’t know how to trim a die, then you don’t know if you are sending your laboratory something they can make fit and function properly. The same holds true for removable prosthetics.”

Burney Croll, New York City prosthodontist and active member in a number of prosthodontic societies, associations, and champion of dental technology, commented that most dental students today graduate without ever having completed a partial denture case and have limited exposure to full denture protocols. As a result, the information these general dentists are providing their dental laboratories is inadequate and the quality of the resulting full and partial removable work is less than satisfactory for the patient.

For general dentists, who want to keep removable dollars in-house rather than refer and who recognize their clinical limitations when patients require complex removable solutions, there are educational opportunities through manufacturers, associations, and educational centers designed to hone existing knowledge and skill sets (see Education sidebar).

“Right now this is an untapped market. But, if dentists gain the knowledge and skill set to extract teeth, surgically place implants, and properly prescribe an implant retained denture, or provide an esthetic removable solution, they are set,” said Dr. Little. “We’ll be seeing a lot of these cases in the future.”