Gum disease - Should it be taken lightly?

The Teeth-ing Troubles

Periodontal Treatment for gum disease and its relevance in Dentistry and Medical practice-
Gum disease more often progress slowly and cause underlying bone damage. In most cases, it is not very painful and bleeding gums is the only sign. It may be vital to know that our dentition is healthy and strong only as long as our bone structure and neuromuscular control is. The joint and muscular coordination that help us chew efficiently , may also be affected majorly with loss of teeth(dentition) due to bone loss caused by periodontal(gum) infection.People with valve defects and rheumatic heart disease have a greater risk towards infective endocarditis. In Diabetics, bone loss is progressive that make gums sore and have a greater tendency towards gingival and periodontal abscess.
A visit to the Dentist is recommended for the best interest of the individuals susceptible to a greater damage than obvious.

Periodontal Treatment:

What is periodontal disease? 

Periodontitis is the outcome from infection that is resulting from a complex interplay between bacterial infection and host response, often modified by behavioral factors. 

Epidemiology of periodontal diseases:

Documentation reveals 5-15% of any population suffers from severe generalised periodontitis, even though moderate disease affects majority of adults. The adult population suffers from chronic periodontitis with mild attachment loss.

Chronic Periodontitis:

Chronic periodontitis is an infectious disease resulting in inflammation within the supporting tissues of the teeth, with progressive attachment and bone loss.

Risk Factors and determinants associated with chronic periodontitis: 

· Plaque,poor oral hygiene

· Tobacco

· Genetic predisposition

· Psychosocial stress

· Diabetes

· Systemic disease

Diagnosis: is based on the following- 

· Bleeding on probing,probing depth and clinical attachment loss

· Testing teeth for mobility

· Radiographic examination(vertical bitewings and periapical view)


Treatment includes:

· Scaling and root planning

· Pharmacological therapy

· Surgical therapy and occlusal adjustment



For more information :

Contact: Dr.Sreenita Chowdhury

email:Smileoracles@gmail.com

Dental Trauma In Children

The Teeth-ing Troubles

Dental Trauma:     

Prognosis is good in cases of dental trauma with immediate treatment.
KEY TO SUCCESS: SEEING THE PATIENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
Points to remember-
1.Avulsed permanent teeth should be replanted immediately.
2.Avulsed primary/milk tooth should never be replanted as there are possibilities of ankylosis.
3.Crown or root fractures have different modalities of treatment depending on the position of the fracture.

Principles of Treatment:

1.Emergency Treatment-
Elimination of pain;
Protection of pulp;
Reduction and immobilization of teeth;
Suturing of soft tissue laceration
Antibiotics,Tetanus,Analgesics,Chlorhexidine mouthwash

2.Intermediate treatment
Pulp therapy
Orthodontic treatment considerations
Semipermanent restorations
Review-1month/3months/6months /2years

3.Permanent treatment
Usually deferred until 16years

PREVENTION OF TRAUMA ESPECIALLY DURING SPORTS:

For Further Information
Contact: smileoracles@gmail.com
Dr.Sreenita Chowdhury, New Delhi, India

The Child and Oral Health Problems

The Teeth-ing Troubles

The Child and Oral Health Problems

The anxious child:


Techniques for behaviour management come with experience of treating children over a period of time.


There are various behaviour modification techniques that we follow at Smileoracles’ Multispeciality Dental Centre to make the child friendly to the Dental office and the staff. Its quite natural with the fear of the unknown and being unable to understand the sequence of events during the procedure, the child remains apprehensive.


The techniques we follow to comfort the child:

1.Sedation:Oral and intravenous drugs like midazolam and chloralhydrate can be used.
2.Hypnosis
3.General Anaesthesia
4.Lasers in Dentistry


The Child with toothache:
It is quite natural for a child with toothache to be irritable, uncooperative and not be able to eat comfortably. For children less than 4/5years of age inability to express the discomfort in the oral cavity often aggravates the problem and further makes treatment extensive and complicated.

It is advisable to get periodic dental check up very soon the first tooth erupts.

At Smileoracles’ Multispeciality Dental Centre we take special care to make your child painfree with our specialized team of doctors.

Assisted guidance in other problems associated with Oral cavity:
1.Abnormalities in tooth exfoliation and eruption.
2.Abnormalities of tooth number.
3.Abnormalities of tooth structure
4.Abnormalities of tooth form.
5.Abnormalities of tooth colour.

Extraction Versus restoration of primary teeth:


Despite a welcome reduction in the prevalence of dental decay,the dilemma of whether to restore or extract a primary tooth is still familiar. In making a decision at Smileoracles’ number of factors are considered.
1.Age
2.Medical History: Pulp therapy in medically compromised like heart disease is inappropriate. These are possible sources of recurrent bacteremia. In haemophiliacs, extraction should be avoided IF POSSIBLE.
3.Motivation and cooperation of parents: The parents must understand the benefits of maintaining the child’s primary dentition.Unfortunately, a small proportion of the population still regard a dentist that fills primary teeth with suspicion- after all ,everyone knows that the baby teeth will not stay forever!!
4.Caries rate
5.Pain
6.Extent of the lesion
7.Position of the tooth
8.Presence/absence of permanent successor.
9.Malocclusion

Severe Early Childhood Caries

Cause: Frequent intake of sugary and sticky food stuff.

Nursing Caries/Bottle caries: Frequent consumption of sugar-containing drink especially from a feeding bottle. It is also attributed to prolonged on demand breast feeding, especially at night, from the lactose in breast milk.

Rampant Caries: Rapidly progressing caries affecting many teeth in the primary and permanent dentition.

Deep Dental decay involving the pulp/nerve tissue:
Vital and Non-vital Pulp Therapy-


1.Pulpotomy- For infected tissue limited in the coronal portion
2.Pulpectomy-For infected tissue down below the root canals with possibilities of abscess.


Lasers in Paediatric Dentistry:
Biolase- The most promising pain-free dental management with Hard tissue lasers for children.

For further information:
Email: smileoracles@gmail.com
Dr.Sreenita Chowdhury

Importance of Milk tooth and Concerns in Paediatric Dentistry

The Teeth-ing Troubles

Pediatric Dentistry:

Diagnosis:
Dental caries a rapidly progressing condition in children. The accurate diagnosis of the disease is of prime importance prior to development of treatment plan.
Radiographic diagnosis and a proper history( especially diet and food habits) is essential before treatment is commenced.

Treatment Plan for children:

Why is it important to treat a child’s dentition before he/she reaches adulthood?

A good dental status in the young age often assures a healthy dental condition even during adulthood. The positive attitude towards dental health more often establishes a healthy diet and prevention of oral health problems.


The treatment plan in children will take account of the following considerations:
1.Behaviour Management
2.Prevention of dental decay
3.Restorative treatment
4.Developing Occlusion
Restorative treatment without prevention is of limited value. Hence,we emphasise on a modified diet. Most often a combination of prevention,restoration and extraction is indicated for most children with caries/dental decay in primary/milk teeth.

Other considerations:

Pain or evidence of abscess/infection.
1.Temporization of open cavities
2.Use of medicated fillings
3.reduction of bacterial count(Streptococcus mutans)
4.preliminary coronal seal enhances the chances of pulpal recovery.

Delivery of care:                               

1.Counselling of the parents
2.LA/Sedation/GA- Risks vs Benefits of each
3.Planning of operative care at a pace appropriate to the child’s ability to cope.
4.Consideration of medically compromised children(like heart diseases, small stature,systemic diseases)

For further information
Contact: Dr.Sreenita Chowdhury
Dentist, New Delhi, India
smileoracles@gmail.com