Tag: restorative dentistry
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Customized Bacterial testing for Decay sensitivity
Prior to fluoridation of public drinking water, tooth decay was widespread. To date, the epidemic of dental decay has dropped off dramatically. That said, in highly susceptible patients, it seems that no amount of careful brushing and flossing, professional hygiene care, fluoride, and diet control keep the new cavities from recurring. In recent times a…
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Myth about most “metal-free” dental crowns
As a restorative dentist, I place equal value on predictability, longevity, comfort, biocompatibility, and aesthetics. One soap box I don’t mind stepping on is the busting down the metal-free myth about the more popular new ceramic crown options. The two most popular types of all-ceramic crowns for back teeth are made from aluminum oxide and…
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Hard raw-foods diet leads to fractured fillings; gold chewing surface sustains bite
Conservative dentistry and naturally sustaining lifestyles go together, and as such, many of the people attracted to our practice focus on their nutrition and overall health. This patient eats a strict raw-foods diet, including very hard foods like raw carrots and almonds. Though amalgam filling material has a compressive strength (aka, ability…
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Leaky crown gets replaced with exact match after root canal
A large filling is frequently not strong enough to withstand biting pressure on a cracked or damaged tooth. In that case, it is customary for the tooth to be protected with a restoration called a crown. Crowns can be made of different materials: gold, porcelain, or some combination. This patient had a…
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Early decay visible with enhanced Digital X-rays
Conventional film X-rays would require chemical processing and did not have the capability of changing contrast and gain. With digital X-rays, we can see the earliest of decays, and thus treat decay conservatively. This patient was seen in our hygiene department for routine cleaning and check-up. The ultra low-radiation exposures did not initially…
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Decay under amalgam filling is typical
General dentistry in the United States has been trending toward the discontinued use of silver-mercury alloy fillings, aka, amalgams. My own preference for tooth-colored resins is for several reasons, the most obvious being that as an aesthetic dentist, I like teeth to look like teeth. Additionally, resin is not affected by temperature…
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White dental fillings less sensitive when restored under rubber dam
One of the most challenging types of “simple dentistry” is to accomplish a direct resin restoration (aka, white filling) that looks good, functions well, and seals out bacteria from re-entering the side of the tooth. Only a few years , which had been somewhat sensitive since being placed. An X-ray of the…
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MLS Cold Laser resolved Jaw pain!
“While lying in the dentist’s chair having a crown put in, my right jaw starts throbbing. I’ve been under a lot of stress and opening my mouth wide has been rough lately, but this was excruciating. I told the Doctor that I couldn’t keep my mouth open because of the pain (not from the drilling,…