"BETEL NUT CHEWING IS HARMFUL"

Does chewing betel nuts are harmful for my teeth ?

-Chewing betel nut is a process of extravagant force on the muscles of jaw which is not normal.

-This kind of abnormal force will cause deteriorating effect on the teeth.

-Any force which is having a force more than routine chewing will cause some damage.

-The superficial effect of any flavored betel nut will cause staining of the teeth.

-Due to regular betel nut chewing the teeth surface get roughened and the molar teeth get flattened.

-This process in turn will lead to permanent loss of tooth structure.

-Due to any wearing off, of the top layer of the tooth, the dentin layer of the tooth will get expose and can cause sensitivity.

-In some conditions cervical facets which is gap between neck of the teeth and gums may appear, which needs filling of that space with specialized material.

-In some conditions due to heavy forces many teeth get attrited or flattened, then one has to go for extensive dental treatment for aligning jaw lines back to normal.

Dr. Meet R. Ramatri (M.D.S.)

"DON’T HIDE YOUR SMILE"

DON’T HIDE YOUR SMILE

Children have different dental problems.  Few dental issues can trouble the child in various conditions. Face conditions can cause permanent damage to teeth and jaw arrangement. As prevention is better than cure, we should wake up for minute dental issues as early as possible to avoid unwanted change in teeth and jaw.

Long face syndrome:

-          Few children breathe from mouth and thus they have long face syndrome consequences.

-          Few kids may have habit of mouth breathing due to cold, adenoids or nasal blockage and few kids continue the mouth breathing habit even though the case is cured.

Symptoms of long face syndrome:

-          Long face

-          Deep palate

-          Irregular teeth

-          Open bite in front teeth

-          Swelling in gums

-          Dryness in mouth

-          Cavities

Treatments:

-          At the very first go, child should be intervened with any underlying medical cause of oral breathing.

-          In case of habitual mouth opening pediatric dentist can help the child with oral screen appliance, which can help the child to seal the mouth. This appliance is removable and helps the child to develop nasal breathing. After this intervention, orthodontic treatment can help the child to get the beautiful smile.
     
      Dr. Meet R. Ramatri (M.D.S.)

I use a tooth pick, a safety pin and a visiting card to remove stuck fiber /food in between teeth. Is It Okay?

I use a tooth pick, a safety pin and a visiting card to remove stuck fiber /food in between teeth. Is it okay?

Any food or fiber, getting lodged in between teeth cannot create the specific space for the same. Thus they cause irritation in the gums and later it can lead to inflammation of the gums. This whole process will lead to pain and mild swelling in the gums.

Any sharp hard object  used to clean food stuck in between teeth and gums, can lead to further displacement of the tissue. Regular use of these objects can cause permanent damage/gap in that region. So you have to take enough precautions to clean the food from that site.

Easiest method is to brush on those teeth and gums to remove the food. Secondly, one can use dental floss to clean the food.

If food lodgment episodes are often, than one should be careful about getting the teeth checked by the dentist. Because there are chances of cavity or any gum diseases which may cause gap in that particular region and can lead to further damage. So, dental scaling, filling for cavitated tooth or resolving gum diseases with proper treatment by dentist can help you prevent bigger change as well as permanent loss of tooth. So, visit your dentist whenever you are in doubt. I repeatedly recommend not using pins or cards which are not sterile and lead to bacterial infection and pus discharge as well as other diseases. Wishing you happy responsible day ahead.

Dr. Meet R. Ramatri (M.D.S.)

Is it ok if I use mouthwash instead of brushing at night?

Is it ok if I use mouthwash instead of brushing at night?

Any mouthwash controls plaque and masks the effect of bad breath. Brushing can clean the tooth surface up to maximum level. 

Any surface which is having inactive deposits of plaque will have its damaging action after few minutes or hours. 

Thus there is no option for brushing. One can use mouthwash as an adjunct along with brushing not as a sole remedy.

Dr. Meet R. Ramatri (M.D.S.)

Which chocolates are good for teeth?

Which chocolates are good for teeth?

Any sweet food containing carbohydrate can lead to damage to the teeth in form of cavities. Cavities start from enamel which is the outermost part of the tooth than to dentin and lastly to the blood supplying portion of the tooth that is pulp. This can show sign and symptoms like food lodgment , pain and swelling.

Any chocolate will be producing carbohydrate as an end product in any case, thus thinking of a safe chocolate is a dream. Still in comparison to caramel based sticky chocolates, soft melting chocolates are less sticky to the teeth. Thus, there are chances that these chocolates may damage less. That is why not brushing after eating sweet chocolates normally consider as a crime for thyself.

Brush twice daily and stay healthy.

Dr. Meet R. Ramatri (M.D.S.)

Teeth Grinding (Bruxism)

Teeth Grinding (Bruxism):

-Jaw clenching is a common complain of many children, adolescents and less likely in adults.

-In this condition, people tend to clench or grind their upper and lower jaw teeth together.

-The main reason of clenching may be because of hyper activity of muscles of the jaw that can be due to some stress or habit. The exact reason of clenching (Bruxism) is not known but by relieving the stress it can reduce in children.

-In transition phase of teeth replacement few of the kids get clenching habit which gets corrected on its own. There is no exact remedy for this. One can use warm water gargle before sleep to relax oral muscles.

-The dentist gives night guard which is made up of soft and firm material. This night guard is made after taking exact impression of patient’s upper and lower teeth. The mould gives exact replica to the night guard which is given to the patient. This night guard prevents abnormal grinding of teeth as well as relaxes the oral musculature.

Dr. Meet R. Ramatri (M.D.S.)

"In case of sensitivity"

The tooth has multiple layers. Immediately after enamel there is a layer which has minute nerve endings causing some sensation over cold or sour food that is “sensitivity”. The sensitivity may be because of tooth cavity, fracture of tooth, leading to exposure of dentin and wearing of tooth surfaces due to abnormal grinding and harsh brushing. 

Post scaling (cleaning of teeth by dentist) there are chances of temporary sensitivity for few weeks. This can be reduced as the gums come to the original health and position post-scaling.  

Sensitivity can be controlled by sealing or filling the affected area of exposed dentin. The dentist professionally applies dental varnish solutions on the teeth to seal the exposed dentin. In adjunct, anti-sensitivity toothpaste also helps to reduce sensitivity.

We should not use anti-sensitivity toothpaste for routine brushing. This anti-sensitivity toothpaste works only on exposed dentin, not on enamel. There are many people carrying a misbelieve that by using anti-sensitivity toothpaste they can prevent sensitivity before it occurs. Kindly report to your dentist and find out root cause of sensitivity and get a proper solution by exact treatment protocols.

I have a deep cavity. It doesn’t hurt. Do I need to see a dentist?

Regular consumption of sweet can lead to damage to the tooth in terms of cavity. Once there is a hole in the tooth, there will be further food lodgment and that will lead to a deeper cavity. If the cavity reaches the layer of blood supplying portion of the tooth, that will cause pain. The pain may be infrequent, but the affected portion of the tooth will lead to generation of more number of bacteria in that region and this will lead to necrosis (death of pulp – blood supplying portion of the tooth).

The whole transition may come to the position where the person cannot feel the pain but tooth is still infected. The infected tooth will lead to pus formation besides the roots and can cause resorption  and  permanent damage to the bone surrounding the tooth.

In rare conditions, tooth infection can grow into spaces of face and lead to huge swelling that is called Ludwig’s angina which is life threatening. Thus we should not take any health condition lightly. Even a small cavity after growing into big cavity can lead to serious health issues.

Because of help of technology in today’s world we are blessed with simple and painless treatment protocols. So it is always advisable to visit a dentist regularly and get the oral health evaluated.

Dr. Meet R. Ramatri (M.D.S.)

Cleaning of teeth- Scaling.

Should I go to dentist to get my teeth clean?

Regular food consumption causes some deposits on teeth.There are many chances that soft layer is formed on the tooth and that is called plaque.Because of few mineral content of saliva this plaque may get converted into calculus(hard yellowish layer on the teeth and on the gum line).This calculus and plaque can lead to various gum diseases.In case of milder inflammation of gums is known as gingivitis.Severe cases can lead to loosening of teeth and bleeding gums and very bad smell, feeling of stickyness in saliva.This condition is called as periodontitis.This is because of long term deposit of calculus around teeth.That is why cleaning with a specialized instruments called scaler is a must for everybody.There is a misbelief that tooth cleaning can damage the teeth or loosen the teeth.That is wrong. Regular teeth cleaning can lead to clean environment around teeth and give health to gums.

           Dr. Meet R. Ramatri.(M.D.S.) 

"CLEAN YOUR TONGUE"

Tongue cleaning is important.

Tongue is a core muscular part which is covered by special form of papilla. We eat and drink throughout the day. The teeth have functions to chew and that food is tasted and transferred to the digestive system by our lovely lady tongue. Because of continuous transfer of food in the mouth some soft debris get adhered on the tongue. That’s why we should clean our tongue at least once a day with soft approach.

Many people use hard tongue cleaner and scrap the tongue very harshly. This is wrong method. Tongue cleaning will also help people to have a healthy mouth and will prevent bad smell. One can also use soft bristle of the brush with soft hand to clean the top portion of the tongue. Harsh cleaning of tongue may cause permanent damage to taste buds. So clean the tongue gently on regular basis and stay healthy.

Dr. Meet R. Ramatri, M.D.S.