牙齒及上下顎出現膿瘡

膿瘡是在身體內某處密蔽的地方或空間局部積聚含膿。膿瘡可能在牙齒及上下顎出現，並常與感染有關。膿瘡普遍分為急性或慢性兩種。

急性膿瘡屬十分活躍並經常令人感到痛楚及希望盡快尋求幫助。膿瘡亦可能與一些腫脹及發炎有關。

慢性膿瘡可能令人痛楚亦可能不痛楚，一般較慢形成亦較慢痊癒。常與腫脹及發炎有關。由於膿會以竇的形式排去，所以慢性膿瘡通常不太痛楚。

由於膿瘡是一種病理學現象，所有膿瘡均須予以治療。你的牙醫可能建議進行以下其中一種治療方法：以外科手術切開並將膿放去、抗生素治療、牙髓病治療、以手術作牙周病學治療或牙根平整、或其他外科治療。

你不應在家治療膿腫，這可能將問題惡化並將感染擴散。你應盡早尋求牙醫治療，並不應用熱或暖敷布敷治患處（牙醫建議除外），以免將感染傳播。

參考資料: www.hkda.org

以上所提供的資訊僅作為教育及參考用途，如果你有任何醫療問題，應向牙醫查詢，而不應單倚賴以上提供的資料。

Oral Care for Infants

Generally, teething begins when babies are around 6 to 10 months old. However, some babies start to have their teeth earlier or later. This is determined by hereditary factors, and varies between different people. If your baby still hasn't got his/her first tooth when he/she is 1 year old, you could bring him to the dentist for a check-up. 　

Eruption Time of DeciduousTeeth

Deciduous Teeth	Eruption Time
Upper Central Incisor	6 to 12 months
Upper Lateral Incisor	9 to 16 months
Canine	16 to 23 months
First Molar	13 to 19 months
Second Molar	23 to 33 months

How to manage discomfort arising from teething

• Drooling :
  Wipe your child ' s mouth frequently to keep his mouth clean and dry.
• Gum irritation :
  Gum irritation is common during tooth eruption. To relieve the discomfort, your child may like to chew a cool object. You can let your child chew a liquid-filled teething ring, which should be cleaned and chilled, to reduce the irritation.
• Swollen gum :
  Swollen gum is normal during tooth eruption and the swollen part is usually firm. However, it is not normal if the swollen gum turns red or blue. In such case, parents must bring their children to see the dentist.
• Irritable :
  Babies are easily irritated during tooth eruption. Parents should spend more time with their children. Playing games with them can distract them from the irritation.
• Fever :
  Tooth eruption will not cause fever. The baby may pick up anything to chew during teething that may increase his chance of getting an infection. If your child has symptoms like fever, runny nose and diarrhea, you should take your child to see a doctor immediately.

Reference information: http://www.toothclub.gov.hk

It is not intended as medical advice to any specific person. If you have any need for personal advice or have any questions regarding your health, please consult your Dentist for diagnosis and treatment.

How often should a dental check-up be done?

Reference information: www.bjdental.com

For most people, a dental check-up per year is adequate. However, for those with high risk or special needs, a dental check-up every six months may be necessary. People with high risk or of special needs include:

Mentally handicapped individuals
Mentally handicapped individuals may have difficulties in maintaining a basic level of oral hygiene. They are very prone to Periodontal Disease and Dental Caries.

Patients who have received radiotherapy in the head and neck region
In the process of radiotherapy, normal oral tissues are affected. The treatment may give rise to a decrease in saliva secretion and inflammation of the oral mucosa, which may lead to Dental Caries and Periodontal Disease.

Smokers
The chance of developing Periodontal Disease of smokers is five times higher than that of non-smokers.

Patients with disabling oral diseases
The patients with oral tumour or cleft palate need to have frequent oral examination to maintain their oral health.

Patients with Systemic diseases
The immunity systems of patients with Diabetes Mellitus, Haemophilia or AIDS are compromised, leading to a lowered body resistance to bacterial infections. If their oral hygiene is poor, the dental plaque accumulated on the tooth surfaces will easily give rise to Periodontal Disease and the disease will then progress rapidly.

It is not intended as medical advice to any specific person. If you have any need for personal advice or have any questions regarding your health, please consult your Dentist for diagnosis and treatment.

The important of regular dental check-up

Reference information: www.bjdental.com

Individual oral care advice
The dentist will give professional oral care advice which is specific to our oral health conditions. These include techniques in using dental floss, method in cleaning orthodontic appliances and dietary advice, etc.

Preventive treatment
The dentist will provide preventive treatment such as scaling, application of fissure sealant or topical fluoride to help prevent common dental diseases.

Early diagnosis and treatment of oral diseases
The initial stage of many oral diseases such as Dental Caries and Periodontal Disease has no obvious symptoms. However, the dentist can diagnose them at an early stage and render appropriate treatment.

Total care
A thorough dental check-up is necessary for the maintenance of oral health. The check-up includes the examination of the denture fitness, the condition of the filled teeth, etc. In case of any oral problem, the dentist can treat it promptly.

It is not intended as medical advice to any specific person. If you have any need for personal advice or have any questions regarding your health, please consult your Dentist for diagnosis and treatment.

Sugarless chewing gum

Reference information: www.toothclub.gov.hk/

Sugarless chewing gum uses sugar alcohol and sugar substitutes as flavour. These include xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol, aspartame, etc. Although they taste sweet, they don't contain sugar.

Sugarless chewing gum and dental caries

w  Sugarless chewing gum doesn't cause dental caries because it only contains       sugar alcohol and sugar substitutes which cannot be metabolised by the bacteria inside our mouth.

w  Chewing sugarless gum will increase the production of saliva. Saliva neutralizes the acid in the mouth and replenishes the lost minerals. Therefore, it reduces the chance for us to get dental caries. Hence, chewing sugarless gum can help prevent dental caries

Points to note

w  It is essential to identify whether the chewing gum we choose contains sugar or not. Frequent use of chewing gums with sugar will not only fail to prevent dental caries but in fact increase the chance of getting caries.

w  One cannot solely rely on xylitol chewing gums to prevent dental caries. The most effective method in preventing caries is to brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste every morning and at night, and to reduce the frequency of food/drinks intake.

w  Chewing gum for a long time will cause soreness in the jaw joint. It is not advisable for people with jaw joint problem to chew gum

It is not intended as medical advice to any specific person. If you have any need for personal advice or have any questions regarding your health, please consult your Dentist for diagnosis and treatment.

Invisalign – Will it work for me ?

A confident smile and increased self-esteem aren't the only benefits of correcting your smile with Invisalign — your oral health can be positively enhanced as well. Learn more about several common issues below that an experienced Invisalign-certified dental practitioner can work with you to correct.

Overcrowded teeth

occur when there is simply a lack of room within your jaw for all of your teeth to fit normally. When left untreated, overly crowded teeth can cause an increased chance of gum disease as your teeth are harder to clean and can prevent the normal function of teeth.

Widely spaced teeth

occur when you have extra space within your jaw. This could be due to small sized teeth, abnormal growth of jaw bones, genetics, missing teeth and/or tongue protrusion. When teeth are missing, this can also be caused by the other teeth shifting due to extra space. Spacing issues can cause some perio-dontal diseases including gingivitis and periodontitis, that, left untreated, can lead to tooth loss.

Crossbites

occur when the upper and lower jaws are both misaligned. It usually causes one or more upper teeth to bite on the inside of the lower teeth, and can happen on both the front and/or the sides of the mouth. This issue can cause wear of the teeth, gum disease and bone loss.

Reference information: www.bjdental.com, www.invisalign.com.hk

It is not intended as medical advice to any specific person. If you have any need for personal advice or have any questions regarding your health, please consult your Dentist for diagnosis and treatment.

Brushing your child's teeth with a soft infant toothbrush

Following the eruption of incisors, you can start brushing your child's teeth with a soft infant toothbrush and drinking water. You can also use an infant toothbrush to get your child accustomed to toothbrushes, which will become essential when the molars come in.

When the first molar comes in, parents must brush their children's teeth twice a day in the morning and before bed at night.

For children under the age of 2, parents should pick a toothbrush with soft bristles and the length of the toothbrush head should not be longer than the diameter of a 10-cent coin. Make sure your child knows how to spit before using toothpaste for brushing.

To effectively clean your child's teeth, it is important to use a correct toothbrushing method. It is best to follow a sequence during brushing:

• start with the cheek side of the teeth
• repeat on the tongue side
• finally, brush the chewing surfaces of all molars
• When you brush your child's teeth, you can either let your child sit on your lap or lay your child on a bed, so that you can see the teeth of your child clearly.

Parents should allow their children to learn to brush the teeth on their own when they are 2 years old. Parents should get their children a new toothbrush, with the length of the head measuring the diameter of a 20-cent coin when their children are between 2 - 6 years old.

If your child knows how to spit, you can let your child brush his teeth with a pea-sized blob of fluoride toothpaste in the morning and before bed at night. Since your child's fine motor skill is not yet well-developed, he might not be able to master the toothbrushing skill and you need to follow up by re-brushing his teeth thoroughly every night.

When you brush your child's teeth, you can stand behind him at the side and tilt his head slightly upwards by supporting his chin with one hand.

Reference information: http://www.toothclub.gov.hk/

It is not intended as medical advice to any specific person. If you have any need for personal advice or have any questions regarding your health, please consult your Dentist for diagnosis and treatment.

補牙材料

總括來說，補牙材料大概分為銀粉金屬物料 (例如 ：水銀合金) 及瓷粉牙色物料 (例如 ：複合材料、玻璃離子樹脂) 兩大類。不同的物料各有不同的特性，所以會在不同情況下使用。

水銀合金

什麼是水銀合金？

水銀合金主要是混合銀、錫、銅及水銀製成的。

什麼情況下使用？

水銀合金是最常用的補牙材料，因為它堅固、耐用，已被廣泛使用超逾一個世紀，成果令人非常滿意。

水銀合金安全嗎？

跟據一九九五年FDI世界牙醫協會及世界衛生組織發表的聲明 ，在牙齒修補物料的成份中，包括水銀合金在內，在極罕有的情況下，才會引起局部的副作用或過敏的反應。現時仍沒有任何科學文獻指出水銀合金對人體有害，所以替牙齒換水銀合金補牙物料是不必要的。

世界衛生組織定下的水銀氣體高限數值為每天300-500ug. 從一位瑞典牙科醫生的量度研究數據中發現人體平均每天從水銀合金補牙材料所吸入的水銀氣體只有1.7ug. 為高限數值的一成。我們體內的水銀來源是從多方面的。實際上，我們從魚類食物所吸取的水銀比從補牙材料所吸取的更多。比較起來，水銀合金補牙材料所涉漏的 水銀氣體是極少的。

參考資料:www.toothclub.gov.hk

以上所提供的資訊僅作為教育及參考用途，如果你有任何醫療問題，應向牙醫查詢，而不應單倚賴以上提供的資料。