Oral Trauma

Oral structure or teeth may be damaged due to an accident. There might be slightly loose, dislocated, fractured, or even avulsed (the entire tooth knocked off). Injury of oral tissues or oral structures such as lips, gingivae, oral mucosa, alveolar bone, or even upper or lower jawbones may be resulted. There might not be any apparent damage to the teeth. Bleeding can be stopped by pressing on the injured area and a dentist should be consulted immediately.

What is/are the treatments for tooth trauma?

A.Smoothen the fractured portion and apply topical fluoride on the tooth surface

B.Fill the tooth

C.Artificial Crown

The dentist will remove the decayed, fill the cavity, and cover the tooth with an artificial crown.

D.Endodontic file.

The dental specialist, endodonist will remove the nerve and infected pulp, the inside of the tooth is cleaned and sealed. In most cases, the tooth’s natural crown will need to be replaced with an artificial crown.

Reference information: www.bjdental.com,

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.

 

Tooth Decay

Tooth decay refers to the destruction of tooth structure and the most common symptoms are cavity in the tooth, and toothache, etc. There are several things that can be done to slow down or prevent the breakdown process, like brushing at least twice a day with fluoridated toothpaste, using interdental cleansing aids including dental floss or interdental toothbrush, rinsing thoroughly with an anti-cavity dental rinse. Additionally, eating a healthy diet and limiting carbohydrate intake can help.

Tooth decay can affect both the enamel and the dentin of the tooth, if decay is left untreated, it will reach the tooth’s pulp which contains nerves and blood vessels.

What is the treatment for dental cavities?

1) Fill / restore the tooth
The dentist will remove the decayed part of the tooth in the cavity and fill the cavity.

2) Artificial crown
The dentist will remove the decayed, fill the cavity, and cover the tooth with an artificial crown.

3) Root canal treatment.

The dental specialist, endodonist will remove the nerve and infected pulp, the inside of the tooth is cleaned and sealed. In most cases, the tooth’s natural crown will need to be replaced with an artificial crown

Reference information: www.bjdental.com,

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.

牙科疾病 - 蛀牙和牙齒碰傷

牙齒及口腔組織碰傷

意外碰傷後，牙齒或口腔組織可能受傷。牙齒方面，可能出現鬆動、移位、飛脫嵌入及牙根或牙冠折斷。

口腔組織方面，可能出現出血現象，包括嘴唇、牙齦、上或下頜骨等。患者表面上或沒有傷痕，但牙髓亦有機會壞死。此外，正確而迅速之牙科治療有助保存牙齒及癒合傷口。建議傷者立即止血，儘快前往見牙科醫生，接受詳細檢查及治療。

牙科醫生常用治療方法為：

A.     磨平受傷牙齒，填補高濃度氟化物

B.     補牙

C.     套上人造牙冠

D.     進行牙髓治療

蛀牙

蛀牙即牙齒結構受破壞，常見症狀包括牙齒出現蛀洞、牙痛等。

為預防蛀牙，應每天最少刷牙兩次，使用牙縫線或牙間刷及漱口水，並定期作牙科檢查。此外，應避免進食過多碳水化合物。

蛀牙可引致琺瑯質及牙本質受損，繼而傷害神經及血管。按蛀牙情況之嚴重性劃分，牙醫常用治療方法為︰

2)      填補牙洞

清除牙齒被蛀蝕部分，填補蛀洞。

3)      套假牙冠

徹底去除被蛀蝕部分，填補蛀洞，套上假牙冠。

4)      根管治療

除去受感染之神經及牙髓，徹底清潔牙齒內部及封填，套上假牙冠。

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。

Oral Health Care during Pregnancy - Pregnancy Gingivitis

During pregnancy, the hormonal changes exaggerate the response of the gum tissues to the plaque bacterial toxins, resulting in the development of “Pregnancy Gingivitis". Pregnant woman often crave for sweet and sour food due to dietary change. Food and drink intake may also become more frequent. Therefore, the chance of getting dental caries may increase.

Pregnancy Gingivitis can be prevented if the expectant mother can effectively brush her teeth with fluoride toothpaste in the morning and before bed at night and floss her teeth daily to thoroughly remove dental plaque. This oral hygiene habit can also promote healing of mild gingival inflammation.

Even if the expectant mother has had a pre-pregnancy dental check-up and had all the dental problems treated, she still needs to have another dental check-up during pregnancy.

Pregnant women can receive scaling between the 4th to 6th month during pregnancy because within this period, the foetus is more stable. Hence it is more convenient for expectant mothers to receive treatments.

Reference information: www.bjdental.com

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.

Common Dental Problems - Wisdom teeth, Sensitive teeth

Wisdom teeth

Wisdom teeth are the third and final set of molars that most people get in their late teens or early twenties. Sometimes these teeth can be a valuable asset to the mouth when healthy and properly aligned, but more often, they are misaligned and require removal. Poor alignment of wisdom teeth can crowd or damage adjacent teeth, the jawbone, or nerves. Partially erupted teeth are also more prone to tooth decay and gum disease.

What is/are the treatment(s) for wisdom teeth?

1) Extraction as same as any other tooth.

2) If a wisdom tooth that is underneath the gums or embedded in the jawbone, it will require an incision into the gums and then removal of the portion of bone that lies over the tooth.

Dental Floss

Proper flossing removes plaque and food particles in places where a toothbrush cannot reach – under the gumline and between adjacent teeth. It can important as it can preventing periodontal disease, bad breath, etc. Flossing daily is a good ways to clean between your teeth. 

Bleeding gums may be a sign that you have some form of gum disease, such as gingivitis or periodontal disease. If bleeding gums persist, you should consider to consulting your dentist.

Sensitive teeth

If enamel has been worn off or damaged, then it will lose its protective function and the dentine will be exposed. The dentine has many fine dentinal tubules connecting to the pulp. The patient will suffer sharp pain when stimulated.

To protect from damaging enamel, you should not brush with a toothbrush with bristles that are too hard, or brushing with excessive force can abrade the enamel of teeth. Also, you should avoid frequently eating or drinking highly acidic food or beverages and frequent grinding of teeth.

Reference information: www.bjdental.com, 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.

Common Dental Problems - Oral Trauma, Aphthous Ulcer

Oral Trauma

Oral structure or teeth may be damaged due to an accident. There might be slightly loose, dislocated, fractured, or even avulsed (the entire tooth knocked off). Injury of oral tissues or oral structures such as lips, gingivae, oral mucosa, alveolar bone, or even upper or lower jawbones may be resulted. There might not be any apparent damage to the teeth

Bleeding can be stopped by pressing on the injured area and a dentist should be consulted immediately.

What is/are the treatments for tooth trauma?

1. Smoothen the fractured portion and apply topical fluoride on the tooth surface

2. Restoration of the tooth – with an adhesive aesthetic restorative material

3. Root Canal Treatment and Artificial Crown

- If the tooth has received a severe injury, it is highly likely that bacteria will enter the pulp and cause an infection. In this case, root canal treatment will be required to remove the infected pulp, and the inside of the tooth be cleaned and sealed. Subsequently, an artificial crown will be needed to strengthen the tooth.

Aphthous Ulcer

It is a form of mouth ulcer but the aetiology of aphthous ulcer has not been confirmed. It is commonly present on the oral mucosa of the cheeks, lips, tongue and throat.

What is/are the treatment(s) for aphthous ulcer?

- Apply ointment prescribed by the dentist onto the area to relief pain

- If you are wearing an unfit denture, you should consult your dentist to make a new denture.

Reference information: www.dental.org , www.bjdental.com,

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.

Orthodontic treatment - Fixed Brace vs. Removable brace

Orthodontic treatment is a series of processes that move the teeth to the desired positions in the mouth by orthodontic appliances. Whether you have crowding, spacing or relapsed teeth, it would pose negative impact on the health of your teeth and gums.

There are two types of braces. One can be removed for cleaning, known as removable braces. The second type of braces is fixed to the teeth and cannot be removed for cleaning. Orthodontic brackets are attached to the tooth surfaces in appropriate positions so that when the orthodontic brackets and orthodontic wire are tied up, the spring back action of the orthodontic wire will move the teeth, Gradually, the teeth are moved to the desired positions determined by the shape of the orthodontic wire. It is important you still have check-ups and adjustment regularly.

Have the brace fitted is not painful. However, it is common to have slightly tender teeth for 3-5 days after each fitting and adjustment appointment.

Comparisons of two types of orthodontic treatment - fixed brace and removable brace

	Fixed Brace	Removable brace
Removable	Cannot	Can
Treatment duration	1.5-3 years	0.5-1years
Materials	elastics or stainless steel wires	springs and screws

	Invisalign	General orthodontic treatment
Materials	Medical grade plastic	elastics or stainless steel wires
Appearance	Invisible	Non-invisible

Reference information: www.dental.org

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.

定期洗牙及Ｘ光檢查牙齒

所謂預防勝於治療，許多口腔疾病如蛀牙、牙周病等開始時都是沒有徵狀的，肉眼也察覺不到，但牙科醫生卻能診斷出來，加上Ｘ光片檢查，能及早發現牙患並作出治療。

定期洗牙可保持口腔衛生，牙醫或牙齒衛生員可按病人的口腔健康狀況，提供專業的口腔護理建議，如使用牙線方法、清潔牙橋方法、飲食建議等。

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。

出牙時間

乳齒	出牙時間
正門牙	6-12個月
側門牙	9-16個月
犬齒	16-23個月
第一臼齒	13-19個月
第二臼齒	23-33個月

恆齒	出牙時間
正門牙	6-8歲
側門牙	6 歲 半-9歲
犬齒	8歲 半-12歲半
第一小臼齒	8-12歲
第二小臼齒	8 歲 半-13歲
第 一 大臼齒	5-7歲
第二大臼齒	10-14歲
第三大臼齒 (智慧齒)	17-25歲

參考資料: www.toothclub.gov.hk, www.bjdental.com,

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。