Numb to Novocaine

Before having a tooth drilled into by a dentist, most people are happy to have been injected by a syringe full of painkiller.  The common name for this anesthetic that inhibits pain is “Novocaine.”

Before the use of Novocaine-type products, dentists administered cocaine as a local anesthetic. It helped initially by constricting blood cells the result of which reduced the amount of bleeding during oral procedures. The downside, of course, was that the drug proved to be exceedingly addictive creating the need for replacement anesthetic.

 

Ready Injection (medicine) 

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By the early twentieth century a synthetic form of cocaine was developed that didn’t include the addictive effects of the original drug. This artificial cocaine was called “Procaine,”  however it has gained notoriety by its trade name, “Novocaine.”  Since that time, however, stronger forms of the anesthetic have been developed giving us such drugs as “Lidocaine,” “Mepivocaine,” and “Septacaine,” though each of these drugs is still referred to as Novocaine.

All of these drugs which are administered through injection work in the same fashion by blocking the nerves that transmit the pain signals to the brain, and in the process create the lack of feeling, or numbness associated with this drug. Typically an injection of this anesthetic lasts between 3 and 4 hours.

Many find the injection itself a bit painful (though compared to the pain they might experience during a dental procedure it is considerably small), however, dentists have made even this more endurable. A topical anesthesia is usually administered in the area where the injection will be given to even deaden this sensation making dentistry about as painless as possible.

 

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Dental School…No Easy Feat

You have heard that dentists have it easy. You’ve heard that they don’t have to go to school as long as other doctors, and they make a ton of money. The reality, though, is that dentists don’t have it as easy as you always thought. In fact, dental school can be more of a pain than your last dental appointment!

First, you have to get accepted into a dental master degree program. To do this, you generally have to have had decent to good grades in your undergraduate program. Now, it’s not impossible to get into a dental program – far from it. But if you had a hard time getting average grades in your undergraduate program, you may not have an easy time getting into your master’s program.

Just like if you were going to medical school to be a surgeon or family practice doctor, you have to pass the board exams to graduate. In fact, you have to pass them twice – generally after your second and fourth years of dental school. Along with this, you will have to take many of the same classes as other doctors, like anatomy, biology, and medical terminology.

Many people say that even though it is tough getting into dental school, it is just the beginning. The really hard part is getting a degree. If you put your mind to it, study hard, and know that this is what you want to do, you will make it through dental school. If you are going because it’s the easy way to go, you are going to be sorely mistaken.

 

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What is a toothache?

Aching tooth: This guy is in the window of a d... 

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When a person says that they are having a toothache, they are often referring to any pain that they may be having in the area around the jaws and teeth.  This “ache” is usually the result of a dental condition, such as a cavity, exposed tooth root, a cracked tooth, gum disease, an abscess or even a disorder originating for the jaw joint.  Pain associated with toothaches vary greatly from mild pain to sharp pain to excruciating pain, and these pains may be aggravated further when they are irritated  by cold, heat, or chewing.   With an examination from the dentist, the cause of the toothache can often be determined, and subsequently treat it.  However, there are some cases where the toothache is caused from a problem other than those that manifests themselves in the tooth or jaw area.

Sometimes pain in the teeth and jaws can also be representative of a disease of the heart, such as angina.  Angina is a pain or discomfort that is felt when the heart is not receiving enough oxygenated blood because the arteries in the heart have narrowed.  However, some angina patients may never feel heart pain from the disease, and instead may have tooth or jaw pain.

Other diseases that may cause a toothache are internal and external ear infections, and sinus problems.  In all cases, if a person is suffering from a toothache or is having jaw pains, they should seek the care of a doctor or dentist as soon as possible because it can mean that there is a more serious underlying condition that may need to be addressed immediately.

 

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Maintaining Good Oral Hygiene During Pregnancy

Putting toothpaste on a toothbrush. The toothp... 

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As you review your pregnancy calendar and plan the steps to take for your baby’s arrival, be sure to give some thought to oral hygiene maintenance. The health of your teeth and gums affects the development of your baby. When you are pregnant, the hormonal make-up of your body changes, making you susceptible to gum disease. Visiting the dentist before and during your pregnancy is an important step.

Avoid Dental Treatments During Pregnancy

Mark on your pregnancy calendar to visit the dentist for regular cleanings to avoid gum disease. However, major dental procedures should be done before or after the delivery of the baby. You want to avoid dental x-rays and medications that may affect your baby’s health.

Practice Good Dental Hygiene

While it’s always a good idea to brush after meals and floss daily, it’s especially important to do so while you’re pregnant. You want to limit the amount of bacteria in your mouth that might lead to gingivitis or gum issues. Be sure to use a soft toothbrush and brush for several minutes each time. Many people do brush their teeth, but do not do so for long enough to remove the bacteria and plaque. Also, choose toothpaste with a bland taste. Flavored toothpastes may exacerbate morning sickness and should be avoided for this reason.

Avoid Sweets

Limiting your intake of sugary snacks and drinks during pregnancy is a good idea for various reasons. It will help you to avoid tooth decay. Limiting these foods in your diet will also make room for eating highly nutritious foods, such as fruits, vegetables and proteins.

 

 

 

 

 

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Fight dental problems with the best toothpaste

Fast foods and junk foods as well as alcoholic drinks and smoking are some of the factors that are have adverse effects on the teeth. With the fast and stressed life, people are becoming more dependent on these few things and thus are harming their teeth. Besides switching to a healthy lifestyle, it is necessary to choose the best toothpaste in order to fight all the problems related to teeth and gums. Though there are some of the best toothpaste brands available in the market, still one must always check the ingredients before buying the toothpastes. It is extremely important to buy toothpastes that will serve an individual’s specific dental requirements.

toothpaste

Fluoride is one of the essential elements that prevents tooth decay thereby gives strength to the teeth. It also helps in preventing cavities. For some the natural toothpastes made out of organic ingredients like baking soda works best but those with sensitive teeth and high blood pressure must avoid this toothpaste. Different sorts of toothpastes are made to serve different problems. The whitening toothpastes, sensitive toothpastes and toothpastes for gum problems are available and one must choose them accordingly. For more serious problems, one should always consult a dentist before choosing the appropriate toothpaste.

It is an important fact to choose the best toothpaste for your children or for the toddlers. Toothpastes for the children must be devoid of all kinds of strong ingredients as the toddlers or kids have the tendency to swallow the pastes while brushing. Both gel and paste forms are available and selecting one of these depends entirely on an individual’s personal preference.

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Are you frightened of Dentists?

Oral health always relies on pro-action and not reaction. Reaction is on most times just to control the damage. Dental care is often an overlooked aspect of overall fitness. People are not convinced on taking regular oral check-ups.

A visit to the dentist is sometimes at a point when the situation is really bad. Some people are so scared of dentists that they take medications than hear the dreaded word ‘extraction’ from the dentist. People who are scared of dentists might have had painful experiences from inexperienced dentists. But not all dentists are inexperienced.

An important thing to consider before going for a dental checkup is to go to a renowned dentist. Base your assessments on the feedback you receive from people who have visited this dentist before. People always have unanimous feedback about dentists. It would not vary much, so you can safely rely on word-of-mouth.

Even if you do not have a recommendation, you can use the following indicators to determine the quality of a dentist.
• The dentist will have a calm, caring and patient disposition

• The dentist will listen to you even if what you are saying is something that the dentist has heard a million times• The dentist understands that you have the right to undergo a painless treatment, and makes every effort to make the procedure as painless as possible

• Is a highly qualified and recommended practitioner

The above are just some of the qualities of a good dentist. A good dentist might much more qualities than the above-mentioned ones.

Good dentists make life comfortable for the patient by explaining to them the procedures. The patient will feel much relief after hearing this, and will be mentally prepared for it. When the procedure is unknown the patient will feel more anxiety over the dentist’s actions.

A dentist should also build a friendship with patients. This helps patients overcome fear of pain.

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Preventing Cavities

Cavities are a hard word to hear. They are those craters in teeth that give nightmares and cause pain. A visit to the dentist is enough to bring out the pain associated with it. You need not fear the dentist’s tools anymore. With a little bit of reading you will understand why not to fear cavities.

Cavities are caused by bacteria. Everything contains bacteria. Even our toothbrushes. Bacteria are always looking for ways to cling onto teeth. You can make your toothbrush germ free by passing UV rays over it, but the same can’t be done to your teeth. UV rays should not enter your body as they are harmful.

Bacteria are like uninvited guests that come and eat our leftovers and refuse to leave. They leave behind harmful acids that damage the enamel. Constant acid production leaves a lot of cavities on teeth. Teeth do not have real comeback capabilities.

Acids are not harmful unless they are washed away from the area. Otherwise like any other acids, they would cause damage. Leaving holes called cavities, the teeth is exposed to more bacteria. The dentin is exposed, and anything that touches this area will cause a lot of pain. The cavity will widen or deepen and destroy the nerve of the tooth. The best way to prevent cavities is to avoid sugar products completely.

Such a situation can be avoided with good hygiene habits. You should brush at least two times a day. Between brushings let the non-brushed hours spread out equally. Use a water pick to gently pick out food particles stuck within teeth after eating something. Bacteria feed on the food-leftovers in the mouth. Brushing helps remove these food leftovers. It is important to brush all parts of teeth and not leave any part unattended.

Flossing is also an excellent dental hygiene activity. Flossing with a anti-bacterial liquid is highly effective. Brushing and flossing are both important in the dental cleaning process.

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Dental Bleaching

Dental bleaching or tooth whitening is a procedure to whiten the teeth. Teeth can be discolored due to a lot of things. As the enamel starts developing pores, the teeth tend to lose their whiteness. Enamel is a mineral from which teeth is formed.

Teeth can get colored due to pigmentation left by bacteria. Eating certain food can also leave stains that are hard to erase off. Tobacco smoke also leaves stubborn stains on the teeth. Even prolonged usage of certain medicines will also cause tooth discoloring.

Why teeth whitening?People want brighter looking teeth. The color of the teeth indicates a lot of things about a person. Discolored teeth are an easy giveaway about a person’s lifestyle activities. Cosmetically speaking, teeth add a lot of value to the beauty or good looks of a person. What’s a beautiful face without beautiful teeth?

Methods to bleach the teeth are many. Home-based bleaching agents are applied to the teeth. Using bleaching strips small layers of bleach are applied over the affected areas. The best place to bleach the teeth would be at a dentist’s, although there is no such restriction. One can always bleach the teeth by buying over-the-counter products or by visiting cosmetic centers at spas or resorts.

Ideally, a dentist would be the best person to rely on for a safe teeth-bleaching procedure. Like any doctor, the dentist would also determine the feasibility of the bleach on the person. Does the person have an allergy to the compounds used in the bleach? How much discoloration has taken place? Which areas can be left alone and so on.

Bleaching the teeth does have some risks. Excessive application might cause burns. Most of these burns are not fatal. Yet they are slightly painful. Over bleaching will damage the enamel by overly oxidizing it. Some products might not suit the teeth, and the bleaching effects might be short-lived. No sooner will there be a requirement for another bleach.

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Bruxism

At the outset Bruxism sounds more like a habit than a disease. It happens when the top edge and the bottom edge of the teeth brush against each other regularly. This is called clenching of the teeth. People who do this might have started off as voluntarily or involuntarily. Whatever the case, they seem to do it without them being aware of it.

The cause of bruxism is pointed to stress and hypertension, though the direct cause is still not clear. Bruxism can cause pain and discomfort. The level of pain depends on the intensity of the clenching.

Causes of bruxismSome of the noted causes of bruxism are,
• Stress, anxiety, and hypertension

• Prolonged clenching of teeth over a very long time

• Improperly aligned teeth• Position of the jaw, or posture of the jaw muscles

• Innate methods of stress control

• Lifestyle habits like food, drink, and sleepWhen the teeth are clenched a lot of thrust is applied to the jaw muscles. This pressure will cause TMJ (temporomandibular joint problems). Clenching the teeth can also cause it to lose off some enamel, and eventually lose shape. It can also become lose and might lose its rigidity.

The symptoms of bruxism are,
• Stress anxiety

• Irregular eating habits

• Persistent or frequently occurring pain in the head

• Increased sensitivity in the teeth when eating sweets

• Jaw pain

• Sleeplessness

• Pain the ears

Treatment

There are some treatment options that can be done at home.
• Applying ice packs to jaw muscles. Or even applying a towel dipped in hot water to the muscles around the jaw

• Avoiding chocolates or any sweet food. Avoiding food that is hard in structure.

• Reducing daily stress by sleeping well and drinking lots of water

• Exercising the facial muscles. Doing physiotherapy exercises to improve the posture of the jaw.

• Eating at regular intervals and maintaining a balanced nutritious diet

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Reducing The Fear of Our Dentists

Dentists have occasionally been stigmatized with fear in some patients. While it’s normal to be afraid of the unknown, chances are we’ve been to our dental office countless times growing up. Some of us might want to change dental offices entirely but we shouldn’t do that needlessly. There are some things that can be done to help combat and untimely fight or flight response.

Many of us can get ourselves extremely uncomfortable prior to setting foot into the waiting room. Perhaps the idea of having anyone (even medical professionals) to explore our mouths for cavities and gum disease is enough reason for some alarm. Try chewing gum to take your mind off the stress. It will allow you to burn a few calories and get your salivary glands in working order while you wait for your appointment.

This may sound unusual, but don’t keep canceling your dental visit. Fear itself is not a reason to ditch your appointment. It will only delay the inevitable and whether we like it or not we need to have our teeth checked. Frankly, the more we stall for time the longer our teeth can remain in worse condition. Dentists will probably have more work to do. Consequently, a patient’s anxiety level can increase.

If your hands are shaking, maybe it’s time to stop visiting the café for your daily caffeine fix. Caffeine not only causes the heart rate to rise but it can make people feel more nervous than usual. In women caffeine interacts with estrogen levels and causes the “need” for more caffeine consumption each time.

That herbal mint tea that you’ve been saving in the pantry can be put to use prior to leaving the house. Have a cup or two. Herbal tea will refresh the mouth but it’s also a systemic relaxant. Remember that dentists don’t want their patients to be nervous and would like us to have a comfortable visit. Don’t worry and smile instead.



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