Blog

Many people may not be aware of the fact that oral cancer is the 6th most common form of cancer and that it is actually more prevalent than cervical cancer.

In addition to a visual exam with the naked eye, the dentists and hygienists at West Market Dental also utilize the Velscope to help with the screening for oral cancer. There is no additional charge for the Velscope oral cancer screening since it is included as a part of the new patient exam and check-up.

The technology has been showcased on "The Dr. Oz Show" and "The Doctors". Feel free to watch the video to the left and also videos on the DoctorOz website.

Many people may not be aware that thumb or finger sucking, as well as prolonged pacifier use, can eventually lead to dental problems. Some sources claim that it is safe for children to suck their thumb or use a pacifier up to age 3 or 4 without causing any permanent dental problems. In my eleven years of clinical experience I find that it is best to stop the habit by age two. I have seen many 2 and 3 year olds who have already developed irreversible orthodontic problems.

Thumb sucking or pacifier use will eventually push the upper teeth out and the lower teeth in, thus creating a large space between the front teeth. Even though it is only the baby teeth that are initially affected, the bone structure around the teeth will also be affected. When the child turns 6 or 7 years old and the adult teeth begin to come in, the child's adult teeth will also have the large gap between the front teeth and thus necessitate future orthodontic treatment. The pacifier habit is easily broken by simply taking away the pacifier. The child will usually be upset and cry for 2 to 4 days. It is much harder to break the thumb sucking habit so I am providing the following information for those in need of advice.

There are three basic categories of treatment.

• Behavioral therapy helps a child avoid thumb-sucking through various techniques such as reminder therapy and reward systems. Reminder therapy is useful for children who are ready to discontinue the habit. Nagging a child about a habit will most likely prolong it. Reward systems usually involve the use of a calendar, on which is star is placed for every day in which no thumb habit is observed. A reward is given to the child after a certain number of stars have been earned. Behavioral therapy works best if all people involved in the child's care follow the treatment plan. The biggest problem with behavioral therapy alone is that children will thumb suck at night to comfort themselves, especially when tired, and so children will often continue the habit at night subconsciously. Placing an Ace Bandage around the elbow at night can help with this. In the Ace Bandage technique, an elastic bandage is wrapped around the elbow at bedtime. As the child falls asleep, the pressure from the bandage removes the thumb from the mouth. The disadvantages of this last technique are: possible decreased blood flow to the arm so care must be taken to ensure the bandage is not too tight, and a lower success rate than compared to appliance therapy.


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  Thumb devices, such as the one made by Kid Giddy can be used for children with severe thumb-sucking problems. A thumb device is usually made of nontoxic material and is worn over the child's thumb. It is held in place with straps that go around the wrist. A thumb device prevents a child from being able to suck his or her thumb and is worn all day. It is removed after the child has gone 48 hours without trying to suck a thumb. The device is put back if the child starts to suck his or her thumb again. Placing tape or a bandage over the thumb is another method. Unfortunately, most older kids will be able to remove the tape or bandages themselves. MAVALA Stop is another innovative product that has been shown to be very effective. MAVALA Stop is a harmless, transparent nail polish that has a distinct bitter taste. It needs to be reapplied every couple of days.


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  Oral devices (such as a palatal arch or crib that fits into the roof of the mouth) interfere with the pleasure a child gets from thumb-sucking. It may take several months for the child to stop sucking the thumb when these devices are used. When the child stops sucking, parents may choose to continue using the device for several months. This may prevent the child from starting the habit again. Oral devices need to be fitted by a dentist. Even though these appliances are the most effective method to stop thumb sucking, in my opinion, they should be the last choice once we have exhausted all other options. It is the most expensive option and can be difficult to place in young or uncooperative children.

We saw a two year old boy yesterday for a laser frenectomy (treatment for kids who are tongue tied). The actual procedure took about 2 minutes to complete. In this particular situation, laser treatment was a good choice over scalpel surgery. There was no bleeding and no need for stitches immediately after treatment. Because laser treatment traditionally has very little inflammation associated with it, he will feel very little discomfort during the healing period. We would like to thank the family for coming all the way from Red Deer to see us.

In general, ankyloglossia should be treated right after birth if it affects the child's breast/ bottle feeding. Otherwise, it can be treated at age one or two in order to prevent speech problems. Kids with ankyloglossia will usually have a hard time making the "r" and "l" sounds.

We are currently offering POLA Take Home Whitening System – POLA Day and POLA Night for $200.00.

The Pola Day/Night treatment is a take home do-it-yourself kit to be applied to your teeth in the comfort of your own home. An impression of your teeth is taken at our office and a custom tray is made for you to take home with your kit of Pola day/night.

Depending on the level of staining on your teeth, and the health of your teeth, we will supply you with Pola Day/Night at varying levels of carbamide peroxide gel concentrations. These percentages will be marked on the syringes. Wear the trays in your mouth for the time recommended . More information will be provided upon your dental visit.

For more information on POLA Advanced Tooth Whitening System, feel free to contact us or visit POLA website.

At this time we do not offer POLA Office. As an alternative, we do offer ZOOM Teeth whitening for in-office treatments.

• $200 Pola® Take-Home Whitening
  
  
• $550 Zoom® In-Office Whitening

Please note that not everyone is a candidate for professional teeth whitening.

For more information, feel free to click on the links above, or give us a call to inquire about these two excellent methods of teeth whitening.

In addition to her smile looking nicer, our client's teeth and gums are now much healthier.

With straighter teeth, there is less tarter build-up and a decreased risk for cavities between the teeth.

The treatment took approximately 12 months to complete.

This gentleman had always wanted straighter teeth but he was not keen on having traditional metal braces.

Like most of our Invisalign patients, it was an easy decision for him when he discovered the option of Invisalign, the nearly invisible way to straighten teeth.

The orthodontic treatment was completed in 8 months.

This young boy came in after a playground accident where he hit his top teeth on the pavement. Four of the top teeth were severely broken.

Because the teeth were not loose, splinting was not necessary. The four broken teeth were bonded using color matched fillings.

The teeth may need root canal treatment in the future and when he turns 18 years old or so, the bonding will need to be replaced with crowns or veneers.

This young boy came in immediately after a playground accident where he hit his teeth on the monkey bars.

Three of the bottom teeth were hit hard enough to fracture the surrounding bone. The metal retainer was originally sitting behind the teeth but somehow the teeth got pushed behind the wire.

A top tooth was chipped and extremely loose from the trauma. The tooth was close to being knocked out.

The metal retainer on the bottom was removed. The three teeth and fractured bone segment were repositioned.

The top and bottom teeth were splinted for two weeks using bonded rigid stainless steel wires. A few stitches were placed for minor lip lacerations.

Upon splint removal, traditional orthodontic brackets and wires were placed and left in place until full recovery.

Some of the teeth will likely discolor and need root canal treatment in the future.

Do you know what you need to do if you or your child knocks out a tooth?

• TRY TO FIND THE TOOTH
• DO NOT SCRUB IT
• CLEAN DEBRIS OFF GENTLY, RINSE IN MILK OR IDEALLY THE CHILDS SALIVA, IF YOU ARE THE PARENT USE YOUR OWN SALIVA.
• IF YOU FEEL CONFIDENT – PLACE THE TOOTH GENTLY BUT WITH A LITTLE PRESSURE INTO THE SOCKET. CHECK IT IS THE RIGHT WAY AROUND BUT DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE ANGLE TOO MUCH
• GO IMMEDIATELY TO A DENTIST AND INSIST ON BEING SEEN IMMEDIATELY.

If you can't put it back into the child's mouth, store in saliva or milk and go to a dentist immediately. The sooner you seek treatment, the better the prognosis.

You can now watch your favorite movies, tv shows, or music videos while you have your dental work completed!

We have recently acquired a pair of Zeiss Cinemizer Plus video glasses. They are especially great for anxious patients.


These video glasses can also play 3D movies. We do have TV's mounted to the ceiling of all treatment room, however, the experience with these glasses is better, in that it is like watching a 45 inch TV screen from 6 feet away.

The dentists at West Market Dental have treated many dental emergencies over the years. We want to share with everyone emergencies that we commonly see and hopefully be able to answer everyone's questions regarding dental emergencies.

• Playground Accident
• Broken Teeth
• If You Knock Out a Tooth

This young boy came in after a playground accident where he hit his top teeth on the pavement. Four of the top teeth were severely broken.

Because the teeth were not loose, splinting was not necessary. The four broken teeth were bonded using color matched fillings.

The teeth may need root canal treatment in the future and when he turns 18 years old or so, the bonding will need to be replaced with crowns or veneers.

With the holidays fast approaching, our office will be collecting non-perishable food items for the Calgary Inter-Faith Food Bank.

The doctors at West Market Dental have agreed to match the amount collected. There will be a drop off box located in our office. The donation deadline is December 23rd/2010.

Your contribution can help many families in need over the holiday season!

This gentleman wore a partial denture for years. Replacing the denture with implants was like night and day. He feels like he has his natural teeth back.

We actually see more serious accidents from people playing "recreational" sports rather than from people playing high level "organized" sports. That's why it's important to wear your mouth guard, even if you are just playing street hockey.

7 Crowns on the bottom, 6 bonded teeth on the top, and a clasp free partial denture using precision attachments.

This gentleman damaged his teeth severely due to a history of grinding.

This was compounded by the fact that he was using his front teeth to chew inappropriately due to the missing back teeth

If there is notching of the root surfaces in addition to the recession, color matched fillings can be placed over the receded areas. This can usually be done conservatively where no tooth structure is removed prior to the placement of the fillings.

Not only will the teeth look better, the teeth will be greatly less sensitive to hot, cold, sweet, and sour things.

For severe forms of fluorosis, cosmetic porcelain veneers are usually the best option. Not only do they give us the best cosmetic result, they are extremely durable and will remain looking nice for many years.

The sample case shows a gentleman who we had the privilege of completing four veneers on the front teeth. Together we opted to only do four and both of us were very pleased with the result. By completing 8 or 10 veneers, instead of 4, we would have had the opportunity to change the color and appearance of all the teeth that show in his smile. Since we chose to complete four instead, we in fact decided to add a few white areas to the veneers in order to have them match the neighboring teeth seamlessly. This is where the artistry of dentistry meets the science of dentistry. If we had made 4 perfect looking veneers without the slight appearance of fluorosis, they would of stuck out like a sore thumb.

At West Market Dental, we do our share of "smile make-overs" involving 8, 10 or more veneers, but it is always important to ask ourselves the question: "How many teeth do we have to involve in order to meet the patient's expectations?" I have to be honest and mention that it often bothers me to watch make-over shows where everyone leaves the show with "24 Davinci Veneers", whether they have major issues or have just a couple chipped or discolored teeth. Being a conservative dentist is important to me.

There is a form of fluorosis where there is brown discoloration in addition to the usual white discoloration. In most instances, microabrasion (conservative removal of the outer most layer of enamel) followed by teeth whitening can make the brown discoloration less apparent.

The sample case showed a marked improvement with Zoom in-office teeth whitening. The areas of white fluorosis will stand out much more for the first two weeks following teeth whitening. After that, when the color has stabilized, the fluorosis will be less noticeable since the teeth will be whiter overall.

Cosmetic bonding with a color matched filling material is a good option when the fluorosis is minor. When the fluorosis is more extensive, cosmetic bonding is usually not recommended since the large fillings on the front teeth will likely be noticeably discolored in 5 - 7 years, thus necessitating frequent replacements.

For kids, cosmetic bonding is a fantastic option if they are self conscious about the fluorosis. The bonding can later be replaced with cosmetic porcelain veneers when the child has reached their adult years.

When the recession is more severe, gum grafting is one treatment option. The donor tissues are usually taken from the patient's own palate, and then grafted onto the recession site. I know that the description of the procedure is a little frightening but the end result is definately worth it.

This surgical procedure is usually completed at a dental specialist's office. Our office will be happy to coordinate the referral for anyone who needs it done.

The sample case was completed by Dr. Kurt Van Winkle, Periodontist.