Dental Care Archives - Page 3 of 4

November 14, 2016
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World Diabetes Day – 14 November 2016

The month of November is dedicated to diabetes awareness and today (14 November) is…World Diabetes Day!

Research into the links between diabetes and oral health has shown that diabetics with periodontitis (gum disease) find it more difficult to keep their blood glucose (sugar) levels under control. Other studies have shown that people with blood glucose levels that are not controlled well, are at higher risk of developing gum disease.

In other words, diabetes complicates gum disease and vice-versa.

So it is important to maintain good control of your blood glucose levels and your oral health at the same time, and not one or the other.

What happens if a diabetic has gum disease?

If you have uncontrolled blood glucose levels, it can affect your immune system response to inflammation and infection. Diabetics experience a much faster rate of gum disease progression than non-diabetics, since their immune systems cannot respond strongly to oral infections.

Conversely, if you have gum disease, it can increase your blood glucose levels, putting you at risk of developing diabetes. And for people with diabetes, gum disease can increase their risk for diabetes complications such as neuropathy (nerve damage), heart disease, nephropathy (kidney disease), retinopathy (vision loss), stroke, and PAD (peripheral arterial disease).

What other oral health conditions are affected by diabetes?

People with diabetes may be more likely to develop a number of oral conditions:

Dry mouth – Without good saliva production to clean and protect your teeth and gums, oral bacteria can thrive, leading to further oral health complications.
Thrush – An oral fungal infection that causes a painful, burning sensation in affected areas.
Wound healing – It may take longer for you to heal after tooth extractions and other types of dental surgery.

Improving your oral health and diabetes progression

Getting your oral health and hygiene back on track is essential, in order to limit complications such as diabetes. At the same time, it is important for diabetics to manage their blood glucose levels with the right medications and proper medical supervision. Encourage your doctor and dentist to work together to help you achieve better oral and overall health.

Do you have diabetes and don’t know it?

International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that approximately 200 million people, or about half of all adults with diabetes, don’t even know they have it. As part of this year’s focus on the importance of screening for diabetes, IDF have set up an online diabetes risk assessment.

You can do your part for Diabetes month, by raising awareness of this quick, easy and confidential online questionnaire. It can predict your risk of developing type 2 diabetes over the next ten years.
Please use this link: https://www.idf.org/type-2-diabetes-risk-assessment/

Alternatively, you can complete the Diabetes Australia’s diabetes risk calculator questionnaire, by using this link: https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/risk-calculator

On World Diabetes Day, let’s all test to prevent diabetes. An early diagnosis and treatment can help reduce the risk of serious diabetes complications.

Tags : diabetes and oral health diabetes complicates gum disease Dry mouth World Diabetes Day World Diabetes Day - 14 November 2016

Category : Dental Care

October 6, 2016
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How to help in a sports dental emergency

Every day, across Australia, millions of kids play sports. Each one of these sports has potential risks and dangers.

For example, sports activities are played on different surfaces, and a range of surroundings and environments. Weather conditions such as extreme heat, UV, cold, wind and rain can also impact on playing conditions. The nature of the sport and the conduct of the participating players are also potential factors that can increase the risk of injury.

In Australia, contact sports are increasing in popularity. Sport is part of our cultural identity. Our children are being encouraged to become involved more and more, at younger and younger ages. As a result, dental mouthguards have emerged as the most popular and effective type of protective equipment to prevent oral injuries during play.

Children Sport Dental Emergency

But even with the right education in sports safety and accident prevention for kids, teachers and parents, and the use of protective equipment – sports injuries still occur. And oral injuries rate as the most common form of facial injury sustained by our young players in contact sports.

In the event of oral injury or trauma, you have to shift into injury management mode.

Injuries to the teeth or mouth can knock out teeth, obstruct airways or induce swelling. So always check for signs and symptoms of bleeding, pain, broken or knocked-out teeth and swelling, before administering the following basic first aid procedures.

Assess the injury. Make sure the airways are clear. Place and support the patient in a recovery position to avoid further bleeding down into the throat, and obstruction of the airways.
Control any heavy bleeding. Apply firm pressure to the bleeding wound, such as a tooth socket, with a clean folded tissue or sterile dressing for about ten minutes.
Save knocked-out teeth or tooth fragments. Clean a knocked-out tooth with milk or the patient’s own saliva. Have the patient keep the tooth in place with a gentle bite over a folded tissue covering it, or use their finger. If the tooth is broken and cannot be reinserted, keep it in a half a cup of milk or sterile saline solution, wrapped in plastic.

Now it’s time to seek emergency dental or medical attention promptly.

See a dentist for tooth or jaw related injuries. If the patient is fully conscious, they may be transported in a private car.

See a doctor, for heavy bleeding or swelling of the mouth, face or throat.

Call an ambulance (000) immediately, if continuous bleeding or swelling, puts the airways of the patient at risk.
If you are the first aider in a dental emergency situation, it is vital that you respond, assess and take action. The correct first aid may save a child’s tooth.

Tags : children dental emergency dental emergency oral injury oral trauma sports dental emergency

Category : Dental Care

September 23, 2016
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Wrinkle-free smiles from your dentist

Depending on your mood, your face can alter in shape and appearance dramatically. If you look into a mirror, you can change your normal facial characteristics completely, by making a range of different facial expressions, such as laughing or frowning. That’s because your face can activate up to 43 muscles to express these emotions on your face.

Over time, the repeated movement of these facial muscles creates wrinkles and lines. These can form naturally between the muscles, as your skin tissue starts to sag, and lose its elasticity and collagen content. For example, you may form “crow’s feet” around your eyes, or “laugh lines” around your mouth.
Everyday lifestyle factors including sun exposure, fatigue, stress, smoking and dry skin may also contribute to the formation of wrinkles and lines.

Anti-wrinkle injections

There are now anti-wrinkle treatments that can help smooth out and reduce the depth of wrinkles for more youthful-looking and rejuvenated skin. These injectable treatments are popular alternatives to surgery, and can slow down the effects of aging.

Anti-wrinkle treatments are simple cosmetic procedures that relax your facial muscles which results in smoother overlying skin. The same treatment can also used to treat oral conditions such as temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ) or teeth grinding (bruxism), by relaxing involuntary and overactive muscle movement.

Why see a dentist for anti-wrinkle treatment?

Receiving anti-wrinkle treatment from your dentist, as opposed to a beautician or plastic surgeon, has numerous benefits.

Your dentist is professionally trained in cosmetic dentistry, and has relevant technical knowledge of your face and neck anatomy, as well as its underlying muscle function and structure. Dentists already utilise an understanding of facial aesthetics, in order to give you a beautiful smile.

By combining cosmetic dental treatment with anti-wrinkle treatment, your dentist can ensure that both treatments complement each other – to create a natural-looking and harmonious smile and face makeover. Your dentist uses injectables carefully, thus avoiding the over-use of these treatments that can result in that tell-tale frozen look.

There is also the added advantage of achieving your smile and face makeover under the guidance and supervision of one practitioner, all under the one roof. This can also save you time and money.

Before commencing anti-wrinkle treatment, your dentist will provide you with a full consultation – to understand your unique needs and reasons for enhancing the appearance of your smile and face.

If you would like to find out more about our anti-wrinkle treatments, call us at Choice Dental on 07 3909 3320 to speak to one of our helpful staff.

Tags : anti-wrinkle anti-wrinkle treatment cosmetic dental Wrinkle- free smiles Wrinkle-free

Category : Dental Care

July 4, 2016
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The world’s first dental robot has arrived

The world’s first rudimentary dental robot has emerged from the fields of digital dentistry and robotics.

Digital dentistry is a modern field of dentistry that makes use of digital technology. Over the last 20 years, it has developed rapidly and will improve the quality, precision, efficiency, speed and costs of a lot of dental procedures today.

In time, digital dentistry will eventually render certain traditional dental methods and procedures obsolete, while creating innovations that will revolutionise modern dentistry as we know it.

One such innovation, on the horizon, is a Chinese made and developed dental robot.

On 29 April 2016, Peking University, China, published a scientific report to test, record and validate the accuracy of their new dental robotic device which can perform an automatic full crown tooth preparation.

(A full crown preparation normally involves a dental trimming process of the target tooth, to remove any decay, and to create a specific tapered shape that can receive the crown. Once the tooth is shaped, a dental impression is taken, which is used to create a plaster cast. A dental technician then uses the cast to fabricate a ceramic crown.)

The robotic device is loaded with heaps of features. It has an intraoral scanner, an ultra-short-pulse laser beam generator for hard tissue preparation, robotics and 3D motion control technology. To top it all, the nameless robot has an intraoral automatic laser-controlled micro-preparation unit so small, you won’t even notice, as it extends quietly into your mouth to start work – with its silent laser.

Those of us who might be wary of an automatic miniature laser gun in their mouth, close to their brain, need not worry. For safety, this Chinese robot positions the micro-preparation unit in the same coordinate system as your target tooth while protecting the soft and hard tissue surrounding the target area from injury and other emergency situations (like sneezing).

The timed results of the Chinese study said it all. Average preparation time for a full crown preparation was a very respectable 17 minutes. With a shape error range of 0.05-0.17 mm on its first documented run, the robot’s potential in the near future looks promising.

The Peking University researchers also plan to adapt their robot to perform other types of tooth restorations, such as inlays, veneers and partial crowns. The robot’s sensors will also receive an upgrade to improve accuracy and enable the detection of variations in tooth structure and composition.

Information and image source: Yuan, F. et al. An automatic tooth preparation technique: A preliminary study. Sci. Rep. 6, 25281; doi: 10.1038/srep25281 (2016).

Tags : 3D dentistry motion control automatic miniature laser gun dental intraoral scanner dental robot dental robotic device dental ultra-short-pulse laser beam digital dentistry digital robotics robot positions the micro-preparation unit

Category : Dental Care

June 29, 2016
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The role of dietitians and nutrition in your oral health

Last month, the Dental Health Services Victoria (DHSV) partnered with the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) to release a joint position statement on the strong links between a nutritious diet and good oral health to the media and over 1,000 nutrition science experts.

In their release, the DAA CEO Claire Hewat stated that, ‘Nutrition and diet affect the development and progression of oral diseases – the two are naturally linked. If we improve what a person eats, their dental health will also improve.’

DHSV CEO Dr Deborah Cole noted that oral health problems can reduce your ability and motivation to bite, chew and swallow food (and/or drink).

The DAA and DHSV CEOs agreed that a ‘clear lifelong synergy’ should be maintained between diet and oral health.

However the most recent statistical data shows that oral health conditions were the 2nd most expensive disease group to treat, after cardiovascular disease. In 2012-2013, $8.7 billion was spent in Australia on dental treatments.

The DHSV and DAA CEOs believe that their respective industry bodies should work collaboratively to help promote preventative oral health and improve general health outcomes for patients. Ms Hewat pointed out that, ‘There is now increasing evidence that oral health is strongly linked with major chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stroke, as well as adverse pregnancy outcomes’.

Both government departments recognise the need for dietitians to assume a more prominent role – in providing oral health and dietary education to the community.

Dietitians are in a good position to take a leadership role to educate and address oral health issues (linked to diet) to the wider community. This is because dietitians are already employed in community and public health settings. They also work with community groups at high risk of poor oral health and other chronic illnesses.

The DAA plans to incorporate simple oral health strategies into their practice, and have dietitians work in closer collaboration with dental professionals – ‘to support and encourage optimal oral health.’

Tags : dental chronic illnesses dental dietitian diet and oral health tooth dietitians and nutrition tooth nutrition

Category : Dental Care

May 27, 2016
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Child Dental Benefit Schedule UPDATE

In mid-April, the Turnbull Administration announced a new set of health reforms that would see the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) replaced with the new Child and Adult Public Dental Schedule (CAPDS) on 1 July, 2016.

The Commonwealth Government’s Department of Health also confirmed that the new dental funding scheme was in place and would commence on this date, following the closure of the CDBS on 30 June.

The new reforms seemed like a done deal.

The final step to implement the CAPDS was for parliament to pass the new legislation. But before this could happen, the Federal Election was announced and the Australian Government went into caretaker mode.

Without this passage of legislation, the new changes to dental funding were left in limbo. This left only one course of action for the DOH. They withdrew all information regarding the closure of the CDBS and reinstated the program until further notice.

This basically means that the CDBS will not cease on 30 June, but will continue through for the rest of the 2016 calendar year. That is, unless the Turnbull administration wins the election and fast-tracks their dental health reforms – once parliament resumes.

The Australian Dental Association (ADA) has spoken out with great concern about the government decision to axe the CDBS.

The ADA claims that the new CAPDS is an inadequate funding model for the current needs of Australian society. In its view, the new dental program:

represents a budget saving and a cut to public dental funding of $200 million.
will shift more dental patients onto long waiting lists, in the already overburdened public dental provider sector.
doesn’t support the dental needs of children living in rural and remote areas. The dental health of children from disadvantaged groups with the community will also be on the line.

The ADA has launched an online petition campaign to save the Child Dental Health Benefits – the best public dental program for children across Australia. To view and participate in the petition, click the following link: change.org

Tags : CAPDS CDBS CDBS 2016 CDBS2017 Child Dental Benefits free children dental care Schedule

Category : Dental Care

April 6, 2016
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Brushing your teeth could prevent Alzheimer’s Disease

In a new joint study (March 2016) by King’s College London and the University of Southampton, researchers set out to determine if there was a link between gum disease (Periodontitis) and the progression of Alzheimer’s in patients. The research team studied 59 people with mild to moderate dementia over a six month period. They monitored the state of their gums and inflammatory markers in their bodies. The patients were also cognitively assessed throughout the study period.

It has already been established that gum disease is more common in older people with Alzheimer’s Disease – since people with the disease had a reduced ability to take care of their personal oral hygiene and health.

However, in the new study, the English researchers found that gum disease, in turn, had a detrimental effect on Alzheimer’s patients’ rate of decline. Specifically, their results showed that gum disease sped up cognitive decline six times faster in Alzheimer’s patients.
How? The research findings, and that from a number of previous studies, indicate that higher levels of antibodies, due to periodontal bacteria, is linked to increased levels of inflammatory molecules – body-wide. Chronic inflammation conditions are directly linked to an elevated risk of health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease or cognitive decline.

But the link between gum disease and the progression of Alzheimer’s in a patient doesn’t end there. Previous studies have already found that losing teeth at a younger age, due to gum disease, increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s later in life. And the more teeth you lose to gum disease, the further you increase that risk.

There are other factors that play a part in the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease. But growing evidence suggests that dental treatment of gum disease can benefit the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related diseases.

Professor Clive Holmes, chief author from the University of Southampton, says:

“Our study was small and lasted for six months so further trials need to be carried out to develop these results. However, if there is a direct relationship between periodontitis and cognitive decline, as this current study suggests, then treatment of gum disease might be a possible treatment option for Alzheimer’s.”

In the light of these results, it’s clear that practicing good oral hygiene and health is not only essential for healthy teeth. It also plays an important role in maintaining a healthy mind and body – free from chronic diseases in the future.

Reference: Research paper: “Periodontitis and cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease” 2016 by Ide et al. Published online in the journal PLOS ONE

Tags : Alzheimer’s disease Chronic inflammation free from chronic diseases prevent Alzheimer’s Disease Senior dental care Senior oral hygiene and health

Category : Dental Care

March 13, 2016
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Choice Dental World Oral Health Day - Good Health Good- Life

Your oral health is a window to your general health and well-being

A lot of people think oral health is about having a beautiful, bright smile. While this aspect is an important part of cosmetic dentistry, there is a bigger picture that most people are unaware of.

Recent studies show that 40 % of people with oral disease also suffered from another chronic health problem. According to the International Dental Tribune, common oral health problems like gum disease and jaw pain has been associated with a number of serious health problems, including:

heart disease
osteoporosis
diabetes

Heart disease – if you have heart disease, it is more likely that you will have gum disease as well. Gum inflammation can result in clogged arteries. So, it is important to work with your dentist to treat any oral condition you have. It can help reduce the risks of suffering a heart attack or stroke.

Osteoporosis – Osteoporosis is a disease where your bone strength decreases and becomes more porous. This condition makes your bones weak, and is the main reason why the elderly experience a fractured or broken bone.

While most people identify the first symptoms of osteoporosis as aches and pains in the body, there are earlier indications. If your dentist identifies any weakening of your teeth, or if you start losing your teeth, you may be experiencing the early stages of osteoporosis.

Diabetes – If you have diabetes and gum disease, it has been proven that each health condition negatively affects the other. Gum inflammation reduces the body’s ability to utilise insulin. Recurrent gum disease may be a sign of diabetes also, because people with diabetes are more vulnerable to all kinds of infection.

If you let your oral health care lapse, then you may be also compromising your general health – and your body’s ability to fend off other serious health conditions.

Remember – Healthy mouth, healthy body.

Tags : Diabetes Good Health Good Life heart disease oral disease affect the body oral health Osteoporosis

Category : Dental Care

February 15, 2016
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Choice dental mouthguards sports protection

Custom-made mouthguards safer than retail mouthguards

Choosing a mouthguard for your child (or yourself) can affect the odds of them suffering a brain injury or concussion in a contact sport situation.
U.S. research

American researchers from the Academy of General Dentistry conducted a study in mid-2014. The study set out to compare the levels of protection offered by custom-made mouthguards and standard over-the-counter (OTC) mouthguards. The purpose of the study was to research ways to better protect children from concussions.

For the study, both types of mouthguards were randomly assigned to 412 high-school football players to wear during games. All players wore a standard football helmet.

The study results

Previous research has shown that there are many variables that contribute to MTBI/concussion injuries – and mouthguards cannot prevent them all from happening. But mouthguards can help absorb shock and stabilize the head and neck, by limiting movement caused by a blow or trauma.

After the test period, the researchers found that 3.6% of the custom-made mouthguard group had suffered a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) or concussion. On the other hand, the OTC mouthguard group had more than double that rate at 8.3%.

The U.S. study showed that mouthguard thickness was a factor that contributed to protection. While the custom-made mouthguards were 3.5 mm thick, the OTC mouthguards were only 1.65 mm thick on average.

Having a perfectly-fitted mouthguard was an important factor also. If a person wears an uncomfortable mouthguard, than they are more likely to chew it. This action could reduce the mouthguard’s thickness and level of protection.

Conclusion

Dr. Jackson Winters, lead author of the study, advises,” Although more research on this topic is needed, our study shows the value of a custom-made mouthguard. The benefits of protecting your child far outweigh the costs associated with a dental or medical injury, which is likelier to occur with a store-bought model”

For a custom-made mouthguard for your child, give us a call and book an appointment.

Source:

(Study: “Custom-Made Mouthguards Outperform Store-Bought Models
in Reducing Athletes’ Risk of Concussion”, Academy of General Dentistry, 312.440.4974, media@agd.org)

Tags : Brisbane mouthguards custom mouthguards mouthguards mouthguards Choice Dental mouthguards Choice ental mouthguards protection retail mouthguards

Category : Dental Care

January 3, 2016
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Choice dental - Chewing Gum removes oral bacteria

Chewing gum removes oral bacteria as much as brushing teeth

A study regarding the effects of chewing gum on oral bacteria was conducted by a team of Dutch researchers at the University of Groningen, Netherlands in early 2015. It’s not one to forget. Here’s a recap:

Evidence from their findings showed that oral bacteria got trapped inside chewing gum, thus removing the bacteria from the oral cavity.

Typically, tooth-brushing, flossing and mouth-washing are considered to be the main ways to remove bacteria from your teeth, tongue and gums. But the Dutch researchers set out to test the hypothesis that chewing gum could also contribute to oral health maintenance.

The research team had volunteers chew gum for up to 10 minutes. Then, the chewed gum was tested for bacteria and colony forming units.

The results were astounding.

Via scanning electron microscopy, the researchers could visually identify bacteria trapped in the gum (see pic). In each piece of gum, around 100 million bacteria were detected. In comparison, tooth-brushing and flossing removed a similar amount of bacteria.

Chewing one piece of gum also reduced about 10% of bacteria in saliva.

The Dutch research team concluded that chewing gum regularly helps to reduce your harmful oral bacteria load significantly. Their findings may promote the development of chewing gum that selectively targets oral disease-related bacteria for better oral health in the future. .

For the time being though, current brands of chewing gum are no substitute for regular tooth-brushing and flossing to maintain your oral health. However, if you are not in a position to brush or floss (e.g. at work), then drinking water and chewing some gum may help reduce your oral bacteria load during the day.

Reference

Research paper: “Quantification and Qualification of Bacteria Trapped in Chewed Gum”, 2015. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117191

Tags : Chewing gum Chewing gum benefits Chewing gum removes oral bacteria oral bacteria Oral hygiene tooth brushing vs chewing gum

Category : Dental Care

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Category Archives: Dental Care

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World Diabetes Day – 14 November 2016

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How to help in a sports dental emergency

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Wrinkle-free smiles from your dentist

Wrinkle-free smiles from your dentist

Anti-wrinkle injections

Why see a dentist for anti-wrinkle treatment?

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The world’s first dental robot has arrived

0

The role of dietitians and nutrition in your oral health

0

Child Dental Benefit Schedule UPDATE

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Brushing your teeth could prevent Alzheimer’s Disease

0

Your oral health is a window to your general health and well-being

0

Custom-made mouthguards safer than retail mouthguards

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Chewing gum removes oral bacteria as much as brushing teeth

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