Your dental health is an excellent indicator of your overall individual health. A disease will have warning signs that your dentist or medical doctor will notice in your mouth. Some of these particular signs could be pale gums if you are anemic. Anemia is a condition where your iron is low so do check with a health care professional if you suspect this is the problem. Another sign to look for in any family member are bleeding gums. Diabetics in particular have oral health issues. This is due to excessive accumulation of glucose in the blood. The treatment for this condition is to monitor the levels of blood glucose and keep it between 80 – 120.
Past Dental Treatments
- Coconut oil swishing
- This was used to prevent infection. Coconut oil was used to swish in the mouth for a few minutes to remove infection.
- Bleaching with baking soda,salt and hydrogen peroxide
- This paste was used on a toothbrush and left on the teeth for a couple minutes and then rinsed. This was used for years as regular dental care at home to improve oral health.
- Silver amalgam fillings
- The silver amalgam fillings of the past contained large amounts of mercury. Over time this was proven to leach into a persons bloodstream and cause health issues. It also did not bond well to tooth enamel and so over time separated providing adequate space for liquids to seep beneath the filling and set up additional decay. Families are now having silver amalgam filling removed and replaced with a more natural looking white composite resin material.
Today’s Dental Care
If you look for dental insurance do try to include these types of coverage.
- Composite fillings
- This material matches the color of your tooth and bonds well to the enamel. This is a great improvement in restoration when individuals have dental caries.
- Bleaching
- This can greatly improve your smile. Whether it involves fitted plastic trays and special gels or having a dental laser used by educated dentists.
- Crowns
- In several dental plans crowns are covered. Do check to see if it covers Cerec crowns which are solid porcelain created in the dentist office. Using a specialized state of the art machine for that purpose. Used for anterior teeth they provide a more natural translucent look for front teeth. Traditional PFM ( porcelain fused to metal) crowns are still used on back molars where chewing pressures require the additional strength.
- Bridges
- Usually health insurance or a dental plan will cover part of the cost of bridges and crowns. These are the traditional way to correct missing or damaged teeth. A bridge is where you use the adjacent teeth on either side of a missing tooth as support. A bridge usually contains three units and involves grinding down teeth on either side of the space so the bridge can be cemented on. You will have to learn special care to know the correct way to floss this new addition to your mouth.
- Implants
- Recently, implants have gained favor over bridges. Implants information is readily available at most dental offices. An implant is a way of replacing a missing tooth by inserting a post into the jaw. After it has healed and tightened then a crown is screwed onto the post. It will fill in the space and will look and perform just like a normal undamaged tooth. It is a great way to improve your oral health.
- Partials
- Sometimes due to finances individuals will choose the option of a partial. A partial fits snugly into your mouth and can replace from one to several teeth. Usually dental plans will cover part of the cost or all of it. There are many kinds of partials. A “flipper” is just for show not eating. There is the traditional partial that can be used when eating made of metal and hard plastic. It is the most durable. Newer models of partials called thermoplastic with tooth colored clasps are more comfortable and more aesthetically pleasing.
- Cleanings and Checkups
- Taking children and the other members of your family are made easier if you get a dental plan with checkup and cleaning coverage.
Future Dental Improvements
- The Oral quad-corder
- This is a sensor that is placed in the mouth to detect changes. It can sense biochemicals of seven types of oral bacteria. It also shows any periodontal disease. It sends this information to cloud and returns the diagnosis in 6 seconds. The dentist using this will be able to also detect minute changes in tooth enamel.
- The Tooth multi-frequency apex locator
- This is one of those uncommon things that an endodontist will use to measure the depth accurately of the roots of your teeth.
- The Snap on Smile
- Created as a temporary snap on smile to cover up dental work in progress such as implant posts. An impression is made of your teeth and this when it arrives snaps on and looks fairly realistic. This is good to know about because going out in public with ongoing dental spaces can be traumatizing.
- Telio Cad blocks for Implants
- If the snap on smile is not for you then this might be what you need. It is a new way to create temporary crowns that fit onto the posts of newly fitted implants.
Conclusion
Dentists are working to improve your dental health. Having a dental plan and coverage creates a safety net for you in case of a dental emergency. People should visit their dentist once every six months so that any problems are taken care of early. Good dental health is worth smiling about.