Dental Check-ups
Most dental hygienists recommend having the teeth professionally cleaned every 6 months. More frequent cleaning and examination may be necessary during treatment of dental and other oral disorders. Routine examination of the teeth is recommended at least every year. Good oral hygiene helps to prevent cavities, tartar build-up, and gum disease.
Teeth Cleaning - Dental plaque removal
It is (also known as prophylaxis, literally a preventative treatment of a disease) is a procedure for the removal of tartar (mineralized plaque) that may develop even with careful brushing and flossing, especially in areas that are difficult to reach in routine tooth brushing. Professional cleaning includes tooth scaling and tooth polishing and debridement if too much tartar has accumulated. This involves the use of various instruments or devices to loosen and remove deposits from the teeth. Good oral hygiene helps to prevent cavities, tartar build-up, and gum disease.
Dental filling
It is a dental restorative material used to restore the function, integrity and morphology of missing tooth structure. The structural loss typically results from caries or external trauma. It is also lost intentionally during tooth preparation to improve the aesthetics or the physical integrity of the intended restorative material.
Endodontic therapy
It is a sequence of treatment for the pulp of a tooth which results in the elimination of infection and protection of the decontaminated tooth from future microbial invasion. This set of procedures is commonly referred to as a "root canal." Root canals and their associated pulp chamber are the physical hollows within a tooth that are naturally inhabited by nerve tissue, blood vessels and other cellular entities. Endodontic therapy involves the removal of these structures, the subsequent shaping, cleaning, and decontamination of the hollows with tiny files and irrigating solutions, and the filling of the decontaminated canals with an inert filling.
Dental extraction
It is the removal of a tooth from the mouth. Extractions are performed for a wide variety of reasons. The most common reason for extraction is tooth damage due to breakage or decay. There are additional reasons for tooth extraction:
- Severe tooth decay or
- Extra teeth which are blocking other teeth from coming in
- Severe gum disease which may affect the supporting tissues and bone structures of teeth.
- In preparation for orthodontic treatment
- Teeth in the fracture line
- Teeth which cannot be restored endodontically
- Fractured teeth
- Supernumerary, supplementary or malformed teeth
- Prosthetics; teeth detrimental to the fit or appearance of dentures
- Insufficient space for wisdom teeth (impacted third molars).
- Cosmetic; teeth of poor appearance, unsuitable for restoration
Post-extraction healing
Following extraction of a tooth, a blood clot forms in the socket, usually within an hour. Bleeding is common in this first hour, but its likelihood decreases quickly as time passes, and bleeding has usually stopped after 24 hours. The raw open wound overlying the dental socket takes about one week to heal. Thereafter, the socket will gradually fill in with soft gum tissue over a period of about one to two months. Final closure of the socket with bony remodeling can take six months or more.