By now, most adults know the detrimental effects that smoking can have on your health, and even your family’s health. Since we’re on the topic of dental implants this week, we wanted to share with you the harmful consequences of smoking after dental implant surgery, and the possible effects cigarettes may have on your new teeth.

Smoking after dental implant surgery can have many lasting and damaging effects on your new teeth. For the purposes of keeping this article short and to the point, let’s talk about the one outlining reason why dental implants fail; smoking.

Dental Implant Failure

As mentioned, dental implants are basically artificial teeth held in place initially by a titanium screw, and later accepted by your body as new tissue and treated just like any other tooth. This amazing ability for your body to accept this foreign object as a new tooth is crucial to dental implant success and to complete recovery.

According to many research studies conducted over the years on the affects smoking has on our teeth, the probably of your body rejecting the dental implant increases greatly if you are a smoker. Smoking can harm the integrity of dental implants and cause them to fail more often than in a nonsmoker, states a 2007 study from the Journal of Periodontology.

“People who smoke are at a greater risk of infection following surgery, and may heal more slowly,” said Dr. Arturo Sanchez Perez, Department of Periodontology at the University of Murcia. “When an implant is placed in a smoker, it is more likely to fail. This means a patient’s smile may be negatively affected, and the potential for more bone loss in the areas surrounding the gums and teeth.”

Smoking can negatively affect the blood flow to the damaged tissues after dental implant surgery, disallowing proper healing in the gums and teeth, and impairing the body’s ability to accept the new tooth. Dental implants tend to fail more in smokers because the body is not given a change to integrate this new tooth with the surrounding tissues due in part to a lack of blood flow from tobacco.

If you have just undergone dental implant surgery, or are considering the procedure, your best bet is to also consider taking a hiatus from tobacco use. For more information, speak to Dr. Thorpe and contact us today.

Your dentist told you that you needed a dental implant and now you’re wondering what it is and what’s involved, right? In a nutshell, a dental implant will leave you looking similar in appearance to the tooth you lost.

Dental implants are titanium implants that are “rooted” to the jawbone and placed within the bone. Most implants used today are called root-form endosseous implants. With this type of root implant, your jawbone will accept the titanium post in a process called “osseointegration.” This process of the implantation procedure is what makes the implanted tooth look and feel similar to the tooth you lost. The length of time for osseointegration varies but can take up to six months. In some cases though, if the process doesn’t work, the titanium root will not bond to the jawbone and the implant will fail.

Following the osseointegration, your Arizona oral surgeon or dentist will uncover the implanted “root” and attach a crown (the tooth replacement) that resembles the tooth you lost.

There are myriad reasons for a dental implant including:

• Crowns
• Dentures
• Implant-supported bridges
• Anchors for orthodontic tooth movement

In addition to being a prosthetic form of dentistry, dental implantation is also considered a cosmetic procedure. The cosmetic reasons address tooth loss for individuals who feel self conscious about their tooth loss. Dental implants can also address biting irregularities that have arisen because of tooth loss.

Don’t feel alone if you find that you need dental implants. Recent studies have shown that close to 70% of adults aged 35-44 have “lost at least one permanent tooth to gum disease, accident, failed root canal or tooth decay.” It’s also been shown that by age 75, more than 20% of adults will have lost all of their permanent teeth.

In the past, those individuals would have been forced to use removable dentures or a bridge to help them eat, smile or even speak clearly. Those devices weren’t the best solution because they irritated the jawbone and slipped when people were eating or speaking. An even larger concern was that fixed bridges can negatively affect the healthy teeth to which they were attached.

Unlike dentures or bridges – which need to be replaced every seven to 10 years – a titanium root dental implant is a permanent repair.

As with most medical procedures, your dentist will have to determine whether dental implants will work for you. You will likely have to have a consultation with an oral surgeon or a periodontist as well. Be prepared to undergo a thorough exam that could include X-rays and even CT (computer tomography) scans to make certain you have the bone structure to support the implants.

For the most part, wisdom teeth extractions are pretty straight forward; if it’s impacted and pushing against other teeth, it’s got to come out. Surgeries for wisdom teeth involve anesthesia, removal, and recovery. However, for the commonality of wisdom teeth extractions, there are actually quite a few different types of impacted wisdom teeth.

According to iDentalHub, there are roughly five categories of impaction:

Type A: The tooth can follow the pattern of an ideally developing third molar, by decreasing its angle to the mandibular plane and becoming more upright, but the up righting may not be enough to allow full eruption.

Type B: The angular developmental position relative to the mandibular plane may remain unchanged.

Type C: The tooth can increase its angulation to the mandibular plane and become more mesially inclined. There is at present no reliable way of predicting which teeth will follow this unfavorable pattern, which sometimes occurs unilaterally and leads to horizontal impaction.

Type D: The tooth can be seen to make favorable changes in angulation, but fail to erupt owing to lack of space. These are so called vertical impactions.

Type E: The tooth can continue to change its angulation beyond the ideal occlusal position, and show distoangular impaction or mesio angular impaction.

Are cavities contagious? Well, we know that whether you’re going to have healthy teeth or you’re going to make plenty of visits to the dentist is somewhat based on genetics. But today a new report has emerged that seems to prove that cavity-causing bacteria can be passed from one person to the next, much like the common cold or flu.

Here’s what the New York Times printed on Monday:

Just as a cold virus can be passed from one person to the next, so can these cavity-causing bacteria. One of the most common is Streptococcus mutans. Infants and children are particularly vulnerable to it, and studies have shown that most pick it up from their caregivers — for example, when a mother tastes a child’s food to make sure it’s not too hot, said Dr. Margaret Mitchell, a cosmetic dentist in Chicago.

A number of studies have also shown that transmission can occur between couples, too. Dr. Mitchell has seen it in her own practice.

“In one instance, a patient in her 40s who had never had a cavity suddenly developed two cavities and was starting to get some gum disease,” she said. She learned the woman had started dating a man who hadn’t been to a dentist in 18 years and had gum disease.

To reduce the risk, Dr. Mitchell recommends frequent flossing and brushing, and chewing sugar-free gum, which promotes saliva and washes away plaque and bacteria.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Cavities can be transmitted from one person to another.

So how can you keep your teeth safe and cavity free? It’s no different than any safety measures you would take if your partner or child had a cold. Do not share food, kiss, or drink from the same glass until the affected individual has gotten those cavities taken care of. Once the cavity has been filled and the bacteria has been flushed out of the area, consider the cold cured.

You’re sitting in the chair at the dentist’s office and he announces, “You need a dental bone graft.” Your first thoughts are, “Why do I need one? What’s involved? And what will it do for me?”

There are many types of bone grafts but the reason your Arizona oral sugeon has recommended one is to help reverse the degradation of bone loss due to trauma, poorly fitting dentures and/or periodontal disease. In some cases, dental bone grafting is used to permanently augment and enhance the aesthetics for an individual who has lost a tooth in a visible area – such as a missing front tooth.

Additionally, if you’ve had a tooth extracted, the bone surrounding the area degrades to the point of collapsing and a dental bone graft can help preserve the integrity of the jawbone. If the bone is not augmented, it will “melt away” and this could impair chewing, aesthetics and facial integrity.

If your dentist has to remove a tooth, he or she will insert a dental bone graft to preserve the site. It’s typically recommended that the dental bone graft be performed at the same time as the tooth removal. You and your dentist can opt to do the bone graft at a later date, but many people choose to have the implant performed in conjunction with the tooth removal.

You may have lost a tooth or had it removed years ago and now are considering a bone graft and this can certainly be done as well. The bone can be taken from another part of the mouth and implanted where the jawbone needs reinforcement.

Be advised, if you are eventually considering an implant or a tooth replacement, it will take three to six months for the bone graft to heal before an implant can be put into place.

There are three type of bone augmentation, they are:

• Allograft: The use of synthetic bone or a cadaver bone
• Autogenous: Taking a bone from one area of the patient’s body and transplanting it into the jawbone
• Xenograft: This is a bone graft using bovine (cow) bone

The autogenous dental bone graft has the best chance of enhancing bone growth and implantation. With the allograft and xenograft dental implants, these can require a second surgical site for the patient.
When it comes to your needing a dental bone graft, it is a decision you can discuss with your dentist to determine what will best suit your needs. It is also wise to ask whether it’s a medical or an aesthetic procedure – and that should also figure into your final decision.

Now that you’ve all seen at least one ‘funny wisdom teeth video,’ you’re probably wondering what kind of anesthesia could these people possibly be on that makes them act so happy and funny. In reality, when you go to see the oral surgeon to get those wisdom teeth removed, you might be under one of two different anesthesias.

Local Anesthesia for Wisdom Teeth Removal

Local anesthesia is most commonly used during routine dental procedures such as cavity fillings and some wisdom teeth extractions. Also known as Novocain, local anesthesia is injected into the area which is going to be worked on. It temporarily prevents the nerves within the teeth from transmitting pain messages to the brain, thus numbing the immediate area. It is one of the few anesthesia which can completely eliminate pain.

Local anesthesia will not make you sleepy, overly happy, and will not affect other parts of your mouth. It simply numbs the immediate area where the injection occurs. This is why a local anesthesia will often be used with other medications that have the ability to ease anxiety.

General Anesthesia for Wisdom Teeth Removal

This is a far stronger medication in the fact that it affects the entire body and causes a person to ‘fall asleep.’ With general anesthesia, your oral surgeon will ask you not to eat or drink starting the night before surgery, as with any other out-patient procedures. In most cases, general anesthesia is administered through an air mask, and as you count backwards you will dose off. You will be completely unaware of the surgery.

For many people, this is the preferred option. For those who are apprehensive or anxious about surgery, this method provides a calming effect on the body and the mind.

Laughing Gas

Though Laughing Gas is not its clinical name, nitrous oxide is one of the lightest forms of anesthesia. In most cases, nitrous oxide simply “takes the edge off.” It is colorless, has a sweet odor, and decreases the perception of pain. This is a suitable option for those who want control over their anesthesia, as it’s administered through a nasal mask and each patient can decide how much medication they want by how deeply they breathe. The effects are immediate and wear off nearly as quickly.

If you’ve never had to take your child to get their wisdom teeth pulled, or perhaps had a friend video you when the oral surgeon extracted your wisdom teeth, you may not know how entertaining the aftermath can truly be. As oral surgeons, this is something that we see quite often after wisdom teeth extractions simply because of the anesthesia that patients are under. We found this video today on CBSNews.com and wanted to share it with our patients.

Getting those pesky wisdom teeth removed, a topic that we talk about quite often here at our Gilbert oral surgeon offices, can sometimes require bone grafting. Sure, it sounds scary and painful, but in reality this process is quite common with wisdom teeth extractions and most surgeons could do it blindfold….not that they would.

When is a Bone Graft Needed?

Bone grafting is done with the impacted wisdom tooth is deep within the bone, and thus some of the bone is removed with that tooth. An impacted wisdom tooth can also cause severe bone loss behind the second molar. This bone loss can affect everything over time, from the way your teeth are positioned in your mouth, to the way your teeth align, to the way you chew.

Why Can’t They Just Take the Tooth and Leave the Bone?

As much as an oral surgeon would like to leave all of the bone untouched, unfortunately many times this just isn’t possible. The tooth itself is fused to the bone so tightly that removing an impacted tooth usually means removing some of the bone as well.

Where Do They Get New Bone From?

After you wisdom teeth have been extracted, your surgeon might replace the damaged bone with healthy bone from your chin or lower jaw. Don’t worry, it won’t leaving you looking any different besides a little swollen.

How Does It All Work?

First, your oral surgeon will need to assess exactly how much bone is needed to replace what was lost in the wisdom tooth extractions. In most cases, it isn’t much. Based upon that, he will determine exactly where to pull the new bone from.

Once this all has been determined, you will be placed under a local anesthetic, the surgeon will make a very small incision in the area where the bone will be taken. This area will be tended to first, replaced with a specialized bone-graft material to make sure soft tissue doesn’t fill up the space, and stitched up.

The final step is implanting the bone where your oral surgeon just extracted your wisdom tooth. “The dentist has to facilitate bleeding by drilling tiny holes in the existing bone. The donated bone will then be placed and secured by titanium screws, and the bleeding will supply cells that are needed for faster healing of the bone. The edges of the added bone will then be finished with bone marrow then covered with a membrane before the area is finally closed up.” (DentalInsuranceTips)

And that’s it! Not too bad, right? Just remember that the longer you wait to get your wisdom teeth removed, the worse this process will be.

Wisdom teeth extractions are no fun. But what if you knew that those little pains in the back of your mouth could one day save your life? Would you be more inclined to stop putting of your wisdom tooth surgery if you knew that stem cells could be extracted from those teeth? It’s an interesting concept, and one that might not be getting enough publicity.

Stem cells are amazing little miracles of life that are able to reprogram themselves to become just about any other cell in the body as part of the body’s highly sophisticated, and still not perfectly understood, repair system. Within your body, if cells become damaged or deleted, these stem cells will automatically go into overdrive and create more of the cells that you need to repair scrapes and cuts on your skin to repair damaged organs.

While stem cell extraction from teeth is still considered farfetched and might not produce the results that many are hoping for, labs and oral surgeons around the nation are preparing for what they consider to be a scientific possibility. Many in the field of stem cell research call ‘stem-cell banking’ a form of ‘biological insurance.’

According to those in the medical field, stem cells from teeth aren’t as versatile as those taken from umbilical cord blood and bone marrow. Umbilical cord blood banking and storage has been around for many years now, and while this is becoming more and more popular for those who have the money, banking teeth is a bit less pricey.

So, back to the question at hand; if you knew that those wisdom teeth might one day save your life, would you feel better about the wisdom teeth extractions?

We’ve always known that dental hygeiene is important for our children, but just how important is it. Many parents hold to the fact that those tiny little baby teeth are just going to come out one day anyways, so why worry about keeping them clean? The fact of the matter is that enforcing proper dental habits early promotes a healthy lifestyle from day one, where your kids will know the importance of brushing and flossing. And from a medical perspective, neglecting those baby teeth can lead to serious consequences.

Reuters news service reports that 11 percent of American 2-year-olds and 44 percent of 5-year-olds have cavities. The majority of these kids come from low-income families who can’t afford regular dental care, according to ParentDish.com

The findings, published in the journal Pediatrics, cite a program called “Into the Mouths of Babes.” For the past 11 years, pediatricians and family doctors in North Carolina have given fluoride and dental exams to babies and toddlers covered by Medicaid.

Looking at results from between 2000 and 2006, Reuters reports, researchers estimate children covered by Medicaid who had at least four dental exams were 17 percent less likely to have cavities than kids who had no care at all.

By not keeping your child’s mouth healthy and clean in their early years, you are setting the up for disaster later in life. According to Dr. Dr. Mary J. Hayes, a pediatric dentist in Chicago and spokeswoman for the American Dental Association, “he sins of the baby teeth are visited upon the permanent ones.”