Dental Procedures
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS)
Pediatric Dentistry
Restorative Dentistry
Cosmetic Dentsitry
Dental Implants
Pediatric Dentistry
Pediatric dentistry is that branch of dentistry that deals with children right from their birth till adolescent period. Dr. Raghu suggested to start the infant check-up somewhere around from 6 months to one year or till the child’s first teeth appears.
With losing teeth as a part of their growing process, their teeth become more susceptible to cavities. Since children behave differently than adults there may arise different dental needs. Hence, the dentists have to work with parents for deriving different plans for their children and encourage them to take care of their teeth. Every child is different from each other, and that’s why the dentist helps each child individually with developing great habits which will help them to grow a good oral health.
Pediatric dentistry typically includes services like regular check-ups, cleaning, X-rays and decay risk assessment, fillings and orthodontic assessment. The important part of your child’s dental care is the pre-defined oral health protective advice. The first step would be dealing with children’s emotions
and taking their fear out making them comfortable.
Preventive Pediatric Procedures
1. Cleaning
The dentist has to provide both professional cleaning and brushing lessons ensuring that the kids are exposed to the excellent dental health. To build this habit it is important to teach them about all the healthy habits at a young age only. Development of jaw bones and muscles are being encouraged by primary teeth ensuring that there is enough space for the permanent teeth to grow. That’s why the oral hygiene should be taken care of regularly.
2. Fissure Seals
It is a simple procedure which doesn’t involve drilling the tooth rather seals the areas under risk so that decay is prevented. This happens when the children have molar teeth that are susceptible to decay due to some reasons like deep grooves, weak areas or difficulty cleaning.
3. Flouride Treatment
Fluoride gives additional protection to teeth against decay and tooth surface damage as proved by scientific studies. The fluoride coating sets quickly and has a pleasant taste and a fruity smell applied through soft brush. For strengthening the teeth the fluoride coating comes with extra ingredients of
calcium and phosphate: which when gets combined gives more strength to the teeth.
Infant’s Baby Teeth
Infant’s baby teeth is also known as primary teeth which play an important role for the development of the jaw bones and guide the permanent teeth to grow in the right place when they replace the primary teeth around at the age of six years. A healthy tooth helps the kid to have good dental habits and a clear pronunciation.
Dr. Raghunadha Reddy adds, for the formation of healthy teeth and enamel a balanced diet is extremely critical as it has a direct effect on the permanent teeth when they develop it. The permanent teeth may not grow properly or permanently discoloured, weakened if your child’s primary teeth decay become infected or are knocked out/damaged due to injury.
Early Orthodontics
At the age of seven many children require the guidance of dental and facial development. There is a procedure to reposition the teeth to their original positions called as Interceptive Orthodontics where in concerns as teeth crowding and lost spaces can be regained using appliances. The orthodontic problem becomes apparent when the permanent teeth begin to come around. The child needs to be evaluated when the jaw is growing because it’s the ideal time for them. A tooth or jaw misalignment causes the occurrence of malocclusions. This may affect the way a child chews, smiles, cleans his teeth or how even he feels about his smile. A child may find it difficult to brush and floss the teeth with the crowded teeth. This may be the cause for a child’s tooth decay and periodontal disease. There are some other reasons like unfavourable growth and uneven tooth wear which may result from cross bites while tongue-thrusting habits and speech impediments may result from open bites. Also protruding teeth are prone to accidental chipping.
The interceptive orthodontics helps to prevent unwanted incidents from happening and for proper bite and jaw alignment.
Tooth Extractions
There are many other options which should be considered carefully before extraction the teeth for a child which is not very difficult. It’s a general feeling of many parents that their kid’s teeth should be taken out instead of being saved, but the primary teeth has an important purpose and removing them prematurely can cause a lot of problems. Primary teeth also help to guide those teeth into position. The permanent teeth will be stronger if your child’s baby teeth are healthier by that time. Moreover in case of an extraction, the process becomes easier and simpler with the help of sedation and requires less equipment as compared to adults.
1. Children’s General Dentistry:
The first area of dental treatment is general dentistry. This area of dentistry is focused on ensuring that you have good oral hygiene and dental health. General dentistry ensures that you do not have any issues such as cavities or gum disease. It covers a wide range of treatments and takes a look at your overall dental health and needs. General dentistry also uses restorative procedures to repair the effects of tooth decay, trauma, defect or disease in different areas of the mouth. Regular check-ups are one of the best forms of preventive dental care.
When tooth arrive:
Your child’s first primary or baby teeth will begin to erupt between the ages of six and 12 months, and will continue to erupt until about age three. This stage of teething may cause a slight discomfort in the gums. The gums are being smoothened by rubbing a clean finger or a cool, wet cloth across the, or use a teething ring. After this stage the primary teeth has the more possibility to erupt.
Adopt healthy oral hygiene habits:
Once the primary teeth has erupted, check out for lines and discoloration which are generally signs caused by decay. Keeping in mind that sugary foods and liquids can attack a new tooth, so take care that your child brushes after having food. It is recommended to brush two times a day for optimal oral hygiene.
Information to parents:
• The gums should be cleaned before the teeth erupt.
• The teeth should be brushed with a small, soft bristled toothbrush. A pea-sized dab of fluoridated toothpaste is introduced after 2 years of age, once the child is old enough to spit out the toothpaste after brushing.
• The baby should be prevented from baby bottle tooth decay: The children should not be given a bottle of milk, juice or sweetened liquid at bedtime or when putting down to nap.
• The time of having the bottle to your child should be limited. Your child should empty that bottle in 5 to 6 minutes or less than that.
• Your child should be helped to brush on his own teeth until he reaches 6 years of age. The child should be allowed to brush and trained to follow the same brushing pattern to minimize the missed out spots.
• Food that increases tooth decay should be avoided: like hard or sticky candies, fruit leather, and sweetened drinks and juice. Avoid foods and treats that increase tooth decay: hard or sticky candies, fruit leather, and sweetened drinks and juice. Fruit should be preferred over juice as the fibre
content in fruit tends to scrape the teeth clean, whereas juice just exposes the teeth to sugar.
• Immediate medical help to be taken in case of decay.
Thumb Sucking
Thumb sucking is a common habit seen in children. However, if this habit continues even after the permanent teeth have started to erupt, it will affect both the teeth muscles and facial muscles and may require an orthodontic treatment.
You can approach to your dentist in case of extended thumb sucking seen in your children or it has hampered his dental growth and speech ability. Dr. Raghu explains that tooth alignment initiates itself in the early years. In children oral development can be dynamic with growing years and so it is very essential to have a regular examination to monitor and evaluate the growth and development of the teeth and supporting bone. Thereby, rule out an orthodontic intervention when necessary.
Smile Makeover
A Smile Makeover is the procedure of improving the appearance of your smile through one or more cosmetic dentistry.
The important components taken into consideration for smile makeover are your facial appearance, skin tone, hair color, teeth (color, width, length, shape and tooth display), gum tissue and lips. The Smile makeover procedure can be customized according to your unique considerations and can be performed for many reasons.
Once you visit the clinic, your cosmetic dentist will review with you and some aspects of your smile can be improved. Meanwhile you can decide about what will you like or dislike about your smile or your teeth? The various ways of improving your smile as given below:
Tooth color: While considering the color of your teeth, you should keep in mind that dark or discoloured teeth may suggest an aged mouth. You will get a youthful appearance with a well-shaped smile comprised of bright, white teeth. The cosmetic dentists are skilled enough to provide you with a brighter, whiter smile and maintaining a natural tooth color. Tooth color and shading are the important considerations while evaluating the teeth for a smile makeover.
Alignment and Spacing: Through orthodontics or invalisgn and veneers the crooked teeth, overlapped or gaps between teeth can be straightened, aligned and improved.
Missing Teeth: Do not let one or more missing teeth affect the appearance of your smile negatively as well as affect your bite and increase the risk of tooth decay. The missing teeth can be replaced with the help of dental implants, bridges or dentures.
Harmony and Balance: This procedure can help you improve the overall look of your smile by cosmetically bonding the uneven, chipped, cracked teeth and an ugly smile can be changed to a beautiful smile.
Fuller lips, Smile and Cheeks: Including orthodontics and maxillofacial surgery the unshapely or aging face can be improved with certain procedures in the smile makeover category.
Tooth Length: This characteristic helps to give you a youthful appearance. The tooth appears to be shorter due to gummy smile and wear and tear. This issue can be addressed by reshaping and lengthening the two front central teeth with composite bonding or porcelain veneers. If required you may also get referred to a periodontist for crown lengthening.
Smile Line: Do you ever know, when you smile it creates an imaginary line which follows the edges of your upper teeth from side to side which ideally should be the same as the curve of your lower lip.
Recovery and Aftercare: This procedure requires regular oral hygiene care and maintenance over time. For Example, In order to maintain brightness teeth whitening must be repeated occasionally. The dental crowns do require replacement after 10 to 15 years. Improving gummy smile require enhancement over time. The longevity of your smile makeover also depends upon the ceramist, lab technician, and materials chosen by your dentist. You should take special care in selecting your cosmetic dentist and to achieve the best results and enquire about your material options.
Cost: The duration of treatment and cost of your smile makeover will vary on the various factors as mentioned below:
● Nature of dentist
● Location of the dentist
● Level of your dental insurance coverage
● State of your oral health
● Your customized makeover plan
Precautions: The consumption of coffee, soda, tea, etc. should be limited to keep your smile stain free. Foods high in sugar, alcoholic beverages should not be consumed excessively. Too much alcohol can ruin you dental work. Stop yourself from biting/ chewing hard objects such as pens, staples, metal, bottle caps etc.
Smile Reconstruction
Smile reconstruction is the surgical process of restoring the smile for people to provide them a good facial appearance. This rebuilds all of the teeth in both the upper jaws and lower jaws.
The need for this surgical procedure may arise from the below mentioned factors:
● Lost teeth due to decay or trauma
● Injured or fractured teeth
● Grinded tooth or severely worn teeth due to long-term acid erosion.
● Teeth requiring adjustments, Jaw complaints, muscle pain and headache
Full mouth reconstruction vs smile make over
You must be thinking that what is the difference between full mouth reconstruction and smile make over? We say that a smile makeover is something that you have to make a choice from different available treatments, whereas full mouth construction is something that restricts you to make a
choice and is the need of the hour. Please get it clarified before making any decisions regarding full mouth reconstruction and smile make over.
It is becoming hard to differentiate between purely cosmetic dentistry (elective) and restorative dentistry (necessary) as the manufacturers of dental materials address to the consumer demands for beautiful, natural-looking dentistry. Let us take an example, A tooth decay can be treated with a tooth-like filling material that looks natural or with the help of reconstruction it is possible today for your dentist to provide you a durable, functional and a natural-looking like teeth. It has been made only possible today with the help of latest materials available and the technology.
Although the smile make over performed primarily to improve the aesthetic appearance of the smile requires expertise in training and skills of the performing dentist with some outstanding knowledge and clinically proven dental materials, treatments and techniques. Many of the same treatment and
techniques along with the materials are being used for full mouth reconstruction so that it ensures success and longevity of smile makeover treatments.