Questions and Answers

Here are some questions asked by many people, and brief answers to them. But at the end, constant care and the proper treatment require you to consult your dentist to solve the problem in the best way.

Q. I suffer from bleeding in the gum whenever I eat something or brush my teeth.

A. Bleeding of the gum is a clear proof of inflamed gum. It happens because of congestion in the blood vessels of the gum, It may also happen as a result of poor bridges or dentures that press on the gum or irritate it. Therefore, you must consult the dentist who will treat your gum and try to solve the problem of bad denture, if any.

Q. I suffer from bad breath when I talk, especially in the morning.

A. Bad breath has many reasons. The most important are: The mouth, esophagus, stomach, smoking, eating foods with an odor (garlic and onion), and some chronic metabolic or hormonal diseases.

Here, we shall deal with the problem of bad breath relating to the first reason: the mouth. The ador could come from a chronic gum inflammation or from decayed teeth or from empty spaces between the teeth where traces of food remain and decompose issuing sulfuric gases which are the cause of this bad odor. As to why the odor is stronger in the morning, it is because at night, especially if one does not brush his teeth well before going to bed, the residue of food remains on the teeth and gum and ferment and decompose, as nighttime is the best time for bacteria to grow and cause caries and decomposition due to the darkness and quiet. In addition, if a person breaths through his mouth during the night, that leads to a dry mouth, and as a result to an increase in odor. In the morning, once he starts to talk, he and the person facing him will feel the ador right away.

For treatment, the patient may use a mouth wash containing antiseptic and soothing solutions, in addition to brushing the teeth 2-3 timee daily, especially before sleep. He is to consult the dentist for treating this problem.
 

Q. Why do most people suffer from tooth pain during the night in particular?

A. When a tooth is decayed and it has not been treated, the bacteria reach the nerve, and pain starts. But at night when the patient lies down to sleep, the pressure increases on the nerves in the pulp chamber, and the patient feels a severe pain, Also, the pain may be caused by an abscess or severe gum inflammation. In this case, if the patient is in great pain, he should take a strong analgesic such as: Voltaren – Proxymol – Brufen, and wait for one hour. If the pain does not subside, he should call his doctor no matter what hour of the night it is, because he is not going to feel better until the dentist treats the afflicted tooth or the abscess or the gum. But if the patient feels better after taking the analgesic, he should go to the dentist first thing in the morning because he is going to have a second attack of severe pain the next night.

Q. I suffer a lot of calcic tartar lees on my teeth. What should I do?

A. Most people suffer from this problem. And we, dentists, find it normal when we remove it every six months. but the problem becomes bigger when these residues are not removed periodically. Anyway, these residues differ from one person to another, depending on the constitution of saliva in each person. Some people have a more sticky and calcic saliva than others. Therefore, the possibility of tartar being deposited on the teeth becomes larger.

Q. I feel that my teeth have a dark shade. No matter how much I try to brush them, they don't get lighter, What is the solution?

A. The coloring or stains that afflicts the teeth is either external. appearing on the outer surface of the teeth, or internal in the interior constitution of the teeth structure.

The external stains comes from neglect in mouth hygiene: Lack of proper brushing, smoking, taking excess colored leverages (coffee – Tea – cola… etc.), using a lot of oral medication (asthma patients who use oral spray), This is easy and simple to treat by the dentist who cleans the teeth from such pigmentation with or without the need for teeth whitening.

As for the internal pigmentation which usually comes from: Heredity, taking some antibiotics in childhood such as Tetracycline, old age, bad treatment of some teeth, or the affliction of the tooth with some sort of damage, the patient needs teeth-whitening. It is preferable that this takes place at the dentist's with the help of teeth-whitening apparatus in order to achieve the required result.

Q. My child has caries in some of his milk teeth. Friends advised me not to treat them because they will be replaced with permanent teeth. Is this true?

A. This is a big common mistake. A milk tooth is exactly like a permanent tooth prone to decay, perish, and caries, even more so than a permanent tooth due to the big size of the pulp chamber in the milk tooth. If the afflicted tooth is not treated, it will decay, and an abscess will develop, leading to injury in the permanent tooth bud which is under the milk tooth, in addition to the pain and irritation caused by such caries. And we advise against extracting the milk tooth right when it is afflicted, but rather trying to treat it so that it will keep its place in the mouth where the permanent tooth will appear. However, if there is no treatment but extraction, then something called "maintainer keeper" must be inserted in order to maintain the space for the permanent tooth that will appear at the proper time.
 

Q. At what age must I teach my child to brush his teeth?

A. The milk teeth completely appear in the mouth at age 21/2 – 3 years. By then, the child must have started brushing his teeth well keeping them well, for keeping them well, especially in the evening before going to sleep. But there is no objection to starting at age 11/2 years to teach him how to brush for fun and play, and to make him enjoy the game so that it becomes a habit. We must bear in mind that the tooth paste must be specially for children and should not contain Fluoride, so as not to harm the child as much as he swallows of the paste. And we advise the parents to help their children at the beginning to brush their teeth in the right way until they are able to do so on their own.

Q. How do I know that my tooth brush must be replaced with a new one?

A. Generally speaking, a tooth brush must be replaced every 2-3 months. However, the matter depends on how often the person uses his brush. And we advise replacing the brush when the person feels that it is not cleaning properly. Now, most tooth brush manufacturing companies produce brushes with an indicator to let you know when to replace them.

Q. Must I change the tooth paste every now and then?

A. There are no sure studies on the subject. But experts and professors advise changing the paste every 3 months. And always remember when buying any tooth paste that it should contain fluoride. And we must read the ingredients of such paste, and stay away from pastes that contain glass material used to whiten teeth once a week. We advise completely against it because it harms the tooth enamel.

Q. When should children who need orthodontics go to an orthodontist?

A. Usually, the best time for orthodontics is between ages 10-14 years but occasionally a specialist will do preventive treatments before age 10 to stop the growth or to accelerate the growth of either the upper or lower jaws.

Q. We hear a lot about tooth implant. I wish to have a brief idea about it.

A. Tooth implant is a type of prosthetic treatment to replace lost teeth. You can visit the page on implant to have a good idea about the subject.

Q. Is it true that teeth-whitening harms the teeth and affects the enamel? How often can I whiten my teeth on the whitening apparatus?

A. The modern method of teeth whitening in the clinic on the special apparatus does not harm the teeth at all and does not affect the teeth enamel. As to the frequency of whitening, it depends on the person himself. The person who takes good care of his teeth and does not smoke or eat coloring agents in abundance does not need whitening for long periods, It any case, whitening twice a year does not affect the teeth any way.