How to Avoid the Pain, Inconvenience and Expense of Dental Disease

There are really only four ways to lose teeth prematurely, and only four pathways to develop dental disease. This article is the first of in a series which will hopefully provide information and insight to help you, our patients, avoid the pain, inconvenience and expense of dental disease. And, more importantly, give you the tools necessary to keep your teeth healthy for life!



Now, this first installment will provide an overview of the causes of dental disease. It is these various "etiologies" which frequently develop unrecognized or worse, unmanaged. But, to be managed, the REAL cause of a patient's problem must first be recognized or uncovered. Since we are dealing with the human body, and not a machine, you can imagine how complicated discovering the real cause of a patient's problem might be.



For example, a patient comes to the office complaining of pain in an upper back tooth especially when she bites on it or drinks anything cold. Seems pretty straightforward, and the "typical" patient believes that she probably has a cavity. Maybe so, but more often not. This patient may have a cracked tooth, the most frustrating kind of tooth problem to uncover -- more on this in a future article. Or, maybe the bite is off, or the patient has a sinus problem, etc., etc.



What is the point? A very thorough examination of every new patient is absolutely essential. A quick five-minute look-see at the end of your cleaning just will not provide adequate information to get a true picture of what is happening in any patient's mouth. And, existing patients are encouraged to have a comprehensive examination every five years or whenever a new problem is suspected.



So, the four ways people can lose teeth prematurely?

1. Trauma -- injuries to the teeth or jaws or head.


2. Cavities -- bacteria burrowing into the teeth and making progressively bigger holes.


3. Gum Disease -- bacteria working their way into and destroying the bone which holds the teeth.


4. Bad Bite -- teeth which do not meet in a healthy and/or comfortable way respond by becoming worn, loose or out-of-position. Bad bites are also the most common cause of TMD (head, neck and facial pain).

In the next several articles, each of these issues will be discussed. There will also be a special article on Oral Cancer -- the sixth most common cancer worldwide which, unfortunately, has a survival rate of only around 50 percent.

Please feel welcome to call our office at 908.359.6655 if you have specific questions with which you need help. I look forward to providing useful and timely information to you via this, my first attempt at blogging. Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions for future topics. You may send email to info@DesignsForDentalHealth.com.