Tooronga Family Dentistry in Glen Iris

Archives for January 2016

Warning sings of impacted wisdom teeth.

When your wisdom teeth start to emerge it can be painful, but it may be even worse if your wisdom teeth become impacted. The impacted teeth are trying to break through, but are unable to do so because there is no sufficient room in the jaw. Some feel no signs of the trapped wisdom teeth, but they can still wake up to a painful and swollen face one day. The signs that your impacted wisdom teeth are in need for an examination are:

  • Jaw Pain: Pain in the back of your jaw is a common indicator of impacted wisdom teeth. The pain often concentrates in your gums, but it can be felt as an uncomfortable feeling when you swallow as well.
  • Changes in the Mouth: red gums, swelling in the jaw, bleeding gums, and bad breath can all be indicators that you have an impacted wisdom tooth.
  • Headaches: If you suddenly start having headaches, especially with some of the other signs mentioned above, they may be due to impacted wisdom teeth.
  • Chewing Issues: If your mouth won’t quite open and close as easily as it used to and you are having trouble making the chewing motions, impacted wisdom teeth may be the culprit.

If you are suffering from one of these signs, there is a need to have an x-ray that will show their position. If there is a need to have them removed it is best to have it done immediately. This is not a problem that will resolve naturally, and left untreated can lead to other symptoms and damage to adjacent teeth. Please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Daniel Kaufman or call today Tooronga Family Dentistry, phone number 98227006, for advice about your wisdom teeth. We will be happy to examine and explain how your wisdom teeth are positioned and help you determine what is the best solution for you.

What is fluorosis?

Many young patients discover that their newly erupted teeth have white spots or brown marks. There are many reasons why teeth can emerge with marks on them, but one of the more common conditions is called fluorosis.

Dental fluorosis appears in children who have drank or eaten excessively amounts of fluoride between the age of 2 months and 7 years of age. During this period the crowns of permanent teeth are developing in the gums, and a disruption will lead to a permanent mark on the teeth.

The possible sources of a fluoride overdose include:

  • Swallowing toothpaste or mouth rinse which usually contain fluoride.
  • Drinking bottled water which is not tested for fluoride content.
  • Ingesting fluoride supplements more than the recommended dose. Some children like the taste of the tablets and have them as candy.
  • Drinking tap water that is naturally or artificially fluoridated to levels well above the recommended dose.
  • The build up of fluoride from fruit juice and soft drinks supplemented with it.

One way to reduce the risk for enamel fluorosis is to teach your children not to swallow topical fluoride products, such as toothpaste that contains fluoride, or fluoride mouth wash. Or have them use a tooth paste for children, which is specially formulated without fluoride or has a reduced concentration of it. The recommended  amount of toothpaste for a child to use, is the size of a pea.

Once dental fluorosis has appeared it can be treated with tooth bleaching, microabrasion, conservative composite restorations or porcelain veneers. The right solution depends on the extent of the fluorosis, if the stains are white or brown or how deep the stains are.

For children, fluorosis can cause significant embarrassment and anxiety about the appearance of their teeth. Since no matter how much they brush and floss their teeth, the fluorosis stains will not go away. It is important for them to come and see us. This way I can examine the condition and provide the right treatment to protect their teeth and restore their appearance.

Please don’t hesitate to contact  Dr. Daniel Kaufman or to call today Tooronga Family Dentistry, phone number 98227006, for further details or to make an appointment.

What to do when you loose a filling.

The fillings in your teeth protect them and restore their function, but sometimes they need to be maintained or replaced.  The materials we used to restore your teeth, usually last for many years, but they are subjected to the same harsh environment as your natural teeth are.  That is why some may wear down, chip, crack, or break while eating, clenching and grinding, in the same way your natural teeth do. The list of causes that lead to fillings coming out and teeth breaking is long, with chewy candy or pork crackling being just two examples. While you may not notice normal wear and tear, you should not ignore any “hard stones” in your mouth, a feeling of a new gap between your teeth or a sharp edge. All these are signs that a part of your tooth has come off and you need  to contact us as soon as possible so we can examine what is broken and fix it.

The reason it is so important to have the issue checked, is that the gaps or holes in your tooth provide an easy access point for bacteria. Once bacteria start working their way into your tooth, it is only a matter of time till the nerve becomes damaged leading to pain or an abscess. In addition the cavities form hard-to-reach places, which lead to bleeding gums and gum disease.

A lost or cracked filling may not always pose a dental emergency, but it’s always important to make an appointment an have it examined by the dentist, to help you take the right decision to preserve your teeth and oral health. Please don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Kaufman or to call today Tooronga Family Dentistry, phone number 98227006 and make an appointment.

Make a resolution to better your tooth and gum care.

2015 has come to an end and we find ourselves at the beginning of an exciting new year! Many people decide to make a significant change in their lives with the start of a new year. Making big changes in your lifestyle can be very difficult to make and it is even harder to keep them over time. My recommendation is to make  small, gradual changes that make the transition process easy. This way the changes are far more effective than those drastic ones which get implemented for a month or two.

I would like to suggest three easy and simple changes you can make to your dental health, which are easy to maintain.

  1. Sugar and acid free diet. Reducing the intake of sweet and acidic drinks like fizzy and fruit juice will save many teeth from getting cavities. A good substitute is water.
  2. Brushing and flossing twice daily.We all have very busy lives, with a lot on our plates and oral hygiene may not rank high on our daily list. But the bacteria which colonise our mouth are opportunistic and will benefit from lack of cleaning. This is why it is important to seek the way that will work for you in achieving a healthy mouth. In our twice yearly meetings I take the time to customize our hygiene recommendations for your needs.
  3. Make the time to get a professional dental examination and clean. Set up your six month checkups in advance, this way we can prevent and correct problems when they are small. Prevention is the best solution to all your dental problems.

Dr. Kaufman and Tooronga Family Dentistry, wish you have a happy and healthy 2016!!!

Which tooth brush should my child use?

Good tooth care starts before the baby’s first tooth appears. You can use a clean, damp washcloth over the gums to clear away harmful bacteria. Once your baby gets teeth, we need to brush them with a toothbrush.

But which type of toothbrush should your child use? The toothbrush should be designed for children’s smaller mouths and hands. These have large handles to help children control the toothbrush and the “head” of the brush should be as small as possible with round-ended bristles that will not pinch the gums. It is important that the handle and head should have rounded corners, to avoid injury to the mouth when the baby pushes and pulls with the brush. If the bristles start fraying it is important to replace the toothbrush, since it is not as effective in cleaning teeth and the bristles can harm the gums.

As for the toothpaste, it doesn’t matter which brand, as long as it has the right fluoride concentration for age of the baby. Since small children tend to swallow toothpaste, place only a small smear of toothpaste every time they brush. If you help your child to brush his teeth make sure to touch each tooth and every side of that tooth.

To get personal help and assistance with tooth care for your child or yourself,  please don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Kaufman or to call today Tooronga Family Dentistry, phone number 98227006 and ask for an appointment.

What exactly are wisdom teeth?

Wisdom teeth are found in the very back of your mouth and are the last teeth to develop. They belong to a type of teeth called molars, which are wide and sturdy, fit for grinding food down. There are four wisdom teeth: upper left, upper right, lower left, and lower right and they start their development at the age of 6-7 years of age when they can been seen on an x-ray. Since these teeth erupt after all other teeth, they may find that there is not enough room to erupt to, leading to their impaction. The reason there is not enough room for them to erupt stems from our evolution. Anthropologists believe wisdom teeth, or the third set of molars, were the evolutionary answer to our ancestor’s early diet of coarse, rough food – like leaves, roots, nuts and meats – which required more chewing power and resulted in excessive wear of the teeth. The modern diet with its softer foods, has made the need for wisdom teeth nonexistent. As a result, evolutionary biologists now classify wisdom teeth as vestigial organs, or body parts that have become functionless due to evolution.

It is important to check the available space for wisdom teeth eruption and their position at about the age of 15-16 years. This way we can evaluate the available space and plan for the moment the teeth will be fully developed. For more information about your wisdom teeth, please don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Kaufman or to call today Tooronga Family Dentistry, phone number 98227006.

Saliva testing for cancer

The mouth is a “window” which allows for better understanding of the person’s general health. A new study done in patients with head and neck cancer, has shown that a saliva test can detect the presence of cancer in 86% of the people examined. Since saliva is easy to collect, it can make a big difference for those at risk for oral cancer. The hope is that we will be able to administer a salivary test to smokers and other patients considered to be at high risk for oral and lung cancer in our office.

Since the research is under way in several centers in the United States, we cannot provide the screening test to our patients yet, but we will keep you updated and inform you once it is available.

Vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to more gum disease.

In a study done from 2002 to 2010  the levels of vitamin B12 in the blood and the condition of the patient’s gums were checked.  The results have shown that participants which had the highest levels of vitamin B12, were those with the lowest levels of gum disease. In addition as the levels of Vitamin B12 in the blood decreased , the condition of the gums deteriorated. The reason for this finding is not clear yet and more research will be done.

Please don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Kaufman or to call today Tooronga Family Dentistry, phone number 98227006, for more information about gum disease.

How to care for a dental implant.

Dental implants are designed to be strong and durable,  but to keep them functioning the way they should and looking their best, they need care  similar to your natural teeth. Since they are affected by the same bacteria, as your teeth, they need twice daily regular brushing and flossing. At times though due to the difference between the shape of a tooth root and an implant special brushes may be indicated on top of the other appliances. In our six monthly visit, I examine your implants  and the neighboring teeth, to ensure that your gums are as healthy as possible.

Once an implant is placed to replace a tooth in your mouth, a collar of hardy gum tissue should form around it, similarly to your natural teeth. But because the titanium is not a biologic material the connection between the gum tissue and the implant is weaker than the one to your natural teeth. This is the reason why, you may want to avoid brushing with harsh abrasive toothpastes containing baking soda or those designed to “whiten” your teeth next to your implant. Since these abrasives may damage or irritate the gum and soft tissue surrounding the implant, causing inflammation or bleeding.

When you brush or floss abound your implants, always look for signs of inflammation: swollen, tender, or bleeding gums and bad smell. If you feel the need for more training in caring for your implants, feel free to ask our team to provide you with tips and go step by step through the right way to clean your implants. Remember your implants represent a considerable investment both in time and money, so it’s only natural you’d want to make sure you’re doing all you can to keep them in top shape.

Please don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Kaufman or to call today Tooronga Family Dentistry, phone number 98227006, for more information about caring for your dental implants.