The most common dental diseases seen in a dental office

Many emergencies are seen in our dental office on a daily and constant basis, from trauma to serious diseases such as oral cancer, and even some occasional inquiries such as “Why are my teeth discolored?”. All of these things are our day-to-day life and something we are used to.

But today we dedicate ourselves to make a count of the most common diseases or conditions that we attend at City Dental Clinic regularly, which are attended by professionals with experience in the area and who give quick solutions and adapted to the capabilities of each client:

Dental caries

Tooth decay is the damage that can develop in a tooth through the attack of oral bacteria that are already planted in the mouth but have accumulated enough to alter the pH of the mouth and attack the surface of the tooth enamel. This causes an erosion of the protective layer of the tooth and ends in a small hole in different areas of the tooth, which we can refer to as “Dental Caries”.

If dental cavities are not taken care of in time, they can cause intense pain, extra infections, and even in more severe cases, it can end up in a complete loss of the tooth.

Tooth decay can develop at any stage of life. As long as there are teeth in your mouth, it is possible that you can develop tooth decay through neglect or constant use.

The most frequent people to develop dental cavities are children. There is a section that we can define as “early childhood caries or baby bottle tooth decay”, which are severe dental cavities in baby teeth.

Although it is also common to see it in older people who begin to suffer from receding gums, so the bacteria that cause cavities that are already lodged in the mouth go to the dental roots and proliferate in the area, developing a very painful infection and that most of the time ends in dental extraction.

Symptoms of dental caries

Through our experience we can highlight that patients always show three basic symptoms that can alert about the existence of dental caries:

  • The tooth enamel is dulled and has even changed color to black or dark yellow.
  • We have pain or discomfort when we eat, especially very sugary or very acidic foods. There is also a hypersensitivity in the tooth that makes temperature changes feel very sudden.
  • If it is very advanced, we can see holes in the tooth enamel and the patient may even begin to feel a twinge in the area.

Treatment for Dental Caries:

After having made a physical diagnosis, it is important to move quickly and get into treatment, as this way we decrease the possibility of eroding much more of the tooth and prevent enough damage from being done to be irremediable.

Treatments for dental caries depend mostly on the state in which the tooth is or how long it has taken to go to the dentist since the first symptoms appeared. The deeper the damage to the enamel, the more intensive the treatment should be.

In case it is still a very superficial cavity, a dental filling can be done, which will be based on removing the damaged tissue and filling the hole with a specific material that will allow the tooth to continue functioning normally without accumulating bacteria in the remaining hole. This material is commonly called “filling”.

In case it is a very damaged tooth, it is most likely that an endodontic procedure will be needed, where the dental nerve will be removed.

The fundamental thing in these cases is to seek medical attention as soon as possible, since an untreated cavity can cause different types of conditions that can even lead to tooth loss, such as abscesses or periodontal diseases.

Dental trauma:

Dental trauma can be caused by falls, injuries from playing some type of sport, or any impact large enough to break a tooth, such as a car accident.

Trauma can range from a simple mouth injury to a dental fracture or even a fracture of the jawbones.

Depending on the type of dental trauma, we can be facing an injury to the dental hard tissues, periodontal tissues, and even the supporting tissues of the teeth.

Treatments by type of dental trauma:

Among the common treatments to treat different types of dental trauma, we can highlight:

Subluxation:

For this type of trauma, we will need to apply in the patient a flexible splint to be able to decrease the mobility of the tooth for 15 days, and it comes accompanied by a very soft diet, in addition to constantly monitoring the dental piece after the two weeks of care.

Extrusion:

The tooth is repositioned and stabilized with a splint for two weeks. It is essential to monitor the tooth during this time and observe if it still has vitality. If not, root canal treatment is needed.

Lateral dislocation:

In this process, we will reposition the tooth, and dental stabilization will be done with the help of a splint that will last four weeks in the area. In addition, it will be accompanied by a soft diet that allows the tooth to feel neither pain nor much movement.

Monitoring of the dental tissues is important because if it loses vitality root canal treatment will also be needed.

Intrusion:

The spontaneous eruption, treatment of choice for teeth that are not fully developed; repositioning with orthodontics or surgical repositioning for a severe problem will be needed for this trauma.

Avulsion:

The tooth is reinserted, a splint is worn over the area for two weeks, and a soft diet that does not involve the tooth much is maintained. Root canal treatment may be performed after 10 days of treatment.

Fracture of the hard tissue of the teeth:

In case of a hard tissue fracture, the remaining parts will be stabilized with a splint, although nerve tissue removal is likely to be needed in most cases. These are usually very severe and there is no way to save the area.

Definitive treatments may vary depending on the seriousness of the fracture or trauma. They can range from implantation of a dental crown, orthodontic or surgical extrusión, and even extraction of the tooth and placement of an osseointegrated implant.

Periodontal disease:

Periodontal diseases such as gingivitis or periodontitis, are very common but very serious conditions that can go under the table as their symptoms do not cause too much pain in an initial state. So we can notice it when the disease is already in a very advanced stage and damages our dental health.

It should be noted that this infection not only directly affects the tooth, it also has intrusion in the different tissues of our mouth through the saliva, so it can go to any part of our body and make other organs sick.

What symptoms does periodontitis produce?

  • In a large part of the population periodontal disease has no clear symptoms or they are very mild at the beginning. The initial stage of periodontal disease is gingivitis, and this is when we observe hardly noticeable and very small symptoms, such as, for example, slight dental bleeding when brushing or a little reddening of the gums.
  • When we enter a deeper phase of gingivitis, we may have a reduction of gingival tissue, which causes the dental roots to be much more visible than before. Our teeth will look more elongated and we will be able to notice dental separations.
  • On some occasions, we may observe pus coming out of our gums, along with a very unpleasant taste that spreads through the saliva and dental hypersensitivity.
  • In the most extreme cases, the teeth fall out by themselves.

As we mentioned earlier, some studies dictate that the presence of periodontitis and gingivitis can increase the risk of developing diseases in other organs of our body, and in cancer patients, it can hinder glucose control.

What is the treatment of periodontitis?

Effectively detecting periodontitis prevents it from increasing in severity and causing irreparable damage to our teeth. Therefore, it is essential that when checking any irregularity in our mouth we urgently attend the dentist, who through a physical examination of the oral cavity and some x-rays, can give a proper diagnosis and prescribe a treatment that effectively combats the problem.

When we suffer from periodontal disease, the dentist will focus on decreasing bone loss, because this causes teeth to fall out. If periodontal pockets are present and cannot be effectively cleaned with the usual brushing techniques, the following treatments will be followed:

Infection control:

Regarding this issue, priority is given to oral cleaning and removal of bacterial plaque and tartar that are located in periodontal pockets. Dental cleanings should be done by a specialized dentist, as they require anesthesia and delicate tools.

After having done a deep cleaning of our teeth, the dentist will advise us to brush frequently and intensely. In addition, he will recommend the use of mouthwashes with antiseptics to avoid a new infection, as well as the use of other oral tools that the particular patient needs for his case.

Tobacco cessation is advised to avoid re-infection.

Periodontal surgery:

This operation is done to remove infectious areas in our mouth that cannot be done by other methods and decrease the size of existing periodontal pockets in the gums.

Sometimes it may be necessary to remove tissue from some other area of our mouth to fill the spaces of the teeth where mass has been lost, for example, the gums.

If the gums have completely lost their mass and are almost non-existent, there is also the possibility of placing bone implants in the area to augment the lost bone and prevent the teeth from falling out. This may be accompanied by regenerative surgery to increase the growth of oral mass.

In case of tooth loss, it is advisable to replace the lost teeth. The best solution is the placement of dental implants.

Dental malocclusion

It is known as dental malocclusion to the irregularity that occurs between the fit of the upper jaw teeth and lower jaws, or in simpler words, the bad closure that can present the jaw. The reason for this irregularity in the jaw is related to genetics, studies carried out to affirm that in addition to this reason, other factors can cause the appearance of the same and therefore these factors should be taken into account:

Symptoms and signs of malocclusion

 The signs that are generally seen when presenting malocclusion are mainly aesthetic, the reason for this is due to the crowding that occurs in the teeth or in other cases an abnormal bite (lower or upper overbite). These anomalies are visible on the face.

In cases where the malocclusion presents mild signs, no symptoms are magnified. On the other hand, the most severe cases can affect chewing, biting, swallowing problems, and even speech. 

Treatments for malocclusion

Among the possible solutions that can be found to treat dental malocclusion, experts recommend the following treatments.

Fixed orthodontics with braces

This treatment has become a common type of orthodontics and is used to permanently align teeth in both adults and children. It is effective in improving the bite and also helps the patient to have a better chewing function, which helps to prevent self-esteem problems.

Interceptive Orthodontics

These appliances guide the bone in its growth stage so that the teeth can be placed in the correct position. It is worth mentioning that this type of braces is completely removable.

Invisible orthodontics

This type of orthodontics is one of the most recommended today and this is because it is much less invasive than the previous cases, invisible orthodontics fulfills the same functions as fixed braces, and being a more aesthetic solution is the most accepted method by patients.

Tooth repair and replacement

If the occlusion is caused by a missing tooth or crowding of teeth, the best treatment would be to replace the missing tooth or repair it according to each patient’s case.

Retainers

These retainers are applied once the treatment for the dental malocclusion is carried out, and this allows the teeth or jaw to not return to the bad position in which they were in the beginning. The treatment is not always assigned to the patient, this will depend on the final evaluation of the specialist, it is only applied in those cases in which it is indispensable.

Tabela Përmbledhëse