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Have you been ignoring changes in a tooth because you’re afraid you may need a root canal? Despite the jokes about the therapy, rootroot canal canals aren’t painful and can save your tooth. Recognizing the symptoms that may mean you need a root canal can ensure you receive treatment before it’s too late to save your tooth. Root canal therapy is just one of the treatments that London, ON, dentists – Dr. Adam Burton, Dr. Viviana Pinto, and Dr. Alexandre Santi – offer at Northland Dental Centre.

Pain in a tooth

Pain in a tooth doesn’t necessarily mean that you need a root canal, but it’s never a good sign. That uncomfortable ache in your tooth may happen if the pulp is inflamed or infected. Pain may be constant or intermittent and may worsen if you chew, push on your tooth, or expose it to hot and cold beverages and foods. Although you may need a root canal, pain in a tooth can also be caused by tooth decay, sensitive roots, a crack, or a loose filling.

Little changes in your mouth

An inflammation or infection can cause subtle symptoms that are easy to overlook. For example, if your gum is swollen and red, you may assume that you brushed your teeth a little too vigorously. In some cases, your tooth may become darker. Although it’s not unusual for teeth to become a little duller if you smoke or drink beverages that stain the teeth, it’s always a cause for concern when one tooth becomes darker than the others.

Dental abscess symptoms

If your tooth hurts, your face is swollen, and you have a fever, you may have a dental abscess. Without prompt treatment, the bacteria can find its way to other parts of your body. Other abscess symptoms can include a pimple on your gum, a collection of pus around your tooth, or a swollen lymph node.

How root canals therapy can help

Your pulp is removed during a root canal, eliminating the inflammation or infection. The procedure is similar to the one used to remove tooth decay, although it’s a little more complicated. You’ll receive a local anesthetic before your root canal begins to ensure that you feel no pain. Once your tooth drains, you’ll return to your London dentist and receive a rubber-based filling that will restore your tooth. A crown may also be recommended to protect your tooth.

Protect your tooth with root canal treatment! Call our London, ON, dentists – Dr. Burton, Dr. Pinto, and Dr. Santi – offer at Northland Dental Centre at (519) 455-2551 to schedule an appointment.

Many people consider a root canal treatment to be potentially an unpleasant experience. You might even feel a few butterflies fluttering in your stomach if we were to recommend one for you.

But there’s nothing actually to dread about this common and very effective treatment. The procedure doesn’t cause pain; in fact, it most likely relieves tooth pain. What’s more, it could save a tooth that would be otherwise lost.

The name comes from narrow passageways extending from the tip of the root to the innermost tooth pulp. The pulp contains nerves and other structures once vital to early tooth development. And although they’re not as important in a fully mature tooth, those nerves still function. In other words, they can still feel stimulation or pain.

That shouldn’t be a problem with a healthy tooth. But if tooth decay invades the inner pulp, those nerves now under attack will begin firing. You’ll know something’s wrong. As bad as it feels, though, the toothache isn’t your worst problem: if the decay isn’t stopped, it can spread through the root canals to the bone that could eventually lead to losing the tooth.

A root canal treatment removes the decayed pulp tissue and protects the tooth from re-infection. We first deaden the tooth and surrounding tissues with a local anesthesia and set up a rubber dam around the tooth to protect it from contamination from the surrounding environment. We then drill a small access hole through the enamel and dentin to reach the pulp chamber and root canals.

Using special instruments, we remove all the diseased tissue from the pulp and flush out the empty chamber and root canals with antibacterial solutions. After re-shaping the root canals, we fill them and the pulp chamber with gutta-percha, a rubber-like biocompatible material that conforms well to the root canal walls. We seal the gutta-percha with adhesive cement and then fill the access hole. Later, we’ll give the tooth further protection with a custom crown.

After the procedure, you may experience short-term minor discomfort usually manageable with over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen. The good news, though, is that the excruciating nerve pain from within the tooth will be gone—and your tooth will have a new lease on life.

If you would like more information on saving a problem tooth with root canal treatment, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Root Canal Treatment: What You Need to Know.”

It’s often best health-wise to preserve even the most troubled tooth—including a child’s primary (“baby”) tooth. If that sounds like too much effort for a tooth that lasts only a few years, there’s a big reason why—if it’s lost prematurely, the incoming permanent tooth above it could erupt out of position.

Preserving a decayed primary tooth could include procedures similar to a root canal treatment, commonly used in adult permanent teeth with inner decay. However, we may need to modify this approach to protect the primary tooth’s pulp. This innermost layer plays a critical role in early dental development.

Because an adult tooth has reached maturity, removing diseased pulp tissue has little effect on its permanent health. But the pulp contributes to dentin growth (the layer between it and the outer enamel) in primary and young permanent teeth, so removing it could ultimately compromise the tooth’s long-term health.

Our goal then with a child’s tooth is to remove as much diseased tissue as possible while involving the pulp as little as possible. What techniques we use will depend on how much of the pulp has become infected.

For example, if decay has advanced to but hasn’t yet penetrated the pulp, we may remove all but a small amount of the decayed structure just next to the pulp to avoid its exposure. We may then apply an antibacterial agent to this remaining portion and seal the tooth to curb further infection.

If on the other hand the pulp has become infected, we may try to remove only the infected portion and leave the remaining pulp intact. We’ll only be able to do this, however, if we deem the remaining pulp healthy enough to remain infection-free after the procedure. If not, we may need to remove the entire pulp as with a traditional root canal. This option, though, is a last resort due to the possible effect on dentin growth and the tooth’s long-term health.

As you can see attempts to preserve a primary tooth can be quite involved. But if we can help it reach its full life span, it could mean better dental health for a lifetime.

If you would like more information on caring for primary teeth, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Root Canal Treatment for Children’s Teeth.”

Even with picture perfect teeth, you may still be unhappy with your appearance. The problem: too much of your upper gums show when you smile.

There’s no precise standard for a “gummy smile”—it’s often a matter of perception. As a rule of thumb, though, we consider a smile “gummy” if four or more millimeters of upper gum tissue show while smiling. In any event if you perceive you have a gummy smile, it can greatly affect your self-confidence and overall well-being.

The good news is we can often correct or at least minimize a gummy smile. The first step, though, is to find out why the gums are so prominent.

There are a few possible causes: the most obvious, of course, is that there’s more than normal gum tissue present. But the cause could be the front teeth didn’t fully erupt in childhood and so the gums appear more prominent. Other causes include the upper lip moving too far upward when smiling (hypermobile) or an elongated upper jaw that’s out of proportion with the face.

Finding the exact cause or combination of causes will determine what approach we take to minimize your gummy smile. If too much gum tissue or not enough of  the teeth show, we can use a surgical procedure called crown lengthening to expose more of the crown (the visible part of a tooth), as well as remove excess gum tissues and reshape them and the underlying bone for a more proportional appearance.

A hypermobile upper lip can be treated with Botox, a cosmetic injection that temporarily paralyzes the lip muscles and restricts their movement. But for a permanent solution, we could consider a surgical procedure to limit upper lip movement.

Surgery may also be necessary for an abnormal jaw structure to reposition it in relation to the skull. If, on the other hand it’s the teeth’s position and not the jaw causing gum prominence, we may be able to correct it with orthodontics.

As you can see, there are several ways varying in complexity to correct a gummy smile. To know what will work best for you, you’ll need to undergo an orofacial examination to determine the underlying cause. It’s quite possible there’s a way to improve your smile and regain your self-confidence.

If you would like more information on improving a gummy smile, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Gummy Smiles.”

During his former career as a professional footballer (that’s a soccer star to U.S. sports fans) David Beckham was known for his skill at “bending” a soccer ball. His ability to make the ball curve in mid-flight — to avoid a defender or score a goal — led scores of kids to try to “bend it like Beckham.” But just recently, while enjoying a vacation in Canada with his family, “Becks” tried snowboarding for the first time — and in the process, broke one of his front teeth.

Some fans worried that the missing tooth could be a “red card” for Beckham’s current modeling career… but fortunately, he headed straight to the dental office as soon as he arrived back in England. Exactly what kind of treatment is needed for a broken tooth? It all depends where the break is and how badly the tooth is damaged.

For a minor crack or chip, cosmetic bonding may offer a quick and effective solution. In this procedure, a composite resin, in a color custom-made to match the tooth, is applied in liquid form and cured (hardened) with a special light. Several layers of bonding material can be applied to re-construct a larger area of missing tooth, and chips that have been saved can sometimes be reattached as well.

When more tooth structure is missing, dental veneers may be the preferred restorative option. Veneers are wafer-thin shells that are bonded to the front surface of the teeth. They can not only correct small chips or cracks, but can also improve the color, spacing, and shape of your teeth.

But if the damage exposes the soft inner pulp of the tooth, root canal treatment will be needed to save the tooth. In this procedure, the inflamed or infected pulp tissue is removed and the tooth sealed against re-infection; if a root canal is not done when needed, the tooth will have an increased risk for extraction in the future. Following a root canal, a tooth is often restored with a crown (cap), which can look good and function well for many years.

Sometimes, a tooth may be knocked completely out of its socket; or, a severely damaged tooth may need to be extracted (removed). In either situation, the best option for restoration is a dental implant. Here, a tiny screw-like device made of titanium metal is inserted into the jaw bone in a minor surgical procedure. Over time, it fuses with the living bone to form a solid anchorage. A lifelike crown is attached, which provides aesthetic appeal and full function for the replacement tooth.

So how’s Beckham holding up? According to sources, “David is a trooper and didn’t make a fuss. He took it all in his stride.” Maybe next time he hits the slopes, he’ll heed the advice of dental experts and wear a custom-made mouthguard…

If you have questions about restoring damaged teeth, please contact our office to schedule a consultation. You can read more in the Dear Doctormagazine articles “Trauma and Nerve Damage to Teeth” and “Children’s Dental Concerns and Injuries.”

How does a dental implant work? 
A dental implant works by using the body’s natural healing abilities coupled with modern dental technology to replace a tooth and its root. A dentist implants the fixture, a small, titanium post, into the jawbone under the missing tooth. The bone grows around the fixture and anchors it permanently into place. Then, an abutment, which may be a part of the fixture or a separate piece, connects the fixture to the prosthetic restoration to replace the tooth. All in all, implants are a safe, reliable procedure which can help you achieve a beautiful, full smile.

How can dental implants benefit me? 
Dental implants, unlike some traditional tooth replacement options, do not require you to remove and soak them at night. Additionally, you will not need to perform any extra steps in your oral care routine. You can simply care for your implants as you would your natural teeth. Implants look, feel, and function like natural teeth, boosting your confidence and allowing you to smile, speak, and eat as you would with healthy natural teeth.

What can dental implants treat? 
Implants can replace a single tooth with one implant fixture and one dental crown, multiple teeth in a row with two implants on either side of a dental bridge, or even a whole arch of teeth with a denture supported by four or more implants across the arch. Depending on your situation, your dentist may suggest combining the types of implants or even your implants with other cosmetic or restorative procedures.

Dental Implants in London, ON 
Dental implants can turn your smile around, giving you the confidence to enjoy face-to-face meetings and the peace of mind to enjoy the foods you love.  For more information on dental implants, please contact Northland Dental Care in London, ON. Call (519) 455-2551 to schedule your appointment for a consultation with your dentist today!

Making your smile beautiful with cosmetic dentistry often has other, less noticeable perks as well. Dental implants, which replace a missing dental implantstooth, take an incomplete smile and turn it into one that looks, feels, and, most importantly, functions just like a natural smile. When compared to traditional tooth replacement options, dental implants are an easy choice. But how do these restorations work and how do they play into your smile? Discover the benefits of dental implants with Northland Dental Care in London, ON.

Teething is an important phase in your baby’s dental maturity. During the approximate two-year process, they will acquire their first set of teeth.

It can also be an unpleasant two years as each tooth sequentially breaks through the gums. The severity of teething problems differs with each child, but there are common signs: irritability, biting and gnawing, chin rash, drooling or ear rubbing among them. Although for most babies the discomfort isn’t that great, the pain can occasionally be a lot for them — and their care-givers — to handle.

Although having a very unhappy infant can be nerve-jangling, there’s no real cause for concern health-wise. If, however, they begin to run a fever or experience diarrhea, that could be a sign of something more serious. In those cases, you should see a doctor as soon as possible.

Otherwise, there are some things you can do to make them more comfortable during teething episodes. One thing to remember: cold items for biting or gnawing usually work wonders. So, be sure you have chilled teething rings or pacifiers (but not frozen — the extreme temperature could burn their gums). For older children, an occasional cold food like a popsicle can bring relief.

You can also try massaging the gums with your clean finger, which will help counteract the pressure of an erupting tooth. But avoid rubbing alcohol or aspirin on the gums, and you shouldn’t apply numbing agents to children less than two years of age unless advised by your doctor.

If their pain persists, it’s permissible to give them a mild pain reliever like the appropriate dosage for their age of baby acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Again, you should give this by mouth and avoid rubbing it on the gums.

By the time they’re three, all their primary teeth should be in and teething symptoms should have largely dissipated. In the meantime, make them as comfortable as you can â?? in no time the unpleasantness of teething will pass.

If you would like more information on coping with your child’s teething, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Teething Troubles: How to Help Keep your Baby Comfortable.”

With exciting innovations in cosmetic dentistry over the last few decades, we can now transform nearly any unattractive smile. One of the best and most cost-effective of these is the porcelain veneer. These thin layers of dental porcelain are bonded over the front of chipped, slightly misaligned or stained teeth to create an entirely new look.

Veneers have evolved over time, especially with the materials they contain that give them their beauty and life-likeness. The first veneers were made mainly of feldspathic porcelain, a mineral composition known for its similarity in color and translucence to natural teeth.

But because this early porcelain had a high amount of silica (in essence, glass), and because they were created through overlaying several thin layers that weren’t as strong as a single piece, they were prone to shattering. This made them problematic for teeth subject to heavy biting forces or patients with clenching or grinding habits.

The situation changed dramatically in the 1990s, when dental labs began adding Leucite, a sturdier glass-like mineral that didn’t diminish the porcelain’s translucence. Not only did Leucite make veneers more shatter-resistant, it also enabled dental technicians to fashion most of the veneer in one piece to further strengthen it.

More recent veneers may now incorporate an even stronger material called lithium disilicate. Because lithium disilicate has twice the strength of Leucite, veneers made with it can be as thin as 0.3 millimeters. Not only does this blend together the most desirable qualities expected of a veneer—strength, aesthetic appeal and easy fabrication—it allows for a broader range of situations and uses.

Both of these materials can be pressed or milled to assume the exact shape necessary to fit a particular tooth. The manufacturing process also allows for creating smaller veneers that can then be overlaid with porcelain for the most life-like appearance possible.

Thanks to these stronger materials enhancing the natural beauty of porcelain, we now have a wider creative palate for transforming your smile.  

If you would like more information on porcelain veneers, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Porcelain Veneers: Your Smile—Better Than Ever.”

In an instant, an accident could leave you or a loved one with a missing tooth. Thankfully, we can restore it with a dental implant that looks and functions like a real tooth—and the sooner the better.

But if the patient is a teenager or younger, sooner may have to be later. Because their jaws are still developing, an implant placed now could eventually look as if it’s sinking into the gums as the jaw continues to grow and the implant doesn’t move. It’s best to wait until full jaw maturity around early adulthood and in the meantime use a temporary replacement.

But that wait could pose a problem with bone health. As living tissue, bone cells have a life cycle where they form, function and then dissolve (resorption) with new cells taking their place. This cycle continues at a healthy rate thanks to stimulation from forces generated by the teeth during chewing that travel through the roots to the bone.

When a tooth goes missing, however, so does this stimulation. Without it the bone’s growth cycle can slow to an unhealthy rate, ultimately reducing bone volume.  Because implants require a certain amount of bone for proper placement and support, this could make it difficult if not impossible to install one.

We can help prevent this by placing a bone graft immediately after the removal of a tooth within the tooth’s “socket.” The graft serves as a scaffold for new bone cells to form and grow upon. The graft will eventually resorb leaving the newly formed bone in its place.

We can also fine-tune and slow the graft’s resorption rate. This may be preferable for a younger patient with years to go before their permanent restoration. In the meantime, you can still proceed with other dental treatments including orthodontics.

By carefully monitoring a young patient’s bone health and other aspects of their dental care, we can keep on course for an eventual permanent restoration. With the advances in implantology, the final smile result will be worth the wait.

If you would like more information on dental care for trauma injuries, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Dental Implants for Teenagers: Factors Influencing Treatment Planning in Adolescents.”

Is having good oral hygiene important to kissing? Who’s better to answer that question than Vivica A. Fox? Among her other achievements, the versatile actress won the “Best Kiss” honor at the MTV Movie Awards, for a memorable scene with Will Smith in the 1996 blockbuster Independence Day. When Dear Doctor magazine asked her, Ms. Fox said that proper oral hygiene was indeed essential. Actually, she said:

“Ooooh, yes, yes, yes, Honey, ’cause Baby, if you kiss somebody with a dragon mouth, my God, it’s the worst experience ever as an actor to try to act like you enjoy it!”

And even if you’re not on stage, it’s no fun to kiss someone whose oral hygiene isn’t what it should be. So what’s the best way to step up your game? Here’s how Vivica does it:

“I visit my dentist every three months and get my teeth cleaned, I floss, I brush, I just spent two hundred bucks on an electronic toothbrush — I’m into dental hygiene for sure.”

Well, we might add that you don’t need to spend tons of money on a toothbrush — after all, it’s not the brush that keeps your mouth healthy, but the hand that holds it. And not everyone needs to come in as often every three months. But her tips are generally right on.

For proper at-home oral care, nothing beats brushing twice a day for two minutes each time, and flossing once a day. Brushing removes the sticky, bacteria-laden plaque that clings to your teeth and causes tooth decay and gum disease — not to mention malodorous breath. Don’t forget to brush your tongue as well — it can also harbor those bad-breath bacteria.

While brushing is effective, it can’t reach the tiny spaces in between teeth and under gums where plaque bacteria can hide. But floss can: That’s what makes it so important to getting your mouth really clean.

Finally, regular professional checkups and cleanings are an essential part of good oral hygiene. Why? Because even the most dutiful brushing and flossing can’t remove the hardened coating called tartar that eventually forms on tooth surfaces. Only a trained health care provider with the right dental tools can! And when you come in for a routine office visit, you’ll also get a thorough checkup that can detect tooth decay, gum disease, and other threats to your oral health.

Bad breath isn’t just a turn-off for kissing — It can indicate a possible problem in your mouth. So listen to what award-winning kisser Vivica Fox says: Paying attention to your oral hygiene can really pay off! For more information, contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can read the entire interview with Vivica A. Fox in Dear Doctor’s latest issue.