General dentistry treatments
General dentistry provides a wide range of treatments aimed at preventing dental diseases and treating carious lesions. As part of preventive measures at the dentist's office, you can perform:
- oral and dental check-ups,
- instruction on proper oral hygiene,
- complete dental hygiene or only its individual stages (scaling, sandblasting, polishing, fluoridation),
- lapping of milk teeth, performed by pediatric dentists,
- treatment of tooth hypersensitivity and problems causing bleeding gums.
In addition to preventive measures, conservative dentistry also deals with the diagnosis and treatment of caries and its complications, filling cavities, root canal treatment, reconstruction of missing teeth with a bridge, cosmetic crown reconstruction and treatment of post-traumatic conditions of permanent teeth.
Pediatric conservative dentistry
The branch of conservative dentistry dealing with the control, prevention and treatment of primary and permanent teeth in children and adolescents is called pedodontics. It was distinguished because there are large differences in the teeth of children and adults. For this reason, the teeth of young patients require a different approach and treatment than the teeth of adults.
Every child, just like an adult, should be under constant dental care. Thanks to this, you can avoid dental problems that may appear at any stage of the development of the masticatory system. It is recommended that the first visit to the dentist takes place when the child is about a year after the first tooth erupts. During the check-up, the doctor will not only instruct the parents on the proper care of the baby's primary teeth, but also check whether the oral and facial development is progressing appropriately.
A pedodontist deals with:
- Adaptation visits, which involve preparing the child for subsequent procedures in the dentist's office. The purpose of such a visit is also to build positive relationships between the doctor and the young patient.
- Educating children about proper oral hygiene.
- Teaching about caries prevention, malocclusion, and good eating habits in children.
- Issues related to teething and disorders of this process.
- Caries prevention: sealing, varnishing, lapping children's teeth.
- Treatment of diseases of the oral mucosa.
- Treatment of caries in its early stage (when drilling into the tooth and loss of healthy tissue is unnecessary).
- Conservative treatment of primary teeth in children and immature permanent teeth in adolescents.
Performed tests and diagnostics
The basic examination in a dentist's office is a thorough interview and visual assessment of the condition of the teeth and oral mucosa. For diagnostic purposes, the doctor may perform a panoramic radiograph, which shows the condition of all the teeth in the mouth. This photo should be taken every two years. X-rays of individual teeth are also taken. They allow you to detect changes invisible to the naked eye and assess the degree of caries advancement. Taking a photo is often necessary to plan appropriate treatment in the case of advanced caries. It shows where the carious lesions extend and whether root canal treatment is necessary. At the same time, the doctor can assess the number and shape of the canals if caries has reached the pulp and the dental canals require treatment.
In addition to X-rays, doctors also use other tools that allow for early detection of caries. These include: a microscope, an intraoral camera and a diagnostic laser. The microscope shows an image at high magnification, thanks to which the doctor can detect even the smallest changes in the appearance of the teeth. The intraoral camera allows you to capture caries in the interdental spaces, which are difficult to see without it. A diagnostic laser is used to assess whether the visible spot is discoloration, demineralization or a defect requiring treatment.
The dentist may also order computed tomography or ultrasound examinations to make the correct diagnosis and plan treatment, but then the treatments performed go beyond conservative dentistry.
What is the treatment of caries?
Dental caries is the most common dental disease in society. It is caused mainly by bacteria L. acidophilus, S. mutans, S. salivarius, S. mitis, S. sanguinis, E. faecalis, but for it to develop it also requires sugar and time.
Dental caries affects almost the entire population - both children and adults. It can be effectively prevented, and the treatment is also not complicated - at least in the initial stage. Untreated, advanced caries causes serious, painful oral health problems, including: abscesses, gangrene, and periostitis.
The course of caries treatment depends largely on its advancement. In the initial phase, when only small white spots are visible on the tooth surface, remineralization is enough. The dentist thoroughly cleans the infected area and applies a preparation with a high fluoride content in the form of varnish or gel, which prevents the development of caries and helps rebuild the damaged area. For the treatment to be effective, it must be performed several times.
Another treatment method is the use of highly bactericidal ozone. This treatment effectively slows down the development of caries, is short (lasts 20 seconds) and painless.
In a more advanced stage, i.e. when caries has penetrated the enamel, it is necessary to mechanically remove (with a drill or laser) the diseased tissue and then fill the cavity with a composite filling, commonly known as a filling.
In the final stage, caries reaches the tooth pulp, destroying it from the inside. In such a situation, the only chance to save the tooth is root canal treatment. Unfortunately, sometimes endodontic treatment is impossible and extraction of the diseased tooth is necessary.
When should you go to the dentist?
Visits to the dentist should be a regular part of our lives. Regular check-ups help prevent the development of caries and quickly detect carious lesions, which are the most common cause of dental problems. In the case of dental diseases, prevention is definitely better than cure. Regular visits to the dentist's office are an essential preventive element in addition to proper oral hygiene. Therefore, at least two follow-up visits per year are recommended. In addition, it is worth performing regular dental hygiene, because even thorough brushing and flossing will not remove plaque and tartar deposited on the teeth. This treatment is used to remove excess tartar, prevents the formation of caries, and improves the condition and aesthetics of the teeth.
Even if we visit our dentist regularly, we should go to him immediately when:
- one of our teeth will be chipped or broken as a result of mechanical trauma,
- our old filling will fall out,
- we feel toothache,
- we will notice redness of the gums,
- our gums bleed when brushing our teeth,
- we feel that our teeth are becoming increasingly sensitive to heat or cold.
