Are you wearing your teeth away?

Have you noticed your teeth chipping , a shorter appearance to your teeth and possibly tooth pain? These are all signs of clenching or grinding your teeth. We are not always aware that we are clencing or grinding our teeth because it usually happens in our sleep. Some people may not be bothered by the physical appearance and choose not to treat these habits early on. Your dentist may suggest a night guard to protect your teeth while you are sleeping. A bite analysis may also be indicated to correct how the upper and lower teeth meet together. If not treated early by these measures, serious damage and symptoms can happen; for instance tmj pain, bad headaches and severe bite issues that are not only painful but can be cosmetically disfiguring too. So if you suspect you are grinding or clenching , early treatment and prevention is the best route.

Dr. Bill and Shelia 2011 Kenya Mission

Dr. Bill Williams , his wife Shelia and one of our SDC members Joan are off to Kenya for their 2011 mission trip. For the last several years Dr. Williams and Shelia Williams have been traveling to Kenya to provide Dental care and to teach the ways of our lord. Not only have they provided dental care but they have helped many others who were ill and even seen babies introduced into the world. They have established a facility in Kenya that started from nothing and has grown with the help of other mission volunteers and Kenya natives. Pray for them on their mission that great events happen and they return home safe .

SDC Diva Update 2011

This is an update on one of SDC's 2011 Divas. Our Diva Barbara has made great progress. Barbara is a diabetic so we had to be careful with how we approached her treatment.We were concerned with how high Barbara's blood sugar levels were. We started by removing badly decayed teeth and treating her periodontal disease. We were concerned that we may not be able to do the implants to replace her missing teeth because her blood sugar levels were so high and we may have to do removable partials instead. We waited to get the okay from her MD. before proceeding .To our amazement Barbara's sugar levels dropped greatly since we treated the infections going on in her mouth. We were able to place the implants and are waiting on healing. We can't wait to see the finished results!

Professional Implant Maintenance

Professional Implant Maintenance can reduce the potential for ensuing attachment loss. The goal is to remove plaque and calculus from the clinical crown surface as well as the surface of tooth structure adjacent to the sulcus or pocket.

The recommended instrumentation technique to debride the artificial anatomy, however, is quite different from periodontal instrumentation. Instruments used to remove plaque and calculus are often made of plastic or titanium. The purpose of using these plastic or titanium materials is to prevent or reduce scratching of the abutment or the inplant surface, which may increase the potential for increased plaque retention. A probing depth of greater than 3 mm in a periodontal pocket may hinder the patient's ability to adequately clean the area. Therefore, frequent periodontal maintenance appointments may be needed to maintain periodontal health.

Periodontal Risk Assessment

Periodontal Risk Assessment is a necessary part of the periodontal paradigm. The American Academy of Periodontology, AAR) asserts that risk assessment should be a part of every comprehensive dental and periodontal examination. Risk assessment goes beyond identification of the existence of disease and severity, and considers factors that may influence future disease progression. These risk factors include:

*Cigarette smoking,

*Diabetes,

*Poor oral hygiene,

*Periodontal pockets,

*Vertical bone loss,

*Furcation involvement,

*Subgingival calculus

*Restorations with subgingival margins

The Link bewteen Oral Inflammation and Systemic Health

The role that oral inflammation plays as a pathway to the rest of the body is becoming much better understood, making the control and prevention of gingivitis and periodontitis a critical part of optimal patient care.

The oral cavity is the portal to the rest of the body. Within the past decade, an emerging body of evidence has linked oral infections, primarily chronic inflammatory periodontitis to systemic conditions including atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer's disease, kidney disease, bacterial pneumonia and obesity. All of these systemic issues may have an inflammatory, infectious, and/or bacterial component in common with periodontitis.

The dental hygienist plays an important role in the total systemic health treatment of patients with periodontal infections. A complete evaluation can assess the patient's risk of the future development, progression or recurrence of inflammatory periodontal diseases. This is especially important if the patient has one or more systemic risk factors, such as smoking, hyperglycemia, high cholesterol, or a familial history of hyperlipidemia. Genetic factors may play a significant role in 50% of patients with periodontal diseases.

Instead of merely treating the patient to stop the initiation of progression of periodontitis, today we want to control periodontal infection and inflammation that may affect other regions of the body. The focus of periodontal treatment is to attack the chronic inflammation. Essentially, periodontal disease should be treated as oral inflammation that must be controlled for better oral and overall health. Dealing with the inflammatory response to the bacteria is a main paradigm shift in the treatment of the periodontal patient.