If you’ve ever experienced temporomandibular disorder (TMD), then you know that the pain can be debilitating. Those who suffer from TMD may struggle to talk, eat or generally use their jaws. Many people begin forgoing their favorite foods or even skipping meals altogether. Others avoid conversations because it hurts too much to talk.
As dental students we have done it hundreds of times already: local anesthesia. It’s may be the only procedure we have 100% confidence in completing. It’s like July 4th fireworks going off in dental brains because the patient’s “lip feels huge” and it is time to start the procedure. Yet, on a rare occasion, when we go through the normal routine with the appropriate dosage of anesthesia, they still have sensation. What gives?
Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) is the newest buzzword in dentistry. What can this new formulation do? As an oral health care provider, here’s what you need to know about it.
Although SDF has only recently started making headlines in the U.S., it has been approved for use in Japan for more than 80 years. Currently, it has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for use in adults 21 and older.
We all know the expression “the eyes are the window to the soul.” As oral health professionals, we view the mouth as the window to the entire body. Studies have shown that good oral health correlates to better overall health. Contrarily, poor oral health has been linked to a long list of systemic diseases. A 2011 article in Diabetologia found a prominent link between oral health and diabetes.
Each year of dental school brings a new learning experience. You start out learning the intricate details of each tooth. By the end you’re learning about the business of dentistry. Here are a few apps you can download to keep you on track year after year.
With more and more industries moving away from physical information, many are looking at technology as a more efficient means of capturing, translating and delivering that information. While CAD/CAM (Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing) dentistry has been around for a few decades, the technology itself has matured to the point where it is more accessible in terms of cost and usability. Whether it’s used to digitally send an impression to a lab or to provide a patient with a same-day crown, CAD/CAM technology is quickly being integrated into the field of dentistry.
With that being said, this video is a very basic introduction to the general workflow for a CAD/CAM crown. While this video uses a specific system, the concepts discussed are general and relevant to most systems.
Flap design and suturing are critical components of surgical dentistry due to their role in exposing otherwise inaccessible teeth or osseous structures during oral surgery. Under the mentorship of Dr. Jeffrey A. Elo at the Western University of Health Sciences, I investigated how the use of a novel incision and flap design with primary closure can drastically reduce the rate of alveolar osteitis (“dry socket”) following mandibular third molar removal, a phenomenon which reportedly affects 10-45% of patients.
