Dentalnews (en)

Lumineers and veneers are ceramic caps which are glued to the outside of the teeth for aesthetic purposes.

Veneers are somewhat thicker than lumineers.

Due to advances in materials, it is now possible to produce super-thin, shatter-proof ceramic caps. Veneers kept getting thinner and thinner, until professionals began to call them lumineers, as the ceramic cups were almost „transparent“.
The problem is that ads for these thin lumineers claim that no drilling is necessary.

This is wrong, as whether it is necessary to drill or not depends not on how thick a ceramic cap is, but on the placement of the teeth.
We would like to illustrate this in the picture on the left. The top picture shows a tooth sector. The first incisor on the left is slightly twisted, so that one corner is outside of the sector and the other corner is inside. In the picture below you can see the area, highlighted in red, where the tooth needs to be sanded down slightly so that the lumineer (in blue) can be applied to get a beautiful smile.
The second tooth on the right is deep inside the tooth sector, and there is no need to drill here, all that is needed is a „thicker“ ceramic cap (in green) – also known as a veneer.

Whether it is necessary to drill depends on the placement of your teeth, their coloring, and what exactly you hope to accomplish!

Click here to watch a video on this procedure!

Should cavities in milk teeth be removed?

Dentists keep finding cavities in children’s milk teeth and telling parents that it’s best to do nothing at all.

This is wrong, because

1. Cavities are caused by bacteria which can spread to and damage other healthy teeth
2. Cavities destroy teeth, which makes the other teeth squeeze closer together, so that the tooth sector gets smaller. But this tooth sector acts like a kind of bracket which stimulates the growth of the jaw. If this growth is slowed down and the remaining teeth end up crowded together in an adult’s mouth, this is usually caused by cavities in milk teeth
3. Permanent teeth that are coming out can be affected
4. Cavities often cause teeth to die out, which leads to inflammation in the bones. Abscesses and fistulas result

Cavities in milk teeth should always be removed, and if several teeth are affected, then treatment should be performed under a general anaesthetic in order to keep the child from getting traumatized.

As a parent, you should make sure that your children improve their brushing habits, as cavities in milk teeth are a sign that children are not brushing properly:

• Children need their parents’ help in brushing their teeth twice a day until the age of ten. Only at this age does a child have the fine motor skills that enable it to brush its teeth properly on its own
• You should give your child water to drink, not juices containing sugar
• Make sure the toothpaste used does not taste too good, otherwise children won’t want to spit it out
• If the child throws a tantrum – don’t worry, all children do – stay on the ball, and if necessary brush „by force“. Use the same techniques as when you teach your child not to cross the street on a red light, go ahead and brush the child’s teeth yourself! Only you know the dangers of not brushing your teeth, your child doesn’t …
• Let your child watch you while you brush, hum songs or whatever to show your child that you’re having fun
• Lay down rules for brushing just like you do for eating – no playing with toys while at table or at the sink!
• Small children respond well to suggestions such as „Let’s scare off of the cavities monsters“ or „Let’s help the little tooth sprites clean your teeth“, this helps make brushing more fun
• Get plaque tablets to check how well your children brush

Is a dentist with the title„Master of Implantology“ better able to perform implants than a “normal” dentist?

Master here, Master there, Master Master everywhere. There is more and more talk of additional training to become e.g. a “Master of Oral Implantology”.  This training has to be paid for but does not really say much about the actual skills of a dentist.

There are various reasons for this: first of all there are no general standards for these courses, some last a few days, others years. It also depends on why the dentist is doing them – some do it for the certificate, others to further their education.

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Another example should illustrate the problem of additional studies:

A doctor works in a hospital and handles broken jaws, tumors etc, but has no Master’s Degree. However, during the course of his or her career, s/he has performed innumerable operations on bones and hundreds of implants.

Another dentist takes a one-year course to become a „Master of Implantology“ but may only have actually attended 200 implant settings and only performed about 20 of them. Whatever institute charges the dentist for the course may not check to see how well the dentist works while performing this procedure …

Who would you rather have performing your implant?

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Don’t let certificates fool you, instead ask dentists how long they have been performing implants and where they have worked before. You have the right to ask these questions, and don’t get “taken in” by a dentist’s age …

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More information on this topic here!

My baby is getting its first teeth, what should I do?

If your baby is starting to get its first milk teeth and they come out yellow or black, they need dental care!
Read this short report to find out what to consider.

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Just when parents get used to the new routine, the sleepless nights start up again – the first teeth appear!
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Dental care begins with the first tooth!

• Take a wet cloth and wipe the tooth which is coming out. As soon as the tooth has come out, use a soft brush with plastic bristles
• After brushing do not give the baby anything containing sugar (not even milk)
• Take your child along for a visit to your dentist, so it can get used to the surroundings even without getting treatment
• Do not use more than a pea-sized gob of toothpaste once your child is able to spit (e.g. Weleda children’s tooth gel). Do not use toothpaste with flavor additives  (e.g. strawberry) – they make children swallow the toothpaste instead of spitting it out!
• If you use fluoride tablets, you should avoid using toothpaste containing fluoride (ask your dentist or pediatrician)
• You may need to help your children brush up until the age of 10, when the fine motor skills of the child are fully developed!
• Black teeth ususally means cavities – a dental check-up is needed – cavities should ALWAYS be removed, even from milk teeth!

• Who needs braces?

• How do braces from adults differ from braces for children and

• how much do braces cost?

>>These are the questions concerning most people

You can get braces no matter how old you are.
When you are young then removable braces may suffice. While a person is still growing, it is usually enough to get a slight „impulse“ in the „right“ direction – e.g. from removable braces!
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Once a person has stopped growing, then it is possible to get teeth into „order“ using fixed braces, no matter how old the patient is. Whether a retainer is necessary or not depends on whether the teeth are arranged in the best possible way – Category I.
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A lot depends on musculature, the size of the tongue and a host of other factors: whether the teeth begin to wander after treatment or not. Ask your orthodontist what kind of treatment would be best for you.
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Make sure to go to an orthodontist for treatment!

An orthodontist is a dentist who has had specialized training. Orthodontists usually only perform orthodontal work, they do not extract teeth or insert fillings. But they can answer your questions on whether the arrangement of your teeth is detrimental to your overall health. Some defective tooth positions may damage teeth, the jaw or the periodontal apparatus.
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Unfortunately, „normal“ dentists are also allowed to perform orthodontal work without undergoing specialized training. They usually offer different types of treatment. Simply ask a practitioner what kind of training they have had.

Treatment is usually charged on an annual basis.
This is why treatment may take three or four years, or even more. It is better to pay for the treatment as a whole, an experienced practitioner should be able to estimate the cost before the start of treatment. Moreover, most defective tooth positioning can be treated in about one or two years, anything which takes longer requires an operation.

Treatment may cost around 4 000€ to 12 000€ (app. 5 900 – 18 000$) , depending on the severity of the defect and the type of braces used. Find out more about the  lingual method, or „Incognito“ braces here.

Defective tooth placement can have many different causes, the most common being cavities in the milk teeth.

This often necessitates premature removal of milk teeth. However, milk teeth stimulate the jaw to grow. If this stimulus is lacking, then jaw growth slows down and the remaining teeth do not have enough space, resulting in over-crowding and displacement.

Good dental hygiene and well-planned treament can put a smile back on your face.
Good dental treatment requires an oral irrigator – more on that topic here.