Archive for the ‘general topics’ Category

Dentists and hygiene

Posted by Dental News Team On March - 4 - 2010

Today the dentist’s team tells all!

In answer to our article (24th february) we would like to publish an email, which reached us yesterday…

Have you ever found yourself sitting in the chair at the dentist and asking yourself who had those instruments in their mouth before you? Have they been properly disinfected and sterilized?

That’s right: you just don’t know.

I know, because I’ve been working as a dental assistant and prophylaxis assistant for several years.
Recently, I have been reading reports on this topic at dentalnews etc. and decided to share my experiences.
Unfortunately, things are not as rosy as many websites claim! There are basically three different types of dentists’ :

  • Those that no nothing about hygienic guidelines, and do not practice them, and of course the patient, not knowing how it’s done either, has no idea.
  • Those that observe some minimum of hygienic standards, which means a fifty-fifty chance of getting an infection.
  • And finally those who do everything right and observe the latest hygienic guidelines, by sticking to the ‘walk of hygiene’ in the office!
    Unfortunately this only applies to a small percentage of offices, and I myself have seen doctors drop root canal instruments on the floor, pick them up and continue working with them (even though they are supposed to be completely sterile)!

In some offices the saliva drain is used all day, even if patients are HIV-positive, or have Hepatitis B or periodontitis etc.

But as a patient, how can you be sure that the instruments you are being treated with are sterile? Simply ask your dentist point-blank whether s/he has a thermo-disinfector, steriliser etc., and keep a close watch on how the dentist works, where s/he keeps the instruments before using them, whether the surgical instruments are wrapped in sterile packaging or kept in sterile containers!

Do some research on the Internet, and watch some of the videos on hygiene at checkdent.com!

The dentalnews team would like to express its thanks for this e-Mail!

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Bad breath is not sexy

Posted by Dental News Team On March - 2 - 2010

It goes from being unpleasant to downright disgusting and keeps you from making friends or finding a partner.

Strangely though, estimates say that every fourth adult in Europe has bad breath every once in a while. One in fifteen has it all the time.
It might not be a bad idea to let the affected know, but most find this embarassing. But why? Well, it’s like foot or underarm odor: lots of people have it, but nobody likes to talk about it.

If you have this problem, you should see a doctor.
Treating bad breath has has never really been a priority in dentistry. Only in the last four or five years have younger generations begun looking at the issue. This is definitely a good idea, because nine times out of ten, bad breath begins in the oral cavity.

What causes bad breath?
Aside from poor oral hygiene and inflammation of the gums, the most common cause of bad breath is scum forming on the tongue. Bacteria that cause bad smells settle on the tongue, but if you clean your tongue using a scraper or simply your toothbrush, you get rid of them and your breath once again smells good.  Stress can also be a factor, as it slows the flow of saliva. And smelly bacteria like inhabiting this dry environment. Many business-people have great oral hygiene, but their breath still smells bad. This is the result of stress and too much coffee, which dries out the mouth. The solution is simple: drink more water and eat fruit.

Can you test yourself for bad breath?
Yes and no, the airbag-method is the best: simply take a clean plastic bag and breathe into it. Be sure to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. Then seal up the bag. To improve your sense of smell, go out into the fresh air, or smell some fresh-ground coffee or espresso. Then squeeze the bag out in front of your nose. What also works is the «wrist-licking method», in which you give the back of your wrist a few strong licks and then sniff at it. This may be a sign that your bad breath is coming from your tongue. One thing that definitely does not work is breathing into your cupped hands. And the one really sure-fire way to find out is simply ask sombody who’s opinion you trust: «Hey, do I have bad breath?»

What about lozenges and mouthwash?
Products abound: sprays, mouthwash, chlorophyl tablets, peppermint leaves that you put on your tongue. They do cover up the smell for a while, but they only treat the symptom, not the cause. If you suffer from dry mouth, you can take sugar-free gum or candy, but all those do is speed up saliva production.

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Placebos – how come they work?

Posted by Dental News Team On March - 1 - 2010

A placebo is a substance which a patient is told is medicine, but which actually contains no medicinal properties and thus has no real pharmacological effect!

Even surgical procedures can be placebos, for example ‘pretend’ operations.

Researchers have discovered that the sensation of pain is blocked on the way from the skin to the spinal cord if the patient expects little or no pain.

There are many different ways in which psychological factors can affect the way we perceive pain: drawing attention away from it, hypnosis and of course the placebo effect. But what neuro-biological mechanisms are involved in reducing the feeling of pain?

Researchers have found that the placebo effect is associated with reduced nerve cell activity in the spinal cord.

Neuro-scientist explain the placebo effect as follows: believing that pain medication will work leads to an rise in the level of endogenic opiates released in the brain – also known as endorphins. This is the case both in the frontal cerebral cortex, which is more highly developed in humans, and parts of the brain stem, which are older in evolutionary terms. The release of these endogenic opiates leads to reduced pain perception and thus a reduced response on the part of the nerve cells in the parts of the brain responsible for processing sensations of pain.

How exactly this release of opiates and the reduction of nerve-cell activity responsible for pain perception are related used to be unclear. Earlier studies have shown that placebo effects – reduced pain perception despite physical stimulation – are accompanied by increased endorphin activity between the frontal areas of the cerebral cortex and the brain stem. The latest technical developments now enable the use of high-resolution magnetic resonance tomography pictures of the human spinal cord to show that during a placebo effect there is reduced nerve cell activity in the spinal cord, the gateway to  the central nervous system. This shows that the psychological factors affecting pain modulation are rooted deep in the brain.

The fact that these factors can be measured in the human spinal cord is also important for clinical studies on testing new medicines, as it is possible to measure both their efficacy and examine the areas they affect.

Source:  Science Vol. 326. no. 5951, p. 404

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Trouble-shooting

Posted by Dental News Team On February - 26 - 2010

We all make mistakes, you can’t make an omelette without cracking some eggs – and your dentist is no different.

Good dentists always admit their mistakes and correct them. It’s not that people make mistakes, it’s that they refuse to admit, and of course correct, them.

Should you require really complicated dental work, it is always good to get a second opinion, so you can be sure that you’re getting quality work. Don’t feel guilty or hesitate to do this: better safe than sorry!

So good luck finding your dentist, we hope the tips we gave you this week help you on your way!

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Explaining procedures!

Posted by Dental News Team On February - 25 - 2010

Transparency and clear explanations are the mark of a good dentist!

You know how it goes – you ask an expert or professional a question and the answer they give you still leaves you in the dark. This does not mean you’re dumb, it just means that the expert is not as much of an expert as they seemed.

A true professional is capable of explaining even the most complicated procedures in a way you can understand, „splitting them up“ into simpler bites for lay people like you and me!

If you do not understand your dentist’s explanations, this does not mean that the subject matter is too complex, just the way the dentist explains it.
Don’t just accept statements such as „you have a bad tooth”, „you are allergic to implants”, or „you have bed bones”. All of this is not only medically false but is not really an explanation either.

Like all other sciences, dentistry is subject to the principle of cause and effect. A tooth does not just go bad, there has to be some reason, and it’s either your fault, or the dentist’s, or both!

A good dentist uses simple language to explain the procedure s/he is going to use and the general processes in the office are clear and easy to understand!

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