What is Orthodontics?

Orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics are the specialty of dentistry that has as object of study the supervision, guidance of the growth and development of dentofacial structures, their pathology, as well as the treatment of dento-maxillary anomalies.

Orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics deal with solving dental crowding, dental spacing, correction of occlusion (bite), but also the relationship between the jaws.

Dental malposition does not only affect the aesthetics of the face and smile, but can also cause problems with the gums and the alveolar bone, make it difficult to sanitize the oral cavity and promote tooth decay. They can cause temporomandibular joint problems, headaches, bruxism, incorrect posture, speech or digestive problems, etc.

Benefits

The benefits of orthodontic treatment include better oral health, a better appearance and greater durability of teeth.

In what situations is orthodontic treatment recommended?

Only an orthodontist can decide if you need orthodontic treatment. Based on diagnostic tools that include a complete medical and dental history, a clinical examination, dental arches and dental radiographs, the orthodontist decides if orthodontic treatment is recommended and develops an individualized treatment plan.

This means that not every dentist can perform orthodontic treatments. It is not the dental appliance who aligns the teeth or solves the dental problems, but the doctor who uses the brace. Therefore, it is less important whether the device used is invisible or not, whether a more expensive option is used or not, but the theoretical and practical training of the orthodontist, who can provide a correct, durable and aesthetic treatment.

Why do we need orthodontic treatment?

Our dental clinic offers a wide range of orthodontic treatments - from mobile devices, frequently used in children, to different types of fixed devices. Orthodontic appliances work by applying light pressure to the teeth and jaws. Depending on the severity of your problem, your orthodontist will recommend the right type of device. There are situations in which orthodontic treatment cannot completely solve the patient's problem. For this reason, orthodontics may intersect with other branches of dentistry: endodontics, dental prosthetics, surgery or periodontology, in order to offer the patient a complete and high-quality treatment.

Orthodontic treatment is individualized for each case, being determined by the orthodontist.

Types of dental appliances

    Fixed dental appliances

        - Metal braces

        - Ceramic braces

        - Sapphire braces

    Mobile dental appliances

        - Prefabricated mobile dental appliance (Myobrace type or Trainer type)

        - Mobile dental appliance (made in the laboratory by the dental technician)

    Orthodontic gutters

    At the end of the orthodontic treatment, it is recommended to wear a restraining device that maintains the results obtained. The retainer can be mobile or fixed.

What are Pediatric Services?

Pediatric Services or Pedodontics is a branch of dentistry that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of dental problems in children.

Human teeth start to form in the prenatal period. That is why the period of pregnancy is very important for the future dentition of the child. The mother should have a balanced diet and avoid contracting certain infectious diseases.

The first teeth that appear in children's oral cavity are called temporary (milk) teeth. Temporary teeth begin to erupt around the age of 6 months. There are situations in which these teeth can appear even earlier, at 4 months. The first teeth to appear in the child's mouth are the lower central incisors, followed by the upper central incisors. By the age of 3, the temporary tooth eruption is complete. At this point, the baby will have 20 "milk" teeth. The order of eruption of these teeth varies from child to child.

Around the age of 6, the eruption of permanent teeth begins. This process begins with the eruption of 6-year-old molars. It is followed by the replacement of the teeth in the frontal area (incisors). This process lasts until around the age of 18. At the end of the process, the adult will have 28 permanent teeth or 32 teeth, if he also has wisdom teeth.

What is the role of temporary teeth?

    - Provides proper chewing

    - Ensure the proper development of bones and muscles in the face area

    - Provide the space needed for the growth and development of permanent teeth and act as a guide for their correct eruption

    - Allow the development of correct speech

What are the causes of temporary tooth decay?

    - Frequent consumption and in large quantities of food or sweetened liquids

    - Use of sweetened milk or tea before the baby sleeps. Even breast milk contains sugars, so it is good to avoid the baby falling asleep during breastfeeding or with the bottle in his mouth

    - Lack of oral hygiene of the child

Even if temporary teeth are replaced, they should be cared for and treated if problems occur. Toothbrushing should start from the moment the first tooth appears in the child's mouth. Use a toothbrush and toothpaste appropriate for the child's age. Until the age of 4-5, brushing teeth is performed by parents after every meal. After this age, the child brushes his teeth twice a day, but under the supervision of an adult until he is 7 years old.

What is the effect of caries on temporary teeth?

    - The appearance of pain and dental infections

    - Early loss of these teeth that will affect the eruption of permanent teeth

    - Loss of space for permanent teeth and the appearance of dental crowding

    - The emergence of "fear of the dentist"

The child's first visit to the dentist should take place before the age of 3. The purpose of the visit is to familiarize the child with the noises, smell and appearance of the cabinet. Ideally, this visit should take place without treatment and not when the child is in pain. Thus, he will get used to the environment and will trust the doctor when dental treatment is needed.

What is Odontotherapy?

Odontotherapy is the branch of dentistry that deals with the prevention and treatment of dental caries. Dental caries is the most common disease affecting humans.

Dental caries is a chronic, destructive process of hard dental tissues.

The tooth consists of three hard structures: enamel, dentin and cementum. Inside the tooth is the dental pulp, which is a soft tissue.

Enamel is the hardest substance in the human body, even harder than bone. It consists of a collagen matrix on which mineral substances have been deposited. The enamel completely covers the dental crown, with a variable thickness, with maximum values on the vestibular and lingual / palatal surfaces of the teeth and minimum values in the neck region of the tooth (that area of the tooth that is at the level of the gum). Unfortunately, enamel is a tissue that cannot be regenerated.

Dentin is the second hardest dental tissue and the most voluminous. This tissue is formed by the action of specialized cells called odontoblasts and is regenerable. Dentin contains minerals, collagen fibers, etc., and is traversed by numerous microscopic canaliculi that contain extensions of odontoblasts. These nerve endings are responsible for the appearance of dental hypersensitivity, but also for the painful reaction to stimuli when tooth decay has formed. Dentin is covered with enamel on the crown and cementum on the root.

Cementum is the third hard tissue found in human teeth, made up of organic and inorganic substances, cells and collagen fibers. It covers the root of the tooth and ensures that it is firmly fixed in the bone.

The dental pulp is the soft tissue of the tooth, made up of nerve endings, blood vessels, lymphatic vessels and cells. The dental pulp has the following functions: dentinogenesis, nutritional and sensory function.

What are the symptoms of tooth decay?

    - the appearance of chalky white / brown spots

    - lack of dental hard substance: the presence of holes in the teeth, sharp edges perceived by the tongue / cheeks, or the hanging / breaking of dental floss

    - the appearance of pain of a medium intensity due to the action of chemical agents (sweet / sour), thermal stimuli (cold), or to the change of pressure, pain that disappears if the stimulus is removed

    - interdental gum is red, irritated, bleeds slightly when touched, a sign of interdental caries

What are the factors that contribute to the appearance of tooth decay?

    - genetic factor (inheritance of a dental structure more vulnerable to cariogenic acid attack, saliva quality, etc.)

    - food carbohydrates (especially sweets and flour products), in contact with saliva are broken down into glucose, sucrose. These substances will be used by bacteria present in the oral cavity to produce acids. Acids resulting from microbial activity cause enamel demineralization, and over time, lead to tooth decay.

    - excessive consumption of sweet, carbonated drinks

    - lack of oral hygiene or practicing incorrect sanitation techniques

Tooth decay can affect all tooth structures

Caries in enamel - It is the first stage of development of the caries process. Caries can develop on the smooth surfaces of the tooth (vestibular surface, palatal / lingual, interdental), but, most often, caries is formed in the grooves and dimples of the teeth, where food can be retained and cleaning cannot be achieved. Caries in enamel is painless, which is why it is discovered quite rarely in this first stage.

Dentine caries - After caries has evolved into the entire thickness of the enamel, the microorganisms will spread to the dentin. Due to the special structure of the dentin (it has many canaliculi and lower mineralization), caries evolves easier and faster at this level, sometimes without too many signs on the outside of the tooth. If the carious lesion remains undetected for a long time, the caries will evolve in surface and depth, undermining the enamel. Under the pressure of masticatory forces, the unsupported enamel fractures, resulting in carious cavities.

Root caries - This type of carious lesion occurs more often in adults, due to the fact that these patients have gingival retractions, because of the evolution of periodontal disease, aggressive brushing, and thus the tooth root is exposed to mouth contents. Caries in cementum evolves much faster towards dentin (because cementum is less mineralized than dentin or enamel). Root caries evolves more on the surface than in depth, unlike the other two types of caries.

Therefore, the prevention of tooth decay involves:

    - reducing carbohydrate intake

    - increase the consumption of hard foods (apples, carrots, etc. - which mechanically remove the bacterial plaque)

    - reducing the consumption of sweet drinks

    - toothbrushing

    - dental floss, mouth shower, mouthwash

    - dental check every 6 months

    - tooth sealing

    - tooth fluoridation<

What is Endodontics?

Endodontics is a branch of dentistry that deals with the treatment of diseases of the dental pulp and the apical periodontium (the tissues that are at the top of the tooth root).

Endodontic treatment involves removing the dental pulp, disinfecting the root canal and filling it with biocompatible materials.

How does inflammation/infection of the dental pulp occur?

In most cases, inflammation of the pulp occurs as a result of the evolution of dental caries. In the first stage, the dental pulp tries to defend itself from the aggression of caries by depositing secondary dentin. If the caries is treated in time, the dental pulp usually recovers and resumes its normal functions. However, if the patient postpones the visit to the dentist, the dental pulp can no longer cope with the aggression of dental caries, causing necrosis (nerve death) and infection.

The main symptom of pulpal inflammation is pain of moderate, localized intensity, which occurs on cold / sweet stimuli and ceases shortly after the removal of the stimulus (within a few minutes).

When bacterial microorganisms enter the pulp chamber and root canals, infection of the dental pulp occurs. From this moment on, the pain is much stronger, more diffuse, lasts longer and can appear spontaneously.

In some cases, inflammation, necrosis of the pulp and infection can go unnoticed by the patient. These situations can be discovered due to the following signs: the presence of a deep caries with sharp edges and unpleasant odor, the tooth has a matte appearance, has a modified coloration (yellow-gray or brown), does not react to thermal agents (cold, hot).

Other causes of pulp inflammation / infection:

    - very sudden variations in temperature (during the meal, the sudden transition from high temperature to low temperature)

    - preparation of dental cavities for a filling and grinding teeth without using water cooling, after treating a deep caries without using material for the protection of the dental pulp

    - dental fractures

    - incorrectly adapted prosthetic works

Stages of endodontic treatment:

    - nerve removal

    - disinfection of root canals

    - obstruction of the root canal system

    - tooth reconstruction

Endodontic treatment is performed under local anesthesia, to avoid pain. In order to carry out this treatment, special needles and cutters are used for access to the root canal. In addition to these tools, antiseptics are used to allow the complete removal of dental pulp residues and to remove microorganisms located at this level. When complete cleaning of the root canals has been performed, they will be sealed with specific sealing materials to prevent infiltration of saliva and bacteria. At the end of this stage, the tooth will be rebuilt with filling material and / or covered with a coating crown.

Endodontic treatment can be performed in one or more sessions, depending on the number of canals, the extent and severity of the infection, etc.

Diseases of the apical periodontitis (apical periodontitis)

Causes of apical periodontitis: evolution of inflammation / infection of the untreated dental pulp, towards the root tip and neighboring tissues, traumas (bruxism, defective prosthetic works, incorrectly adapted fillings, traumas generated after endodontic treatment), substances used in endodontic treatment, etc. Apical periodontitis can be: acute or chronic.

The symptoms of acute apical periodontitis are: spontaneous, continuous or pulsating pain when touching the tooth, bite pain, percussion sensitivity, and the gum near the tip of the root turns red. This situation is not evident on the radiograph. The symptoms of chronic apical periodontitis are less obvious. Most often, this periodontitis goes unnoticed, being discovered by chance in a radiographic examination. Only at the time of exacerbation do specific signs of the acute form appear.

Untreated, the infection continues to evolve, eroding the bone and externalizing to the gums in the form of an apical abscess that collects pus. Once the infection finds a way to eliminate it, the gums can heal, the infection becomes chronic and under certain conditions exacerbation can occur.

The treatment of apical periodontitis (acute or chronic) is similar to the classic endodontic treatment. The only difference is given by the number of treatment sessions, more in the case of periodontitis.

The advantages of endodontic treatment: elimination of pain, lengthening the lifespan of the tooth on the arch, etc.

Disadvantages of endodontic treatment: the tooth can change color slightly, become friable, can fracture easily, etc. For these reasons, it is preferred to cover the tooth with a crown after an endodontic treatment to increase its strength and lifespan in the oral cavity.

In order to be able to perform a correct and high-quality endodontic treatment, it is necessary to perform dental radiographs. An initial X-ray is needed (to be able to see the number of roots, their morphology, the extent of the infection, etc.), a final X-ray (to be able to assess the quality of the canal filling) and control X-rays (to be able to follow up the healing of the apical tissues).

What is Cosmetic Dentistry?

Cosmetic Dentistry or dental aesthetics arose from people's desire to have a perfect smile. This specialization is intended for patients who want to improve the appearance of their teeth.

The main reasons why patients nowadays go to a dental clinic are those related to dental aesthetics. It is well known that the smile has a very important role in people's lives.

For this reason, the Ortho Image Dental Clinic offers high quality services, adapted to the needs and desires of the patient, so that you get the smile you have always dreamed of.

If you want to add sparkles to your smile, the Ortho Image Dental Clinic offers you the possibility to apply dental jewelry without affecting the structure and integrity of the teeth, by simply gluing them on the surface of the teeth.