CAUSES OF TOOTH DISCOLOURATION

Tooth discolouration is the reason many people cannot smile in public hence a low self-esteem.

Tooth discoloration can affect a single tooth/more than one tooth (localized) or all the teeth (generalized).

The causes of tooth discolouration are:

Hereditary and acquired causes

Hereditary causes:

Inherited from one or both parents in forms of amelogenesis imperfect and dentinogenesis imperfect. This results in appearance as shown below which is quite unsightly!

 

Acquired causes include:

1.  Trauma


14 year old Nigerian male

From fall, domestic violence and motor accident.

Trauma is the commonest cause of a single tooth discoloration which hinders your smile.The colour varies from grey to brown and results from hemorrhage and products of pulp death. This can be taken care of by the dentist to improve your smile and ultimately regain your self-esteem. What you need is pulp therapy and an advance restorative procedure which could be a veneer or a jacket crown to cover the teeth amongst other treatment options which is case specific. 



2.Infection
e.g measles and syphilitic infection of the pregnant mother will cause abnormal development of the developing baby teeth giving  appearances such as this shown below.

 

 
 

3. Drugs
e.g tetracycline intake during pregnancy and in infancy. The drug crosses the placenta to affect the teeth of developing baby to give the appearance shown below.

 

 

4. Poor oral hygiene
From improper tooth brushing techniques and inadequacy of tooth brushing will result in plaque and calculus accumulation in the mouth,this inturn causes periodontitis and subsequent abscess.If this is left unattended to,it causes osteomyelitis of the jaw.
 

5.Others:
Smoking, Excess fluoride in water, Malnutrition e.g Vitamin D deficiency and maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy are other causes of tooth discoloration.  
Stains from food,colanut ,beverages and blood tonic are included in the list.         

Which of the above conditions best describe what you have? Contact us for help towards an improved smile and ultimately restore your self-esteem.
Make your complaints heared on this blog for help towards a healthy oral health.

 

 

AVULSED TOOTH

AVULSED TOOTH

Empty socket of an avulsed tooth

This refers to a tooth out of its socket usually following trauma which could result from an accident (by car/motor cycle) a fall, or domestic violence. It is a dental emergency necessitating immediate treatment. It is a common occurrence in children and usually due to a fall in this age group.

An avulsed tooth can be re implanted back into the socket if certain criteria are met.

Only the permanent teeth can be re implanted and not the deciduous teeth.

Parents, guardian and neighbors should note the safe keeping of these teeth as will be described.

How to keep an avulsed tooth

Pick tooth up by the crown

Do not touch the root

The teeth are best kept in a moist medium as a transport route to the dentist for re implantation. They are best re implanted within the first hour for optimum prognosis.

Transport media

Hanks balanced salt solution (HBSS), Saliva, Normal saline, Fresh whole milk.

HBSS is the best medium of transportation while others serve as substitutes.

It is important for a school establishment involved with children to make hanks balanced salt solution (HBSS) a component of their first aid kit because the school playground is a possible location of the accidents that result in avulsion of teeth.

Information for parents

Rinse the tooth with water without touching the root

If the tooth is devoid of dirt (in case of avulsion on a rug in the house) place it back in the socket and tell affected person to bite on a clean handkerchief, but in case it happens on the road/playground it is better to transport in the available medium to the dentist for evaluation and treatment.

Please do not keep the tooth in a handkerchief, tissue paper or other dry media

The cheek of the patient or parents of patients are better media in the absence of the media listed above. Water should be the last resort in case of absence of HBSS, saliva and Normal saline but note that it is associated with poor prognosis.

Consult only the dentist for the treatment of this condition as soon as possible

Prompt treatment is the best because the earlier the implantation the better the prognosis

HAVE YOU SEEN A BABY BORN WITH TOOTH/TEETH

If yes,

what was your reacion?
what do you think of the baby?
How do you relate with the parents?
what advice /help did you render?
If no,then learn today that it is possible.

Baby born with tooth/teeth is a physiological occurrence.

It is possible for a child to be born with tooth/teeth.

The tooth/teeth can be found in any area of the gum but the lower gum is commonly affected.

Baby is only considererd an early erupter because the tooth/teeth are usually part of the deciduous

(milk teeth) series which have erupted prematurely while others are supernumerary teeth (extra teeth).

At times they may be calcified tissues in the mouth resembling tooth structure and not actuallly

a tooth.When these teeth are noticed at birth,they are called natal teeth and when found in the first

28-30days of life they are called neonatal teeth.

Many of the teeth may be loose in the mouth which eventually becomes firm with time while some are rigid at the onset.
Research have shown that they lack root development.

What to do:
Take your baby to the dentist/physician close to you not a nurse or other paramedics.

The dentist will remove them without difficulty after thorough evaluation
The dentist will also assess the baby for possible conditions that natal teeth are associated with and refer appropriately if present.
Please do not forcefully remove the tooth/teeth on your own in the house because certain requirements must be met before the doctor removes the teeth.
Please do not hide the baby because that could be dangerous.
The dentist removes them to prevent child from aspirating them during breast feeding , to prevent trauma to the nursing mother's breast as well as prevention of psychological and emotional trauma to both parents.
Rest assured that baby will grow normally if child does not have a syndromic state necessitating further treatment.

If you are a neigbour:

Inform the parents that there is no problem with the baby.

Baby is not abnormal and no superstitious belief is correct about this condition.
Reasure the parent and encourage them to feed baby normally.

Please do not advise them to consult herbalist for there is no reason for that.
For more information contact us.

NATAL TEETH

Mobile teeth

Bone loss around teeth hence mobility

Gingival recession around a mobile tooth

This is the medical term for teeth that are "shaking"
Your teeth are mobile when they are not rigid within the socket. Causes of teeth mobility includes the following:
1. Chronic irritation from plaque/calculus
Prolonged accumulation of plague and calculus results from inadequate toothbrushing with or without improper brushing technique.This settles at the bottom of teeth(root area)to irritate the gum and the teeth socket hence destruction of the bone holding the teeth and mobility. 2. Trauma
Injury sustained to the jaws in an accident or domestic violence can displace the tooth from it's socket hence it's mobility . 3. Infection e.g periodontitis
Periodontitis is the inflammation of the periodontium i.e the structures that hold the teeth in place namely the gingiva,cementum and the periodontal ligament.Infection of this structure leads to mobility of teeth.
Infection causes inflammation of the structure (periodontium) holding the teeth thus the mobility. 4. Neoplasia e.g cancer
Neoplasia is abnormal tissue growth which can be benign or malignant .This can originate from soft or hard tissues of the mouth and face. 5.congenital conditions
Certain syndromic states found at birth can be responsible for tooth mobility.e.g chidiak-higashi syndrome. 6. Kidney disease can also cause periodontitis and subsequent mobility of teeth Effects of mobile teeth include:
1. Pain
2. Difficulty in eating
2. Malocclusion
3. Tooth loss
For solutions to teeth mobility: consult your dentist.
For more information and help: contact us.

Why delay?Consult a dentist fast

This is to demonstrate how big a jaw mass can be.
This mass started as a small nodule and increased in size over a long time.
Its size increases gradually if it's an infection or a benign tumour and grows rapidly if it's a malignancy(cancer). Why endure the pain?
Why wait till this stage?
Why consult herbalists?
Why not your doctor ?