DR. MAITHILI DESHPANDE

A mother and her daughter aged 16 years visited my clinic. Her teeth were fine with no decay but her front teeth had spacing between them and they appeared to be irregular in shape. So she was not comfortable with her smile and would always smile with her lips closed.                                                                                        She was also feeling low in confidence because of the same reason and wanted a solution to her complaint.  So I first made Impressions for her upper and lower teeth and made study models to evaluate the spacing,  positions of upper and lower teeth during chewing or biting and accordingly made a treatment plan. First option was to start with orthodontic treatment using braces to correct the spacing between her te...

When you go to Dental Office with pain or decayed tooth, Dentist takes x ray to check depth of decay. Treatment of that tooth depends on depth of decay. Let's see structure of Tooth first. Structure of tooth- To know more about Dental Filling & Root Canal Treatment Click here Enamel - It is outermost layer of tooth. It is hard covering of tooth.  Dentin- It lies inside the enamel. It is softer than enamel. Pulp - It is innermost layer. It contains blood vessels and nerves.  Now let's see what would be the treatment if the decay lies in Enamel, decay lies in Dentin and decay lies in pulp. Decay lies in Enamel- if decay lies in enamel then treatment would be just Dental Filling or Restoration. Decay lies in Dentin- if decay lies in Dentin then treatment would be Dental Filling or Restoration.  Decay involves Pulp-If decay involves pulp  then treatment would be Root Canal Treatment.

  Dental Floss is the most widely recommended tool for removing plaque from proximal tooth surfaces. Dental flossing can be done by string Flossing, Air flossing and Water flossing.   Most common and economical way is string flossing. String comes in two packaging.  1) String in reel                                                 2)String with floss holder.                                                        Floss is available as a multifilament nylon yarn that is bonded or non bonded, wax or non-waxed, twisted or non twisted.   Floss with floss holder are helpful for handicapped and hospitalized patients in cleaning the teeth.  Technique of Floosing -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cBA2vrQ...

A proper brushing technique is first step for maintaining healthy teeth and gums. And also it helps to minimise the risk of decay and gum disease, the major causes of tooth loss.  Few things you need to take care before brushing. 1)Use soft bristle toothbrush. 2)Use fluoridated toothpaste. 3)Change your brush every three to four months. 4) Brush your teeth twice a day one in morning one at night before going to bed for 2 to 3 minute. 5)Take pea sized toothpaste for brushing your teeth. 6)Always brush your teeth using toothpaste and toothbrush only. Brushing technique 1) Back teeth 2) Upper front 3) Lower front  4)Upper front from inside  5)Lower front from inside  6)Platforms i.e. chewing surface of teeth  7)back teeth from inside  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4QHVVgtfDk&t=110s                                          1)Back Teeth-First close you...

  Follow this five things, you can avoid most of the Dental problems.   1 Brush your teeth twice a day                                                                  Dentist recommends brushing your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.  W hen you brush your teeth, it removes  food and plaque( a sticky white film that forms on your teeth and it contains bacteria). Keep minimum half an hour gap between your meal and brushing. If you have eaten an acidic food or drink,  avoid brushing your teeth immediately. Few tips to remember regarding brushing your teeth.        - Always use soft toothbrush. Avoid medium and hard toothbrush.                ...

                                                                                                                                   Tooth Anatomy   It’s relevance to Decay & Treatment  Tooth Has Following Parts & layers. 1)Enamel 2)Dentin 3)Pulp 4)Crown 5)Root      1)Enamel Enamel is outermost layer of our tooth. It is a hardest part of our body.   Because of its hardness, bacteria takes long time to penetrate this layer. Once they penetrate this layer, it will become easy for them to progress further. You don’t get any kind of sensitivity or pain when decay restricts in ename...