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The very phrase “root canal” sends shivers up one’s spine. Although this common dental procedure is synonymous with excruciating pain, the actual experience, thankfully, doesn’t live up to its reputation.

Work on the tooth’s root canal is necessary when a tooth has becomes seriously decayed or infected. In such cases, the dentist removes the pulp and nerve from inside the tooth (the “root canal”), cleans the cavity and seals it. The root canal procedure prevents infection from spreading to surrounding tissue and causing even more serious problems.

Root canal procedures have a high rate of success — in the neighborhood of 95%. Once the dentist has determined root canal work is necessary, the procedure typically occurs over the span of one or two weeks. After the debris is removed from the tooth, it may be left unsealed, giving any infection time to resolve. Later, a permanent filling/crown is applied, and in some cases, further restoration or cosmetic treatments may be done. (more…)

Children generally lose their first tooth around the age of 6 or 7. For most kids, it’s an extremely exciting thing to have happen to them, likely because of the chance that the Tooth Fairy will come by while they’re sleeping.

For some kids and parents though, it can be somewhat traumatic. Sometimes the “tonguing” of the tooth can be irresistible yet produce a pain the child may have never had before. Other times, it may be “hanging by a thread” and be begging to be yanked, but the child is frightened or the parent is squeamish to go through with it. (more…)

Your teeth may look simple enough from the the outside, but like many things in nature, teeth are deceptively complex.

The crown of your tooth is the portion of a tooth that rests above the gum line — the part we can see. The rest of the tooth, the part that rests below the gum line, is called the root. The root makes up about two thirds of the overall length of a tooth. Deep inside the tooth is the soft, pulpy material called the pulp. Pulp contains extremely sensitive nerves and blood, which keeps the tooth alive. Protecting the pulp is a layer of tissue known as dentin. Dentin, harder than pulp, protects it and contains calcium. The outer covering of the tooth is called enamel. Most of us know how strong enamel is — in fact, it is the hardest substance in our bodies, stronger even than bones.

Tooth Trivia

• 40% of people over the age of 65 have lost some or all of their teeth. Brush and floss regularly!
• Teeth are as unique as fingerprints. (That’s why TV crime shows sometimes identify criminals by their bite marks.)
• Lefties tend to chew on the left side of their mouth. Righties tend to chew on the right.
• Switch from sugar to Lippa Dulcis. This rare plant found in Mexico is 1000 times sweeter than sugar and does not cause tooth decay.
• Teeth begin to grow in a human fetus after only 6 weeks.