Dental Prosthesis
Dental prosthesis treatment is the process of replacing the deteriorated chewing function with biocompatible materials as a result of the loss of teeth due to various reasons (caries, gum disease, etc.). In general, tooth loss can occur as a result of not treating caries and gingiva diseases. Also, tooth loss can occurs as a result of some accidents. For this reason, a dental prosthesis should be made to replace the lost tooth, which will meet the functional and aesthetic needs.
What is the Purpose of Dental Prosthesis Treatment? (oku baştan)
In the treatment, while we are restoring the lost functions of the patient at the same time, we are correcting the deteriorated speech abilities. With ensuring oral health, our aim is to maintain both the health and aesthetic appearance of the patient. Also, psychological support is provided to the individuals who have to live with missing or ruined teeth. Because the individuals who have aesthetic problems in their teeth is more likely to have problems in laughing and speaking abilities. In addition to these functional disorders, it can also cause damage to the sense of self-confidence in people. It is a fact that the treatments applied to these people increase the quality of life.
Types of Dental Prosthesis :
- Implant-supported Prostheses (fixed or removable)
- Single Crowns (in the form of a single tooth veneer, fixed)
- Bridges(fixed)
- Total Dentures (Applied to mouths with no teeth. Used in later ages, removable)
- Partial Dentures (It is applied to partially toothless mouths. Hooks or nails called crochet, which are on the teeth are used, removable)
- Precision-retained Dentures (They are also metal-supported dentures without hooks applied to partially toothless mouths, removable)
How to Clean?
Whether fixed or removable, the first option in denture cleaning is mechanical cleaning with a brush and paste. Cleaning of removable dentures is also done with some cleaning agents and materials. Cleaning can be achieved by means of an effervescent tablet placed in water. In addition, partial removable dentures can be removed from the mouth and cleaned and replaced after cleaning the existing teeth in the mouth.
Porcelain Laminates (Laminate Veneer)
Laminate Veneer (porcelain lamina) are porcelain leaves that are adhered to the tooth by removing only the minimum material from the front surface of the teeth. These leaves, which are very thin (0,3,-0.5 mm), are specially prepared in the desired color, length and forms.
In this method, very little enamel tissue is removed from the tooth, unlike conventional porcelain crowns. For this reason, it is the most conservative (preventive) treatment that can be done. Laminate Veneer gives satisfactory results with a perfect quality that cannot be distinguished from real teeth with its very thin, metal-free and light transmittance features.
The implementation of procedure is very simple and short. First, measurements are taken from the patient and an exemplary model study is carried out in the laboratory. The patient can able to see the last phase of this model before the teeth are prepared. Then the teeth are prepared with a painless procedure. After the main measurement is taken, a temporary veneer is bonded. Thus, the teeth are protected from external influences.
Later, a model is created according to final measurements and then porcelain laminates are prepared. It is bonded to the teeth with a special technique and a material called “resin adhesive”. As a result of the bonding process, it is not possible to separate the lamina from the tooth. Therefore, they are very resistant to breakage.
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
What is Oral, Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery?
Oral, dental and maxillofacial surgery, popularly known as maxillofacial surgery in our country, covers surgical procedures to be performed on impacted teeth.
What does impacted tooth mean?
Teeth that cannot take their place in the mouth for various reasons even though it is time to erupt are called impacted teeth.
What are the complaints that impacted teeth can cause?
INFECTION: Food residues constantly enter between the semi-impacted tooth and the gingiva above it. This area cannot be cleaned with a toothbrush. As a result, undesirable conditions such as infection and bad breath may occur. They can cause recurrent infections, especially in semi-impacted teeth. These soft tissue infections are sometimes very severe and may require antibiotic treatment and hospital conditions. Severe infections can cause swelling of the face, submandibular abscesses and even infections that spread to the cheek, neck and chest.
BAD BREATH: Due to the growth of bacteria in the areas formed between the semi-impacted wisdom teeth and the gingiva, bad breath can occur especially in the morning.
CARIES: A wisdom tooth which is in a bad position can cause decay and loss of the adjacent tooth. It can even rot the roots of the tooth in front of it. These bruises can cause severe infections in the bone and excruciating pain.
PRESSURE PAIN: If an impacted wisdom tooth applies pressure to neighboring teeth during eruption, a pain may also be felt due to compression. In some cases, this pressure leads to abrasion
CROSSED TEETH: Although there is no definitive study on this subject, impacted wisdom teeth may cause crowding in the front teeth over time.
HEADACHES: They may cause headache, eye, face and shoulder pain, which has unknown cause. The pains are blunt, continuous and unresponsive to any analgesic.
FOCAL FOCUS OF INFECTION: The human body is constantly at war with bacteria that cannot be cleaned in around impacted teeth. This means that there is a constant influx of bacteria from impacted teeth into the blood. This is of great importance in patients who has rheumatism and heart disease. Therefore, it is necessary to extract impacted teeth at later ages. In advancing ages, tooth extraction becomes difficult due to the difficulty of impacted tooth extraction and the lack of general health.
CYST AND TUMOR FORMATION: According to studies conducted in Turkey, the probability of an impacted wisdom tooth to damage the lateral tooth or cause cyst formation is 26%. This is a high rate and it is a sign that an impacted wisdom tooth in one out of every four people may form a cyst. It also indicates damage to the tooth in front of it or causing bone destruction. If a cyst has formed, the tooth should be extracted and the cyst cleaned to prevent further growth and bone destruction. Rarely, cysts originating from wisdom teeth can spread to very large areas and are diagnosed incidentally on X-rays. In this way, they do not cause the slightest discomfort to the patient. According to a study conducted in the Turkish population, it has also been shown that impacted teeth can cause benign or malignant tumors, albeit very rarely.
Who can extract impacted teeth?
Dentists receive special training in order to become a specialist in oral, dental and maxillofacial diseases and surgery. During their specialization, they perform the surgical procedure of impacted teeth as a routine procedure.
Although it does not cause any discomfort, why should a wisdom tooth with a bad position should be removed?
The bad position of the tooth alone is a sufficient reason for infection In such a situation, the probability of occurrence of the mentioned problems is very high. Moreover, such problems can develop suddenly and unexpectedly. Impacted teeth should be extracted as soon as they are noticed in order to prevent possible future complaints (infection, cyst, etc.).
What is the best time for wisdom teeth extraction?
Theoretically, it is the time when 2/3 of the tooth root is formed, which often coincides with the age range of 18-22. Operations at a young age are technically easier, and recovery occurs more quickly and smoothly. Operations performed over the age of 40 become quite difficult. In addition, side effects increase with increasing age and the recovery period is prolonged.
ORAL CANCERS AND CYSTS
The inside of the mouth is not as resistant to physical damage as the skin of the body. Mouth structure is easily damaged due to heat and mechanical trauma. While the wounds on the skin can be covered with a bandage, damages in the mouth can’t be covered. Great attention should be paid to oral hygiene in wounds formed in the mouth, and the recommendations of the physician should be followed carefully.
Wounds that do not heal for a long time (2-3 weeks) should not be neglected and should be examined by a physician as soon as possible. Since recurring wounds in the mouth may be a sign of another disease, physician control should be done without delay. Oral cancers constitute 3% of all cancers. All over the world, 360,000 people are diagnosed with oral cancers annually. Smoking and alcohol use are the leading causes of this disease. 70% of people diagnosed with oral cancer were smoking regularly. Studies have shown that smoking increases the risk of contracting this disease 2-12 times. The success rate in the treatment of these diseases depends on early diagnosis. In cases that are delayed, the treatment process is difficult and the chance of success in treatment decreases. It is recommended that everyone in the risk group need to have regular dental examinations frequently.
Wisdom Teeth Operations
Wisdom teeth erupt between the ages of 18-25 (average 19 years). Wisdom teeth usually cannot take their place in the dental arch and as a result, they may remain in the jawbone as fully or partially impacted. The biggest reason why they cannot take their place in the dental arch is that the jawbone is too narrow to contain the entire tooth series.
These teeth directly or indirectly cause aesthetic and health problems in patients. While wisdom teeth erupt in jaws with limited space, they apply pressure to other teeth in the tooth row in order to open a space for them. This situation deteriorates the position of the teeth that it presses and causes crookedness in advanced ages. Patients may experience great difficulties in infections caused by wisdom teeth. Sometimes it is not possible to determine exactly where the pain comes from. Considering that these pains originate from neighboring areas such as ears, tonsils and sinuses, patients waste time in other branch clinics. Infections arising from these teeth do not cause serious health problems with the development of antibiotics today. However, due to the area where these teeth are located, it causes locking in the jaw, eating and speaking difficulties. This situation causes fatigue due to malnutrition as well as pain in patients. On the other hand, it creates workforce losses in working patients.
Before the age of 18, x-ray films of the patients should be taken and the condition of these teeth should be evaluated by the dentist by taking the opinions of the orthodontist and maxillofacial surgeon. The tooth causing the infection should be extracted as soon as possible after the necessary treatment (antibiotic treatment, abscess drainage). Recurrence of infection caused by delayed extraction is inevitable. Extraction of impacted teeth without complaints is controversial. Although diseases such as cysts, tumors and cancer arising from impacted teeth that are not extracted are rare, they require larger surgical procedures when they occur.
Surgical extraction of these teeth, which remain embedded in the jaw, should be performed by a specialist physician in modern conditions. The operation is performed under local anesthesia. On the other hand, general anesthesia, is preferred in patients who have had all their wisdom teeth removed and who have a nausea reflex and excessive fear. The operation usually takes 30-45 minutes. Complaints are expected minimal after the operation performed under ideal conditions and with a specialist team. The presence of oedema (swelling) due to the healing process of the extraction should be considered normal.