Archives: Lexicon

During a root canal treatment, the tooth interior, the so-called vital pulp is removed, so that the tooth is virtually dead, but so often the inflammation can be eliminated and the tooth can be obtained. The pulp is removed using special needles and the canal containing the pulp is thoroughly cleaned. The thoroughness of the treatment is very much related to the long-term success of the root canal treatment, because the canal must be fully cleaned on the one hand and very precisely sealed.
For this procedure, the dentist has various state-of-the-art equipment available. The diagnosis is made by small X-rays of the affected tooth, in justified cases even 3D C-scans are taken. To measure the parameters of the canal, the dentist can use an apex locator, during the procedure the dentist can use a magnifying glass or a microscope to do the very detailed work.
After the pulp has been removed, a medical irrigation is first made and the canal is filled either provisionally or definitively with root filling material. Often only provisionally filled in the first place because this way the dentist can check after a few weeks, how the tooth has responded to the medical care. If necessary, this process can then be repeated, often several times before the dentist brings in the definitive filling.

Wisdom teeth grow in at the back of the mouth, behind your molars. There is a set on the bottom as well as the top. Wisdom teeth often grow in crooked, sideways, or otherwise misaligned. As they grow in, they can push on other teeth, causing problems of overcrowding and misalignment for them as well.

Wisdom teeth are believed to be “evolutionary relics,” and were helpful to our distant ancestors who ate diets that consisted of rougher foods like sticks and reed plants. As teeth wore down or fell out, wisdom teeth provided replacements. Nowadays, with modern advancements in oral hygiene and softer diets, we don’t need these replacement teeth, but they still grow in. Essentially, our mouths can hold 28 teeth, but including wisdom teeth, we have about 32 teeth all vying for space. Wisdom teeth symptoms such as overcrowding, bone and nerve damage, infection, etc. can all result.

A teeth infection occurs when another organism enters your body and causes disease. The organisms that cause infections are very diverse and can include things like viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites.

You can acquire an infection in many different ways, such as directly from a person with an infection, via contaminated food or water, and even through the bite of an insect.

A sore or throbbing tooth is one of the first signs of a problem. Left untreated, what may have been an uncomplicated issue can become infected, resulting in pain, redness, swelling and a high fever that indicates your body is attempting to fight the infection. You might also notice a foul taste in your mouth or bad breath that won’t go away with brushing or rinsing with a mouthwash. In some cases, you may have a broken tooth, but infections can often go undetected deep within the core of teeth, without any outward signs other than pain and swelling.

One of the most common esthetic concerns associated with the periodontal tissues is gingival recession. Gingival recession is the exposure of root surfaces due to apical migration of the gingival tissue margins; gingival margin migrates apical to the cementoenamel junction. Although it rarely results in tooth loss, marginal tissue recession is associated with thermal and tactile sensitivity, esthetic complaints, and a tendency toward root caries. This paper reviews etiology, consequences, and the available surgical procedures for the coverage of exposed root surfaces, including three case reports.

The dental laboratory’s primary role in restorative dentistry is to perfectly copy all of the functional and esthetic parameters that have been defined by the dentist into a restorative solution. Throughout the entire restorative process, from the initial patient consultation, diagnosis, and treatment planning to final restoration placement, the communication routes between the dentist and the laboratory technician now can provide a complete transfer of information. Functional components, occlusal parameters, phonetics, and esthetic requirements are just some of the essential types of information that are necessary for technicians to complete the fabrication of successful, functional, and esthetic restorations.

A ceramic dental crown is a crown that is made entirely out of a ceramic material such as porcelain. Porcelain is a type of ceramic that contains a type of clay called kaolin. It is white and very hard, making it a good choice for use in a crown. The difference between an all-ceramic (porcelain) crown and a porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) crown is that in the case of a PFM crown, the part of the crown that actually goes over your tooth is made of metal. The porcelain layer is attached to the metal and makes the crown look like a regular tooth.