Teeth are the pillars of your face. If the pillars collapse the whole structure collapses. The loss of teeth is not looked into by most in a serious manner as they are 32 in number. Some believe that the teeth have to shed by retirement or at least when you are 70. Is it so? No never.

If teeth are for chewing food then it needs to stay until you lose hunger. It is a vital organ for proper digestion. Have you wondered why your checks hollow in when your back teeth are lost? It is just because you are not chewing and the muscles used for chewing are the muscles that build your cheek. If they are wasted then you will have droopy or hollowed in cheeks.

HOW TO SAVE YOUR TEETH? Proper hygiene is a must for keeping your teeth in good condition. Professional check-ups are also extremely important because human life style and the food habits have evolved drastically. The derogatory effects are felt on the teeth as well just like other lifestyle diseases.

WHAT CAUSES TOOTH LOSS? The primary cause of tooth loss is caries or dental decay. All decayed teeth without pain could be restored with restorative materials like silver amalgam (previously used) tooth coloured composite nano-ceramic fillings. Once these teeth have large cavities; they need to be reinforced with crowns or caps. The caries, if it progresses may cause pain and/ or swelling which then may need root canal therapy or endodontic treatment.

WHAT IS A ROOT CANAL TREATMENT? Most of the people think that the root canal treatment is cutting of root or need surgical assistance. This is because they might have undergone apicoectomy (which was done routinely in the past for painful teeth where in the tip of the roots of the teeth were surgically removed along with infection) Thanks to the latest technology root canal therapy has evolved into a painless single visit non-surgical treatment that can alleviate infection and inflammation in a predictable manner. The use of laser & ozone disinfection combined with rotary instrumentation and antibiotic lavage has reduced the time and efforts for both patient & doctor alike. Digital radiovisuography (RVG) and apex locators are used to check the effectiveness and correctness of the filling.

HOW IS ROOT CANAL THERAPY DONE? The caries & decayed parts of the teeth are removed using high speed hand pieces under local anesthetics. The canals are traced using fine files and infectious and inflammatory tissues in the pulp are removed using rotary instruments & disinfectants including laser & ozone. With the use of apex locators & RVG the length of the root is estimated.

Cleaning & shaping is done till the end of the root to prepare for the final filling with gutta-percha & cement. A Postoperative radiograph is taken to check the accuracy of the filling and the tooth is reinforced by core building. If the tooth is weak then it may require a crown to prevent it from fracturing.

The second major reason for tooth loss is periodontal disease or gum disease caused due to accumulation of plaque and calculus that irritates the gums to retract &recede. The periodontal problems could also treated especially if the patient is motivated enough to come for follow ups. The periodontal therapy is also a single day procedure done by a periodontist by cleaning the inter dental and the intricate areas off the calculus and grafting with allogenous auto grafts the bony defects around the tooth as they help the tooth to be held together on the bone. Loose teeth may need splinting along with gum treatment to save them.

The other reason for teeth loss is trauma from occlusion which is caused due to an improper contact or too much pressure due to loss of other teeth. This could be corrected by proper replacement of missing teeth & correction of occlusal irregularities. Whatever may be the problem correct it as soon as possible to get better results.

Keep your natural teeth come what may. God given teeth are always better than replaced ones. So Keep them in good condition & enjoy smiling.

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