Vashi2Panvel.com: Navi Mumbai: October 17 :
As a kid, many of us must have put our milk teeth under our pillows at night so that the tooth fairy could take away the tooth and leave some cash instead. As a kid, one never thought whether losing a tooth continue to be an equally exciting event when one became an adult. In fact, for an adult, losing a tooth is the culmination of a painful episode. Till not long ago, people thought of dentists as tormentors or torturers with a drill in one hand and an extraction forceps in the other. The only answer for toothache was an extraction of the offending tooth.

Luckily for us, times have changed. The focus has moved from extraction to preserving the natural teeth. For very small decayed part of the tooth, micro fillings can be done. Have you ever laughed out aloud and people said, what is that ugly black thing on your tooth? Amalgam or dark black fillings are soon to be a thing of the past. Old amalgam black fillings give rise to micro-fractures in the enamel of the tooth which eventually may lead to loss of tooth. More over, there has been immense debate over the use of amalgam in dentistry. Amalgam contains mercury as a major component, which is poisonous. Now days, many dentists use tooth-colored material (which do not contain any harmful substances) to fill the tooth. Apart from the cosmetic point of view, these filling materials are much safer to use for a patient and for a dentist.

Cervical abrasions or V-shaped defects on the tooth just above the gum level are often caused by hard tooth brushing. This usually leads to extra sensitivity of the tooth to cold things which can be extremely distressing to the patient. Instead of the tooth being extracted, many a times these cavities can be filled up by the dentist exercising great care. Thus, the affected tooth can be saved.

The tooth is a living tissue. It is kept alive by the pulp in the centre of the tooth. The pulp is the place where blood, nutrients and nerves are present.
In case, the infection in the tooth has reached the pulp of the tooth, then one can get pain without any provocation also. To get relief from the pain, one must either get the tooth extracted or undergo a root canal treatment.
The tooth can occasionally be saved by a procedure called pulp capping in which a medicament is put on the pulp. After a few weeks, the dentist checks the condition of the tooth. If the result is positive, then the tooth need not be root canal treated. If not, then the root canal treatment is advisable.

Under the root canal treatment, the nerves and blood vessels in the pulp and root of the tooth are taken out and replaced with a biocompatible material. A good root canal treatment preserves the tooth for a good five more years. The dentists’ who are particular about the good quality of work use a microscope to do a root canal treatment, the procedure is called micro endodontics. With the use of a microscope, the success rate of a root canal treatment increases several fold.

In general, the tooth becomes weak after a root canal treatment and is highly susceptible to fracture. To strengthen the root, the dentist can put a screw or a post either made of an alloy or resin based material into the root canal, to build a core for the crown of the tooth. The core and tooth are prepared in such a way that a ‘cap’ or a crown can be put on the tooth.
The outcome of this is beautiful to see.

People often ask me, whether it is worth going through dental treatment or root canal to preserve their teeth? My response to such a question is to ask the following questions: What do you think, for a marginal difference in time and cost, would you not want to keep your own natural teeth so as to retain the normal feel of chewing, perception and spatial orientation while chewing and talking? Or would you prefer to have dentures, which can, at times, be very troublesome? Above all, would you not like to say a nice good bye to the tooth fairy for sometime?

Disclaimer: If you have any problem with your tooth, please contact your dentist for advice. Every treatment plan has necessarily to be given according to the clinical conditions of the patient, so the treatment plan is custom made and cannot be generalized.

Dr. Manasi Bhargava (D.M.D)
Dr. Bartakke’s Dental Clinic,
108, Cornelian Property,
August Kranti Marg,
Opposite Cumballa Hill Hospital.
Kemps Corner
Mumbai- 400036