Explore the Dentistry Blog
Newsroom
Discover the Antalya Dental Hospital dentistry blog. Here we feature articles about oral health and wellness topics, our Antalya Dental Hospital owners and clinicians, and more!
Computed tomography of maxillofacial department (teeth picture in 3D) –
Frequently Asked Questions About Dental Health
FAQs
Our FAQs are the most commonly-asked questions put to our Dental Helpline over the last year. If you have a question for us, you can ask our Dental Helpline by telephone or email. Alternatively, please take a look at our library of oral health information, which contains a wide range of oral health advice in an easy-to-understand Q&A format.
You should always tell your dental team if you are pregnant. They will take extra care and will probably not use x-rays unless they really have to, especially during the first three months.
For over 150 years standard fillings have been made out of a silvery-grey material called ‘amalgam’. This is considered one of the strongest and longest-lasting materials for fillings. However, many people find it unattractive and some are concerned about possible health risks.
White fillings are now a popular alternative to amalgam fillings. The new dental materials mean it is much easier to find a perfect match for the shade of a particular tooth. In most cases, it is quite impossible to see that the tooth even has a filling. Sometimes white filling material can be used to cover unsightly marks on teeth, in a similar way to veneers.
Several medications are available to help create more relaxed, comfortable dental visits. Some drugs control pain, some help you relax, and others put you into a deep sleep-like state during dental treatment. You and your dentist can discuss a number of factors when deciding which drugs to use for your treatment. The type of procedure, your overall health, history of allergies and your anxiety level are considered when determining which approach is best for your particular case.
Your dentist might recommend that your child be given anesthesia or sedation to relax them in order to safely complete some dental procedures. Here are some questions to ask your dentist before your child undergoes any type of anesthesia.
Local anesthesia is a type of medication used to prevent pain in a specific area of your mouth during treatment by blocking the nerves that sense or transmit pain, which numbs mouth tissues. Your dentist may apply a topical anesthetic to numb an area before injecting a local anesthetic. Topical anesthetics also may be used to soothe painful mouth sores. Injectable anesthetics may be used in such procedures as filling cavities, preparing teeth for crowns or treating gum disease.
Depending on the procedure, you may need a pain reliever after treatment. Medicines used to relieve pain can be broken into two groups: non-narcotic and narcotic. Non-narcotic are the most commonly used drugs for relief of toothache or pain following dental treatment. They include acetaminophen and non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and asprin. Narcotic analgesics, such as opioids, act on receptors in the brain to relieve pain.
Be sure to talk with your dentist about how to properly secure and dispose of any unused, unwanted or expired medications. Also, take the time to talk with your children about the dangers of using prescription drugs for non-medical purposes.
For some dental visits, your dentist may use a sedative. Sedatives can be administered before or during dental procedures. Sedation may involve gases that ar inhaled, pills that ar taken or medicine which is injected. More complex treatments may require deeper sedation to relieve both pain and anxiety. On occasion, general anesthesia may be used to cause a temporary loss of consciousness.
Dentists treat millions of patients, including managing their pain and anxiety, safely every year. The ADA urges you to take an active role in your oral health care. This means understanding the risks and benefits involved in dental treatment, so that you and your dentist can make the best decisions about the treatment that is right for you. Working together, you and your dentist can choose the appropriate steps to make your dental visit as safe and comfortable as possible, and to help you keep a healthy smile.
Often, teeth need to be guided more accurately than they can be using a removable brace. So a fixed brace is used. This has brackets and bands which are temporarily stuck to the teeth. A flexible wire joins all the brackets and allows the teeth to be moved. You can’t take the appliance out yourself, so it is called a fixed appliance.