Are you looking for an updated dental procedure guide? Then look no further! We have compiled everything you need to know about dental procedures.
Dental procedures as a part of dental care
Dental care (and of course dental procedures) is a very important aspect in our lives. It not only helps us maintain good oral hygiene and oral health but also to prevent any dental problems that may arise in the future. Dental procedures are a type of dental work that is done to the teeth, gums, and mouth. Procedures such as fillings, root canals, tooth extractions, and dental implantations are all considered to be dental procedures. Dental procedures are also an important part of dental care.
What are the types of dentist?
Most dentists in Turkey are general dentists — they diagnose and treat diseases of the teeth, gums and mouth. Some are specialists, who have done extra training in a particular area. For example, orthodontists diagnose and treat crooked teeth, bad bites and poorly aligned jaws. In general, dentist is a medical doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases affecting the oral cavity.
Dentists may specialize in one or more areas of dentistry. There are many different types of dentists: general dentist, pediatric dentist, periodontist (specializes in gum disease), orthodontist (specializes in correcting malformed teeth), endodontist specialise in the interior of teeth (especially in root canal treatments), oral surgeon (specializes in surgical removal of teeth), etc. Dentists are often the first medical professional with whom patients see.
Questions to ask before having dental procedure
You should receive a detailed explanation of the treatment from your dentist or dental specialist. Any treatment and dental procedure for you or your child requires your consent. The dentist is required by law to disclose all fees before starting treatment and the dental procedure.
- What will the dental procedure entail and how long will it take?
- Am I eligible for all dental procedures?
- What is the cost of dental treatment?
- What are the advantages and risks?
- What other options are there?
- What happens if I don’t get this dental procedure?
- Do I get to choose the fillings that are used?
- What may I anticipate following the dental procedure? For instance, it can take 4 or 5 days for the pain and swelling from having your wisdom teeth removed to go down.
- What kind of anesthesia will be administered to me? Do not forget to disclose any allergies you may have to the dentist.
- What can I do to stop gum disease and tooth decay in the future?
The doctor should explain to you in detail what dental procedure involves, length of time and whether anesthesia is required. Additionally, they ought to explain to you what to anticipate following the operation, including:
- How much pain you might anticipate after
- How long should recovery take? What are the possible risks?
- How long the effects will stay and what to expect from your appearance following the operation?
Types of Dental Procedures
A dental procedure is anything that involves a dentist working on your mouth. They include:
- pulling a tooth out
- having a denture, dental implant or bridge made and fitted after losing teeth
- a filling
- root canal
- putting a crown on a tooth
- surgery or treatment for gum disease (called periodontal disease)
- straightening crowded teeth
- aligning teeth, bite and jaws
- dental surgery or treatment after an injury or cancer
1 Pulling a tooth out
A dentist may decide to execute an exodontia, or dental extraction, which is the removal of the tooth, when it is not possible or practical to recover a damaged tooth. Either easy and rapid extractions or ones requiring surgery are possible. A basic extraction requires only a local anesthetic to numb the mouth, which is given to the patient. The tooth will be raised by the dentist using a dental elevator, and it will then be wiggled loose and pulled out using dental forceps. But in the case of a surgical extraction, the patient would typically require a general anesthesia, necessitating their unconsciousness throughout the procedure.
To remove the tooth, the dentist may need to split the tooth into pieces or drill into the jawbone. In severe circumstances, the surgeon might need to remove some of the bone from behind the tooth in order to extract it.
2 Dental Bridge
There are different kinds of dental bridges that you can use to replace a natural tooth that is decaying or absent. Many adults are missing one or more permanent teeth. Thankfully, there are a few alternatives for “filling in the gaps,” as it were, with a fake tooth known as a pontic, which is most frequently composed of porcelain, gold, or an alloy.
Three different types of dental bridges are available to you as choices for replacing a natural tooth that is decaying or missing, and they actually span the gap left in your mouth.
a) Traditional Fixed Bridges
Traditional fixed bridges create a filler tooth that is supported by crowns placed over healthy teeth on either side of the gap in the mouth to keep the bridge in place. This is the most common type of bridge, and it is typically made from porcelain fused to metal or ceramics.
b) Cantilever Bridges
Cantilever bridges can be utilized when there are no teeth on one side of the missing tooth where the pontic can be fixed, so only one side supports the bridge with a healthy tooth and crown.
c) Maryland Bonded Bridges
Maryland bonded bridges, also known as resin-bonded bridges, are commonly used to replace front teeth.
3 What is Filling?
Your tooth, which you may lose for a very short time due to your progressive dental caries, will continue to serve you by cleaning the caries and filling it. Due to early diagnosis, if the caries is not very deep, the service time of the tooth will increase. We often see that such filled teeth serve patients for 15-20 years. For this reason, it will be very beneficial for you to come to the controls every 6 months.
In cleaning large and deep caries, it is necessary not to approach the nerve of the tooth. This process is similar to cutting your nail deeply. For this reason, it is normal to have sensitivity in your teeth for a few weeks after such fillings. If this sensitivity does not go away and even increases over time, it may require the removal of your tooth’s nerves. After filling deep and not large caries, patients usually do not feel any sensitivity after filling.
Since the setting of the filling material will take a few days, do not bite hard with your tooth during this period and follow our recommendations as much as possible.
Composite-based (i.e. white fillings) is now generally used as a filler. Research shows that no matter what filler is used, 85-90% of fillers have some deformity after 4 years. In these cases, it will be necessary to replace the filling in order to prevent future problems. You should definitely notify us of your complaints after your filling is done. As mentioned above, it is entirely up to you to use them healthily for many years without risking your teeth.
In some cases, sensitivity or pain may occur in patients who have had fillings. We can classify these sensitivities as follows:
Pain after filling
While filling, your doctor first cleans the caries in your teeth. This area can sometimes go quite deep. Sometimes it may even be too close to the nerves of the tooth. In such cases, while this cavity is being cleaned, patients may not feel any pain since they are under anesthesia. The physician first applies a medication under your filling that will reduce the pain on the nerves of the tooth. Afterwards, a liquid which is used to chemically bond the filling and the tooth -which is also a desensitizing liquid- is applied. Then the filling is done.
Just like with a deeply cut nail by mistake, it’s normal to experience pain after the numbness goes off after your filling. This pain and sensitivity should go away within 20 days. If it does not go away, your tooth may need root canal treatment.
Pain in the cold after filling
Apart from the above reasons, if the caries has not been cleaned sufficiently, a sensitivity to cold occurs. Another reason for this sensitivity may be that there is an opening at the edge of your filling, or that the filler is not polymerized correctly. In this case, there is nothing you can do, you should consult your doctor again.
Pain with pressure after filling
Usually, such pain occurs if the filling is high. As stated above, since the fillings are usually done under anesthesia, you may not have noticed this height when the physician is checking the height. This pain becomes evident right after the filling. If you go to your doctor again the next day and have the remaining height removed, this complaint will disappear within 1-2 days.
4 Root canal treatment
The goal of root canal therapy is to remove all bacteria from the teeth’s interior so they may stay in the mouth for a long time and avoid subsequent procedures that might be necessary as a result of tooth loss, which would put you in an moral and financial difficulty.
After root canal treatment, the remaining tooth will continue to help chewing in that area. By doing so, the bone in that location will stay active and the melting of the jaw bones will be prevented. This complex and difficult treatment is usually applied if the tooth decay is too advanced.
Why root canal treatment?
- In fact, pain on teeth usually only accompany advanced caries. Even those who do not experience dental discomfort may nevertheless have decaying tooth tissue (aka decay). The decay in an untreated tooth goes near to the pulp if it is present in the mouth (the living part of the tooth with nerves and vessels). Then throbbing discomfort or pain brought on by hot liquids starts.
- The best course of action at this moment is to remove the residual pulp. By eliminating the source of the rotting bacteria, the tooth is preserved and it will last for many more years.
Does root canal treatment cause pain?
Typically, individuals who seek out root canal therapy at clinics are already in discomfort and pain. Anesthesia is used throughout this procedure, as it is during other treatments. You often get a definite sense of relief right away following the initial anesthetic.
Since the tooth’s nerves are removed at the initial session, the pain will virtually completely disappear.
Is root canal treatment a long treatment?
Root canal treatment can be completed in a single session if your tooth does not have an infection. However, the infection in your tooth causes the treatment to be prolonged.
How the root canal treatment is done?
Root canal treatment, briefly, is to clean the nerves inside the tooth and replace it with a filling. The dentist uses special instruments to remove the dental nerves, and fills it with special instruments.
Can I use my tooth with root canal treatment as before?
- You can continue to use your root canal-treated tooth as before, but because the veins and nerves inside the tooth are cleaned, the nutrition of the tooth will not be the same as before.
- In this case, the cleaned tooth will become brittle, more fragile, like dry wood. Our experience has shown us that teeth that are not covered immediately after root canal treatment will be lost with fractures and cracks in the future. Therefore, the most ideal is to cover your treated tooth immediately after successful root canal treatment.
Conclusion: How to Stay on Top of Your Oral Health with the Help of a Dentist
It is important to have a good oral health and we should not underestimate the importance of brushing our teeth, flossing, and getting regular checkups. If you are looking for a dentist in your area, it is best to ask friends or family members for recommendations. In certain cases, you may need to see a specialist such as a pediatric dentist or an orthodontist for any kind of dental procedure.
At Istanbul Dental, in order to maintain convenient process and stress free treatment, your dentist will discuss all your options with you before starting any treatment plan so that you can make an informed decision about how best to move forward with improving your smile! That’s a start for a warm smile with satisfaction of our services.
We are ready to answer your additional questions, so do not hesitate to get in touch with us . Also, get a quote to start planning your dental treatment as whole process including your VIP transfer! While gathering information and inspecting the options about the dental services, we recommend you to visit our smile gallery and see our previous patients’ sincere smiles.
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