Teeth for life
Teeth for life
We have 2 sets of teeth for life. Our adult teeth start erupting around the age of 6. Based on current life expectancy, that’s over 80 years of chewing, grinding, talking and smiling!
We have 2 sets of teeth for life. Our adult teeth start erupting around the age of 6. Based on current life expectancy, that’s over 80 years of chewing, grinding, talking and smiling!
Nature gave our teeth a really hard shell (Enamel – 2.5x harder than bone), a hard but slightly flexible middle layer (Dentin) and a hollow centre (Pulp – where the nerves and blood supply give the tooth vitality and feeling). What an engineering marvel teeth are!
There are over 700 species of bacteria that live in the mouth. Bacteria builds up on our teeth and gums in the form of a sticky gel that is known as a ‘plaque biofilm’. This film, like a gooey sauce left on a plate after a meal. Whilst this can be cleaned off easily with brushing/flossing, there are certain areas in our mouth that are harder/impossible to clean properly. 2 most common areas they hide are between the teeth and also in the deeper grooves on the biting surface of the back teeth.
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When bacteria are left against the tooth surface for long enough, the toxins and acid they release start weakening the surface of the enamel. If we catch this early enough, we can actively prevent and even reverse the damage by placing ‘fissure sealants’ in the grooves and/or infusing areas between the teeth with concentrated fluoride.
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If decay is left untreated and allowed to spread to the dentin, it spreads wide and fast (since dentin is much weaker than enamel). This is when we really need to step in and stop the decay progressing. As a guide, if less than 50% of the structure is affected, we can restore the defect with a resin filling. Dental resin is an advanced plastic which isn’t as strong as natural tooth but is great for filling up minor defects and lasts 5-12 years on average.
The longer decay is left, inevitably the more it spreads. When decay gets closer to the nerve centre in a tooth, this is often the only time you start feeling discomfort. The deeper the decay is, the higher the chance there is that the nerve will need treatment (root canal therapy). We aim to avoid this at all costs by identifying and treating problems early.
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Dental resin is an advanced plastic material engineered to bond very well to tooth structure and ‘fill’ up minor defects. It’s not as strong as natural tooth structure and as a plastic will scratch, discolour and degrade over time (much like a plastic Tupperware container). Used in appropriate settings, resin restorations have a lifespan of 5-12 years.
+ cheaper than ceramic alternatives
+ most conservative (resin can be moulded to whatever shape we want meaning we get drill less and save more of your tooth structure)
+ for minor aesthetic improvements, we can often make big improvements with minimum intervention
– very technique sensitive – bonding and placement protocols MUST be followed strictly otherwise quality of the restoration is drastically reduced
– isn’t as strong as tooth structure so doesn’t wear well under situations where high strength/support is needed
– surface roughens easily leading to more plaque build up and thus higher risk of re-decay