This patient chipped his front tooth when he was bumped into while drinking at a restaurant. The glass he was drinking from knocked into his tooth, fracturing off the corner. I repaired it in 15 minutes with a cosmetic composite bonded restoration.
Tag Archives: smile
Chipped tooth of the day
This patient today chipped her front tooth biting a coffee stirrer straw. I was able to restore the tooth with a bonded composite restoration in 30 minutes. Looks great!!!
Dr. Gentry’s article in The Elm, The University of Maryland
The University of Maryland
Tips for Your Teeth: Halloween Edition
Tips for Healthy Teeth
- Eat Halloween candy right after meals. The saliva produced during meals will help dilute the acids produced by the mouth bacteria in response to the sugar and the saliva will help rinse away food particles.
- Avoid candy that lasts a long time. It’s the length of time the sugar is in your mouth that is the critical factor. The longer the candy is in the mouth the more damage to the teeth.
- Stay away from sticky candy. The longer the sugary candy is stuck to the teeth the more decay will occur. Stay away from gummy bears, sticky fudge and taffy. Stay away from sour candy. Sour candy is highly acidic leading to erosion of enamel.
- Drink more water. Tap water with fluoride is best. This will help wash away the candy.
- Eat good healthy foods and don’t fill up on sugary candy. You need good nutrition for healthy teeth and gums.
- Stay away from sodas and sports drinks. The frequent contact with the sugary liquid will increase damage to teeth.
- Chewing sugarless gum after eating candy will cause increased saliva production, which will neutralize the acid in the mouth and wash away food.
- Brush as soon as possible after eating. If you ate sour or acidic foods rinse with water a few times first to neutralize the acid so not to push the acid into the enamel. Brush for two minutes.
- Floss! Flossing removes plaque and food stuck between the teeth where the toothbrush can’t reach.
- Visit your dentist regularly to catch dental problems early, and “treat” them before they get really scary. … Remember good oral health is a major contributor to good overall health.
by Philip A. Gentry, DDS, FAGD
Fellow, Academy of General Dentistry
Dean’s Faculty, Clinical Asst. Professor, Department of General Dentistry, Advanced Education in General Dentistry,
University of Maryland School of Dentistry
From The Horse’s Mouth
Horses have 2 sets of teeth, 24 baby teeth, which are replaced by 5 years of age by between 36-40 permanent teeth. These consist of 6 upper and 6 lower incisors, 12 upper and 12 lower back premolar and molar teeth. Most male horses also have canine teeth, called fighting teeth, while females do not. There is an interdental space with no teeth, just gums, between the incisors and premolars. This is where the bit part of the bridle is placed.
Horses eat pretty much constantly for 10-12 hours a day and their teeth continuously erupt to offset the wear from the repeated chewing. Young adult horse teeth can be 5 inches long. Most of the tooth is under the gums and it slowly erupts about 1/8 of an inch each year until the horse gets old and eventually the teeth become very short and eventually fall out.
It is possible to tell the approximate age of a horse by its teeth. The expression “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth” means that it is rude and ungrateful to check the teeth of a horse given to you as a present, as you would one you were considering purchasing. So don’t be ungrateful when you receive a gift.
Horses teeth wear unevenly and develop sharp edges, which irritate and lacerate the tongue and cheeks and make it difficult and painful to eat and have the bit in their mouth. A procedure called floating the horse’s teeth, where an equine dentist smoothes the sharp edges is done 1-2 times a year.
Friday afternoon chipped and broken teeth.
The next patient broke her upper first molar biting on a hard piece of food.
Thursday morning chipped tooth.
My first patient of the day today chipped his front tooth biting his finger nail.
Fractured teeth of the day. Every day I see broken teeth. Here are 2 examples from today.
This patient cracked his molar biting a chicken bone. I was able to save the tooth, and without a root canal, but it did require a crown lengthening periodontal surgery and a crown.
This next patient bit down on a mint candy and fractured her molar down the root. The tooth could not be restored and was extracted and we will place a dental implant.
Two patient’s smiles I made happy today.
The first patient was concerned about his broken down front upper teeth and the gap between the teeth.
The next patient broke her lateral incisor tooth. It is very dark since it was traumatized and had a root canal many years ago.
Thank you letter from one of my patients last week :-)))
For 44 years, I have been practicing dental hygiene in Virginia. Recently I had to have a crown prep done on #8 and a replacement crown on #9. My first crown on #9 was stainless steel, placed at age 7 in 1958. Since then this tooth has had 14 replacement crowns that improved the appearance as dental materials progressed over the years.
My new ones though are the best I’ve ever had made. The contacts, size, shape, color & occlusion are perfect and needed no adjustments when they were delivered. I experienced no discomfort during the procedure, even while wearing the temporaries.
I have seen thousands of crowns & fillings by hundreds of dentists over my long career and Dr. Gentry’s work surpasses them all. He is extremely attentive to detail. The perfect fit and aesthetics are evident in every restoration he does. I have no reservations in recommending his work to family, friends & current patients. His sensitivity and approach while interacting with patients is a model for all individuals interested in entering the profession.
I truly feel he is deserving of the recognition equal to his daily accomplishments in the field of dentistry. As a dental hygienist with 44 years of private practice experience, I know who the best dentists are, and Dr. Gentry is one of the best!
I highly recommend Dr. Gentry. His dental work is the best I have seen.
Sincerely,
Alicia Woodall, RDH
Williamsburg, Va. 23185
Importance of taking a radiograph to verify accurate interface of the custom abutment to implant.
In this case report Dr. Gentry demonstrates the importance of taking a radiograph when seating the custom abutment and crown before final torquing of the gold implant interface connecting screw.
Here’s an example from a case I was doing with a dental student involving the 2 upper front teeth. In the first x-ray the impression copings were not fully seated. I re-positioned the copings and another x-ray was taken to confirm proper alignment. You cannot tell without an x-ray since this is below the gum-line.
Here’s an example of another implant check x-ray to verify proper seating.
