It’s The End Of Year Christmas Dental Quiz!

How well can you remember our blogs this year?

During 2019, we published a range of blogs about various aspects of dentistry which we hope provided our Burton and Ashby patients with lots of useful information. How well did you read them though and what can you actually remember?

With that in mind, below we have a set a little quiz for you devised by the staff at Alexandra Dental Care to see just how much you can remember. Answers are at the bottom .. no cheating now 😉

1. Lemon juice is sometimes suggested as a teeth whitening agent on social media. Why shouldn’t you use this despite it being entirely natural?
2. Halitosis is an anti social problem but what is it and what is it’s most likely cause where it is persistent
3. Name the type of filling used during a root canal procedure
4. If you are having IV sedation what is the one essential thing that you should bring to the practice on the day that you are having it?
5. Why do our teeth become darker as we get older?
6. If you have dental implants placed to replace a missing tooth, you still need to keep it clean even though it is made of an artificial material. Why is this and what are the 2 main threats to an implant?
7. What is a ‘spoon excavator’?
8. What is the difference between plaque and tartar?
9. Why is cheese good for our teeth?
10. Name the orthodontic treatment offered by Alexandra Dental Care that dispenses with the need for wires and brackets and uses a series of transparent trays instead.

And The Answers….

1. You should never use lemon juice to attempt to whiten your teeth as it is extremely acidic and will damage the enamel on your teeth. Over time this will lead to erosion followed by tooth sensitivity and tooth decay. Always ask your dentist about a safe teeth whitening procedure.
2. Halitosis is another name for bad or smelly breath. It can be temporarily caused by foods that we eat but where it is persistent it is far more likely that it is caused by gingivitis or periodontitis, both preventable forms of gum disease.
3. Rather than use amalgam or other type of filling that is used for a regular cavity, a special type of filling called Gutta Percha is used in a root canal treatment. This is because it has excellent sealing qualities and helps to prevent reinfection.
4. The answer is a friend or family member. The fact is that the sedative used is extremely effective at helping you to feel completely relaxed. It does however stay in the system for around 24 hours. You will not be able to drive yourself home from the practice and even taking public transport is ill advised. Make sure to bring a responsible adult with you who can make sure that you arrive home safely after your treatment.
5. Some tooth discolouration may be caused by surface staining from habits such as red wine drinking or smoking. Although this is largely preventable, there is one aspect that is not. The dentin layer of the tooth that lies below the enamel naturally darkens over time and there is nothing that we can do to stop it. It can be lightened however, through cosmetic dental treatments such as teeth whitening.
6. Even though dental implants can’t decay, the security of the artificial root can be compromised through degrading of the bone that it is placed into. The two main causes of this are periodontitis and peri-implantitis. Both can be avoided with effective and regular cleaning.
7. A spoon excavator is a dental tool that is used for removing softer decay from a cavity. It is often used before a drill is needed to remove more difficult decay.
8. Plaque is a soft sticky collection of oral bacteria that you might recognise from that gooey white stuff that you find in your mouth when you wake up with a dry mouth. This can be removed with effective brushing and flossing. Tartar is a build up of hardened bacteria and other minerals which can only be removed professionally by the hygienist.
9. In addition to providing calcium and vitamin D, eating cheese at the end of a meal helps to balance the acidity in our mouth, thereby helping to protect the enamel on our teeth.
10. The answer is, of course, Invisalign, one of the most popular orthodontic treatments of our Burton and Ashby patients.

This may be our last blog of 2019 (or we may squeeze in one more). We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our patients a healthy and happy (and tooth friendly!) Christmas and we look forward to seeing you in the new year.

Should a dental emergency arise over the holiday period when we are closed, please still call Alexandra Dental Care on 01283 216347 and listen to the recorded message for further advice. Have a good festive period!

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