Month: September 2019
-
Pathology Post: Ludwig’s Angina
Ludwig’s angina is a serious cellulitis (bacterial tissue infection) of the submandibular region. Although it shares a name with ‘angina,’ this disease has very little to do with chest pain – in fact, this disease gets its name due to another reason completely. Angina is derived from the latin word ‘angere,’ meaning ‘to strangle.’ Ludwig’s…
-
Local Anesthetics and When to Use Them
What is a local anesthetic? Local anesthetics are one of the safest, most reliable ways to achieve anesthesia in dentistry. Local anesthetics contain three parts – an aromatic group, an intermediate chain, and a secondary or tertiary amino terminus. The portion known as the ‘intermediate chain’ is the basis for the classification of anesthetic, which…
-
What is Lupus?
Also known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), lupus is a systemic autoimmune disease that shows an increased activity of B lymphocytes as well as abnormally functioning T cells. These are white blood cells that are responsible for adaptive immunity, meaning they help the body learn how to defend itself from various diseases. Lupus is the…
-
Extraction of the Maxillary First Premolar
What does the maxillary first premolar look like? The maxillary first premolar has the longest crown of any of the maxillary posterior teeth and has a prominent mesiolingual developmental groove on its mesial side. The maxillary first premolar is single rooted for the first 2/3rds of the tooth – only until the apical 1/3rd does…
-
Maintaining Space in the Primary Dentition
When it comes to children, maintaining the amount of space available in their arch is very important. If space is not maintained, the permanent teeth may not have room to erupt, causing long-term problems that may have complications in the future – such as the permanent premolars ectopically erupting (erupting in a space they aren’t…
-
Treating a Pregnant Patient
When is it safe to treat a pregnant patient? Pregnancy is divided into trimesters – the first trimester is between 1-12 weeks, the second 13-20 weeks, and the third 20-40 weeks. It is safe to treat a pregnant patient during all three trimesters. Of the three trimesters, however, the second is the best period to…
-
How to Diagnose Periodontal Disease
‘Under-treatment may lead to disease progression, over-treatment will lead to loss of attachment’ Dr. David Dunivan, A.T. Still Missouri School of Dentistry and Oral Health The severity of periodontitis is measured by the amount of clinical attachment loss¹ (CAL). A CAL of 1-2 mm is categorized as slight, 3-4 mm is categorized as moderate, and…
-
Extraction of the Mandibular Second Molar
What is a mandibular molar? The human dentition is divided into groups – the incisors (your front teeth), the canines, the premolars, and the molars. There are (in most cases) three molars in each quadrant of the human mouth. The third molars are the farthest back, and are more commonly referred to as ‘wisdom’ teeth.…
Teeth & Chiefs 