Showing posts with label Dentistry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dentistry. Show all posts

Braces at 50?

Posted by PrfyVdlx , Labels: , , , , , , , , Thursday, February 10, 2011 5:50 PM

Some things that you'd wish you have when going 50 and beyond.

I'm just thinking, will you wish for memory enhancer, and you are given pills to take, but you forget your medication altogether?

Oh well... as one shirt says, "enjoy getting old - not too many people get the privilege."
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By Eveline Gan, TODAY
Posted: 01 February 2011

Braces
SINGAPORE - When her 20-year-old daughter decided to get braces last year, Madam Tay J M accompanied her to the clinic. By the end of the orthodontic appointment, Mdm Tay decided that like her daughter, she wanted to get her teeth fixed too. Never mind that she was 52 years old.

"I like beautiful teeth. A nice set of teeth will help to boost my self-confidence," said Mdm Tay, who works as a secretary. "My teeth jut out slightly and they've yellowed over the years. At first I thought of only whitening them but I thought why not just go the whole way? Hopefully, I will have many more good years to go."

Mdm Tay now wears the Invisalign, a type of clear braces which are removable at mealtimes and during brushing.

At an age when some of her peers are already wearing dentures, Mdm Tay is rather self-conscious about her braces. This is why she opted for more "visually discreet" braces.

Orthodontic specialists, however, said patients like Mdm Tay are not a rarity. Once associated only with children and teens, braces are now becoming increasingly popular with adults seeking orthodontic treatment at a later age.

At I.Dental Surgeons, more than a third of those seeking orthodontic treatment are above the age of 30.

"It is not uncommon to see 40 to 50-year-olds straightening their teeth nowadays, compared to five years ago, when most of our patients were in their teens and early 20s," said dental surgeon Dr Cheng Eng Wah, principal partner and founder of I.Dental, who estimated the increase to be about 15 to 20 per cent in the past five years.

At Dr Cheng's clinic, adults like Mdm Tay tend to opt for "more aesthetically pleasing braces" such as Invisalign or ceramic braces with transparent brackets, rather than regular metal braces.

Depending on the individual's condition, the treatment costs with regular metal braces start from S$2,800 onwards, while treatment with Invisalign start from S$6,500 onwards.


Investing in the perfect smile

The trend is driven by people's "willingness to invest in aesthetics", as society becomes more affluent, Dr Cheng said.

"I think people are more aware of how a nice smile can improve their appearance and the way they present themselves. Beautiful teeth are part of what builds confidence, especially when interacting socially or professionally," he added.

Aesthetics aside, having a full set of straight teeth has its health benefits.

"For instance, properly aligned teeth have a lower risk of decay compared to 'overcrowded' teeth, as brushing and cleaning are easier with straight teeth," explained Dr Cheng.

Associate Professor Kelvin Foong, a senior consultant at the National University Hospital's department of preventive dentistry, said with the ageing population keeping their teeth longer, more complex rebuilding of the dentition could require braces to align the teeth before wearing prostheses such as crowns, implants and dentures.

At his clinic in NUH, Assoc Prof Foong's oldest patient was a 65-year-old who required minor tooth rearrangement using braces, before getting a new set of dentures.

While it is ideal to treat certain orthodontic conditions such as cross-bite and deviated jaw before the child reaches puberty, the experts said there isn't a "cut-off" age for getting braces. So you could be pushing 70 and still be able to get braces without harming your oral tissues.

Braces work by delivering light force to the crown of the tooth. The tooth moves to another position, when bone surrounding its root reorganises itself under pressure from the light force, explained Assoc Prof Foong.

"If a person's teeth are supported by healthy gums and bone, then it is possible to move teeth from one position to another within each jaw bone," he said.


Not for everyone

There are certain adults who are unsuitable for braces treatment.

Assoc Prof Foong cautioned those above the age of 40 who have untreated moderate to advanced gum disease, as well as medical conditions such as uncontrolled diabetes and heavy smokers against getting braces.

Those who take medications that affect the flow of saliva, such as high blood pressure medication, also should not get braces. He explained that having braces in a dry mouth gives rise to the risk of tooth decay.

Six months into her orthodontic treatment, Mdm Tay has become used to wearing braces.

"The first month was the most difficult but I could bear the pain quite well. Right now, I almost forget they are there in my mouth," she said, laughing.

Mdm Tay feels her trouble, effort and money will be well worth it in the end, when her braces finally come off and she can partake in celebrations with a bigger and brighter smile.

- TODAY/rl


Taken from ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:Braces at 50?



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Take Your Bad Breath Away

Posted by PrfyVdlx , Labels: , , , , , , , , Tuesday, June 3, 2008 1:28 AM




From Health section, Today daily, 03-Jun-2008 edition

Take Your Bad Breath Away
By Eveline Gan, in collaboration with Health Promotion Board, Singapore

- You can get rid of it byhaving breakfast, drinkinglots of water and eating right

YOU gargle some mouthwash on your way to a hot date, thinking that it will freshen up your breath.

But barely halfway through the rendezvous, your mouth starts to feel dry and that offensive breath you were trying to mask returns at full force, wilting the flowers your date has given you.

If the above scenario sounds familiar to you, you are not alone.

According to American dentist Harold Katz, up to a third of the world’s population suffers from chronic bad breath, or halitosis. Many also have this embarrassing condition from time to time.

Dr Katz, the founder of the Thera-Breath System and The California Breath Clinics in the United States, was in town last week to speak about halitosis at a public education seminar.

A dry mouth — which can occur if you smoke, take certain medication (usually prescribed for high blood pressure or depression) and consume alcohol or coffee — is one of the leading causes of bad breath. Mouth rinses that contain alcohol can also “dry up the mouth and make the breath smell worse”, said Dr Katz. Older people and people who talk a lot — teachers and gossipmongers, remember to stock up on mints — or who are under stress are also at a higher risk of developing a dry mouth.

Dr Katz explained that saliva contains a healthy dose of oxygen, which helps to cleanse anaerobic bacteria. Such bacteria — found beneath the tongue, in the throat and often in the tonsils — thrive in environments without oxygen to produce lousy-smelling sulphur-producing compounds in the breath.

“If you have plenty of saliva, you are less likely to have bad breath because the oxygen in it inhibits an ‘anaerobic’ environment. That’s probably why babies almost never have bad breath — because they are always drooling,” he said.

Dr Koh Chu Guan, a consultant periodontist at the National Dental Centre of Singapore, added that persistent bad breath is also one of the signs of gum, or periodontal, disease. He estimated that about 20 per cent of Singaporeans suffer from severe gum disease.

“The bad breath is usually worse if there are abscesses (boils in the gum) and widespread infection in the mouth,” he added.

Although there are no official statistics to show the number of patients with periodontal disease who suffer from bad breath, Dr Koh said most of his patients have some degree of halitosis before treatment.

“Although not many of my patients specifically complain of having bad breath, a few do get very bothered by it. They might tend to speak with others less or keep their distance. It is very embarrassing for these people,” he said. For these patients, the problem of bad breath is usually resolved with control of their periodontal problem.

And as most people would know, you are what you eat. Certain foods, such as dense protein foods and foods such as garlic and onions that have odorous sulphur compounds, are notorious in making your breath smell bad.

“Food like garlic and onions, when absorbed into the blood stream, are transferred to the lungs where their odour is expelled,” Dr Koh said. “The odour will disappear when the body metabolises the food.”

Other conditions that can trigger bad breath include oral infections (perhaps due to impacted wisdom teeth), dental cavities, flu and other upper respiratory tract infections, post-nasal drip (excess mucus) and tonsillitis.

So, what can be done to nip that foul-smelling breath in the bud?

To prevent a dry mouth, Dr Katz suggested drinking at least six glasses of water daily. Saliva-stimulating foods such as watermelon and celery may also help.

Also, don’t skip breakfast. On why some people turn up at work in the morning with a foul breath, Dr Katz said: “Without breakfast, there is nothing to stimulate saliva in the morning.”

While cleaning the mouth effectively — via flossing, using a non-alcohol-based mouth rinse and brushing the tongue, especially the deeper part — may help in controlling bad breath, Dr Koh said it is important to seek professional advice.

“Your dentist could find the possible contributing factors to the problem and help eliminate them. If your dentist cannot find a dental cause, there could be a medical cause. You will need to see a doctor to confirm this,” said Dr Koh.

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DON’T KNOW IF YOU HAVE BAD BREATH? HERE’S HOW YOU CAN FIND OUT

Lick the back of your hand. Let that dry for about 10 seconds and then smell your skin. If you notice an odour, you have the dreaded bad breath.

“What you’re doing is to transfer the bacteria from your tongue to another source. When the saliva evaporates, you can smell the sulphur salts,” said Dr Katz.

The “degree” of your bad breath can also be measured by using a breath analyser, which can measure the amount of sulphides present in the breath. The higher the amount of sulphides, the more foul-smelling your breath is.

Breath analysers are available at the National University Hospital’s preventive dentistry department, White Dental Group and The Smile Division Dental Surgeons @ Orchard.
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