Category Archives: Tooth Decay

What is gum disease?

What is gum disease?

Written by Dr. Alice Vessel Periodontitis happens when bacteria invades the bone surrounding the tooth. It starts to eat away at the bone, causing the tooth to become loose. To correct this, dentists often do scaling and planning. What this does is removes bacteria, and it removes the disease tissue in the pocket. Then the…

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DENTAL MUMBO-JUMBO

DENTAL MUMBO-JUMBO

Written by Dr. Alice Vessel YOUR DENTIST SAYS… “You need a MOD on#18, MIFL on #8, DOFL on #15, a MAOFADLJFLKDFJ on...”HUH? OMG! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? The lingo Teeth are described by surfaces. Much like a box, teeth have five visual sides within the mouth. M – Mesial: The side closest to the midline D – Distal: The…

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Dental SUPERPOWERS

Dental SUPERPOWERS

DENTAL….SUPERPOWERS Though my patients and staff have not elevated me to superhero status... yet… I have access to one superpower: X-Ray Vision (with a help of a few machines). So what are all these types of radiographs used by dentists and what do they mean? The FMX or full-mouth x-ray series is a set…

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THIS IS YOUR TEETH ON DRUGS: THE EFFECT OF ILLICIT DRUGS ON THE DENTITION

THIS IS YOUR TEETH ON DRUGS: THE EFFECT OF ILLICIT DRUGS ON THE DENTITION

Written by Dr. Alice Vessel We all know illicit drugs affect our brains from the ad campaign “this is your brain on drugs” showing an egg bubbling in a frying pan. But your mouth takes a “hit” too. Let’s touch on just 3 of the culprits: Heroin, Cocaine, and Methamphetamine. Heroin works in the central…

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