Every child likes chocolates, pastries, cakes, jellies that all are of sugar. They are unaware of the fact what sugar will do to their teeth because it’s not the sugar itself that does the damage, but rather the chain of events that takes place after eating the sugary items.

Dr. Sachin Mittal gives detailed information on how sugar affects your teeth and how you can prevent tooth decay.

The mouth is a battle line where different bacteria attacks on the teeth. The harmful bacteria produce acid whenever they encounter sugar. This acidic medium removes minerals from the shiny, protective, outer layer of your tooth called Tooth enamel. This process of removing minerals is called as Demineralization.

But surprisingly, remineralization occurs naturally by your saliva. It helps in restoring minerals like calcium and phosphate maintains the strength of teeth. But, the repeated cycle of acid attacks causes a great mineral loss in the enamel. This weakens and destroys the enamel, forming a cavity.

If a cavity is not treated on time, it can lead to inner damage to tissue and can cause pain and loss in teeth also.

Tooth enamel can be remineralized by following these simple habits:

1. Lower down the sugary content because many studies have found that the frequent consumption of sweets and sugary drinks leads to cavities.

2. Avoid Sticky foods like candies, jellies, and lollipops. They give plenty of time to harmful bacteria for digesting the sugar and causing an acid attack.

3. Brushing at least twice per day is an important step in preventing cavities and tooth decay.

4. Chewing sugar-free gum may also prevent plaque build-up by stimulating saliva production and remineralization.

5. Use toothpaste containing fluoride for remineralization.

6. Visit the dentist every six months for keeping your teeth and gums healthy.

The common dental emergencies and their first aid can be:

1.      Tooth Injury: if any tooth injury occurs due to falling off or an accident, teeth may get loose. In this case, immediately consult the dentist. In the mean time, rinse the mouth with warm water and apply a cold compress to the outside of your mouth to stop the bleeding.

2.      Knocked out teeth: If any teeth get knocked out, always hold it with the crown part. Never pick it up by roots. Clean it to remove the dirt. Try to put it back into the socket, if it is possible. Otherwise, keep it in a container of milk to retain the moisture. Immediately call the dentist as knocked out teeth should be placed back within 1 hour minimally.

3.      Soft-tissue injuries: Injuries to the tongue, cheeks, gums, and lips, can result in bleeding. To control the bleeding, Rinse mouth with a salt-water solution, cover the site with moistened piece of gauze or tea bag and Hold in place for 15 to 20 minutes, one can apply cold compress to the outside of the mouth or cheek in the affected area for 5 to 10 minutes, If then also bleeding doesn’t stop, see your dentist right away or go to a hospital emergency room.

4. Abscess: when infections occur around the root of a tooth or in the space between the teeth and gums termed as Abscesses. They can damage tissue and surrounding teeth. See your dentist as soon as possible if you discover a pimple-like swelling on your gum. In the meantime, to ease the pain and try rinsing your mouth with a mild salt water solution several times a day.

5. Swelling: Swelling is one of the more common dental emergencies, it’s never a good sign. It indicates you have a serious dental infection. If you are experiencing swelling, do not wait. Contact your dentist right away.

These are some of the dental emergencies that can occur to anyone. To avoid these, one should take extra care of their mouth and visit the dentist regularly for cleanings.

Some basic procedures that include in cosmetic dentistry are:

• Cosmetic Teeth Whitening: to whiten the stained or discolored teeth, teeth whitening is the facility which is also called as ‘Teeth Bleaching’. People who have discolored or teeth having darker shade are supposed to undergo this technique. Not everyone’s teeth can be bleached. It is necessary to ask the dentist prior to undergo whitening.

• Cosmetic Dental Implants: It’s a technique in which metal device made out of titanium is placed in the jawbone to replace the missing teeth. It act as a support system which helps in anchoring artificial tooth.
• Teeth Reshaping: when dentist remove or fill the enamel, to change the shape of the tooth is called as Reshaping. It is used to alter the shape, size and color of the teeth.

• Cosmetic Tooth Bonding: it is a process in which dental like material is applied to tooth’s surface which is sculpted according to other tooth shape and later on get hardened and polished. This process is used in case of cracked and broken teeth to repair them.
• Dental Veneers: These are porcelain laminates that are bonded to the teeth. They are custom made. These are used to treat crooked tooth, discolored teeth, chipped teeth or even to cover spaces in between the teeth.

• Dental Crowns: Crowns, also called as caps, are tailor made to fit over the whole tooth. They are usually made out of acrylic or porcelain that has been fused to metal to withstand biting pressure. Crowns can be used in cosmetic dentistry to treat teeth that are poorly shaped, badly decayed, broken, chipped, have had large fillings, or to cover spaces in between teeth.

What you have to change and how it will be changed, it is better to discuss with your dentist. He will prescribe you the best cosmetic dental procedure according to your needs. Consult the cosmetic dentist only, not every dentist is capable of doing these procedures.

 Plaque is a sticky bio film made up of thousands of bacteria occurring naturally. Whenever we eat food rich in sugar or carbohydrate content, these bacteria feed on them and produces an acidic by product that harms our tooth enamel and form cavities.

Acc. to Dr Sachin Mittal , to keep mouth free from these naturally occurring bacteria and to prevent cavities, one should follow some basic tips:

Tip 1: Brush twice a day, and if it is possible for you to brush, do it after every meal.

Tip 2: Flossing– Do floss once a day to remove particles of food and plaque from beyond the teeth.

Tip 3: Fluoride rich Mouthwash: Add a mouthwash to your oral health care kit as fluoride will reduce the number of bacteria and keep the enamel safe.

Tip 4: Chew Gum: Chewing is good for oral cavity. Chew sugarless gum after every meal to stimulate the saliva production which in turn helps in neutralizing the acidic effect.

Tip 5: If you are suffering from plaque, you should avoid taking sugary and starchy items.

Tip 6: Smoking and Tobacco is bad for teeth. Avoid them.

Tip 7: If plaque is not getting removed through above methods, then you should consult your dentist. A cleaning by a professional dentist will help you to get rid of plaque.