Festive Fun – Your 2021 Annual Dental Quiz

How much have you learned from this year’s Blue Sky Dental blogs? Let’s find out….

As we approach the end of the year and reflect, we can see that it has been another difficult one for many of us and we are sure that most of you will be keeping your fingers crossed for a more normal Christmas ahead. As a lighthearted, but educational, way to end the year then, we thought that we would offer you a little quiz based on the blogs that we have posted this year.

Before you do this quiz though, we would like to thank you all for your custom and readership throughout the year and hope to see you all in the new year for your check ups and any cosmetic treatments we can offer to give your smile a boost for the new year.

Whilst we are talking about the festive period, please note that you can still call us for an emergency dental appointment if you need one. If we are closed, as we will be for some of this period, you will be able to access an answerphone message detailing what you need to do next to receive treatment. Should you need to contact us for an emergency appointment, you can call Blue Sky Dental on our usual number of 01245 211070.

Without further ado then, here are the questions (please scroll down for the answers):

• What is ‘bruxism’ and what are its possible causes?
• What does an ‘endodontist’ do?
• Why might a diabetic patient be at a higher risk of dental problems than a non diabetic?
• What causes sensitive teeth?
• What is an ‘all on 4’ procedure?
• Name the type of filling that is used during a root canal procedure
• A teeth whitening procedure is the most common way to improve the appearance of a stained tooth. Name another treatment that is also used, especially in more severe cases
• Name 3 benefits of using the popular ‘Invisalign’ orthodontic system

Answers

• Bruxism is another name for teeth grinding. It is largely thought to be caused by stress and can therefore often last for a period of time until the reason for the stress eases. It can cause wearing away of tooth enamel and can even cause teeth to break in more extreme cases
• An endodontist specialises in treating problems that arise inside a tooth. This mainly consists of infections of the root canal system. Our Chelmsford patients will be happy to know that, at Blue Sky Dental, we have a highly skilled specialist dentistry team that includes endodontists among others, ensuring that we can treat even the most complex dental problems at our practice
• Diabetics don’t necessarily have to suffer from an unhealthy mouth but they are at a higher risk because of the nature of the disease. Diabetics tend to have a compromised immune system which means that they are often less able at fighting off infections. Diabetes also often has a dry mouth as one of its symptoms; a factor which, as we have mentioned previously, can be a significant contributor to gum disease
• Whilst some people genetically have thinner enamel on their teeth; for most people who suffer from sensitive teeth, this is caused by eroded enamel which allows both hot and cold temperatures to affect the inner part of the tooth and the nerves of the teeth. This can be very painful but there are treatments such as veneers and special toothpastes to help.
• An All On 4 treatment is a method used to place dental implants for a patient that has lost multiple teeth or a complete arch of teeth. It is called this because, often but not always, 4 dental implants are used to secure a fixed bridge of replacement teeth into place. This is an excellent and popular alternative to a full arch of dentures. Indeed, a similar method can also be used for securing dentures should a patient wish to do this. This will prevent the dentures from moving around in the mouth when eating etc.
• The type of filling that is normally used during root canal treatment is ‘gutta percha’. This is used as it expands when heated and has excellent sealant properties, helping to prevent any future re-infection that might occur if traditional filling was used.
• If a tooth is very badly stained or has suffered from chips and cracks that make it unattractive, an effective way to improve teeth in this condition is to replace the damaged or badly stained tooth surface with a porcelain dental veneer. This is a long lasting solution and can be used where others treatments would be less effective.
• Invisalign is one of the most popular orthodontic treatments with our Chelmsford patients, and with good reason. It’s main initial appeal is that it is barely visible when being worn, but also it can be removed when eating and for cleaning the teeth, making it very convenient and helping to keep your teeth and gums healthy too!

We hope that you scored well and most importantly, we wish you all a great Christmas and new year from all of the team at Blue Sky Dental.