Local Dental Care for Tooth Whitening

Four Questions Your Dentist Wishes You Would Ask

The technology and treatment options for consumers of dental care have greatly improved over the last 20 years. The new dentistry now provides you with the opportunity of maintaining your natural teeth throughout your life. One of the ways this is accomplished is by referral to a dental specialist to treat specific dental problems.

When dentists refer you to a specialist, your understanding of the problem and decision for treatment is vital in determining a specialized dental plan. The plan for your dental health and your general dentist's overall goals often depend on these specialized resources.

When you are referred to a dental specialist, he or she becomes a part of your dental team. Although your specialist will give you information about the reasons for the referral and the treatment, there are also some active steps you can take to increase your participation in the dentistry treatment and healing process.

A query of dental specialists indicates that there are some questions that they would like you to ask to enhance the treatment outcomes they seek as a result of your dental plan. Answers to the following questions will often augment the information provided by your general dentist and enable you to clarify any further questions you may have about the specialized treatment you are receiving.

• What is the cause of the condition that you are treating?
• What treatment gives you the best overall outcome and how will it help you?
• What can you do after treatment to help the healing process?
• What can you do to control the condition in the future or make sure it doesn't happen again?

These four questions will help you gain insight into the disease process that led to the need for dental care treatment and the prevention and self-care measures you can incorporate into your life to avoid future problems. With this information, you can also work with your general dentist and the dental team to maintain your dental health plan.

Specialized dental care for your dental needs is one of the ways the new dentistry has brought innovations in diagnosis and treatment to benefit consumers.

By Brian DesRoches, PhD

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

Early Dental Practices

Every science has its beginnings in myth and folklore. Early dental practices, in particular, are deeply tied to the mysticism surrounding the teeth and tongue. Because the mouth is the center of speech and nourishment, diverse cultures treat dental events in their lives with respect.

There is a universal human belief that teeth confer power. These remedies and practices were intended to cultivate that power-by keeping teeth for a lifetime. The same spirit-much refined-motivates modern dentistry.

Toothache

For relief, boil earthworms in oil and pour into the ear on the side where there is pain (Pliny, 77 AD).

Pour juice of onions by drops into the mouth, bite a piece of wood struck by lightning (ibid.).

Put tobacco in the armpit; hold a heated root of a birch on the cheek; or hold a small frog against the cheek or lick a toad's abdomen (Norwegian folklore).

Lay roasted parings of turnips, as hot as they may be, behind the ear; keep the feet in warm water, and rub them well with bran, just before bedtime (John Wesley, 1747).

Tooth Extraction

"Round the tooth to be drawn, he fastened a strong piece of catgut; to its other end he affixed a bullet. Then he charged a pistol with this bullet and a full measure of powder. The firing performed a speedy and effectual removal of the offending tooth" (Dr. Monsey, 1788).

In the US and Europe, the blacksmith did extractions, presumably because they had the "proper tools."

"If one had a tooth extracted, it must be burned, because, if a dog got it and swallowed it, one would have a dog's tooth come in its place" (Dr. Holmes, 1862).

Tooth Cleaning

To clean the teeth, rub them with the ashes of burnt bread (Poor Will's Almanack, 1780).

To stable and steadfast the teeth, and to keep the gummes in good case, it shall be very good every day in the morning to wash well the mouth with red wine (London, 1598).

In parts of England, the superstition persists: one prevents a toothache by "clothing one's right leg prior to the left" (G.P. Foley, 1972).

Tooth Growth

To make the teeth of children grow hastily, take the brain of a hen and rub the gums therewith. It shall make them grow without any sorrow or diseases or aching (London, 1934).

Roast the brains of a rabbit and rub a small amount on the gums (US, 1942).

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.