Improving the Science of Dentistry

Accelerated Tissue Healing - Regeneration

Recent research has shown that certain properties of our own blood cells, namely: platelets, plasma, and white blood cells have a profound effect for accelerating tissue regeneration that typically takes place with all forms of surgery.

The bioactive proteins carried by platelets are currently being used successfully in both hospitals and private practice office settings for wound healing in several surgical disciplines including orthopedic, neurology, otolaryngology, cardiovascular, vascular, general, plastic and reconstructive, pediatrics and in oral surgeries.

The plasma proteins are derived from the patient’s own blood within just a few short minutes with a specially designed centrifuge and permit the body to take advantage of the normal healing pathways at a greatly accelerated rate. During the healing process, the body rushes many cells and cell-types to the wound in order to initiate the healing process. One of those cell types is platelets. Platelets perform many functions, including formation of a blood clot and release of growth factors into the wound. These Growth Factors function to assist the body in repairing itself by stimulating stem cells to regenerate new tissue. The more growth factors released sequestered into the wound, the more stem cells stimulated to produce new host tissue. Thus, one can easily see that Platelets Rich in Plasma permits the body to heal faster and more efficiently.

Platelets Rich in Plasma (PRP) has many clinical applications:

1. Bone grafting for dental implants. This includes onlay and inlay grafts, sinus lift procedures, ridge augmentation procedures, and closure of cleft, lip and palate defects.
2. Repair of bone defects creating by removal of teeth or small cysts.
3. Repair of fistulas between the sinus cavity and mouth.

Platelets Rich in Plasma (PRP) also has many advantages:

1. Safety: PRP is a by-product of the patient’s own blood, therefore, disease transmission is not an issue.
2. Convenience: PRP can be generated in the doctor’s office while the patient is undergoing an outpatient surgical procedure, such as placement of dental implants.
3. Faster healing: The supersaturation of the wound with PRP, and thus growth factors, produces an increase of tissue synthesis and thus faster tissue regeneration.
4. Cost effectiveness: Since PRP harvesting is done with only 55 cc of blood.
5. Ease of use: PRP is easy to handle and actually improves the ease of application of bone substitute materials and bone grafting products by making them more gel-like.

By Dr. Monica Muñoz
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Healthy gums during pregnancy

Healthy gums during pregnancy

Learn how to recognize, prevent and treat gingivitis

When a woman is expecting a baby, nausea or upset stomach are some of the typical aches usually suffer. However, are not alone. During pregnancy, oral health may also suffer and gingivitis usually act of presence. Have you ever raised why?

The answer is simple. The hormonal changes that the body of pregnant women suffer continuously provoke greater sensitivity to dental plaque (the layer of bacteria that forms on teeth continuously), which causes the gums irritated.

If not sure how to distinguish if you have gum disease or not, there are a number of symptoms developers to help you recognize it. Bleeding during brushing of teeth, bad breath, bad taste and above all, red and swollen gums are its most common manifestations. If you feel any of these annoyances, it is more advisable to go to the dentist for a review and an oral cleaning.

Anyway, the best way to fight gingivitis is preventable, should brush their teeth with a paste specifically for the proper maintenance of gingival health, as well as perform interdental cleaning on a daily basis. The food also influences the state of our teeth and gums, and should therefore lead a healthy diet rich in calcium.

By Dr. Monica Muñoz - Dentist in Mexico

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Dental Tourism - Gingivitis

Gingivits

That is Gingivitis?
Redness and swelling of gingival tissues (gums) that may be caused by irritants (plaque, a soft sticky substance that accumulates on teeth composed largely of bacteria and bacterial derivatives). When plaque stays on the teeth for more than 72 hours, it hardens into tartar (calculus) adhering to crowns and/or roots of teeth, which cannot be completely removed by brushing and flossing. Disease, (viral infections, fungal infections like thrush (candidiasis), gingivitis due to leukemia, improper hygiene (inadequate brushing and flossing) , and or poor general or nutritional health (vitamin C deficiency, niacin deficiency .

Gingivitis is the early stage of gum disease
Gums may bleed when you brush or floss. With treatment, gingivitis can be reversed. However, gingivitis that is left untreated may progress to periodontitis, a more severe gum disease that can result in tooth loss.

Gingivits Treatment

Scaling and Root Planing
Scaling and root planing is the most common and conservative form of treatment for periodontal (gum) disease. Scaling is the removal of calculus (commonly called tartar) and plaque that attach to the tooth surfaces. The process especially targets the area below the gum line, along the root. Plaque is more likely to stick to rough surfaces. For this reason, the root surface is smoothed down in a process called root planing. Root planing removes any remaining calculus and smoothes irregular areas of the root surface.

How It is Done?

Scaling and root planing are done with a combination of ultrasonic scalers and hand instruments. Ultrasonic instruments are electric or air-powered. They have two components:
A relatively metal tip that vibrates at a very high frequency and "knocks" plaque and calculus off the tooth
A water irrigation system that cools the tip and helps to flush out debris from around the teeth
Hand instruments are not powered. They have cutting edges that your dentist or hygienist uses to chip away plaque and calculus.
These instruments come in various shapes and sizes. Different instruments are used for different teeth, and even for different surfaces of the same tooth.
Typically, ultrasonic instruments are used first to remove large deposits of plaque and calculus from the crowns and roots of the teeth. Hand instruments called scalers and curettes are then used to remove any remaining material and make sure that the tooth surface is clean and smooth. When working under the gum line, your dentist or hygienist cannot see the plaque or calculus. He or she will rely on the sense of touch to feel for roughness on the root surface.
Sometimes, scaling and root planing can be completed in one visit. This usually is possible if you have gingivitis, the earliest stage of gum disease. However, if you have periodontitis, multiple visits are usually needed.

Prevention

What can I do to avoid periodontal disease?

To keep your teeth for a lifetime, you must remove the plaque from your teeth and gums every day with proper brushing and flossing. Regular dental visits are also important. Daily cleaning will help keep calculus formation to a minimum, but it won't completely prevent it. A professional cleaning at least twice a year is necessary to remove calculus from places your toothbrush and floss may have missed.

By Dr. Cirenia Aparicio

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