Monthly Archives: March 2013

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March 23rd, 2013

Dental Issues in Older Patients

There are a number of specific dental issues that I see associated with my older patients. Some are of a cosmetic nature, so whilst not necessarily significant from a medical perspective might be a concern for the patient on an aesthetic level; others are more are related to increased difficulty in treating dental disease which has both aesthetic and medical implications.

Cosmetic
As teeth age, a number of things occur that make the teeth look duller and darker in colour than younger teeth. The nerve/pulp chamber in the center of the tooth naturally gets smaller so the tooth becomes more solid dentine, resulting in a darker colour.

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March 9th, 2013

Orthodontics is the area of dentistry that aims to improve the position, appearance and function of crooked or abnormally arranged teeth. This involves wearing appliances on the teeth which, over time, move the teeth into the desired position. Some appliances are fixed and only able to be removed by a dentist (sometimes called ‘braces’) some are able to be removed by the patient (eg. Invisalign).