Fear free Dentistry -
What the dentist can do

Dentists, who follow the new MI concepts understand:

• What is a healthy tooth environment (Click here)
• What is caries disease (Click here)
• How to diagnose caries early (Click here)
• How to treat early caries (Click here)

What is early caries?
Caries starts with a mineral imbalance on the tooth surface.  If the imbalance is not fixed a lesion develops.  -  Dental lesions are 'soft spots'  with less minerals then a healthy  tooth surface.  The soft spots can be re- hardened in time. If not a small cavity occurs. Small holes will develop into big ones, if not restored, e.g. by 'Filling-without-drilling'.

Big holes are trouble! They often mean injections, drilling, etc..  - although not always.

The solution?
If the dentist detects mineral imbalances and treats them - No lesions will develop.
No lesions = no small cavities
No small cavities =  no big ones, thus no trouble.

Means: No invasive treatment e.g. with drilling no injections = No potential discomfort and pain! No pain no reason to fear!

To good to be true?
...well, yes ! ...

Note:

• Once a cavity has developed it will not heal on its own
• Once big cavities have developed from small ones, they tend not to get smaller again
• Without visiting the dentist, mineral imbalances and lesions only stay away under condition of an excellent oral hygiene (regular and correct tooth brushing, flossing and mouth rinse) and diet (frequent sweets eating a No No !) - Unfortunately, only a few people do fulfil such criteria...
• Not all dentists focus on MI

So what is it going to be?

Firstly, one should always try to maintain good oral hygiene. Should this not be sufficient, mineral imbalances will develop. Try to find a dentist, who follows MI concepts in his/her practice. He/she will be able to identify their reason, which may be:

	MI treatment option
High bacteria count	Antibacterial mouth rinse over a limited period
Low saliva flow	Dental chewing gum
High frequent carbo intake	Advice on  adjustment of diet habits
High plaque development	Advice on an improved oral hygiene

Should mineral imbalance have progressed into dental lesions an MI dentist can do following in addition:

MI treatment option

Remineralisation with supplements in tooth paste, chewing gum, mouth rinses:

- Fluoride

- CPP-ACP

Once a lesion has progressed into a small cavity, there are various MI treatment options possible:

• Filling -without-drilling or ART (Click here)
• Use of Air abrasion instead of drilling (Click here)
• Caries treatment with Ozone (Click here)

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Large cavity treatment may still include the various MI treatment options possible for smaller ones. However, this only to a certain limit. The rule of thumb is:

As larger the cavity as potentially higher the discomfort of its treatment. Hence, caries should be diagnosed and treated as early as possible. Not only after a cavity has developed. Today, dentistry has advanced so far that reversible dental lesions and mineral imbalances can be routinely

a. prevented (by patient)
b. detected and treated (by dentist)

Early caries treatment lies completely outside invasive treatment procedures, such as drilling and injections. The increasing world-wide use of minimal invasive dental treatment do assist in the removal  of the still constant fears, anxieties and phobia from the routine dentist visit.

For a list of  MI dentists in South Africa click here



For further reading:

A healthy tooth environment
a. We all have bacteria in our mouths, particularly in the plaque around our teeth. They are harmless and necessary, in order to keep oral fungus infections (e.g.Candida) away
b. These bacteria live from carbohydrates (sugar, sweets) in the food we eat.
c. Bacteria digest these carbos and produce acid as waste
d. This acid dissolves minerals out of our teeth
e. Our saliva contains minerals, too, from which they return back into the tooth
f. This creates a constant balance between Loss and Gain of tooth minerals, upon which our teeth remain healthy back to top
Caries disease
Scenario 1
a. Insufficient oral hygiene increases plaque growth around the teeth b. More plaque - more bacteria - more acid c. More acid increases the loss of minerals out of teeth d. Increase in mineral loss by remaining mineral gain from saliva causes a Mineral Imbalance Scenario 2 a. Insufficient mineral supply from saliva (reduced mineral content or saliva flow) b. Can be caused by saliva gland malfunction, Chronic dehydration (e.g. through regular sport, heavy physical work, lack of fluids, alcohol, bad circulation - smoking, dry mouth, etc.) c. Decrease in mineral gain from saliva by remaining mineral loss through bacterial acid causes Mineral Imbalance If the imbalance is not regained dental lesions will develop! back to top Early caries diagnosis Early diagnosis of mineral imbalances by Saliva testing,  Bacteria count tests Early diagnosis of lesions by use of Laser fluorescence, X-Ray Early diagnosis of small cavities by use of dental loupes or microscopes back to top