Monday, January 05, 2009

What do you want me to blog about?

Ok, so I have not posted as much this past year as previously. Things have been so busy around here with our growing practice and in my personal life as well (in a good way). We are spending lots of time on our new office in Madison. So, what to blog about? I get ideas all the time, but now, I am going to ask you. There are a lot of topics covered in my previous posts. All these are listed in the sidebar over there to your right. The topic you are interested in just may be there, so please take a look. If it is not, please let me know what topics you want to know more about. I will take the most popular and try to address them if I think I can be of any help and it seems interesting to me--ha! Please, blogging topics only here, not questions about your particular child's teeth or situation on this particular post, just general topics you would like more information on like sealants retainers, etc. If it pertains to Pediatric Dentistry, Orthodontics, the Dental Profession, Children, or even life in general, let me know and comment here!

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

Effect of common salt in food on teeth?

Anonymous said...

Effect of common salt on cavities and sore gums.

Anonymous said...

What is caused by a Midline bite

Anonymous said...

Extractions- when are they necessary, complications that can arise , etc.

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

Extractions--I like that one.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Dean!

What an office space! Congrats. I follow your blog from my practice in Madison, WI, not Madison, AL.

My daughter showed me this video and asked me how it could be not fake.

Any idea? I guess this is a just for fun type of post for a friday afternoon, but maybe you'll have a take.

Keep posting! I know you're busy but it's really useful for the rest of us.

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

Ha! I have no idea about videos. These days I take that stuff with a grain of salt--still funny.

Let's talk said...

My 14 year old son has to have a root canal for a dental abscess above a back upper molar (permanent tooth). His pediatric dentist can't figure out how it got infected since there are no cavities in the tooth. He does have braces. Could trauma from sports or a loose bracket in his braces have caused an injury we didn't notice? It just doesn't make sense to me but I saw the x-ray and there is definitely an abscess and pus came out when the dentist injected the site for the x-ray. Thanks!

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

I have not seen that kind of thing from orthodontic treatment--sometimes you can get the ends of the roots resorbing a little but I have not seen an abscess from treatment. Cannot really diagnose that. Sometimes teeth can have periodontal problems, but really I cannot say.

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to say thank you so much for this blog. I just found out my son, who is 4, needs to have his two top front teeth extracted due to an abcess from previous fillings. I was floored and sad and really upset and questioning the ped. dentist. Went to a second opinion and was told the same. Your blog has made me feel so much better. I kind of took what you said as a third opinion, even though you didn't see my son! (I'm in PA, by the way.) The only thing still of concern is the dentist will not let me back with my son while doing the extractions. I understand the reasoning, by my son had a very, very traumatic experience with a previous dentist and I don't want him to have dental anxiety again and for the rest of his childhood.

Anyway, your general information is wonderful, informative and calming. Wish I lived in AL, we would certainly be coming to your office!

Unknown said...

Hello Doc,

I am one of the prospective dental student in US and a trained dentist from India. I am working on my new website(www.medabroad.info), blogs(hnh4u.blogspot.com, tv.medabroad.info) and forums (forum.medabroad.info). I am impressed with your BLOG and I wonder if you can let me put some of your articles on my BLOG, with your obvious references and ususal credits.
If you are comfortable then you can email me at askpanks@gmail.com

Regards,
Panks

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

Panks
Ok with me. Just reference the source( this blog). And do not modify or sell etc.

Anonymous said...

I would like to know about how childhood illnesses can affect the development of permanent teeth devlopment. I am shocked that my 7 year old son has had so many problems with his permanent teeth coming in (weak enamel and decay even before they are fully erupted). My ped. dentist says he was just born this way and all I can think about is how the surgery he had at 3 months old may have affected his tooth development. I've never heard of this before and would like to know more about this. Thank you.

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

Check out my post on enamel hypplasia

Anonymous said...

I would love to see a post about your opinion on breastfeeding's effect on teeth. We have been receiving hugely different advice on this issue ranging from it causes extensive decay to it makes no impact whatsoever and have even found articles on the ADA's website saying that it doesn't cause ECC like it was previously believed to. It is very confusing! I've found in our experience with pediatric dentists so far, that many of them have little to no information about the actual mechanics of breastfeeding and assume that with every nursing session that the mouth fills up with breastmilk, which is not true (see La Leche League International, information from Dr. Jack Newman - the world's leading breastfeeding expert, etc.). It seems like something that is so natural and so beneficial to the overall health of the child wouldn't be seen so negatively by so many dentists. Thanks for your blog - I've enjoyed reading through the topics!

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

Breast milk is very good for a baby. Breast milk has lot's of good things the baby needs, protein, carbohydrates and fats. These are also the things bacteria like too. So, basically you need three things for cavities to form: 1. a vulnerable tooth, the bacteria that couses tooth decay--Streptococcus Mutans, and food for the bacteria. Although breast milk may have a few more chemicals that may inhibit bacteria, as far as feeding the bacteria, the bacteria are just as happy with cows milk as breast milk, as juice. So the risk may be less, but is still there. I have seen breast fed babies with EEC.

So, what are you supposed to do? Most dentists recommend getting off the "bottle" or what they call ad lib brest feeding (at night) by one year of age or so. Still needs the nutrution during the day, but the recommendation is --do not put a baby to sleep with a bottle (after one year of age)--same goes for breast milk. It's ok during the day--but not at night After 12-14 months. One reason is that studies show the bacteria colonize the mouth when the first molars come in at 12 -18 months of age. Of course, all this may change with more research, but at this time that is the recommendation.

Moms will do what mom's feel is best. I don't think dentists view it "negatively", it's just that many have seen the ravages of EEC and all the expense and effort it takes to treat it, that prevention is a priority.

Anonymous said...

RE breastmilk, that sounds much better than what we've heard so far. The first pediatric dentist we went to said that breastmilk will rot teeth and that a baby should never nurse at night and that I should be brushing my daughter's teeth after every feeding. I recently read on a dental board that there are some dentists that recommended weaning as early as 5 months to avoid problems with ECC.

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

Well, brushing before bedtime is always a good idea. Good grief, I spelled ECC (Early Childhood Caries) as "EEC". This is why I am a dentist and not an English teacher. Plus a very tiring busy day at the office...

Let's talk said...

Thank you for your reply. The root canal went smoothly.

Christine Fry said...

Can you discuss dentin dysplasia? Can a food disorder (fructose malabsorbtion cause dentin dysplasia? Where in the US is the best place to take a child who has this disorder?

Christine Fry said...

What is the treatment for Dentin Dysplasia? Could a problem like fructose malabsorption cause Dentin Dysplasia? Is there a pediatric dentist who specializes in this treatment?

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

Just make sure you see a pediatric dentist. Any dentist may treat the conequences of dentinal dysp. It depends on severity too.

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

Oh, dentinal dysplasia is usually an inherited autosominal dominant condidtion.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Dean Brandon,
Can you put my mind at ease about something? My son is 6, has lost 3 baby teeth. The 4th top left came loose around Thanksgiving last Nov. It is now turning brown, seems from the inside. (there has been no trauma to it and it was never discolored or any decay before). He refuses to brush it or touch it. We are taking him to the dentist in a few days, but wondering if the tooth will need to come out or will they just say to let it fall out. Is this common? It should have fallen out by now. I'm worried about infection. CCN

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

I do not know if I can put you at ease, but some teeth like that are pushed out a little early due to crowding or the ectopic eruption of the tooth next to it. Other times there is simply different eruption patterns. It is good to get stuff looked at just to make sure. Also, sometimes teeth turn funny colors just before the come out.

anti aging said...

I'd like to know more about the effects of food on our teeth. For example, tea and coffee adds discoloration to our teeth, etc.

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

I use sitemeter.com

I think Google analytics also has good stats.

anti aging said...

Thanks Dr. Dean. I'll try to use sitemeter. :)

cure adult acne said...

I'd like to know more Wisdom tooth. My wisdom tooth grew in a way that I couldn't brush it and so it needs an operation... but the cost is too expensive! Any other way?

Anonymous said...

Hi Dr. Brandon,

Can you talk a bit about the normal erruption time of adult teeth after baby teeth have fallen out? When should you be concerned that an adult tooth is not errupting after a baby tooth falls out and what is the recommended course of action?

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

A discussion on eruption is in there in places already, but to answer a little here. Sometimes a baby tooth falls out and the new one is right there. Sometimes it can be 6 months before you see the new one erupt. It varies a little. Much longer than that and I like to get an x-ray to see what is going on.

Anonymous said...

i see how you love your work and how proud you are. you inspire me. thank you. More power to you. I hope you do some missions for the poor.

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

See my post here:

Mission Trip to Rio

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I am a graduating senior dental student. I was wondering: do you perform RCT on first molars at all especially if it is a challenging (behavior) kid or special needs case or if you were doing a filling that entered the pulp? Or would you refer the case to an endodontist who may not be as well trained as you to handle such challenging behaviors? How would such a case be reimbursed if you did it on #30 for instance? Do you get paid the endodontist or a specialist fee or a general dentist's fee. Thanks

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

I personally avoid root canals on molars. They can be quite difficult and potentially complex. I do a few anterior (one canal) tooth root canals. As you know we all know how to do root canals, as we do them in dental school. What is, not only something I do not do often, but which would likely be done more efficiently by an endodontist. So, that is something I refer.

Yes, there is a conflict if it is a child patient (under 21) who is anxious and in some way s difficult to treat under normal circumstances. Endodontists do have access, as I understand, to IV sedation and other things that can deal with anxiety. Not as good as how we handle them, but they do have some expertise in that area.

Insurance companies do not care if you are a specialist or a general dentist. A root canal is a root canal--Same reimbursement. There may be some insurance companies that reimburse differently, but not too many.

Some kids that may have, for instance, deep decay to the pulp, well, a root canal may be ideal, but you can sometimes do a pulpotomy in a permanent molar. It often solves the tooth ache, stops the decay process and basically buys time. I tell them them ideally they will eventually need a full proper root canal. Still, it can be done and works very well.

Read more on my posts on root canals and pulpotomies. --and behavior management. There is a lot here. Oh, and you may want to check out my new book on dental school. It talks a lot about setting up a practice and other things you may want to think about after dental school: My new book

Seven Daughters said...

My daughter's gums do not attach to one of her bottom incisor's correctly. The pediatric dentist we were seeing before we lost our insurance said it's because her tooth is missing the ridges the gum attach to? He also said that if it didn't correct itself, we may be looking at a skin graft from the roof of her mouth onto the gum area. She brushes 2x a day and uses listerine. She is 12. The gums are above the root line, but just barely. Can you give me more info?

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

I do't know, but could be gingival recession (almost always on the lower front teeth). That usually requires a graft as you have mentioned. Most like that I see do not "correct" themselves. I usually send cases to the periodontist for evaluation and treatment.

Dr. Dean Brandon said...

Oh, good brushing always helps, but many cases still need a graft.