111–120 of 141 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you imagine people in countries east of Austria as ugly bunch with crooked teeth, because we're developing and never heard of cosmetic dentistry?
Actually, the usual place to stereotype as having crooked teeth is the UK, which is firmly in the "developed" group of countries. To answer your question, no, "crooked teeth" isn't in the usual list of stereotypes people have about Eastern Europeans.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you imagine people in countries east of Austria as ugly bunch with crooked teeth, because we're developing and never heard of cosmetic dentistry?
Actually, the usual place to stereotype as having crooked teeth is the UK, which is firmly in the "developed" group of countries. To answer your question, no, "crooked teeth" isn't in the usual list of stereotypes people have about Eastern Europeans.
Interesting article. Waterpik is a related product (as in, for teeth and gums) that a dentist recommended. Anyone have experience using it - pros, cons?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It has not once in my life occurred to me to email my dentist.
I know--mine texted me the night after my filling, to see how it was coming along. She does that for everybody, along with a number of other practices that do her and (would) her profession great credit.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not to defend your particular dentist, but... > I asked if we could just do an extraction but they only responded with "Oh you don't want to do that!" (playfully) but legitimately not saying it was an option. I think dentists are culturally and by training pre-disposed to keeping your real teeth in your mouth. I've asked different dentists why and they get a hand-wavy, but they all say it's better if your real teeth…
It's because your jaw will change shape when there is a void an it can affect other teeth in the row. Also if you remove a tooth on the lower jaw, the corresponding tooth above on the upper jaw can start to travel downwards in the absence of a bite.
First, teeth and their movement is more complicated than it might first seem. You have to think about the entire masticatory apparatus, for example:
• There's more root than crown, how does the root move in relation to the tooth? Root resorption is a common problem in orthodontic treatment.
• Is there / will there be enough bone surrounding the tooth to support the intended movement?
• How will the patient's occlusion (how the teeth fit together) be affected? Part of the Invisalign process is to take a bite registration that shows the upper and lower teeth in relation to each other. This is important, and ignoring it can potentially lead to other complications:
- stress fractures
- supraeruption of opposite tooth
- TMJ pain
• Does the patient display any parafunctional habits that will affect the new tooth positions? For example, do they grind, clench, or have abnormal chewing patterns?
• Many Invisalign techniques require the placement of anchors, holds, and various other structures attached to the teeth themselves. They allow for more complex movement than the insert itself would be able to provide.
• Adjustments are often required mid-treatment. Not everybody’s anatomy and biology is exactly the same, so you have to adjust accordingly.
Now, does every general dentist take this into account 100% of the time? No, but they’re at least trained to recognize these situations and compensate for them.
That said, many simple patients don’t require any more thought than the OP put in. It’s a good thing he looked in a text book and realized that there’s a limit to how much you should try to move a tooth at each step before you’re likely to run into problems. And if you do run into problems — do you think a professional is going to come anywhere near your case?
A few issues I have with his technique:
• Unless he poured his stone model immediately after taking the impression, it’s likely there was a decent loss in accuracy. Alginate is very dimensionally precise, but only for about 30 minutes. The material that most dentists use, PVS, is dimensionally stable for much, much longer (not to mention digital “impressions”).
• Vertical resolution of the 3D print does matter. You might be moving teeth in only two dimensions, you’re applying it over three dimensions.
Again, I think it is awesome that someone gave this a shot, and did a fairly good job as well. I’m all for driving the cost of these types of treatments down, as well as promoting a more hacky/open approach to various treatments. Just know there’s more than meets the eye.
* I decided to go back to tech, there’s too little collaboration in dentistry for me to make a career out of it.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Next I need someone to do orthopedic shoe inserts. Mine cost $600 and only fit my running shoes.
Have you ever tried cheap generic inserts?
How soon before the FDA says this is illegal or the medical industrial complex lobbies congress to make this illegal?
This also seems to have whitened his teeth at the same time ;), typical "before, after". But on a serious note, I had braces, after the were remove a wire was placed behind my teeth to keep them in place. It didn't stick to one of my ceramic teeth I had from an accident in my youth. The wire was removed and after some months my front two teeth were as far apart as ever. Ok, the overbite didn't return but things will…
I've been using 30% Carbamide Peroxide whitening gel in the trays for about 30 minutes a day. So yes, they are whiter.