A Festive Dental Quiz For Our Staines Patients

As the year comes to an end, discover how much you've learned from this year’s blog.

As the final days before Christmas approach, many of us are probably still preparing for the big day, whether that be shopping for food, tidying the house ready for guests or even seeking out last minute presents. Perhaps one of the last things on our minds, unless we are having problems at the moment, is our oral health. Rather than write about a new topic then, we thought we would use today’s blog as a reminder for our Staines patients of some of the topics we have covered this year and to see what you can remember.

For a bit of fun and hopefully some benefit by jogging memories, see how well you can do in the quiz below set by the team at the Clarence Dental Practice. All answers are included in the blogs we have written this year, so no cheating and the answers are at the bottom of the page.

1. A key part of the dental implant placement procedure is called ‘osseointegration’. What does this entail?
2. A teeth whitening procedure is a great way to have nicer looking teeth. When teeth are badly stained or discoloured though, another procedure is likely to work better. What is it?
3. Dental hygienists offer an education service but also commonly carry out a non-invasive procedure. What is it called?
4. Given that a child’s first teeth fall out; aside from any pain caused by tooth decay, what other reasons makes it important for their first teeth to stay healthy?
5. Name three advantages that the Invisalign orthodontic system has over traditional ‘wire and bracket’ braces?
6. A root canal procedure uses a special type of filling. What is it called and why is this used, rather than regular amalgam etc?
7. What causes teeth to become sensitive?
8. Smoking is widely accepted to be bad for us, but what specific oral health issues are likely to be caused by this habit?
9. What are the two main threats to dental implant health in the longer term?
10. And no, this one is not from our blogs, but just for a bit of fun. As humans, we have around fifty teeth during our lifetime. How many teeth do sharks have in theirs? (clue .. it’s more!)

We hope that you didn’t peek at the blogs to find the answers, but even if you did, it will act as a reminder. Let us take a look at the answers below.

1. Osseointegration is the part of the procedure where, once the implant is placed into the jawbone, the implant and bone gradually fuse together. This can take some time, typically around three months, but once this part of the process has completed, the implants are held very securely in place and will not move at all providing that they are kept healthy with regular oral health care.
2. Teeth whitening works best on mild to moderate staining. If teeth are more heavily stained, or have other flaws such as chips that need correcting, porcelain dental veneers may be a better solution. These are fine layers of porcelain which are attached to the front of the teeth and then shaped and polished to provide a natural appearance.
3. The procedure that dental hygienists carry out is known as a ‘scale and polish’. It is a three part non-invasive procedure that removes hardened tartar from the teeth and gum line, reducing the risk of gum disease and leaving your mouth healthier as well.
4. A child’s first teeth really do matter and neglecting them can cause tooth decay. In some instances, this can lead to infections. Any deep infections could also potentially affect the tooth growing beneath it. Premature loss or removal of a ‘baby tooth’ can also cause their adult tooth to erupt crookedly too.
5. Using Invisalign to straighten teeth has a number of advantages over traditional ‘train track’ braces. The most significant ones are that they are next to invisible to all those around you. They can be removed when you eat so there are no restrictions on your diet caused by food getting trapped in the wiring. Finally, as they are removable e.g. for eating, they can also be taken out so that you can clean your teeth well; something that can be difficult when wires and brackets get in the way.
6. The filling material used in a root canal procedure is called ‘gutta percha’. It is used for its excellent sealant properties which helps to ensure that re-infection is less likely to occur.
7. A number of things can cause sensitive teeth and some people have thinner enamel than others due to genetics. In most cases though it is damage to the tooth enamel that causes it. In some instances, this might be a small chip or crack in the tooth, but increasingly it is caused by enamel erosion due to a diet that is high in acidic foods, and more often, acidic drinks, especially those claiming to be sports or energy drinks. Water is by far the most tooth friendly drink that you can consume.
8. Smoking is one of the worst things that you can do for your teeth. In addition to causing often significant staining, it is a leading cause of gum disease which can lead to tooth loss. It is also the most likely cause of oral cancers which can lead to serious issues including facial disfigurement and can even prove fatal. If you currently smoke, quitting should be at the very top of your new year resolution list, and preferably before then!
9. The two main threats to dental implants once they are established in the mouth are periodontitis and peri-implantis. Both of these are usually caused by poor oral health care and affect the gums. In the case of periodontitis, this can also lead to damage to the bone in which the implant is placed, causing the implant to become loose or even coming out. Peri-implantitis is very similar and also affects other soft tissues surrounding the implant as well as the bone. Both of these can be prevented with good brushing, flossing and dental hygienist visits.
10. Sharks actually lose their teeth every few weeks or months. Over a lifetime, they will have approximately 30,000 teeth. That would be an awful lot of trips to the dentist if they were human. If this fascinates you, check out https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-can-shark-teeth-tell-us.html for more information about shark’s teeth.

We hope that you enjoyed this festive quiz and if you got 10/10, very well done and you should possibly join a pub trivia team. You know the shark’s teeth question will come up at some point!

For now though, as we approach the festive break, we would like to take this opportunity to wish all patients of the Clarence Dental Practice Staines a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. (for any dental emergencies during the days we are closed, please ring our usually number 01784 463 695 and listen to the message for what to do next).