Your London dentist can rapidly treat your dental pain, and it may not all that bad, so don’t put it off! Dental pain results from injury to the dental pulp or tissues supporting the teeth (the periodontium). At early stages pulpal disease(s) can be classified as reversible, if there is not permanent damage. Symptoms of pulpal pain may include teeth sensitivity brought on by tactile sensations or cold, hot, and sweets. Periodontal pain results from an infection in the gum or bone that may lead to an abscess. If left untreated, serious problems such as cellulitis can result. Dental pain is acute in nature, and rapid and effective treatment by your London dentist with tooth restoration(s), root canal treatment, tooth/teeth extraction(s), or gingival curettage will result in the resolution of pain. Once treated, the pain usually goes away immediately or only lasts 1-2 days.
A dental caries lesion (a cavity) occurs when there is a hole present in the outer tooth surface. During a dental exam, your London dentist will use an instrument called an explorer to find cavities. If the explorer sticks into a tooth, it has a cavity. When this is felt by your tongue or finger, the cavity may have progressed to its later stages. A white spot on your tooth may turn into a cavity. However, not all white spots do turn into cavities. Dental X-rays are required to detect cavities that are not visible clinically and those between your teeth. Dental pain is usually a sign of dental disease(s).

Your London dentist will perform screening for oral cancer during your dental examination. Death rates from oral cancer are high because oral cancers are usually discovered when they are late in their developmental stage, and not because they are difficult to find and diagnose. Sometimes they are only found after they have metastasized to the neck’s lymph nodes. Prognosis is much better if oral cancer is discovered at a very early stage in its development. Patients have difficulty noticing intra-oral lesions, and don’t go to the dentist until the symptoms and pain occur. If someone has oral cancer and it is treated, their chance of developing oral cancer again is 20 times higher than those who have not had oral cancer. This risk usually lasts for 5-10 years after the initial treatment for cancer. Approximately 90% of oral cancers are squamous cell carcinomas. Make sure to contact you dentist or doctor if your experience any of the following: 1) sores or lesions in the mouth that don’t heal for 2 weeks; 2) cheek thickening or a lump; 3) patches on the tongue, gums, lining of the mouth, or tonsils, that are red or white in colour or both. 4) a feeling that something is stuck in your throat or persistent soreness of the throat 5) difficulty chewing or swallowing, moving your tongue or jaw; 6) tongue numbness or other areas of numbness within the mouth; and, jaw swelling. These signs and symptoms may be the result of something else; however they are also indicative of oral cancer. Only your dentist or doctor can tell you. If there is a fear of oral cancer, then certain diagnostic procedures will be performed, along with a biopsy. Tobacco use is known to increase the risk of oral cancer. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are the most common treatments for oral cancer.

Periodontal therapy essentially is used in the restoration of diseased gum tissue back to a healthy state. Advanced forms of periodontal disease may require a special kind of surgery on the gums to rebuild tissue that has been destroyed due to the onset of the disease. The term used to refer to this procedure is Periodontal Regeneration.
Usually, periodontal surgery involves the opening up of gum tissue to examine the extent of damage caused to the underlying bone structure. In cases of minor bone damage all that is required is for the bone to be smoothened over, much in the same way as furniture is sanded down. A smooth floor of bone is created to support the gum tissue and ensure effective sealing of gum to tooth. This procedure is quite frequently performed by dentists in London.
But, in the case of extensive bone damage, smoothing of the bone ceases to be an option. The only option that the dentist now has is to fill the destroyed areas with new bone material. This material is usually made of freeze-dried and demineralized bone matter and helps in providing an alternate framework for the body to restore the lost bone support. Many dentists in London have found this material to be extremely effective and the best part is that in as little as a year, the grafted material is completely replaced by the newly regenerated bone structure by the body. This type of material has been in use in modern periodontal care for more than 30 years and has an excellent safety record.