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It is because Elephant ivory is solid dentin. Dentinal tubules make them porous, less slippery, useful for piano keys, and elastic, useful for billard balls. When they are formed, they are covered by a thin cap of enamel that wears down soon after.

So, my question is... Do they suffer from Dentinal Hypersensitivity??? I'll post the answer as soon as I find out! :-)

Labels: ali Mehio, dentist in downtown vancouver, dentist in vancouver, vancouver dentist

New research from the University of Alberta found that teeth first evolved from outside of the mouth of scales on shark-like fish, ischnacanthid acanthodians, that roamed the oceans 416 to 397 million years ago in early Devonian time.

So teeth initially developed outside the body and migrated slowly into the oral cavity.


Can you imagine the looks on that first smile? Imagine little tiny teeth aligned around the lips. I guess kissing and lipstick weren't invented yet.

Teeth initially gave a major advantage to grasp and hand on to prey until they can swallow it in one shot, i.e. they weren't used for chewing!

Jaws, which evolved earlier, along with teeth allowed fishes to go from filter feeding, like the big blue whale, to active predators. Evolution from passive feeding to hunting was the first evolutionary arms race among vertebrates.

Teeth evolved and specialised as the reliance on teeth grew according to the specific diet of each specie. They allowed vertebrate to become more efficient predators, and eventually more efficient herbivores.

For further information you can read the reference below or contact us at: www.ariadental.com

Blais SA, MacKenzie LA, Wilson MVH. 2011. Tooth-like scales in Early Devonian eugnathostomes and the ‘outside-in’ hypothesis for the origins of teeth in vertebrates. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 31:1189-1199.

Labels: ali Mehio, aria, dentist in downtown vancouver, dentist in vancouver, evolution, teeth

There are numerous questions and concerns we keep on hearing at our Downtown Vancouver office about teeth whitening

Myth 1: whitening strips enamel permanently from teeth
Myth 2: scrubbing teeth hearder will clean them better

Myth 3: Using a medium or hard toothbrush will clean your teeth and stain away better

How does bleaching works?
Enamel is made out of billions of organized tubes called enamel rods that are aligned like a honeycomb. Underneath the enamel lie the dentinal tubules.

Dentin is the sensitive and yellow part of the tooth. That's why the thinner the enamel, the yellower and more sensitive the teeth become. So by scrubbing your teeth with a medium/hard brush with a “whitening toothpaste”, which often contains a stronger abrasive, your teeth may get yellower and sensitive over time.

With time, stain infiltrates between the enanel rods and becomes intrinsic stain. The only way to remove that stain without damaging the enamel is through a chemical that reacts with them, like hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen Peroxide reacts with the stain molecules and cleaves them into smaller & lighter molecules that get washed away. These stain molecules also provide some isolation by plugging access to cold water & air to the sensitive dentin. That’s why your teeth become very sensitive after a teeth whitening session (it actually means that the whitening is doing its job.)

We hope we demystified some of those myths. If you may have any questions, comments or to book a consult, don't hesitate to contact us at: http://www.ariadental.com/contact.php

Labels: ali Mehio, dentist in downtown vancouver, dentist in vancouver, teeth bleaching, teeth whitening, teeth whitenning, vancouver dentist

My tooth had a root canal... Is my tooth dead?

This is a common question our patients ask us at Aria Dental Vancouver.

A Root Canal therapy consists of Accessing, Cleanning, Shaping, Disinfecting/Sterilizing and Sealing the complexe root canal system of the tooth.

Tooth anatomy

Each tooth consists of a Crown (the part that we see) and roots (parts that are anchored to the bone by a ligament.)
Inside each root there is at least one (sometimes 2 or more) major canal(s). In the canals, there are usually nerves, blood vessels, lymphatics, cells, etc. They all meet up in the pulp chamber.

When a pulp becomes infected or inflammed due to a deep cavity or a deep filling for example, it "self-destructs itself" (Irriversible Pulpitis).

Irriversible Pulpitis is an inflammatory reaction that can cause a dull intense pain that can last anywhere from a couple of minutes to hours. It is one of the major emergencies seen in a dental office. Its classic symptom is a diffuse dull ache (tooth ache) after the consumption of a hot substance. Usually the pain is aleviated by something cold. Patients often are seen sipping on icy water. There are 2 solutions for this pain: root canal or tooth extraction (we prefer to save the tooth whenever possible.)

If nothing is done, the pulp ends up dying, and the pain goes away... Only to come back as an abscess pain: i.e. pain to touch or biting.

The alternative to a root canal is extraction. Leaving an abscessed tooth is usually not an option, as it can be life threatening due to their proximity to the airways and blood circulation to the brain, i.e. there is a risk of dying from a tooth abscess.

In other words, a root canal treatment's purpose is to save the tooth when the pulp is either dying or dead.
The pulp's biggest job and function is to form the tooth and its roots.

Once this job is accomplished, the pulp's remaining function is as an "Alarm system", warning you when a cavity is present and causing pain sensations - like when you eat Ice cream.

It also has a nutritive function to the organic 30% of the dentin structure of the root (Collagen matrix mainly). A root canaled tooth is actually weaker then a tooth with a healthy pulp, and that's part of the reason.

It also protects by forming secondary dentin when injured. That's why a tooth darkens up with time after an impact, as seen here on one of our patients teeth.

Traumatised tooth

If you have any question, comments or would like to book an appointment, don't hesitate to contact us at: http://www.ariadental.com/contact.php

Labels: ali Mehio, broken filling, broken teeth, broken tooth, dentist in downtown vancouver, dentist in vancouver, dr mehi, dr Mehio, failing filling, Mehio, root canal, tooth ache, vancouver, vancouver dentist

One of the most asked questions in our office is: "Will my filling/crown last forever?!?"

No matter how strong a material is, it is as strong as the weakest material surrounding it.
Sometimes, it is the tooth itself that fails. Teeth can decay, crack, fracture... This would unfortunately lead to failure of the restoration.

The filling material and its bonding agent (glue that keeps it in place) can also fail due to material fatigue. Material fatigue is a progressive and localized structural damage that results from repeated cyclic loading of an object. We chew on average 1,500 times per day. Add to that the abuse from teeth clenching and grinding, ice &/or gum chewing, nail biting (or ear biting in the case of Mike Tyson) etc... Like teeth, fillings will wear down.

Last month, we had a case of a failing tooth colored (composite) filling.

Failing filling

The patient complained of sensitivity to biting and to cold on her upper left teeth. She had those fillings placed over 10 years ago, and they haven't bothered her until now.

Exam findings:
1. She felt pain when the pressure was specifically placed on the filling on tooth 2.6 (14 for US dentists)
2. A gap was felt between the filling and the tooth indicating an open margin

Conclusion:
There is likely failure of the bond between the filling and the tooth (the glue that links the filling to the tooth)

Solution:
The filling needs to be replaced.

We started by numbing the tooth and isolating it with a rubber dam. It is an important step to avoid contaminating the area. One of the main reasons why a tooth colored filling fails prematurely is if a film of saliva ends up on the tooth surface while the filling is being placed. That film will compromise the longevity of the filling by weakening the strength of the bond between the materials and the tooth.

After the filling was replaced

The filling was successfully replaced. When we saw the patient for her recare appointment, a week later, she was happy that the pain was gone.

Do you have a comment, a question or would like to schedule a consultation? Follow this link for our contact information: http://ariadental.com/contact.php

Labels: ali Mehio, bruxism, clenching, dentist, dentist in downtown vancouver, dentist in vancouver, dr Mehio, failing filling, Mehio, replacement, restoration, tooth sensitivity, will my filling last forever

Fractured tooth

Onlay prep

Prep scan

 Then the ceramic onlay was designed and adjusted to fit the tooth...

Onlay design

Milling preview

Milled onlay

Cemented Onlay!

Et voila! Do you have a comment, a question or would like to schedule a consultation? Follow this link for our contact information: http://ariadental.com/contact.php

Labels: aria, broken filling, broken teeth, bruxism, cad/cam, ceramic, cerec, clenching, computer dentistry, crown, dental, dental hygiene, dentist, dentist in downtown vancouver, dentist in vancouver, inlay, onlay

Although wisdom teeth may be hard to maintain and treat, some patients refuse to part from them.
Wisdom teeth often represent a challenge for dentists due to the complexity of their anatomy and their remote position in the mouth.

Preoperative picture of the wisdom tooth, upper left side. The rubber dam is in place. A mirror is needed to photograph the tooth.

The tooth was prepared for an onlay. The ceramic will be mainly retained from the inside of the tooth, to preserve as much of the tooth as possible. Note: The tooth had a root canal treatment in the past.



Omnicam 3D scan of the wisdom tooth and the tooth adjacent to it. No impression or powder involved.



Onlay design by the Omnicam - CAD component. The margins were traced and the computer generated the crown.



The Onlay design, as it will be milled by the Cerec CAM component out of the block of ceramic.



The cemented crown, after it was stained and glazed.

The crown in the patient's mouth 1 hour later! The patient was thrilled with the results :-)

Do you have a comment, a question or would like to schedule a consultation? Follow this link for our contact information: http://ariadental.com/contact.php

Labels: aria, broken teeth, cad/cam, ceramic, cerec, computer dentistry, crown, dentist, dentist in downtown vancouver, dentist in vancouver, missing teeth, saving teeth, vancouver dentist