Please find below some dental terms explained so that you can better understand what dental treatment has been done or might need doing as part of the Natural Recovery Plan to recover from your chronic fatigue syndrome, M.E., fibromyalgia or autoimmune disease.
Abrasion Usually refers to wear from tooth brushing.
Abscess A dental infection, most often at the tip of the root of the tooth due to the nerve (pulp) inside the tooth dying and decomposing.
Amalgam Dental amalgam is a 50:50 mix of liquid mercury and powdered silver, copper, tin, zinc and other metals. It does not bond to the tooth, so cavities are undercut so as to retain the filling once it has set. It can be quite destructive when going from a dental amalgam filling to an inlay, for instance, where the cavity needs to be flared towards the surface to allow for removal and insertion. It is not an aesthetic filling material and there are serious health concerns about the use of metals in dental restorations – especially mercury in dental amalgam.
Apicectomy or apicoectomy This is a mini-operation where the tip of an infected root is removed and the root canal sealed. Historically, dental amalgam was most frequently used. Often done where access through the top of the tooth is blocked due to posts or crowns or when a root-filling has failed.
Bicuspid The preferred US term for a premolar tooth. These teeth have two cusps and lie between the molar (back) teeth and the canine teeth. There are eight bicuspids in total – two right and left in both upper and lower jaws in most people. One from each quadrant is often extracted to permit orthodontic alignment of teeth in an ‘overcrowded’ mouth.
Bleaching This can be done in the surgery using a light and carefully applied gel or done at home using custom made trays and gel. Although no long-term harm has been demonstrated the bleach works by penetrating through the tooth. Some people also complain of sensitivity afterwards. Bleaching is certainly effective and less destructive than other methods of treating discoloured teeth, although the long-term effects are not fully known.
Block injection Used most often to refer to an inferior dental (ID) block which is an injection which anaesthetises one half of the lower jaw. Unlike the upper jaw, the lower jaw is too thick to allow anaesthetic to penetrate through the bone and so the nerve has to be anaesthetised where it enters the jaw bone at the back of the mouth.
Bonding Usually used in conjunction with etching. An acid gel is applied to the tooth which causes a microscopic roughening of the enamel to which a liquid resin can then be applied and set – most often with a light. This enables other plastic filling materials to be bonded to the tooth. This technique can also be used to bond to dentine.
Canines The UK term for what are called cuspids in the US. The large pointed teeth adjacent to the incisors that are used for tearing flesh and that are prominent in most carnivores.
Calculus This is plaque that has mineralised to become hard and this requires professional removal by a dentist or hygienist.
Cap Another word for a crown. It can be made of ceramic, gold or may have an internal metal structure (for strength) covered in porcelain (for aesthetics). Usually used to cover a fragile, heavily filled or root-filled tooth to preserve it and/or to improve the appearance of a tooth.
Caries Dental caries is the proper technical term for tooth decay. Acids produced by bacteria acting on sugar soften the enamel enabling bacteria to invade the inner dentine where the cavity can often progress unchecked until it may affect the inner pulp (nerve) causing pain and/or infection.
Cavitation Short for neuralgia-inducing cavitational osteonecrotic lesions (NICO). Refers to ‘chambers’ that can form within the jawbone after the extraction of teeth – most often of a lower molar or wisdom tooth. A toxic cocktail can form involving remnants of the extracted tooth membrane and bacteria which can become anaerobic and act as a source of toxins and bacteria that can affect the entire body.
Ceramic These are glass-like restorative materials that can be cast or milled in a laboratory or created by a technician using powdered ceramics and then baked.
Composite A tooth-coloured filling material that comprises glass particles in a plastic resin. Usually set by an ultraviolet light, but can also be activated by mixing two pastes.
‘Core’ Acts as the foundations for a crown or bridge in a heavily filled tooth. Cores can be made of composite, amalgam, glass ionomer or cast metal. Dental amalgam cores under gold or porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns or bridges are thought to induce galvanic currents which drive mercury into the surrounding tissues.
Crown See Cap
Cuspid See Canine
Cyst This is a fluid-filled cavity that forms within the jaw bone often contained within a membranous ‘sac’. The body is attempting to wall-off and contain some infective matter. Can be symptomatic or asymptomatic.
Deciduous teeth The 20 baby teeth replaced from the age of 5 – 13 years of age by the 32 permanent teeth.
Dental amalgam See Amalgam.
Dentine The ‘ivory’ within the tooth. This is a living hard substance made of lots of tiny tubules radiating from the nerve and blood supply in the centre of the tooth out towards the enamel and root surface. Decay (dental caries) often penetrates the enamel and then ‘mushrooms’ out within the dentine.
Empress This is an aesthetic crown material which is a leucite-reinforced ceramic that is pressed into a mould and treated under pressure.
Enamel The visible part of the tooth. This heavily mineralised ‘dead’ layer covers the living dentine within and is the hardest substance in the body.
Endodontic treatment Otherwise known as root fillings or root canal fillings. ‘endo’ means ‘within’ and ‘dont’ means ‘tooth’. This involves attempting to clean out all living matter from within the root system of the tooth, disinfect and obdurate all the space with an inert filling material. Teeth tend to become weak and discolour after treatment and may require a crown or overlay to protect them from subsequent fracture.
There is also concern that root-filled teeth can act as a reservoir in which bacteria can grow unchecked within the dentine and lateral and accessory canals of the tooth also morphing into their anaerobic forms and acting as a source of toxins and bacteria within the body.
Endodontist A dental specialist who does root fillings or surgical retrograde root-fillings for a living – often the difficult ones or re-treating ones that have already failed.
Erosion Refers to the combined effect of softening the teeth with acidic foods, drinks and/or drugs often combined with vigorous tooth brushing.
Etching The use of an acidic gel to produce a microscopically ‘rough’ surface on the enamel or dentine to which resins can then be bonded.
Glass ionomer This filling material contains glass particles that are dissolved by acidic gels to form a solid, tooth coloured filling material. Does not have much structural strength but does bond to dentine. Typically used in deciduous teeth. Leaches fluoride.
‘Gold’ Used to make cast restorations such as inlays and crowns. Actually consists of up to 6 or more metals added for strength and colour.
Gum disease Although this involves inflammation of the gums, the issue is that gum disease progressively destroys the bone that holds the teeth in the jawbone. Plaque gets trapped in the crevice where the gum meets the tooth and causes inflammation – which unless removed in a timely manner can initiate a progressively destructive process.
This undermines the support for the tooth over decades, ultimately resulting in more extractions than for tooth decay. This can often progress to its terminal stages without pain or major symptoms. Gum disease is a major source of bad breath. It has also been shown to be associated with diseases such as heart disease and pre-eclampsia by causing systemic toxicity.
Granuloma Often a chronic infection around the root of a tooth. A ‘bag’ of infected fibrous tissue forms as the body attempts to control the spread of noxious substances from within the tooth.
Continued in Dentistry: A to Z 2.
