By using mouthguards, over 200,000 sports-related oral injuries are prevented each year according to the American Dental Association. Mouth guards cushion the force of a blow to the jaw and dissipate the energy, greatly decreasing the incidence and severity of concussions because the lower jaw (the mandible), is not forced back into the base of the skull (the TMJ), and harmful forces are not transmitted to the brain. These guards also protect the teeth and soft tissues of the mouth through cushioning. Costs related to replacing teeth lost due to trauma can run into the thousands, and can lead to a lifetime of dental problems.

TYPES OF MOUTHGUARDS

Requirements of Mouthgards:A mouth guard must be comfortable, have excellent retention, have little or no interference with speaking or breathing, wear well and resist deformation, and not be bulky but have adequate thickness to be protective.

Types
(1) Stock Mouth Guards: These offer the least amount of protection. They tend to wear out quickly, have poor retention, are bulky, and make speaking and breathing difficult.

(2) Boil and Bite Guards: Approximately 90% of use. These are made of a thermoplastic material that is softened in boiling water, then adapted by finger and tongue pressure in the mouth by the athlete. Unfortunately, during the heating process and subsequent adaptation, thin spots develop in the material, offering greatly reduced protection. Often, they do not cover all the posterior teeth, and are frequently cut and adjusted by the athlete to make a more comfortable fit, further reducing their effectiveness. They are bulky and interfere with breathing and speaking.

(3) Custom Sports Guards: Custom made mouth guards are superior in every way to the stock and boil and bite guards. After an impression is taken, most commonly of the upper teeth, there are two possible custom mouth guards that can be fabricated:

-a- Vacuum Mouth Guard: Using a vacu-form machine, a piece of material (commonly EVA – ethylene vinyl acetate) is heated above a stone model of the upper teeth. The material is lowered on the model, and a vacuum pulls the material over the teeth. There are limitations. All material thins out when heated by as much as 50%, sometimes more. Additional layers cannot be added, because the material will not fuse unless heat and pressure are used. Because no pressure is used, the internal fit is compromised.

-b- Pressure Laminated Mouth Guard: By far the best sports guard available. These custom-fitted mouth guards are fabricated by a special machine, which fuses layers of material using heat and as much as 10 atmospheres of pressure. Therefore, the internal fit of these guards is extremely precise. These sports guards have virtually no elastic memory (they will retain their shape), will not deform with the heat of the mouth, and additional layers can be fused together to form a thicker guard, or to add material where extra protection is needed. These guards also have the additional advantage of being able to be customized. So, when a sports guard fits well, is personalized, and allows breathing and speaking, it is much more likely to be used.

We also offer bite-optimized Agility Guards for enhanced athletic performance.

In Victoria, BC, like any other city in Canada, a dentist is always available somewhere to see you on short notice for a dental emergency. These may include:

(1) a broken tooth with pain
(2) a broken jaw
(3) swelling due to infection
(4) very loose or missing teeth

It is very important to deal with infection quickly, as some dental infections can quickly become life threatening without intervention.  Teeth knocked out through sports injuries can often be reimplanted

Dental Emergencies for Children

Active children may also be susceptible to mouth injuries. One way for kids to reduce the chances of damage to their teeth, lips, cheek and tongue is to wear a mouth guard when participating in sports or recreational activities that may pose a risk. Avoid chewing ice, popcorn kernels and hard candy, which can crack a tooth. Most dental injuries occur between the ages of 1 1/2 and 3. Here are some tips on how to treat the most common dental injuries:

Broken Tooth – Rinse out your child’s mouth with warm water and use cold compresses to minimize swelling. See your dentist.
Cracked Tooth – Contact Dr. Pite
Jaw-Possibly Broken – Go to the emergency room
Knocked Out Tooth – Clean the tooth by holding it by the crown (not the root) and rinsing gently. If possible, re-insert tooth into socket and hold in place until you reach your dentist’s office. If that’s not possible, place the tooth in a glass of milk and bring it with you to the dentist.  It must be reimplanted within approximately 30-45 minutes.

If you have a dental emergency in Victoria, contact Dr. Adam Pite at (250) 661-0710.  He can be reached after hours via the clinic answering service.

A: We’re all victims of funky breath from time to time. Deploying mints, gum or mouthwash may take care of the problem, but in some cases they only mask the odour.

If you’re “minted” but still spewing foul air, you’ll need to do a little reconnaissance to address, hopefully exorcise, the embarrassing horror that is halitosis. According to the Mayo Clinic, certain foods, habits and health conditions can contribute to bad breath.

The obvious culprits are strong-smelling foods, such as garlic, onions and spices. Their oils are absorbed into your bloodstream and carried to your lungs — and then exhaled. Stick with less-pungent foods and drink more water.

Rethink your dental routine. Brush your teeth and tongue after eating and floss at least once a day. (You might also want to try a tongue scraper, available at the drugstore.) Better oral hygiene helps fight bad breath in a couple of ways: It clears out odour-causing bacteria, and keeps your mouth healthy so that germs don’t get cozy along your gum line and cause sour-smelling (not to mention painful) gingivitis. See your dentist regularly; he or she can also check for problems like old dental work that’s fallen into disrepair and is trapping food bits in your gob.

Get a medical checkup. Bad breath could signify a health problem, such as xerostomia (dry mouth), a sinus infection, a respiratory infection, acid reflux, metabolic disorders, cancer, diabetes, or kidney or liver problems. Don’t dither about it — just make an appointment and clear up the mystery. Some medications can cause bad breath, including drugs for urinary problems, psychiatric conditions or high blood pressure.

And hey, quit smoking. Not only does it make your breath smell, but it dries out your mouth — the equivalent of rolling out a red carpet for odour-causing bacteria.
- Daily XY

Invisalign provides an alternative to those conscious about the appearance of traditional metal braces. It is very commonly used for adults, but can also be applied to many adolescent cases as well. Numerous famous people have used Invisalign to drastically improve their smile… a simple google image search of invisalign and Hillary Duff will show some simple examples of how difficult it is to notice the clear trays being worn.

It is indeed, much as is the case with any material, that mercury is toxic in high doses and can result in signficant neurological impairment. In spite of the mercury leaching concerns with having these fillings in one’s mouth, the most dangerous form of mercury is in the vapour form when these fillings are removed. This is why isolation with a rubber dam and high volume suction are essential to patient and dentist staff safety.

From a dentist’s standpoint, dental amalgam was – and continues to be – one of the longest lasting ways to repair a tooth cavity (aka dental caries). As a dentist more recently trained, I have always had at my disposal, the luxury of bonded composite and porcelain restorations. I truly believe that amalgam no longer has a place in my practice, and this is why I do not have any in the clinic – “amalgam free”.

Amalgam is excellent for dentists to place in areas which are difficult to keep dry, such as those extending below the gums and in areas where blood or saliva seeps into the field. There are alternatives such as glass ionomers that may be used in some of these situations, or even more ideally crowns/inlays/onlays.

The greatest concern I see with amalgam is fracture of the surrounding enamel. Although these restorations last for upwards of 40 years, inevitably, many of them have the potential to crack the tooth in such a way that the tooth may require extraction. Part of the thorough dental exam is to identify these teeth with potential for fracture – and a plan is made to remove the amalgam and replace it with something to protect the tooth, like an onlay/crown/inlay. If you have any more questions, please message me on facebook or twitter.

“Mouthguards do more than protect young athletes’ teeth. They can also help prevent concussions by acting as shock absorbers,” said Dr. William Kohn, DDS, vice president of dental science and policy for Delta Dental Plans Association. “Studies show that concussions can cause serious, long-term consequences for athletes, and the majority of at-risk athletes are children.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 300,000 people get sports-related concussions a year, with children and teens at the highest risk.

Although mouthguards are only mandatory for some youth sports, such as ice hockey, football and lacrosse, dental professionals recommend they be worn for all athletic activities where there is a strong potential for contact with other participants or hard surfaces.

But nearly seven in 10 Americans (68%) report that their child does not wear a mouthguard at soccer, basketball, baseball, and softball practices or games. Studies also show that today’s basketball players are 15 times more likely to sustain an orofacial injury than football players.

Mouth injuries in football have dropped dramatically since mouthguards became mandatory. More Americans report that their child wears a mouthguard for football than for any other sport; however, even in football–a sport requiring protective gear–only seven in 10 caregivers (70%) report that their child wears a mouthguard at both practice and games.

And only about four in 10 (44%) say that their child wears a mouthguard for hockey practice and games, which is also mandatory. Even more alarming, about two in 10 children (22%) only wear a mouthguard at games, not practice. And according to Safe Kids USA, most organized sports-related injuries occur during practice rather than games.

“Parents need to encourage their young athletes to get in the habit of wearing mouthguards whenever they participate in sports, whether it’s for practice or a game,” said Dr. Kohn.

There are three types of mouthguards currently available:

* Mouth-formed mouthguards can be purchased at many sporting goods stores, and can be molded to the individual’s mouth, usually by boiling the mouthguard in hot water to soften the plastic.

* Custom-made mouthguards are considered the best option but are the most expensive. Since they are made by your dentist from a mold of your teeth, they fit tightly and correctly.

* Bite optimized mouthguards, most particularly, the AgilityGuard, used by many famous Olympic athletes and professional athletes from all over the sporting world to provide the athletic advantage and safety of positioning the lower jaw in the most stable joint position.

Dr. Adam Pite is the first dentist to offer athletes fabrication of the AgilityGuard on Vancouver Island and presently the only to offer the Trophy AgilityGuard for high level athletes. Being the national training centre for many of our Olympic athletes, Dr. Pite hopes to use these tools to assist in development and performance of our athletes, nationally and locally. If you would like more information, please see AgilityGuard.com

Having now completed his level 5, Dr. Pite will begin instructing programs in California, a part of Dr. Pite’s goals to help other dentists in learning proper cosmetic dentistry techniques. Dr. Pite can be seen at the graduation ceremony with four of the other new instructors, as well as many others who will go on to become proctors. He is in photo 14 of 28.

Before heading down to California to instruct in the late summer, Dr. Pite has begun organizing “Aesthetic Boot Camp” with Dr. Paul Newitt over in Burnaby, BC which will begin in September. The CCADS affliation website is here

Already, Dr. Pite has found that more and more patients are choosing the predictability of implants for replacement of missing teeth. Not only is the procedure more predictable than conventional fixed bridges, but it does not involve preparation of adjacent teeth that would not otherwise need to be worked on. One of the main benefits, however, is the ability to preserve bone. Following the removal of a tooth, 40% of bone volume can be lost within the first year. Because there is no longer the need to hold a tooth, the body will allow bone loss to proceed. Placing an implant will help to preserve the bone. Since the bone loss occurs so rapidly, a decision whether to place an implant is best made at the time of tooth extraction.

A few patients have noted to that a friend has found that some aspect of the implant surgery was uncomfortable, however, the overwhelming majority of patients find the procedure to be comfortable and quite straightforward.

If you have any questions about whether an implant would be right for you, please contact our office through the book an appointment, or call the office to speak with Ela.

The Powersmart Team visited the clinic today for a tour of our facility.  Unfortunately, I was in the midst of some extensive bone grafting and dental extractions for a fellow dentist who has become a very good friend here in Victoria.  He is known for making great smiles, so it is very flattering to be asked to work on his!

They toured the facility and are a very upbeat, young and positive trio and I was quite excited that two of them came all of the way over from Vancouver to check out our clinic!  We also had an article featured in the Oak Bay News which you can see below.

On another note, our clinic has really been seeing a lot of patients for dental implants.  It is a rewarding part of dentistry to be involved with as we are helping patients to recover their smiles and with it, their confidence.

We will begin IV sedation in July, as we are fully equipped for emergencies, but have yet to receive our cardiac monitor with full ECG reading capabilities.  I am excited about the broad range of services this will open up to patients who are somewhat timid about their treatment.

We have also begun seeing cancer patients from the Vancouver Island agency.  This has been an exciting part for all of our team members as we begin to make a real difference in the experience of patients undergoing radiation treatment.

In July, we will begin offering complimentary dental consultation for children under the age of two.  So often, this is an overlooked segment of the community who could benefit from dental education of parents.  We intend to make parents aware of the following issues and more:

1. The use of fluoride supplements (our community does not have fluoride in the water)
2. The importance of home care– brushing or, at a minimum, wiping the teeth clean after each feeding
3. Avoiding bottles at night time with anything other than water (and how other liquids can effect the teeth)
4. Nursing and its relationship to primary tooth decay
5. The impact of oral habits, such as pacifiers or fingers

There are exciting new things developing on the horizon for our team and I hope that patients will become excited with us as we also release our first Oak Bay Dental Clinic dental newsletter in early summer.

http://www.bchydro.com/rebates_savings/product_incentive_program/energy_fix/oak_bay_dental.html

You can vote once per day and once per computer/data phone and once per browser (Internet explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, etc). Voting ends June 3rd.

If we are selected, BC Hydro would complete a $35,000 energy efficiency to our clinic and we would be featured on a major segment on Global TV in the summertime.

I will have some new posts in the weeks ahead, but I am presently focusing on studying for the Associate Fellowship exam for the American Academy of Implant Dentistry in June… and of course on this contest!