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Sports and Dental Injuries in Children. Dental injury in sports is a commonly encountered issue for both children and adults. All sports carry a risk for injury while contact sports carry the highest risks for dental related injuries. Parents who actively enroll their children in sports must be aware of the potential risks for dental injury in order to make the necessary measures to minimize them.

Dental Sports Guards . Over the counter dental sports guards are cheaper than the custom ones made by the dentist. The reason is that the material used for over the counter sports guards are not durable and very thick. Also they are ill fitting and uncomfortable.

Pain Medication. Patient’s with pain in the pulp of the tooth are usually given pain medications such as:
Motrin or ibuprofen which have an anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect.
If stronger pain medications are needed usually Vicodin or Hydrocodone can also be prescribed.

Sports Injuries and TMJ. Sport induced TMJ can be caused either by a traumatic blow to the jaw or muscle strain that puts stress on the tempromandibular joint. It’s also possible to suffer TMJ because you are overworking your jaw during sports. Clenching your teeth is common when you are trying to use all your strength.

Alternatives to Amalgam Fillings. Dr. Paul with Zak Dental discusses alternatives to amalgam fillings. He speaks about direct composite restorations, indirect ceramic restorations and other alternatives to dental fillings.

Sedation in Pediatric Dentistry. One of the most common methods used to sedate children in dentistry is nitrous oxide also known as laughing gas. Nitrous oxide is used for its calming effect. It makes the patient feel more relaxed. You breathe in nitrous thru a mask that covers your nose. It takes a few minutes ti notice the effect.

Why the concern about mercury in amalgam? Because, everyone is exposed to mercury through air, drinking water, soil and food. Therefore, concerns have been raised, for instance, about the amount of mercury building up in fish as a result of pollution. Mercury enters the air from industries that burn mercury-containing fuels.

Early Childhood Caries is a devastating problem in young children. Not only can it cause pain and loss of teeth, but it also affects self-esteem, speech development, nutrition, and school attendance. Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is any tooth decay in a child under 6 years of age.

Materials in Dental Amalgam Fillings. Because dental amalgam is a mixture of metals, consisting of liquid (elemental) mercury and a powdered alloy composed of silver, tin, and copper. Approximately 50% of dental amalgam is elemental mercury by weight. Therefore, the chemical properties of elemental mercury allow it to react with and bind together the: silver; copper; alloy particles to form an amalgam.

Because fluoride for children is an essential treatment. Therefore it helps to prevent decay and helps them grow with a healthy dentition. The guidelines for fluoride are based on their age to ensure adequate levels are met. Children under the age of two should not receive any topical form of fluoride due to the potential of swallowing it. Many communities contain fluoridated drinking water and is adequate for children two and under.