Expert Dental Care For Your Entire Family
Holistic services provided at WDI:
Airway Assessment
An airway assessment in dental settings involves evaluating the patient’s airway to identify potential obstructions or difficulties that could affect breathing or sleep. This assessment considers various factors, including the size and shape of the oral cavity, tongue and jaw position, nasal passages, and soft tissue (tonsils, uvula). It may also involve Dr. Yang evaluating breathing patterns, sleeping habits, and behavioral symptoms like snoring or gasping.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown of what’s typically included in a dental airway assessment:
1. Examination of the Oral Cavity:
- Size and Shape:
Assessing the overall space within the mouth, including the hard and soft palate, is crucial.
Examining the tongue’s position at rest and during movement, as well as looking for signs of tongue ties or other restrictions that may affect airflow.
- Soft Tissue:
Evaluating the tonsils and uvula for enlargement or other abnormalities that could obstruct the airway.
Assessing how teeth fit together, jaw movement, and the overall function of the temporomandibular joints (TMJ)
2. Breathing Assessment:
Determining whether the patient primarily breathes through the nose or mouth, as this can indicate potential airway issues.
- Sleeping Patterns
Observing signs of snoring, gasping, or other breathing abnormalities during sleep.
- Behavioral Symptoms
Looking for behavioral changes, such as fatigue, hyperactivity, or poor focus, may be related to sleep-disordered breathing.
3. Orthodontic Considerations:
- Assessment of Jaw and Palate Development
Evaluating the overall development of the jaws and palate, as these structures can impact airway space.
Identifying any dental or skeletal issues that might be contributing to breathing problems.
4. Other Factors:
- Mallampati Score: A subjective assessment used to predict the difficulty of intubation (insertion of a breathing tube), which can be a factor in dental procedures requiring sedation.
- Thyromental Distance: A measurement of the distance between the thyroid cartilage and the chin, which can be an indicator of airway difficulty.
- Mouth Opening Test: Assessing the patient’s ability to open their mouth fully.
5. Radiographic Assessment:
- Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT): This imaging technique can provide detailed 3D images of the airway, allowing for precise measurements of the pharyngeal airspace and identification of potential constrictions.
By incorporating these elements, a thorough dental airway assessment can help identify and address potential problems that could affect breathing, sleep, and overall health.
Bio Compatibility Testing
Biocompatibility testing is a laboratory screening process intended to confirm if specific patients carry unique sensitivities to commonly used dental and orthopedic devices placed in the body. This test is particularly important for individuals who carry rare or unique health concerns preventing them from receiving specific treatments. Whether it be a dental crown, implant, filling, or orthodontic device, the test helps you and your dentist confirm if receiving these devices will cause a negative reaction.
Keep in mind that the testing does not only focus on how the body reacts when dental devices are placed initially. It also accounts for the body’s response to the corrosion byproducts of the materials themselves. For example, as a dental filling wears down over several years, the possibility of a corrosive byproduct entering the body is present. By testing patients for material biocompatibility ahead of time, Dr. Yang can better plan treatments for sensitive patients and avoid the use of certain materials altogether.
How Does Testing Work?
Once a lab has received a blood sample from a patient, they can use it to determine how that patient’s immune system would react to certain medical materials. Any time a foreign material enters the body, antigens alert the antibodies, which begin performing a defensive action against the material. Once created and activated, the antibodies begin the process of targeting, destroying, and eliminating the substance from the body, just as they would harmful bacteria.
Antibodies are not well equipped to attack substances associated with restorative and reconstructive biomaterials; however, they will still initiate defensive measures against the substance in question. By measuring the antibodies’ response through a relevant clinical threshold in a lab, scientists can confirm if a patient has an adverse reaction to the substance.
How Does This Testing Help Dentists?
With this information, Dr. Yang can be more informed on sensitivities that patients have to specific substances. To prevent negative reactions and complications caused by medical materials, Dr. Yang will opt for a material they know will not cause adverse reactions. This leads to more catered and more effective treatment plans overall.
Dr. Yang always takes the entire body into account when providing treatment, not exclusively the mouth or structures associated with it. By identifying your sensitivity, they can easily correlate that material and products by tradename, allowing them to filter materials and fine one that works for you, both immediately and in the long-term.
Have more questions about the test or want to get tested yourself? Call WDI & schedule an appointment today to learn more!
SMART-Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal
In dentistry, SMART stands for Safe Mercury Amalgam Removal Technique. It’s a protocol designed to minimize mercury exposure during the removal of mercury amalgam fillings, according to various dental sources. This protocol includes specific safety measures to protect patients, dental staff, and the environment from mercury vapor and particulate matter.
Key aspects of the SMART protocol:
Minimizing Mercury Exposure
The primary goal is to reduce mercury exposure during the removal process by utilizing specific equipment and techniques.
Includes using protective gowns for both the patient and dental personnel, special air filters, and proper waste collection systems.
The protocol is often associated with the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT) and their recommendations for safe amalgam removal according to some dental practices.
SMART also involves educating patients about the risks and benefits of amalgam removal and the importance of adhering to the protocol.
Ozone Therapy
Have you heard of ozone dentistry before? Ozone is oxygen with an extra atom. It is chemically unstable or “excited”. Ozone carries a negative charge. It tries to neutralize anything positively charged. Normal healthy cells are unaffected by ozone. However, bacteria, viruses, and other abnormal cells carry a positive charge. Their membranes are destroyed by ozone. Ozone is a natural substance, which can often take the place of caustic chemicals and invasive techniques.
Ozone has been shown to have many benefits in dentistry and medicine. It can help stimulate oxygen metabolism and prevent oxidative stress, and ozone also kills most types of bacteria and viruses on contact. By killing bacteria and boosting blood oxygenation, this breakthrough technology will speed healing, treat gum disease, and boost your natural immune response. Ozone use is causing a revolution in dentistry! It is natural and it works!
Ozone therapy can be used to treat gum disease, root sensitivity, deep decay. Removal of harmful bacteria with ozone on deep decay is the natural way to keep the tooth alive and pain-free! Ozone therapy enhances the healing process in diseased tissues and deep decay, often preventing the need for root canal therapy. It can be used alone or with other treatments. Our office provides this modern and effective treatment for a variety of cases. We use both ozone gas and ozone water. Ozone gas fumigates and disinfects periodontal pockets and decreases sensitive exposed roots, also it disinfects root canal systems after they are cleaned out. Ozonated water helps us to irrigate infected periodontal pockets, sterilize infected teeth and dental equipment and water lines for a safer dental experience.
Ozone can be used for dentistry to help treat:
- Gingivitis
- Periodontal/gum disease
- Dental decay
- Tooth sensitivity
- Promote clot/bone formation
- Proper disinfection of extraction sites
- Dry sockets
- Fungal treatment (mouth)
All dental treatments should be safe, natural, and biocompatible. Dental ozone is one of those treatments Dr. Yang is passionate about. It fights bacteria, inflammation, and disease. It is emerging as a great tool in the treatment of decay and other dental issues. Ozone is extremely antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal. Ozone therapy is associated with minimal side effects. Within proper dosage, this treatment is safe because ozone is a natural substance.
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