1. Haven't done scaling for a while, tooth slowly becoming like triangle shape. Wonder if the gum can grow back?

2. Some part of my tooth has become like transparent color. Should I be concerned?

huh? prolong exposure to toothpaste causes fluorosis?? that's something new... then shouldn't we stop using high concentration topical fluoride?

Thanx for opening this thread! great effort here.... have you completed your fido?

1.I believe you meant what we called as 'the black triangular'. It is formed when your bone and gum shrink, and if the process continue down the time, eventually your teeth will be shaking. There are few minor oral surgery that can make the bone and gum regrow, but not everyone is candidate for the surgery, it has to depend on your level of bone. For non-invasive method, i recommend regular scaling to AT LEAST maintain the already shrink-ed gum, rather then let it progressing worsen.



2. Actually our teeth have some amount of transparent, it to make light to pass through and make our teeth nice. It is usually at the edge of our teeth, it is normal. What abnormal is when you notice your teeth has become more and more transparent. It usually due to acidic food, such as orange juice or maybe you have the habit of night grinding ( Bruxism ), which make the teeth thinner.



I think the statement i have put it in a wrong way. It should be if didnt rinse the toothpaste after brushing, there will be increase risk of us swallowing the toothpaste, and it will cause fluorosis of bone. For a teeth to become fluorosis, high amount of floride must be consume at the TEETH FORMATION STAGE, which is before the teeth erupt. The amount of fluoride in typical toothpaste will be 1000ppm to 1500ppm. Even our tap water has fluoride in it , it is below 0.1ppm. Many cases of tooth fluorosis is due to ingestion of these fluoridated water, it has been a debate whether we should put fluoride in our water system or not, but i think the pros wight more than cons

I have completed my fydo, are you a dental officer too??

This post has been edited by AskTheDent: Sep 13 2014, 08:35 PM

How much does it cost for scaling and polishing these days?

Above is the fees recommendation from Malaysia Dental Association. It is written scaling and polishing is Rm100 and above, but it really depends on the clinic setting and location. I heard some place they have Rm25 for scaling too...

Just read about fluoride. Pretty nasty le this toxin. Gonna throw my Colgate toothpaste and start to use non-fluoride toothpaste liao after I get it.

Fluoride somehow is a double edge sword, but as long as you didnt swallow the toothpaste, it actually serve to protect your teeth. I found a phrase from the net and would like to share it here : 'Apart from fluorosis, the only other danger with fluoride is overdose. The lethal dose of fluoride is about 5 mg fluoride for every 2.2 lbs. (1 kilogram) of body weight. If you swallow a little, you'll be OK. But one tube of toothpaste holds enough fluoride to kill a 60-pound (30-kilogram) child if the whole tube was swallowed [source: Fluoride Action Network]. This is why children should be only given a pea-sized amount of toothpaste on their brushes and supervised so they spit out, rather than swallow, after brushing. '

But ultimately, its your choice, is your mouth, your teeth, your body and life. But for me, as a dentist, i will still using fluoridated tooth paste



This post has been edited by AskTheDent: Sep 10 2014, 01:44 PM

oh i see. To be safe, i better use flouride-free tooth paste first.

i got myself plax from johnson johnson, it works like a charm, no more scaling or going to the dentist, i also notice that it makes my teeth visibly more whiter.

Bought it overseas.

I'm an oral surgeon... I din have to serve the government during my time...

Any idea on the triclosan issue that was posted by bloomberg?

Is there a need to remove a wisdom tooth if it does not pose any problem as at now?

Then will there be more problem if a wisdom tooth is removed when you get older (ie when you are in your 30s or 40s)?

The colorless-type resin which they use as a temporary crown for a
few days, prior to fitting the actual crown - I've note that it is quite
tough, durable, and not porous, in contrast to the usual white ceramics
which they use for filling these days. which don't seem to be very hard
nor durable, and seems somewhat porous.

Why don't they use this resin as a filling material instead ?

i've had multiple tooth extraction in the past, and fortunately all of them arent the front teeth so the gaps arent visible. i'm planning to just leave them like that, since i can eat just fine. but will the other teeth get crooked because of the gaps next to them?

where can I get dentist that provide service teeth whitening? area ampang?

Hi Doc, you must be a very senior oral surgeon. You are the Oral Maxillofacial Surgeon? Because i notice some GP they put oral gurgeon too, i dont think they refering to Oral Maxillofacial Surgeon. And why sir dont need to serve last time? Mind take us down the memory lane?

Another debatable topic, im not in a good position to provide you the answer,so i will leave it to the expert to answer your question

FDA on Triclosan


Good question! One of the common headache for people. You can remove wisdom teeth IF
1) Food get stuck between wisdom teeth and second last teeth and find it difficult to clean the area, and eventually caries is form on both the teeth
2) It is not erupting to the place it should be ( it maybe be tilted, rotated, or not fully erupted )
3) Persistent gum swelling and pain
4) If you dont have upper wisdom teeth, there is no point to have lower wisdom teeth. The lower wisdom teeth act as a DECORATION in your mouth and it is a risk for you. The risk is stated in point 1

So, if the wisdom teeth is in a correct position, you manage to clean it, not giving you any problem,you have upper wisdom teeth to bite on i would suggest to keep it. Otherwise, it is advisable to get it remove as young as possible, because the older you are, the bone become less elastic ( more difficult extraction ) and your capability to heal is slow and less compare to younger age.

What if you go to the dentist too often for scaling. Is that a bad thing?

Let's say if you go to the dentist every 3 months for scaling. That is like 4 times a year.

actually the temporary crown and the ceramic ( dentally it is call composite ), both are under resin family. Im quite sure the one use for filling are stronger than the temporary crown material. The composite company will market their brand by comparing the strength of their composite to one another, so they have to be strong, moreover, it has to withstand biting force for a very long time in our mouth


Good question. First , we must understand that our teeth are constantly moving ( in a very slow pace ). For left and right,teeth stay in the position because it is control by the force of tongue and our cheek muscle. For front and back, it is control by neighbouring teeth. If the opposing teeth is missing, the teeth will erupt to occupy the missing teeth space.

It may be confusing, but let me give an example. If your front tooth is missing, it will move/tilt forward. If the your back tooth missing, it will move/tilt backward. If you upper tooth is missing, the opposing lower tooth will grow upward occupy the missing tooth.

So the answer to your question is YES, it will get crooked. Some it takes more time to move, some it take shorter period, but it will definitely move

Sorry bro, i dont know ampang area, but most newly establish clinic should have. If not you can visit those franchise clinic, they should have it

Rumour has it that is not good for you to go scaling often, as it will make your teeth thinner. By the way,our teeth is the strongest in our body, even stronger than bone. So it is impossible that scaling will make our teeth thinner. The scaling frequency is actually depend on your gum health and amount of deposit ( calcalus ). If your gum is persistently swelling, bleeding, shaking teeth, then you may have to go for regular check up. I always advice my patient, those who have all those symptom, to come scaling every month, after their condition improve, i will make it every 3 months then progress to every 6 months. So next time you go, try ask your dentist about your gum condition and when is your next appointment

Thanks a lot for your advise.