Information


Surgical has a minion!

Alice the Mobo




Surgical
Legacy Name: Surgical


The Angelic Donadak
Owner: nervous

Age: 4 years, 5 months, 4 days

Born: October 24th, 2019

Adopted: 4 years, 5 months, 4 days ago

Adopted: October 24th, 2019


Pet Spotlight Winner
January 28th, 2020

Statistics


  • Level: 19
     
  • Strength: 42
     
  • Defense: 42
     
  • Speed: 43
     
  • Health: 42
     
  • HP: 42/42
     
  • Intelligence: 100
     
  • Books Read: 100
  • Food Eaten: 0
  • Job: Unemployed



Hey, dude! This pet page is all about teeth, so a warning is in effect, we will be discussing types of teeth, and types of dental procedures including surgery, sutures, and dental conditions, so if that bothers you, click off here!
...

You're still here! Cool. I would really like to talk about teeth with you, so let's keep going!

Psst... By the way, you can click the tabs above to flip through the chapters, but you can also use the links in your lower right hand corner!

All About Teeth!

Glad you stopped by. I know why you're here. You're wanting to learn about TEETH, right? I've got a lot to say about your pearly whites!
So, here's the skinny!
Do you know how many teeth you have off the top of your head? Did I hear you say 32? You're right! Yep, 32 teeth in total.


That was way too easy. Do you know how many types of teeth you have? Well, if you said 4, you're right! There are 4 types of teeth.


Let's learn about it.

4 Types of Teeth
Incisors
Cuspids or Canines
Premolars or Bicuspids
Molars

That's fun, right? Wanna learn more about each type? I know you do. Let's get going, then.

Incisors are your front 8 teeth. Four on the top, four on the bottom. These teeth are the ones you use to bite into food.
Canines, or cuspids, are adjascent to your incisors. We have 4 canine teeth, two on top, two on bottom. They are the sharpest teeth we use to tear food. Or, if you're a vampire, I bet you're using those canine teeth for different reasons!
Premolars, or bicuspids, have flat surfaces, and are used for biting and crushing food. There are 8 premolars in total.
Molars are the largest teeth in the human mouth, and these are similar to premolars in the way that they are flat teeth and good at grinding and crushing food in our mouths. We have 4 third molars (wisdom teeth), 4 second molars (12 year molars), and 4 first molars (6 year molars).


That's nice and all, but what about the parts of the teeth? What exactly makes up the tooth? Well, let's talk about it.

Check that out! *Whistle* There's a lot going on there. Let's unpack it all now.

Crown and Neck:
Enamel is the outer cover of your teeth that protects the tooth from wear. Interestingly, enamel is the hardest substance in the human body, composed of minerals, most substantially crystalline calcium phosphate.
Dentin is protective, calcified tissue that makes up the bulk of teeth. It's softer than enamel, harder than bone, and is capped by the crown.
Pulp Cavity is exactly what is sounds like: a space in the tooth that contains pulp. Dental pulp is connective tissue and nerves and is very important for long term prognosis of the health of teeth. It is unique and is supplies nutrients to the surrounding areas of the tooth.
Root:
Root canal (I saw you shiver) is a space within the root of a tooth. The space is filled with vascularized loose connective tissue (pulp), the tissue of dentin.
Bone, or alveolar, is one of 3 tissues that support the tooth. This bone is intramembranous bone that forms during the forming of the mandible. This bone is home to roots.
Cement is a bonelike material that covers and protects the roots of the tooth. It is softer than dentin and enamel and is made by cementoblasts.
Nerves are in the legs of the tooth. The tooth is supplied by the inferior alveolar nerve, a branch of the mandibular nerve. (Are you seeing a pattern here?) The nerves control the amount of force you use when you chew.
Blood vessels supply the periodontal ligament with nutrients.

That's all very cool to me! Now, what are we to do with this information?
Well, let's get into the conditions of teeth now, healthy and not so healthy. Onward!




Common Dental Conditions

Alright, what now? Well, here's the deal: Dental conditions are very very common in people having to do with genetics or poor dental hygiene.
For starters, let's discuss a healthy mouth:

This is saying a healthy mouth is free from the following:
Bleeding
Broken or missing teeth
Decay and bad breath
Infection
Inflammation
Pain
as well as freedom from cancers and sores.

Speaking of, there are very many common dental conditions. I could keep you here all day talking about it, but I won't! Let's just skim over some things that fall into a few categories.
Tooth Decay
Gum Disease
Cancer
Trauma


Tooth Decay
I'm sure you've heard of cavities. I mean, who hasn't? You may, or may not, know that cavities fall under the category of tooth decay. This is caused by the breakdown of tooth enamel by things such as bacteria, acids, and plaque. Bacteria harbors in the gum line, chewing surface, and spaces between the teeth. Tooth decay can cause the breakdown of the enamel, or root surface breakdown, called demineralizing. Decay is preventable with good hygiene and a diet free of excessive sugar, acid, and carbohydrate, but untreated decay can lead to abscesses, which are very severe infections.

Gum Disease
Gum disease, called periodontal disease, result from inflammation and infection of the gums and the bone that surrounds and supports the teeth. A common gum disease is gingivitis, and untreated, can lead to tooth loss and infection. Certain things can make one susceptible to gum disease such as conditions like diabetes and a poor immune system. Many gum diseases can be prevented by good dental hygiene.

Oral Cancer
Oral cancer affects nearly 40,000 people a year in the United States. Oral cancer can be caused by high risk behaviors such as cigarette smoking, chewing tobacco, and alcohol use. If detected early enough, oral cancer has a much lower mortality rate. Excluding high risk behavior, good hygiene, and regular screens for cancer presence in the mouth can be key to avoiding this diagnosis.

Trauma to the Jaw and Mouth
Trauma to the jaw and mouth can cause excessive damage to the teeth. Such causes are:
Clenching of the teeth, grinding teeth, blunt force trauma to the jaw and mouth, biting on hard objects or foods, and infection.

Once tooth trauma, has occurred, it becomes a thing of quick medical care such as receiving a diagnosis and treatment.

"But Surgical, what do you mean by medical care?"
I'm glad you asked! A next step to dealing with dental conditions and trauma is surgery. So let's talk about that next!




Dental Surgery

Dental surgery is a HUGE branch of surgery, but there are some procedures that stick out from the rest as far as being common. Procedures to consider:
Extractions, or the removal of a tooth due to infections, impacted teeth, and damage to the tooth such as decay or trauma. Wisdom teeth fall under this category. Oh, joy!

Fillings and Bondings to repair teeth that have revocable damage from trauma or cavities using restorative material.
Root Canals to treat absessed teeth. When a tooth is injured, the crack can become infected, so it is crucial to open and clean out the infection. A root canal has the potential to save a natural tooth, but if not, the tooth may be extracted.


For more serious surgeries, there are some that stick out to me as well, like:
Reconstructive Surgery after blunt force trauma, infection, or decay. Surgery includes cosmetic procedures like veneers and dental implants to restore the aesthetically pleasing smile.

Gum Surgery is sometimes required after a gum disease spreads and other options of treatment have been exhausted. Hopefully, this sort of surgery can reverse the damage of the disease.

Alright, alright, alright! So, an interesting aspect of serious surgeries are suture techniques after a tooth has been extracted, a root has been exposed, or a gum line has been pulled back. So, let's get onto learning more about it!




Suture Technique

We have arrived at our final section, and one of my personal favorite topics: suturing!
Suturing just means to stitch up a wound or incision. The goal of suturing is to provide tension, maintain hemostasis (or control blood loss) heal wounds, and, of course, close a wound. But wait, don't go yet, because there's so much that goes into dental suturing. I'll keep it cute, though! Ha!
Tools are the first thing to understand about suturing, and it's very quite simple. Tools include a needle holder, forceps, and suturing scissors. And, of course, suture material.

It gets deep when we start talking suture material. So, let's break it down, shall we?
So there are really two types of suture material, those being absorbable and non-absorbable material. These two types are broken down into two more types: natural and synthetic.
Natural absorbable material includes catgut, collagen, kangaroo tendon, beef tendon, and cargile membrane.
Natural non-absorbable material includes silk, linen, cotton, and horse hair.
Synthetic absorbable material includes polyglycolic acid, polyglactcin 910, polydioxidone (PDS), and polyglecaprone 25.
Synthetic non-absorbable material includes nylon, polyproylene, polyester, polybutester, and polyvinylidene fluoride.
This isn't all of them. Just a few to get us going! So, why are there so many anyway?
Well, they all come with advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages of monofilament include a smooth surface, less tissue trauma, and no bacterial harbors. Disadvantages of microfilament include handling and knotting, stretch, and breakage.
Advantages of multifilament include strength, soft and pilable, good handling, and good knotting. Disadvantages include bacterial harbors and tissue trauma.

(Deep breath) Onward!

Popular types of suturing in dental work!
Honestly, we could talk about suture types for hours, but I won't do that. Is there a character limit on these things? Well, no worries! Let's just speak of 5 popular types of suturing: interrupted suturing, simple continuous suture, external vertical mattress suture, external horizontal mattress suture, figure-of-eight structure, or crisscross suture.

Interrupted suture is a type of suture that includes two loops around the needle holder. This is popular in tooth extractions, biopsies, and implants.
Simple continuous suture ends with an interrupted suture and then entails cutting the tail and leaving the last piece loose. This is used for bone grafts and removal of mandibular tuberosity reduction. (What a mouthful!)

Vertical Mattress Suture or the "far far near near technique" is used for wound edges evert. This provides very good closure and good wound tension.

Horizontal Mattress Suture is actually the strongest suture. It can be used for pulling together large gaps between tissue. This is good for grafts, implants, and closure of extractions, such that of wisdom teeth. (Test yourself, which type of tooth is that?... It's a third molar!)

Figure-of-eight as you can imagine, looks like a figure 8. It is crisscrossed. It is good for socket closure and bone grafts. This provides rapid closure for wounds.




Hey! Are we done?
You still with me? Awesome! So glad you've stayed with me through this. It was a wild ride, and there is no one I'd rather take it with than you! If you have any questions, don't be shy! You can reach me through nervous and head on over to the credits page to learn even more about TEETH!
Thanks for coming! Remember to brush your teeth! See ya!





Pet Treasure


Green Nitrile Gloves

Purple Toothbrush

Lavender Toothpaste

Pink Toothbrush

Bubble Gum Toothpaste

Blue Toothbrush

Minty Toothpaste

Orange Toothbrush

Orange Toothpaste

Green Toothbrush

Green Mint Toothpaste

White Nitrile Gloves

Roll of Gauze

Suture Kit

Dental Health

Ibuprofen Travel Pack

Acetaminophen Travel Pack

Yellow Liquid Filled Giant Syringe

Red Liquid Filled Giant Syringe

Orange Liquid Filled Giant Syringe

Green Liquid Filled Giant Syringe

Blue Liquid Filled Giant Syringe

Ice Bag

Extra Strength Pain Pills

Pulled Gold Teeth

Tooth Decay Pellets

Strange Teeth

Timber Verevolf Tooth

White Verevolf Tooth

Gray Verevolf Tooth

Eager Dentist Plushie

Dentist Dreams

Healthy Gums Bracelet

Toothy Mug

Healthy Tooth Beanbag

Romero Post Mortem Replacement Tooth

Pet Friends