Is a Tooth Alive?

Can teeth be considered as being alive? Well a tooth cannot move around on its own and reproduce like any other living organism. Also, a tooth cannot develop by itself if it is not inside a living body. But a tooth, like all other organs, has a flow of nerves and blood vessels. This blood flow helps it grow and mature before it emerges in the mouth.

When a tooth has completed its development and is located in its right position on the jaw, it does not really need the nerves and blood vessels located in its pulp chamber. A tooth can remain functional without needing blood and nerves that originally helped it progress to maturity. That is why a tooth that has had a root canal can remain in a person’s mouth for a lifetime and play its purpose of chewing and eating.

Full article: Are Teeth Alive?
In French: Est-ce qu’une dent est vivante?

Dental Tourism

In countries like Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Europe, extensive dental treatments can be very costly. That is why some people chose dental tourism, where you could visit another country and pay less for your dental treatments.

So why not travel to another country, and have your teeth repaired at the same time. The whole thing would probably cost less than if you had your teeth worked on at home.

I had a patient last year who needed a bridge with two missing teeth. The cost of that bridge in Canada would have been at least $4,000. With that money, she was telling me, she could pay herself a trip to Mexico, or even Thailand, and pay for her bridge over there. So can dentists in those countries really be trusted?

In all countries, there are good dentists and bad dentists. I have seen great root canal work done in Brazil. I also saw beautiful crowns done in Russia. What is important is to look up those dentists and have good referral before consulting them.

I have also seen crowns with decay left under them that were done in other countries. The thing that concerned me is that the dentist who made those crowns was very reputed in his city.

Should people go abroad for their dental work? If I wasn’t a dentist, and if I needed dental work done, I would find a good dentist, whom reputation I know, and who is located close to where I live. But when I travel I would concentrate only on tourism. However, if I was in Brazil and if I happened to need a root canal, I would go to the dentist that I mentioned above with no hesitation.

To finish on a funny tone, here’s a picture of a dental professional in North Africa. He repairs your dentures on the spot! He has a choice of hundreds of teeth to match exactly what you need.

Source of the picture: itravelnet.com
In French: Tourisme dentaire