The Stem Cell Revolution

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”
By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

The Stem Cell Revolution

Hello again. I hope that you are well. Another busy month. I was at Sheffield University Dental School giving a talk to students at a careers evening.

I tried to inspire them to keep working on themselves and looking for better and stick to their core values. Doing the right things for the right reasons is important and should see you right for the most part.

One thing I did emphasise is “ If you don’t know WHY you are doing something, STOP because you probably shouldn’t be doing it”. The Dental Students Society have chosen Dental Mavericks as one of their charities to support this year which is fantastic.

Heal Thyself

More and more stem cells are being used to treat medical problems and promote healing. Stem cells are cells produced in the bone marrow with the potential to become different kinds of cells because they have not differentiated yet or in other haven’t made their minds up what they want to be when they grow up.

They can be used to repair damaged and lost tissue and promote healing. Dentistry is no different and we are taking advantage of this and using stem cells to help grow bone and gum, particularly in combination with dental implants. We use it in combination with other cells and fibrin.

Exciting Stuff

At Castle Park we’ve invested in a special machine that can centrifuge blood at specific speeds and duration to separate out the stuff we need to speed up healing and reduce inflammation.

This combined with laser therapy means that there is no better way of doing advanced treatment for dental implants and regenerative procedures e.g. developing bone and gum after gum disease or combined with implants. 

Lasers by themselves have been shown to stimulate stem cells within teeth to help the tooth repair itself after removing tooth decay. We use lasers routinely now. I love all this stuff.

Another Mission In Morocco

In just short of 3 weeks time I will be off to Northern Morocco with Gill and Nadene from work with Dental Mavericks to get poor children out of pain. 

We have a collaboration with Kings College Dental Institute, London and Harvard University. More on that next time along with other advantages of the PRF machine.

Until next time. Take care and be good.

Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550.  He has been in dental practice for 25 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’ humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk

I’ve Seen The Light….. Then I Didn’t

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

“By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

“I’ve Seen The Light….. Then I Didn’t

Hello again. I hope that you are well. Another fast and furious start to the year. First weekend in January and I was another 2 day advanced tooth straightening update course in South Wales. It was good with some great people. I’m sure it’s getting more expensive to enter Wales on the bridge though.

I’ve Seen The Light

I definitely saw the light a few years ago when I discovered and trained in the use of dental lasers. We incorporated their use as an every day thing into the practice to improve our patient experience as well as improve healing and precision. It is cutting edge stuff and we are proud to be doing it. Just one aspect of laser dentistry is in treating gum disease.

My friend, teacher and mentor, Ilay Maden, has joined our practice as an expert in lasers and gum treatment. He has a masters degree in dental lasers and a PhD in gums. He also lectures and teaches world wide and is an expert contributor to journals and textbooks. We are lucky to have him with us. I have been working with him for the last year or so and results have been outstanding.

So When Didn’t I See The Light

A friend of ours just turned 50 and always wanted to see the Northern lights, so my wife and I said we’d go with them. Tromso is a lovely place but, alas, no lights for us. Too cloudy. Apparently they could be seen 50 minutes drive away on our last night but two of our party got viral infections so it was just not meant to be this time. Hey Ho, maybe another go in the future eh?

Getting Some Bone Back The Laser Way

With gum disease bacteria initiate inflammation that causes bone loss around teeth. As this progresses teeth can become wobbly, abscess, need taking out or actually fall out themselves. Sometimes the gum shrinks back leaving aesthetic problems, especially at the front of the mouth. Traditional gum therapy aims to remove the inflammation to stop the bone loss. This does not regrow bone.

To do this surgery is necessary and can be successful. With Laser Therapy it is often possible to get bone regrowth without surgery. I’ve seen it myself this year with Ilay’s work. It’s AMAZING. Sometimes some surgery is required but the advantages of using laser as well include less pain and swelling, faster healing, less chance of gum recession, more predictable bone growth, reduced or no need for antibiotics. With non-surgical treatment even better with no downtime. Dentists are now already sending their patients to Ilay for treatment.

The arrows show how deep the bone loss was then the bone growing back after minimally invasive laser therapy WITHOUT surgery. WOW.

Before and after non-surgical laser therapy with loads of bone regrowth

I know I’m an anorak but I’m blown away with all this. Lasers help the body heal itself!!!!

Until next time. Take care and be good.

Chris


Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550. He has been in dental practice for 25 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’s humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk

A Bit Long In The Tooth?

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

A Bit Long In The Tooth?

            

Hello again. I hope that you are well.   It’s all go again this month.  My daughter, Harriet, who had a holiday job at our place, goes off to Newcastle University to study speech and language therapy for four years.  So, her mum’s been busy getting her loads of stuff ready and enough food for the year I think.  I’ve given her a couple of cooking lessons.  You can’t live on pot noodle!  Oh we’ve got a new dog, Poppy.  She’s been rehomed with us after a stint in foster care.  She’s lovely and has settled in right away.

So. What’s This Long In The Tooth Thing?
Gum recession and getting a bit long in the tooth is a natural thing to a degree.  That’s where the saying comes from.  As you get older you get a bit long in the tooth.  However, there are a few things that can bring it prematurely at a younger age, some of it is genetic and some is not.  Gum recession can give rise to sensitive teeth as dentine of the tooth root is exposed.

The Bone Sets The Tone
The Americans have a saying. “ The soft tissue is the issue but the bone sets the tone”.  The soft tissue here relates to the gum.  If there is enough bone around a tooth or dental implant for that matter then there will gum as the gum always covers the bone.  If there is no bone then it can be unpredictable if the gum will stay or not.  Now some people are thin gum types and more likely to get recession whilst others have a thick gum type and less likely.  That’s just the genetic luck of the draw.

Gum recession can also be caused by over vigorous brushing, trauma from jewellery and inflammatory gum disease.  Sometimes having a high fibrous attachment from the lip or cheek onto the gum (fraenum) can contribute to recession.

Can You Fix It?
Well the good news is that often it can.  BUT, there are not that many dentists who can.  There are things that can be done to augment the gum to make it look better, more youthful and leave the teeth less sensitive.

My friend, mentor (in lasers) and colleague, Ilay has a PhD in gums and a masters degree in lasers and can do these treatments.  I’ve been working with him this year and some of the stuff is remarkable.  We are really lucky to have him as he is high demand and works part time on Harley Street.  He is going to be working more with us as well.

I mentioned Ilay was my mentor.  He taught me all I know about dental lasers.  He lectures all around the world on dental lasers especially with gum related issues.  In fact, whilst I was on a training course in Florida earlier this year the guy teaching the course said how he considered Ilay to be the number 1 opinion leader in the orls about treatment of gum disease around dental implants with lasers.

Welcome to the team Ilay.
   
Until next time.   Take care and be good. 

Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550.  He has been in dental practice for 24 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’s humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk

Milk Teeth….What’s That All About?

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

        By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

     Milk Teeth….What’s That All About?

            

Hello again, I hope that you are well.  Another busy month dashing about.  My team and I went to a two day customer care/ team and personal development conference three weeks ago.  Less than two weeks ago I was I Florida continuing my dental laser education.  Well, “If you’re not growing anywhere you’re not going anywhere” apparently.  Always looking for better.

Back At The BBC

Last Sunday I was at BBC Radio Humberside.  I was invited to go on the Sally Fairfax Show.  It was a bout a new feature when kids send in questions to be answered.  It was actually Sally’s 7 years old son who asked the question “ why do we have milk teeth and why do they fall out?”

I was amused whilst driving into Hull when a listener said it was because children would look stupid with big teeth.  I was asked to give a definitive answer.  Well I’m not sure I did that but I had a good crack at it. 

So, milk teeth are called that because they usually start coming through from 6 months to about 2.5 years. Children are still on a lot milk at this age either breast milk, formula milk or cows milk later.  Milk teeth are also called primary teeth,  baby teeth and deciduous teeth (like trees).  Obviously adult teeth would be too big for a baby’s mouth. And the jaw too small to hold them.  When the jaws start to grow as a child grows up there is a transition from the primary teeth through a mixed dentition (primary and secondary) and then the secondary (adult dentition).  There are 20 milk teeth and 32 adult teeth in total. So they fall out to make room to teeth more appropriate for an adult size jaw.

OK, But How Did This Happen

Well it can only be evolution, the survival of the fittest.  Environmental pressures select out new traits to remain if they are of benefit and increase the survival of a species.  As a child comes off the milk they need enough teeth to chew but these small teeth are not fit for purpose in an adult human.  It’s amazing how this happens really. As Human kind became top of the food chain, environmental pressures became less of a factor because humans changed their environment with increased intellect, imagination and dexterity.

Just Like A Shark

Having two sets of teeth was OK for early man who wasn’t meant to last much longer than 20-30 years.  These days we may be expected to last 70-100 years.  That’s a long time for teeth to last.  It would be great if evolution was still on the go and we could new teeth all the time like sharks.  Not that great for the dental profession though I suppose.  There are plenty of other careers mind.

Until next time.   Take care and be good. 

Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550.  He has been in dental practice for 24 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’s charity work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk