Burbos-Tobias Dental Clinic

24/12/2025

🦷 A TOOTH INFECTION IS NOT “JUST A TOOTH PROBLEM.”

An untreated dental infection can become life-threatening.

When a cavity reaches the nerve of the tooth, bacteria enter the pulp and multiply. This causes an abscess—a pocket of infection at the root. From there, bacteria don’t stay confined to the tooth.

🚨 How it spreads
• Infection can travel through bone
• Enter nearby facial spaces
• Spread into the bloodstream (bacteremia)
• Trigger SEPSIS — a full-body inflammatory response

🩸 Sepsis is a medical emergency.
It can lead to:
• High or low body temperature
• Rapid heart rate
• Low blood pressure
• Organ failure
• Death if untreated

⚠️ Warning signs of a dangerous dental infection
• Severe tooth pain or pressure
• Facial or jaw swelling
• Fever or chills
• Bad taste or pus drainage
• Difficulty opening mouth
• Trouble swallowing or breathing

🧠 Important truth:
Antibiotics alone do NOT cure dental infections.
They may temporarily reduce symptoms, but the source of infection must be removed.

✅ Proper treatment includes:
• Root canal therapy (to clean and seal the tooth)
• OR tooth extraction
• Drainage if swelling is present

❌ Ignoring it or “waiting it out” can allow bacteria to spread silently.

📊 Studies show oral infections are linked to:
• Sepsis
• Endocarditis
• Stroke
• Worsening diabetes
• Increased systemic inflammation

🦷 The mouth is part of the body.
What happens here does NOT stay here.

👉 If you have persistent tooth pain, swelling, or fever — see a dentist immediately.

Early treatment saves teeth.
Delayed treatment can cost lives.

20/12/2025

💊 Analgesic Ladder in Dentistry: A Clear Guide to Safe and Effective Dental Pain Management

Effective pain control is a fundamental component of quality dental care. The analgesic ladder in dentistry provides a structured, stepwise approach that helps dental professionals select the most appropriate analgesic according to the intensity of pain, clinical diagnosis, and patient profile.

◻️ For mild to moderate dental pain, non-opioid analgesics and NSAIDs such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, ketorolac, or diclofenac are considered first-line options due to their strong anti-inflammatory effect and favorable safety profile when properly prescribed.

🟦 When pain progresses to a moderate or severe level, weak opioids like tramadol or codeine may be indicated, often in combination with NSAIDs to enhance analgesic efficacy.

In cases of severe to very severe pain, especially in complex surgical or hospital-based settings, strong opioids such as morphine, oxycodone, or fentanyl may be required, always under strict clinical supervision.

🦷 Applying the analgesic ladder responsibly allows dentists to optimize pain relief, minimize adverse effects, and promote rational use of analgesics in daily practice.

👉 At Ovidental, we share evidence-based clinical insights to support dental professionals worldwide in delivering safer, more effective patient care.

18/12/2025

03/12/2025

24/10/2025

24/10/2025

24/10/2025

12/09/2025

📣📣ANNOUNCEMENT📣📣

To our valued patients and those considering our care, our clinic will resume on Monday, September 15, 2025

05/09/2025

28/08/2025

TMJ dislocation reduction:

When a patient has a TMJ dislocation, the lower jaw slips forward and gets stuck in front of the articular eminence. The patient can’t close the mouth, and it looks and feels very uncomfortable.

To put the jaw back, here’s the step-by-step idea:

1. Patient relaxation
First, the patient must relax as much as possible. If they’re tense, the muscles will resist and reduction becomes very difficult.

2. Head support
The head needs to be stable—either against a headrest or braced firmly—so the force you apply goes into the mandible, not into moving the whole head.

3. Hand positioning

Put on gloves.

Your thumbs: either place them on the hard bone ridge just behind the molars (external oblique ridge) or on the biting surfaces of the lower molars (with gauze to protect your thumbs).

Your fingers: curl them under the jaw, around the mandible, with index fingers behind the rami for control.

4. Forces applied
The key sequence is:

Downward pressure: Push down firmly at the back of the jaw (using your thumbs). This pulls the condyle down and away from the articular eminence.

Upward support at the chin: At the same time, your other fingers rock the chin slightly upward.

Posterior pressure: Once the condyles are freed downward, guide the whole mandible backward so the condyles slip back into the socket.

Think of it as “Down first… then back.”

5. Result
If done properly, you’ll often feel or hear a “snap” as the condyles slide back into their normal position.

👉 The most important principle for you to remember is: never jerk suddenly. Use steady, firm, continuous force. The danger is if you rush, you could injure the TMJ or get bitten.

24/08/2025

👶 Did you know? Putting your baby to sleep with a bottle of milk or juice can silently destroy their teeth.

When a child falls asleep with a bottle, the liquid pools around their teeth. Milk, formula, or juice all contain natural sugars. While your baby sleeps, bacteria in the mouth feed on these sugars and produce acid. This acid attacks the delicate enamel of primary teeth, leading to rapid and severe decay — a condition known as Baby Bottle Caries.

Baby teeth may seem temporary, but they are essential for your child’s health. They guide proper speech, chewing, nutrition, and also act as natural placeholders for permanent teeth. When cavities occur early, children may suffer from pain, infections, difficulty eating, and even long-term effects on the growth of permanent teeth.

The earliest signs are white chalky spots or brown stains on the front teeth. If ignored, these progress to painful cavities and infections that often require dental treatment, even in very young children.

💡 Prevention is simple and powerful:

✅ Never put your baby to bed with a bottle of milk or juice — offer only water if needed.

✅ Wipe your baby’s gums with a clean cloth after feeding and start brushing as soon as the first tooth appears.

✅ Visit a dentist by your child’s first birthday for a professional check-up.

Protecting your child’s smile starts from day one. A small change in bedtime habits can prevent lifelong dental problems. 🦷✨