The Aga Khan Hospital Launches world class Dental Unit

The Express - THE Aga Khan Hospital in Dar es Salaam stands among the best health services facilities in Tanzania and has been providing dental health services to a large number of people at the Hospital’s Dental and Implant Centre.

Equipped with a professional team which consists of an Implantologist, an Orthodontist and two General Practitioners, the Dental and Implant Centre at the Hospital (Aga Khan Hospital) provides safe, affordable and quality dental care in a friendly modern environment.

The Dental and Implant Centre offers a variety of dental health services, ranging from basic oral hygiene instructions and preventive measures, up to the latest means of replacing missing teeth by dental implants. The Centre is also a referral dental health facility.

“Our emphasis is on preventing dental disease, as well as on saving decayed teeth by means of simple fillings, root canal treatment or by means of crowns”, says the Centre’s senior dentist.

The Dental and Implant Centre as well, offers cosmetic veneers for discoloured front teeth, and orthodontic treatment for people of all ages who have crowded or misaligned teeth so as to bring back the original look of their teeth.

Through the use of the latest rotary instruments, root canal treatment is efficiently carried in a pain free environment during a single visit of a patient. Fractured jaw bones and dentures for missing teeth are as well carried out smoothly and efficiently by the Centre’s team for dental health.

“Working with patients of all ages is a challenging task. I find it very fulfilling when I am able to relieve patients of dental pain, and restore their decayed and broken-down teeth back to their natural appearance and normal function”, says the Centre’s leading Dentist.

To make someone who has lost a single tooth or many teeth look natural, dental implants can be used to replace the lost teeth. Dental implants help to make replaced tooth or teeth function like natural teeth and make the person feel comfortable when eating or using his or her teeth.

It is better to understand that dental implants are a proven restorative option with a long clinical history. They preserve the integrity of a facial structure and reduce the inconvenience associated with tooth loss.

Explaining the process, the Centre’s senior dentist says that a dental implant is a small man-made titanium fixture that serves as a replacement for the root portion of a missing tooth in the mouth.

The implant is placed in the bone of the patient’s upper or lower jaw within a precisely drilled hole. The bone will heal tightly around this implant, and the implant then serves as an anchor for the replaced tooth. To conduct a successful implant, three steps are involved: the implant insertion stage, Osseo-integration (the period of healing for the jawbone), and the attachment of the restored or new tooth.

Gum disease is one of the dental problems which are facing many people here in Tanzania and elsewhere, according to Aga Khan’s Dental and Implant Centre. This disease implies swelling, soreness or infection of the tissues supporting the teeth. Two main forms of gum disease: gingivitis and periodontal disease are most common.

Affected gums become red

and swollen, and the first sign is blood on the toothbrush or in the rinsing water when a person cleans his or her teeth. Gums may also bleed when eating, leaving a bad taste in the mouth. Breath may eventually become unpleasant.

Dentists and experts at the Centre say that gum disease is caused by plaque. Plaque is a film of bacteria which forms on the surface of the teeth and gums every day.

It is removed by brushing and flossing. •

Unfortunately, gum disease progresses painlessly on the whole, so that a person don’t notice the damage it is doing to the teeth. However, the bacteria are sometimes more active and this makes gums sore. This can lead to gum abscesses, and pus may ooze from around the teeth. Over a number of years, the bone supporting the teeth can be lost.

If the disease is left untreated for a long time, treatment can become more difficult. If the infection is not tackled, the teeth may eventually fall out. In fact, more teeth are lost through periodontal disease than through tooth decay.

Gum disease tends to be more pronounced and aggressive in people who have chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, liver ailments or similar problems, dentists say.

Likewise, people fear to visit dentists for no known reason, according to the Aga Khan Dental and Implant Centre’s leading dentist.

In order to help them, the dentists invetigate the origin of their fear and anxiety regarding the dentist.

“We try to help them overcome these fears through precise information regarding the procedure(s) to be carried out. Having a friendly, calm and peaceful ambience will help in achieving this”, says the dentist, adding that it is ideally better to visit a dentist twice a year, but once a year is also acceptable.