49 Questions answered

I have a broken molar and It is pointed and poking the insides of my cheek. What treatment do you recommend and how much would it cost?

Hi there! To answer your question fully, it would require a clinical examination and a probably a dental x-ray. Small broken portion If the broken portion is small, we can either smooth the sharp edge or replace the missing portion with a filling. Large broken portion If the broken portion is very large, a root canal treatment or sometimes even extraction of the tooth may be indicated. I would suggest a visit to a dentist at your earliest convenience so that we can have a look for you and suggest the relevant treatment options for yourself! Hope this helps a little bit!

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Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

How long should I wait before getting my root canal treatments replaced with a suitable implant and crown?

Hello there! If your root canal treatment is completed without complications, then you will not require a dental implant. The aim of a root canal treatment is to retain your own tooth. A dental implant is to replace a missing or extracted tooth. How long should I wait? After a root canal treatment, a crown is usually advised to protect the tooth from reinfection or fracturing. The crowning process can be started on the day of root canal treatment completion, or a few weeks after. Hope this helps!

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Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

What is the difference between Invisalign Lite and Moderate?

Hello! Invisalign Lite Invisalign Lite is for cases that require 14 aligners or less. It can address minor crowding and spacing and provide simple corrections for aesthetic improvements. Invisalign Moderate Invisalign Moderate is for cases that require 26 aligners or less and can address mild to moderate crowding, spacing, overbite, and overjet (distance between upper and lower teeth from a sideways profile). Alternative Invisalign Packages Finally, there is also a comprehensive package that allows for unlimited aligners within a 5 year period.

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Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

Should one wait until all the baby teeth have fallen out before braces?

Hello! I would definitely recommend that you bring your son to see a dentist/orthodontist for the most relevant advice for your son's case. There are early orthodontic treatments which can be provided for your son. However, this can be dependent on your son's growth and his type of malocclusion. If indicated, early treatment can be provided with: Functional appliances. eg. bionator/twin block. These are removable appliances and cooperation is needed. They are ideally used in prepubertal patients.

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Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

How much does in-office whitening cost in Singapore?

Hi there! Before whitening, your dentist would need to perform a basic examination to make sure your teeth and gums are healthy before whitening can be safely prescribed. The whitening process itself, can cost anything from $800-$2000 depending which clinic you attend and which brand of whitening the clinic offers. From my own experience, Philips Zoom! is commonly used and the procedure usually takes up to 1hour. The whitening effects can be seen immediately. Another alternative would be to ask your dentist for custom made whitening trays and a take home whitening kit.

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Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

Should you brush your teeth after every meal?

You should brush your teeth once in the morning, after you've woken up, and once at night, before you sleep. You should make sure you brush for 2 minutes with a fluoride toothpaste. Brushing immediately after a meal can affect your enamel. If you consume any sugary or acidic foods and drinks - citrus fruits/juices, carbonated drinks (even the zero sugar options), then your tooth enamel is weakened. If you then immediately brush your teeth, this can cause erosion of your weakened enamel. It is advised that you wait at least 45mins before brushing your teeth after these foods and drinks.

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Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

How can I permanently get rid of aphthous ulcers in mouth?

If the diagnosis is indeed recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS), there is, unfortunately, no permanent cure to it. RAS appears to represent an immunological reaction by the body to various causes such as stress, trauma, nutritional deficiencies, allergies, genetic predisposition etc. There are also certain medical conditions that may cause ‘aphthous-like’ ulcerations eg) anaemia, gastrointestinal diseases etc. Thus the treatment would generally be to first rule out any potential systemic causes for the recurrent ulcers before the diagnosis of RAS is made.

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Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

How do I know if my wisdom tooth needs to be extracted?

In terms of giving you any personable advice, I completely agree with Dr Shiming. It’s really hard for us to comment until we’ve done an examination for yourself. However, I thought I’d share with you some common reasons why wisdom teeth are extracted. If any apply to you or anyone else reading, then maybe you should consider to remove them. Pericoronitis. If the wisdom can’t erupt fully, there may be a flap of loose gum which lies over or around the erupted portion of the wisdom tooth. Food and bacteria can get stuck under this flap and cause a localised gum infection.

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Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

What is the cost of Mbrace for relapsed crooked teeth after previous braces treatment?

Thanks for your question! The cost of MBrace aligners will differ from clinic to clinic. Some clinics will tailor a cost according to your treatment plan, whereas others will have a package price. Usually if you’ve had braces in the past and your teeth have relapsed (moved out of alignment), it is relatively simple to rectify and so generally this will reflect positively on the cost of your treatment. For MBrace, your doctor will need to provide an examination to assess suitability and to take some baseline records.

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Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

Who are some recommended dentists for root canal treatment in Singapore?

From what you have said, I understand that the painkillers are unable to ease your pain, and I assume that your pain is spontaneous ie not triggered by hot/cold? Does it get worse with biting though? Your pain may be due to nerve involvement, possibly due to long term bacteria invasion from the decay you previously had, or the tooth may be cracked too. Although at times sensitivity after fillings is common, just that it is usually not as severe a presentation. I personally think that your signs and symptoms points to the need of having a root canal treatment.

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Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

Will missing tooth shift/change my smile over a period of over 10 yrs?

Thank you for your questions! When a tooth is missing it leaves a space or gap in the mouth. Over time, adjacent and/or opposing teeth can move into this space which can affect your smile. If you have noticed that the space has become smaller, then it’s likely the teeth next to the gap have drifted into this space. If you are missing multiple teeth, the muscles, skin and soft tissues will lose support and begin to sag which can make you appear older. Weight loss can also contribute towards this as it’s unlikely a single tooth will cause much of a difference.

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Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

Are there any dental causes for tinnitus?

Thank you for your question. Based on my current knowledge, I do not know of any nerve from the dental system that causes tinnitus, nor have I seen any patient with this condition due to any dental nerve injury etc. However, do give me some time, and let me get back to you again with regards to this. It would also be advisable to seek advice from an ENT specialist with respect to this, who may be able to address your concerns better.

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Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

How do mini dental implants differ from traditional dental implants?

“What are mini implants? ” Mini dental implants, as its name suggests, are generally of a smaller diameter (<3mm), thus they are thinner than that of normal implants. They normally come with the abutment and the implant as a piece, whereas for conventional dental implants the pieces are separated. You could picture the mini implants as nail screws and traditional implants as bolt and cap nuts. “How does it differ from traditional dental implants?

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Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

Please suggest recommendations for affordable gum contouring dental clinics in Singapore?

Gum contouring can be performed for either esthetic or functional purposes e. g. crown lengthening, pocket reduction, and regenerative procedures. There are also different modes of gum contouring treatment e. g. by laser or scalpel with or without the need to remove bone surrounding the tooth. The prices for the different modes of treatment would be different. Also your insurance and Medisave may be able to cover gum contouring procedures that are performed for functional purposes.

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Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

How is sterilization done in private dental clinics?

Thank you for your question. Private clinics would either have an autoclave machine in the clinic itself to sterilize the instruments, or some may engage 3rd party contractors to assist in the sterilization. All trays and equipments are freshly sterilized for each patient. Nurses sometimes lay out the instruments on the tray in preparation before the patient enters the room, but that doesn’t mean that the instruments are not clean. Be assured that patient safety is very important to us, and standard infection control is practiced throughout the clinics. Hope this helps!

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Answered By

Dr Joanne Lam

Dentist

Practice

Ashford Thomson 215 Upper Thomson Rd Thomson Ridge, Singapore 574349 Ashford Serangoon 15 Teck Chye Terrace, Singapore 545723

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* This profile has been last updated on September 10, 2020.