Food Impaction

Food impaction is a very common problem that occurs when  people wedge food particles after eating into the periodontium of your oral cavity. Impaction is sometimes very painful as the food particles causes irritation in the embrasures causing inflammation or detail caries in long term due to poor oral hygiene.

So, do you know why food impaction occurs or what are its causes? 

• Firstly the impaction of food depends upon the tooth anatomy, any discrepancy in tooth structure leads to impaction of food particles in it leafing to further difficulties. 
• Any restorations which is not done properly to relive the decayed tooth structure or the inadequate fillings in interproximal surfaces are also causes of food impaction. 
• Prosthesis which includes fpd, rpd, bridges can cause food impaction due to faulty placement or faulty fabrication, or cause of gaps within the tooth and the prosthesis.
• Can be caused in cases of diastema where space is present between the central incisors in maxillary arch which causes food impaction when the space.
• It is caused in cases of gingival recession where the gum line exceeds and thus there impaction occurs.
• It is also caused in fractured tooth or fractured restrictions when the space is present to be filled by debris or food particles gets lodged in it.
• It is also caused in cases of implants where space is present between the implant and adjacent tooth. 

What are the types of food impaction ?

Food impaction are of various types, but some of them are listed below : 

Vertical impaction – this occurs because of the occlusal forces 

Lateral food impaction – this occurs because of the pressure from tongue lips and cheeks in which the gingival embrasures becomes large by destruction of tissue. 

Let us tell you more about what can lead to food impact on in future and why it should be treated and not ignored .

Food impaction leads to many complications which are listed below :

• Firstly, it can lead to many gingival and periodontal diseases and cause severe difficulties in your mouth. 
• Can cause dental caries, root caries because of food particles getting lodged in the space .
• It can lead to severe bone destruction if left for many years due to the spreading of the pathology in your mouth. 
• It can cause halitosis or bad breath due to the presence of decayed food particles in your mouth  for a long time. 

Signs and symptoms of food impaction :

• Feeling of discomfort, pain and pressure in the tooth, especially in the proximal areas.
• Gingival bleeding and other periodontal changes 
• Marked gingival recession 

How can we diagnose food impaction : 

By clinically observing the oral cavity we can find food impacted in the tooth structures.  Moreover, it can also be done by X-rays and radiographs .By making dental casts also we can identify food impaction and using dental floss can be also an alternative .

Management of food impaction : 

There are various ways to manage it basically we depend upon scaling and root planing. Using dental floss can also help in moving the food particles from the proximal contacts .using incremental brushes can also help in managing such conditions  In severe cases fillings and restrictions can be done.

So, if you or your family is going through such condition then contact Todays dental. We will be very happy to help you in giving you the correct guidance towards your problem .

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