It was barely four months ago when reality star Kate Gosselin tweeted to her fans that she was heading to the dentist for a root canal filling, and now it seems her dental problems have returned; she posted recently that she was going back into surgery, after damaging her crown.

Back in September, the mum of eight kept her followers updated on her treatment, and promised to redouble her efforts on the oral hygiene front, saying ‘Just had the privilege of experiencing my very first root canal… from today forward, I vow to brush and floss every hour on the hour to avoid that again!’ However, no amount of brushing can prepare for accidents and injuries, and she tweeted yesterday that she had to be ‘rushed to the dentist’ after her temporary crown broke while she was eating a snack. Kate asked her fans for support, admitting ‘I am SO scared of [the] dentist… wish me luck!’

Fortunately, the procedure didn’t go too badly, and the 35-year-old was pleasantly surprised with the speedy repair job, saying ‘Survived [the] dentist – was in&out in 40 min! Heard of ‘fast food’? this was ‘fast dentist!’ All better!’ She also added that it was time for ‘dinner cleanup, homework, showers&bed!’ for her sizeable brood, which made her famous when they all took part in reality show Jon & Kate Plus Eight.

Kirstie Alley is joining the long list of celebrities who are having dental problems of late, she’s in the company of Kim Kardashian, Hulk Hogan, and The Saturday’s member Una Healey, but the actress has decided to pursue an alternative route to recovery, by asking her fans for advice on how to proceed with treatment.

After finding out she needed a root canal filling, the 61-year-old – who celebrated her birthday just last week – took to her Twitter page to ask her followers if they knew a good dentist, or if they could provide her with any tips for avoiding an extraction. Kirstie seemed anxious to avoid any kind of surgical treatment and could even be called slightly hysterical, as she tweeted ‘Good Morning!!!! Who needs a root canal??? I do!! I do!!…ugh. Hey!! Any great dentists on here with advice?? Pros and Cons of root canals… and other solutions?? Love an alternative…Not extraction.’

Unfortunately for the Cheers star, dental decay has taken hold on one of her teeth, with a large cavity opening up and causing her problems, and it’s likely that she won’t be able to avoid that dentist’s drill, especially since she’s not enthusiastic about having the offending tooth pulled out. Her followers were at a loss to give her helpful pointers, as a root canal is often a last resort before extraction, to prevent infection spreading to the rest of the teeth.

Delaying treatment for root canal damage is what causes the treatment to be painful, one specialist has claimed.

Talking to Asia One Health, Dr Seah Yang How explained that if people have a dental consultation not long after a toothache develops they could prevent discomfort later on.

The endodontist said: “When the procedure is done in the initial stages of a toothache, local anaesthesia is very effective and the pain can be very minimal.”

Dr Yang How described how the soreness comes from the nerves and blood vessels in the tooth becoming inflamed and advised patients not to put off visiting a professional for fear of tenderness.

He called the belief a “myth” and commented that new technology and anaesthesia could make early treatment painless.

Individuals were recently encouraged by Dr Eugene Antenucci to consider cosmetic dentistry to replace missing teeth and to help stop them looking older than they truly are.

Dental implants could be sought by an increasing number of adults after tooth erosion has been revealed as a growing problem.Tooth erosion is a problem which many parents may not be aware of, which could result in some people needing dental implants when they are older.

The Independent reported that mums and dads encourage their children to brush their teeth to prevent decay, but tooth erosion caused by acidic food and drinks can seriously impact upon dental health.

It referred to a recent survey of children’s dental health which found that there was a significant increase in erosion between 1993 and 2003.

Furthermore, tooth erosion of adult teeth affects more children as they get older. Dental implant surgery could therefore be required by individuals who suffered serious tooth erosion from a young age.

A dental implant is an artificial tooth root replacement but this could be avoided if people regularly visit their dentist who can look for signs of tooth erosion and advise how this problem can be minimised.

Speaking to the newspaper, Tony Smith, professor of oral biology at The University of Birmingham, said: “I advise people to wait 40 minutes or an hour after having acidic food or drinks before they brush their teeth.”

This is because the acid can pre-soften enamel, which can then be damaged with heavy brushing.