Author Archive
Behind the Smile
Posted by: | CommentsThe most important thing behind a beautiful healthy smile is keeping your teeth clean. This may seem redundant but you would be surprised about how many people do not follow proper dental hygiene. Many people think that brushing once a day and flossing even less frequently will be enough to maintain the health of their teeth when in fact you cannot get further from the truth.
Dental experts agree that the best way to keep your beautiful smile is to go visit your local Tahoe dentist for teeth cleaning at least every 6 months. You can supplement your dental visits by brushing your teeth at least twice a day – as well as flossing on a daily basis.
Flossing is one of the most overlooked, yet vitally important aspects to good dental hygiene, and if you do not know how to properly floss than you should consult with your dentist to learn the proper techniques. To those who have problems with the floss breaking you should look into floss holders, floss brushes, or even floss picks.
Once you have established your healthy dental hygiene regiment there are several ways you can further improve upon your smile. One of these ways is to go to your local dentist and have them do a teeth whitening procedure. These procedures are completely 100% painless – infact they are preformed while you listed to music in your dentists chair.
So remember, the perfect smile is out there – all you need to do is follow the simple steps to good hygiene and regularly visit your friendly local dentist.
The Importance of Flossing
Posted by: | CommentsOnly 50 years ago the majority of elderly people went to bed every night with their teeth in a glass on their nightstand. While tooth-loss is still a problem in our current day and age it is becoming (in great part due to advances in medical technology) easier and easier to maintain your million dollar smile – even into old age!
Aside from going to regular dental visits and teeth cleanings flossing is one of the most prominent ways to reduce tooth decay and gum disease. The purpose in flossing is to remove the plaque that naturally builds up on your teeth every 24 hours or so. The bacteria in plaque produces toxins which eat away at your gums, enamel, and even bone.
Floss allows you to reach the hard and in between places (such as where your teeth touch) and removes the toxic plaque that accumulates and thrives there. When you allow the plaque between your teeth the accumulate it can lead to irritated gums, discolored teeth, and eventually complete and utter tooth loss.
Everyone from the most senior of seniors to the youngest child (assuming they are old enough to have teeth) should actively be flossing, as there is no age limit for beautiful teeth. In-fact, the sooner you begin your flossing regiment the better – as it is guaranteed to be reflected in your smile!
With all the benefits flossing can bring to you you must be thinking theres a catch..when the simple truth is..there ISN’T! Flossing provides 100% benefits with no harmful consequences. So the next time you are brushing your teeth, or perhaps have five extra minutes in your day..go floss your teeth!
What Are Cavities?
Posted by: | CommentsA cavity is a tooth under attack! Cavities are caused by tooth decay. Tooth decay is effected by what we eat, how well we care for our teeth, and – according to many – if fluoride in our toothpastes. A tendency toward cavities can also be inherited. If you come from a family with a history of tooth problems then you can inherit this trait as well.
Cavities need to be treated and if not they can lead to serious destruction of the tooth. Not only can they destroy the tooth but they can lead to infection and abscess which can result in nerve damage. An abscess is not to be taken lightly. An abscessed tooth can lead to death. The bacteria can travel the entire body causing serious illness and, even though hard for many to believe, death.
The only way to really keep up on cavities are by seeing your regular dentist once or twice a year. Most cavities develop below the gums so you can’t always see them plus the untrained eye doesn’t know what to look for. One tip, however, is that if you see any area of your tooth change color – especially if it blackens – you should see the dentist immediately.
One way to help prevent cavities is to watch what you’re eating. Sweets and sodas are notoriously bad for teeth. Foods that have a lot of sugar or starch are favored by bacteria found in plaque. Plaque can actually eat through teeth as it is acid based. Plaque is very harmful to teeth and can eat through dentin and enamel in short order. If the plaque is bad enough it will eat right through the tooth leaving you with no option but to extract the damaged remains.
When tooth enamel starts breaking down it does so beneath the surface of your tooth even though the surface of the tooth looks okay. Once the acid has eaten through the enamel the surface of the tooth will collapse resulting in a cavity. The cavity, if left untreated, will just keep eating the tooth until eventually exposing the root. This scenario causes the proverbial toothache and may require a root canal to save the tooth or if that’s not possible then an extraction.
Cavities tend to develop in the pits of chewing areas around the back teeth, between the teeth and near the gum line. This is why it is important to brush regularly and floss (or use little pic-brushes like I do) to keep your teeth clean and free of plaque and acid eating bacteria. The other key is to see a dentist so your pearly whites stay that way. Your dentist will be able to x-ray your teeth and diagnose any problem you have. The best thing to do is see your dentist regularly to avoid the pain, problem and expense of cavities.
Are You Grinding Yourself into a Toothache?
Posted by: | CommentsSome months ago I had a terrible toothache. The entire left bottom row of my mouth hurt with one or two teeth standing out. When I saw the dentist I was referred to a specialist for a root canal. I immediately thought “oh no” as the time, pain and money flashed before my eyes. Even though I didn’t want to see a specialist I did – tooth pain is unbearable – but I was in for a nice surprise.
My Endodontist – the root canal specialist – took a look at my x-rays and poked around my mouth. He kept testing me to see if I could go through the chair or fly onto the ceiling in pain but couldn’t.
I told him that my mouth was funny. That my pain moved from the front to back and sometimes it went away altogether. I told him I couldn’t figure out if it was one tooth or two teeth.
He looked at me and then dove back into my mouth. He did his dentist thing and then told me that I was grinding.
Grinding? Are you kidding me?
Like a lot of people I have stress in my life – not all the time but enough of the time that I know I have stress. Unbeknownst to me I was grinding my teeth at night while I was sleeping. And boy I must have really been grinding as my mouth was really sore.
My Endodontist told me that I’d need a mouth guard and should consider crowning two of my lower teeth in the back because they had little hair-line fractures due to my grinding.
Well, what I didn’t know about my teeth could fill a short book. I never suspected that I could be grinding my way into a tooth ache and I also didn’t know that you could or even should crown a molar that has hair-line fractures.
Needless to say I headed to the dentist for a mouth guard. I have to say that once I got the device it took a little while to get used to it but it has really saved my mouth. My pain went away and now I can’t sleep without the darn thing in my mouth. Sexy it ain’t but happy teeth are worth it.
If you have good dental hygiene but your teeth are hurting you might need a night mouth guard. Like I said, once I started using my night mouth guard my life changed dramatically.