Flossing is great for your teeth!

You may have been struggling with just brushing your teeth twice a day and now your hygienist is fussing with you about the need to floss. If you are like me, I never knew what floss was until I was about 14 years old. I mean, it is such a hassle  just to brush your teeth and flossing takes even more time out of your busy schedule, not to mention if makes your gums bleed and it hurts!

A close friend of mine that is a dentist did a project at an elementary school to show the necessity of flossing. He first put peanut butter all over his hand and then closed his fingers tightly. Afterwards, he went to the sink and scrubbed his hand vigorously. He then opened his fingers which revealed peanut butter still caked in between them. So , no matter how good you brush  or how often you brush, food and bacteria will still remain stuck in between your teeth.

When food and plaque is left between the teeth, it doesn’t take long before the gums become very irritated. The gums will get very puffy at first and will bleed when flossed( healthy gums do not bleed when you floss your teeth because they are more rigid and smooth).  The gums will then start to recede away from your teeth causing bone loss and then ultimately the loss of your tooth. Without the healthy gum tissue, the tooth becomes very vulnarable to tooth decay as well.

So, yes it may be uncomfortable and take more time out of your busy schedule, but it is definitely better for your teeth and for your overall health– floss, floss, and Floss!!

Pain from composite fillings.

There have been many complaints throughout my years as a dental assistant with tooth sensitivity after a composite filling has been placed. Some of these people are not only having sensitivity but horrible pain as well when chewing or drinking hot and cold things. These complaints are very real and 2 out of every 8 patients will have difficulty with the composite fillings placed. Most dentists are boggled by the sensitivity caused by the composite fillings.  If they are unable to get the tooth to calm down with adjusting the bite and placing extra flouride around the tooth, they will have to take the composite filling out and replace it or they will put amalgam in its place to see if this will take care of the sensitivity.

You may have come to the dentist for a cleaning and they told you that there was a small cavity, but the tooth had not bothered you at all. But you decide to listen to your dentist and get the cavity taken care of while it is still small. After the filling has been placed, though, you find that the tooth hurts when you try to use it to chew and it is also very sensitive to hot and cold. Now you are frustrated and mad at the dentist for causing you this unnesisary pain! Why did he have to mess with it in the first place– it wasn’t bothering you before!

Truthfully, the dentist did not mean to cause you pain. Sometimes a tooth will flare up any time work is done to it. The filling was necessary after removing the decay, but if the sensitivity is unbearable you may have to go back to either have it replaced or at least adjusted. WE have found that using sensadyne toothpaste really helps with the sensitivity. Just rub the toothpaste on and around the tooth and let it stay on there for a few minutes without rinsing. If the pain and sensitivity continues to get worse, you may need to have the root of the tooth examined to see if it has abcessed. Abcesses after fillings usually only occur if the filling was really deep.

The differences in amalgams versus composite fillings should be explained to you by the dentist before the procedure is completed so you know the risks of sensitivity with the composite fillings. Your dentist can help you with the pros and cons of each type of filling so you can make  the best decision for your teeth.

Chirlden's teeth

As a Dental Hygienist, it is often my responsibility to instruct parents on the proper way to care for their children’s teeth. Typically they have questions about how to get their children to brush, should they floss, and when should they begin taking them to the dentist for their routine cleaning and check-up?

I believe it is important to teach children at an early age the routine of brushing their teeth every night. As they get older, they really need to begin brushing in the morning as well. Night is the most important time, however. Without the interruption of drinking water or eating like we do throughout the day, we allow the plaque, which is full of bacteria, to set on our teeth all night which gives bacteria a perfect environment to multiply and cause infection in the gums and decay in the teeth .

One way to get your children to brush is to give them the toothbrush first. Allow them to practice and get used to the habit of brushing everyday. We teach children to brush for two minutes to ensure they have properly brushed all of their teeth. Some parents like to use an hour glass timer and teach the children to brush until the sand runs out. Others like to make it a little more fun and they let the child pick their favorite song. They play it while the child brushes their teeth and once the music stops, so can the child. Then once they are done, an adult should brush their teeth again for them because small children typically do not have the dexterity to brush properly for themselves. Make sure that as you brush their teeth for them,you tilt the toothbrush and slightly aim for the gumline where the tooth and the gums meet. This will help to clean the space between the tooth and the gums where plaque loves to hide and cause an infection known as Gingivitis. Also carefully brush the grooves on the tops of the teeth in order to ensure that the plaque and food debris has been completely removed.

When small children have their baby teeth, they typically have spaces between them. This is good because it allows room for the larger permanent teeth to erupt. As long as you are brushing their teeth thoroughly and making sure the bristles are going between the teeth, flossing is not essential for children, however; you may want to consider at least flossing between the last two teeth (the molars) on top and bottom. They tend to be closer together and there is more opportunity for decay between those teeth.

A mistake that so many parents make, is to put the child to bed with a bottle. This causes what is known as “baby bottle tooth decay”. Some parents put the child to bed with milk or juice after they have brushed their teeth because the child is in the habit of sucking on the bottle as they go to sleep. As they are sleeping, the milk or juice sits on the teeth right where the tooth meets the gumline and causes the enamel to “decalcify” or get soft. Before long, parents notice dark spots on the child’s front teeth right at the gumline. By then, it has already become a cavity. It is important after you brush your child’s teeth that they only drink water before they go to bed.

If you ever have any questions about your children’s teeth or the proper way to care for them, visit your family dentist or give them a call. It is never an inconvenience to help a concerned parent care for their children.

Do you or someone in your family have problems with snoring or sleep apnea? Well,both snoring and sleep apnea are  indeed a well known problem and there have been oh so many inventions to try and stop it but most of them are very uncomfortable and others simply don’t work. Let me tell you about a new mouth piece that we just started making at our dental office that will definitely be a big help to you if you are having trouble with either of these problems.

The mouth guard or mouth piece is made for the purpose of preventing snoring and sleep apnea . This unique little snorer stopper is called a Silent Nite mouthpiece and is custom made to fit your mouth just right. The way it works is it has a  bar that hinges on each side of an upper and lower acrylic mouthpiece which keeps your jaw from sliding back into the position to the point where it starts closing off your breathing passage preventing oxygen from your brain and vibrating the soft tissue at the back of your throat. The inside of the mouthpiece is made of soft rubber and fits nice and snug around your teeth while the outside of the Silent Nite mouthpiece is made of hard acrylic making it durable.

We have made several of these mouthguards  and so far they have all called us back with great success stories! The Silent Nite appliance is not big and bulky and will not take more than a week or two to get acustomed to. The  price for this mouthpiece is $400 at our dentist office which is really a great deal because I have worked for other doctors that are charging $1000 for them. Let me tell you, this is a pretty neat little invention that really works! Hope that you are able to get one soon!

I have recently come across several people who have asked me if it really was necessary to go to a dentist to have their teeth cleaned or if they could just get a couple scraper tools and do it themselves. You definitely don’t want to go that route because first of all you will probably cause more damage than good to your gum tissue and you will also inflict a lot of bleeding and pain.
The reasons you should get your teeth professionally cleaned by a hygienist

1. Calculus build up  on your teeth. Calculus is hardened plaque and is synonymous with tartar. Calculus  is a light yellow color and most people can’t see it but over time this build up will cause unhealthy gums.  It cannot be cleaned by just brushing your teeth but needs to be taken off by an ultrasonic cleaning or special scalers.
2. Perio disease or periodontitis. This gum disease is caused by bacteria adhering to your teeth. This bacteria attacks the tissues that surround your teeth and causes bone loss which will ultimately make your teeth loose.
3. Oral cancer. Oral cancer claims more lives above any other cancer because most times cancer is not detected until the later stages  and by then it is often too late. Your hygienist will perform a oral cancer screening on you once a year at your regular cleaning. Oral cancer is easily treated if detected early on.
4. Early detection. Your hygienist will take x-rays and be able to see small spots of decay that can not otherwise be seen and be able to get them treated at a cost much less than if you let it  go undetected. It costs so much more when you don’t take care of the little details.

A professional cleaning is definitely an all around plus– not such a good idea to try doing it yourself