Your dentist cares about keeping your entire mouth looking and feeling healthy, not just your teeth. This includes keeping your lips and gums healthy, too. Cold sores are blisters that erupt on the lips and cause irritation to your mouth. They can be painful, itchy, contagious, and embarrassing. Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus. There is no cure for the virus, but the cold sores themselves can be treated. Your dentist can use laser technology to stop cold sores before they erupt or treat them after they do. Laser treatment rids you of cold sores much faster than traditional treatment of topical ointments or creams. (more…)
The Problems Caused By Grinding Your Teeth
Does stress cause you to you clench your jaw during the day? Do you wake up with pain in your jaw or headaches almost every morning? You may be grinding your teeth while you sleep. Teeth grinding, also known as bruxism, can cause damage to your teeth. It can cause frequent headaches. Grinding your teeth can lead to tooth decay and tooth sensitivity. It can also increase your risk of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder, which affects the hinge of your jaw and it’s alignment. TMJ can lead to pain, tenderness in the cheeks, jaw popping, and lockjaw. Early treatment of bruxism can prevent tooth damage and TMJ disorder from developing. (more…)
What You Eat Affects Your Oral Health
Healthy choices and mindful eating improve your overall health, but they also make a big impact on your oral health. Your mouth is the entrance for the food and drink entering your body. Bad choices affect your mouth first before the rest of the body. Food and drink that are sugary or filled with carbohydrates can turn to harmful acid once inside your mouth. The acid causes cavities by eroding the enamel and decaying the teeth. Dark food and drink, such as soda, coffee, or tea can stain the teeth. Crunchy or sticky food can cause harm to teeth, too. We know the problematic foods, but what food and drinks are good for our oral health? (more…)
Why Do I Need A Dental Filling?
Even with the most diligent oral hygiene and mindful eating and drinking, cavities can happen. Once a cavity has formed in your tooth, a small hole has been created in the enamel, the hard outer layer of the tooth. The decay will grow and the hole will get larger over time. If left untreated, the decay will begin to reach the inner layers of the tooth. If decay gets deep within the tooth, a root canal treatment may be needed. A dental extraction may even need to be the last resort. A dental filling treats a cavity and stops the decay in its tracks. (more…)
Do You Want A Brighter Smile?
The goal of regular visits to your dentist for dental treatment is to keep your smile healthy and free of dental diseases like gingivitis or tooth decay. Although your overall oral health is top priority, it’s also important that you feel confident in your smile. Over time, your teeth can begin to stain after years of exposure to colorful foods and beverages. Stains usually aren’t a major issue and erasing them is often as easy as one visit with your dentist. If you want a brighter smile, you should speak with your dentist about teeth whitening. (more…)
Totally Rehabilitate Your Smile
Have you been living with a less than optimal smile your whole life? Does restoring your oral health require more than just a crown or filling can accomplish? If your mouth has suffered extensive damage and needs a complete overhaul, your dentist can provide you with full-mouth rehabilitation. Your dentist can totally rehabilitate your smile; repairing and improving your overall oral health, including your teeth, gums, bite, jawbone, jaw joints, and muscles. How does your dentist accomplish this amazing feat? (more…)
Putting An End To Chronic Jaw Pain
Chronic jaw pain, and a lessened ability to bite, chew, and speak comfortably, could be the consequence of TMJ dysfunction. If your temporomandibular joints (TMJs) come out of their proper alignment, it can lead to operational difficulties. You can also experience headaches, and pain in your face and neck – this is because your jaw is controlled by your trigeminal nerve, which is responsible for sensation in these areas. In order to stop TMJ dysfunction from continuing to cause problems, talk to your dentist about treatment. An appliance, worn at night, can put your jaw joints in a more comfortable position, and give you relief. (more…)
What Can I Do About Cold Sores?
Cold sores, also referred to as fever blisters, are a problem that all of us have to deal with at some point in our lives. They occur whenever the herpes simplex virus enters a break in the skin around the mouth, causing blisters to form. They can spread several different ways including infected fluid on eating utensils, razors, or kissing. Cold sores can be itchy, painful, and embarrassing for the person suffering from them. Thankfully, you don’t have to suffer through the process of waiting them out. What can you do about your cold sores? (more…)
Cosmetic Dentistry Options For You
Have you been ashamed of your smile lately because of a chipped tooth? Have you always been self-conscious about your discolored teeth and want to brighten them up? Are you tired of your crooked, misaligned teeth but don’t want to wear clunky metal braces? If you’re suffering from any of these or possibly other cosmetic issues with your teeth, then you should consider the benefits of cosmetic dentistry with your dentist. Your dentist can offer you several cosmetic dentistry options. (more…)
Facts You Should Know About Your Baby’s Teeth
Your baby’s current oral health can have profound effect on their adult teeth as well. You want to make sure that they have happy and healthy baby teeth now to help ensure that they have straight and healthy adult teeth in the future. What should you know about a baby’s teeth? What steps do you need to take to protect their oral health? Whether you’ve just had a baby or are just beginning to think about having one, these facts can help you out. (more…)
