FAQ

Plaque constantly forms on teeth. It is a clear film of bacteria that builds in hard to reach areas such as between your teeth and in the lines of your gums.

When allowed to accumulate, the plaque can irritate the gums and lead to certain gum diseases, such as gingivitis. Research has provided evidence that gum disease has been linked to many health problems including stroke, heart disease, pneumonia, and even pregnancy complications

Plaque can be removed with regular brushing and flossing along with professional cleanings from dental professional to help with tough tartar removal. Early stages of gum disease are often unnoticed. By the time you begin to feel pain or irritation, it may already be too late to focus on prevention. Regular checkups can assist in preventing plaque and tartar from building up,as well as prevent many other dental complications.

Bad breath can be caused by a variety of factors. In most cases, it is caused by food and/or bacteria remaining in the mouth for an extended period of time. Dead or dying bacterial cells release a sulfuric compound that gives off an unpleasant odor. This food gets absorbed into the bloodstream and can travel to the lungs, where it can and will be exhaled. Periodontal disease is a result of bacteria accumulating in the pockets around the teeth. This can lead to bad breath, thus if you have bad breath, there is a possibility that you might have periodontal disease (or gum disease).

In some situations, bad breath can be caused by certain medications and/or dry mouth. If you feel that this might be affecting you, ask your dentist and they will be able to help answer your questions.

Routine oral hygiene is the best way to prevent and maintain a clean and odor-free mouth. Daily brushing and flossing, and regular professional cleanings will take care of any unpleasant odors. One common area that everyone forgets is to brush their tongue. The tongue comes in contact with food and bacteria as much, if not more than, the teeth, thus a good brushing of the tongue can also help to prevent bad odors from arising.

If the odor is a result of gum disease (or periodontal disease), the dentist may recommend a deeper, more thorough cleaning, known as “scaling and root planing”. Periodontal disease results from an accumulation of bacteria in the gum pockets surrounding the teeth. This can lead to bone loss around the teeth and ultimately tooth mobility. Scaling and root planing is a process where the deep pockets are cleaned of and any all bacteria and the gum tissue is given a chance to re-connect to the tooth’s surface. If the situation is more severe, your dentist may refer you to a periodontist, who is a specialist in treating gum disease.

In some situations, a dentist may determine your mouth as healthy and that the odor is not being caused by anything contributing to the oral cavity. In this case, your dentist may refer to your family physician or a specialist to help determine the cause of the odor and any possible treatment that may be necessary.

An abscessed tooth is another name for an infected tooth. A tooth becomes infected when the pulp (or nerve of the tooth) is diseased or injured and cannot repair itself. In these situations, an infected tooth can lead to more serious problems associated with your overall health down the road as you have blood vessels running with the nerve through the tooth and that blood also travels throughout the body, to the brain, and to the heart.

The most common cause of an infected tooth is either a cracked tooth and/or a deep cavity. In either case, bacteria gains access to the pulp (inside of the tooth) and can compromise the nerve. Once the nerve is unable to repair itself, it will then die. If left untreated, the infection that has built up inside of the tooth can exit via the root tip in jawbone. At this point, a “pus-pocket” can form at the root tip and can also damage the surrounding supporting bone. This is defined as an abscessed tooth.

Baby Bottle Tooth Decay, or “early childhood caries”, is the rapid decay of baby teeth in an infant or child from exposure to sweetened liquids over a long period of time. This can be very detrimental to the teeth if left untreated. The upper front teeth are most commonly affected.

A majority of the time, the problem is usually caused by a baby falling asleep while nursing a bottle or while breast feeding. While the child is asleep, the sugary liquid pools around the front teeth. The bacteria living in every baby’s mouth then turns the sugars to acid which causes decay.

Ways to prevent Baby Bottle Syndrome:

Baby bottle tooth decay can be detrimental if left untreated because if a baby tooth is lost too soon as a result of this, the neighboring teeth may drift into the empty space causing crowding in the erupting permanent teeth. This would result in crowded teeth in the adult life and potentially an increased risk for cavities later in life due to the crowding causing inability to adequately clean the teeth.

Sores can be a nuisance and can commonly occur in and around the oral cavity. The location of where the sore occurs can tell you what kind of sore it is. Canker sores and cold sores are two different types of sores.

Canker sores occur inside the mouth. This is a small ulcer with a white or gray base and a red border. These sores can be seen by themselves, or often in groups of multiple little ulcers. Canker sores are very common and can often recur. Like all ulcer, canker sores are difficult to treat. To date, there is no proven technique that can eliminate ulcers or improve recovery time. There are, however, a few medications out there that may provide temporary relief from the pain. These medications need to be started as soon as the symptoms are experienced in order to get the most efficient response to them. There is some over the counter topical anesthetics that can be applied to a canker sore for temporary relief. Canker sores will usually last anywhere from 10-14 days.

            – Here are a few tips to prevent a Canker sore
                    – Vitamin B12 helps to prevent canker sores
                    – increase lysine in your diet (fish, chicken, eggs)
                    – eat yogurt or other cultured foods to keep healthy bacteria in the mouth
                    – REDUCE stress!! 
                    – avoid intra-oral trauma (chew softer/slower, use soft bristle toothbrush)
                    – avoid toothpastes/mouthrinses with sodium lauryl sulfate
 

A cold sore, also known as a fever blister, usually will occur outside the mouth, on or around the lips. These sores are caused by the “herpes simplex” virus. Cold sores are comprised by groups of small, painful, fluid-filled blisters located on or around the lips, and can erupt causing discomfort. There are over the counter topical anesthetics the may provide temporary relief of the discomfort. There are also prescription anti-viral drugs that can reduce the occurrence or severity of these kinds of infections. Cold sores will usually last anywhere from 7-10 days.

Cavities are another name for the disease known as “caries,” or tooth decay. A cavity is the result of your tooth being demineralized (or damaged) over long-term exposure to harmful bacteria and other germs to the point that it cannot re-mineralize (repair) itself and a restoration is needed to prevent further decay.

Cavities may not be life threatening, but everybody, to some extent, will experience a cavity in his or her lifetime. Cavities are very preventable by simply performing good oral habits and routine dental visits. Tooth decay is caused by your teeth being frequently exposed to foods rich in carbohydrates (starches and sugars) like soda pop, candy, ice cream, milk, and cakes. Ironically, even fruits, vegetables, and juices can lead to tooth decay.

When these foods are left in contact with the teeth over an extended period of time, they are eventually broken down by bacteria to form a soft, sticky, colorless substance called “plaque”. Plaque then uses the acids from these foods and can begin to break down (or demineralize) the enamel structure of the tooth, or the outer covering of the tooth. This results in a weakening of the tooth structure and potentially tooth decay, or cavities.

Cavity prevention

There are many ways to maintain a healthy mouth. Routine brushing and flossing and regular professional cleanings are the #1 way to prevent cavities. Brushing twice a day is important in that brushing in the morning will remove and a substance that may have remained overnight and brushing in the evening is as important in that your salivary glands stop producing saliva when you sleep. Saliva, being the body’s first defense mechanism towards cavities, is decreased thus allowing substances to really affect the teeth while you sleep when you do not brush in the evening. Saliva acts as a buffer and re-mineralizing agent.

Fluoride, a natural substance which also helps re-mineralize the tooth structure, is used in community water systems and is a main ingredient of many types of toothpaste. If you are at medium to high risk for cavities, your dentist may recommend special high concentration fluoride gels, mouth rinses, or dietary fluoride supplements.

How do I know if I have a cavity?

Often, people develop cavities without any pain or other symptoms. That is why it is so important to schedule regular, routine visits with your dentist so that they can potentially treat the cavity at its earliest stage.

Dry mouth, also referred to as “xerostomia”, is a result of improperly functioning salivary glands. Dry mouth can make it hard to eat, swallow, and speak. Other common symptoms of dry mouth include burning tongue, dry lips, or impaired taste.

Causes of Dry Mouth:

Ways to Improve Dry Mouth:

In certain situations, we also may be able to prescribe medications to fight severe dry mouth.

Gum disease, also called periodontal disease or periodontitis, is an infection of the tissues surrounding and supporting the teeth. Bacteria has accumulated in the gum pockets around the teeth. This causes the gums to become irritated and inflamed. Inflamed gums will bleed easily and occasionally swell. This swelling leads to an increase in bacteria in the gum pocket, further advancing the disease and compromising the supporting structures around the teeth.

Early stages of gum disease are evident in the term, gingivitis. Gingivitis is the inflammation and bleeding of gums. At this early stage, if treated appropriately and effectively, the disease is reversible and further complications can be avoided by good brushing and flossing techniques with routine professional cleanings.

Gum disease is a “silent killer” for lack of a better term in the sense that the disease does not initially present with symptoms of discomfort. Only until the advances stages of the disease will it present with discomfort. At these stages, the options of treatment are limited and if untreated, severe bone loss can occur, and ultimately, tooth loss.

Early symptoms of gum disease:

Periodontal therapy:

If gum disease is advanced to the point a normal cleaning will not suffice, periodontal therapy is indicated. Scaling and root planing is essentially a “deep cleaning”. The reason it is termed a “deep” cleaning is because the gum pockets around the teeth have been populated with bacteria to the point that the pockets are now deeper, thus a deeper cleaning is needed. Scaling and root planing is a technique in which all bacteria inside those pockets are removed from the root of the tooth, some antibiotic medications may be applied, and the gums are then allowed 3-4 weeks to heal before a re-evaluation of the gum tissue is completed to see how the tissues are responding to treatment.

Wisdom teeth are your third and most posterior teeth in the mouth. Normally, each individual will have 3 molars in each quadrant of the mouth: upper, lower, right, and left. The third molars are normally the last molars (and teeth) to erupt into the mouth and they do so around the ages of 16-18 years old. There are many times when these teeth become impacted and do not actually become visible in the mouth.

In most situations where there is an impacted tooth, that tooth has been forced into an awkward position and there isn’t enough room in the arch for the tooth to erupt properly.

Extraction is usually performed when the roots are approximately formed, or three-fourths developed. This is typically during the adolescent years, as early removal will help to eliminate problems such as an impacted tooth that destroys the second molar.

If a tooth is left impacted, there are many consequences that can be had. This tooth could become infected. Depending on the angulation of the tooth, it could be impinging on a neighboring tooth, thus increasing the likelihood of a cavity on the neighboring tooth. Lastly, if an impacted tooth is left untouched, there is a very good chance that it could cause crowding of the anterior teeth later in life.

Warning Signs of Oral Cancer

Red, white or discolored lesions, patches or lumps in or around the mouth are an early sign of oral cancer, which is typically painless in its early stages. As the cancer spreads, the lesions or lumps become noticeably painful.

Oral Cancer Self-examination

To perform the oral cancer self-examination, follow these steps using a bright light and mirror:

**The most common sites for oral cancer are on the side of the tongue or the floor of the mouth.