The basics of good dental hygiene have never changed and never well change. A combination of brushing, flossing, and regular dental checkups and cleaning can ensure a bright healthy smile for life. You have to do your part to make this work. The dentist can correct almost any problems when you come to see him or her. However, only you can prevent problems.

The best toothbrush to use is one with soft, rounded bristles. Medium toothbrushes and hard tooth brushes can damage gums. Use a toothbrush that is comfortable for you to maneuver, and use a manual toothbrush. Almost all you hear about power toothbrushes is hype.

Good oral hygiene requires using toothpaste that contains fluoride. Other ingredients in toothpaste, such as antibacterial agents, are good, but they are no substitute for fluoride. Tartar control and teeth whitening agents are fine, as well as baking soda, but nothing beats good fluoride toothpaste.

Flossing is another element of good oral hygiene that everyone knows about, but that many neglect to do.
The type of floss does not matter. What is important is to cover all the sides of the tooth and move it below the gum line in the process. Do so until you hear a squeaking sound, which indicates all tartar has been removed.

People make all sorts of excuses about why they do not floss. They say it hurts them, or causes their gums to bleed. These are not valid reasons to avoid flossing. Healthy gums are not hurt by flossing, nor do they bleed. If you hurt when you floss or see blood, call a dentist immediately to get checked out for gum disease.

It is estimated that 80% of all Americans suffer from gum disease, but many of them do not know they have it. Leaving Periodontitis untreated leads to all sorts of complications, including tooth loss and even life threatening conditions such as heart conditions.

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It is important to visit a dental office for periodic cleaning and regular checkups in addition to maintaining a regimen of good oral hygiene. Professional teeth cleaning services is something that everyone should have done on a regular basis. Hygienists at the Medical Center Dental Group can screen for tooth decay with x-rays and a special cavity-detecting laser called diagnodent. A standard cleaning session also involves fluoride treatments and careful review of your case history to provide you with personalized at-home care recommendations to maximize the chances of successful daily oral hygiene.

Labels: dental floss, dental hygeine, oral hygeine, Sensodyne Toothpaste, tooth brushing, tooth whitening

There was a man named Kevin who came to the Cosmetic Dentistry Center. He was 38 years old, and complained that his teeth seemed unusually sensitive to cold. He explained that a few weeks prior to his appointment, he had been drinking iced tea, and had first noticed the condition at that time. Over the next several days, the pain became more noticeable. Now he was feeling pain just from breathing in cold air when he ran around Memorial Park in the mornings. His wife was concerned he might need a root canal, because she had heard him grinding his teeth in his sleep. Kevin was now worried that he might have an abscess forming. We reassured him this was probably not the case. His symptoms sounded much more like a case of dental abfraction than an infection of the nerve chamber.

Dental abfraction is often caused by Bruxism—the grinding of teeth in the sleep. Bruxism causes the teeth at or below the gumline to become notched. Heightened tooth sensitivity and discomfort result. Other conditions can also result, such as bicuspid drop-off, worn teeth becoming frayed around the edges, dentin becoming exposed, and gingival recession.

Mild cases of dental abfraction can be treated with topical treatments such as fluoride gel or Sensodyne toothpaste. Flexible trays, custom made to fit the mouth, can be used to apply these treatments for 20 minutes every day. More advanced cases need more aggressive forms of treatment. We did not know what Kevin would need until we examined his teeth more closely, and did a thorough check on his medical history.

When we accessed his records on our computer, we discovered that Kevin had been involved in a minor accident where he had been hit in the mouth by a falling object. He had gone to the emergency room and been treated with several stitches, but none of his teeth were knocked out. A few seemed a bit out of alignment, but nothing that made him consider cosmetic dentistry. Over time, however, biting down on teeth that were now misaligned had resulted in dental abfraction.

We discovered this when we took a close look at his mouth with our intraoral camera. This is one of the many advantages that patients get when they come to the Cosmetic Dentistry Center. The intraoral camera allows us to look at things such as dental abfraction, cracked teeth, and periodontal disease on a magnified, full-color monitor. In this instance, Kevin suffered from acute gum recession and dental abfraction below the receding gum line. This had exposed the roots of both teeth, which was causing Kevin to feel such painful sensitivity to cold. However, we had caught the condition in time before the roots began to die. We were able to treat Kevin with cosmetic dental bonding, and then have him use Sensodyne toothpaste to reverse the gum recession.

Kevin has since reported that all symptoms have since disappeared. If you are currently feeling an acute sensitivity to heat or cold, it may be because you too suffer from dental abfraction. Schedule an appointment with us today. The sooner you get treatment, the quicker and painless the treatment normally is.

Labels: Bruxism, cosmetic dental bonding, dental abfraction, Sensodyne Toothpaste