Gum disease (gingivitis) and tooth decay are primarily caused by dental plaque. Dental plaque is a whitish, sticky film that accumulates daily along the gumline and on the surfaces of your teeth. Composed of bacteria, it is controllable through good oral hygiene habits — most importantly, effective brushing.

Controlling plaque and preventing gingivitis and tooth decay will make it more likely that you keep your teeth through your lifetime and will also improve your general health. Scientific studies have linked gum disease and diseases of the heart and circulatory system.

“I know how to brush my teeth. I've been doing it since I was a toddler,” you may be saying. But you may not be performing this daily ritual in the most effective way.

Let's take another look at tooth brushing. First, your grip: Hold the brush in your fingertips with a light pressure. Position the brush so the bristles are at a 45 degree angle to your gumline, and then brush with a gentle scrubbing motion. Don’t scrub too hard, or you may damage your sensitive gum tissue.

Some electric brushes can remove plaque more quickly than a regular hand-held brush, but if you brush well any kind of brush works. A brush will last several months. Get a new one when the bristles become worn or splayed out.

Use a toothpaste that contains fluoride. When used consistently, fluoride toothpastes make your teeth more resistant to decay. Spit out the toothpaste after brushing, but don't rinse or you will wash the fluoride away.

After brushing, complete your cleaning job by using floss to clean between your teeth where the brush does not reach. Wrap it in a “C” shape around each tooth and move it vertically up and down, removing plaque from the tooth surfaces where your teeth meet. You can also use an antibacterial mouth rinse.

Thoroughly clean your teeth at least once a day, brushing and flossing. A plaque film takes 12 to 24 hours to form itself again.

To be certain you are brushing correctly, ask our office or one of our hygienists to demonstrate brushing techniques for you in your own mouth. You can also assess the quality of your brushing technique by checking with your tongue after brushing to make sure your tooth surfaces feel smooth and slick. Your gums should not bleed after brushing. Bleeding is a sign of infection. If you have a habit of consistent brushing but your gums continue to bleed, it's time for a visit to our office.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss your questions about oral hygiene. You can also learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Oral Hygiene Behavior.”

If you suffer from snoring or think you may have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), did you know that your dentist could play an important role in treating your condition? For most people this is surprising; however, we can provide both education and some treatment options. And as needed, we will work with your other healthcare professionals to get an accurate diagnosis so that you can improve both your sleep and your health.

Oral Appliance Therapy: These devices may look like orthodontic retainers or sports mouthguards, but they are designed to maintain an open, unobstructed, upper airway (tissues at the back of your throat) during sleep. There are many different oral appliances available but less than 20 have been approved through the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for treating sleep apnea. Depending on your specific condition, we may use it alone or in combination with other means of treating your OSA. Here’s how they work. They reposition the lower jaw, tongue, soft palate and uvula (the tissue in the back of the throat that dangles like a punching bag); stabilize the lower jaw and tongue; and increase the muscle tone of the tongue — unblocking the airway.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP): CPAP bedside machines generate pressurized air delivered through a tube connected to a mask covering the nose and sometimes mouth. Pressurized air opens the airway (windpipe) in the same manner as blowing into a balloon; when air is blown in, the balloon opens and gets wider. This treatment option is generally not used for snoring, but rather for the more serious condition, OSA.

Surgery: Specially trained oral and maxillofacial surgeons may include more complex jaw advancement surgeries. Additionally, an Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) specialist (otolaryngologist) may consider surgery to remove excess tissues in the throat. It also may be necessary to remove the tonsils and adenoids (especially in children), the uvula, or even parts of the soft palate.

The first step towards getting a great night's sleep if you are a snorer that has never been diagnosed or treated for your condition is to obtain a thorough examination by a physician specifically trained in diagnosing and treating sleep disorders. And depending on the seriousness of your condition, he or she may strongly encourage you to participate in a sleep study. The results from this “study” can provide your dentist and other healthcare professionals with precise data about your snoring, breathing and sleeping habits. This information is key to treating OSA, if you are in fact diagnosed with this condition. Learn more when you read, “Snoring & Sleep Apnea.” Or if you are ready for a thorough examination and to discuss your snoring, contact us today to schedule an appointment.

Tongue and lip piercing is a growing popular trend for some young people and adults; however, did you know that they could wreak havoc on oral health? In fact, some people soon discover that before they can even enjoy their new piercing they are faced with issues ranging from bleeding and infection to nerve damage. Tongues and lips are highly vascular — that means they have lots of blood vessels that can bleed easily and are not always easy to stop once they start bleeding. Many tongue and lip bolts can initiate problems such as tooth sensitivity, gum disease and recession, chipped teeth and more. In addition, not all tattoo parlors and tattooists are properly licensed to do piercings. Therefore, sterile techniques are not always guaranteed if they do not come under the scrutiny government agencies. Unfortunately, these potential concerns are rarely discussed prior to receiving a piercing.

So what can be done if you already have a tongue or lip piercing?

If you already have piercings, it is critical that they are closely monitored by your health professionals to make sure they are not doing damage. It is also important that you have routine dental exams to ensure that you do not have any silent problems causing issues that you haven't noticed. However, your best option is to consider removing these oral piercings. The good news is that most often the hole in your tongue or lip may heal itself; otherwise, a minor corrective surgery may be required.

A note of warning: Before you contemplate a piercing, get as much information as you can about them and the person who will do them. This includes asking about their risks, benefits and better alternatives. And then think twice to make sure they will not become permanent and negative reminders of temporary emotions!

If you have ever had halitosis (bad breath), you know it can cause you to feel self-conscious and embarrassed. And while the odor is typically a primary concern, determining what is causing it is a task we can assist you with resolving. This is especially true when you experience bad breath outside of those times when you've just consumed pungent foods and drinks such as coffee, garlic or raw onions. For example, it is quite a different scenario to have family members, friends, co-workers or even total strangers consistently complaining or using body language to denote your bad breath. If the later best describes your situation — and be honest with yourself — then you need a thorough dental exam to discover the ultimate cause (or causes) of your halitosis. This is especially important because so many people are unaware that there can be numerous oral and/or general health concerns triggering their bad breath.

Most unpleasant mouth odors arise from the more than 600 types of bacteria found in the average mouth, with several dozens of these bacteria being the primary culprits for producing foul odors. And while food particles left between teeth can be key contributors to bad breath, the tongue or more specifically, the back of the tongue, is the most common location. Dry mouth is another cause for bad breath, as evident by the dreaded morning breath we all experience from mouth breathing as we sleep. Bad breath is also caused by certain medical conditions such as liver disease, lung infections, diabetes, kidney infections or failure and cancer.

The good news is that we can work with you to develop an effective treatment for your bad breath. And if necessary, we can work with your physician on a total treatment plan should your condition be due to health conditions outside your mouth. However, if your bad breath originates in your mouth, we may recommend any or all of the following to return your mouth to optimal oral health:

• Oral hygiene instruction to learn the proper ways to brush, floss, scrape your tongue and use mouthwashes
• Denture hygiene instruction for proper cleaning and maintenance of both full and partial dentures and bridgework
• Periodontal (gum) therapy that includes professionally cleaning your teeth (scaling), smoothing your teeth's root surfaces (root planning) and possible antibiotic therapy
• Removal of tooth decay where large, open cavities (caries) are present
• Repair of broken fillings
• Removal of wisdom teeth (third molars) with gum flaps
• Treatment of yeast infections (candidasis)

To learn more about the causes and treatments for halitosis, read the Dear Doctor article, “Bad Breath — More Than Just Embarrassing.”

Ready To Take The Next Step?

If you want to address your own concerns with bad breath, contact us today to schedule a consultation for an examination and treatment plan. You will find yourself smiling and laughing more once you are confident you have a clean, healthy mouth.

Guidelines regarding the concentration of fluoride in water have recently been changed by the US Government's Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These agencies recommended a reduction of fluoride in water supplies to 0.7mg/L, modifying the original recommendations provided in 1962 by the US Public Health Service.

What is fluoride, and why add it to water supplies?
Fluoride is a chemical form of fluorine, a naturally occurring element. For decades, scientists have carried out studies on the effects of fluoride in water, and they have proved that fluoride strengthens tooth surfaces and makes them resistant to decay. A fluoride concentration of about one milligram per liter (1 mg/L), or 1 part per million (1ppm), in the water supply is associated with substantially fewer cavities. This concentration of fluoride (equivalent to a grain of salt in a gallon of water) has been found to have no negative health effects.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that fluoridated water is one of the ten most effective public health measures of the 20th Century. The optimal amount of fluoride necessary to make teeth resistant to decay turns out to be between 0.7 and 1.20 milligrams per liter (mg/L). A certain amount of fluoride occurs naturally in water supplies, and communities have added fluoride to bring the amount up to the optimal recommendations.

How does fluoride you drink get into your teeth?
The fluoride you drink in your water is deposited in your bones. Bone is an active living substance that is constantly broken down and rebuilt as a normal body process. As this happens the fluoride is released into the blood, from which it can enter the saliva and act on the tooth surface.

What about fluoride from other sources?
Americans now have access to many sources of fluoride in addition to the water they drink. These include foods, beverages and toothpaste. As a result, dentists have begun to notice an increased prevalence of a condition known as Dental Fluorosis.

What is Dental Fluorosis?
Dental Fluorosis can occur when teeth, particularly in children, receive too much fluoride. This condition is a mottling or uneven staining of the tooth surface enamel. There may be small white spots or extensive brownish discolorations. The mottled enamel is still resistant to decay, but it may be unattractive in appearance.

What is the idea behind the new guidelines?
With the new guidelines, fluoride is kept at the lower end of the scale of the optimal concentration for strengthening teeth against decay. At this end, there is room to add consumption of fluoride from other sources such as foods or toothpaste. In short, it is the best of both worlds.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss your questions about fluoride. You can learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Fluoride & Fluoridation in Dentistry” and “New Fluoride Recommendations.”