Dental Blog

After you eat, sugar bugs go crazy over the sugar on your teeth, like ants at a picnic. The sugar bugs turn the sugar into acids that eat away tooth enamel, causing holes called cavities. The sugar bugs also cause gingivitis, which is gum disease that can make your gums red, swollen, and sore. Your gums are the soft pink tissue in your mouth that hold your teeth in place.

The holiday season is over, and everything is slowly returning to normal. Now is a great time to focus on your New Year’s resolutions. Instead of making general resolutions like wanting to lose weight or saying you want to be healthier, why not get specific and resolve to support your oral health by brushing at least twice a day, flossing at least once a day, and eating foods that are healthy for your teeth, gums, and bones!

There comes a time when the tides change, and we become a caregiver to those that raised us, drove us to soccer practice, dance recitals, and music lessons. They helped us brush our hair and taught us to brush our teeth. Now we are the ones helping with shopping, shuttling loved ones to doctor’s appointments, assisting with errands, and balancing checkbooks. One often overlooked (but just as important) task is helping your loved one maintain their oral health.

Being a parent is awesome. But for those trying to teach their children good oral hygiene habits, the struggle is real. It can be a trying time, but it’s one of those necessary skills that your child will take with him or her into adulthood.

For most patients, dental benefits renew each January, while others renew on an enrollment date or fiscal year. Studies have shown under 3% of PPO dental plan members use all of their allotted benefits each year. This could mean thousands of wasted hard-earned dollars per family.

Most traditional dental benefit plans have yearly maximums and specified coverage limits on procedures (100% coverage on cleanings, 80% on restorative treatment, etc.). Some plans have a deductible on larger treatments too.

With a little help from your dental team, a healthy mouth during pregnancy is something that’s easy to deliver.

Pregnancy is an exciting time for any woman, but it is also full of a seemingly endless list of do’s and don’ts. Thankfully, there have been incredible advancements in the dental field that help make your dental experience while you’re expecting more pleasant.

What is an Abscess?

An abscess is an infection. There are two types of dental abscesses. A periapical abscess, which happens at the root of a tooth and a periodontal abscess which happens in the gum. A periapical abscess can occur when decay gets into the nerve chamber, killing the nerve and pulp tissue. Sometimes a traumatic injury or crack in a tooth can damage the delicate nerve inside, resulting in the death of the nerve. Periodontal disease is a chronic gum infection that can weaken the bone and may result in bone and tooth loss if untreated. It can also trigger widespread infection throughout the mouth. Regardless of where in the mouth the infection occurs, if it goes untreated for too long, a pus-filled area forms and that is called the abscess.

Electric toothbrushes are an excellent idea for everyone, but for people with arthritis, cognitive impairments or those who have suffered a stroke, an electric toothbrush can be a little breath of independence that gives a boost of self-confidence.

Not all dental cleanings are created equal. Find out why some hygiene appointments cost more than others and learn how you can save time and money in the dental chair.

A “regular” cleaning is clinically called prophylaxis or a prophy cleaning and is a preventative measure to prevent periodontal disease. It includes removing plaque and tartar from tooth surfaces and just below the gum line. Sometimes, especially if you haven’t been to the dentist in a while, the buildup of tartar and plaque is too much to remove with the hand instruments that our hygienists use and, in some cases, requires the use of anesthetic and more than one visit, resulting in a costlier dental appointment.

One of the first things that people notice about you is your smile. In today’s youth-obsessed culture, a twenty-something with dingy teeth can appear older than a forty-something with a bright, white, sparkling smile. Here are five things to keep in mind as you embark on your tooth whitening journey to the gleaming smile you’ve always dreamed of.