The Affected Tissue in Your Tooth Is Removed

Some patients who need root canal therapy have an infection inside their tooth, or extensive decay that’s compromised the inner tissue that supplies the tooth with blood and nutrients to keep it alive.

During a root canal, any tissue that’s been affected will be removed by your dentist or endodontist—a specialist at saving teeth. This tissue generally consists of nerves that may or may not be dead, and will be cleaned out from your tooth.

The removal of this material will prevent your tooth from being sensitive to temperature and, if your affected tooth is discolored, help restore its natural hue.

The Pulp Chamber Is Cleaned and Sealed

Once the affected tissue is removed, your dentist will carefully clean the inside of your tooth—sometimes called the pulp chamber—with special tools. This cleaning process will remove any bacteria and remaining microscopic tissue in your tooth that could contribute to future problems.

After the cleaning is done, your dentist or endodontist will dry and seal the canal to protect the tooth and ensure an infection can’t happen. The pulp chamber of the tooth is sealed with a biocompatible material, meaning your body will not react to it and it won’t cause any problems [2].

Your Tooth Is Capped Off With a Dental Restoration

Now that your tooth has been properly cleaned and sealed, you’ll need to have some type of restoration placed over your tooth to protect it from further trauma [3]. Many patients will get a dental crown, which is a porcelain replication of your natural tooth, placed over the area. However, some patients will only need a filling material to keep the treated tooth protected.

Your dentist can let you know more about what you need during your consultation for root canal therapy!

Could a Root Canal Benefit Your Smile?

Root canal therapy can save a tooth that’s been impacted by decay or an injury, and for patients that have a single discolored tooth, a root canal can generally restore its color. If you’ve been told you need a root canal, don’t fret about this common procedure. Your root canal will be handled by an experienced dentist or endodontist to save your tooth!

Sources:
1. https://news.llu.edu/patient-care/let-s-get-root-of-root-canal
2. https://www.aae.org/patients/root-canal-treatment/what-is-a-root-canal/root-canal-
3. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007275.htm

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When our tooth enamel is worn away, our teeth are no longer protected from what we eat or drink. The temperature of these foods can work its way into the nerves of the teeth and cause pain when tooth enamel is missing.

What are the top reasons your teeth have become more sensitive as a result of enamel
damage?

Brushing too Hard

Brushing your teeth is great; however, brushing aggressively can do more harm to your teeth than good. Since tooth enamel is porous, it can absorb some of the substances we eat and soften a bit. During this time, removing tooth enamel is unfortunately too easy.

This is why it’s advised to not brush your teeth until 30 minutes after a meal. Anytime before a meal is fine though! Even if you haven’t eaten recently, brushing your teeth too hard can wear away enamel over time. Buy a toothbrush with softer bristles and always brush gently to protect your tooth enamel and reduce your chances of sensitive teeth.

Eating Acidic Foods

Acidic foods can damage your tooth enamel: these foods include sweets as well as sugary drinks such as soda. Sugar can work with bacteria to attack and erode tooth enamel, therefore leading to increased tooth sensitivity. Choosing healthy foods such as those high in calcium and omega-3 fatty acids in addition to other nutrients can protect your enamel!

Not Getting Checkups

When you go in for a checkup and a professional teeth cleaning at your dentist office, your dentist is able to clean all the little spots you may have missed since your last visit. Without getting regular checkups and cleanings, plaque can build up.

Plaque sits on the surface of the tooth and can slowly eat away at your tooth enamel. Although this can lead to tooth decay, tooth sensitivity is usually the first warning sign. This means your enamel has been damaged and a cavity might not be far away.

Teeth Grinding

Grinding your teeth can damage your jaw, cause headaches, and even crack your teeth. Your jaw is able to exert immense pressure, and when you’re grinding your teeth, this pressure may be amplified by up to ten times! Teeth grinding is unfortunately one of the common enamel damagers and can lead to sensitive teeth.

Your dentist can help you seek treatment for your teeth grinding, therefore saving your tooth enamel and stopping sensitive teeth in their tracks. Once you notice sensitive teeth, see a dentist as soon as possible!

Sensitive teeth are your body’s way of telling you that something is amiss with your smile, and usually the problem is enamel damage. Discovering the cause of your damaged tooth enamel is important for stopping the process of erosion. Talk to your dentist about your tooth sensitivity today!

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Remove Deep Stains

At-home kits can’t take away stains that are below the surface level. Many people have deeper stains in their enamel which will require professional treatment to erase. When you try at-home kits, the best they can do is remove surface stains. This unfortunately still leaves the deeper stains on your teeth and may result in uneven whitening.

Protect Sensitive Teeth

If your teeth are sensitive, this is because some of your enamel has been damaged and is likely missing. This means parts of your teeth are exposed to extreme temperatures and may hurt or feel as though they’re stinging when you eat hot or cold foods. When you have sensitive teeth, getting a whitening is often challenging. This is because at-home kits may remove some of your enamel, especially if they’re not used as directed. When you want whiter teeth but also have sensitive teeth, a professional whitening is best. Your dentist can evaluate your tooth enamel and customize your whitening treatment to minimize any discomfort you’d experience after a traditional whitening.

Get Long-Lasting Results

Whitening kits often take some time to show results and also don’t last as long a professional whitening. The trays in over-the- counter kits are also not custom made for your smile, therefore increasing the chances that the whitening agent will irritate your gum tissue or result in uneven brightening throughout your smile. When you get a professional whitening with your dentist, you achieve long-lasting, effective results. When you’re able to remove deep stains and completely whiten your smile, you get a brighter, whiter smile with no damage!

Takes Less Time and Money

Although at-home kits are cheaper now, they take much longer to work. You’ll need to keep buying whitening kits to see the results you want over time. This leads to many people abusing the whitening kits to achieve a whiter smile, faster. Unfortunately, this can damage enamel and gum tissue when the kits are used this way.

A professional whitening takes significantly less time than the store-bought kits and will save you money over time. Most whitenings can be done in about an hour at your local dentist office. You’ll also not need to waste any more time or money on buying kits that produce subpar results. Get one professional whitening and see dramatic results in just an hour!

When you take advantage of professional whitening services through your dentist, you get results that at-home kits have trouble matching. You can remove deep stains, protect sensitive teeth, and save time and money with long-lasting results. Talk to your dentist about a professional whitening to get the bright smile you’ve been dreaming of!

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Hydrochloric Acid Damages Tooth Enamel

Your stomach is protected from the harsh acids that help digest your food—but your teeth aren’t. Your teeth were never meant to be exposed to these acids, which are extremely corrosive to your teeth. Your teeth are protected with your tooth enamel, which is the toughest substance in the body. Unfortunately, tooth enamel doesn’t hold up against acids. These acids can come in the form of acidic foods such as sugar, or stomach acids for people with GERD.

When the acid backs up into your esophagus, traces of it can end up in your mouth. This lowers the pH of your oral cavity to be very acidic. Under these conditions, enamel can quickly get worn away. When enamel is gone, it’s much easier for cavities to form. This acidic environment worsens when you eat acidic foods in addition to having acid reflux.

What Happens When Enamel Is Gone

Once your enamel is gone, it doesn’t grow back. People who have damaged or missing enamel will often have to deal with the consequences for life. Enamel damage can lead to tooth sensitivity as well as cavities. When the protective layer of your teeth is no longer there, damage happens much faster. Missing enamel can also lead to discoloration of your teeth. If a cavity forms and is left untreated, root canal therapy may be needed. Missing enamel could also cause pain when you brush and floss in addition to eating hot or cold foods. Worst of all, if enamel damage becomes a problem yet your GERD continues to cause acids to end up in your mouth, damage can happen on a much larger scale.

How to Manage the Damage

Early diagnosis of GERD can minimize the damage that happens from stomach acids in your mouth. Unfortunately, many patients wait over a year to seek treatment for this problem! There are things you can do at home in addition to getting your condition treated by your doctor. These include not eating before bedtime—at least two hours before—and never laying down after eating. Laying down makes it much easier for acids to wash back into your mouth.

You can also eat smaller meals, which will help reduce stomach acid in the first place. Just eat more frequently in addition to smaller meals. Certain foods trigger certain people’s acid reflux—the most common ones include citrus foods, spicy and greasy foods, even chocolate and tomatoes. Know what triggers you and do your best to avoid it.

Quitting smoking, reducing alcohol consumption, and losing weight can also help you to live a healthier life in addition to managing your acid reflux. If you think you suffer from GERD, schedule an appointment with your doctor to diagnose and treat the condition before it has a chance to hurt your smile. Get a checkup with your dentist and talk to him or her about your acid reflux and what you can do. Acid reflux can harm your smile, but you can help circumvent the damage!

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White Spots

As our teeth are constantly exposed to acidic foods, our enamel takes a beating. Brushing and flossing our teeth helps to keep the bad bacteria away, but depending on our diet and dental hygiene, tooth enamel can still get damaged even with regular care.

When enamel is damaged, you can often see a white spot on your tooth that’s a different color from the rest of your teeth. This is a sign that your enamel has been damaged and a cavity may soon be forming. This stage of tooth decay is reversible!

Enamel Decay

During enamel decay, your tooth enamel will start breaking down beneath the surface. If enamel decay persists, the surface of the tooth will be affected, at which point the damage is irreversible. Once you notice that your enamel has been damaged—which is usually evident by a dark spot on the tooth—the cavity will need to be repaired by your dentist with a filling. The smaller your cavity is, the easier your dentist will be able to fill the hole without any additional problems.

Dentin Decay

Dentin is a softer component of your tooth that’s protected by your tooth enamel. However, once enamel decay has taken place, the dentin is now subject to harm. This is when the decay moves past your tooth enamel and into the dentin.

Although this stage isn’t reversible, your dentist is still able to repair this damage with a simple filling. If your tooth decay is left to progress beyond this point, you’ll begin experiencing the pain of a toothache and perhaps even pulp infection.

Infection of the Pulp

After the decay goes through your enamel and your dentin, the next tissue it has left to reach is your tooth pulp. Your tooth pulp is essentially the living part of your tooth that houses connective tissue and nerves. Your tooth pulp will get infected as a result of the decay, which can cause pus and death of the blood vessels and nerves inside the tooth. At this point, the tooth begins to die and a filling will no longer fix the problem—you’ll need root canal therapy to save the tooth.

Abscess

If the problem still progresses beyond this point, the infection will eat through your tooth pulp and begin to infect the bones and ligaments that support the tooth. This is painful for most patients. This causes a pocket of infection that will be physically visible on the outside of your gums or even your cheeks. At this point, a root canal could still save the tooth, or you may need to have the tooth extracted.

Throughout these five stages, you have plenty of opportunity to stop the decay as well as to treat it. Once the enamel is damaged, your dentist will need to fill in the tooth. Notice the white spots that could mean enamel damage, and always get regular checkups with your dentist to catch cavities while they’re still small!

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The type of gum is the most important factor in whether or not chewing gum is bad for your teeth. This is because chewing gum that contains sugar is actually bad for your teeth—the consequences outweigh the benefits. Your teeth are being exposed to acidic sugars over a period of time, therefore increasing your risk for cavities.

However, sugarless gum can actually be beneficial for your smile. It stimulates saliva production, therefore promoting a healthy environment for good bacteria, and therefore can help decrease plaque and acid-forming bacteria. The increased saliva flow can also help to free trapped food particles from your teeth!

May Help Reduce Cavities

Not all sugarless gum is created equal. Sugarless gums created with xylitol are better for your teeth than gums created with other artificial sweeteners, which tend to be more acidic. Xylitol is alkaline-forming, which means it can help promote a healthier bacteria balance in the mouth and minimize your chances of enamel erosion and cavities.

Sugarless gum sweetened with xylitol should be your top pick because it may help reduce cavities. Xylitol can also hinder the growth of the bacteria involved in cavity formation. Regular chewing of sugarless gum with xylitol may help promote a healthier bacteria balance of over time because it can inhibit harmful bacteria from bonding to tooth surfaces!

When Chewing Gum Is Bad for You

Chewing gum isn’t the best practice for everyone, regardless of whether or not it’s sugar-free! There are times when chewing gum actually is bad for you. These occasions include:

 If you’re experiencing symptoms of TMJ. Temporomandibular Joint disorder, or TMJ disorder, affects your jaw and the muscles that operate your jaw. People who experience jaw locking, tenderness, or facial pain should avoid chewing gum and visit their dentist.

 If you chew gum with sugar. Chewing gum with sugar is not recommended. It’s better to sip water or crunch on vegetables than to chew gum with conventional sugars!

 If you use it to replace brushing and flossing. We’ve all been running late and popped some gum into our mouths instead of brushing our teeth—but if you do this on a daily basis, you’re robbing your mouth of the best oral hygiene practices that can save your smile! Chewing gum—even sugarless gum—should never replace your regular brushing and flossing routine.

Chewing gum can be very beneficial for your smile if you choose a quality sugar-free gum that’s sweetened with xylitol. This can help prevent cavities, encourage healthy bacteria, and result in a healthier mouth. Avoid chewing gum if you have TMJ disorder or favor gum with sugar, and as always, visit your dentist to ensure your teeth are healthy!

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How Periodontitis Affects the Mouth

When you have periodontitis, bacteria slip underneath your gumline and create pockets where an infection is left to damage your gums, the ligaments that help hold your teeth securely in your mouth, and can even lead to tooth loss. You likely have red or irritated gums that are painful when periodontitis is present. The bacteria that cause gum disease are protected underneath your gums because your toothbrush can’t reach these spaces!

In order to combat periodontitis, your dentist will need to clean out these pockets and remove the infection. If your periodontitis isn’t severe, you likely won’t need surgical treatment. Non-surgical treatment for periodontitis is also called root planing or scaling. This deep cleaning can help to remove the infection and restore your gums.

What Is Root Planing and Scaling?

When your gums harbor infectious tissue and bacteria, root planing and scaling is often the first step your dentist will take to help get your mouth back to normal. During this procedure, you’ll receive local anesthesia to help with any discomfort you may feel. Your dentist will then conduct a thorough cleaning using special tools to remove plaque, infection, bacteria, and tartar that are causing the inflammation from your teeth and gums.

Your dentist will also smooth the roots of your teeth back into place, which helps your gums maintain their normal shape and therefore protect your teeth and gums from harmful bacteria that may try to re-enter areas below the gumline. Oftentimes, this treatment is the only treatment that’s needed for periodontitis!

Effectively Treat Periodontitis

If your gum disease has progressed to the point that it’s causing your gums to become inflamed and harbor infection, you can effectively treat periodontitis the first time with root planing and scaling. With regular dental checkups and great home care habits for your smile, this may be the only treatment you need! Generally, the gums respond well to this treatment and are able to heal. Your dentist is able to help prevent further damage and protect your smile with non-surgical treatment for periodontitis.

If your gums are tender, bleed when brushing, or look “puffy” and swollen out from your teeth, it’s time to visit your dentist to check for gum disease. Periodontitis can often be easily treated with root planing and scaling by your local dentist, and with some oral health care changes, your gums can be restored and healthily support your teeth for life!

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How Lumineers Work

Lumineers can be completed in just two visits to your dentist office! You’ll first have a consultation to determine if Lumineers are right for you. Then, during the first visit for your Lumineers procedure, your dentist will take impressions of your teeth and send them to a laboratory to ensure a perfect, custom fit. You’ll come back for a second visit once your custom restorations are complete to bond them to your teeth. Your dentist will ensure they fit perfectly and check to make sure your bite fits with the Lumineers to prevent chipping or premature aging.

Who Qualifies?

Anyone who is unhappy with their smile should schedule a consultation with their dentist to talk about the possibility of transforming your smile with Lumineers! Not every dentist will be experienced with Lumineers, so you should ask your dentist about their experience in helping people get their dream smile with Lumineers and work with a dentist who specializes in the procedure.

Lumineers Can Transform Your Smile

Lumineers are very thin, thinner than traditional veneers, and therefore enamel removal is not needed in most cases. Your teeth will be slightly etched in order to allow proper bonding of your Lumineers. Lumineers can last for 20 years or more if cared for properly, and the procedure is entirely painless and easy at your dentist office.

Lumineers cover your natural teeth, but should you ever decide you’d like them removed, they can be removed to reveal your natural smile. Lumineers are a great option for many patients who are unhappy with their teeth and want an easy alternative to achieve their dream smile. You can light up your smile with Lumineers by choosing what shape and color you’d like your new smile to be, and talking with your dentist about the best fit for your custom look!

Talk to Your Dentist

Talk to your dentist about whether or not you’d qualify for Lumineers. Lumineers provide a cost-friendly alternative to other types of dental work, and the procedure is less invasive and time-consuming as well. Lumineers allow your natural teeth to remain unaffected in most cases, and yet provide you with beautiful teeth so you can feel confident about smiling again!

Lumineers allow you to feel better about your smile in just two short dentist visits. Your teeth will be instantly transformed with the placement of your Lumineers. Don’t feel uncomfortable about your teeth anymore—smile proudly with your new Lumineers and retain full functionality of your teeth. Ask your dentist if Lumineers could be a good choice for your smile!

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Sharing Bacteria Can Increase Risk for Cavities

We all have different kinds of bacteria in our mouths—how healthy is the person’s mouth that you’re sharing your toothbrush with? How healthy is yours? The bacteria that causes cavities, called streptococcus mutans, is contagious! Sharing your toothbrush with another person could increase your risk for cavities, or if you’re the one with the bacteria, it could increase theirs!

Bleeding Gums Expose Your Mouth to Viruses

Many people experience bleeding gums when they brush, and sharing blood is even scarier than sharing saliva! This could be a sign of the beginning stages of gum disease, or gingivitis, but it could also be from overly-aggressive brushing. Regardless, blood borne viruses like herpes (oral and genital), hepatitis, and the human papilloma virus (HPV) can be transmitted simply through sharing a toothbrush! HPV can also be transmitted through saliva and has been linked to several different cancers.

What’s more, sharing saliva could also increase your risk for yeast infections! Candida is a natural yeast that’s present in all of our bodies, but too much of this fungi could cause adverse symptoms, including yeast infections. Candida can cling to your toothbrush, making an innocent toothbrush-lending practice not so fun!

Sharing Your Toothbrush Is Like Sharing Gum Disease

It might not seem like it at the time, but sharing your toothbrush is a lot like sharing gum disease. This is because the bacteria that are responsible for causing gum disease can cling to your toothbrush and get transferred into your mouth! Even if the person you’re sharing with has the beginning stages of gum disease, sharing your toothbrush can still put your mouth at risk.

What Can You Do?

If you or your friend forgets your toothbrush, pass on sharing the other person’s until you can get a new one or locate your own at home. There are a few things you can do to get by without brushing in the meantime:

 Use your finger to “brush” your teeth with toothpaste.

 Rinse with mouthwash.

 Eat an apple, drink peppermint tea, or floss—all can help you to have fresher breath!

Although skipping brushing isn’t ideal, it’s safer than sharing a toothbrush with someone! Keep mini brushes in your bag or car for when you forget. Carry a bottle of mouthwash. Just opt to not borrow someone’s toothbrush and never loan them your own. You could increase your risk for cavities, gum disease, and blood borne viruses—not worth it to have fresh breath!

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Impacted Wisdom Teeth

Impacted wisdom teeth happen when there’s not enough space in your mouth for your wisdom teeth to come through your jaw and take their place with your other teeth. When this happens, you can suffer from migraines, painful inflammation or cysts around your gums, and even crooked teeth! When there’s not enough space for the teeth to come through, they begin pushing against your other teeth. Ignoring your wisdom teeth’s arrival in your mouth could put any orthodontic work you had done at risk or even lead to gum infections and cavities.

Cavities and Gum Problems

If you allow your wisdom teeth to come in, you could experience cavities. Wisdom teeth are often difficult to brush and properly clean due to their location in the mouth. This can create infections and swollen gums from the buildup of plaque and bad bacteria. As you get older, wisdom teeth become more permanent and solid in your mouth, making them even more difficult to remove as time goes on. Ignoring any swollen, red, or bleeding gums as a result of your wisdom teeth could put your whole mouth at risk for gingivitis or periodontal disease.

Sinus Health Problems and Headaches

Wisdom teeth are known for being painful as they grow in, but what many patients don’t know is that wisdom teeth can indirectly lead to migraines and sinus problems. As the wisdom teeth come in, the way you chew and bite may change, which can lead to pressure on unexpected places in your jaw. Tense muscles from the pain of wisdom teeth could lead to headaches, which may be occasional or persisting.

Some people who leave their wisdom teeth in or ignore the pain they cause also experience sinus problems. Your upper wisdom teeth come in right under your sinuses, so they can affect the pressure your sinuses experience and lead to headaches or infections.

Some people never have problems with their wisdom teeth, have plenty of space for them in their mouths, and are able to keep them clean. However, this isn’t true for the majority of people. Ignoring the pain or infection that your wisdom teeth cause can have a big impact on the rest of your smile. Visit your dentist. He or she can take x-rays and determine if your wisdom teeth are fine or if they need to be removed to prevent future dental problems for your smile!

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