Although having sensitive teeth is typically a chronic problem, the discomfort can be managed. One of the ways to manage this discomfort is with the right toothpaste. There are certain ingredients you can look for in desensitizing toothpaste that’ll help ease your pain and protect your teeth. Check the label for these helpful sensitivity fighters!

Calcium Phosphate to Remineralize Teeth

Since tooth enamel is composed of mostly calcium, calcium phosphate in your toothpaste can actually help to remineralize your teeth. Although you can’t replace the tooth enamel that’s been lost, the calcium phosphate can work to strengthen and protect your remaining tooth enamel from sensitivity.

When you lose tooth enamel, sensitive nerves become exposed and can carry the temperature of whatever is in your mouth to the pulp of your tooth. Tooth enamel can be lost through harsh brushing, frequently eating acidic foods (think sugar), and teeth grinding.

When you regularly brush with toothpaste that contains calcium, your saliva can help replenish your teeth with this important mineral to prevent painful sensitivity from occurring.

Potassium Nitrate to Stop Sensitivity

Potassium nitrate is a compound that works to block nerves at the tooth’s surface from
reaching the sensitive, interior pulp of your tooth.

Potassium nitrate helps to desensitize your teeth and reduce your discomfort by soothing these nerves. Potassium nitrate is considered to be a safe ingredient in toothpastes and is helpful for many people with tooth sensitivity.

Although effective, toothpastes that contain potassium nitrate may take 2-4 weeks to show results. It’s important to be consistent with brushing your teeth with the toothpaste and don’t give up. The results you experience will make waiting for this ingredient to work worth it!

Fluoride to Strengthen Enamel

Fluoride is an essential ingredient in desensitizing toothpastes that can help strengthen your tooth enamel and prevent sensitivity. Fluoride is also excellent for preventing tooth decay, making it a safe and effective ingredient for many people.

Most over-the- counter toothpastes contain fluoride, but if your tooth enamel is severely
compromised, you may need prescription-strength fluoride toothpaste. You can ask your
dentist about this toothpaste to help combat your sensitivity and desensitize your teeth if
regular desensitizing toothpastes aren’t helping.

Look for these ingredients when you shop for desensitizing toothpaste to help manage your tooth sensitivity. Your dentist can also talk with you about which ingredients would be most beneficial for your unique smile and may recommend specific brands. When it comes to tooth sensitivity, toothpaste can be an important tool for helping to manage pain!

The post Which Toothpastes Are Best for Tooth Sensitivity? appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

Do we really need our wisdom teeth when so many people are getting them removed? Here’s
why those third molars in the back of your mouth are largely unnecessary.

Not Needed for Modern Food

Wisdom teeth were needed in the days of our ancestors, where tough foods like meat and
roots were a large part of the diet and necessitated these big teeth.

Although roots and meat are still a part of our modern diet, these teeth aren’t necessary for the
majority of the foods we consume today. Our existing teeth are perfectly able to eat fruits,
vegetables, meats, and other protein sources without these huge molars.

Wisdom teeth are speculated to be an evolutionary aspect of our mouths but are no longer
needed for modern day life.

Our Jaws Are Smaller

For many people today, the jaw is much smaller than those of our ancestors. Eons ago, there
was not only plenty of room for these wisdom teeth, but they were used. Today, not only are
our jaws shorter and smaller than they were back then, but these teeth are also not used being
so far back in our smaller mouths.

Many people need to have their wisdom teeth removed because they’re impacted as the result
of the jaw not having enough room to accommodate the teeth. Impacted wisdom teeth may
come in at odd angles—sometimes even sideways—and are often painful and have the
potential to get infected as they push against the other teeth and struggle to erupt through the
gumline.

What to Do with Your Wisdom Teeth

Some people may not need to have their wisdom teeth removed. A simple x-ray can tell where
your wisdom teeth are and if they are impacted. Impacted wisdom teeth will likely need to be
removed, as they can cause many problems with the mouth and are often painful.

A visit to your dentist can tell you whether or not your wisdom teeth will need to be removed.
Wisdom tooth removal is very common and is often a simple procedure that only requires a
couple days of recovery time. If your wisdom teeth don’t need to be removed, your dentist can keep an eye on them as they come through the gumline to ensure they erupt properly and stay healthy.

Although wisdom teeth had their use many years ago, today, wisdom teeth are largely
unnecessary for most people. Although not everyone will need to have their wisdom teeth
removed, getting your wisdom teeth evaluated can help you determine whether they are
healthy or if you may need to consider removal!

The post Do We Need Our Wisdom Teeth? appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

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!

The post Professional Teeth Whitening: The Ultimate Choice for a Brighter Smile appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

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!

The post The Five Stages of Cavity Formation appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

Before the advent of antibiotics, dental infections were ranked as the number three cause of death. The infection “dissects” its way through what are called “potential spaces” between muscles, skin, tendons, and ligaments, and quickly reaches the brain, lungs, heart or a combination of these vital organs. When the cardiovascular system is attacked by infection, we say the patient is “septic”. As early as 1973, 96% of infections receiving hospital treatment with antibiotic therapy were susceptible to the Penicillin class of antibiotics. By the 1990’s 96% of hospital based infections were resistant to the penicillins, meaning that other antibiotics had to be used to treat infections. The resulting “suprainfections” occasionally are resistant to all known antibiotics. Every dental infection is life threatening. They can and do get out of control very quickly and should be attended to immediately.

Other symptoms of dental infection may include: sharp or dull pain in the gums, pressure and/or heat sensitivity with a tooth, swelling, exudate (pus), and bleeding in extreme cases.

Keep your immune system healthy, take antibiotics only when necessary, and seek dental or medical care early if you believe you have an infection.

The post Think You Have a Dental Infection? Seeking Dental or Medical Care May Save Your Life appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

If you have sensitive teeth, you can still benefit from teeth whitening without having painful side effects such as severe tooth sensitivity. The following are your best teeth whitening options for sensitive teeth!

Professional In-Office Whitening

Getting a professional teeth whitening is always your best option, especially when it comes to sensitive teeth. This is because at-home whitening kits are easy to misuse due to the amount of peroxide in the whitening strips or trays. These aren’t customized for your unique smile and if tooth sensitivity is a problem before you attempt to whiten your teeth, you could make the problem worse by trying to do a professional’s job at home.

Your dentist is the professional best equipped to handle your tooth sensitivity and protect your teeth during the procedure. During a professional whitening, a buffer is generally used in the peroxide gel to protect your tooth’s enamel from any damage. Talk to your dentist about tooth sensitivity before the whitening procedure to ensure maximum protection for your sensitive teeth!

Laser Teeth Whitening

Laser teeth whitening is becoming a popular treatment that provides fast yet dramatic results for your smile. In less than an hour, you can have a completely transformed smile at your dentist’s office! During laser teeth whitening, a higher concentration of peroxide is used and your dentist uses a laser to accelerate the whitening process.

With laser teeth whitening, precautions are taken to prevent tooth sensitivity and protect your teeth. This could include using a desensitizing toothpaste or doing a fluoride treatment after the procedure, as well as fully protecting your gums and teeth from the bleaching agents during the procedure. Laser teeth whitening shortens the length of time your teeth are exposed to the peroxide and can erase stains in as little as 20 minutes!

Fluoride Treatment Post Whitening

Whether you get a traditional in-office teeth whitening or laser teeth whitening, your dentist may choose to do a fluoride treatment after the procedure to minimize the chances of tooth sensitivity and help protect your tooth enamel from damage. Your dentist may also choose to customize your tooth whitening procedure by using a less intense peroxide solution to further protect your sensitive teeth. Talk to your dentist about getting a fluoride treatment post whitening to help alleviate your tooth sensitivity after the procedure!

Getting your teeth whitened is a simple yet effective change that can completely transform your smile. You don’t have to miss out on having brilliantly white teeth just because of tooth sensitivity. Talk to your dentist about laser teeth whitening or a professional teeth whitening with a fluoride treatment afterwards to minimize tooth sensitivity. You can have beautiful white teeth that don’t hurt!

The post The Best Teeth Whitening Options for Sensitive Teeth appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

This inflammatory process essentially affects your tooth’s structure—it can begin on the inside, but typically this process starts on the outside. Your body begins to absorb the outer layer of your tooth’s root, called cementum. Then the inner layer of your tooth, called dentin, is affected. Eventually the ligaments that help secure your tooth are affected. Root resorption is easily seen on an x-ray as a dark spot, but without an x-ray, it can be difficult to identify.

Risk Factors for Root Resorption

There are numerous factors that could increase your risk for root resorption, but it’s important to remember that the risk factors won’t always lead to resorption. In fact, many patients with these risk factors don’t experience root resorption, while other patients with no risk factors may experience this condition.

Risk factors include:

 Trauma to the tooth. This could be from an accident or decay, but if the tooth has experienced trauma to the ligaments, this could begin the resorption process.

 Teeth grinding. Bruxism, better known as teeth grinding, causes damage to your tooth’s ligaments due to excessive pressure. This can cause inflammation and damage to the teeth.

 Cavities, genetic factors, or nutritional deficiencies. All of these can be considered risk factors for root resorption. It’s always important to visit your dentist so that he or she can notice root resorption before it progresses!

What Treatments Are Available?

Catching root resorption early is crucial to its successful treatment. Unfortunately, many patients are too late getting to the dentist to diagnose this problem. Fortunately, dentists can try to save your tooth should root resorption be a problem. You have several options to correct root resorption and repair the damage.

If the destruction is minor, your dentist may be able to remove the affected portion of your tooth and repair the affected area with a filling. If your root resorption is extensive and has affected the dentin (inner layer) of your tooth, you may need root canal therapy in order to save your tooth and remove the affected pulp. In some advanced cases, the tooth may not be able to be saved and will require extraction. If an extraction is necessary, you can talk with your dentist about cosmetic dentistry options like dental implants to replace the tooth.

Root resorption can be alarming, but if caught early, your dentist can initiate successful treatment to save your tooth. Schedule bi-yearly visits at your local dentist’s office to ensure your teeth are healthy and catch root resorption before it become a big problem for your smile. You can save your teeth and smile big despite root resorption in adult teeth!

The post Root Resorption: What Is It, and What Can Be Done? appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

But who qualifies for a full mouth reconstruction? These procedures aren’t for every patient, but certain patients do need a full mouth reconstruction based on what their oral health situation is. From patients who are missing several teeth to patients with no teeth, here are the top candidates for full mouth reconstruction.

People with Tooth Loss from Trauma

If you’ve had an accident or trauma to your mouth area that’s led to tooth loss, you could be a candidate for full mouth reconstruction. Top candidates include those that have injured teeth, which include fractured or chipped teeth. Your dentist may choose to correct these with dental crowns, or if you’re missing the entire tooth, dental implants will likely be a better option for you.

Patients with Extensive Tooth Decay

If you have extensive tooth decay throughout your mouth, you may qualify for full mouth reconstruction. Your dentist will attempt to save your natural teeth, if possible, but this may require more than just fillings. Your teeth may require dental crowns, inlays, or onlays to protect your teeth from future decay. While inlays are generally used for larger cavities where a simple filling would be ineffective, onlays can help preserve tooth structure by filling in missing cusps of your teeth.

People with Extremely Worn Teeth

Your teeth were meant to last your entire life. However, sometimes poor oral hygiene or bad habits can lead to excessively worn teeth. This can come from habits such as bruxism (teeth grinding) or conditions such as enamel erosion. Enamel erosion can happen from acid reflux or from having a poor diet high in sugar and carbohydrates. When teeth are extremely worn down or damaged, your dentist may suggest a full mouth reconstruction.

Patients with Tooth Loss from Gum Disease

Gum disease—if left to progress—will eventually attack the ligaments that anchor your teeth in your jaw. This will lead to symptoms such as bleeding gums and loose teeth. If gum disease is advanced, you can ultimately lose your teeth. If you have tooth loss from gum disease, you may be able to get a full mouth reconstruction to help restore your smile!

Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMD)

These disorders commonly affect the jaw and the muscles that control the jaw, but they can also affect your bite and teeth wear. Symptoms of jaw muscle pain, ongoing jaw problems, poor bite, and headaches could all point to a TMD. You may qualify for a full mouth reconstruction if orthodontics is unable to correct your bite or joint pain!

Your smile is one of the most important things about you. It gives you the confidence to smile and speak, it helps you chew food, and it keeps your facial structure intact to prevent an aging appearance. Talk to your dentist to see if you’re a candidate for a full mouth reconstruction. Life’s too short to go without a beautiful smile!

The post Top Candidates for Full Mouth Reconstruction appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

Although lots of food will be available, it’s important to still eat well in order to maintain your healthy smile. Sweets in moderation are fine, but avoid constantly snacking on sweet treats or sipping on sweet drinks. The longer your teeth are exposed to sugar, the more damage your teeth can incur.

It can feel difficult to be choosy about foods during a time when you have so many options—but you can help your body and your smile by still eating healthy. If you want to sip on sweet drinks, using a straw can help the sugary liquid to bypass your teeth, therefore limiting your exposure!

Water Is Your Friend

Not only does water help combat sugar’s effect on your teeth, but it can also prevent the staining that comes with drinking red wine or coffee. Staying hydrated also helps to keep your mouth’s vital oral bacteria in balance, therefore reducing your risk for cavities!

If you’re eating sugary foods or drinking sugary drinks, try to sip on water while doing so. Rinsing with water after consuming sugar can help hugely, as it prevents sugar from clinging to your teeth and damaging your enamel. If you’re drinking wine, remember that red wine can stain your teeth significantly more than white. Drinking water can help to minimize staining of your teeth and damage from the acidic alcohol.

Keep to a Routine

As busy as things can get during the holidays, don’t skip brushing or flossing just because you’re short on time. Always make it a habit to brush in the morning and brush and floss before bed. Keep a travel toothbrush in your bag and some floss just in case you forget these items while traveling or end up spending the night at a relative’s house.

If you can’t brush for whatever reason, keep a pack of sugar-free gum sweetened with xylitol with you. Chewing on gum sweetened with xylitol can help increase saliva flow, therefore helping to reduce bad bacteria and prevent cavities. Keeping to a routine during the holidays isn’t only comforting, it benefits your smile as well!

Be Prepared

Always be safe with your teeth—remember that they are not meant to open packages or crack nuts. Your beautiful smile needs to last you for life, so treat them with care and take care of them. You can be prepared for any type of dental emergency by asking your dentist for an emergency referral before the holidays. This way, should something happen, you’ll have an expert to look after your smile despite the fact that many offices are closed during the holidays.

This holiday season, you can protect your smile and keep it healthy with these easy tips. Simply by eating healthy, drinking enough water, and keeping to a routine, you can show people your beautiful pearly whites all holiday season long. Impress your dentist in the New Year by taking care of your smile during the holidays!

The post Tips for Maintaining a Healthy Smile During the Holiday Season appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

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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