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April 2022 Dental Newsletter
The Importance of Preventive Care: Maintaining Good Oral Health
Preventative dental care is a significant part of overall dental health, but it's often an afterthought. Our dedicated dentist sees many patients who don’t keep up with consistent preventative oral care and then must fix the problems
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Fillings
Category:
Oral Health Topics
Frequently asked questions: dental fillings
Are dental amalgams safe? Is it possible to have an allergic reaction to amalgam? Is it true that dental amalgams have been banned in other countries? Is there a filling material that matches tooth color? If my tooth doesn't hurt and my filling is still in
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Sealants
Category:
Tooth Care
Sealants are liquid coatings that harden on the chewing surfaces of teeth and are showing a great deal of effectiveness in preventing cavities—even on teeth where decay has begun.
The pits and grooves of your teeth are prime areas for opportunistic decay. Even regular brushing sometimes misses these
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Overview
Category:
Pain Management
Pain can occur in any number of places in your mouth: teeth, gums, roots, the palate, tongue and jaw.
Cavities are a common culprit causing pain. Untreated cavities can impact nerves because of infections of the tooth and gums. Impacted and abscessed teeth and sore jaws from teeth grinding are other
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Your Rights and Responsibilities as a Patient
Category:
Patient Information
Patient Rights
You have a right to choose your own dentist and schedule an appointment in a timely manner.
You have a right to know the education and training of your dentist and the dental care team.
You have a right to arrange to see the dentist every time you receive dental treatment,
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Introduction
Category:
Oral Health Topics
Does mercury in the silver fillings in your mouth pose any long-term health risks? Does fluoride, in spite of everything we've been told since childhood, actually cause more harm than good? What does the latest research reveal about tobacco use on your overall oral health?
This section is dedicated
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Oral Piercing
Category:
Oral Health Topics
Oral piercings (usually in the tongue or around the lips) have quickly become a popular trend in today’s society. With this popular trend, it is important to realize that sometimes even precautions taken during the installation of the piercing jewelry are not enough to stave off harmful, long-term
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Toothaches
Category:
Dental Problems
Simple toothaches can often be relieved by rinsing the mouth to clear it of debris and other matter. Sometimes, a toothache can be caused or aggravated by a piece of debris lodged between the tooth and another tooth. Avoid placing an aspirin between your tooth and gum to relieve pain, because the dissolving
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Medications
Category:
Pain Management
Some dental procedures, such as tooth extractions and oral surgery, may call for our office to prescribe medications before or after a procedure. These medications are used to prevent or fight an infection, or to relieve any post-operative discomfort and pain.
For these reasons, it is extremely important
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Your First Dental Visit
Category:
Patient Information
Your first dental visit promises to be a pleasant experience.
Making sound decisions about your dental care and oral health is an easy thing to do with the right preparation beforehand:
Make a list of questions to ask our office, so you don't forget anything on the day of your appointment. This
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Infection Control
Category:
Oral Health Topics
Standards and Best Practice
With all of the increased media attention on infection outbreaks such as AIDS and multi-drug resistant strains of viruses, it's no wonder people have heightened concerns about infection control during a medical procedure.
Gloves, gowns and masks are required to be worn
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X-Rays
Category:
Tooth Care
When X-rays pass through your mouth during a dental exam, more X-rays are absorbed by the denser parts (such as teeth and bone) than by soft tissues (such as cheeks and gums) before striking the film. This creates an image on the radiograph. Teeth appear lighter because fewer X-rays penetrate to reach
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Medication and Heart Disease
Category:
Oral Health Topics
Certain kinds of medications can have an adverse effect on your teeth.
Long ago, children exposed to tetracycline developed tooth problems, including discoloration, later in life. The medication fell out of use, however, and is not an issue today.
The best precaution is to ask your family physician
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Flossing
Category:
Tooth Care
What is flossing?
Flossing is a method for removing bacteria and other debris that cannot be reached by a toothbrush. It generally entails a very thin piece of synthetic cord you insert and move up and down between the sides of two adjoining teeth.
Why is flossing important?
Many dentists believe
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Tobacco
Category:
Oral Health Topics
Dentistry health care that works: tobacco
The American Dental Association has long been a leader in the battle against tobacco-related disease, working to educate the public about the dangers inherent in tobacco use and encouraging dentists to help their patients break the cycle of addiction. The Association
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Dental Emergencies
Category:
Patient Information
A knocked out tooth or bitten tongue can cause panic in any parent, but quick thinking and staying calm are the best ways to approach such common dental emergencies and prevent additional unnecessary damage and costly dental restoration. This includes taking measures such as application of cold compresses
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Implants
Category:
Treatment, Cosmetic Dentistry
Before development of dental implants, dentures were the only alternative to replacing a missing tooth or teeth.
Implants are synthetic structures that are placed in the area of the tooth normally occupied by the root. Implants are anchored to the jawbone or metal framework on the bone and act as
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Brushing
Category:
Tooth Care
Brushing is the most effective method for removing harmful plaque from your teeth and gums. Getting the debris off your teeth and gums in a timely manner prevents bacteria in the food you eat from turning into harmful, cavity causing acids.
Most dentists agree that brushing three times a day is the
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Women and Tooth Care
Category:
Tooth Care
Women have special needs when it comes to their oral health. That’s because the physical changes they undergo through life—menstruation, pregnancy and childbirth, breast-feeding and menopause—cause many changes in the body, some harmful to teeth and gums.
Lesions and ulcers, dry sockets, as
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Oral Health Products
Category:
Product Reviews
Visit any pharmacy or the health and beauty section of a supermarket today, and you are faced with a large, and many say confusing, array of over-the-counter remedies and devices designed to help you tend to your hygiene and health-care needs.
There are many high-quality products on the market today.
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Managing Pain
Category:
Pain Management
There are many methods for relieving oral pain. They include:
Ice packs on the affected area.
Avoiding hard candy or ice.
Avoiding sleeping on your stomach.
Dentists use a wide array of pain management tools, including:
Anesthetics such as Novocaine.
Analgesics such as aspirin
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Crowns and Bridges
Category:
Treatment, Cosmetic Dentistry
Bridges
Bridges are natural-looking dental appliances that can replace a section of missing teeth. Because they are custom-made, bridges are barely noticeable and can restore the natural contour of teeth as well as the proper bite relationship between upper and lower teeth.
Bridges are sometimes
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The Preventive Program
Category:
Oral Health Topics
Both natural teeth and teeth with restorations survive best in an oral environment that is clean and where the intake of harmful foods is controlled. Our program is designed to help prevent new cavities, preserve teeth that have been restored and manage periodontal disease. At the initial visit oral
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Wisdom Teeth
Category:
Dental Problems
Wisdom teeth are the third and final set of molars that erupt in the back corners of the upper and lower normal adult mouth. Unfortunately, most people experience problems from wisdom teeth; in most cases, this is because the teeth erupt too close to existing permanent teeth, causing crowding, improper
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Bridges
Category:
Treatment
Bridges are natural-looking dental appliances that can replace a section of missing teeth. Because they are custom-made, bridges are barely noticeable and can restore the natural contour of teeth as well as the proper bite relationship between upper and lower teeth.
There are several types of fixed
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Gum Disease (Gingivitis)
Category:
Dental Problems
Gingivitis is the medical term for early gum disease, or periodontal disease. In general, gum disease can be caused by long-term exposure to plaque, the sticky but colorless film on teeth that forms after eating or sleeping.
Gum disease originates in the gums, where infections form from harmful bacteria
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Oral Cancer
Category:
Dental Problems
Oral cancer is one of the most common cancers today and has one of the lowest survival rates, with thousands of new cases being reported each year. Fewer than half of all people diagnosed with oral cancer are ever cured.
Moreover, people with many forms of cancer can develop complications—some of
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Prevention Tips for Children
Category:
Tooth Care
Infants
Infants should be seen by our office after the first six months of age, and at least by the child's first birthday. By this time, the baby's first teeth, or primary teeth, are beginning to erupt and it is a critical time to spot any problems before they become big concerns.
Conditions like
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What is Tooth Decay?
Category:
Tooth Care
Plaque is an insidious substance—a colorless, sticky film—that blankets your teeth and creates an environment in which bacteria erode tooth enamel, cause gum irritation, infection in inner structures such as pulp and the roots, and in extreme cases, tooth loss.
Some of the biggest culprits causing
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Crowns
Category:
Treatment
Crowns are synthetic caps, usually made of a material like porcelain, placed on the top of a tooth.
Crowns are typically used to restore a tooth's function and appearance following a restorative procedure such as a root canal. When decay in a tooth has become so advanced that large portions of the
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Latex Allergy
Category:
Oral Health Topics
Naturally occurring latex has been linked in recent years to allergic reactions in people who use such products as latex gloves. The proteins in the latex, which can also become airborne, can cause problems in vulnerable people such as breathing problems and contact dermatitis. Some allergic reactions,
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Nutrition and Your Teeth
Category:
Tooth Care
It has long been known that good nutrition and a well-balanced diet is one of the best defenses for your oral health. Providing your body with the right amounts of vitamins and minerals helps your teeth and gums—as well as your immune system—stay strong and ward off infection, decay and disease.
Harmful
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Teeth Grinding (Bruxism)
Category:
Dental Problems
Teeth grinding, also called bruxism, is often viewed as a harmless, though annoying, habit. Some people develop bruxism from an inability to deal with stress or anxiety.
However, teeth grinding can literally transform your bite relationship and worse, severely damage your teeth and jaws over long
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Water Picks
Category:
Product Reviews
There is never a suitable substitute for daily brushing and flossing.
While some products, including water irrigation devices (or “water picks”), may be useful for specific applications, they may not be as effective as traditional flossing in the removal of plaque.
Water picks use powerful
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Glossary
Category:
Glossary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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Amalgam - Material made from mercury and other alloy mixtures used to restore a drilled portion of a tooth.
Anesthesia - Medications used to relieve pain.
Anterior teeth - Front teeth. Also called incisors and cuspids.
Arch - The upper or lower
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