What To Do in a Dental Emergency

When it comes to sports, whether recreational or professional one of the biggest things players have to deal with are tooth and mouth accidents and now that spring is just around the corner, anyone who plays an individual or competitive sport could be at risk.

Your dentist explains that over 50 percent of all children under the age of 12 in the United States will have some sort of head or tooth injury. The majority of those injuries will occur from a fall, a fight, or a sporting injury. Most head and tooth injuries could have been prevented with a custom made sports mouthguard. According to the American Dental Association, the three types of mouthguards available, stock, boil and bite and custom made will all do the best they can at protecting your mouth and teeth, but because the mouthguards made by your dentist are molded to your teeth and gums they will offer better protection.

If happens, there are some things you can do before you get to the dentist’s office.

If you knock out a tooth, keep the tooth moist and try to stop the bleeding. If you can, try and push the tooth back in. If this is impossible, place the teeth between your cheek and your gums or in a bowl of milk. If the tooth is intact, it is quite possible that it can be saved. You can also purchase a tooth preservation product that carries the American DentalAssociation Seal of Acceptance.

If you have cracked your tooth, rinse immediately with a warm water rinse before placing cold compresses on your face to keep the swelling down.

Clean the area with water if you have bitten your lip or tongue or if it was accidently bitten on the playing feel. Apply a cold compress and see your doctor as quickly as possible.

Toothaches can be helped by rinsing the area with warm water to keep it free from bacteria and food particles. Use dental floss and a drop or two of oil of cloves to help deaden the pain. Never put aspirin on your gums or your teeth.

For more information regarding dental emergencies, call or click and schedule an appointment with your dentist today.

Minimally Invasive or Traditional Porcelain Veneers

If you have been considering Porcelain Veneers, talk to your dentist about minimally invasive Dental Veneers.

Colgate explains that having a less than appealing smile not only affects the way you act around people, but can also have a dramatic affect on your self-esteem. However, sometimes you can be unsure about what cosmetic dental procedures are best for you.

Thankfully, there are several options when it comes to cosmetic dentistry, including minimally invasive Porcelain Veneers.

Talk to your dentist about minimally invasive Porcelain Veneers if you would like to leave as much of your tooth structure as possible. Minimally invasive Porcelain veneers have been designed to cover just the surface of your teeth and are very thin.

One of the biggest advantages of minimally invasive Porcelain Veneers is that you are able to conserve or keep the enamel on the tooth or teeth that are being prepared. In fact, that is one of the biggest reasons that people opt for these types of Porcelain Veneers.

Traditional Porcelain Veneers require anesthetic to remove about ½ mm of the tooth’s enamel. Because not everyone is suitable for minimally invasive Porcelain Veneers, it is important that you discuss possible treatments with your dentist, especially if you are considering traditional Dental Veneers, as traditional veneers are permanent and not reversible.

Your dentist will tell you that because of all of the different cosmetic and restorative dental procedures available, it is vital that you schedule a comprehensive clinical examination, including an esthetic evaluation to determine what types of cosmetic dental procedures, including minimally invasive Porcelain Veneers, are best for you.

Porcelain Veneers are used to mask tooth discolorations, minor misalignment issues, and tooth reshaping; however, there are some misconceptions when it comes to minimally invasive Porcelain Veneers.

Those misconceptions include: 

• Minimally invasive Porcelain Veneers will make your teeth appear too long or too big. In most patients, some tooth reshaping is needed to allow your smile to look better than the one you started with.
• Minimally invasive Porcelain Veneers can cause gum disease. A good cosmetic dentist will make sure to finish and polish the edges of your teeth in order to avoid ledges.
• Your teeth will be sensitive after minimally invasive Porcelain Veneers. Because the tooth enamel is retained, tooth sensitivity is rare. 

If you would like more information regarding minimally invasive Porcelain Veneers, call or click and schedule an appointment with your dentist today.

Help for TMJ Disorders

If you have problems with your jaw or you hear a clicking sound when you open and close your mouth, you could be dealing with a TMJ disorder.

WebMD explains that TMJ disorders are more common than you think and although no one is exactly sure of the root cause, some experts believe that TMJ disorders could be a combination of several things such as jaw injuries. A blow to the head or arthritis may also cause TMJ disorders. Tooth clenching may also be to blame. However, not everyone who grinds his or her teeth has a TMJ disorder. Other causes of TMJ disorders could be a misalignment of your teeth.

The temporomandibular joint or the TMJ is the hinge that connects your lower and upper jaw. The joint is usually covered with cartilage and is separated by a disk that absorbs the shock when you open and closer your mouth and when you chew.

Gentle Touch in Farmington Hills can diagnose and treat you if you have TMJ disorder symptoms. People who are suffering from TMJ disorders may suffer from earaches, headaches, or soreness when closing or opening the mouth. There may also be soreness in the neck, ears, and face. If you notice a clicking or popping sound in your jaw, you may want to schedule an appointment with your doctor or dentist who can help determine if you are suffering from a TMJ disorder.

Pain medication can help ease some of the pain, but if your problem is chronic, you may want to consider scheduling an appointment with Gentle Touch in Farmington Hills. Gentle Touch can examine your mouth to determine if you are a victim of TMJ Disorders. If you are, bite splint therapy could be the answer.

There are several different types of bite splint therapy. Your dentist will evaluate and fit you to help your bite and any other issues, including TMJ disorders.

Bite splint therapy is used for TMJ Disorders, Bruxism or mouth and jaw problems that are a result of a bite misalignment.

If you think you may be suffering from a TMJ Disorder, call or click and schedule a TMJ evaluation with Gentle Touch in Farmington Hills today. 

That Toothache Could Kill You

It’s a New Year, and if you have been putting off a trip to the dentist, you may want to reconsider. That throbbing toothache that you have been dealing with since before Thanksgiving could cause serious problems if you do not take care of it as quickly as possible. Left alone, that toothache could lead to death. Even if the pain is mild, you still need to schedule an appointment with your dentist as quickly as possible.

Your toothache can turn serious, especially if an infection occurs. Called an abscess, the infection can happen inside your tooth or in-between your tooth and gums. One way to tell if you have a pus-filled abscess is throbbing or shooting sharp pain.

WebMD explains that over 40 percent of Americans have been rushed to the E.R. because of a periapical abscess. Although there is no exact explanation as to why this is occurring, but some believe it has to do with rising insurance costs and the fact that Medicare doesn’t cover routine dental visits.

Other signs to look for when it comes to an abscess are swollen glands or a swollen face, a fever, chronic halitosis and neck and jaw pain.

Your dentist explains that an abscess will not disappear of its own accord. What’s worse is that the infection can easily spread in as little as a few hours or a few years. If the infection moves to the heart or brain, it can cause death.

During your dental appointment, your dentist will tap on the suspected tooth. If you wince, it is most likely the abscessed tooth. X-rays will also be taken to confirm that you do indeed have an abscess.

There are three treatments that your dentist may use to treat the infected area, incision and draining, root canal therapy or extraction.

If the abscess is located between your gum and your tooth, your dentist will make a small cut before draining and cleaning the area. The pain will begin to subside almost immediately.

The most widely used tooth abscess treatment is root canal therapy. During this procedure, your dentist drills into the area that is infected before scraping away the dental pulp that contains blood vessels and nerves. Once the roots of your teeth have been filed and cleaned, your dentist will fill them with a sealant before placing a crown over the area.

An extraction is a permanent treatment that is normally used for a very deep abscess. Once removed, the abscess is gone.

If you suspect that you may be suffering from a dental abscess it is imperative that you call or click and schedule an appointment with your dentist today. It literally could mean life or death. Call or click now.

Dental Checkup in the New Year

The New Year has arrived and if you have been avoiding a trip to the dentist for that toothache that you’ve had since August, now is the time to make the call.

The American Dental Association will tell you that avoiding trips to the dentist for any problem, even if you don’t think it is serious, is vital. Cracked teeth, leaky fillings or a chipped tooth could lead to other problems that may not have occurred had you scheduled your appointment when the issue first occurred.

If you have toothache caused by a cavity, you are risking infection and the possibility of an abscess. An abscessed tooth means that the pulp inside it has become infected and could possibly be dead. If that is the case, your dentist will recommend root canal therapy to clean out the dead material, clean it up and seal it before placing a dental crown. If the abscess is located in between your tooth and your gums your dentist may choose to drain the area, which will relieve the pain almost instantly.

The best way to avoid unnecessary emergency trips to the dentist is to schedule regular comprehensive dental exams. During your comprehensive dental exam your dentist will check your teeth and gums looking for anything unusual. Your dentist or dental hygienist will also clean your teeth. The dental exam will also include pictures and x-rays of your teeth and gums and an oral cancer screening. After your dental appointment, you may also want to discuss any restorative or cosmetic dental procedures that you might be considering with your dentist.

A healthy mouth means a healthy body, and if your gums are red, swollen or bleeding, you could be opening yourself up to all kinds of disease. Recent research has indicated that periodontal disease, the most serious form of gum disease, could lead to more serious health issues including diabetes, congestive heart failure, and stroke.

Start 2016 off on the right foot and schedule an appointment with your dentist today.  

What You Should Avoid at the Holiday Table

As you get ready to throw your diet to the wind during the holidays, you may want to consider your choices at the holiday party table. Some of the foods you munch on could cause some serious damage to your teeth and gums, and let’s face it; the last thing you want to deal with in January is never ending trips to the dentist’s office.

Although you may be tempted to tuck into the Christmas caramels, your dentist advises against it. Caramels are one of the worst things that you can do to your teeth and are right up there with candy canes and gummy bears. Caramels and other sticky sweets will get caught between your teeth and the fissures and crevices on your molars. Once that happens, the sugar will quickly convert to acid, eroding the enamel on your teeth. If you must enjoy make sure that you brush and floss as quickly as you can, or rinse with water.

You may think you are doing yourself a favor by drinking white wine instead of red, but you would be wrong. According to the American Dental Association, white wine has large amounts of acid and sugar. Coupled together, that glass of wine could cause problems for the enamel on your teeth. Although red wine can stain, it is a much better choice than a glass of white wine. Make sure that you brush afterwards or try one of those new wine wipe ups that are available online or at your local pharmacy.

Dried fruit may seem like a great choice when it comes to the holiday buffet, but be careful. Those dried apricots, figs, dates, mangos, and pineapples are a diabetic’s nightmare and full of sugar. If that isn’t bad enough dried fruit, just like caramel, will stick to your teeth.

Not everything is bad for your teeth when it comes to the holiday buffet table. Instead of sweets or starchy goodies, which could cause more damage, sample cheese as it is loaded with calcium. Veggies are another great choice as carrots and broccoli can help give your saliva a boost while celery is known as nature’s dental floss.

This Christmas remember to watch what you eat, and don’t forget to schedule your annual checkup with your dentist before the New Year.

A New Smile that Will Turn Heads

If you are looking for a solution to your not so attractive smile, call or click and schedule an appointment with your dentist who can determine what cosmetic dentistry solutions would be best for your particular needs.

Web MD explains that Cosmetic Dentistry has certainly changed over the years with innovative technologies that can give you a celebrity smile in just one or two dental appointments.

Some of the available cosmetic dentistry techniques include porcelain veneers, which could take two or three appointments, fixed dental bridges, which may require two dental visits, inlays and on lays, tooth whitening, tooth colored fillings and dental bonding, which could be completed in a single dental appointment. Another new dental procedure is called Invisalign. Invisalign is the clear alternative to conventional braces and can straighten teeth in as little as 6 to 18 months.

When you schedule a no obligation cosmetic dentistry appointment, your dentist will make sure that your teeth and gums are healthy before proceeding with any dental treatment. If you are given the go ahead the two of you will discuss what you do or don’t like about your teeth, a time line and a budget.

In some cases, all you may need is tooth whitening. Unlike those over the counter products from your local pharmacy, professional tooth whitening will give you better results in less time as the tooth whitening gels are much stronger than those that are available from the pharmacy.

There are two types of professional two whitening procedures available. Chair side or custom made bleaching trays that you take home.

Chair side tooth whitening can lighten your teeth up to 12 shades in less than an hour while custom-made tooth whitening trays will give you results in about two to four weeks. Whichever tooth whitening procedure you decide on, you will notice better results that you would from over the counter tooth whitening gels, pastes, strips, and rinses.

If you would like a new smile that turns heads, call and schedule a no obligation cosmetic dentistry consultation withGentle Touch Family Dental today.