Healthy Foods that Are Not So Healthy for Teeth

Those healthy foods that are getting your body back in shape for summer may be awesome for your diet, but unfortunately, not so much for your teeth. According to Gentle Touch Family Dentistry, some healthy foods that you enjoy may not be the best for your teeth and gums.

Are those healthy carbs really healthy?

You may have cut out white flour, white bread, potatoes and white rice, but the wheat and whole grain alternatives are just as bad when it comes to your teeth. Because you metabolize carbs into sugar through your saliva, you are still producing acids that will wear away the enamel on your teeth. Whole grains are just as damaging as they can become stuck between your teeth.

Dark Foods and Liquids

You may have eliminated tea, coffee, and red wine from your diet because of staining, but that curry sauce that is helping you lose weight could be just as bad. Blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, and even barbecue sauce can cause stains on your teeth.

Citrus

Grapefruits, Kiwi, oranges, limes, lemons, tomatoes and apples, yes apples, are loaded with natural sugars. However, it is the nature of the fruit itself that can cause the majority of the damage. Eat citrus fruits with other foods and rinse after enjoying.

Dried Fruit

Great for the waistline, but bad for your teeth, dried apricots, papaya, figs, dates, and dried mango's can cause serious damage to your teeth. Just like gummy bears, sticky fruits will stay lodged between your teeth and can be just as bad as that saltwater taffy you gave up to lose weight.

Sports and Energy Drinks

Energy drinks and those sports drinks that you like to consume after a workout may be your favorite treat after pumping iron, but the truth is, they are packed with tooth eroding acids and sugar. Drink water after your aerobics class and leave the energy and sports drinks on the shelf.

If you would like more information regarding healthy food for your body and your teeth, call or click and schedule an appointment with Gentle Touch Family Dentistry today.

Tooth Sensitivity Could Be Something More

If you wince in pain when you enjoy an orange, grapefruit, kiwi or tomato you could be suffering from tooth sensitivity. According to your dentist tooth sensitivity can be caused by all kinds of things.

Acidic Foods

Citrus fruits and other acidic foods could be causing tooth sensitivity to hot and cold. If you love citrus, rinse your teeth after you enjoy. Your dentist explains that acidic foods could be stripping away the enamel on your teeth making them extra sensitive.

Tooth Whitening Products

Everyone loves a movie star smile, but if you have been over indulging in tooth whitening strips, polishes, gels, pastes, or mouth rinses, the dentin on your teeth could be exposed. Tooth whitening products contain chemicals and other additives that could be making your teeth and gums sensitive. Try switching brands or see your dentist about professional tooth whitening options. Also, make sure that you buy products that are listing on the American Dental Association approved products list.

Cracked Teeth

You may have a hairline crack or chip in your tooth, and even though it is nearly impossible to see, it could be the reason that you have tooth sensitivity. Those tiny cracks and chips are large enough to allow dangerous food particles and bacteria into your tooth. If bacteria find its way into the pulp of your tooth, you may need a root canal. If the tooth cannot be saved, your dentist may need an extraction.

Old Fillings

If your fillings are older than 10 years, they could be harboring new cavities. Unfortunately, your old silver amalgam fillings could have a leak, a crack, or a chip. Although you may not feel a thing, it is important that you schedule a checkup with your dentist who can make sure that your fillings are sound.

Tobacco Use

While smoking stains your teeth, it also causes bad breath. Smoking and chewing tobacco makes you more susceptible to gum disease and dental caries. Tobacco use can also lead to oral cancer. Quit smoking and chewing and people around you will thank you for it.

Medical Issues

If your dentist has given you a clean bill of health as far as your teeth and gums are concerned, you may be dealing with another medical issue or the medications that you are taking. Sinus conditions, respiratory tract infections, kidney or liver diseases, diabetes, gastric reflux, or dry mouth could be causing your chronic halitosis.

If you are tired of covering your mouth when you talk, call or click and schedule an appointmentwith your dentist who can help determine the cause of your chronic bad breath. Call or click now.  

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.

Root Canals are not as bad as you may think

Dentistry has certainly changed, but those two little words, “Root Canal,” can still send a grown man, or woman, running for the hills, but in reality, a root canal is no more painful than a simple filling.

According to the American Dental Association, a root canal is necessary if you have a diseased tooth. Pulp is what is inside of your tooth and contains blood vessels, nerves, and tissues that can become infected and even die.

Your dentist will recommend a root canal in order to save your tooth. The pulp inside your tooth can become damaged because of large fillings, chips or cracks in the tooth, a trauma to your face, deep decay or multiple dental procedures in the same tooth.  

When the nerve tissue or pulp inside your tooth becomes damaged, it will break down allowing dangerous bacteria to multiply inside of your tooth. Decayed debris along with bacteria will eventually cause a dangerous infection that could lead to an abscess. An abscess is a pocket that is filled with pus that forms at the bottom of your tooth. If you have an abscessed tooth, it is imperative that you call your dentist as quickly as possible as the infection can spread throughout your body and even to your brain. In addition to the infection and a possible abscess, a root canal can also cause swelling in your head, neck, or face and bone loss.

If your dentist determines that a root canal is necessary, x-rays will be taken to see if there is any infection around the bone before numbing the area with a local anesthetic. Although the nerve is dead, and won’t cause you any pain, most dentists will administer it anyway to make you feel more at ease.

To keep the area dry during the root canal, your dentist will place a sheet of rubber, called a rubber dam, around your tooth before drilling a hole into your tooth so that the decayed pulp tissue, including the nerves and debris can be removed.

Once removed your dentist will clean out the area with root canal files working down the entire length of your tooth to scrub and scrape the sides of your root canals. Water will be used from time to time during the root canal procedure to flush out the bacteria and debris.

After the tooth has been cleaned your dentist will seal it if the remaining infected tissue has healed. If a temporary filling is necessary, you may also be given antibiotics to help clear the infection.

Depending on how much decay or damage has been done to your tooth, your dentist may also decide to place a crown to protect your tooth against further damage.

If you believe you have an abscess or have been dealing with a toothache for far too long, schedule an appointment with your dentist today.

Dental Emergencies Can Happen Anywhere

Just imagine being all dressed up for your work Christmas party only to experience a Dental Emergency. Spending a couple of hours to get ready only to be rewarded with a broken tooth, lost filling or chipped veneer is the last thing you need, but accidents happen, and a Dental Emergency is something that should be taken care of as quickly as possible.

Losing a filling or crown, which covers large fillings, root canals, Dental Implants and other dental restorations can be hiding new dental caries. That tooth decay will destroy the restorations causing them to become loose or fall out completely.

Although the loss of a filling or crown isn’t as noteworthy as a knocked out tooth it can still be described as a Dental Emergency. Colgate explains that losing a crown or filling can hurt, as the exposed tissue on the tooth will become sensitive to hot and cold, air or pressure. If you can, save the crown and the filling, keep it in a safe place, and schedule an appointment with your dentist as soon as possible.

You can still attend that long awaited Christmas party, but don’t leave it too long. The tooth under your crown is not as strong and is susceptible to damage until you have it repaired. Your dentist also explains that missing crowns could cause your teeth to move in order to fill the space where the crown used to be. If this occurs, you will have to have a new crown made, as your old crown will not fit. If you lose a crown, apply clove oil to the area using a Q-Tip. This will relieve some of the pain before your dental appointment. Clove oil is available at your pharmacy or the grocery store in the spices aisle.

If your crown is still intact, try slipping it back over your tooth. Make sure that you clean the inside of the crown before cementing with tooth cement, available from your pharmacist. If you are unable to find tooth cement, you can use Vaseline or a denture adhesive. Keep in mind that these are not permanent solutions and are only temporary fixes. Never use Super Glue. Not only is it unsafe if ingested, household adhesives can also damage the crown and the tooth.

Place dental cement or one of the other suggestions above directly on to the tooth if you have lost the crown or the filling as this helps to seal the tooth. Call your dentist immediately as bacteria and food particles can easily seep into the damaged area.

Remember, your dentist may have to prepare your tooth as the shape may have changed because of tooth decay. Without proper preparation, your crown will not fit. If this occurs, it will eventually come off and have to be replaced again.

If you have lost a filling, your dentist will remove the tooth decay that may have developed between your tooth and the old filling before placing a new resin or amalgam restoration.