Posts for category: General Dentistry
Photo by loudista
We all know a toothache can be one of the most irritating things, but what can be worse is not being able to tell which tooth is really hurting you. There is an article by Science News that talks about how the brain detects different types of pain. You can click here to read the article.
It’s been found that the brain can distinguish between a paper cut and a splinter, but detecting pain in the mouth can be more difficult. Many brain regions respond to upper and lower tooth pain in the same way leaving it very hard for a person to detect which tooth is actually bothering them.
If you’ve experience tooth pain and couldn’t tell where it was coming from now you know you are not alone!
Photo by Eric Parker
With so many different whitening options on the market, do you ever wonder which ones are the best? And can the store bought whitening harm your teeth?
There are a few different whitening options in our office. The first one is to have custom whitening trays made and then the patient is able to do the whitening at the convenience of their own home. The second option is the in-office zoom whitening, which gives you instant results.
The store bought whitening; such as, crest white strips is not strong enough to do any harm to your teeth. The different bleaching options contain different strengths of hydrogen peroxide. The store bought whitening does not contain very high percentages of the peroxide.
Photo by A Culinary Journal
Are there really certain foods that can stain your teeth, or is this all a big myth?? If you guessed this is a true statement you are correct! Some of the top teeth staining foods are:wine, tea, cola, berries, sauces, and sweets.
What may surprise you is that tea may be a bigger stain culprit than coffee. If you’re going to drink tea, the herbal, green, and white teas are less likely to stain than black tea.
The general rule is any food that would stain a t-shirt will stain your teeth. If you wouldn’t trust it on your shirt, you can be sure it can stain your teeth!
Photo by edrabbit
Piercings may be a prevalent form of body art these days, but have you ever thought about how certain piercings may interfere with your teeth/oral health? Today there are many different piercings; such as, lip rings, tongue rings, monroe piercings, and angel kiss piercings, that can be done around the lip and mouth area and some of these piercings can hurt your teeth.
Out of all the different facial piercings, the lip and tongue piercings have the highest risk of harming your teeth. Accidents most often occur when people bite down on the metal piercing, or when they are playing with the piercing in their mouth. Chipped teeth can easily happen when a person has piercing on the lip or tongue area. Dr. Shamblott himself says he has seen many patients who have come in with their tongue pierced and had a chip or cracked tooth that needed a root canal and crown to fix the tooth.
Not only can these piercings create problems with your oral health, but they can also cause bacterial infections, changes in taste, allergic reactions, and muscle damage. If you have a piercing that is located close to your mouth make sure you see your dentist regularly to diagnose any potential problems.
Photo by JosiahRitchie
Almost all babies develop habits that can be difficult to break including sucking pacifiers and thumbs. Some babies develop the habit of sucking their fingers in the womb. Although babies start sucking for a number of reasons including to make them relax and to make them feel secure, these habits can be difficult to stop.
Sucking for long periods of time can lead to permanent damage to a child’s teeth. The teeth can start to lean outward, or not come in properly. Aggressive sucking can also cause changes in the roof of the mouth. You will want to start weaning your child away from a pacifier around his/her second birthday. Breaking the pacifier habit will be easier than stopping the thumb sucking habit because the pacifier can be physically removed.
If you are concerned about your child's baby teeth you can always make an appointment with your dentist!
