IT’S COMMON ENOUGH to be tongue-tied in the sense of not being able to get your words out, but a tongue tie is also a real medical condition, as is a lip tie. These conditions are both caused by pieces of tissue in the mouth called frena. One frenum connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth, and another connects the upper lip to the upper gums. These aren’t the only two frena we have, but they’re the important ones for this subject.

Normal Versus Abnormal Frena

A normal frenum is thin and very stretchy, allowing for the free mobility of the lips and the tongue, which is important for normal chewing, talking, and swallowing. If the upper lip or tongue frenum is unusually thick or tight, it can restrict movement and make each of those functions harder. This is a tongue tie or a lip tie.

A person with a tongue tie may not be able to lift their tongue to touch the roof of their mouth, causing significant difficulties for word pronunciation, chewing, and swallowing. A person with a lip tie may have a large gap between their upper front teeth and a higher risk of gum recession. In infancy, they may not be able to effectively latch while breastfeeding.

How We Treat Lip and Tongue Ties

Fortunately, with modern dentistry, there’s an easy fix for lip and tongue ties. A simple surgery called a frenectomy can be done to remove or reduce the abnormal frenum. In cases where the lip or tongue’s movement is restricted and particularly if there is pain or discomfort, the procedure is definitely worth considering.

A frenectomy is a very quick procedure with a short recovery time. In most cases, the procedure is performed by oral surgeons or periodontists (gum health specialists). They will first numb the area, then make a small incision in the frenum to release, reduce, or remove it.

Some doctors use laser surgery to cut through the tissue and shorten recovery time. A laser also lowers the (already small) risk of complications. Make sure to follow all post-operation instructions to achieve the best results with the shortest recovery.

Your Dentist Can Diagnose a Lip or Tongue Tie

For most of us, frena aren’t something we ever have to think about because they aren’t causing us problems, but if you believe yours or your child’s might be interfering with the normal function of the lips or tongue, schedule an appointment with the dentist to find out. We can take a look and determine whether you would benefit from a frenectomy.

Taking care of our patients’ smiles is what makes us smile!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

WOMEN FACE A different set of challenges than men do in caring for their teeth and gums, and they also have different advantages.

Oral Health Issues that Affect Women More

Women make up 90% of temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) diagnoses. TMD can be caused by bruxism, joint structure, stress, arthritis, vitamin deficiency, or hormones. Another condition that disproportionately affects women is Sjörgen’s syndrome, which causes dry mouth. Beyond making chewing and swallowing uncomfortable and muting the sense of taste, dry mouth is dangerous for teeth and gum health.

Hormone Changes Versus Oral Health

The hormonal changes of puberty, pregnancy, and menopause can cause oral health problems. Gingivitis and gum inflammation become more likely, which means brushing and flossing are even more essential. Dry mouth and bone loss in the jaw are associated with menopause, so it’s important to keep the dentist in the loop.

Eating Disorders

Teenage girls are twice as likely to develop eating disorders as teenage boys. Eating disorders attack oral health in two ways: weakening the oral tissues through malnutrition and (in the case of bulimia) destroying tooth enamel directly through acid erosion.

The Silver Lining

So what’s the good news? Women are better than men at taking care of their teeth! Women are more likely to keep up with their daily oral hygiene habits and regular dental visits. They’re also more willing to go to the dentist when they experience tooth pain, while men might try to tough it out. Even though women are more vulnerable to certain issues, they can significantly reduce the impact by taking care of their teeth.

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

IF EVERY BITE of ice cream or every sip of coffee gives your teeth a nasty jolt, then you know what it’s like to live with tooth sensitivity. At least one in every eight Americans (including kids) has sensitive teeth. Why does this happen to so many of us and what can we do about it?

The Basics of Dental Anatomy

It’s important to understand a little about dental anatomy when thinking about how tooth sensitivity works. The visible portion of the tooth (the crown) is made up of three layers: the outer tooth enamel layer (the hardest substance in the human body), the dentin layer (more like normal bone) and the dental pulp layer at the center (nerves and blood vessels).

Sensitive Exposed Nerves

The nerves at the center of each tooth sense what’s going on at the surface through thousands of microscopic tubules running through the dentin layer. If the enamel wears too thin, the tubules become exposed and the nerves in the teeth start feeling way more input than they’re supposed to, making temperature changes or even a sudden sweet or sour taste too much to handle.

What Causes Sensitivity?

Aside from enamel erosion, there are other things that cause sensitivity. Root exposure is one. Unlike the crown of the tooth, the root lacks the protective enamel layer. It relies mainly on gum tissue. Gum recession (often caused by teeth grinding or overbrushing) leaves the roots unprotected. Cavities or damage to a tooth like chips or fractures can also cause sensitivity, especially to hot or sweet things.

Protecting Teeth From Sensitivity

There are a few things we can do about sensitive teeth. Step one is to get rid of a hard-bristled toothbrush and buy a soft-bristled one instead. Soft bristles are enough to effectively clean away plaque, while hard bristles can damage the enamel and gum tissue even more. It’s also a good idea to switch to a toothpaste formulated for sensitive teeth. Cutting down on sugar intake and avoiding very acidic foods and drinks (especially sugar) will help as well.

The Dentist Can Help

If you’ve been dealing with tooth sensitivity, schedule an appointment so the dentist can discover the cause. Beyond what you can do to reduce the symptoms and strengthen your teeth and gums at home, the dentist can apply a fluoride varnish, prescribe a stronger desensitizing toothpaste if needed, or recommend a gum graft or dental restoration to repair any significant damage.

Your strong, healthy smile is our highest priority!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

MANY HEALTH ISSUES rarely impact children, but that’s not the case with gum disease. Harmful oral bacteria don’t care how old we are, and kids and teenagers are at risk of developing gingivitis just like adults.

Oral Hygiene and Hormones

The primary cause of childhood gum disease is poor oral hygiene. The gums become more vulnerable to irritation and inflammation when plaque is left to build up at the gumline and harden into tartar. For teenagers, hormones have entered the equation, increasing blood flow to the gums and making them more sensitive. Over half of teenagers have some form of gum disease.

Children Aren’t Good at Self-Reporting Symptoms

Children don’t always recognize when something is wrong because they don’t have a lot to compare it to, so it might not occur to them to mention any symptoms to their parents. Parents should keep an eye out for signs of gum disease like swollen or reddened gums, bleeding gums during brushing or flossing, gum recession, and persistent bad breath regardless of oral hygiene habits.

The Lifelong Battle for Oral Health

It’s a continuous fight to maintain good gum health. Effective oral hygiene habits are essential, and parents can set a good example by brushing twice a day and flossing daily. It’s always easier to prevent a dental health problem than to treat it after it appears, but good oral hygiene and regular dental exams are great for prevention and treatment.

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

DO YOU HAVE questions for the dentist? There’s a good chance one of yours made our frequently asked questions list!

Question 1: How often do I need to visit the dentist?

For most people, we recommend a dental exam and cleaning twice a year. Even for patients with perfect oral hygiene, it’s inevitable that some plaque and tartar will still build up. We can give your teeth a professional cleaning to control plaque and tartar and we can catch any dental problems early, which will save you time, pain, and money in the long run.

Some people can benefit from more frequent visits, often for reasons like pregnancy, a history of gum disease, or a smoking habit. The ideal frequency of your visits is based on how healthy your gums are and how committed you are to maintaining good oral hygiene.

Question 2: Why do I need a filling if my tooth doesn’t hurt?

Not all cavities are painful. Cavities form when the acid produced by bacteria eats away at tooth enamel until it creates a hole in the tooth. Cavities usually don’t hurt in the early stages when they only affect the enamel. You don’t want to leave a cavity untreated until it hurts, because that means letting it progress until it reaches the dental pulp where the nerves are. At that point, a simple filling might not be enough.

Question 3: Is it really important to keep baby teeth healthy?

It’s true that baby teeth are temporary, but that doesn’t mean they don’t matter. Baby teeth are essential to a child’s ability to chew their food effectively, speak clearly, and master lifelong dental habits like brushing and flossing. They’re also important placeholders for the incoming adult teeth.

Question 4: What is making my teeth more yellow?

Teeth inevitably darken or yellow over time as a function of age, but trauma and environmental factors can make the effect much more pronounced. The biggest culprits of surface stains are cigarettes, wine, coffee, tea, cola, sports drinks, berries, hard candy, and even tomato sauce. If your smile is losing its sparkle, talk to us about whitening treatments.

Question 5: How bad are pacifiers and thumbsucking for my child’s teeth?

At first, they aren’t bad at all! These self-soothing habits only become an oral health concern when they continue beyond toddlerhood. Most children will grow out of them on their own, but after age three, it’s time to start considering strategies for discouraging the habit, like clipping a pacifier. We can help!

These aren’t the only habits that can damage teeth!

We Love Answering Our Patients’ Questions!

The more educated our patients are about their teeth and gums, the more confident they feel about how they’re taking care of their dental health. If you have any questions we didn’t cover here, give us a call or schedule your next appointment today!

We live for seeing our patients’ smiles!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

SMOKING IS AN incredibly unhealthy habit for the entire body, and that includes teeth and gums. 80% of oral cancer diagnoses are to those who smoke or chew tobacco. Early symptoms include odd white patches in the mouth, pain or mouth sores that persist, swelling, numbness, trouble chewing and swallowing, and a sensation of having something stuck in the throat. A key figure in catching oral cancer early is the dentist!

Smoking and Gum Disease

Smoking doubles the risk of developing gum disease and it also makes it harder to treat it. Leaving gum disease untreated paves the way for damage to the tissue, atrophy of the jaw bone, and even tooth loss.

Vaping: Not a Healthy Option

What about vaping and e-cigarettes? They aren’t the healthy smoking alternative they’ve been painted as. The vapor contains ultra-fine toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and nicotine (which reduces blood flow, compromising gum tissue health, making gum recession and tissue death more likely). Tobacco also reduces saliva production, leading to dry mouth and the variety of dental issues associated with it, and it can trigger bruxism.

Quitting Is Always Worth It

Heavy longtime smokers might believe they’ve already done so much damage to their health that there’s no point in quitting, but quitting will still improve health outlooks. It’s worth it, and it’s never too late to begin!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

IN ORDER TO EARN the ADA’s Seal of Acceptance, a tube of toothpaste must contain fluoride and must NOT contain sugar. Trace amounts of fluoride have been added to drinking water across the country for the better part of a century to prevent cavities. The history of fluoride’s connection to public dental health is a fascinating one.

Natural Fluoridation in Colorado Springs

Local dentists in early 1900s Colorado Springs began to notice a strange pattern in their patients’ teeth. Many of them had something they called “Colorado brown stain” without having tooth decay. Today, we understand that condition to be fluorosis, a condition caused by too much fluoride exposure while the adult teeth are developing. Locals were getting it because of the high levels of naturally-occurring fluoride in the water supply.

Dentists wanted to find out if there was a way to keep the cavity-preventing qualities of fluoride without the teeth-staining effect. The test case was Grand Rapids, Michigan, where fluoride was added to the drinking water. Over the next few years, the rate of childhood tooth decay plummeted by a whopping 60% with only a few mild cases of fluorosis and no other adverse effects. This was huge.

Modern Water Fluoridation

After the success of fluoridated drinking water in Grand Rapids, communities across the country adopted fluoridated drinking water, and the CDC counts it as one of the top ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. Today, over half of American communities get the dental health benefits of fluoridated drinking water. It might not make a huge difference in the dental health of someone who can afford regular dentist visits, but it’s a game-changer for poor communities.

It might seem odd that adding fluoride to water could make such a difference, but it’s similar to the way we add iodine to salt in order to prevent goiters, bake with enriched flour to help digestion, and drink milk with added vitamin D to prevent childhood rickets.

Finding the Goldilocks Zone of Fluoride

The fluorosis of Colorado brown stain proved that too much fluoride is a bad thing, but no fluoride at all leaves teeth vulnerable to decay. The CDC recommended level of fluoride in drinking water is 1.2 parts per million. That’s a tiny amount, but it makes a huge difference for dental health. However, to prevent fluorosis, parents should be careful to only use small amounts of fluoride toothpaste to clean the teeth of their babies and toddlers, and everyone should spit it out rather than swallow it.

What Does Fluoride Actually Do for Our Teeth?

So what makes fluoride so good at preventing cavities? It’s actually a key building block in tooth enamel. When we eat and drink a lot of sugary or acidic things, minerals are pulled out of our tooth enamel, weakening it and leaving it vulnerable to erosion. Preventing demineralization is why it’s important to limit sugar consumption, but we can fight for our teeth on the other side of the equation with remineralization by brushing with fluoridated toothpaste and drinking fluoridated water.

Come to Us With Questions About Fluoride!

To learn more about the role of fluoride in toothpaste or drinking water, don’t hesitate to ask us or check out sources like the ADA or CDC. We want to make sure our patients have all the information they need to feel confident in their dental care and to understand why we put so much emphasis on daily dental hygiene habits.

We love seeing our patients’ healthy smiles!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

HAVING A PLAN already in place can make a huge difference if an emergency comes up, and that definitely applies to dental emergencies like oral injuries. How do we plan ahead for unexpected injuries? That will depend on the particular situation.

A Baby Tooth Gets Knocked Out

In most cases, a baby tooth getting knocked out isn’t an emergency. We usually wouldn’t attempt to replant a baby tooth because doing so could create problems for the permanent tooth on its way. However, if the tooth wasn’t at all loose beforehand, it’s a good idea to at least give the dentist a call to get advice, and there might be other damage besides to the tooth.

An Adult Tooth Gets Knocked Out

If an adult tooth is knocked out in one intact piece, there is limited time (not much longer than an hour) for it to be successfully replanted by the dentist before the tooth dies. The faster you can get to the dentist, the better. You can give a knocked-out tooth its best shot by placing it back in its socket for the trip to the dentist’s office and holding it in place with a washcloth or gauze. If it won’t go back into the socket, you can store it in cold milk.

Make sure NOT to do any of these things with a knocked-out tooth:

• Touching the root.
• Letting it dry out.
• Scrubbing it clean with soap, alcohol, or peroxide.

Doing any of these will kill the root and make the tooth impossible to replant.

A Tooth Breaks

If a tooth breaks, chips, or cracks in an accident, you should get straight to the dentist. Try to find all of the broken pieces and bring them with you in a glass of cold milk. It’s also safe to rinse your mouth with water.

No matter how minor a crack or chip seems, don’t just ignore it. A crack can function the same way as a cavity, giving bacteria space to grow until it reaches the pulp. The damage could reach the pulp chamber over time and lead to a tooth infection, abscess, loss of bone tissue in the jaw, and even risk an infection spreading to the bloodstream, which is life-threatening.

The Dentist Is Prepared for Patient Emergencies Too

Besides knowing what to do with a broken or knocked-out tooth, it’s also important to know where to go for help in a dental emergency. Give us a call to learn how our practice can help. We hope that you won’t ever be in a situation where you have to make use of this information, but it’s always wise to be prepared.

We appreciate the trust you place in our practice!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

TOOTHACHES ARE NEVER fun, particularly for little kids who might not know what’s happening. They can be caused by a variety of things and are usually worth a visit to the dentist, especially if it’s still hurting after a couple of days, but what can parents do when a toothache comes during the holidays or after hours?

What Causes Toothaches?

For children, a toothache could simply be teething from a new baby tooth or adult tooth. This is a normal part of development. Otherwise, the most common reason for initial tooth pain is decay, but it can also happen with gum disease, dental abscess, inflamed pulp, or a cracked tooth. Impacted teeth can be painful as well, and tooth sensitivity can be very uncomfortable.

Toothache Remedies

It’s usually best to bring a child with a toothache to the dentist. If that isn’t possible at first, there are a few things that can help manage their discomfort until then:

1. Rinsing and spitting with warm salt water will reduce inflammation.
2. Applying a cold compress to their cheek near where it’s sore.
3. Giving them children’s over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication.

How to prevent future toothaches? Brush and floss daily and schedule regular dental visits!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

PEOPLE HAVE USED some form of paste to help keep their teeth clean since at least 3000 BC in ancient Egypt. Modern toothpaste first appeared in the 1700s and was usually homemade. A dentist first added soap to dental paste in 1824, and John Harris added chalk in the 1850s. 20 years later, Colgate began mass-producing toothpaste in jars.

A Little More Toothpaste History

In 1920, Dr. Washington Sheffield realized it was pretty unsanitary for a whole family to dip their toothbrushes into the same jar over and over, so he developed the collapsible toothpaste tube, inspired by artists’ paint tubes. After WWII, further improvements included emulsifying agents to replace soap, introducing fluoride, adding stripes, and adding whitening agents. Let’s take a closer look at the common ingredients in modern toothpaste.

Active Ingredient: Fluoride

The toothpaste ingredient we spend most of our time talking about is fluoride since it’s the active ingredient. It helps remineralize tooth enamel and protects against tooth decay. Toothpaste must contain it to receive the American Dental Association’s Seal of Acceptance.

Fluoride in Children’s Toothpaste?

Toothpaste containing fluoride is safe for young children if used in the correct amounts (a smear the size of a grain of rice up to age 3, the size of a pea from ages 3-6) and with parental supervision to make sure they spit it out.

Flavoring and Sweeteners

Flavors are the ingredients that make toothpaste taste good. They include sugar-free sweeteners like saccharin or sorbitol. The ADA won’t give its Seal of Acceptance to any toothpaste containing sugar. Children’s toothpaste is often fruity or candy-flavored, unlike the strong mint flavors we tend to prefer as adults.

Abrasives for Scrubbing

Abrasive ingredients (like calcium carbonate, hydrated aluminum oxides, and dehydrated silica gels) help to scrub away surface stains and food debris. Abrasive ingredients are effective with soft-bristled brushes and gentle brushing, so make sure not to brush too hard because overbrushing can cause significant damage to teeth and gum tissue.

Detergents for Foaming

Detergents like sodium lauryl sulfate make the toothpaste foam while brushing so that the ingredients can effectively reach every tooth. (This one is why you rarely see actors brushing with real toothpaste on TV! It would foam and get too messy for their scenes.)

Humectants for Texture

Finally, humectants (including glycol, glycerol, and sorbitol) trap water inside toothpaste so that it doesn’t become crumbly and dry. It also helps it come out of the tube onto your toothbrush in a nice, smooth piece.

What about the actual toothpaste mixing process?

Let’s Find the Right Toothpaste for Your Child!

If you aren’t sure where to start looking for an effective toothpaste for your child, we’re happy to offer suggestions. We look forward to seeing their smile (and yours!) the next time it’s time for a checkup at our practice.

Thank you for being part of our practice family!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.