Preventing Tooth Decay

Tooth decay [caries, cavities] is probably the most prevalent disease, affecting almost everyone during his or her lifetime. The good news is that it isn’t life threatening and is essentially preventable. The tooth decay process starts with dental plaque [sticky mixture of bacteria, food & debris]. Bacteria [germs], which naturally live in everyone’s mouth, but thrive in plaque, utilize carbohydrates from your diet, especially refined sugar [sucrose] to produce acid. Acid, if produced frequently, will demineralize [dissolve] the tooth enamel structure, which is the hardest substance in the human body. From there the acid will continue to eat through the underlying dentin layer until the bacteria and their waste products reach the pulp [nerve]. Left untreated, tooth decay can lead to root infection and eventually loss of your tooth.

There are visible signs of a cavity. Initially, it will appear as a small white spot, which in time will turn brown. As the decay continues, a hole in the tooth may become apparent. There are also warning symptoms such as sensitivity while brushing or to hot or cold foods or to breathing in air. Of course a painful toothache is a definite sign.

Prevention

The most important prevention technique is daily removal of plaque with flossing and brushing. If possible, good oral hygiene should be practiced after every meal.

Using fluoride to strengthen the enamel and help remineralize teeth is a highly reliable prevention tool. Use only a fluoride, ADA recommended toothpaste. At our office, we give topical fluoride treatment to children up to age 18. We can also fabricate custom trays to be used at home with a gel fluoride for adults who have rampant caries or who are more predisposed to having tooth decay. We also recommend fluoride drops or vitamins for infants who don’t live where the public water supply is fluoridated. Call our office to see if your water is fluoridated. Diet is significant in caries prevention. . Studies have shown that the nature and frequency of sugar intake is more important that the amount. If the sugary food is very sticky like caramel, gummy bears or jam, it will remain on the teeth for a longer period of time. If you or your children are constantly snacking on sugary foods, there is a continuous acid attack on your teeth. What do we do to prevent this potential problem? Avoid having sugar in your mouth for long periods of time. Stay away from sucking candies and chewing gum [unless sugarless] and refrain from drinking soda pop regularly [unless diet]. Try to cut down on the number of snacks per day. If you must snack, substitute foods that most like but don’t promote tooth decay. Examples are popcorn, pretzels, fruits, nuts, cheese, pizza and vegetables. Consuming sugary foods with a meal or for dessert has a less detrimental effect, because increased salivary flow during meals helps to wash the food away. Also, it is usually nearer the time that most people will brush their teeth. Keeping this in mind, it is better for children to eat sweets at a time and place that allows them to brush soon afterwards. As your children are growing, make sure they get plenty of calcium [dairy products] so that their tooth enamel develops properly. Finally, because you may be asymptomatic and unaware of the beginning of tooth decay, it is critical that you visit our office every 6 months for a check-up. Some cavities are hard to detect, especially those between the teeth. Sometimes, only bitewing x-rays can discover them. We will also give you a professional prophylaxis [cleaning], which is an important part of prevention.
 

Setting Priorities for Good Dental Health

Many people have bleeding gums, and they don’t think twice about it. They view it as a minor inconvenience. If you were bleeding from any other part of your body, you wouldn’t hesitate to see a physician. If you lost a body part you wouldn’t hesitate to have it replaced. We have 32 teeth - they are all body parts.

While we may not need our teeth to live like one needs a heart, we need our mouth to be pain-free and functional to enjoy a good quality of life.
This is our passion. Make it yours and the rest will fall into place. Call and ask us how we may help you achieve your oral hygiene and health goals and ensure a greater quality of life.

But like exercising, dieting or anything that requires a routine, many of us fall short of a sustained effort to accomplishing long-term results. Why do we run out of toothpaste, floss, toothbrushes vitamins, etc. when we know their importance? Why do we have problems maintaining an oral hygiene regimen? Perhaps, we don’t make the answers priorities.

Call (757) 229-1224 today to schedule an appointment with one of our hygienists.

Preventive Dentistry: Toothbrushing

Toothbrushing is an effective way of removing plaque [sticky mixture of bacteria, food & debris] from your teeth. Daily removal of plaque can prevent tooth decay and periodontal [gum] disease. Select a toothbrush that will provide easy access to all areas of your mouth; this includes one with a small head [1 inch by ½ inch] and a flexible head or handle. The brush should have soft nylon bristles with round heads and a wide handle for a firm grip. There are also a variety of electric or sonic brushes that work well. Call our office for a recommendation.

Establishing a daily pattern and a consistent approach to your brushing technique is important to ensure that you have accomplished adequate cleaning. One easy technique involves placing the toothbrush at a 45° angle to your teeth and gently brushing in an elliptical motion. Start on the same quadrant [same side, lower or upper] each time. Brush the outside of the teeth, the inside and the biting surface. Repeat this action with the other three quadrants. When you are finished, brush you tongue. Adequate brushing should take 3-4 minutes.

There are other effective brushing methods that may be appropriate for you, depending on the condition of your teeth and gums. Bring your brush to your next check-up visit and have our hygienist review your technique.

Toothbrushing is most effective if done right after eating. It would be a wise idea to keep an extra brush at work for after lunch or snacks. Toothpaste is not necessary if you are using fluoride toothpaste at home 1-2 times a day. Just rinse with water when you are finished.

Effective toothbrushing starts with habit and routine and ends with time, diligence and good technique.

New Teeth While You Wait

Between work and family obligations, most individuals have very hectic and tight schedules. Often dental treatment is put off because of actual or perceived time commitments on the part of a patient. This office has invested in a hi-tech system called CEREC that allows us to fabricate a permanent all ceramic crown [cap], onlay or veneer in one single office visit. This means fewer injections, less drilling and less time taken away from your daily activities. This computerized system allows us to use strong, tooth-colored ceramic materials to restore your teeth to their natural strength, beauty and function. These materials closely match the composition of natural tooth structure. The significance of this fact means when you eat hot food and drink something cold, the restoration and tooth expand and contract at almost equal rates, minimizing the chance of your tooth cracking. Also, the ceramic restorations are chemically bonded to your teeth, so we can preserve as much healthy tooth structure as possible.

First, we examine the tooth or teeth to determine the appropriate treatment. It could be a simple filling, or a full crown, depending on how much healthy tooth structure is remaining in our clinical judgment. Next, we administer an anesthetic and prepare your tooth for the restoration, removing decayed and weakened tooth tissue. This preparation is just like we would do for many other restorative techniques.

Then, we take an Optical Impression of the prepared tooth. Instead of filling a tray with impression "goop" that you must bite into and hold in your mouth until it hardens, we coat the tooth with a non-toxic, tasteless powder. A camera is used to take a digital picture of your tooth. This whole Optical Impression process only takes a minute or two.

Next, the CEREC machine helps us create the restoration for your tooth. The CEREC 3D software takes the digital picture and converts it into a 3-dimensional virtual model on the computer screen. We use our dental expertise to design the restoration using the CEREC 3D computer program. Within a few minutes, with the click of a button, the restoration design data is sent to a separate milling machine in the office. A ceramic block that matches your tooth shade is placed in the milling machine. About 10 - 20 minutes later, your all-ceramic, tooth-colored restoration is finished and ready to bond in place. Finally, we try the restoration in your mouth to ensure proper fit and bite. The restoration is then polished and bonded to the prepared tooth. Your tooth is restored with no "temporary" or return trip necessary. Please call our office to see if you are a candidate for this procedure.

Setting Priorities for Good Dental Health

Many people have bleeding gums, and they don’t think twice about it. They view it as a minor inconvenience. If you were bleeding from any other part of your body, you wouldn’t hesitate to see a physician. If you lost a body part you wouldn’t hesitate to have it replaced. We have 32 teeth - they are all body parts.

While we may not need our teeth to live like one needs a heart, we need our mouth to be pain-free and functional to enjoy a good quality of life.

But like exercising, dieting or anything that requires a routine, many of us fall short of a sustained effort to accomplishing long-term results. Why do we run out of toothpaste, floss, toothbrushes, vitamins, etc. when we know their importance? Why do we have problems maintaining an oral hygiene regimen? Perhaps, we don’t make the answers priorities.

We in this dental office believe in the philosophy espoused by Dr. F. Harold Wirth who said, "The mouth in its entirety is an important and even wondrous part of our anatomy, our emotion, our life; it is the site of our very being. When an animal loses teeth, it cannot survive unless it is domesticated; its very existence is terminated; it dies. In the human, the mouth is the means of speaking, of expressing love, happiness and joy, anger, ill temper, or sorrow. It is the primary sex contact; hence it is of initial import to our regeneration and survival by food and propagation. It deserves the greatest care it can receive at any sacrifice."

This is our passion. Make it yours and the rest will fall into place. Call and ask us how we may help you achieve your oral hygiene and health goals and ensure a greater quality of life.

For more information, or to schedule a cleaning, call your favorite Williamsburg dentist, Dr. James A. Burden, at (757) 941-7079!

Tough Brushing Tortures Teeth

Most dentists don’t go a day without seeing patients who are damaging their teeth and gums by brushing too hard. Some report that as many as two out of three patients brush their teeth too hard. This is a problem. A stiff-bristled toothbrush combined with overzealous brushing teeth can cause serious dental problems over time, including gum disease and tooth sensitivity.

 

People think that if they brush twice as hard, they will do twice as much good, In fact, overzealous brushing can cause significant damage to the periodontal tissues and bones that support the teeth. If you used the same amount of force and brush the side of your arm, you could take your skin off.

 

One way to avoid damaging your teeth and gums is to purchase a "soft" toothbrush featuring rounded bristles which are less abrasive to teeth. You should hold the brush between the thumb and forefinger, not with the fist. When brushing, do not `scrub' the teeth with a horizontal, back-and-forth motion.

 

Instead, start at the gum line and angle the brush at a 45-degree angle. Brush both the teeth and the gums at the same time. Push hard enough to get the bristles under the gum line but not so hard that the bristles flare out. It's also a wise move to limit the amount of toothpaste because it is abrasive.

 

The irony is that dentists want people to brush longer, not harder. Children and adults tend to spend less than one minute at a time brushing their teeth, even though removing plaque from the mouth requires at least two to five minutes of brushing at least twice a day. Remember: brush longer, not harder. 

For more information, or to schedule a cleaning, call your favorite Williamsburg dentist, Dr. James A. Burden, at (757) 941-7079!