8 Bad Oral Habits To Stop Immediately
Bad habits can easily become part of who we are, but they can also really hurt us. When our bad habits affect our oral health, the results can be painful for our mouths and our wallets. Here is a list of the worst habits that can harm your mouth and should be avoided as much as possible. Smoking Smoking is one of the most destructive habits, as it not only causes discoloration of the teeth and bad breath, but can result in loss of bone density in the jaw, inflamed salivary glands, as well as gum disease, and oral cancer. Thumb Sucking Children who suck their thumbs are constantly placing pressure on their mouths and run the risk of misaligning their new adult teeth and even causing deformities in the roof of the mouth. Brushing Too Hard Vigorous brushing can irritate gums, which can cause them to recede, and can erode tooth enamel. Signs of aggressive brushing are if your toothbrush bristles are splayed and worn down. Bristles should only lightly brush against teeth and gums without causing redness. Clenching and Grinding Teeth grinding can erode enamel and can leave teeth exposed to decay. Jaw clenching can cause issues such as pain and discomfort that can lead to lockjaw and cracked and chipped teeth. Crunching Ice Our teeth are not designed for crunching ice and doing so can cause teeth to crack or chip. Grinding ice against teeth can cause your teeth to crack and chip, as well as damage the tooth enamel. Wearing down your tooth enamel leaves your teeth more susceptible to decay and it can increase their temperature sensitivity. Using Teeth as Tools Using your teeth to open containers, cut clothing tags, and rip through packages can result in cracks and chips, which can leave teeth exposed and unprotected against tooth decay. Biting Your Nails Biting your nails can damage your teeth and any past dental work, as well as expose your mouth to the bacteria that lives under nails, increasing your chances of illness and infection. Nail biting could also result in a chipped or cracked tooth. High Sugar Consumption Constantly exposing your teeth to destructive sugars, such as those found in carbonated drinks, feeds harmful bacteria and causes plaque to be produced at a much quicker rate in the mouth. Without proper dental hygiene, this plaque then turns into difficult to remove tartar, which can cause tooth and gum decay. Biting and Chewing Foreign Objects Food should be the only thing you hold in your mouth. Chewing on pencils or biting the arms of your reading glasses can damage past dental work and crack or chip your teeth. Constantly doing this can wear down teeth and make them more susceptible to damage and decay. Replacing missing or broken teeth is expensive and stressful, so if you listen to these tips, follow them every day, and take your dentist’s advice you’ll be happier for it in the long run and have a healthy mouth and smile.
Facts and Myths about Cavities
By the time we are able to brush our teeth on our own, most of us can remember being told about cavities. If you have ever needed a filling or other dental work, you may know a bit more about cavities than someone who is yet to have the experience. However, there are still some misconceptions about how we get them and what you should do about a cavity. Here are some common myths that surround cavities and the reality behind these misconceptions: Myth: If my teeth don’t hurt, nothing is wrong. Fact: By the time a tooth begins to hurt, it means the cavity and tooth decay has gone deep into the tooth and is now irritating the nerve. The longer you leave an issue, the more complex and expensive the treatment will be. Therefore, regular checkups are necessary to catch dental issues before they become extensive. Waiting for there to be an issue in the mouth before going to the dentist can mean the difference between a simple filling and a root canal. Myth: Sugar-free soda can’t cause cavities. Fact: Sugar is a huge contributor to the cause of cavities, as it creates a food source for harmful bacteria in the mouth, but it is not the only contributor. Anything that makes your mouth more acidic, such as diet sodas, can cause erosion. The harmful bacteria metabolize the sugar or acids left on your teeth and excrete lactic acid that creates small holes in tooth enamel. Myth: With good dental care, teeth can repair their own tooth enamel (remineralisation). Fact: Experts have said that teeth can replace some of the minerals that its enamel has lost. This process is called remineralisation and can slow or even stop decay. However, once bacteria and decay get through that enamel, the damage is done, and the erosion can not be reversed. The cavity has to be treated or it will continue to erode away at the tooth until it reaches the nerve. The nerve will eventually die. Depending on how long you leave a cavity, you could be looking at needing a root canal or a tooth removal. Myth: A filling is forever and can not get cavities. Fact: Although fillings can last for over a decade, they do eventually wear and break down. Tooth decay can not affect a filling but it can set in to the tooth around the edges of a filling or underneath the filling if it is broken. Myth: Cavities are for kids Fact: Anyone who has poor dental hygiene and consumes a lot of sugary food stuffs is at risk of developing cavities. Saliva is a natural buffer to all the acids in your mouth, so adults who smoke or take medications that cause dry mouth are at an even greater risk, as they have low saliva production. There is always a risk of developing a cavity, whether you are 6 or 76 years old. The important thing is to look after your dental health through daily care and regular dentist visits. At East Mountain Dental, you can be sure to get great dental care. Contact our Provo office today.
Why CEREC is Right For You
CEREC is the short term for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics, or CEramic REConstruction. This advanced technology uses computer aided design and manufacturing to quickly take dental impressions and generate perfect, custom fitted ceramics. This means if you are up for a dental crown, filling, inlay or onlay procedure, you can get everything done in one trip to the dentist office. Traditionally, multiple trips need to be made to complete the placement of a dental crown. Now, instead of sending dental impressions to a lab and waiting for the final, permanent crown before fitting, we at East Mountain Dental can create and place a crown in a single day. CEREC technology saves you time and guarantees great results. The CEREC Process Once your tooth has been prepped for the fitting of a ceramic restoration, which is done by filing and shaping the tooth, the CEREC process allows our team to use digital impressions to make a mold for the restoration. Digital impressions are more comfortable and more accurate than traditional impressions that are made with plaster. The mold is then used to create the restoration from a single block of solid ceramic materials. CEREC technology can manufacture a custom dental crown in as little as 90 minutes. The restoration is then fitted and bonded into place. Additional CEREC Technology Benefits It is not only the convenience of CEREC technology that makes it so great, but the restorations also look after your comfort and appearance. Here are 4 ways in which CEREC technology gives you the best possible restoration. CEREC technology allows people to avoid the stage of traditional restoration treatments that require patients to have a temporary restoration fitted, instead of having their permanent fixtures fitted right away. While temporary restorations fulfil the basic role of protecting teeth, they have many downsides, such as chewy and sticky foods easily damage these temporary fixes. Some people also experience discomfort while having temporary restorations removed before their permanent ones are fitted. The lifespan of CEREC restorations is longer than restorations made with traditional methods, meaning they will look better for longer. An impressive 95.5 percent of crowns made with CEREC technology survive for at least nine years after they have been fitted. The tooth shade of CEREC ceramic materials can be precisely matched to the color of your natural teeth, rendering the restoration virtually unnoticeable. The accurate fit of CEREC restorations are less likely to cause sensitivity, as most cases of sensitivity arise from restorations that do not fit correctly. Some patients also experience sensitivity during the period when wearing temporary restorations. As these are not necessary with CEREC restorations, the technology removes another possible source of sensitivity. With CEREC technology, patients enjoy the advantages of long-lasting, comfortable, well-fitting crowns, fillings, inlays or onlays. Ask our team at East Mountain Dental if CEREC technology can be used in your next restoration procedure.
Try these Foods for a Whiter, Brighter Smile!
Try these Foods for a Whiter, Brighter Smile! We all know that wine, tea, coffee and sodas can discolor and stain our teeth. Most people are unwilling to give up their coffee or soda addiction and could not possibly think of starting their morning without coffee or have a meal without a soda. Luckily, like most things in nature there is a balance. Whereas these liquids can stain your teeth, there are foods that can be eaten to whiten your teeth. So although it may be a good idea to cut down on your coffee or soda intake to prevent stains, these foods can work as an extra combatant against discoloration. Teeth whitening foods: An apple a day not only keeps the doctor away, but can also keep you away from having your teeth whitened at the dentist. Apples, celery and carrots increase saliva production in the mouth. Since saliva is the mouth’s self- cleaning agent, these foods make sure it is not in short supply and their crunchy texture helps scrub teeth. The acidity in oranges and pineapples is just enough to act like a mouthwash. These fruits also stimulate saliva production. Yogurt, milk and cheese contain lactic acid that protects the teeth from decay, which can cause discoloration in teeth. Proteins in yogurt attach themselves to the surface of teeth to protect them from acids that cause cavities. Hard cheeses are also great for teeth whitening and they help remove stray food particles in the mouth. Strawberries contain malic acid that whitens teeth. You can turn strawberries into a paste that you can place on your teeth. Leave the paste on for five minutes before rinsing it off and then brush and floss as usual for whiter teeth. Seeds and nuts have an abrasive texture that works as an exfoliator for your teeth. High fiber, coarse foods, such as broccoli, act as a scrubbing agent. These foods can be used to remove and prevent stains on the exterior of the tooth, which is normally called extrinsic whitening. If you try the above foods or other extrinsic whitening products, such as a teeth whitening toothpaste, and you are not getting the results you want, it could be because you have intrinsic discoloration. Intrinsic whitening deals with the whitening of the interior of the tooth. Age, genetics, acidic foods, smoking and even medications slowly discolour the dentin in our teeth. Dentin is a layer of calcified tissue underneath our tooth enamel. Teeth discolouration is a natural process, however, the above mentioned factors and tooth decay can speed up the process. This is why intrinsic teeth whitening treatments, such as bleaching gel are available. Most intrinsic procedures have to be administered at a dentist’s offices. To figure out what is the best teeth whitening treatment for you, speak to us at East Mountain Dental.