Posted on Mon, Nov 30, 2009
Almost every day patients ask me why we fill cavities in baby teeth. Won't they lose the teeth anyway??
YES they will lose the teeth, and YES the teeth should be fixed. Generally the sooner the better. When caries (tooth decay) progresses through the enamel, it reaches the tooth layer called dentin which is much softer and the decay process can spread rather quickly. Abscesses (tooth infections) can develop in teeth with moderate to large "decay" and your child may experience severe pain.
It is extremely important that we maintain optimum oral health in our children. We do that in 3 ways:
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Proper diet. Sugars coupled with bacterial plaque produce a harmful acid that starts to break down our teeth.
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Good home care. Brush two times a day for 2 minutes at a time. Floss daily, it removes the bacteria plaque that your toothbrush can't reach.
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Visit your dentist every 6 months for a checkup.
Your checkup should include a professional cleaning, dental exam, oral hygiene instruction and fluoride treatments. With regular checkups if a problem develops, we can catch it early and treat it more conservatively. Prevention is truly the best medicine.
Posted on Wed, Nov 18, 2009
Bad breath is something we have all experienced and can be embarrassing. Some foods such as coffee, garlic or onions can cause mouth odors. Odors like this can be masked with mints, gum or mouthwash. If you are experiencing chronic halitosis (bad breath), then you may have an underlying dental issue.
Bacteria are usually the cause of the foul odor. The mouth is the perfect environment (warm, dark and moist) to harbor the nasty germ. Most mouth odors stem from periodontal disease or gum disease. Periodontal disease starts when pockets form around your teeth in the gum tissue. The gum tissues become inflamed and bleed when touched. When someone has periodontal disease they have started to lose the bone that supports the teeth. Generally there is a mineral build up that attaches to the teeth called calculus. Food particles, plaque and decomposing bacteria accumulate in the pockets and on the calculus, and as you can imagine, this combination left in the mouth leaves quite a foul odor.
Treatment for this includes a thorough deep scaling removing all calculus and plaque. This must be done to stop the bone loss.
Obviously, brushing and flossing is the best way to daily rid your mouth of bacterial plaque and prevent periodontal disease.
Tooth decay on teeth or under dental restorations can also be the source of bad breath. Every dental exam screens for both tooth decay and gum disease. If you have been screened by your local dentist and have no dental disease the source for bad breath may be from sinus or digestive problems.