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While oral piercings and dermal modifications might seem like an appealing way to express yourself, you should be aware that these modifications come with some lesser-known risks to your oral health. If you plan on receiving oral piercings or dermal modifications, you might want to discuss their risks with your dentist beforehand so you can make an informed decision. Following are a few ways that piercings can negatively affect your oral health. Some might surprise you. Untimely Tooth Wear Having piercings can wear down your dentition. Many people develop a habit of making contact between a piercing’s structure and teeth. Some might click their tongues, where their tongue piercing habitually taps against their teeth. Others might turn their lips inward so that lip rings make contact with tooth structure. When our teeth make contact with hard objects, it can lead to permanent damage. Metal piercings can wear cracks in tooth enamel, which will worsen over time. If your teeth are already weakened by acid exposure or decay, you run the risk of breaking or cracking a tooth. If you decide to wear piercings in spite of these risks, we recommend taking great care not to develop habits that involve tapping piercings against your teeth. Increased Risk for Infections Having piercings increases your risks for bacterial and fungal oral infections. This is because surfaces of the lips, the tongue, and the linings of the lips and cheeks can be exposed to oral bacteria that normally wouldn’t be present without a piercing. If you have piercings, it’s important to practice vigilant oral hygiene to control bacterial growth in the mouth. You should brush at least twice a day for two minutes each time. When brushing, be sure to brush your tongue, the roof of your mouth, and the gums. You should also floss once per day, every day. Swallowing Hazards Oral piercings present swallowing hazards if they come loose. If you’re eating or sleeping and a piercing comes loose, you could easily swallow or choke on it. Be sure your piercings are fastened appropriately especially before meals and before bed. If you have questions about your oral health, call our practice to schedule a consultation with our dentist.
Have you heard of implant dentures? This revolutionary treatment option secures custom made dentures to a series of dental implants for optimal oral function and comfort. Implant dentures are beautiful, too – they produce the appearance of a healthy, youthful-looking smile. When custom dentures are secured to dental implants, patients enjoy a number of benefits that improve their quality of life. Implant Dentures vs. Conventional Dentures Conventional dentures are designed to rest on the gums. The arch of the jawbone is what holds them in place. Unfortunately, tooth loss is typically accompanied by bone loss. As the bone atrophies, dentures will begin to fit improperly. They might shift during speech and oral function. Implant-supported dentures, however, do not rely solely on the arch of the jaw for support. Instead, they are anchored in place by dental implants, which are embedded into the jawbone. Since dental implants are placed in the jaw, they function like the roots of teeth. The placement of implants is what gives implant dentures unprecedented stability. The technology and techniques for making modern dentures is advanced compared to dentures of the past. Today’s dentures are made from very lifelike materials that perfectly mimic the appearance of the gingiva and teeth. Since they are made to very precise specifications, dentures are virtually indistinguishable from biologic tooth structure. Benefits of Implant-Supported Dentures Implant dentures present some unique advantages – especially when compared to conventional, unsupported dentures. Since dental implants hold dentures in place, people can enjoy improved oral function. There are no dietary restrictions, which allows those with implant dentures the ability to enjoy a balanced, nutritious diet. Dental implants help people retain bone. This is especially important for those who have suffered with tooth loss. Bone atrophy caused by tooth loss negatively affects oral health, the longevity of prosthetics, and one’s appearance. Lastly, implant dentures are comfortable. There’s no need for messy adhesives to keep them in place. The likelihood of developing sore spots is also diminished. This is because implant dentures draw on support from implants, which prevent the bone atrophy that contributes to ill-fitting dentures. If you have questions about your tooth replacement options, call the office of Dr. Barry Buchanan to reserve a consultation with our experienced dentist.
You may think that as long as you’re brushing your teeth twice each day for two minutes at a time that you’re in good shape to protect your oral health. However, bad brushing habits can make your oral hygiene routine much less effective. In fact, in some cases, such issues may actually be harming your teeth. It’s important to recognize these bad habits so that you can change them. Consult with your dentist if you see anything in this list that might apply to you. How Bad Brushing Technique Can Harm Your Teeth You can actually damage your teeth in a number of ways if you’re not brushing correctly. You may either do an incomplete job of cleaning or cause premature wear and tear on your teeth. Therefore, it’s important to evaluate the tools that you use in your oral hygiene routine as well as your techniques for using them. Make sure that you aren’t doing more harm than good with your daily brushing. Most Common Bad Brushing Habits Using a toothbrush that is in poor condition: A brush that is worn, has hard bristles or is laden with bacteria will not be an effective tool for cleaning your teeth. Swap out your toothbrush every three or four months to make sure that you’re not using a brush that is overly worn. You may track your dentist visits and switch halfway between those appointments, as well as right after them to keep on track. Choose brushes with soft bristles, and store them upright and allow them to air dry to reduce bacteria proliferation. Brushing too hard: There is too much of a good thing when it comes to brushing! Overly aggressive brushing can wear down your enamel. Not brushing long enough: According to the ADA, the average person spends just 45 seconds brushing their teeth when the recommended brushing duration is actually two minutes. Brushing for a short period of time can leave bacteria behind. Using ineffective brushing technique: To clean most effectively around the gumline, you should be holding your brush at a 45-degree angle, using short strokes equal to the width of your teeth. When brushing the inside of your front teeth, use vertical strokes with a slightly tilted brush. If you recognize any of these habits as ones that you need to break, work with your dental care team here at our office to develop a plan to do so. Check in with us at your next checkup or feel free to call at any time for advice and suggestions.
Keeping your teeth clean and limiting the effects of oral bacteria is important to your smile’s appearance as well as your oral health. However, many patients aren’t doing as much as they could be to maintain their smiles, both at home and in visiting their dentist. Professional teeth cleaning and a robust home oral hygiene regimen both are instrumental in preserving a healthy smile. Importance Of Professional Teeth Cleaning Patients should have their teeth cleaned by a dental hygienist at least every six months to keep their teeth in optimal condition. This type of professional teeth cleaning is an important supplement to the patient’s home oral care routine, because even the most diligent brushers and flossers can still collect plaque and tartar along the gumline, especially toward the back of the mouth, which is harder to reach. Dental hygienists can use specialized instruments to remove that plaque and tartar, and they have better angles on the entirety of your smile. When you see your dentist twice a year, you also have the opportunity to ask questions about your daily oral hygiene routine. Should you add an anti-bacterial mouthwash? Are you using proper technique? There may be other suggestions the dentist has for you to incorporate into your routine. Keeping Your Teeth Clean And Healthy At Home Of course, if you’re only seeing your dentist twice a year, you must take steps at home to keep your smile as clean and healthy as possible, as well. This effort begins with a basic oral hygiene regimen of brushing twice each day and flossing daily. When you brush and floss, it’s important to use proper technique to get maximum benefits. Be sure to cover all of the surfaces of your teeth completely, and hold your brush at an angle against the gumline to disrupt tartar formation. You should also be brushing for two minutes in the morning and at bedtime to allow you to clean your teeth thoroughly. Use a toothpaste approved by the American Dental Association. If you have any questions about either professional teeth cleaning or home oral hygiene practices, please contact the office of Dr. Barry Buchanan and speak to one of our knowledgeable staff members.
Dentures do affect your speech but normally in positive ways. Our teeth assist with pronunciation. For instance, our tongues sometimes make contact with the backs of our teeth to produce specific sounds. Without our teeth, our pronunciation suffers. Wearing dentures after tooth loss will help renew our ability to pronounce words simply and correctly. If your dentures fit poorly, they can impair speech. This normally means that it’s time for your dentures to be relined so that they can accommodate changes in your bone structure or it’s time to replace them all together. Dentures are custom made to ensure that they improve oral function. A denture must accommodate the length and width of the jaw and fit over the gums. Our dentist will take molds (impressions) of the mouth, photographs, and X-rays to develop the specifications necessary to create a beautiful, properly-fitting set of dentures. These specifications are then sent to technicians in dental laboratories who will make these custom prosthetics. When you first wear dentures, it might negatively affect your speech for a couple weeks. This is because it takes some time to get used to the feel and weight of dentures. After this period has passed, however, any speech issues will subside. How long do dentures last? Dentures will last for years with proper care. Like any other type of prosthetic, they do require maintenance. Since patients without teeth tend to suffer with bone atrophy, dentures might need to be readjusted every so often to ensure a comfortable fit. If you notice that your dentures don’t fit comfortably or perform as they should, call our practice to schedule an appointment with our dentist. Prosthetic teeth are made from durable materials but they can break. Dropping them on a hard surface or letting them dry out can lead to them warping, cracking, and chipping. Repairing or replacing broken and worn dentures is important for maintaining oral function and your quality of life. Life without teeth is difficult but a set of custom dentures will give you reason to smile again. Call our practice to reserve a tooth replacement consultation with our caring team.
The short answer to this question is yes. You absolutely should pay attention to your tongue during oral hygiene and when performing self-examinations for oral cancer. Our family dentistry practice provides oral cancer screenings, professional dental cleanings, and general care so that you can enjoy optimal oral health. If it’s time for a checkup with our dentist, give our practice a call to schedule an appointment. Why Your Tongue Shouldn’t Be Ignored The tongue is an integral part of oral anatomy. Besides providing us with the ability to taste, our tongues also assist with digestion by pushing food to the biting surfaces of teeth. Without our tongues, there are certain sounds and words that we would be unable to pronounce. Like our teeth, the tongue is susceptible to harboring bacterial growth. In fact, our tongues are home to 50% of the oral bacteria in our mouths. This means that cleaning your tongue when you brush and floss your teeth is essential to controlling bacterial growth, managing bad breath, and reducing the risks for dental caries and gum disease. How to Clean Your Tongue There are a couple ways you can clean your tongue. The most common way is to simply brush it gently with a toothbrush and toothpaste when you brush your teeth. If you prefer not to brush your tongue, you can buy a tongue scraper. This is a dental hygiene tool that removes the film from plaque. As with any oral hygiene tool, look for the ADA seal of acceptance when making purchases. Your Tongue and Oral Cancer Oral cancer can form anywhere on the soft tissues of the oral cavity such as the linings of the lips and cheeks or the tongue. During checkups at our family dentistry practice, our dentist will look for signs of oral cancer. In addition to keeping routine appointments, you should perform self-checks for oral cancer at home. Typical signs of oral cancer include sores that are slow to heal, discoloration of soft tissue, the formation of lumps, and difficulty swallowing and speaking. We are accepting new patients. Call the office of Dr. Barry Buchanan today to schedule a checkup or cleaning.
Your cosmetic dentist can use porcelain veneers to correct any number of aesthetic flaws in your smile. The treatment is fairly simple, straightforward and quick, and it is associated with numerous benefits. Porcelain Veneer Treatment Porcelain veneers are tooth-shaped shells that are bonded atop the biological teeth using a strong dental cement. The treatment process begins with an evaluation by a cosmetic dentist, who will inspect your teeth, take photos and x-rays and discuss your treatment goals with you. Depending on the thickness of the veneer, the dentist may also prep your teeth for veneer placement by removing a thin layer of enamel to make room for the veneer. All of the data used in the design of your veneers is forwarded to the dental lab, where they will be created. When they are ready, which generally takes just a couple of weeks, you’ll return to the office to have them placed. Benefits Of Porcelain Veneers Here are some of the primary benefits of porcelain veneers. They’re versatile. Whether you visit a cosmetic dentist to address teeth that are chipped, stained or cracked, or those that are undersized or slightly crooked, porcelain veneers can help you to achieve your smile goals. They’re durable. People may think that porcelain is a fragile material, but after it is bonded to the teeth, it becomes quite strong. If you take good care of your veneers, they can last for up to a decade. They have a lifelike appearance. Porcelain is a particularly suitable material for veneers because it mimics many of the optical qualities of biological tooth enamel. It’s nearly impossible to tell a veneer from the natural tooth next to it. They’re customized to match your smile. Veneers are designed to match your unique smile. The shape and the shade of the veneers can be tailored to blend in with your biological teeth. Treatment is completed in a matter of weeks. This is particularly valuable in the case of “straightening” teeth. Veneers can create the appearance of proper alignment in a matter of weeks, rather than the months that orthodontic treatment would take. To learn more about the many benefits of porcelain veneers, call our office to schedule a consultation at your earliest convenience.
Bad habits can harm your teeth, so it’s important to steer clear of actions that can cause damage and institute more positive habits to keep your smile healthy. You should be discussing healthy dental habits at your semiannual checkups at your family dentistry practice. Factors That Can Damage Your Smile Oral bacteria can damage your smile by attacking your enamel and causing cavities as well as causing inflammation in your gum tissue, leading to periodontal disease. Those bacteria feed on sugars that stay in the mouth after a person eats, so excessive consumption of sugar or even simple carbs can give bacteria an important source of nutrition and increase your risk of oral diseases. If you don’t get your teeth professionally cleaned at a family dentistry practice at least twice a year, your smile could suffer. Additionally, facial trauma can harm your teeth, as can biting into hard objects. Bad Habits To Avoid Using your teeth as tools: Your teeth were designed to chew food, not to crack nuts or open bottles or packages. So don’t try to use them for those purposes. Chewing on hard or non-food items: If you bite into a hard object, like a pencil or even a fingernail, at minimum, you’ll cause premature wear and tear on your teeth. You could even break a tooth. Food is the only thing you should be chewing on. Skipping out on your home oral hygiene routine: Don’t have time to brush your teeth every day? Well, you can count on plaque accumulating along your gumline. You should be brushing twice each day for two minutes each time and flossing once a day. Avoiding the dentist: Your family dentistry practice is an important line of defense against oral diseases. If you don’t get exams and cleanings twice a year, your risk of cavities, gum disease and other concerns increases significantly. Even if you are diligent about brushing your teeth every day, you still need to see your dentist periodically to be examined and to have a dental hygienist remove any lingering plaque and tartar that have accumulated on your smile. Talk to our dental team to see if there are any bad dental habits that you need to break or good ones that you should work into your routine. If it’s time to schedule your next dental exam and cleaning, contact the office of Dr. Barry Buchanan today.
Your gum health is closely linked to your overall health, so even relatively mild gum disease, such as gingivitis, can have a negative effect on the rest of your body. It’s important to be aware of the symptoms of gingivitis so that you can consult with your dentist about treatment early in the disease process, before your gum disease has a chance to become more severe. You should also work to prevent gingivitis whenever possible. Causes And Symptoms Of Gingivitis Gingivitis occurs when the oral bacteria found in plaque and tartar attack the gum tissue and cause inflammation. This inflammation manifests in symptoms such as redness, swelling or bleeding in the gums. Even if the bleeding only occurs while you are brushing or flossing your teeth, it is still worth mentioning to your dentist, as it can still be a symptom of gingivitis. Gingivitis Treatment And Its Benefits Gum disease is a progressive condition. That means that the symptoms become more severe in later stages and may include issues such as pockets developing between the teeth and gums, gum recession and even tooth and bone loss. However, getting effective gingivitis treatment can prevent the progression of gum disease. Also, gingivitis treatment is non-invasive. The condition usually responds to a thorough professional cleaning by a trained dental hygienist. Treatment for periodontitis, on the other hand, involves more invasive interventions and may even require surgical procedures to reverse the course of disease. In addition to keeping your smile as healthy as possible, getting gingivitis treatment also benefits the rest of your body. Gum disease appears to have a relationship with systemic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, along with brain disorders including depression and Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, if you’re proactive about getting treatment for your gingivitis, you’ll be giving your body a boost, as well. Preventing Gingivitis Fortunately, gingivitis can be prevented. The first step in protecting your smile from gum disease is sticking to a robust oral hygiene regimen at home. Brush your teeth twice each day for two minutes at a time, and give extra attention to the gumline to disrupt the accumulation of plaque and tartar in the area. Daily flossing is also essential to good gum health. You should also be following up with your dentist for routine exams and cleanings as another preventive measure. Have you noticed signs of gingivitis in your smile? Contact our office to schedule an evaluation and learn about your treatment options.
People who are particularly fidgety may face challenges in getting dental care. When you can’t sit still, it can be difficult for the dentist to be as precise as necessary with the dental instruments. Fortunately, working with a sedation dentist can help you overcome this obstacle. What A Sedation Dentist Does A sedation dentist will administer anti-anxiety medications to a patient in order to help the patient relax during the treatment. Even if your fidgeting is not related to anxiety, sedation can help to settle your body to make it easier for the dentist to treat you for issues such as cavities, aesthetic concerns or even routine exams and cleanings. The sedative drugs can be delivered in a variety of ways, and your dentist may offer different options so it’s important to discuss which method is most appropriate for your case. Additionally, the sedatives have different degrees of effects and require different levels of preparation. For example, patients who receive intravenous sedation must fast for a certain number of hours prior to the appointment. Your sedation dentist will give you detailed information specific to the delivery method being used in your case so that you can prepare adequately for your appointment. How Sedation Dentistry Enhances Care The drugs used in sedation help patients to achieve a state of deep relaxation during their appointment, so patients who are fearful or those who can’t sit still can still access treatment. Additionally, the sedation reduces the patient’s sense of the passage of time, so it can be useful in situations involving lengthy, complex interventions. Sedation also has an amnestic effect on patients, so they have no recollection of the procedure after the fact. If you find that you can’t sit still and it’s interfering with your ability to get dental care, consider sedation as an add-on that can help you access treatment. Call the office of Dr. Barry Buchanan and speak to one of our experienced staff members to learn more about this option.
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