Patient Education

Gingivitis is the most common form of periodontal disease. In simple terms, it is an inflammation of the gum tissue.  Uncared for, the inflammation turns into more serious forms of infection and eventually evolves into periodontitis. The most common way to classify gingvitis is by cause and severity.  Generally, it’s enough to know that it has three phases, and if, for example, you are in the third phase you have the most serious form. Your

If you’ve lost a filling, you will still be able to eat many foods, talk, and do just about everything else you could do before you lost it. That’s the good news. The bad news is that if you don’t have it replaced you will lose much, or all, of that tooth’s chewing function, along with the function of the tooth above or below it.  Thus, you will have lost the use of two teeth. 

Facial contours, the size of the jaw, and tooth size are all hereditary ( or, in rare cases, disease-related).  An orthodontist may talk to you about the relationship between jaw and tooth size.  For example, if a child inherits her mom’s small jaw and her father’s large teeth, the end result may be teeth that are too big for the jaw. This overcrowding is a serious problem. It can prevent some teeth from erupting and

Charting pockets is the dental term for the procedure used to measure the depth of the gingival sulcus, or gum pocket. It’s a standard procedure that is accepted and used by all dentists and hyginenists. Although additional methods are also used to evaluate the condition of your gums, charting the pockets is a great way for you to get a clear picture of the extent of your periodotal disease. To measure the pocket depth, your

When the hygienist gets down to the business of hygiene therapy, the procedure will consist of most of the following steps: — Plaque and calculus (tartar) removal— Removal of infected gum tissue— Teeth desensitization before cleaning— Cleaning and polishing— Monitoring your recall program— Expanded periodontal therapy. Most advanced periodontal disease will require some treatment by the dentist or the periodontist, but hygienists are qualified to handle the disease until it reaches a certain severity. She/he

Although the ingredients, and their proportions, of many toothpastes are closely guarded secrets, most toothpastes ( including therapeutic pastes) contain all or some of the following substances:Abrading, polishing, and bleaching agents. Abrading and polishing agents comprise as much as 50% of most dentifrices. The abrasive ingredient actually grinds off enamel and dentin, much like rough sandpaper abrades wood. The polishing agents are included to help smooth off the roughened areas, like using a fine sandpaper.

Over 90% of the population have some form of dental disease, ranging from a little decay to severe bone loss.  Less than 10% of those over sixty-five still have all their natural teeth. Some sources say that as many as 40 million will not see a dentist at all because of their overpowering fear of the dental office. Regardless of what you have been led to believe, there is absolutely no reason for you to

All toothpastes fall into one of two categories. They are either therapeutic or cosmetic. Therapeutic toothpastes contain ingredients that have been shown to prevent of significantly reduce tooth decay and gingivities. The makers of cosmetic dentifrices ( dentifrice refers all kinds of tooth cleansers, from pastes to gels to powders) promote these products for their ability to make your teeth whiter and brighter. These products either bleach the tooth itself or remove stains through abrasion

Electric toothbrushes have been a valuable addition to toothbrush technology. There are a number of these on the market, and although they come in different sizes, shapes, and colors. They all have one thing in common: they rotate the bristles faster than any human hand can. Whether they they rotate four thousand times a minute or a thousand, go clockwise or counterclockwise, you still have to control them. This means you have to use them

Once plaque begins to form in the pocket, it is protected against most forms of oral hygiene. As plaque moves into the once healthy gum pocket, the infection begins to involve the place where the ligament attaches the gum to the tooth surface.  Infection here is bad enough by itself, but the whole process is made even worse by the formation of subgingival calculus.  As the calculus grows and spreads, it pushes against the swollen

This device is one of the newest additions to dental diagnosis and patient education. In essence, it’s like having a TV camera take pictures inside your mouth. It can assist with treatment planning, and do cosmetic imaging.  It takes you inside your mouth, in color, and allows you to see things you may never have seen before.