No matter how cool and trendy you think tongue rings are, these piercings are dangerous and potentially fatal. Piercing your tongue can result in chipped teeth, recessed gums and nerve damage. What some people don’t know is that getting a piercing in the mouth can result in a fatal condition, like Ludwig’s angina or endocarditis.
Ludwig’s angina is an infection in the bottom of the mouth caused by bacteria, and occurs after your tooth has been infected, an injury to the mouth, an oral procedure or an unnecessary hazard to your health. When you get an oral piercing, the mouth develops an open wound for bacteria to travel through your blood. Bacteria has the power to make the bottom of the mouth swell quickly which blocks the airway or stops you from swallowing your saliva.
Endocarditis comes from bacteria traveling in the blood through the hole that has been pierced. This can be an infection in the heart, and people who have a history of heart problems are at risk for this disorder.
Most professionals will not recommend piercings, but if you do get a piercing, be sure to take good care of it. Unclean piercing equipment can cause other infections, like hepatitis. Make an appointment at Scott 82 Dental Centre in Surrey to ensure that you are getting the follow-up care you need.
Tooth sensitivity is a nerve irritation that occurs after your enamel has worn down or if your gums are receding, exposing the surfaces of your teeth. Pain normally stems from consuming hot or cold foods and beverages that touch your teeth, bringing them in contact with cold air. If you’re having tooth sensitivity, Scott 82 Dental Centre in Vancouver can help.
The most popular complaint from dental patients is that tooth sensitivity causes so much pain that your eating habits change – even a spoonful of ice cream can be an excruciating experience for people with sensitive teeth.
What causes tooth sensitivity?
There are a variety of reasons that your teeth may be extra sensitive. One factor that may lead to tooth sensitivity is eating or drinking large quantities of foods with acid, especially citrus juices. Avoiding these foods and drinks can help alleviate the problem.
How can I prevent tooth sensitivity?
Another great way to prevent tooth sensitivity is by using the proper toothpaste. Toothpastes that have abrasive ingredients like the ones in whitening toothpastes will be hard on people with sensitive teeth. A desensitizing toothpaste is a better choice, and having your dentist apply sealants or fluoride will help.
Brushing your teeth too hard can also cause tooth sensitivity, so it is a good idea to use a soft toothbrush. Brushing too hard can start breaking down the tooth and expose the more sensitive underside. A good test to see if you are brushing too aggressively is by looking carefully at the bristles on your toothbrush. If the bristles point in several directions, then you are brushing too hard.
The dental team at Scott 82 Dental Centre have a number of regiments that can help you manage tooth sensitivity. One treatment solution is to apply a desensitizing agent or protective coating that will alleviate any discomfort you might have.
Let us break it down for you: sugar that lives in the mouth gets devoured by bacteria which create acids that break down your tooth enamel. This leads not only to decay but to other problems, including gingivitis.
Because we live in such a fast-paced culture, it’s common to neglect a balanced diet in favor of an unhealthy one made up of convenient foods with high-sugar content. It is obvious that this type of lifestyle is detrimental to not only people’s oral health, but to their overall well-being.
Experts say that because we live in such a stressful society, fast food is a quick and easy fix for most people.
So what can you do to prevent tooth decay and lead a healthy lifestyle? Staying away from fast food and foods high in sugar is the obvious answer, but there are other things you can do as well.
Ways to Keep Tooth Decay At Bay:
Brush your teeth at least two times per day with a toothpaste that contains fluoride. It is better if you brush after eating and before you go to sleep.
Floss your teeth with dental floss or interdental cleaners.
Check with a dentist at Scott 82 Dental Centre about using supplemental fluoride, a product which can make your teeth stronger.
Ask us about dental sealants, so we can stop your teeth from decaying.
Drinking water is important, and drinking fluoridated water every day will help protect your children’s teeth from decaying.
X-rays are essential to a person’s oral health, and at Scott 82 Dental Centre in Vancouver, we want to ensure that people are getting regular X-rays for their teeth.
So what is the big deal about getting X-rays? X-ray exams reveal the state of your teeth, and the composition of the bones in your face. They are also able to spot gum disease and abnormal growths (including cysts and tumors). X-rays can also locate where impacted and unerupted teeth are, and can find cavities or disease that a simple checkup couldn’t.
X-rays for Surrey delta dental patients at Scott 82 Dental Centre can be vital for maintaining oral health. For most patients, they will receive a full set of mouth X-rays to determine the state of their oral health. Patients may need to follow up so we can analyze the condition of their gums or their odds of tooth decay.
Many dental patients in Surrey delta believe they have perfect oral health. However, at Scott 82 Dental Centre, we see many patients who are suffering from gingivitis and gum disease without even realizing it. Puffy, red gums that bleed could mean you have gingivitis. If you ignore these symptoms — and many patients do as the swelling, redness and bleeding aren’t typically painful — you may be on your way to early stage periodontal (gum) disease. But, it’s also possible to prevent the disease from occurring by reducing plaque build-up. Daily flossing and brushing, as well as regular dental hygienist cleanings, can keep plaque away. Regular dental checkups at Scott 82 Dental Centre are crucial in gum disease prevention since any early signs of decay can be caught.
Some of our Vancouver patients are surprised when their previously healthy, pink gums start to turn red and begin to bleed, but an individual’s oral health can change at any time. This is why gum disease prevention must be an ongoing effort on your part. Without daily flossing and brushing, plus regular checkups and cleanings at Scott 82 Dental Centre, you’re likely to be at risk for periodontal disease. Make sure you brush at least twice a day, as well as floss daily, to avoid plaque build-up. Plaque, a film containing bacteria and acids, ruins tooth enamel as well as causes periodontal disease. Food particles can become trapped in plaque and further the progress of the disease, so it’s important to get regular hygienist cleanings plus gum disease prevention support from your dentist, who may recommend fluoride or other decay-preventive solutions.
Getting tips and checkups at Scott 82 Dental Centre is an easy way to prevent gum disease and avoid destroying the structure of your teeth. Without regular professional care, moderate and late stages of gum disease may occur. If the gums aren’t healthy, they can’t adequately support the teeth. In the moderate stage of periodontal disease, gums tend to recede and expose large portions of the upper teeth–negatively affecting the tooth structure. Teeth often become loose at this stage. You’ll need to see your oral health expert to help avoid the advanced stage of gum disease. This stage of periodontal disease is the main cause of adult tooth loss and pain is typically present due to infection being built up deeply within the gums.
Did you know: February is National Children’s Dental Health Month?
February is the month to raise awareness about the significance of your oral health. With National Children’s Dental Health month beginning in Cleveland in 1941 and extending to a month-long program since 1981, it is especially important to take care of your child’s oral health. The dental team at Scott 82 Dental Centre in Vancouver support National Children’s Dental Health Month and encourage you to follow up with regular checkups and proper oral care.
In February, Scott 82 Dental Centre and other dentists around the world are concerned with preventative oral care, especially when it comes to children. It is important to remember that having good oral health habits when you’re young and having periodic dental appointments will get your children on the right track to keep those teeth and gums healthy.
Using dental floss properly is essential to your oral health because it eliminates plaque and gets rid of food bits in places where a toothbrush can’t reach. These areas are in between the teeth and underneath the gum-line. Here are some great oral health tips on clean teeth and dental floss from the dental team at Scott 82 Dental Centre in Surrey.
“Why is dental plaque so bad for me?”
When dental plaque builds up, it can cause tooth decay and gum disease, which is why the dental team at Scott 82 Dental Centre in surrey recommends that you use dental floss regularly, every day.
“How do I floss properly?”
Here are some strategies on using dental floss most effectively:
- Give yourself about 18 inches of floss and wrap it around both of your middle fingers. Leave an inch or so of dental floss that you can maneuver.
- Hold the dental floss in a flexible way and keep it between your thumbs and index fingers. Be gentle when sliding it up and down between your teeth.
- Take the dental floss and put it around the base of each tooth so you get into the gumline. Do not be forceful with the floss because it can harm gum tissue.
- When you move between teeth, be sure to use the clean section of the floss.
-Removing the floss from your mouth is easy: use a similar back-and-forth motion so you can move the floss up and away from your teeth.
The two kinds of floss you can use are Nylon floss or PTFE. With nylon floss, you can choose between waxed and unwaxed, and there are many different flavors. The problem with nylon floss is that it can sometimes tear easily, but this won’t happen with PTFE floss. PTFE floss is more expensive but worth it because it maneuvers easily between teeth and won’t shred. However, both kinds of floss are efficient in eliminating plaque.
Your children’s oral health is important, and keeping teeth and gums healthy is crucial on so many levels. Recently, experts have discovered that children’s teeth might be able to help treat Parkinson’s disease and diabetes because of stem cells located in the pulp chambers of the teeth. Clearly, your child’s teeth are vitally important and the dental team at Scott 82 Dental Centre in surrey want to make sure your children’s oral health care is top notch.
Practicing proper oral health care
If you’re wondering when the right time is to start brushing your baby’s teeth, we have some tips for you. Regular dental cleanings should be done after your baby has their teeth. After you have breastfed or bottle-fed your baby, take a damp washcloth and softly rub your baby’s gums. To make cleaning easier, you can wrap the cloth around one of your fingers to remove all those food scraps from your baby’s mouth.
As soon as your baby’s first tooth comes, a baby toothbrush will be needed. You can easily find special children’s oral health care toothbrushes at your local drugstore. These brushes are gentle and have only a few bristles. You don’t have to worry about buying toothpaste, you’ll only need water to clean your child’s teeth.
Children’s oral health care experts have determined that when more teeth start to come in, that’s when toothpaste becomes necessary. You will only need a very small amount and be sure that there is no fluoride in the toothpaste for the first few years. A great exercise is to have your child pretend to spit out toothpaste after brushing – then they will have already formed good habits when it comes time to use fluoride toothpaste which is hazardous when swallowed.
It is common for parents to wonder whether it is bad for kids to be sucking their thumbs or fingers. Lots of households have at least one “thumb-sucker” and we at Scott 82 Dental Centre in surrey are here to set the record straight about the problems that arise from thumb sucking.
The big question is, should you worry about your child if they are sucking their thumb? For the most part, there is nothing to worry about. Thumb sucking is completely natural for most children, making them feel secure and content and even being quite relaxing for them. This habit is something that most kids can easily grow out of when they hit the ages of two to four.
However, thumb sucking does become a problem when your child continues to suck their thumb after they’ve received their permanent teeth (usually around the ages of four to six). This habit can become quite problematic at this point, causing pressure inside their mouth and preventing teeth from growing or aligning properly.
If you think that thumb sucking is becoming a problem for your child, contact the Scott 82 Dental Centre team in surrey and we can evaluate what’s happening and give you some helpful tips on how your child can stop this habit.
