As I explained in an earlier post, gingivitis is the inflammation of your gums due to bacteria in plaque and tartar. Remember tartar is the hardened material caused by the mineralization of plaque left on your teeth for too long.
Treating gingivitis takes two approaches. The first is a professional dental cleaning completed by your dentist or dental hygienist. The second is your home care.
A professional dental cleaning's goal is to remove the hardened tartar above your gums and irrigate the bacteria off your teeth. Usually, the tartar can be removed with either special hand instruments or an ultrasonic cleaner that uses sound and water to shake the tartar off your teeth with little or no sensitivity. The water irrigates the pieces of tartar and bacteria off your teeth and underneath the gums. With the plaque and tartar removed from your teeth, you are now able to completely clean the teeth surfaces with good home care, ie. flossing and brushing.
Remember, a professional cleaning is also important to serve as a periodic check by a dental professional to make sure your home care is sufficient and that there are no other health issues developing. Did you know that many patients first discover they need to see a physician for diseases such as diabetes and hypertension after their visit to the dentist? Many diseases manifest symptoms in your mouth and a trained dental professional can recommend a physician's referral based on these findings.
The second and equally important treatment for gingivitis is good home care. During your cleaning visit, our team at Avalon Dental will spend as much time as needed to instruct you on how to maintain your home care. Usually, it is recommended to brush twice a day and floss once a day, but your dental professional will instruct you on not only frequency but certain problem areas you may have and need to pay special attention to. With proper home care, you will notice the symptoms of gingivitis (bleeding upon flossing and red swollen gums) gradually improve.
It is important to make sure see your dentist regularly to help make sure you have good oral health, but it is equally important to take proper care of your teeth and gums at home. For treatment of periodontitis, the process and treatment by your dental professional is different. We'll tackle that issue next.
The field of dentistry has benefitted greatly from the advancements in materials and technologies to help promote good oral health. Yet as a dentist myself, I've seen that my profession has embraced these new technologies at the risk of spending less time promoting "prevention through education." The truth is the healthiest mouths are not the mouths of the wealthiest people, but rather the mouths of educated people. This blog is my effort to educate the public and promote good oral health.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
My Kid's First Dental Visit
I get asked occassionally by friends and family, "when should lil junior get his first dental exam?" This is usually followed by, "I think he might have a cavity."
Actually, it is recommended that all newborns have their first dental visit within the first year and at least by the time their first teeth start erupting. The obvious question would be why would an infant with no teeth need to see the dentist? It's important to remember that the teeth are only half of what comprises a true oral exam. It is just as important for a trained professional to examine the head, neck, mouth, and gums for any diseases or problems.
Usually with infants, a simple exam with a mirror and cotton gauze is all that is necessary on the first visit. It is also important to tell the dentist if your child is drinking tap, bottled, or well water. This is important because some water from natural wells and most bottled waters will lack the necessary flouride to promote healthy tooth development. Most city treatment plants add the necessary flouride to help strengthen your childs teeth as they are growing. If your child does not have access to flouridate water than the dentist can prescribe some flouride supplements to help ensure your child is getting enough flouride fro their age.
For the actual exam, most dentist will utilize a "knee-to-knee" position for the exam. This is accomplished by having the child's parent hold the child facing the parent and sitting. The dentist then sits in front of the parent at the same height and touches "knee-to-knee." The parent then gently lays the childs upper torso on the dentist's lap. The dentist then has an excellent view of the head and neck, and the child has the comfort of the parent's touch as well.
Of course, most infants and young children will become anxious and unhappy in the dental office. Here at Avalon, I believe this first dental visit is the most important in shaping that child's view and behavior in all future dental visits for the rest of his or her life. Therefore, I emphasize to my team and the parent that we must take our time in introducing a new patient (regardless of age) to our office and dental care in general. For high anxiety patients, I recommend spending the first visit just introducing the patient to the sights, sounds, and smells of a dental office. This desensitizes the child to these new senses. Then I recommend bringing the child back within the next week to actually attempt an exam and cleaning. Of course, every patient is different, and we at Avalon Dental make sure we treat each patient individually.
Actually, it is recommended that all newborns have their first dental visit within the first year and at least by the time their first teeth start erupting. The obvious question would be why would an infant with no teeth need to see the dentist? It's important to remember that the teeth are only half of what comprises a true oral exam. It is just as important for a trained professional to examine the head, neck, mouth, and gums for any diseases or problems.
Usually with infants, a simple exam with a mirror and cotton gauze is all that is necessary on the first visit. It is also important to tell the dentist if your child is drinking tap, bottled, or well water. This is important because some water from natural wells and most bottled waters will lack the necessary flouride to promote healthy tooth development. Most city treatment plants add the necessary flouride to help strengthen your childs teeth as they are growing. If your child does not have access to flouridate water than the dentist can prescribe some flouride supplements to help ensure your child is getting enough flouride fro their age.
For the actual exam, most dentist will utilize a "knee-to-knee" position for the exam. This is accomplished by having the child's parent hold the child facing the parent and sitting. The dentist then sits in front of the parent at the same height and touches "knee-to-knee." The parent then gently lays the childs upper torso on the dentist's lap. The dentist then has an excellent view of the head and neck, and the child has the comfort of the parent's touch as well.
Of course, most infants and young children will become anxious and unhappy in the dental office. Here at Avalon, I believe this first dental visit is the most important in shaping that child's view and behavior in all future dental visits for the rest of his or her life. Therefore, I emphasize to my team and the parent that we must take our time in introducing a new patient (regardless of age) to our office and dental care in general. For high anxiety patients, I recommend spending the first visit just introducing the patient to the sights, sounds, and smells of a dental office. This desensitizes the child to these new senses. Then I recommend bringing the child back within the next week to actually attempt an exam and cleaning. Of course, every patient is different, and we at Avalon Dental make sure we treat each patient individually.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
What's Gingivitis?
So what is this gingivitis that the dentist keeps telling me about? And how is it different than periodontitis?
The simple answer would be that gingivitis is an inflammation of your gums, or gingiva. The long answer would be that gingivitis is the beginning of a disease process initiated by bacteria in your mouth, which has the potential to progress into periodontitis. I know... keep it simple right?
So to expand on the simple answer, it's important to state again that having bacteria in your mouth is normal. The first step to getting gingivitis is allowing plaque, that white stuff that forms along your gum line, to accumulate on your gums. This plaque allows the bacteria to live close to your gums and teeth. Some of these bacteria will eventually cause gingivitis and then periodontitis, and other types of bacteria will cause cavities.
Now you can see why your dentist and hygienist always stress keeping this plaque from accumulating on your teeth. The plaque itself is not particularly harmful but it allows these bacteria to stay on your teeth and gums.
Well, the bacteria that causes gingivitis start to overgrow within this plaque. Their waste-products begin to accumulate and your immune system starts to react to this build-up of bacteria and waste-products. The inflammation is actually your gums trying to fight off this bacterial infection.
If the plaque and its bacteria stay too long on your gums, the inflammation begins to spread to the bone underneath your gums. Once the inflammation reaches this stage, this bone under the gums start to recede away from their normal levels. This is basically a self-destruction of your jaw bone, that as it progresses causes your teeth to become loose. When the inflammation begins to affect the underlying bone, it is called periodontitis.
Not everybody with gingivitis will get periodontitis because this depends not only on plaque, but the person's genetics and the specific bacteria present in the plaque. Since it is nearly impossible to determine every patient's genetic make-up and its expensive to perform the lab tests necessary to identify specific bacteria in the plaque, we as dentist recommend everyone to keep plaque off their teeth and seek immediate treatment for gingivitis.
Next time, we'll get into the different treatments available for gingivitis and periodontitis.
The simple answer would be that gingivitis is an inflammation of your gums, or gingiva. The long answer would be that gingivitis is the beginning of a disease process initiated by bacteria in your mouth, which has the potential to progress into periodontitis. I know... keep it simple right?
So to expand on the simple answer, it's important to state again that having bacteria in your mouth is normal. The first step to getting gingivitis is allowing plaque, that white stuff that forms along your gum line, to accumulate on your gums. This plaque allows the bacteria to live close to your gums and teeth. Some of these bacteria will eventually cause gingivitis and then periodontitis, and other types of bacteria will cause cavities.
Now you can see why your dentist and hygienist always stress keeping this plaque from accumulating on your teeth. The plaque itself is not particularly harmful but it allows these bacteria to stay on your teeth and gums.
Well, the bacteria that causes gingivitis start to overgrow within this plaque. Their waste-products begin to accumulate and your immune system starts to react to this build-up of bacteria and waste-products. The inflammation is actually your gums trying to fight off this bacterial infection.
If the plaque and its bacteria stay too long on your gums, the inflammation begins to spread to the bone underneath your gums. Once the inflammation reaches this stage, this bone under the gums start to recede away from their normal levels. This is basically a self-destruction of your jaw bone, that as it progresses causes your teeth to become loose. When the inflammation begins to affect the underlying bone, it is called periodontitis.
Not everybody with gingivitis will get periodontitis because this depends not only on plaque, but the person's genetics and the specific bacteria present in the plaque. Since it is nearly impossible to determine every patient's genetic make-up and its expensive to perform the lab tests necessary to identify specific bacteria in the plaque, we as dentist recommend everyone to keep plaque off their teeth and seek immediate treatment for gingivitis.
Next time, we'll get into the different treatments available for gingivitis and periodontitis.
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