Las Vegas Teeth Flossing

Did you know that the ADA or American Dental Association highly recommends that you floss your teeth daily in order to maintain healthy gums? Flossing is considered to be part of a good oral hygiene plan. For the best results, find a flossing product that you like and include it in your dental care routine every day.

What Types of Flossing Products Are Available?

Dental floss is sold in a variety of flavors, primarily mint and cinnamon. It is available in both waxed and unwaxed versions. In addition to these standard spools of dental floss that most people purchase, several other options are available for those individuals who need alternatives.

Holding dental floss in between the fingers in order to reach inside of the mouth is difficult for small children as well as for people who have arthritis. A device known as a dental flosser is a great option since it is easy to hold and use. More expensive versions of dental flossers are available including ones that offer a vibrating action to massage he gums while flossing.

How to Floss

Although flossing isn’t a difficult or time-consuming process, many people avoid doing it. However, it is important to flow your teeth at least once daily in order to help keep your gums healthy while also preventing cavities from forming. If you want to floss your teeth properly, complete these steps:

• Tear off a length of dental floss that will be long enough to use. An eighteen-inch length is probably good enough.
• Wrap each of the ends of the dental floss around an index finger on both of your hands.
• Hold the floss tightly between your fingers and thumbs.
• Insert the floss gently in between two of your teeth. It is important not to damage the gums by flossing roughly, so use caution each time you do so.
• Move the floss back gently, rubbing the teeth on both sides of the floss. Be sure to reach beneath the gum line as well.
• Keep repeating this process using a new portion of the dental floss each time in order not to spread bacteria from one tooth to the next.

What You Need to Know About Tooth Abscesses

An abscess is a life-threatening issue. It can occur in the mouth, jaw, and even the throat. It is an extremely serious dental problem that can lead to a lot of pain, particularly if it is not taken care of properly. Whenever an abscess occurs, it must be taken care of professionally since you cannot cure it on your own.

Causes of Tooth Abscesses

When a tooth becomes damaged with a fracture, chip, crack, or deep decay, bacteria can enter through the opening. An abscess occurs when the soft inner part of the tooth becomes infected with bacteria. This portion of the tooth is commonly referred to as the pulp. The bacterial infection often leads to severe swelling if left untreated. Eventually, it can lead to the formation of pus in and around the tooth. Additional causes of tooth abscesses include an injury that occurs to a tooth, a filling that has loosened and become infected, infection following root canal treatment, and severe gum disease.

Symptoms of Tooth Abscesses

How do you know if you have a tooth abscess? Maybe you have a little pain, but you haven’t been paying attention to it. Here are the signs to watch for to determine whether or not you have a tooth abscess:

• Red, swollen gums
• A sore that oozes pus
• A toothache which is characterized by excessive pain or deep throbbing
• Pain during chewing or biting
• Pain whenever you close your mouth tightly and the teeth touch
• Extreme sensitivity to cold and hot foods, beverages, or water, particularly with a specific tooth
• Bad breath that is constant
• A bad taste in the mouth that is constant
• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck area or near the jaw

If left untreated, a tooth abscess can kill the nerve of the tooth, creating severe, unrelenting pain. If enough time passes, the root of the tooth will die completely. The pain will eventually stop, but if treatment is not provided, the infection can spread to other teeth in the mouth. With an advanced infection, it is possible that you may begin to experience chills, nausea, headache, or vomiting. If you develop a fever, it is a sure sign that the infection has spread into the bone of the jaw or elsewhere in the body. At this point, you need to seek immediate treatment, either from your dentist or a physician.

Possible Complications of Tooth Abscesses

If the abscess is left untreated, the infection can spread to the bone or blood. This is a life-threatening condition that must be dealt with immediately. The longer it is left to spread, the more tissue the infection can damage. It is possible that a skin infection might occur. Advanced conditions can lead to the disfigurement of the jaw, tooth loss, and even facial disfigurement.

What Are Dental Posts?

The decision by your dentist to place a post in your tooth is made according to how much of the original tooth structure is still viable or remaining above your gum line. When the tooth is severely fractured or has sustained an excessive amount of dental decay, the necessity of placing a post within the remaining tooth structure is readily apparent. The post takes place of healthy tooth structure in order to support a dental crown, also known as a cap. The post is known as a foundation restoration.

Post Placement

A post is typically placed within the root canal for the purposes of attaching a crown to it in order to restore the functionality of a severely damaged tooth. Without the post, the crown has nothing to hold onto and cannot be kept in place. The root must be properly prepared in order to secure placement for the post.

Typically, the tooth has undergone root canal, and the nerve has been replaced with a material known as gutta-percha. This is a plastic material that is perfectly sterile. A portion of the gutta-percha is removed to make room for the placement of the post at the upper end of the root. The end of the root canal remains sealed with a minimum of two to three millimeters of gutta-percha to prevent infection, discomfort, or decay.

What Type of Dental Posts Are There?

Two basic types of dental posts exist. The first type is a prefabricated one. These are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes to accommodate different types of teeth. The second involves the casting of the post at a specialized dental laboratory. Both types of dental posts provide secure anchorage for the placement of a dental crown.

The post is permanently cemented into your tooth. It is a separate entity form the crown, which will be permanently cemented to it. The portion of the post that sits above the root is known as the core. Typically, additional buildup is needed to make the core suitable for holding the crown in place. Local anesthesia is typically used during the placement of the post and core to prevent pain or discomfort.

Las Vegas Periodontal Treatments

Maintaining your periodontal health is critical for your teeth. When your gum tissues become too soft, they tend to slip away from the teeth, enabling plaque and calculus to form on the roots of your teeth. The plaque combines with sugars and starches that are present in the mouth to form acid, another damaging component of this gum disease.

Soft gum tissue can also lead to harmful bacteria and painful infection that can endanger supporting bone structures as well as your health. Fortunately, treatment is available that can manage your soft tissue properly. With successful periodontal therapy, your teeth can survive as you regain good oral health practices.

As with many health strategies, soft tissue management typically involves three distinctive phases – diagnosis, treatment, and post-treatment strategy. The initial phase of periodontal diagnosis is designed to fully determine the cause of the periodontal disease. The treatment phase is set up to eliminate the disease. The follow-up phase of preventative treatment is used to avoid future problems or the reoccurrence of your periodontal disease.

Periodontal Treatments: Diagnosis

During your first visit, your periodontist examines your teeth and gums in order to determine the causal factors involved. A variety of factors can lead to periodontal disease including diet, medication, medical conditions, and improper dental care.

Periodontal Treatments: Treatment

Your Las Vegas dentist creates a plan for treatment, which is completed during this next phase. If you are in the early stages of periodontal disease, you may only need root planning. Otherwise, your soft-gum treatment plan may include more than one strategy.

During the treatment phase, the periodontist performs one or more of the following tasks that are necessitated by the issues that you are experiencing. They include:

• Root planing – Root planing involves the mechanical elimination of calculus and plaque. This type of buildup removal is typically accomplished in the Las Vegas dental office.
• Correction of bite problems (malocclusion)
• Laser Therapy – Repair of gum defects by non-surgical or surgical means
• Repair of bone defects by surgical or non-surgical methods
• Restoration of teeth – the repair of diseased teeth helps to eliminate the bacteria that causes periodontal disease
• Replacement of missing teeth – to recreate proper alignment of the bite
• Gingivectomy and Curettage – procedures to treat periodontal pockets

Periodontal Treatments: Post-Treatment Care

This stage of treatment revolves around the prevention of a reoccurrence of your gum disease. Your Las Vegas dentist will provide you with a list of strategies to follow for good oral care, enabling you to maintain healthy gums.

Las Vegas Gingival Sculpting

Often considered a cosmetic treatment, gingival sculpting or gingival contouring as it is also known, is sometimes recommended by your Las Vegas dentist for the purposes of enhancing your existing smile. It is also used for the purposes of improving your dental health. This procedure is typically performed by a periodontist or a dentist trained in cosmetic dentistry.

What is Gingival Sculpting?

Gingival sculpting is a minimally invasive procedure that uses lasers to re-sculpt your gums by trimming uneven gingival tissues or removing excessive amounts of gingival tissue. Soft tissue sculpting usually involves some amount of bone re-contouring that cannot be completed using laser treatment.

What is Involved in Gingival Sculpting?

This gum-contouring process takes off extra gum tissue in order to reveal more teeth or even out the gum line for a cleaner, more natural appearance. This is a minor procedure that takes a single visit to your periodontist or cosmetic dentist. It usually lasts about an hour. A local anesthetic is used to numb the gums. A specialized laser, known as a soft tissue laser, is utilized to remove, trim, or re-shape the gums. It is also applied to your gum tissue to seal it. Very little bleeding is involved during this gum-shaping procedure.

If bone surgery is needed, more time is involved. Although little pain or discomfort occurs during this process, stitches are often required when the bone in the jaw is also involved in the sculpting process. In some cases, sedation dentistry may be involved.

What Conditions Can Gingival Sculpting Correct?

When gingival sculpting is performed for esthetic reasons, it can correct each of the following types of problems:

• Asymmetrical contours
• Excessive soft tissue display
• Exposed roots
• Missing papillae

Some of the problems necessitating gingival sculpting are the result of poor dental hygiene. Improper brushing of the teeth can lead to deep pockets in the gums. The accumulation of plaque and calculus due to poor flossing and brushing

What Are the Benefits of Gingival Sculpting?

Once you have undergone the procedure, your gums look and feel healthier. Your smile looks more attractive, giving your confidence level a boost. Plus, your smile looks more natural as the disparity between your gums and teeth is eliminated. This procedure can be used to diminish overly large gums that seem to dwarf your teeth, making them look smaller.

Over the last several decades, many new strategies have come into play for treatment against dental decay as well as for the protection of the teeth and gums against unnecessary diseases. One of these breakthrough treatments involves dental sealants.

What Are Dental Sealants?

Designed to offer protection for the teeth against the development of decay, dental sealants are recommended treatments for children. They provide a protective covering that coats the surface of the teeth, helping to keep dental decay from occurring. Dental sealants are made from plastic, and they have a clear coloring so they blend in quite naturally with the color of the teeth to which they are applied.

Why Use Dental Sealants?

Because of the many grooves found in children’s teeth, they are highly susceptible to the development of cavities. In particular, the molars and premolars are the most at risk due to the number of pits and fissures they contain. Even proper brushing cannot always prevent decay from forming in these nooks and crannies of the teeth.

In order to prevent the cavities from occurring, dental sealants are placed on the pits and fissures found naturally in children’s teeth, particularly those between the ages of four and seventeen. The presence of dental sealants helps to prevent debris from getting caught in these grooves as well as aiding in stopping bacteria from growing and leading to serious decay that merits fillings, crowns, or extractions.

Are Dental Sealants Permanent?

Unfortunately, dental sealants are only temporary solutions since they do not last forever. The natural wear and tear caused by chewing, brushing, drinking, and grinding the teeth eventually makes the sealant disappear and/or fall off. Therefore, the application of sealants is typically repeated at regular intervals to protect the teeth. While it is possible for dental sealants to last for several years, this is dependent upon the care the individual takes with their teeth as well as whether or not they eat sticky foods, drink sugary drinks, or chew gum.

How Are Dental Sealants Put onto Teeth?

In order to have dental sealants placed on your teeth, they must first be properly cleaned. Next, the teeth are dried and a mild acidic solution is applied in order to enable the bonding of the sealant onto the teeth. Next, each tooth involved in the procedure is painted with a thin layer of sealant. Once the coating is applied, a high-intensity curing light is used to harden the sealant.

Brushing with a Good Toothpaste

Maximizing the effectiveness of your tooth brushing and flossing techniques is a simple task that can enhance the health teeth and extend their longevity. Unfortunately, most people fall into a pattern of using the same toothpaste, brushing pattern, and flossing habits over their lifetime. For a few individuals, this scenario will turn out well, while for other people, it will have a disastrous effect.

Brushing: A Brief Look at Toothpaste Types

Selecting a good toothpaste that meets your oral care needs is essential to the health of your teeth. In order to find the best toothpaste for the job, you should consider the specific needs of your teeth including, tooth decay, loss of enamel, tooth loss, excessive plaque, gum disease, and sensitivity.

Using toothpaste that contains fluoride can help to make your teeth stronger and more resistant to cavities caused by decay. The fluoride helps to strengthen the enamel of the tooth, possibly even repairing minimal damage before it has the opportunity to develop into something worse.

Using toothpaste designed to eliminate plaque can help to prevent decay, gum disease, and bad breath. Toothpaste that has been designed for sensitivity helps to minimize the discomfort felt by receding gums that expose the lower portion of the tooth and/or its roots.

Toothpaste has also been designed with breath-freshening agents to help alleviate the symptoms of bad breath. When polishing agents are included in the toothpaste formula, certain types of stains may become less noticeable.

But I Don’t Like That Toothpaste!

Unfortunately, many people do not enjoy the taste or texture of toothpaste. This fact makes it difficult to select a toothpaste that is also effective enough to meet your specific oral-care needs. This is especially a problem when children are involved. After all, it is difficult enough to get a child to brush the teeth without even worrying about the flavor of the toothpaste.

The best course of action is to figure out which style of toothpaste you should be using for your dental needs, and then, go through a trial-and-error process to find the brand that offers the flavor that you like the best. Sometimes, you can get lucky and find something right away without having to go through too many different brands.

Plenty of flavors exist, including a wide array of minty types as well as bubblegum, cinnamon, and citrus. You also have a choice between paste and gel formulas. If possible, consult with your dentist and get a recommendation. Different varieties of toothpaste offer active ingredients that can benefit the teeth, and it is important to take advantage of that scenario whenever possible.

Brushing: Technique

You only need to use a small pea-size ball of toothpaste to do a good job. The entire surface of each tooth should undergo brushing, including the top, back, and sides. For the best results, hold your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to your teeth. Use a gentle motion, exercising caution so that you don’t damage the gums. It should take you approximately three minutes to properly brush all of your teeth.

The Toothbrush

Quite often, people are influenced by the color or pattern included in the design of the toothbrush. It is important to overlook these facets so that you can choose a toothbrush that is going to be good for your personal needs. In general, the style of toothbrush you select will be based upon the size of your mouth, the ergonomic comfort of holding the toothbrush, and the ability to reach all of your teeth. It may take you a few tries to find the right toothbrush style, but once you do, you should continue to purchase and use that one.

Preventing Sports-Related Dental Injuries

For athletes, dental care takes on a whole new meaning. In addition to proper brushing and flossing, an athlete must take steps to protect his teeth during all sports-related activity. In most cases, this involves the use of a specially fitted mouth guard. The mouth guard is designed to help prevent unnecessary injury to the teeth and/or soft tissues of the mouth. Of course, the mouth guard is not expected to take the place of a full or partial face mask and/or protective helmet.

Preventing Sports-Related Dental Injuries with Mouth Guards

When mouth guards are properly designed to fit the individual’s mouth, they provide protection and can help to prevent a number of serious injuries. Some of these problematic issues include:

• Injury to the soft tissues of the gums
• Injury to the lips
• Injury to the temporomandibular joint located in the hinge-like portion of the jaw
• Injury to the teeth including fractures, chipping, and breakage
• Loss of teeth

Treating Sports-Related Dental Injuries

The field of sports dentistry is designed to assist athletes with injuries they have received during practices or games. Unfortunately, injuries to the mouth can be disfiguring and the treatment can be costly depending upon the severity of the damage. Not only can sports-related injury treatment be costly in terms of finances, but some restorative and reparative strategies take time.

It is important to realize that most sports-related injuries are treated much the same as damage created in a different manner. Therefore, your local Las Vegas dentist has the skills needed to treat the injury to your oral environment.

The dental treatment timeline depends upon the extent of the damage. If necessary, our dentist can attempt to work around the athlete’s playing schedule. Permanent replacements and other reparative strategies can be delayed until the athlete has the time to come in for a proper evaluation and long-term treatment as needed.

Types of Mouth Guards for Athletes

Two basic types of mouth guards are available. They include pre-fabricated styles that can be purchased in most drugstores and athletic shops as well as custom-fitted styles made by a dentist.

While an over-the-counter mouth guard may be sufficient for some athletes, other individuals might find them cumbersome and unwieldy. In this case, a custom-fitted mouth guard created by the dentist may fit better, encouraging the athlete to wear it more frequently. Both types of mouth guards are the kind that you must boil and then bite on to create the proper fit. It is possible to reheat them and adjust their fit if needed. A custom-fitted mouth guard is generally crafted from stronger material and is designed to fit your teeth closely since they have been made using a cast of your teeth.

No More Dental Amalgam Replacements! Enjoy the Beauty of Las Vegas White Fillings.

Welcome and thank you for taking the opportunity to learn a bit more about Las Vegas white fillings. Today, they are quickly becoming the best way to repair tooth decay as dental amalgam replacements take a back seat at most Las Vegas dental offices.

What Are Dental Amalgam Replacements?

Las Vegas dentistry has undergone numerous transformations over the years as modern technology replaced mercury-laden fillings with dental amalgam replacements that are now being replaced with white fillings. Dental amalgam replacements are easily recognized by their silver coloring. It is this color that often led to embarrassing moments for individuals who have several of them in their mouths. Fortunately, modern advances in dentistry have given us unique dental materials that can restore damaged teeth in a more pleasant and aesthetic manner, creating a more natural look to your teeth and for your smile.

Direct Composites

Different types of white fillings exist, but the most common one is the direct composite. Offering an attractive appearance, direct composites are crafted from quartz resin. White fillings are typically bonded in a single appointment.

Direct composites feature a light sensitive agent and can be used to fill any of the teeth in your mouth, including the front and back teeth. Due to the special blending of the composite materials, this type of white filling is capable of withstanding the type of force that is exerted when a person is chewing. Today’s white fillings are much stronger than the initial creations.

Indirect Composites

A second type of white filling is available for those instances when teeth in the back of the mouth require a stronger filling. Indirect composites necessitate two visits in order to assure proper bonding and placement. The indirect composite is created within a laboratory after the initial visit has taken place. During the second visit, this type of white filling is securely put into position in the tooth.

The Composite Process

The first step, as with any type of dental filling, is to remove all instances of decay. The tooth is then prepared to receive the filling. The dentin and existing enamel of the tooth are conditioned and then a thin resin is placed on the surface that has been etched out. Finally, the composite is put into place and hardened through the use of an intense light that is shined upon the composite for a period of about forty seconds. The patient should never look at the light directly. Since the dentist or dental assistant complete this procedure frequently, it is necessary for them to shield their eyes to avoid unnecessary damage.

Patients are able to eat right away since the white filling is completely hardened by the light. However, your dentist may recommend that you wait for 30 to 60 minutes.

Las Vegas Dentistry: Dental Specialties

In general, dentists who practice in the specialty fields of dentistry have completed additional training beyond post-dental education. Once they have achieved the required education, they go through the process of becoming certified in that field. The American Dental Association (ADA) recognized 9 dental specialties including Dental Public Health, Endodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Orthodontics Pedodontics, Periodontics, and Prosthodontics.

An Overview of Dental Specialties

Dental Public Health involves the study of differences in oral diseases and patterns among a variety of social groups. A specialist in this field does not practice actual dental procedures.

Endodontics, derived from the Greek words “endo” meaning inside and “odons” meaning tooth, is a dental specialty that involves treatment of the soft pulp and roots of a tooth. It covers the diagnosis and treatment of diseases experienced by damaged dental pulp. An endodontist typically performs a root canal in which the diseased pulp is removed from the roots. If only one of the roots is infected, the procedure can be performed quickly. However, if all of the roots have been infected and a great deal of diseased pulp must be removed, the root canal process is more complicated and time consuming.

Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology refers to the diagnosis and study of diseases affecting the teeth, mouth, jaw, face, and oral tissues. This dental specialty identifies the afflictions that damage the oral and maxillofacial areas. An OMP (Oral and Maxillofacial Pathologist) studies the process and effect of the disease under investigation, attempting to determine its cause.

Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology refers to the field of radiologic interpretation using specialized imaging devices. It involves the study and diagnosis of oral and maxillofacial diseases. A trained OMR (Oral and Maxillofacial Radiologist) specialist is trained in the methods needed to interpret maxillofacial MRIs, CTs, CBCTs, and ultrasounds.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery refers to the treatment of diseased teeth and tissues through the use of surgical procedures on the jaw and supporting structures of the mouth. It deals with teeth that cannot be repaired, but must be extracted from the oral cavity, as well as oral surgeries that deal with cleft lip treatment, facial reconstruction related to the mouth and jaw, or cleft palate procedures.

Orthodontics involves treatment for malocclusions (problems with tooth alignment and bite) for both adults and children. It typically includes the repositioning of teeth using braces. A growing trend features more adults than ever before undergoing treatment to straighten their teeth through both traditional and modern forms of braces. Its primary focus is on the straightening of the teeth in order to correct poor tooth alignment.

Pedodontics is a dental specialty involving the care of children’s teeth. It is also commonly referred to as pediatric dentistry and includes all basic dental procedures such as cleaning, diagnosis of problematic issues, and basic dental treatment related to the filling of cavities or the placement of temporary crowns.

Periodontics refers to the dental specialty that handles the treatment of diseased gums as well as the supporting tissues of the mouth. A general dentist can diagnose gum disease. In some cases, particularly in the early stages of gum disease, your dentist will provide treatment. However, when problems related to the gums and supporting tissues are more advanced, the patient is referred to a periodontist, who has the skills and training to provide the type of specialized treatment that is needed.

Prosthodontics is a specialized form of dentistry that encompasses the full rehabilitation of the mouth at multiple levels. As such, it is the most advanced of all of the dental specialties. The prosthodontist treats congenital disorders, the repair of failed treatments, oral problems due to dental neglect, maxillofacial trauma, and advanced problems related to the teeth, gums, and supporting bone structure.