Even the most diligent patients who practice thorough home hygiene can not get to every area bacteria and plaque can.  Getting below the gumline especially can be difficult.  We have seen patients with absolutely beautifully cleaned teeth-above the gumline-but with tarter building up below and out of sight.  This leads to one of the advantages to having the hygienist regularly cleaning your teeth.  She can see what you can’t.  From her bird’s eye view, she can see plaque and tartar building up in places you miss.

The tools we use are designed specifically for removing the hardened tartar.  Hygienists are trained to perform this type of removal without harming your gums.  This is very important!  The soft tissue of the gums can be easily damaged if you poke them or brush too vigorously.  This can expose the delicate roots of your teeth to more attack from plaque-causing bacteria.

How often you should come in for a professional dental cleaning depends on the health of your gums.  Some patients only need to be seen twice a year, but others need more frequent cleanings.

At your hygiene appointment, we check your gums for early signs of periodontal disease.  If caught early, the damage can be halted and treated before it leads to tooth loss and other serious health conditions.  For instance, studies are finding connections between periodontal disease and things like heart disease and stroke.  So don’t put off that professional teeth cleaning-for the health of your teeth, gums, and body.

Conscious sedation enables many patients who have dental anxiety or dental phobia a safe and effective way to have an anxiety-free dental experience many have only dreamed of.  Our main objective is to ensure our patients are comfortable throughout the entire procedure.  With sedation dentistry, you are in a relaxed state before, during, and after your entire treatment.  You will have little or no memory of the procedure once the treatment is complete.

It is not only for people who have anxiety before their dental appointments, but also those who need extensive treatment completed in a limited amount of time and appointments, or just want to be completely relaxed during their procedures.  Dr. Donnelly has been helping his patients have anxiety free dental experiences for many years.

When you get to the dental office for your procedure, you will be given a combination of sedative drugs and nitrous oxide, which will put your body in an extremely relaxed state with reduced perception.  A local anesthetic will then be administered to eliminate pain.  You won’t feel pain or even remember the numbing when the procedure is complete, due to the sedative.  We will be monitoring your vital signs during the entire procedure and help to keep you comfortable and relaxed.  While you may fall asleep during the procedure, you are not completely put under as with general anesthesia, but remain in a responsive state and all body functions stay normal.

You may be very drowsy after the treatment because of the sedative, therefore it is necessary to have someone drive you to and from the office on the day of your treatment, and supervise you afterwards.  If sedation dentistry sounds like something you’re interested in, please call our office for more information.

If you wake up in the morning with your jaws aching, you may be suffering from temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction.  You will find this joint at the point where your jaw meets the rest of your face. 

TMJ sufferers, as many as 80% of whom are women, report such symptoms as: migraine-level headaches, loss of hearing, blurred vision, depression, backaches, and sometimes excruciating facial pain.  It is sometimes referred to as “crooked jaws” or TMD, and can best be described as joint stress resulting from an uneven bite.  There are numerous causes of this painful condition.  They include blows to the head or face, structural deformities, teeth grinding, and mental stress.  TMJ can strike individuals of all ages, from children to the elderly.  It tends to start as a soft-tissue injury.  If untreated, it may worsen over time, affecting additional bodily systems and organs.

In the beginning stages, the pain from TMJ may be intermittent.  But as with most conditions, early detection and treatment is the key.  One thing we may recommend for you is a special night guard.  The FDA approved NTI-tss device is designed to protect your teeth from further wear by reducing the severity of grinding at night.

This also allows the muscles to rest.  In more severe cases, it may be necessary to wear the device during the day as well.  The NTI-tss device is much more comfortable than a traditional night guard, attaching to your front two teeth only, preventing the back teeth from touching at all.

Watch for these symptoms:

* Pain in or around the ear and temple area, sometimes spreading to the face.

* Notice headache pain upon wakening.

* Tenderness of the jaw muscles.

* Clicking or popping noise when you open or close your mouth.

* Buzzing, ringing or roaring sound in your ears.

* Jaws that “get stuck,” “lock,” or “go out.”

* Difficulty moving your jaw side to side or front to back.

* Clenching or grinding your teeth.

* Pain brought on by yawning, chewing or opening the mouth widely.

* Problems chewing food.

If you want to keep your teeth for a lifetime, your gums need to be kept healthy as well.  The gums serve the vital function of holding your teeth in place.  Just as a brick wall would not last long without mortar to hold the bricks in place, your teeth depend on your gums to keep them properly positioned.

The most common health threat to your gums is plaque forming below the gumline.  This is why flossing is so important.  It can get at the plaque your toothbrush cannot reach.

If plaque is allowed to remain, it irritates the gums, making them tender and prone to bleeding.  If this plaque is allowed to harden, it becomes very difficult to remove.  If this problem continues, the gums may pull away from the tooth, forming pockets.  These pockets then become a great breeding ground for bacteria, leading to bone damage, and eventually, tooth loss.  Avoid this terrible chain of events by remembering to floss at least once a day and spend at least two or three minutes each time.

When choosing floss one type of dental floss does not work for everyone.  You can choose between waxed or unwaxed, flavored or unflavored, and regular or tape styles.  In general, a waxed floss slides between the teeth easier than an unwaxed floss–especially helpful for those with minimal space between teeth.  Flavored floss leaves a fresh taste in the mouth, and is especially nice for those times when brushing or rinsing is not possible.  Tape floss is typically thicker than regular floss and is generally favored by people with wide gaps between their teeth.  It may also be helpful for those with a lot of bridgework.

Some people with limited dexterity or arthritis cannot easily manipulate dental floss.  These people may wish to try dental floss holders or intradental cleaners.  Whatever your needs or preferences, there is a product to help you clean between the teeth and under the gumline.  Brush and floss your teeth daily to help ensure the wellness of your teeth.  A waterpick is not a substitute for brushing and flossing, but it is good for those who wear braces.  It can reach places the toothbrush cannot.  Just understand that, unlike flossing, waterpicks do not remove plaque.

If you suffer from diabetes, you know how important it is to watch your health carefully.  That includes dental health.

To prevent tooth and gum problems, it is vital you control your blood glucose.  Diabetics, especially those whose blood glucose levels are poorly controlled, are more susceptible to gum infections than non-diabetics.  As a diabetic, the infection is more difficult to treat, and severe gum infection, in turn, can make it more difficult to control your diabetes.  Once such an infection takes hold in a diabetic, it takes longer to heal.  If the infection lasts for a long time, the person may loose teeth.

Proper nutrition is important for everyone, but especially diabetics.  Since much of what you eat requires good teeth for chewing, it is very important to try to preserve your teeth.  Because the bone surrounding the teeth may sometimes be damaged by infection, dentures may not always fit properly and may not be perfect substitutes for your natural teeth.

Home dental hygiene is another important measure.  Make sure you are following all our recommendations for your home dental care.  If you have questions on what you should be doing, give us a call. 

If you notice bleeding gums when you eat or brush you teeth, see us right away.  We need to determine if you have a beginning infection.  You should also notify us if you notice other abnormal changes in your mouth, such as patches of whitish-colored skin.

As your dental professionals, we are not just concerned with your oral health.  We want to make sure we’re doing all we can to ensure your overall health.