If you have a smile of which you’re not proud, one thing you might consider is having veneers put on your teeth. Below are some of the advantages of dental veneers and what they can do to help you with your smile.
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5 Reasons People Get Dental Veneers
April 10, 2018
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Do My Wisdom Teeth Need to Come Out?
November 1, 2017
A lot of people know that it’s common to have your wisdom teeth extracted. But is it always necessary? Contrary to popular belief, it’s not always a necessary procedure to have your wisdom teeth extracted. Below we’ll look at some of the reasons why it’s a good idea to have the procedure done and what some of the indications are that you may need to have it done in the future.
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Which Toothpaste Should You Use?
September 1, 2017
It can be hard to choose the right type of toothpaste for your family. Here is a guide that you can use to help you find the right type of toothpaste for your needs.
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4 Advantages of Getting a Dental Checkup Regularly
August 3, 2017
Most people don’t like going to the dentist and avoid it at all costs. So they put it off as long as possible. But going to the dentist just twice a year can make a big difference in your life and not just when it comes to your teeth. There are many advantages of going to the dentist regularly. Below are four advantages that you are going to find with having regular checkups with your dentist. You may just be surprised about what going to the dentist can do for you and for your health.
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A 10 Step Guide to Root Canals
July 11, 2017
When you have a root canal scheduled for the first time, you probably feel a bit scared, particularly if you’ve heard horror stories about what others have gone through. But we’re going to go through what you can expect and what will happen during the procedure. This should help you feel a bit better about what is going to happen. One thing that you should know is that root canals do not cause pain. Instead they relieve it. Here is a step by step process of what will happen during a root canal:
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A Short Guide to Wisdom Tooth Extraction
March 29, 2017
Are your wisdom teeth giving you problems?
A lot of people when they’re early twenties or late teens go to the dentist for wisdom teeth extraction. However, this isn’t something that everyone has to have done. Even though dentists have different opinions regarding whether it’s necessary to have this done, if you’re thinking it’s a good idea to have yours removed, you should talk to your dentist. (more…)
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What Can Happen if You Don't Treat a Cavity?
February 1, 2017
A lot of people hate going to the dentist. But when you have pain in your tooth and you think that you might have a cavity, it’s best to have it checked out.
Let’s take a look at what can happen if you let your cavity go.
When you have a cavity in a tooth, you might think of it as an infection. Cavities are made from harmful bacteria. When these are mixed with an environment that’s acidic, use sugar and attack your tooth’s hard tissue, which is the dentin and enamel. As time goes by a small hole’s made in the tooth and if it isn’t repaired using a filling, it will continue growing.
When the cavity is left untreated, it can destroy most of the tooth and soon it won’t be possible to restore it using a regular filling. If there isn’t much tooth left, you can only use a crown to fix it.
If that bacteria reaches your tooth’s pulp chamber, where its blood vessels and nerve are found, the pulp will become infected and irritated. This could result in the tooth becoming abscessed, which is often very painful. Then it will require a root canal because of the infection in the pulp, and then a crown will normally be put on.
Sometimes there is so much damage by the cavity that even a root canal plus crown will help it. When this happens, it will often require the tooth to be pulled.
Conclusion
Root canals and crows are very extensive compared to a filling. When you have to replace a tooth that has been pulled, that’s even more involved. That is why you should visit the dentist regularly. When you detect cavities early, it will be better for your teeth and your health. Plus you’ll save a lot of money and time fixing it.
Facts about Cavities
There are more than 3 million US cases per year. Cavities are very treatable by a medical professional like your dentist.
Causes of cavities include: bacteria, snacking, sipping sugary drinks, and poor teeth cleaning.
There may be no symptoms. Untreated cavities can cause toothache, infection, and tooth loss.
Treatments include: fluoride, fillings, and crowns. Severe cases may need a root canal or removal.
Questions about Cavities?
If cavity issues are affecting your smile, the team at Island Coast Dentistry can help. Through a comprehensive evaluation, Dr. Skupny can tailor a oral treatment plan that is most effective for you. A beautiful, healthy smile can be yours!
Contact us today to learn more, or schedule a consultation online.
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7 Tips for Having a Brighter Smile
December 30, 2016
Everyone wants to have a beautiful white smile
There are a lot of products on the market that you can use to whiten your teeth but there are things that you can also do to prevent stains. So here are five tips that you can use for having a brighter smile.
#1: Eat Foods that Clean Your Teeth
When you want to have healthy, white teeth, there are things that you can eat to help yourself have a beautiful smile. You should eat crunchy vegetables and fruits like celery, apples and carrots. These are the foods that cause saliva production and that helps with rinsing away the food particles.
This means that you aren’t staining your teeth. You also can use strawberries and broccoli. Strawberries have enzymes in them that works like a natural bleach which helps to instantly whiten teeth. Broccoli has a variety of minerals in it that help with forming a coating on your teeth that helps to protect them.
#2: Be Careful What You Drink
Look at the drink you are drinking. Are you afraid that if you spill the drink you’re drinking right now will stain your white shirt? Then you should also be worried about the drink staining your teeth. You should avoid drinking tea, sodas and coffee. If you drink wine, you should not drink it now if you’re looking to whiten your smile. Red wine will stain your teeth and white wine will erode your enamel. If you are brushing your teeth right after you drink the white wine it could even hurt your teeth more since the enamel is going to be weak.
#3: Whitening Products
You will find a lot of different products for teeth whitening that can be used in your home for brightening up your smile. An example would be mild stains on the tooth surface which can be removed using a whitening paste with a mild abrasive. There are whitening rinses and gels that you can use that will make your teeth brighter as time goes by. But you should also use the products regularly and consistently.
#4: The Right Oral Care
When you don’t regularly brush, floss and rinse, you won’t get the results that you want. It’s essential that you are brushing your teeth a minimum of twice per day. But if you really are serious about preventing stains, it’s a good idea to brush them after you have eaten. Don’t use a toothbrush that is worn out. Replace your brush ever 3-4 months. If the bristles look like they’re frayed, bent or worn out, your toothbrush should be immediately replaced.
Flossing will get rid of food particles and plaque in between your teen and beneath your gum line. It’s recommended by dentists that you should floss once per day at minimum.
It’s just as important to use a mouth rinse. This helps with cleansing your mouth and fighting bacteria. When you rinse after you brush, your breath will be fresh.
#5: Having a Professional Whiten Your Teeth
If you’re looking to get dramatic results, it’s a good idea to go to a dentist and have them whiten your teeth. They will use high amounts of the hydrogen peroxide. This will help you have better results when it’s compared with whitening products you use at home. The affect will be augmented with a special light such as a laser.
You are going to get a quicker and better result if you’re letting your dentist remove your tooth stains. But it’s going to take a lot of money to get the results that you are looking for, since it’s considered cosmetic.
#6: More Dazzling Smile Tips
If you’re looking for a better and brighter smile, you can’t avoid going to the dentist. You should have your teeth cleaned professionally ever six months if your teeth are healthy. If you have teeth that are less than healthy, your dentist might want to see you more often. You also can talk to the dentist about veneers. These are a great option for people who have bad teeth. After your teeth have been cleaned by your dentist, here’s a few ways that you can make sure they keep looking great.
#7: Brush & Floss Daily
Go to the dentist every six months and have a checkup. Don’t smoke, since it can cause your teeth to yellow and it can also damage your gums. Take care about what you’re drinking. Stay away from aerated drinks, tea, wines and coffee.
If you’re unable to stop drinking iced tea or coffee or soda, drink them using a straw. This will minimize the amount of contact your teeth and beverage are going to have. These are the things that you can do to help your teeth look great. Remember to use these tips and you’ll find that your teeth are looking bright and white.
Questions about Oral Care?
If dental issues are affecting your smile, the team at Island Coast Dentistry can help. Through a comprehensive evaluation, Dr. Skupny can tailor a oral treatment plan that is most effective for you. A beautiful, healthy smile can be yours!
Contact us today to learn more, or schedule a consultation online.
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Different Types of Toothpaste – Which is Right for You?
December 8, 2016
Which is Right for You?
One of the most difficult things that you can figure out when it comes to taking care of your teeth is choosing the toothpaste to use. With so many different types of toothpaste available, how do you know which one you should get?
Do you get one that has additional fluoride or tartar control? Do the brands which brighten your teeth give them protection from tooth decay and gum disease?
Should you go to choose a brand that’s for sensitive teeth? Here are some tips that you can use for helping you find the right toothpaste.
The Basics
General toothpaste is available in powder, paste, and gel forms. No matter what type pf packaging the toothpaste has, there are some ingredients that you’ll find in every type of brand. These are ingredients such as:
- Abrasive agents – So that your teeth are thoroughly cleaned, your toothpaste has to have scratchy agents like calcium carbonate or silicates. These provide abrasion so that you can remove food particles and bacteria. If the toothpaste didn’t have these agents, the toothpaste wouldn’t be able to clean your teeth as well.
- Artificial Sweeteners – Since the ingredients like calcium carbonate and fluoride won’t taste good by themselves, the manufacturers of toothpaste put in artificial sweeteners so that the toothpaste tastes better. Even though most people think of toothpaste having a minty flavor, many brands have flavors like cinnamon, lemon-lime and bubblegum.
- Anti-drying agent – This is what keeps your toothpaste from becoming dry inside the tube.
- Thickening agent – This is what keeps toothpaste from running right off of your toothbrush. This is usually something like gum and molecules that are gooey and found inside seaweed.
- Detergent – This is what kills the bacteria that is on your teeth. This is something like sodium lauryl sulfate. This helps cleans your teeth and causes the suds that you see when you are brushing your teeth.
Fluoride Toothpaste
Fluoride is toothpaste’s most important ingredient. This mineral occurs naturally and it is very important to help your teeth from decaying. Because fluoride first was added to the country’s water supply before becoming a common toothpaste ingredient, the cavity number that the US reported has dramatically dropped over the past 50 years.
Plaque, which is the sticky bacteria film which resides in your mouth, feeds upon the sugars you are consuming to produce the acids that eat away slowly at your tooth enamel. Your teeth get protection from fluoride from the plaque acids because fluoride strengthens the enamel in your teeth and helping remineralize the areas on your teeth which have started decaying. Any toothpaste brand you choose should have fluoride in it. If you have a lot of cavities, it’s a good idea to get one that has fluoride protection.
Tartar Control
The main reason that you are brushing your teeth is so that you can remove the food particles and plaque from them. When you don’t brush or you don’t brush the right way, you are leaving plaque upon your teeth and it starts hardening and becoming tartar.
When this starts accumulating along your gum line, it makes it a lot harder to clean your teeth, as well as making brushing much less effective. As time goes by this tarter is going to become so hard that it can only be removed by a dentist. That’s why it’s so important that you go to the dentist twice a year.
Toothpaste that’s advertised as tartar control contains some active ingredients which will help with preventing the plaque from becoming tartar. These are ingredients including compounds like zinc citrate and pyrophosphates and sometimes antibiotics like triclosan so that the bacteria in your mouth is killed. These kinds of toothpaste are best for people who don’t go to the dentist regularly or who have problems with gum disease.
Sensitive Teeth
If you have problems when you consume cold or hot drinks or food and you have sharp pains, chances are that you have problems with sensitive teeth. This happens when your gums are receding from your tooth base and expose the sensitive parts of your teeth. When cold or hot stimuli hit the tubules, it will cause pain.
Toothpaste for sensitive teeth contain ingredients like potassium nitrate and strontium chloride that block the pathways in tubules that travel to the nerve center of a tooth. While effective, these types of toothpaste generally take several weeks of use before they begin to offer relief. If you suffer from extreme tooth sensitivity, you may consider using this type of toothpaste, which is generally lighter and less abrasive than tartar control brands.
Whitening Toothpaste
One of the things that most people notice is when someone has a bright shiny smile. Since everybody wants to have this smile, a lot of brands have started offering toothpaste that whitens as well as cleans. These kinds of toothpaste usually have peroxide and some abrasive agents which work to remove stains and polish your teeth. Even though studies show that these additional agents in the whitening toothpaste won’t damage your tooth enamel, a lot of the brands also increase problems with sensitive teeth. So if you already have sensitive teeth, it’s a good idea to stay away from whitening toothpaste.
Conclusion
These are the types of toothpaste so that you can choose the one that is right for you. If you have any questions and you want to know more about the toothpaste, it’s a good idea to ask your dentist. Your dentist will be able to suggest the right type of toothpaste for you based on your dental history and the special types of problems that you have have.
Questions about Cosmetic Dentistry?
If cosmetic issues are affecting your smile, the team at Island Coast Dentistry can help. Through a comprehensive evaluation, Dr. Skupny can tailor a oral treatment plan that is most effective for you. A beautiful, healthy smile can be yours!
Contact us today to learn more, or schedule a consultation online.
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10 Tips for Choosing a Cosmetic Dentist
November 16, 2016
Here’s what you should know
If you are less than happy with the way that your smile looks, one of the things that you’ll want to do is find a cosmetic dentist. Below are some things that you can look for when you are choosing the one that’s right for you.
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