Xerostomia, or dry mouth, is a condition that occurs when your salivary glands don’t produce enough fluid to keep your mouth properly hydrated, leading to reduced flushing of oral surfaces and possibly increased bacterial growth.  In addition to a feeling of stickiness, dryness, or “cotton mouth”, this can result in bad breath, sore throat, and difficulty chewing, swallowing, and speaking.

Problems like mouth sores, cracked lips, and even infections like thrush can occur when you suffer from dry mouth.  This condition can also affect your sense of taste, and for denture wearers, it may cause additional problems.

Even worse, a lack of saliva that normally helps to flush away leftover food particles and bacteria in the mouth can result in increased risk of developing serious oral health concerns like gum disease and tooth decay, due to increased plaque and tartar buildup. … Continue Reading

Aging is inevitable. While it is a great blessing to be able to age, aging certainly comes with its fair share of changes. As is the case with other parts of the body, your teeth will also change as you get older. As those birthday cake candles begin to multiply, it is important to maintain a proper oral health routine to ensure that your smile remains intact.

Wear and Tear

Think about the things that you use daily. Your car, for example, requires routine maintenance as driving it daily causes wear and tear on its various parts. Now, think about your teeth.… Continue Reading

Halloween and candy go together like pumpkin-flavored treats and the fall season. In fact, when you mention Halloween, the first thought that crosses many minds is all of the candy that is typically consumed. While there is nothing wrong with partaking in some candy on Halloween, some people want to avoid it altogether for health or personal reasons. Halloween can be just as fun and just as tasty sans candy. Here are the best non-candy, tooth-healthy Halloween treats:

Sugarless Gum

Sugar-free gum generates saliva, which helps in removing food particles in the mouth. The best sugar-free gum is sweetened with Xylitol which has been shown to reduce bacteria in the mouth.… Continue Reading

So often, people suffer from multiple health issues without knowing that they’re related. While most people have probably heard that oral health and overall health are linked, they may not immediately connect the dots when they suffer from a disease and experience oral health concerns, as well.

While it is often unclear whether oral health issues lead to further health problems or vice versa, the truth is that the causal relationship could go both ways. This may be the case for patients who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis.

Myriad studies have show links between poor oral health and diseases like diabetes and heart disease, but fewer have studied the link between gum disease and RA.… Continue Reading

Sometimes, teeth are damaged or infected. When this happens, something has to be done. One such procedure that is utilized in these instances is a root canal, which repairs or saves the injured tooth. The procedure itself involves the removal of the affected areas (the pulp), a thorough cleaning, and filling and resealing the area. The term is derived from the process of cleaning the canals within the root of the tooth. If you think you might need to get a root canal, you should understand the steps that will happen:

1. Your dentist will order an x-ray if she thinks you have a root canal

2.… Continue Reading

When it comes to protecting your oral health, there are two ways to go about it. You can take steps to prevent oral health problems and you can deal with those that arise, treating them to prevent further damage.

This process begins with a solid oral hygiene regimen at home. As most people know by the time they reach adulthood, this means brushing, flossing and rinsing with mouthwash at least twice a day, although ideally, it should be after every meal. It means avoiding sugary foods and beverages that could hasten bacterial growth and eat away at enamel, leading to gum disease and tooth decay.… Continue Reading

Whether you need partial or full dentures to complete your smile after tooth loss, the truth is that they are not your natural teeth and they will take some getting used to. Dentures are one of several possible solutions to tooth loss, along with fixed bridgework and dental implants, just for example. In some cases, they are the only option, and in many cases, they are the most affordable option.

While dentures can improve appearance and function, allowing patients to smile and eat with confidence, just as they did before tooth loss, they feel and act differently than natural teeth. They may rub and irritate gums.… Continue Reading

Most of us have an issue or two with our natural smile. Rare is the person born to have perfectly straight, white, beautiful teeth naturally, and even those who were born under a lucky star could see changes in teeth over the course of a lifetime due to the yellowing of age, staining from food and beverages, trauma like cracks and chips, and of course, damage from decay and disease.

While some people suffer from serious issues that require major interventions, such as the use of orthodontic braces, this might be overkill for others. If you find yourself dealing with minor alignment issues like crowding, gaps, overbite, or underbite that you’d like to correct without the hassle and expense of orthodontic braces, you’ll be happy to hear that Invisalign could be just what you’re looking for.… Continue Reading

Like most people wary of spending days in bed, miserable with the flu, you probably got the flu shot this year. Unfortunately, it’s hit or miss how the flu vaccine will work in any given year, and this year, a strain mutation had a significant impact on overall effectiveness. While the flu vaccine last year was said to be nearly 50% effective, this year’s vaccine may come in at a significantly lower percentage.

Plus, the vaccine doesn’t protect against the common cold, and this year, that leaves people dealing with a lingering cough that could stick around for weeks. As if it’s not enough that you’re sniffling, sneezing, coughing, wheezing, and wishing you could just get a full night of rest, you might be surprised to learn that colds and flus can have an impact on your oral health.… Continue Reading

At one point in time, if you lost a tooth it was pretty much gone for good. Even after the invention of dentures, a missing tooth still presented problems and your dental options were still rather limited.

That was then. This is now. You don’t have to struggle with ill-fitting dentures or need to undergo expensive bone grafts to get natural looking, fully functional teeth any more.  Advanced dental implants can provide you with a safe, effective and long-lasting way to create your ideal smile.

Dental implants come in several varieties but all are basically composed of two parts: a titanium root and a porcelain crown.… Continue Reading