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Photography by Dr. Padval

What Your Mouth “Tells” Us…

About Your Overall Health Recent studies, including the Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health, confirm what our team has known for a long time: There are so many connections between oral health and overall health that your next dental visit can be the next best thing to a physical examination! Your mouth is both an early warning system and a window to the health of your heart, your circulation, and your healthy well-being. A dental exam gives us the chance to recognize potentially serious [...]

By |2024-09-03T14:31:40-07:00February 18, 2025|Preventative Dentistry|

Toothpicks: a Pointed Problem

What’s long, slender, hard, sharp, indigestible and potentially hazardous? That common and seemingly harmless sliver of wood called a toothpick. Reports in the Journal of the American Medical Association point to toothpicks as causing thousands of injuries a year, mostly to young children. Youngsters aged five to 14 were most likely to be injured by toothpicks, and children under the age of five were 20 times more likely to seriously injure their eyes or ears. Adults should also treat the toothpick with a little [...]

By |2024-09-03T14:31:03-07:00February 11, 2025|Patient Education|

Heart Disease and Dental Care

Do I need to take an antibiotic before my dental appointment? Patients who have had rheumatic fever, heart murmur, heart valve replacement or orthopedic joint replacement are at risk for a condition called infectious endocarditis. The American Dental Association recommends these patients take a “pre-med” prior to dental work. Here’s why: Bacteria which normally inhabit a mouth can get into your bloodstream during the simplest dental procedure. When that bacteria travels to the heart it might affect the heart or joints. Pre-medication works to [...]

By |2024-09-03T14:30:22-07:00February 4, 2025|Patient Education|

Am I a Candidate for Dental Implants?

The answer could be “yes!” Many patients, today, from teenagers to active retired people, enjoy the benefits and advantages of dental implants. Whether you’re missing just one tooth, several teeth, or all of your teeth, you may be a patient who could benefit from the esthetic and functional enjoyment of dental implants. Using the latest treatment techniques and materials available, we can surgically implant a space-age material, such as titanium, into your jawbone as an anchor for the replacement tooth or teeth (such as [...]

By |2024-09-03T14:29:52-07:00January 28, 2025|Restorative Dentistry|

Is Snoring an Issue at Your House?

Do the walls of your house vibrate at night? Does your dog or cat sleep with his paws over his ears? If so, you may find some benefit in this article. In some men or women, snoring can be reduced or eliminated simply by wearing an oral appliance at night. The appliance enlarges the airway by positioning the lower jaw slightly forward. The appliance fits snugly onto the teeth of each arch with the teeth slightly apart. The procedure to make the appliance is [...]

By |2024-09-03T14:28:51-07:00January 21, 2025|Patient Education|

5 Ways to Protect Children’s Teeth at Home

Parents typically provide oral hygiene care until the child is old enough to take personal responsibility for the daily dental health routine of brushing and flossing. A proper regimen of home preventive care for children's teeth is important from the day your child is born. Clean your infant's gums with a clean, damp cloth. Ask your dentist if you may rub a tiny dab of toothpaste on the gums. As soon as the first teeth come in, begin brushing them with a small, soft-bristled [...]

By |2024-09-03T14:28:22-07:00January 14, 2025|Children's Dentistry|

Dental Bridge FAQs

What is a dental bridge? A bridge is a dental appliance that replaces one or more natural missing teeth, thereby "bridging" the space between two teeth. Fixed bridges are cemented into place next to the "abutment" teeth--the surrounding teeth on either side of the space, or "span." Unlike removable partial dentures, bridges are not removable. A bridge is a device that typically consists of three units--a false tooth fused between two crowns that are cemented onto the abutment teeth. Who should get a bridge? [...]

By |2024-09-03T14:27:52-07:00January 7, 2025|Restorative Dentistry|

Quitting Chewing Tobacco

Chewing tobacco affects your dental health as well as the rest of your body. If you use smokeless tobacco and have thought about quitting, we can help. How do you kick the habit? We can help you kick your chewing tobacco habit. In addition to cleaning teeth and treating bad breath and puffy, swollen gums associated with tobacco use, we may decide to prescribe a variety of nicotine replacement therapies, such as the transdermal nicotine patch or chewing gum that helps to wean addicted [...]

By |2024-09-03T10:04:14-07:00December 24, 2024|Patient Education|

Brushing Tips

What is the best technique for brushing? There are a number of effective brushing techniques. Patients are advised to ask during an appointment to determine which is the best one for them, since tooth position and gum condition vary. One effective, easy-to-remember technique involves using a circular or elliptical motion to brush a couple of teeth at a time, gradually covering the entire mouth. Place a toothbrush beside your teeth at a 45-degree angle and gently brush teeth in an elliptical motion. Brush the [...]

By |2024-09-03T10:03:49-07:00December 17, 2024|Preventative Dentistry|

Can You Catch a Cavity?

When you have a cold, we all know to cover your mouth before you sneeze and not to drink out of the same glass. We do this because we know that a cold is contagious. Now we know that, chances are, so is tooth decay. Recent research suggests that the germs responsible for cavities may be "catchy." Likewise, scientists suspect that bacteria associated with gum disease may be transferable from husband to wife, or mother to child. Infants get the bacteria that come to [...]

By |2024-09-03T10:02:25-07:00December 10, 2024|Patient Education|