Month: June 2014

Almost all of us have experienced a toothache. The pain and inconvenience often associated with a toothache is enough to really put a kink in your plans and your life. And while we’re always happy to help relieve toothache pain at my Lewisburg dental office, a toothache can also strike on a weekend or at night when we aren’t open. If this happens, here are some tips you can try to help ease the pain of a toothache.

Before we launch into what is alright to use for a toothache, all of us at my Lewisburg dental office feel strongly that we need to urge you to not try one common remedy. People often place Aspirin directly to the painful area. Don’t do this! Since Aspirin is an acid, it can burn your gums and cause greater harm to your mouth. If you’d like to use a pain reliever like Aspirin, just swallow it.

Some at-home remedies you can try include:

• Onion: Some people believe that a piece of raw onion placed on the affected area can ease the pain of a toothache. However, this remedy will probably cause you to have onion breath.
• Salt Water: Mix a cup of warm water with a tablespoon of salt and swish it around in your mouth. The mixture can actually pull the fluid away from the affected area and reduce pressure on the nerve endings. Do not swallow the mixture. Repeat as needed.
• Cloves: Oil of Cloves is actually a common ingredient in a lot of dental products. It has antimicrobial properties as well as pain-relieving properties that can help reduce a toothache. All you need to do is mix 2-3 drops of clove oil with olive oil or another cooking oil and soak a piece of cotton with the liquid. Then place the cotton on the bothersome area and bite down.

Although these few tricks may help with your pain, it’s important to know that a toothache is your mouth’s way of telling you that something is not right. Please don’t ignore it! It’s never wise to assume that easing the pain is enough. In its early stages, a toothache could be the result of a minor dental problem that’s easily fixed by your Lewisburg dentist. If let go, a simple problem can turn into something major and can even begin to affect the rest of your body.

If you’re experiencing a toothache, don’t assume that it’s not a big deal and don’t let it go! Call my Lewisburg dental office as soon as you can. We can help you determine what’s causing the pain and get it fixed for a healthy, pain-free smile.

Are you a chronic teeth grinder? Not really sure if you are or not? It’s not surprising: of the roughly 30 million people teeth grinders out there, very few realize that they grind. A common reason could be that teeth grinding or clenching is often done either while sleeping or subconsciously throughout the day. And while it may not seem like a big problem, at my dental office in Lewisburg, we consider tooth grinding a huge issue. Here’s why.

Tooth grinding, or bruxism, can cause severe damage to your teeth and your mouth. Broken restorations and fillings, damaged teeth, lost enamel, and tooth sensitivity are only some of the problems associated with severe bruxism. Chronic tooth grinding or clenching can also lead to more serious problems like jaw dysfunction or temporomandibular disorder (TMD). This is what makes visiting your Lewisburg dentist so important if you’re experiencing symptoms of being a bruxer.

Symptoms of chronic tooth grinding or clenching include:

• Contractions of the jaw muscles
• Pain in the jaw joint
• A grinding sound at night as described by your bedmate
• Pain in the face
• Morning headaches
• Damaged or broken teeth

If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, please call my Lewisburg dental office as soon as you can. It’s important that you seek proper dental care if you are suffering from the pain associated with bruxism so we can diagnose your problem and determine how to properly treat you.

At our dental office in Lewisburg, we’ll examine your mouth, talk about what you’re experiencing, check your bite, and take x-rays of your jaw and mouth. An in-depth exam will allow us to see exactly what’s going on, determine how severe your bruxism is, and decide on the best way to treat it.

There are several treatment options available for bruxism. Depending on your needs they can include onlays or crowns to reshape the bite surfaces of your teeth, and a mouth guard that fits over your smile and prevents further damage.

Whatever your unique needs may be, my Lewisburg dental office can help diagnose your bruxism and determine the best treatment for you. The pain associated with tooth grinding doesn’t need to be chronic. Give us a call today. It’s the first step to a better, pain-free smile.

We all know that sugary drinks like soda aren’t the best for your smile. And in an attempt to avoid the sugar, calories, and caffeine in regular sodas, we often turn to diet soda to quench our thirst. However, at my Lewisburg dental office, we want you to understand that even these sugar-free drinks can be just as bad, if not worse, for your teeth.

In fact, a study conducted in 2013 and published in the Academy of General Dentistry journal, General Dentistry, showed that excessive consumption of diet soda can have the same effect on your teeth as using illegal drugs like methamphetamine and crack cocaine.

In the study, the damage in the mouths of three individuals – a current methamphetamine user, a former cocaine addict, and an excessive diet soda drinker – was compared. The results showed that each of the mouths experienced similar damage, including tooth erosion, caused by high acid levels.

Soda, regular or diet, is highly acidic. And so are the ingredients in illegal drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine. The more food, drinks, or anything else with high amounts of acid that we put into our bodies, the more damage will be caused. Without tooth enamel, we’re more susceptible to cavities, sensitivity, discoloration, and damage. For this reason, I not only encourage everyone at my dental office in Lewisburg to put the soda down and drink more water, but also to keep up with regular dental appointments.

If you’re addicted to soda, already have damage caused by excessive intake of soda, or even have damage caused by past drug use, it’s time you see your dentist in Lewisburg. We can monitor your habits and make recommendations on how you can get your smile healthy and looking the way you want it to.

Cancer treatment can cause some unwanted side effects in your body. It can also cause some dangerous problems in your mouth. Many of oral health side effects that occur as a result of chemotherapy can cause treatment to be delayed or even stopped. And when dealing with a serious disease like cancer, a proactive and regular treatment schedule is important, so decreasing the likelihood of these side effects is crucial to successful treatment. If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with cancer and will be starting treatment soon, it’s important that you see your dentist in Lewisburg about a month before treatment begins.

Chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells. But they also harm normal cells in the body and mouth. When chemotherapy treatment negatively affects the cells in the mouth, side effects can include dry mouth; pain; difficulty eating, talking, or swallowing; and burning or swelling of tongue. Chance of infection also increases, which can be very dangerous when undergoing cancer treatment.

A checkup at my Lewisburg dental office prior to cancer treatment can help prevent these painful mouth problems and keep your treatment on schedule. Often, many of the oral health side effects that occur from cancer treatment happen to unhealthy mouths. And while not all side effects can be avoided, visiting your Lewisburg dentist prior to treatment ensures that your mouth is better protected from the dangerous side effects.

An appointment with us is crucial to getting your mouth in its most healthy state and ready for cancer treatment. When you arrive, we’ll check for any oral health problems, perform an in-depth exam, and thoroughly clean your teeth. We’ll also talk to you about the best way you can help make sure your smile stays healthy throughout your treatment.

An early dental appointment to make sure your mouth is healthy is one of the first steps to a successful treatment. If know someone who has been diagnosed with cancer, please give my dental office in Lewisburg a call as soon as you can. We’d love to be a part of your health care team.