What is composite resin bonding?
This term refers to a kind of tooth-colored material that is a mixture of a plastic resin and a glass filler. The glass gives the mixture, or composite, strength and translucency that is similar to a natural tooth. The composite is bonded to the tooth by slightly abrading or roughening the tooth so that the resin fills in small cuts in the tooth surface and bonds with it. The end result functions and looks like part of the original tooth.

What is bonding used for?
This technique is a good way to restore chipped or stained teeth or to change a tooth's shape or color. It can also be used to restore parts of a tooth near the gum line where the gums have receded and left the root partially exposed.

What are the advantages of bonding?
Composite resin tooth restorations have several advantages.

• They take only a single dental visit because they are done right in the dental chair rather than having to be sent to a dental lab for preparation.
• They are less expensive than many other dental restorations.
• They leave most of the original tooth intact since little tooth preparation or drilling has to be done in order to make the composite material bond to the tooth.
• They can be made in a wide range of colors and can be matched well with the teeth around them.
• Because little of the original tooth has to be removed, they are a good choice for teens, whose dental arches (upper and lower jaws) are still developing.

What are the disadvantages of bonding?
The composite resin material is not as strong as the original tooth material, so the bonded restorations may not last over a long time. If it does last, the material may also stain as it ages.

When should you choose bonding?
Composite resin bonding is a good choice for a quick and attractive tooth restoration that may be replaced later by something more permanent, such as porcelain veneers.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss your questions about bonding. You can also learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Repairing Chipped Teeth.”

The term “root canal” strikes fear into many dental patients. But rest assured that this procedure is the best solution to many severe dental problems. It can be pain-free and will actually relieve pain and suffering from infections and dental injuries.

Why would you need root canal treatment? This procedure becomes necessary when the pulp, the nerve tissue on the inside of a tooth's root, becomes inflamed or infected because of deep decay, or when it has suffered a severe injury as a result of an accident or blow to the mouth. The pulp is composed of living tissues including nerves and blood vessels.

Root canal treatment may be necessary if you have a wide variety of signs or symptoms. The pain can feel sharp or intense when biting down, or linger after eating hot or cold foods. Sometimes it can be a dull ache or there may be tenderness and swelling in your gums near the site of the infection.

After trauma, the pulp of a tooth can be exposed or damaged because a tooth has fractured or cracked, necessitating root canal treatment. And the procedure is often needed for permanent teeth that have been dislodged or knocked out.

What exactly is root canal treatment? Root canal treatment is also called endodontic treatment, from the Greek roots “endo” meaning “inside” and “odont” meaning “tooth.” During the procedure, the area is numbed to relieve pain. A small opening is created in the chewing surface of the tooth and very small instruments are used to remove dead and dying tissue from the inside. The pulp is needed during a tooth's growth and development, but a mature tooth can survive without it. The canal is disinfected and then sealed with filling materials. Sometimes root canal specialists use microscopes to work at an intricate level of detail on these tiny areas of the tooth's root.

By having root canal treatment, you prevent inflammation and infection from spreading from the root of a particular tooth to other nearby tissues. Infection can result in resorption, an eating away of the root and its anchoring bone, and you could lose your tooth or teeth. So please don't hesitate when we recommend this treatment. It's not as bad as you think, and you will feel significantly better afterwards.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss your questions about root canal treatment. You can also learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Common Concerns About Root Canal Treatment” and “Trauma & Nerve Damage to Teeth.”

Dental professionals agree that effective removal of plaque, the film of bacteria (also called a biofilm) that gathers on everyone's teeth, is the key to good dental health. Daily brushing and flossing are the usual recommendation for plaque removal. It is important to ask us about effective brushing and flossing. At your next appointment, ask us for a demonstration.

Effective brushing removes plaque from the easily accessed surfaces of the teeth. To remove plaque from between the teeth, you must floss.

Some people find it awkward to hold the floss with their fingers as they move it around their teeth. One technique for flossing, suggested by a dentist in Dear Doctor magazine, may make it easier than more traditional methods, although it does take a little practice.

Preparation
This method requires tearing off a 10 to 12 inch length of floss and tying it to form a circle big enough for your fingers, but not your thumbs, to fit within it. The circle should be knotted with a double knot.

To Clean Teeth and Gums
Keep the floss taut at all times, with about and inch or less between your thumb and index fingers for your upper teeth, or index fingers only for your lower teeth. Curve the floss around each tooth and gently move it up and down until you hear a squeaky clean sound. Extend the downward movement of the floss to just below the surface of the gum, without being too harsh and causing injury. As you move from tooth to tooth, move around the floss circle so that each tooth gets a clean section of floss.

Upper Teeth
Place all your fingers in the ring, with the floss over your left thumb and right index finger to floss your upper left teeth, and over your right thumb and left index finger to do the other side.

Lower Teeth
Use both index fingers to floss all your lower teeth.

You may only need to floss once a day before or after brushing to keep your gums health and ward off periodontal (gum) disease. Your dentist will guide you as to how often you may need to floss your teeth. Try this technique and see how it works for you.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss your questions about flossing techniques. You can also learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Flossing — A Different Approach.”

Periodontal (gum) disease, though it may be invisible to everyone but your dentist, can have a powerful effect on your entire body. Not only is it dangerous to your teeth and jaws, but it can increase your risk of heart attack and stroke, cause preterm births in pregnant women, and affect blood sugar control in diabetics.

Diabetics are our subject for today. Symptoms of diabetes include abnormally high levels of glucose (a form of sugar) in the blood, leading to frequent urination, excessive thirst, blurred vision, unexplained weight loss, and loss of energy. The disease can also cause severe complications in various parts of the body.

Normally, glucose, your body's main energy source, is kept under control by a hormone called insulin, which is made by an organ called the pancreas. In type 1 diabetes, a person's pancreas does not produce enough insulin to deal with all the glucose in his or her blood. In type 2 diabetes — a condition related to increased age, physical inactivity, overweight, and heredity — the pancreas may produce enough insulin, but the body is not able to use it effectively. This condition is called insulin resistance.

People with type 1 diabetes need insulin to survive. Type 2 may be treated with exercise, diet, medications, and insulin supplements.

Serious complications of diabetes range from kidney failure, blindness, and nerve damage to infections that do not heal, gangrene and amputation of limbs.

Diabetes and periodontal disease seem to have reciprocal effects on each other. Diabetics are more likely to have periodontal disease than non-diabetics; and those with periodontal disease are likely to face worsening blood sugar control over time.

Periodontal disease (from “peri”, meaning around and “odont”, meaning tooth), is caused by dental plaque — a film of bacteria that settles on your teeth and gums every day. It's what you remove with daily brushing and flossing. Any bacteria that remain cause inflammation, which can lead in the worst cases to loss of bone and eventual loss of teeth.

The close relationship of diabetes and periodontal disease probably results from changes in the function of immune cells responsible for healing. Inflammation is a part of normal wound healing — but chronic or prolonged inflammation can destroy the tissues it was meant to heal. This may be a major factor in the destructive complications of diabetes.

Many of these complications begin in the blood vessels. Like the eyes and the kidneys, gum tissues are rich in blood vessels. Gum tissues are also under constant attack from bacteria. If you are a diabetic, effective plaque control, along with regular professional dental cleaning, can have positive effects not only on periodontal disease, but also on control of your blood glucose level.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss your questions about periodontal disease and its connections with diabetes. You can also learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Diabetes & Periodontal Disease.”

Nearly everyone has either said or heard the expression, “I'd rather have a root canal...” when comparing worst-case scenarios. However, this comparison is a common myth for a treatment that is typically successful with little to no pain. In fact, the pain associated with a root canal problem occurs prior to treatment and is relieved by it, not visa versa.

To begin with, let's define what root canal treatment is as well as the field of dentistry that specializes in it. Endodontics (“endo” – inside; “dont” – tooth) is the branch of dentistry that addresses problems affecting a tooth's root or nerve. It is dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders of the root canals of the teeth. The canals inside the tooth roots contain the living tissues called the dental pulp, which also contain the nerves of the teeth. When the pulp inside a problematic tooth becomes inflamed or infected it responds by becoming painful, and pain is a warning sign of a problem. The nature of the symptoms can define the character of the pain and the problem. They include the following:

• Sharp, acute pain that is difficult to pinpoint
• Intense pain that occurs when biting down on the tooth or food
• Lingering pain after eating either hot or cold foods
• Dull ache and pressure
• Tenderness accompanied by swelling in the nearby gums

Each of these different categories of pain signify a different problem, but all are related to root canal issues. Nevertheless, you should contact us today (before your condition worsens) to schedule an appointment. And to learn more about the signs, symptoms, and treatments for a root canal, read the article “I'd Rather Have A Root Canal....”