Patients are often concerned about bad breath, or halitosis. Most often, the patients themselves are unaware of a problem, but they have been told by someone who cares about them that their breathe "can peel paint off the walls." The good news is that "morning breathe" is normal and is usually cleared up by brushing soon after waking in the…
Quite often, patients initially say "no" to root canal therapy because they know of someone who has had a bad experience. Although some people have heard that root canal therapy is painful, the most common horror stories are about endodontically treated teeth (those that have had root canal therapy) cracking, breaking, or shattering and the subsequent loss of the tooth.…
Many denture wearers avoid seeking care from a dentist when they have sore spots or their dentures feel loose. This is why there is a booming multi-million dollar denture adhesive market, with over-the-counter makeshift products that promise to solve all denture problems to no avail. In my opinion, denture wearers do not seek appropriate dental care because they assume that…
Anyone can get oral cancer. If diagnosed with oral cancer, the five-year survival rate is 52%, which has not changed in 25 years. The major reason for such a poor survival rate is that oral cancer is often not diagnosed until a significant, persistent lesion prompts a patient to ask his or her dentist or doctor about it. Unfortunately, because…
No dental filling, crown, denture, or whitening procedure lasts forever. Recently, unfounded claims have been made by some dentists that if specific criteria are followed and if people do exactly as they are told that dental restorations last "a lifetime." To some extent, this is true...for the lifetime of the restoration or the prosthesis. Any promise otherwise is unfounded, unethical,…
It goes without saying that mastication, or chewing, is an absolute necessity of normal living. As we age, eating becomes one of the only pleasures that most of us can enjoy in almost any setting. All one has to do is to take a look at the plethora of fine public eating establishments in the area to understand how important…
Periodontal disease has become the most common reason for tooth loss in the American adult population. Multiple research studies have been conducted during the past thirty years that have proven that, what used to be called "pyorrhea of the gums" and "periodontosis," is an opportunistic infection caused by several different types of bacteria. Recent research has linked periodontal disease to systemic…
Complex biological events occur in the mouth during pregnancy as they do all over the body. Hormonal changes increase the potential for inflammation, make the mouth more susceptible to infection, and can sensitize the gag reflex. As a result, it may be difficult for some women to brush their teeth properly during the first trimester of pregnancy. An old adage…
It is simply human nature to procrastinate dental work. There are multiple known reasons for this, including fear of discomfort, time constraints, and fear of the unknown. Modern dental techniques that make dental care much more comfortable than in days past; technology that makes dental appointments much shorter, and a plethora of free information about dentistry that can be found on the…
Chances are, you can spot denture wearers all around you—even without going to dental school. You know what I’m talking about…. The older gentleman in church who has huge bright, white, straight teeth on the upper arch with what appears to be nothing on the lower arch; the little old lady in the garden club who doesn’t smile and looks…
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