Author: gpmadmin

Everyone is busy gearing up for a new year. Here at our Middletown and Kettering dental offices, we’ve been working on our New Year’s resolution lists too. What’s on yours? More exercise? More time to relax? A new hobby? Whatever is on your list already, I’d like to suggest that you add more regular dental hygiene visits. Even if you don’t have a lot of plaque buildup between cleanings and you take great care of your teeth, you still have a certain amount of biofilm on your teeth. And that biofilm needs to be disrupted with regularity to prevent gum disease and other health problems. Now more than ever, science is discovering clear and direct links between oral health and whole body health.

Here are a few more ways to make your dental health part of your New Year’s’ resolution and get serious about smiling:

• Eat only at meal times. Why? For about 20 minutes after you drink or eat anything, especially sugary foods and candies, your mouth is under attack. If you tend to eat and snack throughout the day, your teeth will be exposed to harm for much longer than they should be! Try to do all your eating at once and try to choose treats that aren’t sticky or chewy.

• Remember that sweets affect more than your middle. Sugar can have devastating effects on your diet, but it isn’t good for your mouth either. Instead of sugary foods and drinks, or foods high in carbohydrates (which turn into sugar and feed bacteria too), try foods high in protein, calcium, and phosphorous like nuts, chicken, and cheese. Include crunchy fruits and vegetables for their water content and tooth-cleaning properties as well.

• If you are going to drink a lot of red wine and coffee over the holiday season, keep in mind that these are very staining. Consider scheduling a post-holiday whitening and cleaning to get your teeth back in shape after all the indulgence.

• Keep up on your regular cleanings and checkups. The more we see your teeth, the more likely we are to catch problems like gum disease, oral cancer, cavities, and other wear and tear. That means more saved teeth and more saved money as well!

• Don’t get lazy about your home hygiene routine either. Be sure to brush and floss twice a day and more often if you are snacking a lot. remember that your oral health affects your whole-body health.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call our Middletown or Kettering dental practice today. We are here to help our Middletown, Franklin, Springboro, Kettering, Beavercreek, Centerville, and Oakwood friends and neighbors find better health and stronger smiles in the new year.

You wake up with a headache most mornings. Your tongue looks weirdly scalloped. Your teeth have hairline fractures and look shorter than they used to. What is happening while you sleep? It could be bruxism, otherwise known as unconscious clenching and grinding. If it is, you really need a nightguard.

What Exactly is a Nightguard?

A nightguard works almost exactly like a sports mouthguard – it protects your teeth and prevents painful damage. It is small and portable and most patients find them very easy and comfortable to wear. In fact, most of our patients love them because of the relief and peace of mind they offer.

The Symptoms of Tooth Grinding and Clenching

While all of these do not necessarily indicate that you are bruxing or grinding at night, they are a pretty good clue! If you experience any of the following symptoms, please give our Middletown or Kettering dental office a call:

• Worn, chipped, broken teeth
• Flattened tooth surfaces
• Exposure of tooth layers and loss of enamel
• Tooth sensitivity
• Jaw pain
• Headache and facial pain
• Earache from jaw muscle tension and contraction
• A scalloped tongue or irregular tongue edges
• Damaged mouth tissue

Bruxism can also cause micro fracturing and sensitivity at the gum line, and it can even lead to chronic headaches and TMJ disorder. Not something we want our patients to deal with – ever!

Why am I Grinding my Teeth?

It can be hard to pinpoint the cause: It might be a result of a car accident or other injury. Sometimes chronic stress or medical conditions, such as sleep apnea, can trigger bruxism. Other times it is caused by poorly balanced dental work or missing teeth. Whatever the cause, if you clench or grind your teeth, you could be facing a long list of dental problems, including the painful effects of TMJ disorder or arthritis of the temporomandibular joints.

Let Us Help

I’d love to help you protect your teeth and let you get a truly relaxing night’s sleep. At our dental offices in Middletown and Kettering, we can fit you with a custom-made nightguard appliance that will reduce the damage to your teeth and protect your dental investments! If you think you might grind your teeth at night, call us today!

We welcome patients from Middletown, Franklin, Springboro, Kettering, Beavercreek, Centerville, and Oakwood.

Dentures can be an amazing replacement to all or several missing teeth. They can help regain confidence, enhance your lifestyle, and can even restore a more youthful look. But just because they aren’t natural teeth doesn’t mean they don’t need the same level of care. At our Middletown and Kettering dental offices, we want our denture patients to get the most out of their dentures, which is where proper care comes into play.

Why Proper Denture Care is Important

Just like caring for your natural teeth, caring for your dentures is important for overall oral health. When not cleaned or cared for properly, your dentures can become ill-fitting and result in serious oral health concerns. Most often, improper denture care leads to a buildup of plaque bacteria along the gum line. Too much of this dangerous bacteria may cause bad breath, cavities, more tooth loss, and even gum disease.

Follow These Tips

Proper denture care is important to fight off dangerous oral diseases and to ensure a proper fit for as long as possible. Follow these tips to extend the life of your dentures.

• Rinse. Rinsing your dentures with warm water after every meal is ideal. Rinsing helps remove any food particles that may be lingering around on your denture causing buildup. If foodstuffs are left there too long, they can start to decompose and lead to smelly breath or other oral health concerns.

• Brush. Just like natural teeth, dentures should be brushed daily. Use a soft-bristled brush or a denture brush with a denture-safe paste to gently clean the dentures, ridding them of extra food particles and bacteria. Just like rinsing, brushing goes a long way in keeping dentures, and breath, fresh.

• Soak. Dentures should be soaked every night in a closed container of denture solution or water. Soaking helps loosen anything that may be hanging around and can even help keep them stain-free.

• Visit. Make sure to keep up with recommended visits to your dentist in Middletown or Kettering to ensure your dentures are fitting properly and there are no concerns.

If you have questions about proper care for your dentures, or think they may be a solution for you, give our Middletown or Kettering dental office a call. We’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have and ensure you’re on the right track towards optimal oral health.

Welcoming patients from Middletown, Franklin, Springboro, Kettering, Beavercreek, Centerville, and Oakwood.

We’re always talking to our patients about the importance of a proper oral hygiene routine of brushing twice a day, flossing once a day, and visiting our dental office in Middletown or Kettering regularly.  But did you know these guidelines can do more than just ensure a healthy mouth? They can also provide insight to other whole-body problems.

The Mouth/Body Connection

Many systemic diseases (whole-body diseases) have oral manifestations and often first show signs in the mouth. Some of these overall health problems are incredibly serious, such as:

• Heart disease
• Pancreatic cancer
• Leukemia
• Diabetes

Notice Any of These Signs?

If you see any of these symptoms, it’s important to call your Middletown or Kettering dentist as soon as possible. Early detection is key for the most successful treatment, so don’t wait. Serious signs include:

• Swollen, red, or bleeding gums
• Gums that have pulled away from teeth
• Chronic bad breath
• Ulcers

Steps to Better Health

In addition to a proper, at-home hygiene routine and regular dental visits, there are several ways you can help protect your smile against dangerous bacteria, and your body against serious disease.

• Water, water, water. When it comes to choosing your beverage of choice, select water whenever possible. It helps rinse away bacteria and acid in the mouth and hydrates your body.

• Say no to tobacco. Besides the effects smoking or chewing tobacco can have on your smile, using any form of tobacco can lead to overall health complications.

• Practice proper nutrition. Eating well-balanced meals is important for proper body function as well as optimal oral health. Avoid snacking throughout the day, especially sticky, sugary foods.

Your dentist could be the first line of defense against many serious diseases. If you’re experiencing any of the signs above, or if you haven’t seen a dentist in awhile, give our Middletown or Kettering dental office a call. We’ll perform a thorough exam, talk with you about any potential problems we find, and stand with you through your individualized treatment plan. Your health is the most important thing to us, and we’ll help any way we can.

Welcoming patients from Middletown, Franklin, Springboro, Kettering, Beavercreek, Centerville, and Oakwood.

What is your bedtime routine? If you are a patient at our Kettering or Middletown dental office, we feel pretty sure it includes brushing and flossing your teeth. But routines and habits you may not even be aware of might be part of your night as well! And these habits won’t improve your health the way oral hygiene will. Instead, they might actually destroy your teeth and ruin your day!

These issues are snoring or sleep apnea and bruxism. Both snoring and bruxism (another word for clenching and grinding) are especially problematic in part because so few people are aware that they are doing them. How can you solve a problem when you don’t even know it is there?

We’d like to help. Here are a few signs and symptoms to look for.

Snoring/ Sleep Apnea

• Frequent silences during sleep due to breaks in breathing (apnea)
• Choking or gasping during sleep to get air into the lungs
• Loud snoring
• Sudden awakenings to restart breathing or waking up in a sweat
• Daytime sleepiness and feeling unrefreshed by a night’s sleep, including falling asleep at inappropriate times

If you have any of these symptoms, contact your dentist or your physician right away. Snoring is no joke; it’s a warning that something is not right. Snoring occurs when the tissues of the throat are so lax or narrowed that air cannot pass through normally. This decreases the amount of air to the lungs, the heart has to work harder, and quality sleep is interrupted, all interfering with healthy living. It could also be a sign of sleep apnea which is quite dangerous and has been linked to everything from dangerous driving to an increased risk for strokes. Don’t take it lightly.

Bruxism (Grinding and Clenching)

• Worn, flattened, or shorter teeth than when you were younger
• Chips, cracks, or hairline fractures
• Chips at the gumline that may look and feel like gum recession
• Sore jaws or teeth, especially during times of stress
• Increased sensitivity to hot, cold, or sweet food and drink
• Unexplained earaches
• Sores on the inside of your cheek or ridges on the sides of your tongue
• Headache or facial soreness
• Gum disease

Since snoring, sleep apnea, and grinding are dangerous to your health and your teeth, it is important to have yourself checked for them periodically. At our dental offices in Kettering and Middletown, we will look for symptoms of both of these disorders — and many more–at every checkup. Give us a call and we can get you back on the path to a good night’s sleep and better health.

Welcoming patients from Middletown, Franklin, Springboro, Kettering, Beavercreek, Centerville, and Oakwood.

At our dental offices in Kettering and Middletown, we’re always sure to stay up to date on technology and advancements in dental care. And our patients are pretty lucky to be living in a time when dentists have access to this kind of training. Did you know that there were no dental schools in the United states until 1840? And that in the middle ages, your “dentist” was just as likely to cut your hair as pull your teeth?

Here’s a quick look back:

Dentistry in the Middle Ages

People in the middle ages might have had healthier teeth than ours. But not because of quality professional care! The reason people actually had good teeth came from a combination of a diet very low in sugar and refined foods and high in calcium, and pretty decent personal oral hygiene. There were all kinds of tooth powders and pastes and even whitening rinses! When it came to routine dental care, things were quite different.

A dental practitioner was most likely a barber surgeon who performed all sorts of procedures including cutting hair, bloodletting, pulling teeth, and performing various surgeries. They may have also dispensed dental advice such as kissing a donkey to relieve a toothache or cleaning your ears to prevent one. Tooth decay was sometime thought to be caused by a toothworm and remedies included this doozie: “Take a candle of sheep’ suet, some eringo seed being mixed therewith, and burn it as near the tooth as possible, some cold water being held under the candle. The worms (destroying the tooth) will drop into the water, in order to escape from the heat of the candle.”

Dentistry in the 19th Century

The dental profession didn’t change much until the early 18th century. Barber surgeons were the norm and they performed the majority of personal and medical care. By the 19th century, though, dentistry began to seem quite modern. European surgeons were experimenting with dental implants; porcelain dentures were becoming more popular; and nitrous oxide, the same laughing gas we sometimes use today, was introduced by Humphry Davy. Dental training even began to become what we know today with education moving from apprenticeships to formal training in colleges and universities. In fact, the first dental college, the Baltimore College of Dentistry, was founded by Chapin Harris and Horace Hayden in 1840.

If you’d like to learn more about dentistry throughout history, or would like to learn more about the history of our Kettering and Middletown dental practices, please give us a call. We promise we won’t ask you to kiss any donkeys.

Accepting patients from Middletown, Franklin, Springboro, Kettering, Beavercreek, Centerville, and Oakwood.

Flossing is one of the main ways to keep your gums, mouth, teeth, and whole body healthy. Yet more than half of all Americans fail to floss daily, and another 20% don’t floss at all. This is of particular concern for all of us at our dental offices in Middletown and Kettering. So we wanted to shed  a bit of light on why so many people aren’t flossing.

So, What’s the Deal?

There are several reasons people aren’t flossing on a regular basis. Check out a few of the more common ones below.

They Don’t See The Point.

Flossing reaches places in your mouth that a toothbrush can’t. While brushing your teeth is still absolutely important in maintaining proper oral health, if you skip flossing, all of the spaces in between teeth are left uncleaned. With so many people forgoing the floss on a regular basis, it’s no surprise that most cavities are found in these exact spots. What’s more, flossing your teeth helps remove bacteria from below the gum line which can help reduce the risk of gum disease. Gum disease is an incredibly serious problem that can actually affect the whole body by increasing the risk of stroke and heart attack.

They Aren’t Sure How to Floss Correctly.

Although it seems pretty straightforward, there is a right way and wrong way to floss. Flossing will be uncomfortable if you’re not sure how to do it right. But we promise, it’s easy. Just follow the American Dental Association’s steps to successful flossing:

• Use about 18 inches of floss. Wrap the ends around each middle finger.
• Tighten the floss and wiggle it in between the space between teeth using a back and forth motion.
• When it reaches the gum line, form the floss into a “U” around the shape of the tooth.
• Press gently and glide the floss in an up and down motion.
• Repeat between each tooth, unwrapping a new, clean section of floss.

They Have Pain or Bleeding.

There’s a common misconception that if flossing hurts, you should stop. The truth is quite the opposite. If flossing is a bit painful, it’s actually a sign of not flossing enough. Additionally, if gums bleed, it could be a sign of gum disease. Even if flossing isn’t so comfortable, it’s important to get into the habit of doing it regularly. Like exercising, it hurts less the more you do it.  

If you’re having trouble flossing, or are experiencing pain or bleeding when you do, give our Middletown and Kettering dental office a call as soon as possible. We’ll work with you to find a flossing solution that works well for you and your health. And if we happen to find signs of a more serious problem, we’ll create an individualized plan to treat it.

Serving patients from Middletown, Franklin, Springboro, Kettering, Beavercreek, Centerville, and Oakwood.

Bad breath affects everyone at least once in a lifetime and it’s completely normal. But it doesn’t make it any less embarrassing or worrisome. At our Middletown and Kettering dental offices, we hear a lot of questions about bad breath – what causes it? How do you cure it? Is it serious? – so we’d like to talk about some common causes of bad breath and ways to cure it.

Cause #1: Dry Mouth.

Some medications, mouth breathing, or lack of proper water intake can cause dry mouth, and a dry mouth is a great place for bacteria to hide. Dry mouth creates the perfect situation for bacteria to create bad odors..

Cure: One of the easiest ways to avoid bad breath caused by a dry mouth is to drink plenty of water every day. A well-hydrated mouth keeps saliva flowing and removes lingering bacteria. The water itself can also neutralize acid the mouth and flush out even more bacteria.

Cause #2: Delicious, Yet Oh So Stinky, Food.

Garlic, spicy dishes, onions, oh my! Plenty of our favorite foods taste so good, but leave an unpleasant odor in their wake. Most of the time, this isn’t a medical concern, but may cause insecurity. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to squash the stench and replace it with a little freshness. Here’s how.

Cure: Following such a meal, a quick and easy way to relieve bad breath is by chewing a piece of sugarless gum. Not only does the sticky texture pull lingering food particles off your teeth, it typically has a nice, minty, fresh smell. No gum handy? Fruits and veggies high in fiber and that require a lot of chewing, like apples, can help clean teeth and the vitamin C kills bacteria.                  

Cause #3: Gum Disease.

Bad breath that doesn’t go away is one of the earliest and most common signs of gum disease, which is a serious problem that has been shown to cause oral health, and whole-body health, concerns. If untreated, gum disease may lead to tooth loss, sensitivity, and receding gums. It may also increase the risk of stroke or heart attack. That’s the bad news.

Cure: The good news is, it’s treatable. There isn’t  a one-size-fits-all cure for gum disease, but we strongly encourage you to visit your dentist as soon as you can. Gum disease is serious and the earlier we catch it, the better. Each gum disease treatment is different, so work with your dentist to determine which is best for you.

If your bad breath lingers day after day, or if you notice it more often than just after a meal or post-coffee, call our dental office in Middletown or Kettering. We will help find the cause of your bad breath and work with you to cure it. We don’t judge our patients and are here to help get their mouths, and bodies, healthy. Call for your appointment today.

Welcoming patients from Middletown, Franklin, Springboro, Kettering, Beavercreek, Centerville, and Oakwood.