How Do Lasers Treat Periodontal Disease?

Lasers are a non-surgical approach to arresting the progression of periodontal disease. Following scaling and root planing, a laser is used to significantly reduce the bacterial colonies and decontaminate the infected periodontal pocket. Lasers also remove the infected tissue lining the periodontal pocket. As the infected tissue is removed, microscopic blood clots form and your body's natural healing response takes over. As you heal, the tissue reattaches to the bone and your gums return to a healthy infection free state.

Bruxism

Bruxism is clenching or grinding of the teeth. It is estimated that 45 million Americans suffer from bruxism. However, only 4 million guards are fabricated in the US every year.

Source: Glazer H, The Chairside "Night 'n Day Guard", Oral Health, July 2011, Vol 101, No 7, pg 45-48.

Bad Breath

Bad breath, also called halitosis, is a common condition and a source of embarrassment. Many times, people aren’t even aware there’s a problem. Here are some causes for bad breath:
1) Poor oral hygiene: Daily brushing and flossing and regular dental checkups and cleanings are the best prevention for bad breath.
2) Periodontal disease: Bacteria involved in periodontal disease lead to infection of the gums and bad breath.
3) Aromatic foods: especially garlic and onion are source of breath odor
4) Tobacco
5) Dry mouth: salivary flow cleanses the teeth and tissues keeping the mouth healthy. Some medications have side effect of causing dry mouth. Problems with the salivary glands can also cause dry mouth
6) Medical conditions: Gastrointestinal disturbances, liver disease, kidney disease, and diabetes
What can you do?
The best control for mouth odor is good oral hygiene. Regular visit to the dentist with cleanings at least every 6 months is recommended. Prescription mouth rinses like chlorhexidine or other antimicrobial mouth rinses are suggested. Chewing gum or mint can mask some of the odor temporarily, just make sure that it is sugar-free.

Wisdom Teeth Extraction

The reason to extract wisdom teeth
A wisdom tooth is extracted to correct a problem or to prevent problems that may come up in the future. Here are some problems that lead to extraction of wisdom teeth:
1. Decay/cavity--> Since the wisdoms are hard to reach, they are more prone to decay
2. Periodontal infection--> Due to difficulty flossing and maintaining proper hygiene, there is more plaque buildup around the wisdom teeth. This leads to gum detachment (large pocket depths), bone loss, and periodontal infection
3. Impaction--> when there isn’t large enough room for them, the wisdoms become impacted and are unable to break through the gums
4. Crowding of teeth-->when there isn’t enough room for the wisdoms, they push the other teeth which leads to crowding
5. Pain--> when the wisdoms break partway through the gums, a flap of gum tissue grows over them. Food and germs get trapped under the flap and cause the gums to become red, swollen, and painful
6. One or more of your wisdom teeth may come in at an awkward angle, with the top of the tooth facing forward, backward, or to either side
7. More serious problems can develop from impacted wisdoms such as infection, damage to other teeth and bone, or a cyst

Consult your Century Smile dentist if you have any questions or concerns regarding your wisdom teeth.

Why do you have sensitivity after getting a crown?

I decided to talk about this topic mainly because there have been many times that a patient who needs a crown ends up needing Root canal therapy. In many cases, the patient has no symptoms before the crown preparation and suddenly has throbbing pain or temperature sensitivity after the work is completed. About 30%-40% of teeth with crown preparations end up needing root canal treatment.
Keep in mind that a substantial number of teeth that are prepared for crowns already have significant cumulative physical damage which otherwise would not have needed crowns in the first place. The history of prior injury, whether due to physical trauma or tooth decay, can place the pulps of these teeth at risk. So although the sequence of events suggests that the crown preparation is what caused the pulpal trauma, that really is not the case. The truth is that the crown preparation is the last in a series of insults to the pulp that have contributed to the need of root canal

Why is teeth grinding harmful?

When teeth grinding occurs on a regular basis the teeth can be damaged and oral health complications can arise. Since grinding mostly occurs during sleep, most patients are unaware of this habit. The main cause of grinding is STRESS.
Some clinical indications are wear of teeth, recession of the gums, wear of the enamel around the gum line (abfraction), TMJ problems, and fracture of the teeth.
A chronic grinder may wear their teeth down to stumps. When these events happen, bridges, crowns, root canals, implants, partial dentures, and even complete dentures may be needed.
The treatment for grinding is stress management and fabrication of a customized mouth guard. As a dentist, we can help prevent any further wear of your teeth by making a customized mouth guard. A mouth guard is hard and durable and it protects the teeth from wear.
Ask your Century Smile dentist if you think you might benefit from a mouth guard.

Laser Dentistry

Laser dentistry is one of the newest developments in the dental field. Lasers present a range of benefits for both dentists and patients. Some of the major advantages of laser dentistry include:

-Faster recovery time
-Less noise
-Decreased pain sensitivity
-Reduced risk of infection
-Less bleeding

Laser Surgery Can Enhance Traditional Methods
In many cases, laser surgery is used in conjunction with traditional dental procedures. Lasers frequently augment conventional techniques, making them safer and more effective.
1) Periodontal therapy: The laser is a light source from the infrared end of the spectrum that uses low energy power to treat the gums, often without anesthesia. The low power of the light kills the bacteria, seals the vessels and nerve endings, and produces little if any pain for the first three days after the procedure. Studies have shown that combined treatment using laser as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (deep cleaning) seemed to be more advantageous when compared to scaling and root planing alone, due to more efficient attachment level restoration.

Laser Surgery Can Provide New Treatments
Laser dentistry provides treatments that simply were not available in the past. These include:
1) Laser teeth whitening: Thanks to laser dentistry, patients with severely discolored teeth can now brighten their smile after only one trip to the dentist.
2) Laser gum recontouring: treatment that allows dentists to tone down a gummy smile.
3) Treatment for cold sores/ canker sores: with no anesthesia, providing immediate relief. Upon the follow-up treatment, many report a disappearance of the sores.