Toothspot - All About Teeth

Cracked Teeth Below are some answers to common questions patient's have about cracked teeth:  Why Do Teeth Crack? Will My Grinding Habit Make It Worse? Why Does It Hurt To Bite On It? Why Is It Sensitive to Hot and Cold? What Will Happen If I Just Do Nothing? What's The Usual Treatment for A Cracked Tooth? Is It Possible That The Nerve Is Already Dead? Is It Safe to Leave A Tooth With a Dead Nerve? If The Nerve is Dead, Do I still Need a Crown? Doesn't The Nerve Always Recover? Why Do Teeth Crack? Cracked tooth syndrome is a very common problem usually affecting teeth that have large amalgam (silver) fillings. Large fillings weaken the remaining tooth structure. Like all materials, teeth are subject to forces of stress fatigue.  Will My Grinding Habit Make It Worse? Yes. Almost everyone, at some point in their life, grinds their teeth. Grinding can increase the stress and strain on a tooth by 200 to 300%, especially if you'...

Teeth Grinding  Wearing of the chewing surfaces if your teeth occurs normally throughout life at a slow pace. Just the friction of the upper and lower teeth moving against one another wears away your enamel. You don't notice it because it is such as low process. Though, you might notice that the biting surfaces if your lower incisors appear more yellow than they used to. Depending on your age, the yellow you are looking at is probably dentin (the layer under enamel). You may have also noticed that your upper front teeth are beginning to chip.  The normal process of attrition can become greatly accelerated if your teeth don't fit together properly. In other words, if your normal bite is off to one side and not evenly balanced with the teeth interlocking, you can have problems with excessive loss of tooth structure. One out of every four adults falls into this category a some level. Grinding and clenching are usually a physical manifestation of stress. It occurs at nigh...

How can I make my teeth whiter? Bleaching or veneers are typically the best choice unless you have existing dental work. If you currently have crowns, you may have to have them replaced to whiten your smile. If you have bonding or tooth colored fillings, you may need to change them following bleaching.   Which bleaching method is the best? If your teeth are receptive to bleaching, all methods will eventually lighten your teeth to a similar result, though, some methods may take longer than others. The in-office treatments offered by your dentist will give you the quickest result. The tray method will also whiten your teeth over a longer period of time (generally about 2 weeks). Are there any reasons I shouldn't bleach my teeth? Yes. You shouldn't bleach your teeth if your pregnant, nursing, or have any infections related to your teeth or gums. You might also consider avoiding bleaching if you have excessively sensitive teeth.  So, How long ...

Bad Breath (halitosis) My breath gets worse throughout the day, what's going on? Do you breath through your mouth? Do you spend most of your day speaking? This is often a common problem for people whose jobs require them to speak quite a bit. Talking or mouth breathing dries out the tissues in the mouth and makes for an ideal environment for odor-causing bacteria. You might want to carry a bottle of water with you. Frequent sips will keep your mouth moist and stimulate salivary flow. I brush my teeth constantly, but I still have bad breath. What can I do? Brushing and flossing are definitively the first steps to eliminating bad breath. Brushing and flossing remove bacteria responsible for creating odorous sulfur compounds and the food these bacteria feed on. However, bacteria hide not only on and around the teeth but also on the tongue under a layer of mucous. Here they are free to create odorous sulfur compounds. You might want to consider using a tong...

  So... When Are Those Baby Teeth Supposed to Come out? Background : It's important to note that eruption times vary form child to child just as the individual growth rates between children vary. Normally, no teeth are visible in the mouth at birth. Occasionally, some babies are born with an erupted incisor (neonatal tooth), but these are not true teeth and are lost soon after birth. The first baby teeth to erupt are usually the lower two front incisors (mandibular central incisors) at about 6 months of age. They are followed by the 4 upper front teeth. The remainder of your child's teeth will appear periodically, usually in pairs on each side of the jaw, until all 20 baby teeth have come in at about 2 1/2 years of age. The last teeth to emerge are the top two molars (maxillary second molars at 30 months). The complete set of baby teeth are in the mouth from 2 years to 5 3/4 or 6 years of age (when no permanent teeth are present). Shortly after your child's 4th birthda...

  Canker Sores The terms "canker sores" and "cold sores" are often used interchangeably. While both are painful sores of the mouth, there's a difference. Canker sores are found on the inside of the mouth and are not contagious; however, cold sores can be found on both the inside and outside of the mouth and are contagious. Canker Sore Producing Foods to Avoid apples milk soy barley nuts tomatoes buckwheat oranges vinegar cheese pineapples  whole wheat chocolate rye lemon  shellfish Watch What You Eat Studies show that what we eat may play a large role in determining whether we get canker sores. Consumption of the following foods can lead to canker sores; avoiding them may help to reduce the number of sores you get. In particular, citric fruits and chocolate seem to be common triggers for canker sores. We've noted that many patients relate experiencing canker sores soon after consuming citric fruits or j...

A List of Tips to Keep Your Breath At It's Best! At some point, everyone fights bad breath at some point or other, here's some suggestions to help you tip the odds in your favor: Eliminate the causative agents - bacteria and food particles. Floss, then brush your teeth, gums and tongue after each meal. You can make this easier on yourself by keeping floss, toothpaste and a toothbrush in your desk and car. If you can’t brush and floss after every meal, at least rinse your mouth with water to dislodge food and moisten your mouth. Learn the proper way to brush. Use an oral irrigation device such as a water-pik to remove particles of food wedged between your teeth. Avoid mouthwashes which contain alcohol; Instead, try a mouthwash that contains chlorine dioxide. Unlike conventional mouthwashes, the chlorine dioxide actually neutralizes the odor-causing sulphur compounds. Baking soda is an effective odor eliminator; if you can handle the taste, try brushing with a mixtu...

Sports Dentistry     Sports Dentistry is the treatment and prevention of oral / facial athletic injuries. Dental injuries are actually the most common type of facial injuries sustained during athletic participation. Mouthguards A mouthguard is a plastic appliance worn in the mouth during physical activity which helps in preventing injuries to the teeth, tongue, lips and jaw. Sports related dental injuries are often very traumatic; not only are they painful, but costly as well. Mouthguards offer excellent protection at a relatively small price. No matter which variety you go with, what's important is that it fits and is comfortable. It's estimated that an avulsed (knocked-out) tooth will run you between $10,000 -15,000 in dental bills over your lifetime. .. .not to mention all those enjoyable hours in the waiting room! The Three  Types of Mouthguards  Stock Mouthguards: These are the least expensive of the group, available at most s...

Tongue Anatomy      The inside of your mouth is covered by a delicate lining of mucous membrane. It is kept moist and lubricated by saliva, which is produced in three pairs of salivary glands in your mouth. These are the sublingual glands located under your tongue, the submandibular glands located in the floor of your mouth, and the parotid glands located above the angle of your jaw. Your tongue is composed of a complex system of muscles that enable it to move food around as you chew. The surface of your tongue is covered with hair-like projections called papillae with groups of tastebuds arranged in clusters around them. Your tastebuds can distinguish four main types of flavors: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. The majority of disorders affecting the mouth and tongue are not serious and are easy to treat. However, because it is possible for malignancies to form there, you should consult your physician or dentist of any condition persisting for more than two weeks. ...

Dental Terms to Impress Your Dentist Blood vessels - carry nutrients to the tooth. Bone - alveolar bone which forms the tooth socket and provides the tooth with support. Cemento-enamel junction - the line where the enamel and cementum meet. Cementum - thin layer of bone-like tissue covering the root of the tooth. Dentin - the hard yellow tissue underlying the enamel and cementum, making up the bulk of the tooth. Enamel - the hard, white outer layer of the tooth. Gingiva - the gums. Nerves - relay signals such as pain to and from your brain. Periodontal Ligament - the connective tissue which surrounds the tooth and connects it to bone. Pulp - located in the center of the tooth, it contains the blood vessels and nerves. Root canal - canal in the root of the tooth where the nerves and blood vessels pass. Tooth Structure The portion of the tooth visible in the mouth is called the crown. The crown is covered with enamel which is a  hard, white,...

The Jaws and Dental Arches The teeth are arranged in upper and lower arches. Those of the upper are called maxillary; those of the lower arch are called mandibular. The mandible is a horseshoe shaped bone which articulates with the skull by way of the temporomandibular joint, or the TMJ. Dentition Dentition is a term that describes all of the upper and lower teeth collectively. Clinically, there are three types of dentitions: The primary dentition consists of 20 teeth in all: ten upper and ten lower. Primary teeth are also called 'baby teeth, deciduous, or 'milk' teeth. Primary teeth begin to appear at about six months and are entirely replaced by permanent teeth by 12 to 13 years of age. The mixed dentition is the stage from ages 6 to 12  and is composed of both primary and permanent teeth. The permanent dentition is composed of 32 teeth in all, 16 upper and 16 lower. Types of dentition Homodont - Teeth that differ from each other only in size....

Plaque   Plaque is a sticky, colorless film of bacteria, salivary proteins, and food debris that forms on teeth every day. It is the main cause of cavities and gum disease. While it's still in a soft state, you can clean it off with a toothbrush and floss. However, once the plaque has calcified into calculus (commonly known as tartar), only your dentist or dental hygienist will be able to remove it. Plaque forms rapidly after cleaning regardless of your diet, however increased sugar has been shown to speed up the process. Plaque is actually composed of several species of bacteria. Different types of bacteria are associated with different dental conditions (decay, gingivitis, periodontitis, etc.) The types of bacteria most commonly found in plaque are Streptococcus mutans and  Streptococcus sanguis. It's been shown that there are over 160 different types of bacteria in gingivitis (Actinomyces, Fusobacterium, Streptococcus, etc.) Similar bacteria have been identified in per...