According to the American Cancer Society, only about 4% to 7% of people are able to quit smoking without medicines or other help. The chemical, nicotine, is the cause for tobacco addiction, whether it’s smoked or chewed. The dependence on nicotine means you may not be able to stop using the substance, although it is causing harm to your body. To help you defeat a nicotine addiction, Dr. Ann Kania is happy to offer council on your journey towards smoking cessation. (more…)
A Periodontist’s Connection to Lost Teeth
What does a periodontist have to do with tooth loss? As an expert in maintaining the health of your gums, your Encinitas periodontist is specially trained to help you prevent and control gum disease—the leading cause of permanent tooth loss in the US. Should you lose one or more teeth, Dr. Kania can also help you rebuild your smile by assessing your eligibility for a dental implant restoration. (more…)
How Deep of a Dental Cleaning Do You Need?
There’s more than one way to clean your teeth, and all of them are important at different steps in your dental hygiene routine. The most common is to simply brush and floss your teeth twice a day. In between brushings, the many kinds of oral bacteria in your mouth gather and form dental plaque, which can calcify (harden) if ignored, or if your toothbrush misses it. Since tartar can’t be removed with water and toothpaste, a healthy patient also requires routine dental checkups and cleanings at least once every six months. If bacteria work their way underneath your gums, inciting the onset of gingivitis, then you may need a deep dental cleaning, or periodontal cleaning, to save your smile from gum disease. (more…)
Your Powerful Smile
You might recognize the maxim, “Smile and the world smiles with you.” Did you know, however, that studies have shown the human smile actually is contagious? It’s also the most widely recognized expression in the world, transcending language to portray a person’s joy and good will. As the subject of numerous studies, however, the power and benefits of smiling go far beyond sharing your joyful expression with others. It can also significantly improve your self-image, reduce chronic stress, serve a number of important social functions, and, perhaps, help you live longer and healthier. (more…)
What Does a Periodontist Do?
Unlike your general dentist, who utilizes a broad range of treatments for most common dental issues, a periodontist is an expert who specializes in the tissues and structures that support your teeth. Preventing, diagnosing, and treating issues with your periodontal tissue (gums) may be necessary to preserving your natural teeth. When advanced gum disease, or rampant oral inflammation, is present, your dentist will likely recommend you to a periodontist for specialized treatment. (more…)
How to Fight Periodontal Disease with Lasers
As a periodontist, a significant part of Dr. Ann Kania’s life involves helping patients prevent or fight off periodontal disease. The gum infection affects over 80% of the adult population in the United States, and patients often don’t seek treatment until the disease has become a serious issue. Its most advanced form, called periodontitis, is the leading cause of permanent tooth loss, and treating the disease often means undergoing surgery to clean infectious bacteria from underneath the gums. At Dr. Kania’s office, however, advanced periodontal treatment usually consists of lasers and the LANAP protocol, rather than conventional surgery with scalpels and sutures. (more…)
How to Regenerate Tooth, Bone, and Gum Structures
The goal of periodontics is to help you maintain your teeth and their supportive structures in a healthy, functional state for life. Sometimes, this may require treatment to eradicate bacteria and prevent or control the development of periodontal disease—the leading cause of adult tooth loss in the United States. Also known as gum disease, the bacterial infection destroys the gum tissue that supports your teeth, and can degrade the jawbone underneath it when allowed to progress. Traditionally, treating periodontal disease involved thoroughly cleaning bacteria from underneath the gum line and your teeth’s roots. If tissue damage occurred, then treatment could help repair it. Today, however, Dr. Kania employs a number of biologic materials that help regenerate lost tooth, bone, and periodontal structures, improving the success of periodontal therapy for longer-lasting results. (more…)
Does Bad Breath Mean You Have Gum Disease?
Periodontal disease goes through many stages, is known by many names, and produces many symptoms to warn you of its presence. Bleeding gums are a common sign, but since they don’t hurt, they can be fairly easy to overlook for some patients. Chronic bad breath, however, is a bit more difficult to ignore, since other people can often notice it as much as you can. When your breath is less-than-stellar due to the presence of gum disease, no mint or stick of chewing gum can offer you a solution. On the contrary, you might require the expertise of a specialist to treat your gum disease before seeing any improvement in your bad breath. (more…)
How Periodontal Germs Trick Your Immune System
Did you know that periodontal disease, or gum disease, is self-inflicted? It usually develops when bacteria overwhelm your teeth and gums. What may surprise you, however, is that the infection itself isn’t the most destructive aspect of periodontal disease. On the contrary, it’s your immune system’s exaggerated inflammatory response to mouth germs that does much of the damage.
Blame the Oral-Systemic Connection
The oral-systemic connection describes the complex relationship between your oral health and your physical well-being. (more…)
Experts Say: It’s Never Too Late to Quit Smoking
According to the American Lung Association, cigarette smoke is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, claiming over 393,000 lives each year. The numerous health effects of smoking are well-documented, but research continues to uncover evidence of cigarette smoke’s influence, and how not smoking can improve your quality of life. The good news is that smoking cessation is beneficial no matter how long you’ve been smoking, although sooner is much better as far as your health is concerned. (more…)