How Much Do You Know About Your Periodontal Disease?

Posted by

hmmmYou probably know that brushing and flossing your teeth helps you prevent tooth decay, but do you know the best methods for preventing gum disease? Actually, brushing and flossing is your main defense against that, too, but the mechanisms behind gum disease, or periodontal disease, are different than those of tooth decay, and knowing the difference is important to preserving your smile’s foundation. For instance, while a toothache can tell you when decay has a hold of your tooth, there are other signs you should be wary of that tell you when gum disease becomes a threat. To help stay vigilant against the attack on your gums, take our brief quiz below, provided by your Encinitas periodontist, Dr. Ann Kania, and beef up your knowledge about periodontal disease.

The Periodontal Disease True/False Quiz!

1.) Periodontal disease is the number one cause of adult tooth loss in America.

True—Unlike tooth decay, which directly attacks your teeth, periodontal disease attacks the gingival tissue and jawbone structure that support your teeth. Left unchecked, the disease takes away your mouth’s ability to retain your natural teeth, resulting in varying degrees of tooth loss. (more…)

Comprehensive Periodontal Therapy with Your San Diego Periodontist

Posted by

healthy gums smileThe soft periodontal tissue that surrounds and seals the roots of your teeth is a vital component of your oral health. Since tooth roots aren’t covered by the strong protective enamel that surrounds a healthy tooth’s crown, your gums are their main defense against the harmful bacteria that can threaten your oral health. Unfortunately, this seal is vulnerable to bacterial infection and disease in the midst of inadequate dental hygiene, and if not treated, your smile’s foundation can lose its ability to retain your teeth. Luckily, your San Diego periodontist, Dr. Ann Kania, is an expert in your periodontal health, and can help preserve your teeth and the health of your gums through comprehensive periodontal therapy.

Prevention is the Best Medicine

As destructive as periodontal disease can be, preventing its development is not complicated. Brushing and flossing your teeth at least twice a day is vital to controlling the buildup of dental plaque, which is formed by masses of oral bacteria, but the daily routine isn’t sufficient to prevent periodontal disease alone. Your regular dental cleaning allows your dentist or hygienist to more thoroughly remove any plaque you may have missed, and plaque’s calcified form, tartar. It also allows for a thorough inspection of your mouth for signs of trouble. The good news is that, while prevention is the best medicine against periodontal disease, early detection is the next best thing. (more…)

San Diego Periodontist Discusses Gum Disease and Tooth Loss

Posted by

gums and teethDid you know that periodontal (gum) disease is the number one cause of adult tooth loss in America? Unlike tooth decay, which directly attacks your tooth’s structure, periodontal disease attacks the structures that support your teeth, namely your periodontal tissue, or gums, and jawbone. By staying vigilant, however, you can detect gum disease in its earliest stage, gingivitis, and prevent the destruction that commonly leads to tooth loss. San Diego periodontist, Dr. Ann Kania, examines how periodontal disease can cost you your teeth, how to detect the disease before it causes irreversible damage, and how to preserve your oral health in the case that gum disease claims one or more teeth.

Silently Destroying Your Smile’s Foundation

Although tooth decay and gum disease are different in nature, they share similar humble beginnings—both stem from bacterial infections. The sticky substance that coats your teeth, called plaque, contains nearly 600 different kinds of oral bacteria. When plaque accumulates along your gum line, some of these germs release toxins that irritate your gum tissue and cause them to pull away from your teeth. More bacteria can crawl into the spaces between your gums and teeth, working silently to destroy the periodontal tissues, and eventually the jawbone structure, that support your teeth. (more…)

Encinitas Periodontist Explores the Popularity of Fluoride

Posted by

fluoride drinking waterWhen it comes to the health of your smile, prevention is priceless. Since most dental issues like tooth decay and gum disease are progressive, they only grow worse with time once they’ve developed. One of the more popular preventive tools in the fight against tooth decay is fluoride, which can be found in most modern toothpaste and dental care products. In fact, the benefits of the mineral are so well-known that fluoride treatments are a routine measure at your dentist’s office for patients with an increased risk of tooth decay. Encinitas periodontist, Dr. Kania, explores the popularity of fluoride in today’s dental care by explaining how it protects your teeth from disease.

Discovering the Complex Mineral

The first indications that fluoride could benefit your oral health began in the early 1900s as an odd observation by a young dental school graduate named Frederick McKay. In 1901, McKay opened his dental practice in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Upon his arrival, McKay was astonished to find that a large portion of the population sported prominent brown stains on their teeth. In some cases, the stains were severe enough to resemble the color of chocolate candy. After decades of research and the eventual collaboration of other interested professionals, McKay and his colleagues discovered that the stains were caused by the supply of fluoride in the drinking water. What astounded McKay and friends most, however, was that teeth afflicted with the brown deformity were strangely resistant to tooth decay. (more…)

What Can Your Dental Cleaning Do For You?

Posted by

modest smileIf you’re confident in your smile, then chances are you show it often. There is also a good chance that you take care of your smile by brushing and flossing your teeth every day, at least twice a day. While daily hygiene is vital, however, maintaining your smile’s good health also requires the touch of a professional. Learn the value of regularly-scheduled dental cleanings and professional maintenance by reading on as San Diego Periodontist, Dr. Kania, explains.

A Thorough Surface Scrub

There’s more than one way to clean a smile. The most common cleaning, also called a prophylaxis, enhances the effectiveness of your daily hygiene routine. The point of brushing and flossing is to control the accumulation of dental plaque, which contains hundreds of different oral bacteria types, some of which release toxins to destroy your oral tissues. Unfortunately, even the best routine may miss a spot now and then, and when plaque remains for too long, it becomes tartar; a calcified substance that is more stubborn than plaque and requires professional assistance to remove. Your regular cleaning also involves removing plaque from the gum line, where bacteria are fond of collecting. (more…)

Surprising Sources of Malodorous Breath

Posted by

pretty embarrassed woman covering mouthThe severity of some dental issues may be relevant to the patient. For instance, tooth loss can be a devastating issue for some people, while others may laugh it off and continue about their daily lives, confidence unaffected (it should be noted that if you ignore tooth loss, your oral health can continue to suffer the consequences, even if your confidence doesn’t). Offensive breath, however, is an issue that most people would agree needs to be addressed. Brushing and flossing your teeth can typically eliminate the foul odors that can emanate from your mouth, but in some cases, dental hygiene alone may not suffice to combat the problem. To help you defeat bad breath and restore your confidence, Encinitas periodontist, Dr. Kania, explains some of the lesser-known causes behind chronic bad breath, or halitosis.

Bad Bacteria

If you are a patient or regular reader of ours, then you should know that the majority of oral health issues, including periodontal disease, begin with the excessive accumulation of bacteria. With over 600 different kinds of bacteria in your mouth, some of these germs do more than infect your oral tissues; some of them emit foul-smelling sulfur compounds that can seriously taint your exhalations. Many of these germs rest on your tongue, so be sure to scrub your tongue with a toothbrush, or preferably a tongue-scraper, while brushing and flossing your teeth. (more…)

Encinitas Periodontist Discusses Comprehensive Tooth Replacement

Posted by

older woman deep in thoughtYou have options when facing the prospect of significant tooth loss and replacement. Typically, for severe cases of tooth loss that involve most or all of the teeth on a single dental ridge, a partial or full denture is the most conservative option. As if an incomplete smile and a diminished ability to eat, chew, and speak were not worrisome enough, however, there are profound and long-reaching consequences of tooth loss that must be taken into consideration when pondering treatment. The loss of a tooth’s root affects more than your smile’s appearance; it can affect the health of your jaw, which naturally begins to deteriorate (atrophy) when it loses one or more of the roots embedded in it. In time, this deterioration can lead to further tooth loss, as well as the shrunken-jaw appearance of facial collapse. By securing your dentures to strategically placed dental implants, however, you can help stave off the continuing damage of tooth loss, helping restore and maintain your smile’s beauty and function in the more immediate future. Encinitas periodontist, Dr. Ann Kania, explores the various advantages that implant-supported dentures have over their traditional counter part. (more…)

A Discussion on Periodontal Health and Heart Disease

Posted by

girl listeningNot a lot of media attention is given to periodontal (gum) disease, but the chronic illness affects nearly 80% of America’s adult population and is the number one cause of permanent tooth loss. You may have diligently brushed and flossed your teeth for as long as you can remember, but you may still be vulnerable to this disease. Destruction from periodontal disease can effect far beyond your teeth and gums, and may contribute to an increased risk of heart disease and other systemic illnesses. To help exemplify the importance of preventing and treating periodontal disease, your Encinitas periodontist, Dr. Ann Kania, explores the connection between the dental malady and your risk of potentially fatal heart disease.

The Humble Beginnings of a Serious Problem

One of the pillars of the oral-systemic connection lies in the humble beginnings of dental issues like tooth decay and gum disease. Have you ever run your tongue over your teeth, only to grimace at the sticky, uncomfortable mass that covered their surfaces? That substance is dental plaque, which consists mostly of the bacteria that reside in your mouth and is largely responsible for the development of major oral health issues. (more…)

What Could Make a Dental Bridge Better?

Posted by

woman with crossed armsLosing a tooth can be a traumatic blow to both your oral health and your confidence. Replacing it, therefore, can be vital to your self-esteem, as well as to protecting your mouth from further damage and loss. Although the idea of a dental bridge is not a new one, it remains a popular and effective method for replacing a single lost tooth, although the materials and anchoring apparatus have improved greatly over time. A conventional dental bridge consists of one or more false teeth, or pontics, with crowns on either side of the device. The outside crowns are placed on the teeth adjacent to the gap, called anchor teeth, to hold the bridge in place. As efficient as a dental bridge is, however, it is not always an ideal solution when considering every consequence of tooth loss. Encinitas periodontist, Dr. Ann Kania, explains how securing your replacement tooth to a dental implant can address the loss of your tooth root as well as the visible crown.

Another Option

Because the outside crowns of a traditional bridge must be placed on your natural teeth, those anchor teeth must be recontoured by removing a small portion of enamel. While the amount removed is carefully calculated to disturb as little of your tooth as possible, most dentists would agree that leaving healthy teeth undisturbed is preferable whenever possible. A dental implant, on the other hand, serves as a prosthetic tooth root and offers a base for your restoration that is fused to your jawbone.   (more…)

Why Your Smile Needs a Solid Foundation

Posted by

thoughtful smileLast week, we discussed the various stages of gum disease and how it can destroy your smile as the disease progresses. Unlike tooth decay, gum disease does not directly attack your tooth structure, but rather it slowly erodes the foundation that holds your teeth in place and nourishes them. To underscore the importance of preventing and controlling gum disease, Encinitas periodontist, Dr. Ann Kania, explains why a strong and healthy foundation is important to your smile.

Jawbone–Like Soil for Your Teeth

The lower portion of your teeth extend into one, two, or three roots (on average), depending on the tooth. The roots are embedded in your jawbone via ligaments, which anchors your teeth in place and provides them nutrients through their roots. When periodontitis (severe gum disease) advances past your periodontal tissue, this supporting structure of jawbone is its next target.

When your roots are stimulated by biting or chewing, your body knows to send your jaw a certain allotment of nutrients to support them. If one or more of these teeth are lost, your jaw receives fewer nutrients and begins to atrophy,this may result in a lack of support for your remaining teeth and lead to further tooth loss. Gum disease, which is the number one cause of adult tooth loss in America, can work in tandem with nutrient-deficiency to render your jawbone unable to perform its duties. (more…)