Acid Reflux and Dental Health

Acid reflux is more than just uncomfortable: it’s a menace to your health. At Greenville Family Dental, we strive to ensure our patients understand how to maintain their oral hygiene. Therefore, they need to know how to stop acid reflux from damaging their teeth.

Hydrochloric acid is a component of stomach acid and is incredibly strong. The stomach has a layer of mucus to protect it, but the rest of the body depends on sphincters to keep hydrochloric acid out. When acid escapes into the esophagus, it causes painful burns all the way into the mouth. There, it erodes enamel, leaving teeth sensitive and discolored. It also causes gum bleeding and inflammation.

Enamel can be protected with fluoride treatments and replaced with white fillings and partial crowns. Bonding can strengthen teeth whose surrounding gum tissue was corroded. But to reduce acid reflux, patients will need to reduce their intake of caffeine, alcohol, foods that are high in fat, and foods and drink that are highly acidic. They may also need to talk to their doctor about changing medications which cause acid reflux as a side effect.

Dr. Christopher Emuedue operates Greenville Family Dentistry at 7215 I-30, Suite B, Greenville, Texas, 75402. To schedule an appointment, call 903-455-6701 or visit GreenvilleFamilyDentistryTX.com and fill out a contact sheet.

 

Sealants

Dental sealants are a preventative measure used to preserve the teeth and tooth enamel. Almost half of all children and adolescents in the United States have had cavities in their permanent teeth, and at Greenville Family Dentistry we regularly apply sealants for young patients to start protecting teeth early!  Molars first come in at around 5-7 years of age, with a second set coming in between the ages of 11-14. It is best to have a sealant placed when the molars first come in to ensure they are protected early. 

Most tooth decay in children and teenagers occurs on the chewing surfaces of molars, where the pits and grooves tend to trap food and bacteria.  Dental sealants are applied to surfaces of these back teeth much like paint. The plastic resin fills any pits and grooves on the surface and hardens. Now the surface is protected from bits of food being stuck, so bacteria cannot multiply and cause decay.  Sealants also protect tooth enamel from plaque and acids, and can effectively prevent cavities for up to ten years.

If you think anyone in your family would benefit from a dental sealant, please contact us.  Dr. Christopher Emuedue operates Greenville Family Dentistry at 7215 I-30, Suite B, Greenville, Texas, 75402.  To schedule an appointment, call 903-455-6701, or visit GreenvilleFamilyDentistryTX.com and fill out a contact sheet.

Scaling and Root Planing

In its most advanced stages, gum disease can lead to gum recession and even tooth loss.  At Greenville Family Dentistry, we want to help you make sure it never gets to that stage.  When sticky bacteria called plaque builds up on a tooth, the gum starts to pull away from the tooth and form a pocket around the buildup.  When left untreated, this only leads to more gum recession.  Scaling and root planing are used to treat this buildup and prevent the later stages of gum disease.

Scaling and root planing are two parts of a deep cleaning procedure we can perform to repair gums. The procedure begins with scaling, the process of removing plaque from the surface of your teeth all the way down to your gums. This is followed by root planing, which involves minor contouring to smooth the surface of a tooth near the root.  Once the plaque has been removed and the tooth root has been smoothed, the gums that have pulled away from the tooth now have a clean, smooth surface to reattach to.  

Dr. Christopher Emuedue operates Greenville Family Dentistry at 7215 I-30, Suite B, Greenville, Texas, 75402. To schedule an appointment, call 903-455-6701 or visit GreenvilleFamilyDentistryTX.com and fill out a contact sheet.

Losing a Permanent Tooth

Our implants at Greenville Family Dental are the best ways patients can replace lost teeth. However, it is sometimes possible to save a tooth that has been knocked out. The tooth must be intact and it has the best chances if the patient sees a dentist within an hour, but if patients know to follow this guide, the odds may be in their favor.

If the accident happened in a place with first aid kits, we hope the kits will be stocked with tooth cleaning solutions and containers approved by the American Dental Association. But if this is not the case, pick up the tooth by its crown, rinse it off with saltwater or milk, and then put it back in its socket. Make sure it is facing the right way and bite down on gauze to keep it in place. If the injury makes placing the tooth impossible, hold it in the cheek or in a container filled with milk or saltwater. However, saving a tooth should not take precedence over a potentially life-threatening injury, such as a massive gash.

It is important to note that only permanent teeth can be saved. Implants must be replaced, while reinserting baby teeth is not recommended because it can disrupt the growth of permanent teeth. If a baby tooth is lost prematurely, the child may be given an orthodontic spacer to preserve the rest of the teeth’s alignment until the permanent one comes in.

Dr. Christopher Emuedue operates Greenville Family Dentistry at 7215 I-30, Suite B, Greenville, Texas, 75402. To schedule an appointment, call 903-455-6701 or visit GreenvilleFamilyDentistryTX.com and fill out a contact sheet.

 

Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Families who visit Greenville Family Dental know how much dentists emphasize to children the importance of preventing cavities. But children are at risk of tooth decay long before they are old enough to clean their own teeth, and we want families to know how they can protect their youngest children from Baby Bottle Tooth Decay.

Baby Bottle Tooth Decay is a pattern of tooth decay which affects the front side of toddlers’ incisors (the front teeth). It is believed to be caused by prolonged exposure to sugar in the form of milk or formula from a baby bottle. While dental information commonly and rightly discourages parents from giving children drinks with high sugar content, it is actually the amount of time for which teeth are exposed to sugar which is the biggest risk factor.

Unfortunately, people have a tendency to give toddlers baby bottles filled with milk or formula and let them suck from them for hours. This ensures the child’s teeth will be covered in sugary residue and that they won’t be thirsty enough to ask for water, which could help clean some of the sugar away. Parents can avoid this by limiting children’s time with the bottle, giving them water, and teaching them to drink from cups around the time of their first birthday. Of course, parents should also still avoid giving children drinks with high sugar content, such as juice.

Dr. Christopher Emuedue operates Greenville Family Dentistry at 7215 I-30, Suite B, Greenville, Texas, 75402. To schedule an appointment, call 903-455-6701 or visit GreenvilleFamilyDentistryTX.com and fill out a contact sheet.

 

What Is Bone Grafting?

A bone graft might sound like a more intense procedure than a typical dental appointment, but bone grafting has become a routine procedure to help bodies heal.  The bone graft dentists perform is to the jaw bone in order to strengthen the future site of an implant. Dr. Christopher Emuedue can advise when this procedure is necessary. Bone grafting consists of harvesting bone material from a healthy part of a patient’s body, and transferring it to a site that needs reinforcement. This gives the injured or deficient bone a replacement and encourages growth of new material around the site. There are synthetic options for bone grafts, but a dental graft is usually obtained from a different spot in the patient’s own mouth.

When a patient needs a dental implant to replace a lost or damaged tooth, their jaw bone needs to be strong enough to receive the implant. A jaw bone can weaken over time if tooth loss or gum disease has left a certain portion of the jaw vulnerable, and this is when a dentist would perform a bone graft.  The healing process can often take several months, and your jaw is monitored by your dentist until it heals enough to handle the placement of an implant.

Dr. Christopher Emuedue operates Greenville Family Dentistry at 7215 I-30, Suite B, Greenville, Texas, 75402. To schedule an appointment, call 903-455-6701 or visit GreenvilleFamilyDentistryTX.com and fill out a contact sheet.

Mouth Guards

At Greenville Family Dentistry we want adults and children who are active in sports to know they may be overlooking an important safety precaution.  Athletes participating in any contact sport are advised to wear some kind of mouth protection, and as you and your family sign up for sports this season we are here to give you that protection. A mouth guard helps prevent damage to the teeth and jaw, and injuries to the cheeks, tongue, and lips.

You can find generic mouth guards in most sporting goods stores, but not in many sizes. These mouth guards often end up feeling uncomfortable, which leads to child and teenage athletes in particular not wearing the protection at all.  An ill-fitting or bulky mouth guard can even interrupt breathing and speaking. Have your dentist perform a custom mouth guard fitting and get a mouth guard made of thin, hard plastic that protects your teeth and still fits comfortably.  Mouth guards can also be fit over braces, preventing brackets from rubbing the inside of the mouth. This is an easy precaution to take for athletes, and you can go right back to playing your best!

Dr. Christopher Emuedue operates Greenville Family Dentistry at 7215 I-30, Suite B, Greenville, Texas, 75402. To schedule an appointment, call 903-455-6701 or visit GreenvilleFamilyDentistryTX.com and fill out a contact sheet.