Carolina Complete Dental Blog

Top 5 Causes of Tooth Sensitivity

December 13, 2019

If you’re one of the 40 million Americans with sensitive teeth, you must be familiar with the painful zing that follows a hot drink, a bite of ice cream, or just a deep breath of cold air. These and other elements can cause a sudden discomfort if you have sensitive teeth, also called dentin hypersensitivity.

Each of your teeth has an important protected layer called enamel. If your enamel gets worn down, your teeth can become more sensitive over time. Your enamel is the visible, white part of the tooth and it protects the softer, inner layers of each tooth. Receding gums can also reveal sensitive parts of the tooth that aren’t protected by enamel.

If you’re living with sensitive teeth, it’s good to know what causes the pain and how to avoid it. You should also talk with your Goose Creek dentists about how to treat sensitive teeth and prevent further damage to your enamel or gums.

Causes of Sensitivity

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Stop Brushing After You Eat – Do This Instead

November 27, 2019

For a long time, we’ve been told to brush our teeth right after we eat, but conventional wisdom might be changing on that. Thanks to your mouth’s powerful and natural ability to clean itself, rinsing with water might actually be the best way to freshen your breath and prevent cavities after you eat.

In addition to your everyday hygiene routine, rinsing with water is a free, easy way to maintain oral health throughout the day. To understand this, read below about what happens in your mouth after you eat and why water is so great for your teeth.

Digestion Begins in Your Mouth

You might think that digestion starts in your stomach, but it actually starts in your mouth! The combination of chewing your food and the special bacteria in your mouth are essential to swallowing and digesting your food. Probiotics are specific bacteria that live in your mouth every day and begin the whole process of digestion by breaking down your food on a microscopic level.

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The Good, The Bad & The Crossbite

November 13, 2019

If your teeth or jaw don’t line up well with each other, you may have a crossbite. Goose Creek dentists Dr. Barganier, Dr. Zuffi, Dr. Williams, and Dr. McAdams explain more about this condition, its effects and what you can do to treat it below.

A Good Bite

In a perfect world, your teeth would all be straight, and your upper jaw would rest nicely on top of and just a little in front of your bottom jaw. Of course, this frequently isn’t the case. Sometimes teeth are crooked or twisted and sometimes your top jaw rests awkwardly on your bottom jaw. How your teeth and jaw line up together is called your “bite.”

When we talk about this alignment, the medical term is “occlusion.” If you have a problem with your bite or alignment, it’s called “malocclusion.” Crossbite is a condition of malocclusion.

A Bad Bite

It’s estimated that one in five people have some kind of malocclusion. Under the category of malocclusion, you can have:

  • Underbite – when your lower jaw protrudes far out in front of your upper jaw
  • Overbite – when your upper jaw protrudes far out in front of your lower jaw
  • Crossbite – when your teeth or arches are laterally misaligned (side to side rather than forward and back)

Each of these bite problems can interfere with your oral and overall health. Malocclusion can be caused by:

  • A mismatch in size of jaw and teeth
  • Sucking a thumb or pacifier too long
  • Baby teeth taking too long to fall out
  • Early loss of adult teeth

Effects of Crossbite

When your teeth don’t rest down properly on each other, it causes a ripple of many side effects. Effects of a bad bite include:

  • Tooth decay
  • Gum disease
  • Grinding down tooth enamel
  • Jaw pain or TMJ/TMD
  • Asymmetrical smile and facial features
  • Chronic headaches and migraines

All of these side effects can get worse over time and seriously threaten your health and daily quality of life. This is why it’s important to treat malocclusion as soon as possible.

Treating a Crossbite

The best time to correct your bite is in youth before the mouth is done growing, but you can and should seek treatment for a crossbite at any age. Treating a crossbite can take a long time because your mouth is a complicated system with many parts. Depending on your specific case and the severity of the crossbite, Carolina Complete Dental may recommend:

Only a professional dentist can diagnose and treat your crossbite. If your bite is bothering you for any reason at all, it’s always a good idea to check with your dentist.

You don’t need to live with pain or a smile you don’t love. To learn more, make an appointment with us today!

The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.


Carolina Complete Dental
100 Berkeley Square Ln.
Goose Creek, SC
(843) 779-9445
https://goo.gl/maps/d6XNxenrn7u

 

Is Your Lipstick Aging You?

October 27, 2019

Carolina Complete Dental believes that natural beauty comes first. Our priority is for you to feel comfortable in your smile, and nothing should hold you back from laughing and grinning each day. Many different dental treatments can bring you this lifelong confidence.

But we also know that the right makeup can enhance your natural beauty. It’s amazing what different products and colors can do to give you a different look and style. So, what shades of lipstick do we recommend to go with your healthy, beautiful smile? Read more below from your Goose Creek dentists to learn what lipstick shades will make your teeth appear whiter, and which shades to avoid.

What Colors & Why

Fashion trends will come and go. But how do you pick a lipstick color that will improve your smile and make your teeth instantly appear whiter?

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Can Poor Oral Health Cause Diabetes?

October 13, 2019

Diabetes is a chronic and complicated disease that affects how your body processes sugar—its main source of energy. Diabetes symptoms mostly affect your heart, eyes, nerves, and kidneys, but it can affect your whole body, including your mouth.

According to the American Dental Association (ADA), more than 29 million Americans have diabetes, and almost 2 million new cases are diagnosed each year. Managing your blood sugar is very important if you have diabetes and will help keep symptoms at bay. Taking good care of your oral wellness is actually one key to managing blood sugar.

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Brushing Your Teeth – Are You Doing It Wrong?

September 27, 2019

Did you know that certain times of day might be better for brushing than others? While it’s always recommended to brush your teeth twice per day, and floss once per day, your timing is also important.

If you love your pearly whites and want to keep them around as long as possible (because face it, life would be pretty difficult without your teeth), read more to improve your tooth brushing game.

The Acid in Your Mouth

Some level of acid in your mouth is normal, especially after you eat. After you eat, the healthy bacteria in your mouth go to work to break down microscopic bits of food leftover (yum!) and they produce acid as a result. However, consuming too much sugar increases acid production beyond a healthy level. Snacking all day also keeps those bacteria working and producing more acid than your teeth can handle.

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Gingivitis: Are Your Gums Trying to Tell You Something?

September 13, 2019

Gingivitis, very simply, is an inflammation of your gums. (Any time a medical term ends with “itis” it means inflammation.) Gingivitis varies in severity and can look a few different ways. Very bad gingivitis leads to periodontal (gum) disease.

Gingivitis is common and affects many, rather, most adults. But with good oral hygiene and the care of your Goose Creek dentists, you should be able to avoid any major problems and even prevent gingivitis before it begins! Carolina Complete Dental shares some information below about what causes gingivitis, how to prevent it, and how to treat it if it happens to you!

Causes of Gingivitis

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Do You Have TMJ? You Might Have Sleep Apnea

August 27, 2019

Your jawbone (the mandible) meets your skull bone (the temporal bone) at the temporomandibular joint or TMJ. On a good day, this joint allows your mouth to open and close, to speak and eat or rest. On a bad day, you can develop pain and dysfunction in the TMJ that affects many areas of your life and health. The Goose Creek dentists of Carolina Complete Dental explain more below about how problems with your TMJ are connected to problems with sleep.

TMJ Disorders

If you have a recurring problem with your temporomandibular joint, it’s called temporomandibular disorder (or TMD, although TMD and TMJ are often used interchangeably). The National Institutes of Health estimates that 10 million people have TMD, though the cases are usually mild.

TMD frequently includes pain, clicking or popping, and tight, sore facial muscles. TMD can be caused by genetics, arthritis, or jaw injuries. Sometimes it’s hard to diagnose what’s exactly causing the problem because stress and jaw problems can turn into a painful, self-perpetuating cycle.

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An Alkaline Diet for Oral Health

August 13, 2019

Acids and bases might sound like something from far back in your memory, like middle-school science class, but the concept is still very applicable to every aspect of life today. The foods and beverages you consume daily have a very big effect on your oral health and overall health, for better or worse. You can protect and support your health by eating the right foods. We know this isn’t news to anyone, but it’s much easier said than done, right? The Goose Creek dentists of Carolina Complete Dental explain below about how an alkaline diet can benefit your oral health and overall health.

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Healthy Mouth, Healthy Heart

July 27, 2019

We all know that it’s important to take care of our health, but that’s often easier said than done. Health and hygiene routines are an investment of your time every day. So, wouldn’t it be great if you could accomplish more by actually doing less?

As it turns out, when it comes to oral health and heart health, you can! Taking care of one is actually taking care of the other. Count that as one less thing you have to do each day. Dr. Barganier, Dr. Zuffi, Dr. Williams, and Dr. McAdams of Carolina Complete Dental in Goose Creek explain how oral health and heart health are closely connected.

How Your Mouth Affects Your Heart

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