Author: adv-admin

Keeping your teeth for a lifetime is not only something that is possible, it’s something that’s very likely if you bother to take care of your teeth properly. The easiest way to do that besides daily brushing and flossing is to see your dental hygienist for a general cleaning every 6 months. This makes the risk of deep cavities or serious gum problems forming drop way down. Any problem caught earlier is much more likely to be treatable, rather than to cost you your precious, original teeth. Sure, we live in a day and age where anyone can go get “false” teeth or implants, but why do that to yourself when keeping your own teeth is really so simple?
The leading causes of tooth loss actually aren’t rotting teeth or cavities, but what surprises many people is that the leading cause of tooth loss is gum disease. While gum diseases in its mildest forms is not all that damaging, and is relatively treatable serious gum diseases can spell major problems. A mild case of gingivitis can turn into periodontitis relatively quickly if left untreated, especially in the age 65+ populations. Periodontitis is a serious condition that effects millions of men and women each year around the country, oftentimes including children with poor access to dental hygiene tools. Simply by visiting the dentist every 6 months one can catch gingivitis before it turns to periodontitis, and save many expenses and a lot of pain for themselves later down the road.
Left untreated, periodontitis can lead eat through the gums into the bones that hold the teeth in. The bone decay can cause loose teeth, and in some extreme cases cause the teeth to fall out. When periodontitis gets to the point of eating into the bone, this may be past the help and care of even the most up-to-date dental technologies available to consumers today. By paying regular visits to the dentist, you can prevent these conditions before they get to this point. This is why your 6 month checkups are so vital to the future health of your teeth. The populations most likely to have issues losing teeth to periodontitis include those that are aged 35 or older, are male, avoid professional dental care, do not brush their teeth regularly (it’s disgusting but there are people in the US who don’t brush their teeth daily), smoke, have diabetes, suffer from high blood pressure, or suffer from rheumatoid arthritis.
Remember, if caught early enough the effects of gingivitis are very easy to treat and prevent in the future, and some cases of periodontitis in the earlier stages can be reversed! This is why the importance of seeing your dentist every 6 months is so stressed. It’s not a quack to create more income or charge customers more money, it’s to keep this exact scenario from playing out in your mouth!

If you have any questions regarding this article please contact us or call us at 909-465-1016.

The Ramona Dentistry Team
“Where Family Comes First”

When you are choosing any healthcare professional, it is important that the task is taken very seriously. These people are responsible for your general well-being and health now, and into the future. It is essential that these are people that you trust, and that you know that they have your best interests in mind when recommended or providing any care administered. This includes oral healthcare professionals. There are many things that one must look for when selecting an oral health professional, and knowing what those things are can be vital to helping ensure you are picking the best professionals your plan will cover.
Consider what the dentist’s office hours are. Are these hours flexible, and do they work with your schedule? Can you easily schedule appointments when you need them? This includes your 6 month cleanings to prevent future problems from occurring. Moreover, is the location convenient and easy to get to from home or work? This is important because if the office is significantly out of your way you are more likely to reschedule, push off, or avoid check-ups and preventative treatment that may end up costing you more serious problems in the future. If it’s easy, convenient, and pain-free to keep an appointment then you are likely to keep up on preventative care, and avoid many problems in the future. Choosing a dentist that believes in preventative care is also important. It helps you avoid problems in the future to take steps to prevent them now.
It’s also important to understand your dentist’s background as to where he was trained and what school he attended. Also, understand how often he/she goes to ongoing education conferences or takes classes. New information is always surfacing, and doctors including dentists need to understand the implications new practices have on their field, and more accurate ways that they may treat existing problems to help prevent them from becoming more severe. Dentists who are up on the “latest treatments” help save patients more pain in the future, and also improve costs of quality care to their patients as future problems are often avoided.
It’s vital to understanding if the dentist provides out-of-hours care to patients, or if he refers that service to someone else. If so, is that practice also covered under your insurance in case you need after-hours care. When you are seeing your own dentist, it’s also important to know what types of anesthesia they are certified to provide, and which procedures are done in-office versus those that are outsourced to other locations. It’s likely more convenient if the dentist you see can handle out-of-office-hour calls/appointments, and do mots procedures themselves in their office, rather than forcing you to go many different places to meet your dental needs. If you must seek out-of-office care, ensure your insurance will cover those expenses before consenting to receive that treatment. Otherwise, you might be in for a rather expensive treatment if you have to pay out-of-pocket.
Far as expenses for treatment and services go, it is also important to understand what the dental practice or insurances cover, versus what you are expected to cover individually out-of-pocket. You should confirm with both the billing department and the dentist himself that they participate in your dental plan, and that they accept the insurance you have. It is also important to know what the flat-costs of procedures without insurance are, in case you have to pay out-of-pocket. What is the most you will have to pay? Can you afford it? That is VITAL to understanding if this dentist is a good fit for you. It’s also good to note what the office has as policy on missed appointments are, and what fees are charged. This helps incase emergencies ever arise and you do have to miss an appointment on short or virtually no notice.
Finally, it’s also important to tour the office before you get dental work done there. Is the office environment and the equipment clean? Remember, that equipment is vital to the procedures that are performed there, and dirty or unclean equipment can result in health concerns of illnesses and conditions that may be passed from patient to patient. There are few better ways to spread illnesses than not properly sterilizing equipment that goes into more than one person’s mouth. IF the equipment at a facility is not clean, then find another facility with clean and sterilized equipment.

If you have any questions regarding this article please contact us or call 909-465-1016.

The Ramona Dentistry Team
“Where Family Comes First”

It’s that awful moment when you wake up in the morning and something stinks – real bad. Then you realize, it’s your breath. Morning breath is not something new. Many people experience it, but a sip of water or brushing your teeth should solve that problem. However, for some people no matter what their breath DOES stink, even after brushing or taking a drink of water. For those few there are simple steps one can take to help lessen the stench.
If you are not regularly brushing your teeth doing so more often can help keep the stench at bay. Brush at least 2 times a day and floss once. If you are over concerned about stinky breath maybe brushing 3 times and flossing 2 times is OK, but do not go overboard. Overdoing it can make your teeth more prone to decay. When you are not brushing your teeth sip water frequently to keep hydrated and keep your mouth moist. Rinse out after meals or snacks to keep the food from settling in and making your breath smell even worse!
It may sound gross, but one big problem most people forget that is causing the stench to their bad breath is their tongue. Scraping your tongue to get rid of bacteria that may grow there can often help eliminate many sources of stinky breath. Comfortably brushing to the back of your tongue with your toothbrush works OK, but if that is not comfortably you can use a scraper as well to gently run across the tongue to pick up any excess bacteria.
It’s also best to avoid foods that sour your breath. Eating things heavy with onions or garlic will not help your breath smell any better either. Eat them sparingly or at least when you are going out in public. Try things that are more mild and neutral in flavor and odor. Also kick the after-dinner mints or candies as they can often leave sugars that decompose in the mouth making breath smell worse than it otherwise would. Opt just for a glass of water, or if you must have something with flavor a piece of sugarless chewing gum should work fine!
If you smoke or have a tobacco habit this is another reason to kick that habit! These habits can make your breath smell even worse than usual, and can also help infect the gums which can give breath and even more putrid odor. If you have at cigarette or tobacco habit see your doctor to help get on a non-smoking or a quitting plan. It can save your health and your breath.
One final step is to ensure that you have a humidifier in your home, and that the cold dry air of winter isn’t drying out your mouth. Moreover, ensure you are sipping water frequently to keep the mouth moistened and to avoid buildups of excessive bacteria in the mouth from occurring. If all steps fail despite these efforts see your doctor to see what may be the issue. It may be from some rare medical conditions where a diagnosis and treatment plan may be the need.

If you have questions regarding this article contact us or call us 909-465-1016

The Ramona Dentistry Team
“Where Family Comes First”