Crescent Dental Blog

Category Archives: Dental Health

Dental Checkup, Dental Health

Why is brushing my teeth important?

Why is Brushing my Teeth Important?

According to the Dental Trivia section of dentist.ie (the Irish Dental Association website), only 46% of households purchase toothbrushes.

That’s an alarming statistic, and hopefully an inaccurate one, as your toothbrush is the most vital component of your oral health regime. Your dentist at Crescent Dental can tell you what happens to those who don’t brush their teeth.

Flossing, mouthwash and regular dental check-ups are ideal, but if your toothbrush isn’t doing its job-or worse; you don’t have one – you’re destined for decay.

Gum Disease Can Kill

Good oral health relies on brushing your teeth to prevent tooth decay and gum disease. Gum disease is not only a cause of tooth loss, but can also in extreme cases cause heart attack and stroke, as bacteria can enter the bloodstream via the mouth.

When we eat, the sugars and starches in food combine with any plaque coating the teeth and produce acids that attacks tooth enamel, leading to decay.

Plaque is a sticky substance that builds up on the tooth’s surface, and if you don’t brush to get rid of it, plaque will irritate your gums, making them red and swollen. This is gingivitis, which is the start of gum disease. It’s reversible in the early stages but left unchecked, the gums will begin to pull away from the teeth and the resulting pocket will fill with bacteria.

These pockets of bacteria can destroy the bone supporting the teeth, and ultimately can cause teeth will fall out. If you brush properly, you remove a large proportion of the plaque from the tooth’s surface-and flossing removes it from the spaces between teeth.

How Often Should I Brush?

To maintain good oral hygiene, you should brush for about two minutes morning and night, and preferably after eating so that plaque doesn’t build up.

A lot of people wait until their toothbrush is on its last legs before replacing it; acquiescing to the purchase of a new one only when the bristles are flat and falling out. If your toothbrush looks like that; it stopped doing you any good months ago.

If you brush twice a day, your toothbrush is ready for replacement every three to four months. Better yet, treat yourself to an electric toothbrush.

Power vs. Manual Toothbrush

‘Power’ or electric toothbrushes have become very sophisticated in design, with advanced brush heads and bristles based on oscillating/translating, vibrating, or ultrasonic technology.

There is no competition between a manual and a ‘power’ toothbrush. Even the most sophisticated of designs and the most regimented of brushers cannot compare to the plaque-removing efficacy of a power brush; they remove anywhere form 10% – 49% more plaque than a manual brush.

You can buy a reasonably priced electric toothbrush in most pharmacies and many department stores; and they are often on special offer at certain times of the year. It’s important to remember that even with an electric brush; you must replace the head after a while, as the bristles will become worn. At Crescent Dental we generally recommend the Oral B Pulsar range of electric toothbrush which is available to purchase in the clinic (price €9.95).

Whether you use a traditional toothbrush or an electric one, be conscious of wear and tear, and change it at the start of each season. This way you can keep your gums healthy and your teeth cavity-free.

Ask your dentist’s advice on brushing; you can call Crescent Dental on 061 484 844 to schedule your appointment. You may be eligible for a free check-up; see www.crescentdental.ie

Dental Checkup, Dental Health

Do you grind your teeth?

Bruxism is an increasingly common condition where people gnash or grind their teeth, sometimes unconsciously, clenching them together to the point where it causes headaches, damaged teeth and jaw pain.

Jaw Pressure

Our teeth are designed to exert force on the foods we eat, allowing us to break it up and chew it. The jaws use a lot of force to do this; about 175 pounds per square inch (psi) where they’re working on food between the teeth.

When the teeth are grinding together without the cushion of food between them, the direct pressure is even greater with the result that significant damage can be caused over time. Teeth become worn, fractured, the jaws themselves may ache or the patient may have frequent headaches.

Gnashing of Teeth by Day-and Night

Crescent Dental often sees patients who have damage from grinding their teeth subconsciously during the day. Often a result of sublimated stress, it’s a habit than can be corrected if it happens during waking hours, once the patient is made  aware of the fact that they do clench or grind their teeth.

Patients who grind their teeth by night, however, in ‘sleep bruxism’ are often at a loss to explain why they have a sore jaw or worn teeth. In fact, it’s often their partners awaking to the odd noise of teeth being compressed against each other that provides the explanation for the symptoms.

Signs of Teeth Grinding

If you’re grinding your teeth severely enough to cause problems, particularly if you have ‘sleep bruxism’, you may experience the following:

  • Teeth are worn down, chipped (very common result of teeth clenching) or fractured
  • Worn tooth enamel
  • Worsening of tooth sensitivity
  • Sore jaw muscles or tightness in the jaw area
  • Headache or ear ache due to jaw contractions
  • Unexplained facial pain
  • Marks on the inside of the cheek or tongue
  • TMJ – problems with the temporomandibular joints casing pain or clicking when you open and close your mouth. Grinding your teeth puts pressure on these joints.

If you have any of the aforementioned symptoms, it’s important to get to your dentist to evaluate the damage. Fracturing of teeth can allow bacteria to get into the tooth and potentially damage the nerve of the tooth as well as the gums.

Suspected Causes of Teeth Grinding

The root causes of bruxism are not fully understood, but many common factors in adults seem to be stress- related and include:

  • Anxiety, tension or stress
  • Frustration or anger
  • Response to pain in adults and children
  • Sleep problems and nightmares
  • Poor alignment of upper and lower teeth (malocclusion)
  • Rare response to certain types of medication
  • Illegal substances (ecstasy; methamphetamine)
  • Some caffeinated beverages and other legal stimulants

Effective Treatment for Teeth Grinding

The dental team at Crescent Dental will be able to tell if you are showing the symptoms of bruxism as part of your reoutine dental examination. They can work to repair the damage that has already been caused, and help each patient work to overcome their teeth-grinding habit.

In the case of sleep bruxism, our dentists can provide you with a specialised bite guard to act as a cushion between your upper and lower teeth, preventing them from becoming worn or chipped by the unconscious jaw pressure exerted in your sleep.

Teeth Grinding in Children

Children often grind their teeth; it’s quite common in childhood but tends to disappear as the child gets older and is usually resolved completely with the onset of adolescence.

If you child is grinding his/her teeth, take them to the dentist as soon as you become aware of the habit to ensure no major damage is being done, and to avoid future dental issues.

Call Crescent Dental on 061 484 844 to schedule your appointment. You may be eligible for a free check-up; see www.crescentdental.ie

Author: Geraldine Fitzgerald

Dental Health, Dental Sedation

Scared of the Dentist?

Scared of the Dentist?

One out of every four people is afraid of the dentist. It’s a surprisingly common fear, despite state-of-the-art technology and increased dental awareness in Ireland.

Some people have even developed a phobia about going to their dental clinic; which seems entirely rational to them and can be very hard to overcome, even if they really are in need of immediate dental care.

Overcome Fear of Dentist with Gentle Sedation

People have anxiety about the Dentist for a variety of reasons- a fear that the treatment might hurt (it won’t – there’s little or no pain in modern dentistry), or maybe they have bad memories from childhood. The smell of antiseptic; the sight of metal instruments – fear reactions are subjective in each patient but very real to all of them.

Some patients also have a strong gag reflex and find it difficult to control it when a dentist is using instruments in their mouth, but the majority of patients who postpone dental care do so from a sense of fear. People often wait until the pain becomes so great that they are in severe dental trauma and require emergency treatment.

Crescent Dental Limerick offer an Effective Solution to Anxiety

At Crescent Dental you are greeted and looked after by our gentle, kind and experienced staff. We are highly experienced at treating nervous / phobic adult and paediatric patient and we accept referrals from around Munster for this type of patient.

We offer patients two different types of sedation, either intravenous sedation or inhalation sedation. Whichever method you chose you can rest assured that your anxiety will be alleviated and that your dental visit will be a much more relaxed experience.

What Would Make Me a Candidate for Sedation Dentistry?

  • If you have a high fear level
  • Past history of difficult dental procedures
  • Unpleasant childhood memory of dentistry
  • Difficulty getting numb
  • Bad gag reflex
  • Very sensitive teeth
  • Complex dental problems

Intravenous Sedation

Often known as ‘conscious sedation or ‘twilight sedation’, intravenous sedation works by putting the patient into a very relaxed, pleasant dream like state. At Crescent Dental we use Midazolam, an anti-anxiety sedative medication widely used in sedation dentistry and well- tolerated by patients.

Administered through a small needle in the arm or hand, Midazolam works quickly to instantly make you very calm.

Intravenous sedation has three effects:

  • It relaxes you and reduces anxiety
  • It makes you sleepy
  • It usually produces amnesia, making you forget the procedure.

Midazolam is not a painkiller, so your dentist will also administer any local anaesthetics or painkillers appropriate for the dental work being performed. These can be administered before or after the Midazolam.

Details of Intravenous Sedation

During your intravenous sedation appointment you will be awake and aware of what’s going on around you, and you will be able to respond when spoken to, but very relaxed as your dentist works. Your heart rate, respiration and blood pressure are all continuously monitored throughout your appointment and there will be two nurses on hand at all times.

You won’t remember much, if anything, after your treatment as the sedative tends to produce amnesia. You will just feel calm, as if you’ve woken up from a nice relaxing doze.

Sedation dentistry has the additional benefit of allowing your dentist to carry out a number of different treatments in the same visit if needed, giving you the ideal opportunity to have any complex procedures done in one appointment.

Midazolam passes out of your system relatively quickly once the procedure is over, so you’ll be back to normal within an hour or so.

You must have someone to drive you home from the clinic, and you will need someone to stay with you for the rest of the day. This is a common precaution after any type of sedation. Please refer to the pre-operative and post-operative instructions here on our website in the Sedation section.

Inhalation Sedation

Often used to great effect in Children’s Dentistry, a combination of Nitrous Oxide and Oxygen, known to many as ‘Laughing Gas’ is available to patients at Crescent Dental. We  use it for younger patients who may be a little nervous, but adult patients may chose it as an alternative to intravenous sedation if they wish.

The staff at Crescent Dental will be happy to discuss your concerns and will take you through all of the details of both types of sedation, answering any questions you have.

Author: Geraldine Fitzgerald