Temporary Relaxation at the Dentist’s Office

If you are having problems with licensed professionals working over your teeth, nothing may be done to relieve the severe oral discomfort you are experiencing. When solutions are sorely needed to fix your teeth without you having to relive the perceived “horror in the chair” all over again, a skilled Philadelphia sedation dentist can help. Some experts state that dental sedation is implemented only according to the level that matches your condition during the initial assessment for the procedure.

What are the Causes of Tooth Discoloration?

One way to leave a lasting impression on someone is to flash a great smile. To keep that attractive smile, however, you need to be aware of certain foods and bad oral habits that can potentially damage your pearly whites, leading to discolored and dull-looking teeth.

Just Relax: Be at Ease with Your Sedation Dentist

Visiting a dentist can be intimidating. This fear is understandable though. Sitting on the dental chair, with sharp and pointed instruments prepared on the table for use, easily conjures thoughts of blood or pain and the attendant feelings of helplessness and loss of control. A sedation dentist knows that these factors could easily be overcome with various approaches to help a patient relax.

Teeth Whitening: At Home versus In-Office

There is no shortage of reasons to have a nice smile in everyday life. Do you have a date? A job interview? Are you heading out for a vacation? Whatever it may be, whether it’s the small things or the special occasions, it pays to have white teeth. For this very reason, many people have taken to getting teeth whitening services from their trusted dental professionals.

Age, diet, smoking, and medications all contribute to discolored teeth. As most of these factors are unavoidable, teeth whitening procedures are used to restore previously pearly whites. A reliable dentist typically offer two ways to whiten teeth—home whitening and one-visit whitening.

Sedation Dentistry: The Answer to Dental Fear

If you’ve got relatives or friends who’ve recently experienced a terrible toothache but adamantly refused to go to the dentist, you should understand that prodding them nonstop will barely help, as does stressing the importance of a visit to the dentist every chance you get. Chances are, they are well aware how of important dental care is— the problem is, they are too anxious or fearful to make the move.

At this point, they don’t need coaxing, and they certainly won’t benefit from hearing what can happen if they don’t seek dental treatment right away. What you could offer to these anxious and fearful individuals in dire need of dental services is help to find an alternative. Fortunately, sedation dentistry may just be what you’re looking for.

Preparing Your Child for a Trip to the Dentist

The first trip to the dentist’s office usually dictates how a child will see future visits. As such, you will want to do everything you can to make the experience as pleasant as possible. With that in mind, here are several tips to help you prepare your child for a trip to the dentist:

Meet and Greet

If your child is uneasy about meeting new people, you may want to schedule a tour of the dentist’s office. This allows your child to get used to his or her dentist and helps build trust between them. As a result, your child is less likely to be nervous about future visits.

When You Need Sedation Dentistry

For some people, visiting a dentist regularly is like paying their taxes. They are not particularly excited about it, but they do it, anyway, knowing it’s the right thing to do. Then again, there are those who equate dental visits to arranging their own funeral since they can’t help but feel great apprehension, manifested by sweaty palms, rapid heartbeats, and panic attacks.

If you believe you belong to the second category, you may want to consider sedation dentistry. With this, you’ll be able to relax and go through dental procedures without feeling anxious or uncomfortable. Sedation dentistry will also help control your movements like fidgeting during the dental procedure.

There are a variety of methods to implement sedation in dental patients, ranging from oral sedation to intravenous (IV). Oral sedation typically involves anti-anxiety medications like valium or halcyon. Meanwhile, in IV sedation, the sedation dentist has to work with an anesthesiologist to administer the drug into your bloodstream before your dental treatment.

If possible, reserve the option of sedation dentistry for complex procedures like wisdom teeth extraction or dental implants. If you are headed to the dentist only for a routine teeth cleaning or a basic tooth extraction, however, consider local anesthetics instead, or something as simple as inhaling laughing gas. Try out some distraction techniques, too, like listening to your favorite music through headphones.

Grind No More

Fans of the classic cartoon series The Simpsons may remember the third season episode “Colonel Homer,” where Marge angrily grinds her teeth at hearing Lurleen Lumpkin’s new song that suggested her feelings for Homer. However, grinding the teeth, called bruxism, can be dangerous in real life. It may even lead to certain health complications that would require visiting a dental office in your community.

Causes

Teeth grinding is often caused by stress, and it also occurs during sleep. You may wake up with symptoms such as a sore jaw, headaches, and even wounds on the inside of the cheeks if the teeth hit the inner lining. Chronic grinding could wear down the teeth enamel and raise the teeth’s sensitivity while drinking, eating or brushing.

Treatment

There are ways to stop bruxism. One of the things your dentist may recommend is wearing a mouth guard before you sleep. When teeth grinding occurs, the teeth will simply move against the mouth guard’s material without wearing it down. Your dentist may also suggest that you reduce or stop consuming soda, coffee, and chocolates. Not only can excessive consumption of these foods and drinks damage your teeth’s enamel, but their caffeine content may also induce bruxism.

Facts about Getting Oral Sedation for Dentistry

If you are paralyzed at even the mere thought of going to the dentist, especially for a relatively intensive procedure like a root canal, you might be a candidate for sedation dentistry. If your dental phobia happens to be topped by a nice serving of a fear of needles, you can still find a solution in oral sedation.

On Dental Implants’ Strength

Are dental implants stronger than natural teeth? In 2013, a group of dentists found out that natural teeth are no different from prosthetics in terms of survivability, especially when proper oral hygiene is a factor. The researchers even recommended holding on to problem teeth for as long as possible.

Without a doubt, everyone should try to preserve natural teeth as much as possible through good oral care. This includes regular cleaning, avoiding teeth-decaying food, and visiting the dentist regularly. With proper care, natural teeth can last an entire lifetime.

Sedation Dentistry Puts Anxiety to Sleep

Dentists can be pretty intimidating; the experience of letting a complete stranger look at your wide open mouth and use various devices to do so can be unsettling for some folks. This anxiety is what holds several people back from receiving much-needed dental treatments. Those who can’t overcome their unease yet desire to be treated for their dental problems should opt for sedation dentistry.

Some Things to Know About Visiting a Dentist

Your teeth are very important in helping you chew your food and they even affect how you speak. However, teeth are extremely delicate, and require constant maintenance to prevent dental issues. You need to brush daily to keep your teeth clean, but to truly keep them healthy, you might want to schedule regular appointments with a dentist who can skillfully assess your teeth and gums, as well as address any dental problems that brushing alone can’t solve.

The Effects of Dental Sedatives

You probably know that dental sedatives induce only a numb feeling even when the drill is boring through your tooth. Then again, do you have any idea how they work?

From a scientific point of view, pain is the mechanism that allows the body to react to defend itself from potentially harmful stimuli.

Pediatric Dentistry to Face New Trends this 2014

Virtually every dentist around the world recommend that parents teach their kids proper oral hygiene at an early age. We all know what good oral health offers: a greater sense of confidence and self-esteem, important to develop at a young age. For 2014, parents can expect a wider variety of options for their kids’ oral needs. Here are some of them.

Seeing a Dentist Can Save You a Lot of Trouble

You’re only going to be given one set of teeth in your life, so you might as well take care of them. Having regular dental checkups is good for a number of reasons. Seeing a dentist helps you keep tabs on your oral health. Finding out about certain conditions early will also enable you to nip the problem in the bud.

Leaving severe oral conditions untreated can be detrimental to your health. A simple case of gingivitis can progress into Periodontitis, leading to bone loss if you allow it to escalate. This can be countered by practicing proper oral hygiene daily, as well as not missing an appointment with your dentist.

Dental problems do not go away without treatment. Once the severity increases, it becomes impossible to control by yourself. You have to watch out for unusual signs (e.g. bleeding gums, bad breath) as they can often be the start of something much worse.

Dentists will also advise you to observe proper nutrition and health habits. You’d be surprised by how much excess sugar can lead to permanent damage of your teeth. If you don’t treat a cavity right away, there’s a possibility that you’ll need to go for a root canal instead of just a filling.

Finding a dentist to serve your needs in Philadelphia is easy. There are tons of dental offices like Wynnewood Dental Arts that offer a complete line of services, including sedation dentistry, cosmetic dentistry and other general dental care treatment. Start caring for your teeth today!

Laugh It Out or Sleep Through It

Dental anxiety or fear is a real condition that keeps many people (even adults) from taking advantage of the benefits of dental visits and treatments. Nevertheless, research has shown that, being a psychological issue, many people have actually found that boosting their optimism and promoting humor has helped them overcome their phobia.

Veneers can Help People Be Confident

Chipped, stained, and underdeveloped teeth can have a detrimental impact on a person’s ability to interact with his peers. A perfect solution for these dental concerns comes in the form of porcelain veneers. Their effectiveness have been proven time and time again in restoring the beauty of the teeth, which widely interest even the beauties of Hollywood.

Searching for the Right Sedation Dentist

In trying to get your dental concerns sorted out, you must find a dentist you can trust. What more if you want to find the right sedation dentist? Sedation or sleep dentistry is an area that requires specialized skill and knowledge, so you must make sure that you're going to the right professional.

Research will be your key. This may be in the form of discussion among friends, co-workers, or family members or accessing forums on the Internet. These means allow you to get opinions or stories of people with actual experiences and give you a brief background on their personal sedation dentists.

Another way to research is finding the resources from the sedation dentists themselves such as their official websites and informative pamphlets. These will paint a clear picture of the sedation dentist's qualifications, the treatment's indications, and other information pertinent to your concern.

After getting all available information from credible sources, you can consult with your potential or chosen sedation dentist. During these appointments, take note of your surroundings and the preparations that will be done like history-taking and informed consent acquisition. When something seems fishy or doubts cross your mind, you can always opt out before the treatment begins.

Why Trips to the Dentist Should be Done Routinely

While an apple a day should keep doctors away, a regular trip to the dentist cannot be forgone (and anyway, all the saccharine goodness of daily apple snacking can even be harmful to your precious teeth, according to some studies).

Given that the many aspects of a person's day may include balancing one’s personal, social, and career life, it’s no surprise that dental health could be among the least of one’s concerns. The regular trip to the dentist is dismissed for more “important” activities. However, there are a lot of advantages in regularly seeing your dentist. Here are some of them:

You can maintain your pearly whites in their pearly state. Your family dentist or hygienist ensures that your teeth are expertly cleaned. Should there be any plaque or erosion, further damage can be prevented through prophylaxis and proper treatment.

Investing in checkups are cost-effective. Sure, dental experts are there for your emergency concerns, but regular checkups and maintenance will save you money in the long run.

Moreover, you never know when a special treatment is indicated. Sometimes, people don't realize or seek professional help for their actual or potential dental concerns. Remember, your dentist is an expert and they can easily identify problems, such as cavities, bad breath, gingivitis, etc., which can be detrimental to your overall health.

Oral health is a serious matter, and a professional dentist will comprehensively care for your teeth and keep you smiling.

Receiving Dental Care despite Dental Anxiety

Although dressing up as a dentist for Halloween isn't as scary as dressing up as a ghoul, many people do fear dentists in real life because of the pain associated with getting dental treatment. Generally, they fear the feeling of having the dentist scrape and drill their teeth, as well as hearing that dreadful whizzing sound of dental instruments.

If you are one of many Americans who suffer from dental phobia, you should understand that dentists are caring people who want to get you through the procedure with as little pain as possible. In fact, dental technology and techniques have gone a long way in terms of pain management. Sedation dentistry, for instance, aims to ease up your dental anxiety and make you more comfortable so you can receive proper dental care.

To help you feel more relaxed, you can have a friendly conversation with your dentist about the procedure and address your concerns. Before the procedure starts, the dentist will use the type of sedation required by your condition to help numb the area so you wouldn't feel any pain. If needed, sleep dentistry uses general anesthesia to let you doze off through the entire procedure.

These techniques have helped many people get comfortable around dentists and finally face their dental problems. With sedation and sleep dentistry, you get to take away all your anxious feelings about pain and receive the treatment needed for a healthy oral environment.