A crown is a kind of covering or tooth shaped cap that is placed over another tooth or filling to provide stability and strength. When a large cavity forms in a tooth and has health concerns, getting a crow is a good option. Crows are used to improve the strength or appearance of teeth that have been rotting or the buildup on a tooth is too much to be fixed or cleaned. Crows are also used to restore the shape and size of a chipped or damaged tooth. Using a compound called ‘dental cement,’ these crowns are fitted to teeth. The strength of this glue is very strong; once the procedure is done, it will not be coming off. 

The first need for a dental crown will be if the patient has discolored or misshapen teeth. This procedure is a great one to get as it is relatively painless and an excellent way to get a permanent tooth. Discolored teeth can happen for a variety of reasons. One reason being a person is neglecting their dental visits and letting tartar and plaque build up. This build up, if not taken care of by the person or a dentist, can lead to numerous problems, a cavity being one. Damaged teeth can happen if you get in an accident resulting in a chip or missing tooth, thus needing possibly more work. 

Another reason someone may need to get a crown is to help support a tooth with a large filling. Fillings are required if there is an excess in build up on the teeth that can eat away at tooth enamel creating cavities. A filling will help with this problem filling the void created from this. This can be easily avoided if you keep your teeth clean. Brushing every day and night, also making sure to visit the dentist when they tell you to come. It is essential to make sure to keep good care of your teeth so nothing terrible like this can happen. 

A final reason to need a crown is if your teeth are worn out, cracked, or broken. This is one of the less pleasant reasons for needing a crown. This is said because of the severity of these issues can have on your oral health care. If not taken proper care of your mouth, worse things like oral cancer can set in. it is vital to see your dentist and not ignore the scheduled appointments. A worn out tooth can happen from what is called tooth decay. This happens when you do not brush your teeth, and the plaque build up eats away at the tooth enamel. A cracked or broken tooth is much like the previously discussed reason for needing a crown; an accident takes place resulting in a damaged tooth. 

There are many reasons for needing a crown; these are just a few that came to mind and are the most common for needing a crown. The procedure is a quick and painless one, and in the end, you have an excellent permanent, almost perfect looking tooth. I personally have not had to get a crown, and I am hoping never to need one, although it would not be wrong. The best part about the procedure is that the tooth does not look much different than a real one. Thus, they can not be told apart easily. 

The bane of food lovers everywhere is canker sores.  This is something that many people get and it is not a disgusting thing, just life.  

Now that the end of May is upon us, the thermometer is starting to hit its high point in the year. This usually brings about family gatherings, poolside lounging, and Memorial Day barbecues. 

What’s the best way to ruin having a good time at a cookout with your loved ones, though? Mouth sores.  Canker sores in particular are quite the bother when they’re around. Even the smallest ones will cause discomfort and annoyances, which may drive you to change what you eat in order to avoid the pain and discomfort. The good thing is that there are things you can do to get rid of canker sores, if at least reduce the pain some. Is your mouth riddled with canker sores? Oftentimes they can be a sign of other dental problems. 

So it really is important to make sure you are keeping up with your dental routine and spending time with a dentist With that said, here are a few ways to treat those nasty, irritating sores. Now what happens when they come and how do you work with it? 

Mouth rinse is usually what we all go for first.  It is the area that we are most familiure with.  

Over the counter mouth rinses help to at least clean the area surrounding canker sores, which can provide immediate relief from pain or discomfort. Antiseptic mouthwashes are your best bet here, which can help prevent infection and even numb parts of your mouth.

Warm salt water can also be an easy and fast way to help overcome these issues.  .

This advice never gets old and works for so many things. It’s a natural alternative, it helps to promote healing, and it can kill small amounts of bacteria that may be surrounding the canker sore. If you are prescribed medicated mouthwashes, though, saltwater rinsing shouldn’t replace those but rather supplement them.

Over the counter gel is also an option that can work really well. You do not always have to go to the doctor for this issue, but I am not saying that is not the thing to do. 

Topical medications like oral gels or pastes can directly numb the canker sore and even coat it in a layer that prevents spicy or acidic foods from irritating it. Just as well, there are patches out there that can line the canker sore just like a bandaid would so that it protects the ulcer from irritation.

Using a soft brush during brushing can help when the canker sores come.

One thing that people forget with canker sores is that they don’t want to damage them during the healing process. Sometimes, brushing with older or cheaper toothbrushes can do just that. The best thing you can do is use a soft brush to avoid irritating the canker sores, which can lead to infection. Proper hygiene is key, but working around the sores is even better.

Now with all of this said, I am always a fan of making sure that you are safe and healthy.  So set up a time to talk through these scenarios with your doctor when canker sores come.  They can give the best game plan for your dental health. 

The time is coming for the holidays and Thanksgiving is next in line.  For me and my family, this means getting together with hundreds of relatives all around the country.  Even in 2020, we are going to keep our social distancing rules up and enjoy each other’s company.  This will also mean that in some cases we will wear masks, but inevitably there will come a time when the masks come off and our smiles will be shown.  For many people, this is a scary time and we are all afraid to show what has happened to our smile over the year that we haven’t seen each other.  Having a bright smile can really improve your own personal feelings about yourself and also how others view you.  It is a small thing that makes such a big impact.  So I want to go over some ways to get a nice and bright smile this thanksgiving.

The first thing to do is to start with the basics and that is a great dental routine.  This is simple and we all know it.  But I suggest not only doing the basic routine but stepping up your game and brushing three times a day.  There is a special reason why I like to do this and it goes beyond just normal protection of your teeth.  I personally like to brush twice a day for protection and keeping my teeth strong and healthy with a nice fluoride toothpaste, but then I like to add in something special at night.  Ok, it is not anything magical, but I like to use a different toothpaste for my nighttime brushing. 

The nighttime brushing I switch my regular toothpaste for a charcoal-based toothpaste.  This is a natural whitener and it really has made a nice subtle difference over the last month.  I am a big fan of natural products that do not cause my own body pain or harm.  This is a great way to brighten your smile while not actually incurring lots of cost or any pain in the processes.  Some tooth whitening substances can cause sensitivity or in my opinion pain.  This natural paste that I use has been fantastic for not having any of those effects for me and has been my answer to whitening my teeth every day.

Now if you are in a hurry I would suggest going for a stronger product.  Personally, I have trouble using whitening strips because they cause my teeth to be very sensitive and hurt.  That is simply not worth it in my mind but my body is different than yours and you may have a great experience with it.  I will completely admit that it works and works fast.  Within a week you can have very white and bright teeth and if that is what you need before the Holiday, then go for it.  It is relatively inexpensive and will allow you to show up with a great smile.

But don’t forget you can go to the dentist for a professional cleaning and whitening but it will probably cost a bit more.  But if you want the best job, I would probably suggest going that route for safety and for comfort as well.  Plus it is a great excuse to make sure your dental health is doing well.

Like the rest of the world I am working from home most of the time.  This is because of the regulations in place and it means that now I am going to have to make sure I am taking all precautions to staying healthy.  The changes have mostly been brought on by COVID-19 and the constant pandemic that continues.  We are now finding a new normal for our lives and with that, we have learned that our dental health is something that we are starting to work on.  This really started to been found out because we are now mostly wearing masks when we are outside of our house.  This is something that took place and let dental hygiene become a front runner in health due to the fact that we are smelling our own breath constantly. So what are some ways that we can overcome these changes possible with our dental health? If you are stuck at home here are some tips that may help. 

When you are at home you may find yourself consuming more liquids and food.  This is because we are at home more and the fridge is simply available to us.  It has been something we have noticed in our grocery bill and we are going through liquids a lot faster.  Our dental health has been impacted by this because we are putting more food and liquids against our teeth and to start with we noticed that we were not putting items in our bodies that were helping our health.  If you are like us our teeth were not a priority, but now they are.

Water is essential and is something that you all need to eat and drink more of. We wanted to drink less sugary drinks and to drink a little less coffee as well. This meant that in order to do this we didn’t want to use onetime use waterbottles  This is a great way to drink more water, but it is wasteful and I was not a fan of recycling and the cost that is involved in this.  The more water we drink the more hydrated we become.  This not only instantly helps to clean off the food and sugar from your teeth but also by allowing our bodies to create more saliva.  This is our body’s natural teeth cleaner and is something that can really help to fight plaque buildup and tooth decay so make sure to keep it up!  

So what else can you do to help keep healthy?  We decided to add a family lunch brushing to our dental routines.  This was to help fight the extra plaque buildup from our extra eating and drinking.  The extra brushing was not easy to an add-in.  We all struggled to remember to do it at first and that was half the battle.  So what we decided to do is to actually add an alarm to my phone.  This allowed me to know it was brush time and after about 30 days it started to become a true habit not only for me but for my family as well. So I hope these tips helped give you some ideas about how to make your dental health a little better.  I know it has helped my family and I hope it can help yours as well.