Adults or children with diabetes can experience multiple health risks that affect their daily life. Diabetes affects more than just your insulin levels and can actually impact your oral health. Our bodies are interconnected and need each part to communicate effectively to stay healthy. Mountain View Dental has worked with patients with diabetes and wants to help educate all patients about the risks that come to your oral health because of diabetes. Below are some of the risks, how you can help keep your teeth and gums healthy at home, and what your dentist may recommend if you struggle with diabetes.

Increased Risk Of Cavities

Cavities are fairly easy to avoid with proper brushing, flossing, and regular dental check-ups. However, those with diabetes may need to visit the dentist more regularly. Talking to your dentist about your specific health conditions and factors will give you an accurate look at how often you should see them.

Diabetes patients also experience dry mouth and have less saliva than others. This means that acidic foods and drinks are extra harmful to your teeth. Limiting these substances, brushing with fluoride toothpaste, and visiting the dentist every 6 months can help limit the spread of cavities. 

Decreased Saliva

As mentioned above, less saliva puts you at risk for cavities and plaque build-up. A dry mouth can often lead to sores, ulcers, and tooth decay. 

One way to increase saliva production without harming your teeth is to chew sugarless gum. This helps stimulate saliva without adding harmful sugar to your teeth. Salvia helps clean your enamel and keep you from having irritated gums from leftover food particles. Drinking more water can also help with saliva, but if you are taking medications that cause dry mouth, water may not be enough. 

Brushing your teeth after meals and flossing regularly will help keep your teeth clean and prevent tooth decay. Since your saliva isn’t there to do some of the work for you, you may have to work a little harder to protect your oral health.

Metallic Tongue Or Bad Taste Of Food

Patients with diabetes may also experience trouble tasting food properly. Known as diabetic tongue, a metallic taste can form in the mouth and cause eating or drinking to become unpleasant. This is an oral health problem with diabetes because it occurs when there is an excess of sugar in your saliva that is combined with the dry mouth disease known as thrush.

If you start to notice this bad taste, talk to your dentist to see if you have thrush. They can help you kill the bacteria and possibly improve dry mouth symptoms. 

Bleeding Gums

Gum inflammation and infection are common oral health problems for patients with diabetes. Diabetes can limit the amount of blood that flows to the gums. It can also cause blood cells to thicken and make it difficult for waste or bacteria to exit the gums 

Inflamed gums are painful and can often bleed or become sores. Taking care of infected gums as quickly as possible will help limit pain and prevent gum disease or other oral cancers. Diabetes patients have to be extra cautious about their oral health because even if a disease is caught and treated early, it takes longer to heal. The lack of blood flow to parts of your body plays a large role in why it takes significantly longer to heal. 

Longer Healing Time

After you receive treatment for cavities, surgery for wisdom teeth or tooth decay, root canals, implants, or other dental procedures, you will take longer to heal. Those with diabetes will see a longer healing period than other dental patients. Because open wounds or sores will take longer to heal, be sure to keep them clean and avoid smoking to avoid furthering the severity of the wound. 

Better Oral Health With Mountain View Dental

Our Pleasant View dental office is proud to serve a variety of patients. Our team of dentists loves their job and loves working with patients. Our goal is to help you stay healthy and be confident in your smile. Oral health is important as you age, but good habits formed early on will set you up for success.

Whether you just need a simple dental check-up or are looking for cosmetic dentistry services Mountain View Dental has it all. Contact our office or fill out a contact form on our website to get started!

Having your wisdom teeth removed is a common procedure in the dental world. Each patient reacts differently to wisdom teeth extractions and anesthesia which may cause some anxiety. Mountain View Dental wants to help patients know what each dental procedure will entail and provide peace of mind. When you need a wisdom tooth extraction here are all the things you need to know before going in. 

1- Why Have Wisdom Teeth Removed?

If you are thinking about getting your wisdom teeth removed you have often heard about terrible experiences people have had. Reasons for having wisdom teeth removed often proceed these stories with other pain or uncomfortable aches or sensitivity. Most people don’t have room in their mouth to fit 4 wisdom teeth so when these teeth start to break through your gums, they put pressure on your other teeth. As time goes on, this pressure on your teeth can cause your jaw to shift and cause pain while chewing or talking. 

Wisdom teeth also don’t grow straight like the rest of your teeth. Since your wisdom teeth come in after your other teeth, they can rotate and shift to an unnatural position and cause problems to the nerves and bones of your other teeth. When your wisdom teeth grow in at an angle or become trapped in your gums or jaw, they are called impacted. This makes the wisdom teeth procedure more intense and can cause major issues in your mouth when not removed. 

Because your wisdom teeth are the farthest teeth in the back of your mouth, reaching them without a toothbrush or dental floss can be difficult. This may lead to cavities, gum disease, or other infections that will lead to wisdom teeth extractions, even if your wisdom teeth fit comfortably in your mouth. 

2- Impacted Teeth

When your wisdom teeth become impacted, the process of removing your wisdom teeth becomes a little bit more complicated. Impacted teeth often require an oral surgeon and anesthesia. 

Impacted teeth usually require a dentist or oral surgeon to cut your gums in order to remove the tooth. This will also cause you to have stitches and a longer healing process. Even if your wisdom teeth are not impacted, you will need time to recover and rest after the tooth extraction. 

3- Different Types Of Anesthesia 

Local: The use of local anesthetics usually starts with the dentist numbing your mouth with a shot or novocaine, lidocaine, or mepivacaine. They may also give you nitrous oxide or laughing gas to help reduce the anxiety you may experience during the procedure. This means you are awake during wisdom teeth extraction but may feel hazy. You will feel alert soon after the extraction is complete. 

IV Sedation: Using sedation will require you to go to a surgeon over your regular dentist for wisdom teeth extractions. The IV will be given through a vein (most likely in your arm) and will lead to you being asleep or extremely drowsy during the surgery. 

General: General anesthesia is given either through an IV or by breathing in a gas. You will be asleep the whole time during your extraction and may even take over an hour to wake up after the procedure is over and anesthesia is no longer given to you.

4- Healing After Surgery

Dealing with pain and concerns after wisdom teeth extractions is common. Because you have empty holes in your mouth, eating and drinking can be difficult. It is best for patients to take time off school, work, exercise routines, and strenuous hobbies for a while. If you are having the extraction done under anesthesia, you will need a loved one or friend to provide transportation home. 

It is also important to protect your mouth from getting infected after the surgery. A dry socket is extremely common for wisdom teeth patients and can be painful. Limiting drinking through a straw or breathing with your mouth open will help prevent dry sockets. 

5- Infections To Watch For

Along with dry sockets, some patients can also experience other infections or side effects after wisdom teeth extraction. Drinking through a straw could loosen blood clots that help your mouth to heal from wisdom teeth extraction.

Smoking after a wisdom teeth extraction will slow the healing process and can cause other infections and cancers in your mouth. Avoid smoking or chewing tobacco until after your surgery sites have healed. 

Your dentist will also recommend looking out for infections from food bacteria, or nerve damage. Common signs of infections or nerve damage are fever, numbness, trouble swallowing or breathing, blood or pus coming out of your nose, or bleeding in your mouth that will not stop with applying pressure. If you experience any of these symptoms call your dentist or doctor immediately. 

Wisdom Teeth Extractions With Mountain View Dental

Mountain View Dental offers general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, and orthodontics. Our dentists can help improve your smile in just a few sessions. Let us help you make a great first impression with a healthy smile.

Making a great first impression can be hard when you are suffering from bad breath. Keeping up with your oral health will prevent bad breath symptoms and will keep oral diseases at bay. Having good breath and clean teeth will help boost your confidence and give you a better appearance. Mountain View Dental can help prevent bad breath with toothpaste suggestions, regular cleanings, and diet suggestions. Read below for more tips on preventing stinky breath. 

1- Drink More Water

Your mouth produces bacteria to protect your teeth from erosion, but there are other bacteria that can be harmful to your teeth, tongue, and gums. Drinking water can help flush bacteria out of your mouth and keep your teeth clean. Drinking around 8 glasses of water a day is a healthy amount for your physical health and oral health. Not only does drinking water help with bad breath, but it helps your teeth look whiter and can help rinse out food particles that can irritate your gums. 

2- Scrap Your Tounge

Adding an extra step to your brushing routine can help you prevent bad breath. Scraping your tongue helps to remove bacteria and buildup that leads to bad breath. Using a tongue scraper or even just brushing your tongue will bring long-term results. 

If your tongue looks white or grey, it could do you some good to scrape buildup from food or dead cells that have landed on the surface of your tongue. 

3- Don’t Neglect Your Gums

Patients may think that gums don’t contribute to bad breath, but gums that are infected can contribute to smells in your mouth. Gum disease comes from excess bacteria, which is the main cause of bad breath, so preventing decay in your gums will help you in more ways than one. 

You can take care of your gums by going to regular dental checkups, flossing twice a day, and brushing in gentle circles along your gum line. This will help remove plaque and bacteria and keep your gums from becoming inflamed. 

4- Limit Or Stop Smoking

Smoking has been shown to have many negative effects on your health, the worst being mouth and lung cancer. Smoking can lead to more plaque buildup and will also add to bad breath just from the cigarette chemicals themselves. Chewing tobacco and smoking tobacco affects every aspect of your mouth and are not recommended by dentists. If you want to prevent bad breath, checking your smoking habit might be the best place to start. Visit your dentist to learn about how to break these habits and improve your smile.

5- Eat The Right Foods

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, and the dentist? Apples and other foods will help promote good oral health and keep teeth white. If you want to prevent bad breath, limiting strong foods like garlic will help, but eating foods like apples will stimulate saliva that helps to wash away food. 

6- Clean Dentures And Retainers Well

If you are wearing any kind of insert in your mouth like flippers, dentures, or a retainer, make sure that you clean it daily to prevent bad breath. Saliva, bacteria, and food particles can cause your insert to smell, which can cause your breath to smell. The buildup of fungi and food particles will leave your dentures or retainer looking and smelling foul. Cleaning them will improve your breath and your overall oral health. 

7- See Your Dentist Regularly

Proper cleaning of your teeth and gums will help you prevent disease. Checkups will also help you stay on top of problems and limit the amount of tooth loss and gum decay you may experience. Your dentist will know what products are bests for your teeth and what habits need to be remedied in order to prevent bad breath and disease. 

Dental Checkups With Mountain View Dental 

Regular dental checkups can help you avoid serious dental issues and prevent bad breath. Our dentists at Mountain View Dental serve all patients and help you to learn about the best practices for your oral health. Visiting the dentist helps watch for oral cancers, remove plaque from the surface of your teeth, fill cavities, and clean your teeth so they sparkle.

Having a cleaning and fluoride treatment every 6 months will help you prevent bad breath and make sure your smile stays perfect. Mountain View Dental has three in-house dentists, a whole team of hygienists, and friendly office staff! Come meet the team at our office in Pleasant View, UT today to get your health back on track. 

If you find yourself noticing sensitive teeth, avoiding certain foods, or experiencing pain while brushing your teeth, you may be experiencing teeth sensitivity. There are multiple causes of sudden sensitivity, which can even last for weeks and months when not treated accordingly. Taking care of your teeth requires protecting the enamel and working to improve pain and sensitivity. Here are some common causes of teeth sensitivity and how to remedy them. 

What Causes Sensitive Teeth

There are many causes for sensitive teeth or sudden sensitivity and not all of them are serious oral issues. Some common causes of teeth sensitivity include:

• Gum recession
• Tooth decay
• Gum disease
• Extreme hot or cold foods/drinks
• Sinus infection 
• Recent dental procedures
• Tooth grinding
• Fractured teeth
• Worn fillings

While this list is not comprehensive, you can start by looking at these potential causes to see if your tooth sensitivity is related. Your dentist can also help you remedy your sensitivity and give suggestions on how to improve. 

Sensitive Toothpaste

For those who have worn down enamel, decaying teeth, or undetermined sensitivity, an ADA-approved sensitive toothpaste can help. Toothpaste helps to strengthen the enamel and works to treat symptoms of sensitive teeth. Building up the enamel on your teeth covers the roots and nerves that cause teeth sensitivity. 

Sensitive toothpaste contains a compound that helps block pain transmission and can help the surface of the tooth. It will often require that you use it for more than one application before your sensitivity subsides. 

Soft Bristles

Some patients believe that hard bristles on their toothbrushes will give them a better clean. This is not true, and can actually be the cause of teeth sensitivity. Using a soft-bristled brush and not brushing too hard can help prevent your gums from receding or excessive wear on your teeth. 

Brushing side to side on your gum line can make them wear down much quicker, so it is best to use a 45-degree angle while brushing around your gums. 

Use A Mouthguard

You may not realize that you grind your teeth in your sleep until you wake up with a sensitive tooth. Addressing stress in your life can help you unclench your teeth and prevent grinding down the enamel. Wearing a mouthguard while you sleep can help stop the overwearing of enamel and protect you from sensitivity. 

Use Clove

Using a holistic approach to teeth sensitivity may not work for everyone, but using the oil in clove can help with inflammation problems. The oils are anti-inflammatory, germicidal, and analgesic. They kill the bacteria in your mouth, while also helping to stop the pain you may be experiencing. You can use it as an extract to swish in your mouth and numb the areas with sensitivity. Use it in small amounts or mixed with coconut oil or avocado oil to dilute. 

Avoid Problematic Foods 

Acidic foods and beverages can cause teeth sensitivity and should be avoided if you feel extra irritation when consuming them. Coffee, soda, citrus fruits, or excessively spicy foods can all cause sensitivity. Try limiting or eliminating these foods from your diet and avoid foods that are overly hot or frozen if you experience teeth sensitivity. 

Take A Break From Whitening

Bleaching or whitening your teeth can be another cause of sensitivity. When you are constantly bleaching your teeth, they can break down and become sensitive because of exposed nerves. If you are a consistent teeth whitener, taking a break from the at-home procedure or even one at your dentist for a time may help curb the pain. 

When To Call Your Dentist

If you are experiencing bleeding gums or extremely sensitive teeth, it may be time to visit your dentist. If you have tried some home remedies and nothing seems to work, visiting a dentist can help you narrow down the problem and find a permanent solution. 

Your dentist will be able to help you learn about softer brushing, recommend a specialist for grinding teeth or other enamel issues, and can help fill cavities or fix fillings that could be leading to teeth sensitivity. 

Mountain View Dental

Our team at Smile Mountain View Dental can help improve your oral health with many services. With general dentistry, dental cleaning, teeth whitening, extractions, implants, and more, we have a service for each patient’s needs. 

Regular dental appointments and cleanings can help stop sensitivity before it gets out of hand. Our dentists can help keep your gums and teeth free of bacteria and limit the amount of decay that occurs in your mouth. Cleanings and checkups around every 6 months are the recommended time to ensure that cavities and gum disease are avoided. 

Choosing the right toothbrush helps to clean your teeth and gums properly, but after choosing one, you need to take proper care of it for it to function at its best. Keeping up with your oral health starts with choosing the right toothbrush for your needs. Mountain View Dental knows that with so many options, it can be difficult to navigate which option is right for you.

If you have questions about what toothbrush is right for you, speak with your dentist, and read through this blog to determine what issues you may need to treat. Taking proper care of the right brush helps to improve your oral health too. 

Toothbrushes For The Ages

There are different sizes and shapes of toothbrushes for different age groups. Children of different ages will need different toothbrushes and bristle types and adults may need bigger toothbrushes. 

Baby teeth start to emerge at a young age. You can get a baby gum brush to help them get used to the sensation of a brush in their mouth. As children grow, they will need a new toothbrush at each stage. While soft bristles will always be the right choice, the length, and size of brushes get bigger. 

Adults may think that as we get older, harder bristles are required, but soft bristles clean your teeth with just the right amount of pressure. For those with sensitive teeth, there are specific brushes that can help lessen the discomfort you may feel when brushing. 

Manual or Electric?

There are positive aspects to both manual and electric toothbrushes. Brushing your teeth correctly, for two minutes with fluoride toothpaste, the type of brush does not matter. For those who have limited movement or who tend to brush too hard, an electric brush could be more beneficial for you. 

Electric toothbrushes also have timers that alert you when you have brushed for two minutes. This can help improve your brushing or for kids who may struggle to brush for the full two minutes. 

Bristle Types

No matter the bristle type, you will want to make sure that your toothbrush has soft bristles. Having a soft bristle helps to prevent tooth and gum damage from brushing too hard or having stiff bristles. 

Choosing anything other than soft bristles should only be done if your dentist has recommended a medium or stiff bristle brush. These harder bristles don’t remove plaque any better than soft bristles. 

Store Upright

Once you have found a new toothbrush, you will want to store it in an upright position, out in the open. This allows the bristles to air dry and keep bacteria from growing. Avoid putting a cap on your toothbrush until it is completely dry to stop moisture from collecting and becoming a breeding ground for bacteria.

Rinsing

Each time you brush your teeth, using warm water to rinse your toothbrush can clean bacteria from between your bristles. Toothbrushes are meant to clean your teeth and remove food plaque from your mouth, but leaving these elements on our toothbrushes can keep them from truly cleaning your teeth. 

Replace Every Three To Four Months

The American Dental Association recommends replacing your toothbrush every three to four months. If you have an electric toothbrush, you can replace just the head of your brush. Replacing your toothbrush ensures that the bristles do not get too spread out and clean your teeth properly. If you have been sick or had an oral disease you should replace it sooner. 

Mountain View Dental

Here at Mountain View Dental, we want all patients to have the right tools and resources to take care of their oral health. Our dentists and hygienists want to answer your questions and give you instructions on how to best care for your teeth. If you have questions about toothbrushes, gum care, or brushing tips, we can help show you the best methods for brushing. 

We work to provide the best oral health possible to patients in Pleasant View. Our staff takes care of patients of all ages and works to solve issues calmly and efficiently. We are part of the Utah Dental Association and an American Dental Association Member. Contact our office in Pleasant View today!