Perhaps you will want to put that bucket list dream of having a lip ring on the back burner after hearing a little more about how it affects your mouth. Though piercings are a great way for people to express their personal style, the choice often comes with a cost. For starters, lip rings and tongue piercings are typically made out of metal. As you can imagine, the jewelry can knock against your teeth, chipping or fracturing them. Metal in the mouth can wear down enamel over time, creating greater tooth sensitivity as well as decay and discoloration. Tongue rings can actually damage [...]

A sad epidemic, wildly rampant (but often kept quiet) is the issue of eating disorders. Although sufferers often hide in silence, the mouth reveals clear signs of this health altering disease. In fact, many parents have discovered their teenager’s crisis after taking them for a routine dental visit, because dentists can clearly see the effects on oral health. According to the Institute of Dental Research, 28% of Bulimia cases are first diagnosed during a dental exam. For one thing, the lack of nutrients absorbed by a person can lead to weakened teeth as well as tooth sensitivity, bad breath and decay. Those who suffer from [...]

Our world is ever evolving and modern technological advancements in the dental world are important. We want to provide patients with the best service possible. One way we can do this is with our sophisticated intraoral camera. This small, non-invasive camera is usually shaped like a small wand (about the size of a toothbrush). Gone are the days of holding your mouth open for far too long in precarious positions, being asked questions you can’t answer and hoping the hygienist will hurry up and snap a pic. Instead, the intraoral camera takes quick, clear, digital pictures of the inside [...]

Crazy as it may sound, there is actually a chance that your routine dental exam could save your life! The mouth is a gateway to so many other underlying medical issues that a thorough check by your friendly dentist could reveal much greater dangers lurking in the body. Take, Tim Tooth, for example(don’t be fooled; that’s not his real name). Tim was a 60 year old male that came in for his 6 month dental check up. The examination revealed that he had some sort of ulcer on his lip that would not heal. Tim shared that he had noticed the spot for [...]

Have you ever listened to your dentist talk to their assistant (as he or she roots around in your mouth) and wondered what in the world they are saying? Shouldn’t you have some idea of the dental terms they use?  After all, this is YOUR mouth they are talking about. Dental lingo is its own interesting animal but once you understand that the concepts are based on a number system, it’s pretty easy to catch on. First of all, when a dentist is peering in your mouth, they may refer to your upper and lower teeth by numbered [...]