Did You Know?

The health of your teeth is closely related to the health of your jaw.  Dental and periodontal problems, left unchecked, can have disastrous effects on your jawbone, and vice versa.  This is why our Federal Way family dentistry wants you to be on the lookout for the warning signs of Temporomandibular Disorders, or TMD’s.  These warning signs of TMD/TMJ can include the following:

• Pain or a tender feeling in the face, jaw joint, neck, or shoulders, particularly when you are exercising the jaw.

• If you grind your teeth, this may either be a cause or a symptom of a TMD.

• A decreased ability to open the mouth wide.

• Jaws that lock into position.

• Clicking, popping, or grating in the jaw when you open and close your mouth.

• Tired facial muscles.

• Changes in the way your teeth fit together.

• Swelling on either side of the face.

• Toothaches.

• Headaches.

• Dizziness.

• Earaches, hearing problems, or tinnitus.

If you suspect that you might have a TMD, consult our dentist at our Federal Way dentistry.

It shouldn’t be news to you that sugar is bad for your teeth. However, our Federal Way family dentistry frequently finds that people don’t know what to do with this information. Many instinctively want to think that consuming less sugar in their daily diets is going to lead to a healthier mouth, but this is not exactly the case. Though this makes perfect sense from a nutritionist standpoint, the name of the game for a dentist is less about eating less sugar and more about controlling when sugar is eaten.

The first thing to understand is that the real enemy of your teeth is carbohydrates, of which sugar is only one. These are virtually unavoidable, and it would be inadvisable to try cutting them entirely out of your diet. So instead of cutting down on what you eat, try cutting down on how often you eat. Eating three large meals a day and not snacking at all in the interim time is healthier for your teeth than eating the exact same food in tiny portions throughout the day.

It’s not just the sugar that is harmful for your teeth

The reason this works is because, when you eat, the bacteria in your mouth is eating as well. This allows it to produce harmful acids which weaken your teeth. Your mouth is under attack by these acids for about twenty or thirty minutes after you finish eating, but it will continue to be thusly attacked if you continue to eat.

Imagine, for example, that you have a single eight-ounce soda. If you drink the entire soda in one minute, you’re subjecting your teeth to acids for a mere half hour. However, if you nurse this same soda by taking a single ounce every half hour, you are keeping your oral bacterial fed and subjecting your mouth to a four-and-a-half-hour assault. This adds up quickly.

Are you brushing correctly?  It may not be as simple as you think.  Some improper brushing technique can do more harm than good, so take the advice of your dentist in Federal Way and follow these simple steps to keep your teeth healthy and white:

• If you’re flossing, do so before you brush.
• Do not brush too soon after eating!  Acids in your food can weaken your tooth enamel such that your brush can strip this thin layer away and expose you to tooth decay.
• Start by moistening your brush and applying a thin layer of toothpaste.
• Approach your teeth with your brush at a forty-five degree angle, brushing in a circular motion so that you gently massage your gums while you remove the plaque from your teeth.  Don’t brush too hard, or you can break down your delicate gum tissues.
• Work your way around the front surface of all your teeth, the back surface, and the tops of your molars.  Try to change where you begin your routine every day, so that no one area is getting all your attention.
• Clean your tongue with a tongue scraper, or brush it normally with your brush.
• Rinse out and follow up with a good mouthwash, if desired.
• Brush twice a day, for two minutes at a time.  Ideal times include after you wake up and before you go to sleep, as your mouth is less able to defend against plaque during the night.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to make an appointment with our Federal Way dentist.

Accidents happen. No matter how well you treat your teeth, you’re never entirely immune to a cracked tooth, a broken jaw, or even a severe toothache of unknown origin. If you experience any such emergency, call our Federal Way dentist immediately. Do not put any aspirin or other painkillers on the gums, as this can burn gum tissues. Clean out your mouth with warm water and put a cold compress on anything that appears to be broken or swelling.

If a permanent tooth comes out, you may be able to save the tooth if you act quickly. Handle it only by the crown when you pick it up, and never touch the roots. Rinse it off gently if necessary, but do not scrub or disinfect it so as to preserve any tissues that may still be on the root. If you can, try putting it back in the empty socket. If this isn’t possible, store the tooth in water, milk, or saliva until you can get to a dentist. Simply holding it in your mouth may suffice, but be delicate with it.

Depending on the nature and severity of your emergency, you may wish to instead go to your hospital’s emergency room. Use your discretion.

It’s old news that soda is bad for your teeth. As a high-sugar beverage, sodas are obviously a big contributor to cavities and gum disease. With that in mind, some people think that they can evade this problem by drinking only sugar-free sodas. Unfortunately, this is not the easy fix that you may think it is. Our Federal Way dentistry clinic cautions you to take just as much care with sugar-free sodas as you should with your favorite sugary beverages.

What you need to remember is that it’s not just the sugar in soda breaks down your teeth. Any drink with carbonation is highly acidic, and this acid weakens your tooth enamel. In many drinks, it’s this acid that is doing your teeth the most harm. Try minimizing this damage by following an acidic beverage with a bit of a calcium-rich drink, like milk, and stick to drinking water between meals as much as you can.