Diet and Tooth Decay

What is tooth decay?

What you eat, and how often you eat can affect the development of tooth decay. Tooth decay “also known as a cavity” happens when plaque come into contact with sugar in the mouth, causing acid to attack the teeth. Plaque is a sticky layer of bacteria that forms over your teeth throughout the day.  If the plaque is not removed daily, it can harden and turn into “calculus” which can no longer be removed with a toothbrush.

Continue reading

Custom Athletic Mouthguards

Athletic Mouthguards

What is an Athletic/Sport mouthguard?

A mouthguard is a flexible custom fitted device worn over teeth during athletic and recreational activities to protect them from damage. A good-fitting mouth guard may be especially important if you wear braces, have fixed anterior bridgework or just want to protect your teeth/smile from potential trauma.

Mouthguards can prevent damage to the teeth, the brackets and/or other fixed appliances from blows and physical contact. Mouthguards can also act as a barrier between teeth/braces and the cheeks, as well as between the lips and tongue. This barrier limits the risk of soft tissue damage.

What are the benefits?

  1. Prevents cuts and bruising during impact between the lips and teeth
  2. Protects against chipped or broken teeth, root and bone damage, movement of teeth, and tooth loss.
  3. Provides support that can prevent fracture or damage to the lower jaw.
  4. Mouth guards also absorb the shock during physical contact and can prevent serious injuries such as jaw fracture, brain trauma/hemorrhage, concussion and neck injuries by helping to avoid instances where the lower jaw jams into the upper jaw. 

Who should wear a mouth guard?

The American Dental Association recommends the use of a mouth guard for 29 sports/exercise activities. These include ice hockey, lacrosse, field hockey, football, acrobatics, basketball, boxing, disc golf, gymnastics, handball, martial arts, racquetball, rugby, shot putting, skateboarding, skiing, skydiving, soccer, surfing, volleyball, water polo, weightlifting and wrestling. Essentially, whenever there’s a chance of contact with other players or hard surfaces, wearing a mouth guard makes sense.

How can I have a custom athletic guard made for myself or my children? For professional advice about how to protect your teeth during athletic activities, talk to your dentist about selecting a mouthguard that will provide the best protection for your particular needs. Please contact us at 920-233-6001 or email to [email protected] with any questions, or to schedule a consultation.

Oshkosh Smiles – Replacing Your Toothbrush

Frayed Toothbrush

It’s easy to know when to replace worn-out shoes or faded clothes, but how often should you change your toothbrush? Before you brush again, ask yourself whether it is time for a new toothbrush.

How often should you change your toothbrush?

The American Dental Association recommends that you replace your toothbrush approximately every three months, or sooner if the bristles are frayed. When in doubt, look at your toothbrush bristles. If they are frayed, they won’t clean your teeth as thoroughly.  Clinically research shows that a new toothbrush can remove more plaque than one that’s worn out.

Change your Toothbrush when you are feeling under the weather

You should also consider getting a new toothbrush if you have recently been sick. This is because germs can hide in the toothbrush bristles and lead to reinfection. Even if you haven’t been sick, fungus and bacteria can develop in the bristles of your toothbrush over time, which is why they need to be replaced frequently. 

Maintaining Your Toothbrush

Storing a toothbrush in a closed container can cause bacteria to build up, so it is best to let the bristles of the toothbrush fully dry between each usage. If you’re traveling, consider using disposable toothbrushes during the trip.

Get into the habit of buying new toothbrushes for everyone in the family several times per year. How often you change your toothbrush has several factors, but it’s always best to have a new, fresh toothbrush waiting in the bathroom cabinet for each family member.

Oshkosh Smiles – Gum Disease

What is periodontal disease?

Periodontal disease is a serious infection of your gums. It can damage the tissue and bone that support the teeth. If left untreated It can cause severe dental problems and tooth loss.

Most people don’t even realize that they have periodontal disease until it is too late. That’s why it is important for you to visit your dentist and dental hygienist regularly for cleanings and check-ups. At these appointments, we can check for signs and symptoms of gum disease and diagnose it early. Some common symptoms people face are bad breath, red/inflamed gums, bleeding, and tender gums, and sensitive teeth.

The earlier we can treat the gum infection, the better chance the patient has to keep their mouth clean and healthy.

What types of periodontal disease are there?

There are two major types of periodontal disease called gingivitis and periodontitis. The most common form that people have probably heard of is Gingivitis. Gingivitis is the earliest stage of gum disease. In fact, over half of adults the united states have this form of gum disease and don’t even realize it.  With gingivitis, there is typically not a significant amount of bone loss, and fortunately, it can be reversed. However, if left untreated gingivitis can quickly turn into periodontitis which Is a more severe form of gum disease.

Periodontitis is an irreversible form of gum disease. The damage to the tissue and bone has already happened, and the bone loss around the teeth cannot grow back.  Once the gum disease turns into periodontitis, the teeth can often become loose and sensitive. Periodontitis can progress very quickly after it reaches this stage, which is why it needs to be treated differently than a regular, healthy mouth. 

How do I treat periodontal disease?

Gingivitis (the early stage of gum disease) can be treated with a slightly more aggressive dental cleaning than a person with a healthy mouth would receive. We may recommend that a patient with gingivitis come in for one extra dental cleaning a year until we can reverse the disease process. Gingivitis is mainly treated at home and the success rate is mainly based on the patient’s home care.  The most important things a person should be doing at home include: brushing two times per day and flossing daily. We typically recommend an antibacterial mouth rinse for a person with gum disease, to help limit the amount of bacteria present in the mouth. With daily flossing, and brushing two times a day for two minutes, most cases of gingivitis can be reversed in a couple of weeks.

Periodontitis (The more aggressive form of gum disease) is irreversible, but it can be maintained. Treatment for periodontitis includes a deep cleaning called scaling and root planing. Once the scaling and root planning is completed, we recommend that the patient stay on a three-month periodontal maintenance cleaning program. A periodontal maintenance cleaning is a more aggressive cleaning that goes below the gumline. Patients with a history of periodontal disease need deeper cleanings because periodontal “pockets” have formed and bone loss has already occurred. A pocket is the space between the tooth and gum tissue where plaque and calculus form. While more intensive, this cleaning process is essential to restore and maintain gum and bone health. If the bacteria is left untreated, it can lead to inflammation, infection, tooth loss and can cause other serious health issues.

Our main focus here at Oshkosh Smiles is to help patients keep their mouths healthy and happy. Education is the first step in making our goal happen. If you have any concerns about your gum health or think you may have gum disease, please contact our office at 920-233-6001 to schedule a consultation.

Preventing Injuries with Mouthguards

Custom Fitted Mouthguards

Dental injuries are common in collision or contact sports and recreational activities. All ages, genders, and skill levels are at risk. Studies have shown the injury risk is 1.5-2.0 times greater when not wearing a custom-fitted mouthguard!

Mouthguards make sense for preventative care, but children engaged in sports are not wearing them. Research conducted by Delta Dental discovered nearly seven out of 10 American children do not wear a mouthguard at youth sports practices or games for baseball, soccer, and basketball. While mouthguards are required for football, only seven out of 10 caregivers (70 percent) report that their child wears a mouth guard at both practice and games. Not wearing a mouthguard at practices poses risks for an athlete. According to Safe Kids USA, most organized sports-related injuries occur during practice rather than games!

If you are a parent, you may want your child to wear a mouthguard (especially if they have braces) but have difficulty convincing them to do so. Our Hanneman Dustrude dental team has had success in helping parents encourage their children to wear them because they not only fit well, but they look cool. Our custom-fitted mouthguards are available in the colors of the local high schools including Oshkosh WestNorth, Omro, and Lourdes, which is especially appealing to our athletes.

If your child does wear a mouthguard already, you can help encourage dental health by taking a photo of your athlete showing it off. Create a testimonial for other parents to hear as they describe the fit and comfort of their guard. If they can show their peers it’s OK to do it and it functions well, the user will grow. If they received their custom-fitted mouthguard from us, we will display it on our Wall of Fame!

Hanneman Dustrude Dental supports Oshkosh area athletics and all the associated benefits of competing on a team. Whether you’re playing football, heading a soccer ball, driving the lane on a basketball court, or just running around with friends, dental injuries can happen. It’s our mission to help prevent those than can be prevented with a mouthguard.

Call us today at (920) 233-6001 to find out more about our custom-fitted mouthguards!

Dental Care Concerns? We’re Listening

Dentists

Do you have dental care concerns? Has it been a while since you visited a dentist, or do you simply need a second opinion? As one of the most established dental practices in Oshkosh, we believe experience does matter. We combine the best with the old and incorporate new tools when it improves the communication and care opportunities with our patients. That’s why we have adopted social media. We know that’s where people receive updates important to them. We use our Facebook and Twitter pages to share insights on maintaining good oral health and sprinkle in a little humor in the process.

We believe experienced dentistry, along with making every patient feel comfortable, is why families spanning multiple generations trust us to be partners with them in achieving the best dental care. When you have questions and prefer a traditional phone call, we will have a live person from our care team answer. If you wish to connect via social media, that’s fine too. Whichever way you choose, we are here to listen and respond with time-tested advice.