Updating Your Health History May Help Save Your Teeth

Updating your health history my help save your teethAlthough you may think of general health and dental health as two completely unrelated categories, they are much more connected than the average person suspects. Just as the information you share with your general practitioner assists them in keeping you healthy, your Gwinn dentist, Dr. Buck, depends on your input for optimal dental health.

When it comes to overall health, your dentist needs to see the big picture to best assist you with keeping your teeth vital. Most patients might not think to inform their dentist about their general physical health, but would be surprised at the potential impact that information can have on their oral care. The Northern Trails Dental Care team likes to go above and beyond for our patients, but we depend on your participation to make sure you get the quality dental care you deserve. Here are a few reasons why:

Diabetes & Dental Health

750,000 Americans are diagnosed with diabetes every year, but few diabetes sufferers realize the full extent of the disorder’s effect on your teeth. If you have diabetes, you are much more likely to develop:

TMD/TMJ

Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD/TMJ) results from improper workings of your jaw joint. Unfortunately, the symptoms of TMJ/TMD are so diverse that most people would never think to tell Dr. Buck about them. However, we at Northern Trails Dental Care can treat your TMJ/TMD. Here are a few common symptoms and signs:

  • Abnormally sensitive teeth
  • Painful chewing
  • Headaches
  • Dizziness
  • Neck pain and/or stiffness
  • Earaches
  • Ringing in the ears
  • Face pain
  • Jaw aches
  • Popping, clicking, or grinding of the jaw
  • Frequent dislocation or locking of the jaw
  • Difficulty or pain in opening the mouth wide

Physical Impairments to Brushing & Flossing

If you have recently injured your hands, fingers, arms, shoulders, or suffer from any type of arthritis or physical disability, you may not be able to brush and floss as well as you should. There are ways to help Gwinn residents improve their dental health beyond brushing and flossing, but please inform Dr. Buck about any physical impairments so they may advise you about the oral hygiene treatment that would provide you with the most benefit.

Side Effects & Dental Health

Did you know more than 600 over-the-counter and prescription medications cause dry mouth or harm teeth in other ways? It is estimated that 40% of the population takes at least one medication that can cause potential harm to their teeth. Provide your dental team with a complete detailed list of your medications at every dental visit.

Dental health and general health go hand in hand, so the next time you visit Northern Trails Dental Care and our team ask how you are—TELL US! If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment, please contact us today!

The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

The post Updating Your Health History May Help Save Your Teeth appeared first on Northern Trails Dental Care.



from Northern Trails Dental Care https://northerntrailsdentalcare.com/blog/updating-your-health-history-may-help-save-your-teeth/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Help! My Child is Terrified of the Dentist

Image
If you’re the parent of a young child, you know their brains are similar to sponges that soak up everything around them—especially in their first five years, which neuroscientists say is when they’ll do the most learning and developing in their entire life. At this formative time, your child may amaze you with what they notice: your facial expressions, the different tones of your voice, and your habits. If your habits include regular dental visits and an excellent oral hygiene routine, they’ll notice and want to emulate you. If you happen to feel anxious about your dental visits, or you groan when you’ve got to floss and brush, they may synchronize and feel your dread. This could lead to dental fears that stick with them for years—potentially a lifetime! Kids Can Be Courageous If you’re feeling guilty right now, go ahead and put that away as it won’t serve you or your little one. Everyone has some room for improvement, and Coastal Pediatric Dentistry® is here to help show you an
Read more

Going for the Gold?

Image
On the left is the older allow, on the right the new one that my lab has chosen to use The cost of a penny weight of pure gold is currently $79.53. The cost of a penny weight of pure palladium is $130.6. It used to be that palladium was added instead of gold to the precious metals often used for pfms, but now laboratories are finding that palladium is no longer affordable. The lab that I am using has just changed the formulation of the metal it's using to one that has more gold than palladium. I really do not mind, but metals with more gold are softer and often easier for a dentist to accidentally polish off delicate margins. It is important when polishing "higher gold" formulations to exert less hand pressure when performing the final polishing of the crown's margins. Other wise there should be no problem with this change. Traditionally labs have chosen alloys with higher gold percentages for optimal esthetics, since alloys with higher concentrations of
Read more

Tongue Ties: What Parents Need to Know

Image
For a long time, people just didn’t seem to know much about tongue ties. In the early years of my practice, few of my patients had ever heard of a tongue tie. When I pointed out that they or their children might be tongue tied, I was often the very first practitioner who’d mentioned it to them. When I told them that a tongue tie might actually be the root cause of their oral myofunctional issues, or even their sleep apnea , I’m sure that some of them thought I was crazy. But in the last few years, things have changed so much! Initially, there was a small increase in the number of patients who were contacting me specifically about tongue ties. Dentists and orthodontists also began reaching out more frequently to discuss the application of myofunctional therapy exercises to tongue tie treatment. But in the last year or so, that little bit of interest has become a surge of awareness. Tongue ties and their effects on health and craniofacial development are finally becoming mainstream.
Read more