Tag Springdale

The Role of Diet and Lifestyle in Oral Health

A number of dietary habits and lifestyle factors can affect oral health, including:

• Sugar consumption. A sugar-laden diet will contribute to tooth decay and gum problems, as the bacteria in the mouth thrive in this environment, producing tooth and gum-destroying enzymes and acids.
• Smoking. Dental care experts have long known that smoking cigarettes and cigars and using tobacco products can cause periodontal disease (gum disease), tooth decay, and oral cancer. Cigars can also cause periodontal disease and throat, or pharyngeal, cancer. Smoking also stains the teeth, is a direct cause of oral cancer, and can contribute to bad breath.
• Drinking alcohol. Drinking can contribute to oral problems indirectly by resulting in a dehydrated mouth. Having a dry mouth can allow bacteria to run rampant.
• Changes in weight. For those who wear dentures, changes in body weight tend to affect the way dentures fit. To help maintain a healthy weight and fight tooth decay, eat a diet rich in high-fiber fruits and vegetables.
• Medication. Antibiotics and other medications can cause internal staining of teeth. Also, there are 200 to 400 medications, prescribed or over-the-counter, that have the side effect of drying up saliva. As stated above a dry mouth is more prone to gum disease as well as tooth decay and bad breath.

To maintain your oral health, and overall health, you should see your dentist regularly to head off any problems early. You should also practice good oral hygiene at home by carefully brushing and flossing your teeth regularly in order to prevent plaque from accumulating and causing problems. There isn’t anything a dentist can do that a patient can’t undo by neglecting their dental regimen.

What is a Root Canal and Why Might you Need One?

Sometimes there may be dead or dying tissue in the canal that holds the roots of the teeth which can cause an abscess. While this is sometimes painless it can be a painful experience for the patient. A solution is making an opening into the canal that is in the roots and then removing the diseased tissue from the tooth all the way to the tip of the root and cleaning, shaping, and disinfecting the inside of the canal and then sealing with a plastic material and cement so that bacteria can’t get from the bloodstream back into that space again. In the canal, when it gets infected, the first thing that happens is an increase in blood flow, which causes swelling. The swelling cuts off the blood supply and then the blood can’t fight the bacteria. This causes dead and diseased tissue which becomes a continuous source of food for the bacteria. They grow and then an abscess occurs when the bacteria start getting out to the end of the root and that is when a patient will experience a throbbing pain.

To learn more about other symptoms and causes of root canals visit our website and watch this video.