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Year: 2018

Periodontist in Framingham for Scaling and Root Planing

Have you noticed that your gums are bleeding when you brush and floss your teeth? You may attribute it to pushing too hard with your toothbrush or floss; however, it is actually a sign of a larger underlying problem—gum disease. This is an infection that develops in the gum tissue due to plaque and tartar accumulations. When left untreated, it can lead to tooth loss and cause general health complications, like heart disease. To treat the infection, your periodontist will likely recommend a deep cleaning, also known as scaling and root planing, but is it really necessary? Yes! To restore your gum health, the accumulations must be removed with this procedure.

Do I Need Scaling and Root Planing?

Gum disease is a preventable infection if you practice the right oral hygiene habits at home and visit your dentist twice a year for a cleaning and checkup. Although it is preventable, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 50% of adults have a form of the infection.

When treated during the earliest stage, known as gingivitis, it is treatable without causing any permanent damage. To stop it in its tracks, a scaling and root planing procedure is needed. This allows your dentist in Framingham to clean below the gum line to remove harmful tartar accumulations, which harbor bacteria.

The buildup will cause pockets to develop in the gum tissue. When they reach a depth larger that 4 millimeters deep, it is best to have a deep cleaning.

What is Scaling and Root Planing?

Scaling and root planing is a simple procedure. The scaling process uses a special laser to remove plaque and tartar from below the gum line to clean out the pockets. This provides a less invasive treatment when compared to methods of the past. In addition,

Preventing Sports Injuries – Clear Advantage Orthodontics

Preventing Sports Injuries

Ask parents what their biggest fear is when their child is playing sports, most will say injuries. But according to the American Association of Orthodontists, 67% of parents say their child doesn’t wear a mouth guard. Now that spring has arrived and everyone is excited to take sports outdoors, it’s time to remind you about protecting your face and teeth. 

Many facial sports injuries can be prevented by wearing a properly-fitted mouth guard. They can prevent broken or chipped teeth, cheek and lip injuries, jaw fractures, mouth lacerations and even concussions. Your child’s jaw is still growing and last year’s mouth guard may no longer fit properly. Call us at Clear Advantage Orthodontics to get a new custom fit mouth guard.

Tips for preventing injuries include:

  • Wear a mouth guard for contact sports
  • Wear a helmet
  • Stretch before and after your activity
  • Use protective eye wear
  • Be observant and stay alert – this goes for spectators too

For those wearing braces, avoid mouth guards that mold to your teeth. Your treatment is designed to move and adjust your teeth. Wearing improper mouth guards will hinder your teeth from moving according to plan.

Our custom fit mouth guards have these benefits:

  • Provide you with the most protection and comfort
  • Cover all teeth and absorb shock to your jaws
  • Do not interfere with speech or breathing
  • Adjustable for all types of sports

 

Give us a call if you have any questions about mouth guards or your treatment!

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How Aging Effects Oral Health

At different ages, we all need specific healthcare. Senior patients have a different set of needs than kids or younger adults. Many patients don’t know that they need to change the way they take care of their smiles as they age, but a good dentist should partner with you to maintain good in-office and at-home dental care routines to ensure you keep a healthy, beautiful smile for a lifetime. In this post, we’ll discuss the effects of aging on your oral health and how you and your dentist can work together to improve the lifetime health of your smile during dental checkups and by optimizing at-home oral hygiene routines.

Common Oral Health Issues for Seniors

There are many ways that oral health changes as we age. Some of the most common oral health issues seniors struggle with include:

  • Dry mouth – taking more prescription medications coupled with reduced saliva production as we age can lead to dry mouth. This oral health issue may seem like nothing more than a nuisance, but actually, it can lead to numerous serious concerns, including tooth decay, gum disease, and excessive dental wear.
  • Increased risk for gum disease – dry mouth and decreased immune function can both increase patients’ risk to suffer from periodontal (gum) disease due to the greater levels of plaque production and diminished ability to neutralize plaque acidity.
  • Tooth loss – older patients are more likely to lose teeth as years of dental wear and damage take their toll.

Gum Disease & Aging

As we age, we’re at greater risk for systemic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. What many patients don’t know is that gum disease increases your risk for and the severity of your illness. Gum disease has been connected to numerous whole body health issues, and unless your

Permanent or Removable Retainers: Which is Right for You?

When the time to remove your braces finally arrives, it is very exciting. Unfortunately, it can be somewhat confusing, too, because you are faced with choosing between two kinds of retainers. Should you go with permanent, removable, or a combination of the two? It is always wise to follow your dentist’s recommendations, but knowing more about the two types of retainer beforehand can be helpful.

Permanent Retainers

Permanent retainers are the clear choice for patients who want to “get it and forget it.” Once your permanent retainer is placed in your mouth, you won’t need to worry about daily retainer schedules, since it is permanently affixed to your teeth.

Because teeth begin to shift naturally as we age, a permanent retainer typically offers better long-term results for teeth straightening than a removable one. You can’t forget to put it in — it’s already there! Temporary retainers get lost or are forgotten on trips, and often fail to get used as often as they should be.

One drawback to permanent retainers is flossing. Some patients find it more difficult to floss with a permanent retainer, but we can show you effective ways to floss fairly quickly with your permanent retainer.

Removable Retainers

Removable retainers offer the advantage of easy use: you will generally put a removable retainer in at night and take it out in the morning. Regardless of your retainer schedule, you’ll be able to enjoy some time with no retainer. However, a removable retainer can easily be forgotten at times, and this means you won’t be taking full advantage of teeth retention.

Another potential advantage of a removable retainer is that you can take it out and brush and floss your teeth with ease, which is more of a challenge with a permanent retainer. Although removable retainers can be

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month!

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month!

Developing good habits at an early age and scheduling regular visits with your dentist, especially while you’re wearing braces, helps our you get a good start on a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums.

The American Dental Association has sponsored National Children’s Dental Health Month every February for the last 68 years to raise awareness about the importance of oral health at a young age.

The ADA has produced some fun activity sheets for kids:

kids dentist activities

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Canker Sore Got You Down? A Dentist in Framingham Can Help!

January 4, 2018

Canker sore on the lower lip

Do you suffer from canker sores? If so, you know how uncomfortable and irritating they can be. It’s amazing that something so small can be such a big pain! They’re particularly hard to live with if you have a taste for acidic or spicy foods, like orange juice or curries. Unfortunately, those things are off the menu while you’re waiting for your canker sore to heal. Thankfully there are several things you can do to speed up the recovery time and also prevent these pesky little buggers from occurring in the first place. Keep reading as a dentist in Framingham talks more about this common problem.

What Causes Canker Sores and Can They Be Prevented?

Unfortunately, some people are simply more prone to getting canker sores than others, and no one knows exactly why.

Having said that, there are some known risk factors:

  • Allergies to foods or oral care products
  • Stress
  • Viral infections or a weak immune system
  • Vitamin deficiency

Talking with your doctor or dentist is a great place to start, as they can help you rule out any potential allergies in your diet or to the products you use at home.

Also, according to The American Academy of Oral Medicine, keeping track of when you get canker sores can really help you determine if any particular foods or activities are triggers for you.

Next, managing your stress levels and taking a good quality multi-vitamin with a meal each day may prevent canker sores from developing. Keep in mind that you may only be able to reduce outbreaks, if not eradicate them entirely!

What Can You Do To Heal Canker Sores Faster?

If you’re currently dealing with an outbreak, here are some great ideas from a Framingham dentist to help

Top Ten Tips for Cleaning Your Braces Like a Pro

Keeping your teeth clean is more important than ever when you have braces!

When you have braces, food has more places to hide in your mouth, so diligent cleaning is more important than ever in order to avoid bad breath, swollen gums, discoloured teeth and cavities. If you remove plaque regularly during the course of your braces, you’ll experience better results and shorter treatment time. Keep plaque at bay with these top ten tips:

1. Clean one tooth at a time.

When you brush, take time with each individual tooth – at least 10 seconds each – and pay careful attention to the spots where your teeth touch your braces.

2. It’s all about angles.

Brush the tops of your teeth and braces with your brush angled down toward where they meet. Brush the bottoms of your teeth and braces with your brush angled up.

3. The tooth, the whole tooth, nothing but the tooth.

While the front surface of your teeth may seem like the most logical to clean, it’s equally important to clean the inner surface of your teeth (tongue side) as well as the chewing surface. And be sure to clean along your gum line – a key spot for plaque buildup.

4. Find the right floss for your teeth.

Regular floss works for some patients, but others find it easier to work with a floss threader, which helps you get the floss into tight places. Other patients like an all-in-one product called Superfloss, which comes with a stiff end for easy threading, a spongy section for cleaning wide spaces, and regular floss for narrow spaces.

5. Eat, then clean.

While you’re in treatment, it’s important to brush after every meal. Bits of food can easily get caught between braces and teeth, and these food bits interact