What Happens if You Don’t Repair a Chipped Tooth?

May 30, 2024 | by admin | Blog

So, what happens if you don’t repair a chipped tooth? A little chip on a tooth may not seem like a big deal, especially if it is a molar that no one can see. Smaller chips are usually not problematic unless they are sharp, then they could possibly cut your mouth. However, if your chipped tooth is significant enough, it could lead to more serious problems such as pain, hot/cold sensitivity, bad breath, swollen glands, and even infected roots.

Sharp edges can cut your cheek, tongue, and gums
Deep chips can impact the root of the tooth, leading to potential infections or tooth aches
Deep chips can cause tooth decay resulting in sensitivity and bad breath
Chips of all sizes can grow bigger and cause larger issues resulting in the need for root canals or extractions

When do you need to repair a Chipped tooth?

You should always visit the dentist when you chip a tooth. For minor chips, you typically won’t need a major repair. More often than not, your dentist in Hoover Alabama can just file the chipped tooth or fill it with a dermal bond so it looks normal again. However, more significant cracks can require more extensive dental work.

If a chip is significant enough, it can damage the pulp that is inside the tooth. The dental pulp is the center of your tooth, made up of living tissue, blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissue.

Damage to the pulp can be extremely painful and, if untreated, can become infected. If this happens, you could be in for more extensive dental work.

Call the staff at Sampson Dentistry in Hoover Alabama to have your crack tooth fixed.

Why Should I Schedule Regular Dental Cleanings?

May 23, 2024 | by admin | Blog

Be sure to schedule regular dental appointments with Sampson Dentistry to keep your teeth and gums healthy.

Regular dental cleanings are an essential part of maintaining good oral health. Here are some reasons why you should schedule regular dental cleanings:

Prevent Tooth Decay: Even with regular brushing and flossing, plaque and tartar can build up on your teeth. If left untreated, this can lead to tooth decay and cavities. Dental cleanings remove this buildup and prevent tooth decay.
Prevent Gum Disease: Gum disease is a common problem that can lead to tooth loss if left untreated. Regular cleanings can help prevent gum disease by removing plaque and tartar buildup from your gums.
Early Detection of Dental Problems: During a dental cleaning, your dentist or hygienist will also check for any signs of dental problems such as cavities, gum disease, or oral cancer. Early detection is key to successful treatment.
Freshen Your Breath: Bad breath can be caused by bacteria in your mouth. Regular cleanings remove the bacteria and leave your mouth feeling fresh and clean.
Save Money: Regular dental cleanings can help prevent dental problems that require expensive treatments such as root canals, fillings, or extractions. By investing in regular cleanings, you can save money on future dental treatments.

So why should I schedule regular dental cleanings? In summary, regular dental cleanings are essential to maintaining good oral health, preventing dental problems, and saving money in the long run. Be sure to schedule regular dental appointments with Sampson Dentistry to keep your teeth and gums healthy.

Sampson Dentistry

Name(Required)

First Last

Phone(Required)

Email(Required)

Enter Email Confirm Email

How would you like to be contacted?(Required)

Name

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Does Soda and Juice Affect Toddler’s Teeth

April 18, 2024 | by admin | Blog

Tooth decay is a dental health issue that affect children. One of the biggest culprits of tooth decay in young kids come from many of the drinks that we give them. Does soda and juice affect toddler’s teeth?

The World Health Organization (WHO) advises limiting sugar to only 10% of a toddler’s daily caloric intake. At three years old, daily caloric intake is roughly 1,100 calories. That equates to only 5.5 teaspoons of added sugar a day. Most sodas and juices contain nearly triple that amount in a single serving!

Schedule Your Appointment Online!

Does Brushing Teeth After Drinking Soda Help Avoid Tooth Decay?

Brushing your toddler’s teeth after consuming soda or juice can help to rid the mouth of the acid causing bacteria. However, doctors recommend to wait at least 30 to 60 minutes after consuming sugary drinks. It is recommended to swish the mouth out with water. This can be done immediately after consuming a sugary drink.

How Does Sugar Decay Teeth?

Before you completely ditch all forms of sugar, it is important to understand how sugar affects tooth enamel. Sugar alone is not the issue. What does cause the damage is acid.

When bacteria in your toddler’s mouth use sugar as their food source to break down into energy, acids are released. This acid then begins to break down the enamel and remove important minerals from your toddler’s teeth. The end result… tooth decay, rot, cavities, toothaches, and tooth sensitivity.

How Can My Toddler Avoid Tooth Decay?

The obvious answer is to avoid sugary substances. However, the occasional sugary treat is okay. A fun way to get your toddler to drink more water is by adding fruit. Fruit infused water provides a delicious flavor without adding refined sugars and other harmful ingredients.

Hoover Alabama Dental Consultations

March 18, 2024 | by admin | Blog

Hoover Alabama dental consultations are a non-invasive visit with your dental care provider where you can discuss your issues, concerns, and treatment options. Many of our dentists offer free consultations, though others do ask for a small consultation fee to cover their time. If you’re considering any major dental procedure, a consultation is a good idea, and can be important for several reasons. Read on to learn more.

Understanding the Procedure

Some dental procedures are quite complex. Before you settle into the chair for the complete treatment, it’s important to know what’s ahead. Your consultation is the perfect time to ask all your questions and a get a detailed explanation of what will take place while you’re in the chair. In many cases, our dentists can offer a helpful visual, using tooth models and product samples to help you better understand each step of the procedure. If you’re nervous, this may also help to ease some of your tension or fear.

Exploring Payment Options

Some dental procedures come with a high price tag. At your consultation, our dentists will be happy to discuss payment options and our administrative staff will be happy to contact your insurance provider, if you have one, to determine what portion of the bill you’re responsible for. Most of our offices will typically provide one, but if not, you should request a written estimate for the procedure. If you don’t feel that you can pay the sum in one visit, ask about payment plans. Many of our offices will separate the bill into several smaller payments to ease the strain on your budget.

Hoover Alabama Dental Consultations

A dental consultation gives you a better idea of what’s ahead and how to proceed. You can consult with several dentists to get a well-rounded view of the issue and available treatments, or move forward and schedule your procedure if you feel confident after the first meeting. But either way, a consultation visit should give you all the information you need.

Myths About Flossing

March 13, 2024 | by admin | Blog

Myths About Flossing: I Only Need to Floss When I Have Food Caught in My Teeth

We have included some myths about flossing. While flossing is an effective way to remove trapped food particles from between your teeth, this isn’t the only reason to floss. Floss also removes dental plaque from between your teeth. If this plaque is left to sit between your teeth, it can make your gums inflamed and lead to tooth decay, gum disease, and even tooth loss. Floss every day, not just when food gets stuck.

Myth: I Should Stop Flossing if My Gums Bleed

Seeing blood when you floss can be a little scary, but some bleeding is totally normal. It’s definitely not a reason to give up flossing!

Bleeding during flossing can alert you to some potential problems though. Some people bleed because they’re flossing too enthusiastically. If you bleed a lot, be gentler and see whether you bleed less. You may like to get some pointers about flossing techniques from your dentist or dental hygienist. People with gum disease usually bleed more than others when they floss. Take a close look at your gum line and see whether it’s inflamed. If you think you might have gum disease, schedule an appointment with your dentist.

Myth: Flossing Makes Receding Gums Worse

There’s no truth to the myth that flossing correctly exacerbates receding gums. In fact, flossing can actually prevent gums from receding, since it cleans food particles and bacteria out from below the gum line. That makes flossing crucial for people with hereditary receding gums and gingivitis. If your gums are already receding due to periodontitis, flossing daily can help prevent further damage.

Overzealous flossing can speed up gum recession though. See your dentist or dental hygienist for advice on the best flossing technique.

Myth: I Can’t Floss Because My Teeth Are Very Tight

Flossing teeth that have little space between them can be challenging, but that doesn’t give you an excuse to skip this important oral ritual. You might need to adjust your technique. Use a seesaw motion, moving the floss backward and forward to manoeuvre it between the tight spaces between your teeth.

Certain flosses are also easier to use when your teeth are right. Try waxed floss or floss made from a substance called polytetrafluoroethylene if you struggle to use regular floss on your tight teeth. These flosses have slippery surfaces that can slide between tight spaces more easily. Some dental flosses are also thinner than others, and thus better for people with teeth close together.

Myth: I Shouldn’t Floss Because I Have Braces

Braces can certainly make flossing challenging. But failing to floss for the months or years that you have braces is a bad idea. Just imagine how much food and bacteria will be stuck between your teeth by the time you get your braces off! There’s no point straightening your teeth if they’re not healthy when your braces are removed. If you find flossing with braces difficult, your dentist, dental hygienist, or orthodontist can help you perfect your technique.

Do You Have A Chipped Tooth

March 10, 2024 | by admin | Blog

chipped tooth-hoover alabama dental clinic

A chipped tooth is common with individuals. It’s actually quite easy to chip a tooth despite the fact that enamel is the hardest, most mineralized tissue of the body. It’s important to know about potential problems. Do you have a chipped tooth.

Problems From a Chipped Tooth

What Happens if You Don’t Repair a Chipped Tooth?

A little chip on a tooth may not seem like a big deal, especially if it is a molar that no one can see. Smaller chips are usually not problematic unless they are sharp, then they could possibly cut your mouth. However, if your chip is significant enough, it could lead to more serious problems such as pain, hot/cold sensitivity, bad breath, swollen glands, and even infected roots.

Sharp edges from your broken tooth can cut your cheek, tongue, and gums
Deep chips can impact the root of the tooth, leading to potential infections or tooth aches
Deep chips can cause tooth decay resulting in sensitivity and bad breath
Chips of all sizes can grow bigger and cause larger issues resulting in the need for root canals or extractions

When do you need to repair a Chipped tooth?

You should always visit the dentist when you chip a tooth. For minor chips, you typically won’t need a major repair. More often than not, your Hoover Alabama dental clinic can just file the chipped tooth or fill it with a dermal bond so it looks normal again. However, more significant cracks can require more extensive dental work.

How Does Your Hoover Alabama Dentist Fix a Damaged Tooth?

For minor chips, the dentist may only need to smooth the rough edges or fill with a dermal filling that matches your tooth. Severe chips that do not damage the root or pulp may require a cap or crown to protect the tooth from future infections. In situations where the pulp or root is damaged, you may first need a root canal before a crown or cap is placed over the tooth.

How to Prevent a Chipped Tooth?

Maintaining good oral hygiene is the first step in preventing a chipped tooth. Making sure you have no cavities or tooth decay can help keep your tooth enamel strong.

Your Hoover Alabama dentist can also help fit you for a mouthguard if you play sports. Athletes are prone to injury, especially in the face. Protective gear can help save teeth from sustaining injury.

If you have nervous habits like biting your nails or chewing on your pen cap, you may want to switch to something a little less prone to accidents, like squeezing a stress ball.

Finally, you should try to avoid hard candies and chewing ice. We understand a hard candy here and there is a nice treat. If you cannot resist the sweet tooth, avoid the temptation to bite and break the candy.

If you have a chipped tooth and need an evaluation of the damage, Sampson Dentistry will gladly evaluate your tooth and recommend treatment options.

Smoking’s Impact on Your Oral Health

March 3, 2024 | by admin | Blog

By now, you’re likely aware of smoking’s impact on your oral health. However, you might not realize the serious effects smoking has on your overall dental care. Since your mouth is the starting point for all cigarette damage, you’ll deal with significant oral health issues when smoking.

Smoking’s Impact on Your Oral Health

Since the nicotine found in cigarettes immediately hit your teeth as you are smoking, this is the worst side effect. These chemicals can lead to yellow stains on your teeth that are difficult to remove. Smoking also weakens the protective enamel on your teeth. This can leave your teeth more susceptible to bacteria that cause tooth rot and weakened enamel. Overall, leading your teeth to become more sensitive.

Additionally, this build up of bacteria can lead to gum disease, which causes your gums to recede and compromises the stability of your teeth. Finally, perhaps the most major impact smoking has on your oral health is oral cancer.

Regular Dental Visits Are Important for Smokers

You’ll find a variety of mouthwashes and toothpastes marketed to smokers with claims that they can help repair damage caused by smoking. This includes toothpastes made to remove yellow nicotine stains and products used to mask cigarette odour in your mouth.

However, no product on the market is as effective at treating oral problems brought on by smoking as actually quitting smoking. Additionally, many of these products use abrasive and harsh chemicals to attack bacteria that thrive in a smoker’s mouth. Yet these products can do nothing to restore enamel, prevent gum and tooth rot, or stop any type of oral cancer.

If you’re a smoker, it’s important you regularly visit your dentist to monitor your oral health, and visit your local Hoover Alabama dentist Sampson Dentistry.

What Symptoms Cause Tooth Decay

February 28, 2024 | by admin | Blog

Tooth decay is often a symptom or warning sign of something much larger, and possibly more dangerous, happening in the body. What symptoms cause tooth decay?

Some Common Diseases That Cause Tooth Decay

Below are some of the most common diseases that frequently cause tooth decay. If you suffer from any of these conditions, be sure to discuss with your dentist at your next appointment.

Diabetes

Diabetes has perhaps the most significant cause and effect relationship with tooth decay. Whether you have type I or type II diabetes, your body’s blood sugar is elevated because of lowered insulin levels. This impacts many parts of the body, and the mouth is a big part of that.

One of the most common symptoms of diabetes is a dry mouth, which is due to a lack of saliva. Beyond making your mouth feel more comfortable, saliva also helps protect your teeth against the bacteria that cause tooth decay. If you don’t have enough saliva, your teeth are more vulnerable, and your risk of developing cavities is higher.

As the tooth decay continues to build up, the risk for gum disease also increases.

Schedule Your Appointment Online!

Autoimmune Conditions

Autoimmune conditions are a family of diseases that involve the body attacking parts of itself. This can include everything from major organ systems, like the kidneys, to smaller systems like salivary glands. Many of these diseases have some impact on the mouth, but the one most directly tied to oral health is Sjögren’s syndrome.

Sjögren’s reduces the amount of saliva the mouth produces, which has the same effects we described earlier with diabetes. In extreme cases, patients may not even produce saliva at all.

People with Sjögren’s may need to visit the dentist more frequently than twice per year to keep tabs on tooth decay that results from decreased saliva production.

Anorexia and Bulimia

Both anorexia and bulimia are severe eating disorders. They occur when men or women have an extreme fear of becoming overweight and either eat less or regurgitate food as a result.

Both conditions have implications on the teeth because the body is not getting the minerals, vitamins, proteins and other nutrients that it needs to maintain good oral health and prevent tooth decay from forming. When people with anorexia do eat, they tend to fill up on sugary, salty, unhealthy foods that are bad for your teeth.

Other effects of bulimia include bad breath, swollen glands, and teeth that appear to be worn down.

Avoid Tooth Decay with Routine Dental Visits

The relationship between your mouth and the rest of your body are not always apparent which is why it’s important to communicate your medical history and dental hygiene with your Hoover Alabama dentist.

Hoover Alabama Parent’s Want To Know If Fluoride Is Bad For Toddlers

December 18, 2023 | by admin | Blog

Hoover Alabama parent’s want to Know if Fluoride is bad for toddlers? The question whether fluoride toothpaste is safe for young children continues to circulate among parents and dentists.

The organization said parents can begin using a “smear” of fluoride toothpaste as soon as teeth begin to show. Why would the ADA change its mind after decades of a standard policy?

What does it mean for your children?

Hoover Alabama parent’s want to Know if Fluoride is bad for toddlers?

A Little Background on Fluoride

Fluoride is an effective way to prevent and even reverse the early signs of tooth decay. It makes the tooth structure stronger, so teeth are more resistant to acid attacks.

Many of us take in fluoride naturally through the water we drink. However, not all parts of the country require that fluoride be part of the drinking water. In addition, more families are choosing bottled water. Bootle water in most cases does not contain fluoride like tap water does.

Groups like ADA have long recommended brushing teeth and seeing a dentist as early as age 1. But parents tend to be undereducated in this area or they give in to toddlers who do not like brushing their teeth.

New Research on Fluoride

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, has long suggested the use of fluoride toothpaste as soon as teeth begin to show.

The change came after research showed an increase in cavities among preschool age children. This was noted by the Centers for Disease Control. In some cases, the problem was so bad that children needed to be placed under general anesthesia. These children had to have cavities filled in half of their baby teeth or more.

The hope is that introducing fluoride toothpaste into the equation earlier will help reduce the number of cavities in young children. The ADA recommends that children spit out the toothpaste after it’s applied to avoid developing fluorosis. This is a condition that results in a tooth’s enamel changing color due to too much fluoride exposure. Of course, this is easier said than done with a small child. Starting early and reinforcing good habits will help put them on a path toward success.

In some cases fluoride exposure has also been linked to ADHD and other neurological conditions when too much of it is ingested. Swallowing toothpaste here and there is not a big deal, but over time it could lead to more serious problems if the habit is not corrected.

What’s Best for Your Child

As far as fluoride, the key is finding the right balance between getting your child enough of it to prevent tooth decay and using so much that it puts him or her at risk for other issues.

Before deciding on whether to start using fluoride toothpaste, you should understand how much fluoride your child is already getting. Do you have it in your drinking water? If you don’t know the answer to that question, a water test or call to your local water authority can help you find it.

Diet is another factor to consider. If your child enjoys soda or other sugary snacks, a little extra fluoride may be necessary to combat the effects sugar can have on young teeth.

If you are still in doubt, be sure to ask your dentist at your next checkup. Your dentist will examine your child’s teeth and take into consideration environmental factors before making an informed decision about whether you should begin using fluoride toothpaste with your toddler.

When Should You Take Your Wisdom Teeth Out

December 13, 2023 | by admin | Blog

Wisdom teeth usually come in during your late teens to early twenties. Besides pain, when should you take your wisdom teeth out?

Signs You Need Your Wisdom Teeth Taken Out:

Not every patient experiences pain associated with the removal of their teeth. Sometimes a dentist will recommend pulling them based on your x-rays if the wisdom teeth will cause overcrowding or put excess pressure on the other teeth as they move.

How to know when to get your wisdom teeth pulled?

When overcrowding occurs, teeth that were once straight begin to shift. Shifted teeth can cause problems such as one tooth moving in front of another, gum issues, and even result in infections caused by trapped food.

Pain is usually the first sign that your teeth are causing problems and will need to be pulled (extracted).
Hot/cold sensitivity can be another indicator.
Impacted teeth is another common issue from wisdom teeth coming in crooked. When there isn’t enough room in the mouth the teeth will commonly grow in on an angle and sometimes not in the same direction as the rest of your teeth. This usually results in tenderness, swelling, gum infections, and damage to surrounding teeth. When wisdom teeth are impacted, it is highly recommended to remove them as soon as possible. Impacted teeth are more likely to cause jaw issues and can cause other serious problems.

What Can I Expect With Wisdom Teeth Removal Surgery?

Wisdom tooth removal is a pretty common routine procedure at this point. If the teeth are impacted or require any cutting into the gums then an oral surgeon will usually perform the procedure.

After removal, the dentist will use surgical dental sutures to close the wound to allow for proper healing. You will also be given something to assist with pain and swelling, a mouth rinse, as well as special post-care instructions to help keep the wound clean and avoid infection.

Does Recovering From Surgery Take Long?

healing from any tooth removal can take some time. A diet consisting of soft foods or even liquids will be required for a couple days to avoid chewing on the area and to help with pain. You will need to ice the area for the first 48 hours or as needed for pain.