Your Diet and Oral Health
... To prevent cavities and maintain good oral health, your diet – what you eat and how often you eat – are important factors. Changes in your mouth start the minute you eat certain foods. Bacteria in the...

Teeth Eruption Timetable
... Primary teeth eruption chart The following chart shows when primary teeth (also called baby teeth or deciduous teeth) erupt and shed. It’s important to note that eruption times can vary from child to ...

Plaque
... Plaque is the sticky, colorless film of bacteria that forms on teeth. It makes teeth "feel fuzzy" to the tongue and is most noticeable when teeth are not brushed. What causes plaque and why ...

Treating Cavities With Fillings
... To treat a cavity your dentist will remove the decayed portion of the tooth and then "fill" the area on the tooth where the decayed material once lived. Fillings are also used to repair crac...

Your Oral Health Care Plan
... Good oral health involves more than just brushing. To keep your teeth and mouth healthy for a lifetime of use, there are steps that you should follow. Here''s what you need to consider: 1. Understand ...

More on Fillings
... Will I experience sensitivity around the filling following the procedure? Tooth sensitivity following placement of a filling is fairly common. A tooth may be sensitive to pressure, air, sweet foods, o...

Oral Surgery
... A number of conditions may require oral surgery, including: Impacted teeth Wisdom teeth, otherwise known as third molars, are the last set of teeth to develop. Sometimes these teeth emerge from the gu...

Dental Check-Up
... How often should I go to the dentist? The standard recommendation is to visit your dentist twice a year for check-ups and cleanings. This frequency level works well for most people, though some people...

Frequently Asked Dental Questions
... What new methods are under development to treat and prevent tooth decay? Several new treatments are under development. One experimental technique uses fluorescent light to detect the development of ca...

Laser Use in Dentistry
... Lasers have been used in dentistry since 1995 to treat a number of dental problems. But, despite FDA approval, no laser system has received the American Dental Association’s Seal of Acceptance, which ...

Caring for Your Teeth and Gums
... With proper care, your teeth and gums can stay healthy throughout your life. The healthier your teeth and gums are, the less risk you have for tooth decay and gum disease. How can I care for my teeth ...

Choosing Dental Care Products
... With so many dental care products (competing toothpastes, toothbrushes, mouthwashes etc) on the market today, how should you decide which product to use? This document provides information to help gui...

Controlling Dental Pain
... Fear of pain is the main reason people avoid seeing the dentist. The good news is that there is a wide array of medications and techniques – used alone or in combination – that can reduce or eliminate...

Bad Breath
... Bad breath Bad breath, or halitosis, can result from poor oral hygiene habits or may be a sign of other oral health problems. Bad breath can also be made worse by the types of foods you eat or by unhe...

Braces and Retainers
... If you have crooked teeth and/or a misaligned bite (an underbite or overbite), your dentist may recommend you see an orthodontist. Orthodontists are dentists who specialize in correcting irregularitie...

Caring for Your Dentures
... Proper denture care is important for both the health of your dentures and mouth. Here are some tips. Preparation. Handle dentures with great care. To avoid accidentally dropping them, stand over a fol...

Air Abrasion
... Air abrasion is a newer technique that is being used by some dentists to remove tooth decay and for other applications described below. How does air abrasion work? An instrument that works like a mini...

Finding a Dentist
... How do I find a dentist? The American Dental Association (ADA) offers these suggestions: Ask family, friends, neighbors or co-workers for their recommendations. Ask your family physician or local phar...

The Quest for a Movie-Star Smile
... (Part 1 of a 2-part series) By age 45, the average conscientious teeth brusher has spent more than 1,900 hours trying to keep the ivories clean, shiny and white. That’s approximately 8 minutes per da...

The Quest for a Movie-Star Smile
... (Part 2 of a 2-part series) Over-the-counter teeth-whitening products seem ubiquitous these days and there always seems to be a new one. In part 1 of this series, we focused on some of the fundamenta...

Tooth Decay
... What is tooth decay? Tooth decay is an area of tooth destroyed by acids. These acids result as the bacteria that normally live in the mouth come in contact with the foods we eat. The acids damage the ...

Tooth Discoloration
... There are several reasons why teeth may darken. These include: Foods/drinks: Coffee, tea, colas, wines, and certain fruits and vegetables (for example, apples and potatoes) can stain your teeth. Tobac...

Toothache
... A toothache is a pain in or around a tooth that may be caused by: Tooth decay Abscessed tooth Tooth fracture A damaged filling Repetitive motions, such as chewing gum or grinding teeth Infected gums S...

Wisdom Teeth
... Wisdom teeth are the third and final set of molars that most people get in their late teens or early twenties. Sometimes these teeth can be a valuable asset to the mouth when healthy and properly alig...

Commonly Used Dental Terms
... abscess: an infection of a tooth, soft tissue or bone. abutment: tooth or teeth on either side of a missing tooth that support a fixed or removable bridge. acrylic resin: the plastic widely used in de...

Crooked Teeth and Misaligned Bites
... There are several reasons why some people’s teeth grow in crooked, overlapping, or twisted. Some people''s mouths are too small for their teeth, which crowds the teeth and causes them to shift. In oth...

Pericoronitis
... Pericoronitis is a dental disorder in which the gum tissue around the molar teeth becomes swollen and infected. This disorder usually involves the wisdom teeth, the third and final set of molars that ...

Sensitive Teeth
... Tooth sensitivity is tooth discomfort in one or more teeth that is triggered by hot, cold, sweet or sour foods and drinks, or even by breathing cold air. The pain can be sharp, sudden, and shoot deep ...

Teeth Grinding
... Most people probably grind and clench their teeth from time to time, medically called bruxism. This occasional grinding does not usually cause harm. But, when teeth grinding occurs on a regular basis ...

Halitosis (Bad Breath)
... Bad breath Bad breath, medically called halitosis, can result from poor oral hygiene habits, may be a sign of other oral health problems. Bad breath can also be made worse by the types of foods you ea...

Cavities
... Cavities occur as a result of tooth decay. Tooth decay is the destruction of tooth structure. Tooth decay can affect both the enamel (the outer coating of the tooth) and the dentin layer of the tooth ...

Dentures
... A denture is a removable replacement for missing teeth and surrounding tissues. Two types of dentures are available -- complete and partial dentures. Complete dentures are used when all the teeth are ...

Caring for Your Teeth and Gums
... With proper care, your teeth and gums can stay healthy throughout your life. The healthier your teeth and gums, the less risk you have for tooth decay and gum disease. This document describes how you ...

Abscessed Tooth
... A tooth abscess is an infection at the root of a tooth or between the gum and a tooth that is caused most commonly by severe tooth decay. Other causes of tooth abscess are trauma to the tooth, such as...