Interesting, and Important, Facts About Your Teeth

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realistic image of teethWhen it comes to your dental health, knowledge is power. If you didn’t know that brushing your teeth everyday was important, then you probably wouldn’t, and your teeth can’t last long in the midst of consistently poor hygiene. Still, there are some things about your teeth that aren’t common knowledge, but knowing them could help you save your smile. For instance, teeth don’t act like other tissues in your body, and when a dental issue develops, it might be more dire of a situation than you realize.

Did You Know?

  • The strongest human bite was once measured at just over 250 lbs. of pressure. The average is less, around 170-200 lbs. of pressure, mostly on the back molars. Keeping your teeth healthy with good hygiene and professional care equates to keeping your teeth and their enamel strong enough to withstand the pressures of biting and chewing.
  • Even though your teeth wouldn’t last long without your attention, they aren’t completely helpless. In fact, good hygiene focuses on supporting your teeth’s formidable defenses. The enamel that surrounds your teeth is so resilient that it has inspired scientists to study its composition for the future of aerospace engineering.
  • Tooth enamel isn’t just the strongest substance your body produces; it’s the second-most resilient substance on earth, besides diamonds. Nevertheless, if enamel or the tooth structure underneath it is damaged, it can’t repair itself. Likewise, after your adult teeth have grown in, you won’t grow any replacements if one or more of them are lost. The importance of restorative dentistry lies in saving teeth that are damaged or diseased from being completely destroyed.
  • Although humans don’t grow an extra set of replacement teeth once the permanent ones have erupted, many people grow more teeth than they need, or can comfortably accommodate. “Wisdom teeth” is the informal name given to the last, or third set, of molars, which erupt between the ages of 17-25 (the age of wisdom). If your dental ridge can accommodate them, then the four extra molars can help increase your bite’s effectiveness. If they become impacted, or impeded by existing teeth, then they’ll likely need an extraction to restore peace to your remaining 28 teeth.

About Your Livonia Dentist:

James Steward, DDS, and our compassionate staff proudly serve patients of all ages from Livonia, Farmington Hills, Plymouth, Northville, Dearborn Heights, Garden City, and all surrounding communities. To schedule an appointment, call our office today at (734) 425-4400.

filed under: General, Patient Education

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What Fluoride Does for Your Teeth

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tooth and fluoride modelFluoride is one of the most popular ingredients in a number of different dental hygiene products. The mineral is well-known for its ability to help ward off cavity development, and can be found in municipal water supplies across the US. Though most people can easily recognize the name, fluoride, not as many people understand how it works to protect teeth from the most common chronic disease in the world. The secret of fluoride’s effectiveness lies in how it interacts with your teeth’s natural defenses, strengthening them against the bacteria that dwell in your mouth. (more…)

filed under: Dental Hygiene, Family Dentistry

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Do Primary Cavities Affect Permanent Teeth?

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young kid with toothacheAlthough cavities are highly-preventable, they remain the most widespread chronic disease among children all over the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, they affect over half of all school-aged children in the US, and cavities are four times more common than asthma in adolescents aged 14-17. With such alarming statistics, protecting your children from cavities isn’t only reasonable; it’s essential to helping them prepare for strong, healthy, permanent smiles as they enter adulthood.

Cavities Among Kids

A cavity is a hole that forms when a tooth is infected with oral bacteria. The infection, called tooth decay, can affect patients of all ages, and if left untreated, it can consume an entire tooth and spread through tissues surrounding it. Though children aren’t more likely to develop cavities than adults, the fact that their primary teeth are bound to fall out anyway can confuse some parents about proper treatment. Dr. Stewart warns that even in baby teeth, which are meant to prepare the way for a child’s permanent smile, cavities can prove highly destructive to the adult teeth growing underneath them.

What About Cavities in Baby Teeth?

Baby teeth, or primary teeth, begin developing while your child is still in the womb, although they don’t erupt until months after birth. Adult teeth grow underneath the primary set, waiting to erupt once the child’s jawbone has developed enough to accept them. As a progressive infection, tooth decay can settle into a primary tooth, and if not treated before the cavity spreads, it can affect the still-developing adult teeth under it. If your child exhibits tooth decay, then Dr. Stewart can advise you concerning the severity of the condition and an appropriate course of treatment to restore your child’s healthy smile.

Professional Cavity Protection

As an experienced pediatric dentist, Dr. James Stewart is highly-skilled at caring for children and their specific dental issues, and advises bringing your child to our office for an initial visit shortly after the first primary tooth erupts. We can help you maximize your and your child’s hygiene routines, and Dr. Stewart can recommend increased cavity protection through dental sealants and/or fluoride treatments.

About Your Livonia Children’s Dentist:

James Steward, DDS, and our compassionate staff proudly serve patients of all ages from Livonia, Farmington Hills, Plymouth, Northville, Dearborn Heights, Garden City, and all surrounding communities. To schedule an appointment, call our office today at (734) 425-4400.

filed under: Children's Dentistry

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The Specifics of Senior Dental Care

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mature woman with beautiful smileAge, by itself, isn’t a significant factor in the state of your oral health. For instance, contrary to popular belief, teeth aren’t naturally lost as you grow older. Nevertheless, time does have an effect on your smile, and dental care for seniors often means taking into consideration circumstances that are specific to our more mature patients.

Time’s Effect on Your Teeth and Gums

Your teeth are more than showpieces that liven up your smile; they’re also responsible for processing your food, enunciating your words clearly, and supporting facial structures that surround them. Over time, teeth and the highly-mineralized enamel that protects them may grow weak from excessive wear and tear, dulling your teeth’s appearance and possibly making them more sensitive. Your gum tissue, which should create a tight seal where they meet your teeth, can also loosen and recede from years of bite pressure, making you more susceptible to destructive gum disease.

What to Watch Out For

As the dynamics of your dental health change, you may experience a number of changes to the visual aspects of your teeth and gums, including;

  • Darkened teeth, usually caused by changes to the bone-like dentin underneath the semi-translucent enamel. Dentin comprises the majority of your tooth’s structure, and is responsible for the pearly-white (or otherwise) shade of your teeth.
  • Dry mouth, or the substantial decline of saliva production, can result from a number of issues, including certain medications and some medical conditions that affect your salivary glands. Saliva is your mouth’s natural defense against oral bacteria, and a lack of it can increase your risk of bacteria-induced issues like cavities and aggressive gum disease.
  • Tooth loss, although not natural, is still common among older patients. In fact, by age 74, approximately 26% of adults have lost all of their permanent teeth, most often due to advanced gum disease.
  • Limited movement, such as in your joints if you have arthritis, can limit your ability to effectively brush and floss your teeth every day. By affecting your dental hygiene practices, conditions that inhibit your full range of movement can also increase your risk of developing a dental disease.

About Your Livonia Dentist:

As an experienced family dentist, Dr. James Stewart is highly-skilled at caring seniors who require special attention, given their particular circumstances. James Steward, DDS, and our compassionate staff proudly serve patients of all ages from Livonia, Farmington Hills, Plymouth, Northville, Dearborn Heights, Garden City, and all surrounding communities. To schedule an appointment, call our office today at (734) 425-4400.

filed under: Family Dentistry, Senior Dental Care

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What to Do if You’ve Been Told You Have Gum Disease

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beautiful confused womanYour reaction to learning that you have gum disease would depend largely on how much you know about the condition. If all you’ve heard is what’s mentioned frequently in mouthrinse commercials, you might just think it’s time to start using mouthrinse. If Dr. Stewart diagnoses your condition, then you’ll know that gum disease warrants more concern than adding mouthrinse to your hygiene cabinet. Even mild gum disease requires professional treatment, such as a deep periodontal cleaning and improved hygiene. In its advanced stages, though, gum disease may require more complex treatment, such as surgery, to keep it under control and prevent the loss of one or more of your teeth. (more…)

filed under: Patient Education, Preventive Dentistry

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Tips to Relieve Migraine Pain

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businessman with migraineWhen your headaches are severe and recurring, they’re often referred to as migraines. Unlike your typical, run-of-the-mill headache, a migraine is usually accompanied by a host of other symptoms besides head pain, like extreme sensitivity to sound and light. Also unlike headaches, migraines don’t always dissipate on their own, and once you find relief, they usually come back before too long. Until you receive an accurate diagnosis and lasting relief, try these tips to find temporary reprieve from your migraine headaches.

Get a Massage

Migraines and headaches often result from tight, tense muscles in your neck, shoulders, and face. Receiving a massage every week or so will help keep relieve tension and ease your frequent symptoms, although you may have to continue receiving massages to keep the pain manageable.

Rub Your Temples

If you can’t make it to the masseuse, try rubbing your temples, located just in front of each ear. The temporomandibular joints (TMJs) that connect your lower jaw to your temples can become troublesome when tense or fatigued. Also, the nerve in your jaw is responsible for much of the sensory input from your craniofacial structures. Rubbing your temples will help your jaw’s joints, muscles, and nerves relax.

Stretch it Out

Stretching can help increase the elasticity of the muscles in your neck and shoulders, helping eliminate migraine-causing tension. Try tilting your chin back, then forward, and then towards each shoulder, holding each position for about five seconds and relaxing for five more. Make neck/shoulder stretching a part of your every routine to minimize future migraine occurrences.

Seek TMJ Treatment

Headaches and migraines are common symptoms of a jaw joint dysfunction. When your TMJs are damaged, exhausted, misaligned, or inflamed, they can result in one of several conditions known as TMJ disorders. Besides migraines, TMJ disorder can also manifest as difficulty with biting and chewing, habitual teeth grinding, and a host of other symptoms. Seeking an assessment and appropriate treatment for TMJ disorder can help your jaw joints heal and alleviate its many symptoms.

About Your Livonia Dentist:

As an experienced general dentist, Dr. James Stewart has helped many patients improve their dental health and quality of life by helping them diagnose and treat TMJ disorder. To learn more, or to find out if your chronic discomfort is related to troubled jaw joints, visit us as soon as possible.

James Steward, DDS, and our compassionate staff proudly serve patients of all ages from Livonia, Farmington Hills, Plymouth, Northville, Dearborn Heights, Garden City, and all surrounding communities. To schedule an appointment, call our office today at (734) 425-4400.

filed under: Patient Education, TMJ

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Enjoy the Taste, and Benefits, of Eating Right

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healthy eating for healthy smilesEvery March, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics hosts National Nutrition Month® to promote nutrition information and education to improve people’s health and lives. This year, the Month’s theme is “Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right,” which exemplifies an important aspect of your dietary concerns—your mouth. Your taste buds, tongue, teeth, and gums react to everything you eat, for better or worse, and your diet can affect the state of your oral health as much as it does your physical wellbeing. With the right combination of a good hygiene, professional dental care, and a well-balanced diet, your meals might actually help keep your mouth healthy, rather than increasing your risk of problems.

Foods that Help FIGHT Tooth Decay

While some substances, like sugar, are notorious for increasing your risk of cavities and other issues, some minerals and nutrients are essential to your teeth’s integrity. The enamel that surrounds and protects them requires a steady supply of calcium and phosphate to withstand acid attacks from your meals. Vitamin D allows your body to absorb and use calcium, and can also help combat harmful bacteria to reduce your risk of developing dental infections. In moderation with other nutrients, you can still safely consume sugar and other treats without exposing your teeth to dangerous levels of acid erosion.

Tasty Snack Alternatives for Kids

  • Milk and cheese—rich in calcium, phosphate, and vitamin D, dairy products are highly-beneficial to maintaining resilient tooth enamel and a jawbone strong enough to support your teeth.
  • Lunch meat—the bread in a sandwich contains starch that can facilitate acid erosion, but lunchmeat, like chicken, beef, and turkey, contains ample supplies of calcium and other essential minerals. Sandwiching lunch meat and cheese between crackers, instead of bread, can prove a tasty alternative without the risk of bread sticking to your teeth.
  • Apples—the slightly-abrasive and fibrous texture of apples makes them a natural tooth cleaner, and their juiciness helps facilitate a healthy flow of bacteria-neutralizing saliva. Peeling the apple can help you avoid chunks of the skin being lodged between your teeth.

About Your Livonia Family Dentist:

As an experienced family dentist, Dr. James Stewart has helped many patients improve their dental health by advising them on proper nutrition. To learn how you can modify your diet to provide the maximum benefit to your smile, schedule a consultation as soon as possible.

James Steward, DDS, and our compassionate staff proudly serve patients of all ages from Livonia, Farmington Hills, Plymouth, Northville, Dearborn Heights, Garden City, and all surrounding communities. To schedule an appointment, call our office today at (734) 425-4400.

filed under: Healthy Living, Nutrition, Oral Health

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Why You Should be Aware of Sleep Apnea Risks

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guy can't sleepIf you experience daytime fatigue, chronic headaches when you wake in the morning, difficulty concentrating, and other symptoms of sleep deprivation, you might suffer from sleep apnea. If you sleep with a partner who’s constantly disturbed by your loud, erratic snoring, then the likelihood is even higher. Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, describes a sleep disorder marked by excessively loud snoring, punctuated by moments when you stop breathing in your sleep completely. Although the snoring is loud and distinct, it doesn’t usually wake the person snoring. Patients with sleep apnea are often unaware of their condition until prompted to seek treatment by a frustrated sleeping partner.

Common Risk Factors of OSA

Obstructive sleep apnea and the snoring associated with it are caused by oral tissues and muscles congesting your airway when you sleep. While anyone can develop the condition, certain factors can significantly increase your risk, including;

  • Weight—not everyone who’s overweight has sleep apnea, and not everyone with OSA has trouble with weight management. However, excess fatty deposits around the waist and upper airway can contribute to airway obstruction while you sleep.
  • Genetics—some patients inherit narrow airways or abnormally-sized oral tissues, like tonsils, from their parents, that can increase the risk of OSA.
  • Alcohol consumption—a nightcap can help you fall asleep faster, but your quality of sleep may be poor. Also, alcohol can cause the muscles and tissues in your mouth and throat to over-relax and collapse further into your airway.

Health Issues Related to OSA

A typical sleep apnea cycle consists of increasingly-loud snoring as the airway becomes more obstructed, followed by a moment or two of silence as your breathing ceases completely. After several seconds, your brain will panic from the lack of oxygen and force your body to start breathing again. Patients normally remain unconscious during the episodes, but they can occur hundreds of times a night and prevent your mind and body from falling into deep sleep. The chronic sleep deprivation and decreases in blood oxygen levels can lead to a host of related health issues, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and depression, to name just a few.

About Your Livonia Dentist:

As an experienced sleep dentist, Dr. James Stewart has helped many patients find relief from snoring and sleep apnea to achieve the quality of sleep they deserve. To learn how you can finally sleep soundly, visit us as soon as possible for a thorough examination. James Steward, DDS, and our compassionate staff proudly serve patients of all ages from Livonia, Farmington Hills, Plymouth, Northville, Dearborn Heights, Garden City, and all surrounding communities. To schedule an appointment, call our office today at (734) 425-4400.

filed under: Patient Education, Sleep Apnea

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Important Things to Know About Tooth Loss

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older gentleman in thoughtYou know your smile looks different than before, and that might be enough to prompt you to replace your lost teeth, but tooth loss’ effects are far more significant than what you can see. Despite how often it occurs, one of the most important things you should know about tooth loss is that it’s not an inevitable part of aging. Adult teeth were meant to last a lifetime, and with a healthy understanding of how teeth are lost, you may stand a better chance of retaining yours permanently.

Contrary to Belief, It’s Preventable

Teeth don’t fall out because they grow old. On the contrary, people lose teeth when the structures that support them are severely damaged or diseased. The most common cause of adult tooth loss, gum disease, destroys gum tissue and the jawbone that supports your teeth by their roots. A traumatic injury can force the tooth’s root out of its socket within your jawbone, damaging or breaking the periodontal ligaments that hold it in place. Accidents may be difficult to prevent, but keeping your mouth clean and disease-free with good hygiene and professional dentistry will significantly reduce your risks of permanent tooth loss.

How You Replace Lost Teeth Matters

Like your natural teeth, your replacement teeth serve several different functions. A dental bridge, partial, or full denture helps close the gap left in your smile by missing teeth, which can restore your confidence as well your ability to bite and chew properly. Replacing your lost teeth’s roots, however, is equally as important as replacing their crowns, and can only be achieved with one or more dental implants. The small, titanium devices are surgically inserted into the jawbone, and can support your replacement teeth the way roots support your natural teeth.

Untreated Root Loss Breeds Further Tooth Loss

Teeth roots and dental implants, which rest in sockets in your jawbone, are stimulated by pressure every time your bite and chew. The stimulation helps facilitate a healthy flow of nutrients to your jawbone to keep it strong and healthy enough to sustain your teeth. Following the loss of teeth and their roots, patients often experience loss of jawbone density, and over time, further tooth loss as the jaw becomes weaker. Rebuilding your smile with a dental implant-supported prosthesis helps preserve your jawbone’s integrity and your long-term oral health.

About Your Livonia General Dentist:

To learn more about the variety of dental services we offer, including expert restorative care and dental implant restorations, visit us as soon as possible for a thorough examination. James Steward, DDS, and our compassionate staff proudly serve patients of all ages from Livonia, Farmington Hills, Plymouth, Northville, Dearborn Heights, Garden City, and all surrounding communities. To schedule an appointment, call our office today at (734) 425-4400.

filed under: Dental Implants, Tooth Loss

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How a General Dentist Cures Bad Breath

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embarrassed woman covering bad breathAt least it’s not a toothache; but still, persistent bad breath can make you uncomfortable, especially as you try to interact with your friends, family, and coworkers. You can turn your head to redirect your breath as you speak, but then looking them in the eyes might be difficult. You can chew sugarless gum or suck on a sugarless mint, but that might not completely cover your breath. Even if it does, your bad breath will be back as soon as the taste is gone. Or, you can visit your general dentist, find out why your breath won’t improve, and treat the problem once and for all.

Preventive Checkups and Cleanings

Bad breath, or halitosis, often results from an excess accumulation of oral bacteria—translation: too much dental plaque from poor hygiene practices. Many mouth germs release foul-smelling sulfur gases when they metabolize, and if they overwhelm your mouth, so can their stinky waste gases. Attending a dental checkup and cleaning every six months allows Dr. Stewart to clean the plaque and tartar (calcified plaque) from your teeth, eliminating the common sources of bad breath and other dental issues.

Suggestions from a Professional

If you don’t take care of your dental hygiene at home, then even periodic professional cleanings won’t be able to protect your smile, or your breath. If your home hygiene isn’t as effective as it should be, then our caring team of dental professionals will help educate you on proper hygiene practices. Dr. Stewart can also recommend certain products, like antibacterial mouthrinse to target harmful oral germs, and small changes you can make to avoid feeding overactive oral bacteria. Using the innovative BreathRx® system of fresh-breath products, Dr. Stewart can help you conquer bad breath at its source, as well as prevent the buildup of plaque and tartar.

Restorative Treatments, if Necessary

During your routine dental visit, Dr. Stewart will thoroughly inspect your teeth, gums, and oral tissues for abnormalities that could indicate a developing disease. A decaying tooth or diseased gums can release chemicals that cause bad breath, and treating the issue may be the only way to relieve your halitosis (and save your oral health). If necessary, Dr. Stewart will perform an appropriate restorative procedure (i.e., dental filling, root canal therapy, or gum disease treatment) to treat the disease and its uncomfortable symptoms.

About Your Livonia General Dentist:

To learn more about the variety of dental services we offer, including expert preventive care and fresh breath maintenance, visit us as soon as possible for a thorough examination. James Steward, DDS, and our compassionate staff proudly serve patients of all ages from Livonia, Farmington Hills, Plymouth, Northville, Dearborn Heights, Garden City, and all surrounding communities. To schedule an appointment, call our office today at (734) 425-4400.

filed under: Bad Breath

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