Many serious mouth and tooth diseases can leave you in pain and wondering when you'll feel normal again. No matter how well you think you're taking care of your teeth, something can always go wrong.
One of these diseases is called gingivitis, and it can wreak havoc on the mouth. What exactly is it, and how can you protect yourself from it?
Here are some of the facts about gingivitis that you should know to keep yourself aware and protected against the disease.

1. Gingivitis Affects the Gums, Not the Teeth
Gingivitis is a specific type of inflammation caused by bacteria that affects the gums around the teeth. As plaque builds up and hardens around the teeth, the bacteria can seep into the surrounding gum tissue and create inflammation and infection. This can then spread from one part of the gumline to the rest of the mouth.

2. Plaque Can't Always be Removed with Teeth Cleaning
As much as we'd like to believe that just brushing and flossing can get rid of all of the plaque buildup and bacteria inside of the mouth, it can't. For a deeper clean, visiting a dentist at least twice per year is necessary to ensure you're teeth are clean.
The special tools dentists use help to break up harder pieces of plaque and keep gingivitis from happening, keeping your teeth healthy and strong.

3. Advanced Gingivitis is Called Peridontitis
Gingivitis is the infection and inflammation of the gum line; once the bacteria starts to infect deeper into the gum tissue, it's called periodontitis, which is a much more serious condition. Periodontitis is the result of the connecting tissue and bone beneath the gums becoming infected. It's important to start treatment of gingivitis as soon as it's spotted so that you can avoid a more serious infection, loss of bone that support your teeth and gum recession.

4. Bleeding Gums Don't Always Equal Gingivitis
While bleeding gums can be a sign of gingivitis, it's not always the case. If your gums bleed frequently after brushing, you may be just brushing your teeth too hard. Try softening your brushing and see if that helps the bleeding.
If the bleeding continues or if your gums start bleeding spontaneously, you should talk with your doctor about gingivitis. 

5. Gingivitis Can be Completely Painless
At times, gingivitis symptoms can be painless, leading to the infected individual not realizing that anything is wrong. It's important to pay attention to the look and feel of your gums and teeth to see if anything could be wrong.
Pay close attention to the color of the gums, as well as the size and shape of your teeth. Reddened gums and the appearance of smaller teeth can be signs of gingivitis, as the gums will become swollen and red when inflamed. It's also good to make a note of bleeding from your gumline. 

6. It's Easy to Get Gingivitis
Because of the numerous factors that can lead up to gingivitis, it's an easy infection to get. Gingivitis is caused by:

• Poor dental hygiene
• Smoking
• Drinking
• Poor nutrition (especially a lack of calcium)
• Diabetes and other medical conditions
• Certain medications
• Aging and genetics

If you have a family history of gingivitis or take medications that may make you more likely to get gingivitis, you should make sure to schedule regular visits to your dentist and brush the recommended two times per day. This will help lower your chances of getting gingivitis.

7. Gingivitis Can Cause Bad Breath
Bad breath, sometimes called halitosis, is a common factor to accompany gingivitis. While this could be because of poor dental hygiene alone, the bacteria causing your gingivitis can also give off a foul odor. If you notice that your breath has grown especially smelly, you may want to take a closer look at your teeth and gums to see if there's a deeper issue than your breath alone.

8. Gingivitis Can Be Transmittable
Does your partner have gingivitis? If so, you may want to avoid kissing them on the mouth for a while, as the bacteria that causes gingivitis can be spread from person to person.
As it is a bacterial infection, the bacteria causing one person's gingivitis is transferable to another individual if their saliva were to enter your mouth. 

9. The Damage Done by Gingivitis Can be Reversed
If you've developed gingivitis and have had negative effects on your gumline, don't worry- the progress of gingivitis can be reversed and treated by a dentist if it's discovered early. With proper care, your gum line can go back to its original state as long as the connecting tissue and bone have not been effected.

10. Gingivitis Can Lead to More Serious Health Conditions
Gingivitis can lead to more than just periodontitis. Scientists have shown a link between cases of periodontitis and diabetes, serious heart conditions, stroke, and osteoporosis. If the bacteria that cause gingivitis are left untreated for too long, they are able to get into and infect the rest of the body as well. 

Goodbye Gingivitis, Hello Healthy Teeth and Gums
Gingivitis is a very serious medical condition that should be treated right away to avoid further damage to your teeth and gums. Now that you know some of the facts on gingivitis, you can be more ready to prepare yourself and protect your gums against the infection!

Do you need help dealing with gingivitis or periodontitis and aren't sure where to turn?
Be sure to contact us with all of your tooth-related needs, and continue reading our blog for more helpful mouth hygiene tips.

Having damage done to your teeth is never fun, but you may be actively harming your own teeth without even realizing it. Grinding teeth can start to wear down the enamel, cause cracks in your teeth, and may even cause tooth and jaw pain over time.

How can you know if you're unintentionally grinding your teeth, and how can you prevent yourself from harming your teeth further?

Luckily, there are ways that you can deduce you may be grinding your teeth. Here are some of the signs of teeth grinding and how you can stop.

The Dangers of Teeth Grinding at Night

Whether you realize you're doing it or not, grinding your teeth during the day or at night can cause a lot of serious damage to your teeth. This is often caused by stress and mostly happens at night, though it can also be due to your teeth being aligned poorly. Pay close attention to these signs if you suspect you may be grinding your teeth.

Worn or Painful Teeth

Grinding your teeth can cause the enamel to start to wear down over time, making your teeth dull or in pain. In the worst-case scenario, you can wear your teeth down to the point of severe tooth pain. 

If you've noticed that your teeth are causing you serious pain without knowing why you may be wearing your teeth down by grinding them. 

Chipped or Cracked Teeth

The pressure from teeth grinding can cause your teeth to chip or crack from stress. Do you have any cracks in your teeth without knowing where they came from? If so, you may be grinding your teeth.

Headaches

Tooth pain and grinding your teeth can lead to headaches throughout the day. The unneeded stress in your jaw and teeth creates headaches, especially in the space right behind and between the eyes. 

Jaw Dislocation, Locking, or Popping

Teeth grinding can cause issues with your jaw, resulting in dislocation, locking, or a popping sound when you move your jaw from side to side. Should you notice that your jaw is behaving strangely, you have a pretty clear sign that you're grinding your teeth.

Damage on the Inside of Your Cheek

Teeth grinding can lead to accidental bites to the insides of your cheeks during the night. Are your cheeks in pain or even bleeding when you wake up? If so, you may be grinding your teeth.

How to Stop Teeth Grinding

While some of the effects of teeth grinding may require you to see a dentist for help, there are some methods you can use to stop yourself from grinding your teeth. Follow these tips to help keep your teeth from getting more damaged. 

Night Mouthguard

To avoid wearing down and cracking your teeth during the night, you may want to invest in a nighttime mouth guard for your teeth. A dentist can fit you with a custom mouthguard so that your teeth won't grind against each other, though it is possible to buy a regular nighttime mouthguard at retail stores.

For a more comfortable fit, talk with your dentist about getting yourself a nighttime mouthguard today!

Exercise Regularly

Having a regular exercise routine during the day will help you be more relaxed come nighttime. As teeth grinding is often caused by stress, just getting your energy out during the day can help you grind your teeth less at night by reducing stress. Be sure to exercise early on in the day so that you can still get a good night's rest!

Spend Time Meditating or Relaxing Before Bed

If you struggle to fall asleep, then you may want to use some time before sleeping to meditate or perform a relaxing activity. Avoid using screens that emit blue light, such as laptops, phones, and televisions to help yourself rest and prepare for sleep.

By getting yourself more prepared for rest, you can help reduce your stress levels and keep yourself from grinding your teeth during the night.
 
Try to Be Aware of Jaw Clenching

While a lot of teeth grinding happens at night, you should try to become aware of stress and tension in your jaw during the day as well. Some people do tend to grind their teeth when distracted performing everyday activities, so becoming aware of your teeth is a great way to stop yourself.

If you do notice your jaws tensing a lot or that you have stress buildup, massaging your jaw muscles can help to relieve that stress. When you find yourself grinding your teeth, just give yourself a few moments to relieve the tension in your jaw before going back to what you were doing.

Avoid Chewy Foods and Biting Non-Food Items

Do you eat a lot of chewy foods, candies, or have a tendency to bite pens, pencils, and other objects you're working with? If so, you may want to put a stop to those behaviors.

Eating chewy foods and biting non-food items can condition your brain to equate relaxing with biting, causing you to grind your teeth without realizing it. It also forces your jaw to clench, which can create tension later on. 

If you must chew something, try switching over to something easy to chew, such as chips or fruit. Avoiding overly chewy foods will help relieve tension in your jaw and keep you from being tempted to grind your teeth. 

Grind to a Halt

Grinding teeth can have serious effects on your dental hygiene, so it's important to start being aware of your habits as soon as you realize you're grinding your teeth. Keep these ideas in mind to help you keep your teeth healthy and strong!

Have you noticed issues with your teeth that you need help fixing, or are curious about getting a fitted nighttime mouthguard?
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Be sure to contact us for any tooth-related problems you may have today, and continue reading our blog for more dental hygiene tips!

We’ve talked about the basics of a root canal and how to stop a tooth ache in previous posts.  Another common question I often get is:  Do I need to see an endodontist for my root canal?

Root canal treatment, or endodontic treatment, can be done by either a general dentist or an endodontist.  Endodontists are dentists that specifically treat problems inside your tooth.  With more specialty training, endodontists are more than qualified to perform all sorts of procedures, root canal treatment being one of them.

A general dentist may choose to perform simple or routine root canals but some situations require the care of a specialist.
​For example:

​When the first root canal has failed, the procedure becomes more complicated with infection, bone loss, difficult to remove filling materials, etc.  Endodontists have been trained to deal with these issues and provide the best treatment and outcomes possible. 

​Just like how every person is unique, every tooth is unique!  Root canals can join and branch in varying patterns, have long curvy roots, or 2, 3, 4, 5 or even 6 roots!  All of these differences impact the difficulty of the root canal.  Endodontists use a special dental microscope to visualize the root canal better and provide high quality treatment.

​Endodontists deal with “hot teeth” and swelling on a daily basis.  When a patient is in this acute state, it sometimes takes more advanced techniques to get the patient out of pain fast.
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These are just a couple reasons you might be referred to an endodontist but of course there are many more.  If you are unsure whether you need to be referred, make sure to check in with your dentist.  Your dentist can guide you and make sure you are getting the best care possible.

Blog post by our Endodontist Dr. Rita Hung. Proudly providing great dental care and root canal treatment in Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Chino, and Wildomar.

Cavities and tooth decay occur when a tooth is damaged from the food and drinks you consume over time. The tooth has two layers, enamel (the outer layer) and dentin (the inner layer). The bacteria in your mouth consume the sugars that are present in the food and drinks you take in each day. Then they turn them into acids. The mixture of bacteria, acid, food and the saliva in your mouth form plaque which will stick to your teeth and demineralize your teeth. After a while, they start to form holes which we call cavities or decay. 

What kind of foods make you more prone to cavities?

• Food with carbohydrates such as bread and cereal
• Milk
• Soda
• Fruit
• Cake
• Candy
• Even coffee can contribute to tooth decay. Coffee is acidic and can worsen the demineralization of your teeth. 

 How do I tell if I have a cavity?
The cavity exposes the nerves of your teeth to the environment in your mouth. So sometimes when you eat or drink something sweet, hot or cold, you will have sensitivity or even a toothache. Sometimes you can see pits or holes in your teeth and sometimes those areas can discolor. Dentists will check during your exam and look for soft spots to see if decay has started to occur or use xrays to check for decay. 

How to prevent cavities?
Now we know that the food and drinks we consume cause the bacteria in our mouths to release the acid that causes tooth decay. We also know the way to prevent cavities from forming. Brushing and flossing! Brushing with a fluoride toothpaste will remove the food and bacteria from your mouth. The fluoride in your toothpaste will help remineralize and strengthen the enamel layer on your teeth. It is important to brush after meals and I recommend the best is to brush after every meal. So food is not left on your teeth for too many hours at a time. Bringing a toothbrush to work or school is a great way to get that extra brushing session after lunches. For younger kids that may not be able to brush at school. Brushing right after they get home from school is great to get those teeth clean in the middle of the day.

Now to talk about flossing. Sometimes it is hard to reach the food in between our teeth. So that is why flossing is important to remove the food and plaque that we cannot reach with toothbrushing alone and prevent cavities from forming in between our teeth. 

Over the counter fluoride at home such as ACT rinses are a great way to add that extra layer of protection to our teeth. I always recommend to use it at bedtime after teeth have been brushed and flossed. Just rinse for one minute, spit it out and do not rinse with water. Let the fluoride rinse coat your teeth. 

And of course, come see your dentist twice a year. We make sure to look for any possible cavities your might have and early detection can give you a chance to try to reverse those tiny cavities, or if the cavity has progressed, the dentist can fix your decay and help prevent losing the tooth. During your check up, we also give you a cleaning, to remove any plaque or calculus that you might have missed at home. Proudly serving the areas near Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Chino and Wildomar.  

A popular question that patients always ask me is “Can we speed up orthodontic treatment?” The answer is “Yes! It is possible!” What we have observed is that the patients that have teeth extracted for orthodontic treatment have rapid teeth movement in the area near the extraction site for up to six months. During healing, the body brings in cells that not only heals the extraction site, but also allows teeth to move through bone more quickly. We can simulate this same effect with PROPEL technology to help teeth move more quickly. 

Propel can be used with both Invisalign and traditional braces to help teeth move into their final positions up to 50% faster. Propel is technology that will allow the doctor to create micro osteo-perforations to accelerate the stimulation of bone production in the upper and lower jaw. Propel can speed up tooth movement and it's so minimally invasive, it allows the patient to return to their normal daily routine immediately. 

Straight teeth with Invisalign or braces are not just for children or teenagers anymore. More and more adults are also choosing orthodontic treatment to achieve a beautiful smile. Now it's possible to straighten teeth in less time. Contact us if straight teeth in less time is something you might be interested in. We can help with Propel! 

You may have arrived here because you started having intense aching in your tooth, jaw or ear, can’t even drink cold water without sharp, severe pain, or can’t chew on that side at all. Unfortunately, you may have a toothache or other dental problem!
 
Of course, the best solution is to see your dentist as soon as possible. While home remedies may help relieve the symptoms, the reason your having pain in the first place is because there’s something that may need treatment. But this advice isn’t all that helpful when you can’t see your dentist right away and the pain is unbearable!
 
Here I’m sharing the best method to get out of toothaches or gum pain while you wait to see the dentist!

​Tooth or gum pain is largely due to inflammation or swelling. Reduce the swelling and you’ll reduce the pain. The best way to reduce this inflammation in the short-term is with the 3-3-3 method: 3 ibuprofen (600 mg total) 3 times a day for 3 days.
 
What not to do: Don’t take the ibuprofen and stop once you start to get pain relief. The trick is to keep the ibuprofen levels up to reduce the inflammation. If you stop, then it’ll take a while before the ibuprofen will kick in again.
 
Please keep in mind that this only treats the symptoms and does nothing to address the root cause of your pain. Also, make sure you can take ibuprofen and it doesn’t interfere with any health condition or medication you are already taking. (Check with your doctor if you aren’t sure.)

Salt water rinse:  Slowly stir in salt into a cup of hot water. Keep adding until you see salt crystals at the bottom that are no longer dissolving. Rinse with this solution for 30 seconds 4-5 times a day to reduce gum inflammation. This is especially helpful if you have gum pain or something stuck between the teeth like a seed.
 
Clove Oil: This is an essential oil that has been used for decades as a way to calm inflammation. Apply a small amount with a cotton swab to the affected area. This works best if you can directly apply the oil to the affected area like if there is an exposed nerve due to a deep cavity or your pain in your gums.
 
Pillows:  Keep your head elevated. Stack a couple pillows when you sleep to keep your head higher than your heart. Resting totally flat allows blood flow to the head and may make swelling and pain worse. 

Don’t hesitate to go straight to the ER if you have:

• Trouble breathing or swallowing due to the swelling
• Eyes that are swelling shut
• A fever

There are many causes of tooth/gum pain, but here are a few common ones:

• Cavity deep into the nerve sometimes needing a root canal treatment
• Trauma to the area (dental injury, fracture from biting on something hard, grinding your teeth)
• Sinus infection causing pain on upper teeth
• Swollen gums from gingivitis or periodontitis
• Food getting stuck between your teeth, especially if you have spaces between them

If you are in pain right now, I hope you learned some tips that help and I wish you a speedy recovery! 

Blog post by our Endodontist Dr. Rita Hung.  Proudly providing great dental care in Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Chino, and Wildomar.

I hope everyone had some good tricks and treats this Halloween! Now, let’s talk about something really haunting…. ROOT CANALS!

​When the cavity and bacteria goes into the pulp chamber (where the nerve and blood supply exist), this causes pain and irritation. Now, this is where an endodontist, or root canal specialist, comes to the rescue! The endodontist will remove the nerve (and the pain), clean out the root canal system and fill the roots to prevent future contamination. The nerve isn’t necessary after the tooth has already grown so the removal of it doesn’t damage the tooth. After the root canal treatment, a core build-up (or filling) and crown is placed to protect the tooth and keep you functioning for a long-time after!

​Sometimes, if the toothache has gone too long, the nerve will die and a bump will form on your gums. This could be a dental abscess or infection which causes destruction of the bone around the end of the root. (Of course you should visit your friend dentist to check it out and properly diagnose the problem.) But if it's caused by a dead nerve, a root canal treatment can be done to clean out the bacteria from the canals. After treatment, the infection takes several weeks to clear from the bone and gums and rebuild healthy surrounding tissues again.

​Realistically, a root canal treatment isn’t any more scary or spooooky than a filling. In both cases, you are completely numb for the treatment. Often times, the tooth that needs a root canal is in pain and a root canal treatment is done to remove the cause of pain. So really, root canals are friendly!  (Contrary to popular belief!) Of course, no one really wants to get a root canal treatment so please remember to brush, floss and see the dentist for regular check ups to catch cavities early BEFORE they get to the dreaded nerve. 

Many of our patients who have braces are not fans of the maintenance. Those of us in the dental field consistently tout the importance of flossing. Flossing is important to remove the food, debris and bacteria growing between our teeth and around our gums. The lack of flossing leads to the development of cavities between our teeth, gingivitis (gum infection) and periodontitis. Periodontitis can lead to loss of the bone that holds your teeth in place leading to tooth loss. :( So what do we do if we want to protect our gums and teeth and dread the daily chore of flossing? Luckily there are a variety of products available online and in stores that can expedite the process and make it easier on the rest of us.
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​These handheld orthodontic flossers have a smaller tip that may fit in between teeth. Eliminating the need to thread the floss through and simplifying cleaning. 

These brushes can fit into tighter spaces and do a good job of removing plaque and food between teeth and around braces. 

This is great if there are multiple family members in braces or need a waterflosser to help clean around implants and bridges. The unit is more pricey, but each family member can get their own tip and make use of this great cleaning tool.