As with everything you want to keep for a long time, teeth need to be taken care of.  You need to brush and floss your teeth everyday at home and you need to see a dentist on a regular basis.

I see patients all the time that have a cracked tooth, or part of their tooth has broken off.  Many times I hear “Doc, I was taking a bite of bread and my tooth broke”  or “I bit into a pretzel and that’s what broke my tooth”.

Well, your teeth are strong.  Many circumstances can cause a tooth to deteriorate and breakdown.    Typically a tooth takes months or even years to break down until the final blow with the “bread” or “pretzel” causes a piece to break off.

Anything that falls off a  tooth because of eating a piece of bread was going to fall off anyway.  Or to put another way, it was already broken before you even thought about eating the bread.

Except for face trauma, a tooth has been weaken and broken down long before it breaks.

In addition, a trip to the dentist for a cleaning or a check with the dentist does not break a tooth.  Healthy teeth are strong.  At times a cleaning might be fairly vigorous because the teeth have a lot of build of plaque or tartar or the patient my perceive that there is a lot of  “poking” going on and that’s why my tooth broke.

But as stated earlier, your tooth is not going to break because of one “event” like a cleaning or taking a bite of food.  Teeth break down over time because of many factors such as use/age, types of foods and drinks that you consume, and lack of regular maintenance at home or at the dentist.

A trama to the face is the only thing that is going to make a healthy tooth break… all of a sudden.

A healthy smile should be a goal for everyone.  You can get a healthy smile with some work on your part and also the help and support of your friendly Columbus dental office, Grandview Dental Care.

Here are a few things you should know about getting and keeping a healthy smile.

• Routine brushing and flossing at home, done correctly, is essential to maintaining your dental health, AND it’s inexpensive!
• Make and effort to brush 2 times per day for 2 minutes each time you brush.
• Flossing needs to become a habit. A wise ole’ dentist once said… you don’t have to floss all your teeth…. just the teeth you want to keep!
• Sipping on sugary drinks for extended periods causes the sugar to be in constant contact with your teeth which can accelerate tooth decay.
• Visit your dentist and hygienist every 6 months, unless you have special needs, like gum disease.  Then, you may need to visit every 3 – 4 months…. because you are special.
• Remember that your teeth play an important part in getting you through your day. You use them to chew, speak, smile, smooch, etc.
• Normal everyday wear and tear will leave your teeth feeling and looking used!  Visiting your dentist restores your teeth and mouth with that smooth, fresh, clean feeling once again.
• Early detection of tooth problems is cheaper than avoiding the dentist for years.
• Decay left untreated does not go away it just escalates into more decay and a bigger “bad spot” in your tooth.
• Don’t wait until it hurts or it’s broken.  Pain can usually be avoided if you visit your dentist regularly and you take care of problems when they are small.
• The routine filling you decided not to treat years ago has now turned into a root canal and crown which can cost more than 5 times as much as the original filling.
• Everybody needs a dentist.  If you want your teeth to look good and function for a lifetime, you must take care of them.
• Remember that your auto insurance(that you pay $500+ per yr)  does not pay for car washes or oil changes but you do them anyway to maintain your car.  Don’t let your dental insurance dictate how you will maintain a health smile.
• Dental Insurance was designed to pay a portion of some of your dental needs.  If it paid for all of your dental needs you would pay more for it than you do now.
• Ready to take the next step towards your healthy smile?  Make an appointment with us today by calling 614-486-7378 or click for a dental appointment.

It’s a simple statement.  It’s a true statement.  Yet about 50% of the US population doesn’t have a dentist. 

For you dental regulars…. I realize you are probably gasping in disbelief but it’s true.  Do your own survey amongst your co-workers and see what the response is.

So why do I think Everybody Needs a Dentist?  Ok, I am the wife of a dentist but everybody starts out early in life with teeth, right?  And guess what, those that don’t have teeth now and have to suffer with dentures or missing multiple teeth probably didn’t visit the dentist very often.

So, if you haven’t been to the dentist in while, even if “everything feels fine”, make an appointment with one today to get things checked out.  Don’t be embarrased by how long it’s been, we’ve seen it all before and we don’t care what your reasons are.  They were valid to you at the time.  We are just happy to see you taking charge of your dental health and paying a dentist a visit.

Columbus Ohio Dentist

With just over 30 years experience owning a private dental practice in Columbus Ohio area,  I have seen a lot of patients.  Although there are exceptions to every rule, here is my perspective on the types of dental patients.  Take the poll and see where you fall with others.

Old Faithful - These are the patients that come to see us on the recommended check-up schedule 2 or 3 times per year.  If they have gum disease or decay they get it taken care of.  They have healthy smiles because they take care of their smiles.

Only when it hurts – These patients are under the myth that they only need to come to the dentist when it hurts.  The sad truth is that they could avoid the pain that typically comes with neglecting their dental care by making routine visits.  Decay and gum disease, doesn’t go away….. it grows and becomes more expensive and painful to fix.

Every year or so – These people still call us their dentist even if we only see them every other year.  They typically need a filling or crown which could have been avoided with regular visits.  They continue to pay for dental insurance even though they aren’t using it.

Too afraid to go to the dentist- These people have perhaps had a bad dental experience in the past that keeps them from getting the dental care they need.  This is a sad situation.  Dentistry is constantly changing and there are new materials and methods to reduce fear and anxiety.  Sedation dentistry can be an excellent method to help the patient that has always been afraid of the dentist.  If you have a fear of going to the dentist, you owe it to yourself to see if a sedation technique would help you get the dental care you need.

I can’t go to the dentist,  I don’t have insurance -  You need to go to the dentist to maintain your teeth, if you want to keep them functioning for life.  Just as a car needs oil, (which isn’t covered by car insurance) your smile needs professionally cleaned to get all the gunk out.  In addition, your teeth break down and start to wear out with constant daily use.  A dentist can catch problems early when they are small, and less expensive.  And you can bet that the money you are trying to “save” by not going to the dentist now will be a lot less money saved than the money you will spend to get the bigger dental problems fixed in the future.

Besides, what you save by not paying an insurance premium will cover most if not all of your professional dental cleaning costs.  And remember… just because it’s called dental insurance doesn’t mean it “insures” you of no out of pocket costs.

What Makes a Root Canal Necessary?
The following are the most common factors contributing to a need for root canal treatment:

• Trauma, such as a physical blow to a tooth or the constant striking of a tooth in the opposite jaw that traumatizes the tooth
• Physical irritation caused by a deep decay or a very large filling
• Severe gum disease

If a cavity forms and is allowed to go untreated for too long, it can penetrate to the root pulp where an infection can occur causing the need for a root canal.

Regardless of the initial cause, the tooth pulp becomes irritated and infected. Bacteria grow within the tooth pulp, causing pressure and pain, sometimes accompanied by swelling of the face.

Sometimes the deterioration of the pulp happens so gradually that little pain is felt.

Either way, eventually the bacteria can destroy the pulp. As this happens, the bone surrounding the tooth may become in infected and abscessed, which may lead to the destruction of the bone surrounding the tooth which is painful and not a lot of fun.  The dentist is actually relieving you of the discomfort when they perform a root canal procedure.

A root canal gets rid of the infection and saves the tooth. 

As you can see, there are several tooth deterioration steps that lead up to the need for a root canal.  By visiting us on a regular basis we can catch and fix a situation before it gets to the root canal stage and save you from discomfort and also save you money.