There's a “file” on you at your dentist's office: Every visit you've made—from regular cleanings to major dental work—has been recorded, noted and preserved for posterity.

If that gives you the shivers, it's actually not as “Big Brother” as it sounds—in fact, it's critical to your continuing care. A busy dental office depends on accurate records to ensure their individual patients' treatment strategies are up to date. They also contain key information about a patient's overall health, which might overlap into their dental care.

Your records are also important if you change providers, something that ultimately happens to most of us. Your dentist may retire or relocate (or you will); or, unfortunately, you may grow dissatisfied with your care and seek out a new dentist.

Whatever your reason for changing providers, your care will be ahead of the game if your new dentist has access to your past dental records and history. Otherwise, they're starting from square one learning about your individual condition and needs, which could have an impact on your care. For example, if your new dentist detects gum disease, having your past records can inform him or her about whether to be conservative or aggressive in the treatment approach to your case.

It's a good idea then to have your records transferred to your new provider. By federal law you have a right to view them and receive a copy of them, although you may have to pay the dentist a fee to defray the costs of printing supplies and postage. And, you can't be denied access to your records even if you have an outstanding payment balance.

Rather than retrieve a copy yourself, you can ask your former provider to transfer your records to your new one. Since many records are now in digital form, it may be possible to do this electronically. And, if you're feeling awkward about asking yourself, you can sign a release with your new provider and let them handle getting your records for you.

Making sure there's a seamless transfer of your care from one provider to another will save time and treatment costs in the long-run. It will also ensure your continuing dental care doesn't miss a beat.

If you would like more information on managing your dental care, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Why Your Dental Records Should Follow You.”

When you’re among the top players in your field, you need every advantage to help you stay competitive: Not just the best equipment, but anything else that relieves pain and stress, and allows you to play better. For top-seeded Canadian tennis player Milos Raonic, that extra help came in a somewhat unexpected form: a custom made mouthguard that he wears on the court and off. “[It helps] to not grind my teeth while I play,” said the 25-year-old up-and-coming ace. “It just causes stress and headaches sometimes.”

Mouthguards are often worn by athletes engaged in sports that carry the risk of dental injury — such as basketball, football, hockey, and some two dozen others; wearing one is a great way to keep your teeth from being seriously injured. But Raonic’s mouthguard isn’t primarily for safety; it’s actually designed to help him solve the problem of teeth grinding, or bruxism. This habitual behavior causes him to unconsciously tense up his jaw, potentially leading to problems with muscles and teeth.

Bruxism is a common issue that’s often caused or aggravated by stress. You don’t have to be a world-class athlete to suffer from this condition: Everyday anxieties can have the same effect. The behavior is often worsened when you consume stimulating substances, such as alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, and other drugs.

While bruxism affects thousands of people, some don’t even suspect they have it. That’s because it may occur at any time — even while you’re asleep! The powerful jaw muscles that clench and grind teeth together can wear down tooth enamel, and damage both natural teeth and dental work. They can even cause loose teeth! What’s more, a clenching and grinding habit can result in pain, headaches and muscle soreness… which can really put you off your game.

There are several ways to relieve the problem of bruxism. Stress reduction is one approach that works in some cases. When it’s not enough, a custom made occlusal guard (also called a night guard or mouthguard) provided by our office can make a big difference. “When I don’t sleep with it for a night,” Raonic said “I can feel my jaw muscles just tense up the next day. I don’t sense myself grinding but I can sort of feel that difference the next day.”

 An occlusal guard is made from an exact model of your own mouth. It helps to keep your teeth in better alignment and prevent them from coming into contact, so they can’t damage each other. It also protects your jaw joints from being stressed by excessive force. Plus, it’s secure and comfortable to wear. “I wear it all the time other than when I’m eating, so I got used to it pretty quickly,” said Raonic.

Teeth grinding can be a big problem — whether you put on your game face on the court… or at home. If you would like more information about bruxism, contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can learn more in the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Stress & Tooth Habits” and “When Children Grind Their Teeth.”

Dental implants are all the rage—and for good reason: They’re incredibly “tooth-like,” both in appearance and function. They also have a stunningly high success rate: More than 95% of implants still function after ten years. This means out of thousands of implants installed each year, only a handful fail.

But although that’s an amazingly low number, they’re still failures for real people who’ve suffered a loss. If you’re considering dental implants the chances of that being your experience are quite low. But it could still happen.

Here’s a few things you can do to make sure your implants don’t fail.

Stop smoking. Of the small percentage of implant failures, an inordinate number are smokers. A smoker’s chances of implant failure are roughly double those of non-smokers. Smoking, and to some degree any tobacco use, can make your mouth an unhealthier place: Not only can it increase your dental disease risk, but it can interfere with the healing process after implant placement and increase the chances of early failure.

Manage your health. Diabetes and similar systemic conditions can interfere with the healing process too, which could impact your implant attachment to bone. Diabetics thus run a slight risk of implant failure—but actual failures mostly involve patients who don’t have good control of their symptoms. If you’re a diabetic, properly managing your condition will lower your risk of implant failure to nearly identical that of someone without diabetes.

Treat gum disease. Implants in themselves are immune to disease—but the underlying bone that supports them isn’t. A gum disease infection could eventually weaken and diminish the implant-bone attachment. If this happens around an implant, its stability can be severely compromised. The best strategy is to prevent gum disease through daily, thorough brushing and flossing to remove disease-causing dental plaque. And if you see any symptoms like gum swelling, redness or bleeding, see your dentist as soon as possible.

Your implants could serve you well for decades. Just be sure you’re doing the right things to ensure their longevity.

If you would like more information on dental implants, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Dental Implants: A Tooth-Replacement Method That Rarely Fails.”

Like most people, you’ve no doubt experienced occasional dry mouth as when you’re thirsty or just waking from sleep. These are normal occurrences that usually don’t last long.

But xerostomia or chronic dry mouth is another matter. Not only is this continual lack of adequate saliva uncomfortable, it could increase your risk for tooth decay or periodontal (gum) disease.

What’s more, chronic dry mouth can have a number of causes. Here are 3 common causes and what you can do about them.

Inadequate fluid intake. While this may seem obvious, it’s still common—you’re simply not consuming enough water. This deprives the salivary glands of adequate fluid to produce the necessary amount of saliva. If you’re regularly thirsty, you’ll need to increase the amount of water you drink during the day.

Medications. More than 500 drugs, both over-the-counter and prescription, can cause dry mouth as a side effect. This is one reason why older adults, who on average take more medications, have increased problems with dry mouth. There are some things you can do: first, talk with your healthcare provider about alternative drugs for your condition that are less likely to cause dry mouth; drink more water right before taking your medication and right afterward; and increase your daily intake of water.

Diseases and treatments. Some systemic diseases like diabetes or Parkinson’s disease can lead to xerostomia. Autoimmune conditions are especially problematic because the body may turn on its own tissues, the salivary glands being a common target. Radiation or chemotherapy treatments can also damage the glands and lead to decreased saliva production. If you have such a condition, talk with your healthcare provider about ways to protect your salivary glands.

You can also ease dry mouth symptoms with saliva boosters like xylitol gum or medications that stimulate saliva production. Limit your intake of caffeinated drinks and sugary or acidic foods. And be sure you stay diligent with your oral hygiene habits and regular dental visits to further reduce your risks of dental disease.

If you would like more information on the causes and treatments of dry mouth, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Dry Mouth: Learn about the Causes and Treatment of this Common Problem.”

The smiley face: It’s been around forever. Except it hasn’t—someone created it. No, not Forrest Gump (but good guess!), but graphic artist Harvey Ball in 1963 to help boost employee morale at an insurance company. Do you know what else Harvey Ball came up with? World Smile Day: Beginning in 1999, Ball began promoting the first Friday in October as a day to encourage smiles and acts of kindness. But there’s no need to limit smiles to one day. We hope you treat every day as World Smile Day—to make your corner of the world a little brighter.

What can you do to show your support? Well to begin with, smile—a lot. And also do things to make other people smile. We don’t want you to hold back because you’re not completely satisfied with your smile. If you’d like to get that wonderful smile of yours in better shape, here are some ideas:

Have your teeth professionally cleaned. Having your teeth cleaned at the dental office is one of the best things you can do to prevent dental disease. Dental plaque makes your teeth look dull and dingy and can lead to gum disease and cavities. A professional cleaning to rid your teeth of any built-up plaque and tartar (hardened plaque) with a follow-up polish can help your teeth look great!

Brighten up your smile. You can turn up the brightness volume on your teeth with a tooth whitening application. There are whitening products you can buy over the counter, but for best results see your dentist for a professional whitening. Dentists can better control the degree of brightness and their professional-grade solutions often last longer.

Upgrade your teeth’s appearance. You may have a great looking smile—except for that chip, discoloration or slight gap between a couple of teeth. There are a number of ways, many quite affordable, to improve your teeth’s appearance. Your dentist can bond color-matched composite resin to your teeth to “fill in” chips or other blemishes. And a veneer, a thin layer of porcelain bonded to the face of a tooth, can mask mild to moderate dental blemishes.

There are other “smile changers” like orthodontics, crowns or dental implants that are a bit more extensive. Depending on your needs and expectations, these can give you a “smile makeover” that will get you ready for future World Smile Days.

In the meantime, talk to us about how you can perk up your smile. An attractive smile is much easier to share with the world.

If you would like more information about smile enhancements, please contact us to schedule a consultation.