Archive

In part one of this blog series, we discussed some of the main causes of gum disease (also referred to as periodontitis or periodontal disease), including poor oral hygiene, a sugar-filled diet, alcohol consumption, and smoking cigarettes. At Trillium Dental in Ottawa, we regularly treat patients who are suffering from gingivitis and periodontal disease, which is why we are dedicating this post to helping you recognize the symptoms and risks of gum disease so you can catch it before it progresses into a life-threatening illness. That being said, here are some of the main signs of gingivitis, or early-stage gum disease.

SYMPTOMS OF GUM DISEASE

While there are many painful symptoms of gum disease, not all of them are apparent during its onset, otherwise known as gingivitis. During the routine teeth cleanings at your local dental clinic, the dental hygienist will remove any plaque and tartar buildup in what we call a “tooth scaling” or “root planing” procedure. This painless dental treatment helps us identify whether you are experiencing any tooth decay or gum inflammation due to early-stage gum disease, whether you’ve noticed it yet or not. Oftentimes, patients don’t even know they have tartar buildup along the gumline until they visit us for a general dentistry appointment, while others will notice beforehand due to these common signs and symptoms of gingivitis:

• Gum recession
• Gum inflammation
• Red, tender gums
• Bleeding gums (especially when you floss and brush your teeth)
• Loose teeth
• Pain when chewing
• Tooth sensitivity
• Perpetual bad breath

Aside from maintaining good oral hygiene habits and making regular trips to your family dental clinic, being aware of the signs and symptoms of gingivitis is the first step in gum disease prevention. There are a number of serious health risks associated with periodontitis, and many of these are preventable with early periodontal treatments, such as root planing, gum lasering, gingival grafts, gingivectomies, and crown lengthening procedures. However, the effectiveness of these gum disease treatments depends on how early you catch the disease before it progresses and becomes less treatable.

HEALTH RISKS OF GUM DISEASE

If you have a gum infection or disease like periodontitis and the gum tissue is punctured or bleeds spontaneously (as is often the case in patients with gingivitis), the bacteria gains direct access to the rest of your vascular system via the bloodstream. This greatly increases your risk of having a stroke, in addition to the following health conditions:

• Coronary heart disease
• Diabetes
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Pancreatic cancer

Victims of periodontal disease are also at a greater risk of having preterm or low-birthweight babies, as the bacteria can cause an increase in inflammation throughout the body. This is because the inflammation caused by gum disease puts excessive stress on your body’s vital organs, in addition to spreading the disease through the vascular system, which can wreak havoc on your body.

CONTACT TRILLIUM DENTAL IN OTTAWA TO BOOK A PERIODONTAL TREATMENT

Our dentists and dental hygienists at Trillium Dental firmly believe that the key to gum disease prevention is practicing good oral hygiene habits and making regular trips to the dentist for professional dental cleanings. Contact us today to learn about our gum disease treatments and general dentistry procedures, or book your appointment with us online.

Periodontal disease is a common dental health condition that affects billions of people around the world, and Ottawa is no exception. However, the good news is that gum disease is almost always preventable if you maintain proper oral hygiene habits and make regular trips to your local dental clinic for professional teeth cleanings. Even patients that develop mild gum disease, known as gingivitis, may seek periodontal treatment in order to remedy or even reverse the situation during the early stages. That being said, periodontitis comes with a host of additional health risks if left untreated, which is why it’s so important to become educated about the causes, symptoms, and risks of gum disease. Only then can gum disease truly be prevented through proactive oral health care.

CAUSES OF GUM DISEASE

Much like other common health conditions, gum disease can be caused by a number of things that lead to plaque and tartar building up on the teeth and along the gumline. This bacteria then binds with sugar from the foods and drinks we consume, creating acids that eat away at the teeth and surrounding tissues if it is not thoroughly removed via regular brushing and flossing. In other words, a lack of good oral hygiene habits is the main culprit of gingivitis and, consequently, gum disease, which is its more advanced, destructive, and irreversible form.

GUM DISEASE PREVENTION

At this point, you might be wondering what you can do to avoid developing this plaque and tartar buildup, so here are a few things to keep in mind during your daily oral health care routine.

• Brush your teeth thoroughly at least twice per day. Once in the morning and once at night — and floss your teeth daily. This is the only sure-fire way to prevent gum disease and its onset symptoms, which can be incredibly unpleasant. Brushing and flossing your teeth every night ensures that any stubborn food and sugar lingering in your mouth from candy, soda, and meals you consumed throughout the day are eliminated. Otherwise, these acidic particles have between six and 10 hours to thrive as you sleep, eating away at your teeth and surrounding gum tissue. Don’t be fooled though — the symptoms of gingivitis can be subtle at first, so you might not even notice the damage that was done until much later if you start to slack on your oral hygiene.
• Watch what you eat. Given the accessibility of fast food, candy, soda, and other sugary sweets these days, it is now more important than ever to watch what you eat for a number of reasons. Aside from obesity and diabetes, one of the main reasons to eat healthy foods is that what you eat has a direct impact on your oral health. Certain foods, such as leafy greens, apples, cheese, and yogurt, are good for your teeth, as they help balance out your mouth’s pH level and can even help prevent tooth decay. On the other hand, sugary or acidic foods, like candy, chips, coffee, soda, citrus fruits, sports drinks, and alcohol, can be incredibly detrimental to your overall oral health.
• Limit alcohol consumption. This brings us to one of the main causes of gum disease: alcohol consumption. Studies show that heavy drinking is often linked to tooth decay and gum disease, given that alcohol contains particularly aggressive acids that feed on your teeth, not to mention that many types of alcohol are also loaded with sugar. On top of that, binge-drinkers often forget to brush their teeth after a night out and end up going to bed with all that sugar, acid, and bad mouth bacteria festering on their teeth overnight. To avoid this, try to cut down on alcohol consumption and, when you do decide to grab a few cocktails with friends, be sure to brush your teeth thoroughly before you hit the hay.
• Quit smoking. This goes without saying, or does it? Aside from a lack of oral hygiene, the number-one cause of gum disease is smoking cigarettes and/or chewing tobacco. Both of these addictive substances contain loads of harmful chemicals that should under no circumstances come anywhere near your teeth, and to make matters worse, they are incredibly addictive. When combined with the sugars and acids from the foods you eat, these chemicals only make matters worse as they eat away at your teeth, very likely escalating the onset symptoms of gingivitis and moderate to late-stage gum disease.

BOOK A PERIODONTAL TREATMENT AT OUR OTTAWA DENTAL CLINIC

Now that you know some of the main causes of gum disease, it’s time to book an appointment at our family dental clinic in Ottawa. Our dentists and dental hygienists have years of education and experience preventing, diagnosing, and treating periodontitis, which is why we are able to offer so many effective gum disease treatments at Trillium Dental.

Looking for more information about gum disease and how to prevent it with proactive oral hygiene and professional teeth cleaning appointments? Contact us today to learn more, and continue to part two of this blog series to find out the main symptoms and risks of gum disease when it is left untreated by a dental professional. Here at Trillium Dental, we firmly believe that the key to gum disease prevention is taking care of your teeth and becoming aware of the risks associated with this all-too-common disease, so you can do everything in your power to avoid it.

The term “dental implants” might sound off-putting to some, considering that they are a permanent tooth replacement that requires dental surgery. However, dental implants are nothing to be afraid of — in fact, they are the ideal solution for many patients who suffer from tooth decay or otherwise missing or unsaveable adult teeth. Here at Trillium Dental in Ottawa, we are proud to offer Smile-In-A-Day dental implants so patients can leave our dental clinic with beautiful, strong teeth in just one day. That being said, here are a few benefits of our same-day dental implants!

BENEFITS OF SMILE-IN-A-DAY

Before we dive into some of the reasons why you should consider same-day dental implants, it’s important to note their benefits. These include the fact that our Smile-In-A-Day dental implant procedure can be completed in a matter of hours, solving your dental problems with a fully functioning replacement in just one dental appointment. Dental implants also look, act, and feel like real teeth, meaning that they are a much more practical alternative than dentures for many people. Plus, they are secured with the underlying jawbone and stimulate additional bone growth in patients who are suffering from minor to moderate jawbone decay, which helps them regain natural jaw strength over time.

In addition to the benefits listed above, Smile-In-A-Day dental implants are also great for people who don’t require a complete set of dental implants — rather, we can secure four to six dental implants in place of missing teeth and restore them with a hybrid denture. This is a minimally invasive approach compared to full dental implant procedures and bone grafting, which have a much longer treatment and recovery time. Same-day dental implants also do not typically require the placement of healing abutments over top, which would need to be removed after a few weeks. Because of this, Smile-In-A-Day is one of the quickest, easiest, and least invasive ways to replace your missing or unrescuable teeth.

ARE SMILE-IN-A-DAY DENTAL IMPLANTS RIGHT FOR ME?

Now that you know some of the benefits of Smile-In-A-Day dental implants, you might be wondering if these same-day dental implants are right for you. At Trillium Dental, we highly recommend Smile-In-A-Day for edentulous patients with missing adult teeth or arches, as well as those with severely deteriorating teeth. Often, we see patients who have avoided dental care for their decaying teeth because dental implants are more expensive than removable dentures.

However, our dentists and dental hygienists do our best to work with patients’ dental insurance in order to get them the best treatment when it comes to saving or replacing decayed teeth, which is often our Smile-In-A-Day procedure. We have also found great success with same-day dental implants for patients with unsaveable teeth that are not yet missing, so feel free to contact us if you’d make a good candidate for Smile-In-A-Day. Below are a few circumstances that might lead you to consider our same-day dental implant treatment.

YOU HAVE HEALTHY GUMS

You might be surprised to know that healthy gums are critical for dental implant candidates, as this helps support the implants as they fuse with the underlying jawbone and stimulate new bone growth. Trust us, the last thing you want is for your dental implants to fail because your gums aren’t strong enough to support them, which is why we do not necessarily recommend same-day dental implants for patients with periodontitis (also known as late-stage gum disease). If you are suffering from gum disease, however, be sure to visit our Ottawa dental clinic as soon as possible so we can assess the damage and provide appropriate treatment.

YOU HAVE SUFFICIENT JAWBONE DENSITY

While dental implants are a great solution for many patients with a weakened jawbone, there must be a sufficient amount of strong jawbone structure for the dental implants to be secured to. If you do not have adequate jawbone density to support dental implants, we might recommend an alternative method such as bone grafting. When you visit our dental office to see if you are a good candidate for same-day dental implants, we will determine whether or not your jawbone is strong enough for dental implants to anchor into, and if not, we will provide a professional recommendation for your dental care.

YOU DON’T GRIND YOUR TEETH

If you suffer from bruxism, or persistent teeth grinding and clenching, you might not be a good candidate for Smile-In-A-Day. This is because same-day dental implants are an investment that requires you to pay extra attention to your oral habits (e.g. quitting smoking, not grinding your teeth, etc.) for them to be successful. Though we do not necessarily deter patients from the possibility of Smile-In-A-Day if they clench or grind their teeth in their sleep, we will discuss this more in-depth when you visit our dental clinic for your dental implant consultation.

YOU DON’T SMOKE

This is another major factor in determining whether or not you would make a good candidate for Smile-In-A-Day. Cigarette smokers and those who chew tobacco generally find less success with dental implants, as these habits have a direct negative impact on your oral health, and consequently, your gums and teeth. Ideal same-day dental implant candidates maintain good oral health, which means brushing and flossing daily, as well as making regular trips to their local dentist for professional teeth cleanings.

SCHEDULE YOUR SAME-DAY DENTAL IMPLANT CONSULTATION

Ready to see if you are a good candidate for Smile-In-A-Day dental implants? Contact us to learn more about the procedure, and book your consultation at Trillium Dental in Ottawa today!

Root canals seem to have gotten a bad rap over the years, perhaps due to exaggerated stories, fictional movies, and the fact that not many people actually know what root canal treatment is. Obviously, root canals aren’t as scary or painful as the dentist in Finding Nemo makes them seem, so our team at Trillium Dental in Ottawa is here to debunk some common myths about root canal therapy and tell you everything you need to know before you visit our dental clinic for a root canal.

ROOT CANALS REMOVE THE NERVE OF A TOOTH

First and foremost, the purpose of root canals is to remove the pulpy center of an infected tooth in order to save the tooth itself from deteriorating or falling out. To do this, your dentist will first numb the area with a local anesthetic and apply a dental dam to keep the site free of saliva and bacteria. Then, they will drill a small opening at the crown of the tooth (remember, the area is numb) so they can gently remove the infected or damaged nerve. Once the pulp has been taken out, your dentist will clean out the cavity and insert a synthetic nerve replacement to fill in the space and support the tooth before resealing the hole. To complete the root canal treatment, your dentist will seal the hole with a dental filling and send you on your way!

ROOT CANALS ARE LESS PAINFUL THAN YOU THINK

As previously mentioned, lots of people seem to be under the impression that root canals are an incredibly painful dental procedure — however, this is not always the case. After all, a local anesthetic is applied to the area well before your dentist starts drilling, and even then, all you’ll really feel is a little vibration. Any pain you experience from a root canal treatment will likely be after the anesthesia has worn off, which you can remedy by taking iBuprofen, aspirin, or any other kind of over-the-counter pain medication from your local drugstore (in moderation, of course). In most cases, any lingering pain from a root canal treatment will wear off in just a few days if you maintain good brushing and flossing habits.

THE PURPOSE OF ROOT CANALS IS TO SAVE THE TOOTH

Most dental professionals will tell you that tooth extraction is their last course of action, and that they would much rather save your natural tooth. This is because teeth are much easier to save than replace (unless you want dental implants or a partial denture), especially if the issue is an infected nerve that can be removed in a single dental appointment. The fact of the matter is that if bacteria finds its way into the nerve of a tooth (via a crack, cavity, or broken filling), it will attack and destroy the pulp, which cannot repair itself. This bacteria can even infect and weaken the tooth itself, leading to tooth decay and potentially a missing tooth.

Obviously, the best way to avoid this is by being diligent about brushing and flossing your teeth, in addition to visiting your local dentist for bi-annual teeth cleanings and x-rays. However, these nerve infections can still happen when you least expect them, and it’s best to catch them early so you can remedy the situation before it’s too late. That’s why we offer a range of restorative dentistry procedures here at Trillium Dental — our mission is to do whatever it takes to save your teeth, even if that means removing a damaged nerve or applying dental crowns or dental bridges. Anyone in the field of family dentistry will agree that nothing is better than having natural teeth, even though there are other options out there like same-day dental implants.

ROOT CANAL SYMPTOMS AREN’T ALWAYS OBVIOUS

Lots of patients who visit our Ottawa dental clinic for a root canal treatment didn’t even know they had a damaged or infected nerve under their tooth until we discovered it. That’s because these infections are subtle at first and disguise themselves as temporary toothaches or tooth sensitivity. However, these symptoms will worsen with time as the infection attacks the pulp, so it’s best to make a dental appointment to have things checked out before they get worse. Here are some symptoms to watch out for if you think you might need a root canal:

• Severe, persistent tooth pain when chewing
• Heightened tooth sensitivity (especially when exposed to hot or cold temperatures)
• Tooth discoloration
• Tender, swollen gums

SCHEDULE A DENTAL APPOINTMENT AT TRILLIUM DENTAL IN OTTAWA

At the end of the day, root canals aren’t as big a deal as many people make them out to be, as the procedure is quick and recovery time is short. Plus, the anesthesia eliminates most (if not all) of the pain during the treatment, which means that you can have the damaged nerve removed and the cavity filled without feeling any pain at all. That being said, it’s still good to have some over-the-counter pain relievers on hand for a few days after the root canal so you can offset any pain you experience as your tooth recovers.

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms of a damaged or infected nerve mentioned above, be sure to visit your local dental clinic as soon as possible. While you could be experiencing a minor toothache, it is still worth it to make sure you don’t have an infected nerve that will turn into a larger problem down the road. Contact us today to learn more about root canal treatments, and book your dental appointment at Trillium Dental in Ottawa!