Dr. Barbara A. Tarnoski, D.M.D.

Many times children are given a sedative before dental work is done. Our dental equipment is what we need to do DENTISTRY. Adult patients sleep while DENTISTRY is done. The dental team watches over the patient. The dental chair allows the patient's head to be supported and the patient airway stays open. Dental work needs to be done, sedation helps your child to have the work done.

Plaque forms on your teeth every 24 hours. Even if you drank only water, plaque would form. Brushing will not remove placque. You have to floss first, then brush. See your dentist and ask how to floss and brush. Every one needs a refresher course. By flossing and brushing daily, you will keep your teeth as free from plaque as possible.

Coffee, tea, berry juices, plus a number of other items can stain teeth. Two cups of coffee a day is not a a major contributor. I have family members who drink as many 14 cups a day. If your teeth appear to have a blackish tinge, I would suggest you visit your dentist first. Some times gum issues can change the color of your gum tissue. Are you flossing and brushing morning and night? Cleaning your tongue with a tongue cleaner or turning a tsp with the round side towards your palate. Place the spoon as far back on your tongue as possible. Move the spoon gently scraping towards the outside of your mouth. You will see a slimy whitish little pile of debris. That is what has been out in the nooks and crannies of your tongue. Rinse your mouth with warm salt water, then gargle. Flossing will save your teeth. Brushing with a soft toothbrush at the gum line gently back and forth. You brush the gum line all around, where your tongue rests, and the palate, flat surfaces next. If you have gum issues, get them resolved. We control gum problems with good home care. You can use baking soda on your toothbrush and brush gently while resolving any gum issues.

Throbbing is a sign of infection. You need to get to your dentist. Any heart beat pounding pain needs treatment. It can be your your teeth or your gums. Not resolving teeth or gum problems leads to more advanced, expensive solutions.

There are dentists who have taken courses of study about PROBLEMS WITH THE Temporal Mandibular Jaw Joint. This jaw joint is in front of the ear on both sides of the head. Because many nerves and blood vessels are in, around, pass through muscles and bones located near this joint, pain problems can difficult to identify the cause. There are various types of treatment modalities that can be used. Being 15 years of age, and your son's growth pattern, the teeth in your son's mouth and his jaw joint may not be able to move as smoothly as it should. Your son needs to be evaluated. Making movements to deliberately "crack" his joint, should be avoided.
Just as we are told that cracking our knuckles can lead to arthritis, cracking one's jaw can be become painful. Opening your mouth to bite into large sandwiches, places excessive force on the TMJ joint. Supporting your lower jaw with your fists. one fist under each side of your jaw when yawning. If your son has no problems i.e. pain on opening his mouth. Jaw/ jaw joint soreness when talking or eating- especially when he wakes up, your son doesn't want to create any habits that may set off pain.

Gingivitis is an infection of the gums. This infection is REVERSIBLE. To avoid any gum issues you should be flossing first, twice a day.
There is no toothbrush that can get between your gum tissue and your tooth like dental floss is able to do. Finger flossing is the best way to floss. You wrap the floss between the "pointer"
fingers of each hand. Flossing is more of a feeling TECHNIQUE. Look in a mirror to start. You slide the floss along the side of one tooth.
You don't snap it in. If you have gingivitis your gums may bleed. You have bacteria, rotting food, toxins(waste and chemicals bacteria don't want + what ever) below your gum tissue and tooth. Keep flossing. When all that material below your gum and tooth is removed the bleeding, swollen
reddish color gums will return to its pink color. I like a teflon thicker floss. If you are using a thin string like floss, it irritates, breaks and doesn't get the job done. You are flossing between two teeth. You never SNAP the floss into that pink pointed tissue between your teeth. After you floss one side of your tooth move the floss to a new clean area and floss the adjacent tooth. You don't want the floss passing bacteria from tooth to tooth. Note: This takes longer to explain than it takes to do. The second step is brushing.
You want a soft toothbrush. You want to be gentle. You are not raking leaves. You can injure your gum tissue and the tooth itself.
If you have a sonic tooth brush you place the toothbrush half on your tooth and half on your gum line. You are AIMING for the area where the gum and tooth meet. Starting with a back corner in your mouth. UPPER right. UPPER left, LOWER right , LOWER left. You brush back and forth 3-4 times, move to the next group of teeth, go all around, front to the opposite side. Now you flossed behind the last molars in a four quadrants. When you reached the opposite side, brush behind the last molar. If you started on the bottom, brush your gum line- tooth area where your tongue is. Many people forget this area. Go all around to the opposite side and BEHIND the last molar. Do the top or bottom that you didn't brush. Brush all your flat surfaces. Rinse the your mouth with warm salt water. (1/2 teaspoon salt to an 8 oz glass of warm water. Clean your tongue next. You can buy a tongue cleaner or use a teaspoon. Turn the teaspoon so the round side is towards your palate. Place the spoon back on the center of your tongue. Not far back to gag you. You gently scrape your tongue forward. You will see a slightly slimy whitish mass. This is what was hiding out in the nooks and crannies of your tongue. Do the other two sides of your tongue with your tsp. Rinse then gargle. This is how you should be cleaning your teeth. Plaque is formed every day and if it is not flossed off your teeth in 24 hours it starts to crystallize. With the calcium in your saliva, rotting food particles, bacteria, dead bacteria, bacteria toxic waste. tartar is irritating to your gum tissues and destroys the gum tissue that attaches to your teeth. When the attached gingiva is destroyed, food particles and bacteria can go down and destroy the supporting bone and tissues. There is a vasculature system around your tooth roots.
Bacteria, dead bacteria, your body's fighting cells and their toxins and waste products can enter your blood stream and inflame your blood vessels and cause disease in your organs. While you have gingivitis it means your body is still fighting your gum disease. Even the gum disease bacteria that you pass on through close contact, eating after each other, kissing your body is fighting all these insults. Fighting Gum disease bacteria is not your body"s only job. Your body is fighting many attacks. There can be a time when your body gets over whelmed with all these battles. Your gum disease is now attacking your tooth supporting bone and tissues, bacteria, dead bacteria. toxins are now CIRCULATING around your body. Gum disease is related to ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, LUNG INFECTION, KIDNEY DISEASE, BLADDER CANCER, ARTHRITIS, PANCREATIC CANCER.
INFLAMATION HAS BEEN KNOWN AS THE NUMBER ONE CONTRIBUTING FACTOR.TO MANY DISEASES. WE EAT AND DRINK ALL DAY.
NOT REMOVING THE FOOD PARTICLES AND BACTERIA AROUND OUR TEETH IS A CONSTANT SOURCE OF INFLAMMATION.
GINGIVITIS IS A WARNING. YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR BODY HEALTHY FOR TODAY AND YOUR FUTURE HEALTH.

Many doctors have placing ice on the OUTSIDE area where your tooth was extracted as part of your post extraction instructions. Placing ice on the extraction site area constricts the blood vessels and lessens the swelling. Ice is good for the first 24 hours. After a few days warmth may be helpful. Follow your doctor's instructions and rinsing with warm salt water is healing. Rinsing as often as possible may be more than 4 times
a day is helpful.

The length of time for wearing braces depends on what has to be done. Follow directions. Keeping your teeth cleaned goes a long way towards completing treatment. Congratulations on your decision to have brace treatment.

By age twenty your roots have completely closed. Your bone is more dense. For a while you will be experiencing some discomfort with each adjustment. You probably have been told what medication to take. This medication helps with the discomfort. You may ask about applications of heat or cold.

Braces when placed on your teeth follow a specific treatment plan. Some part of the appliance is activated to move specific teeth until all the teeth are are placed in their correct
POSITION. After you visit your dentist your teeth move for about three days. They are then held in place until your next appointment. That is why it is important to keep your appointments. Your teeth don't move every day. When your braces are taken off, you should be given a retainer.
This retainer should be worn 24/7 for 6 months
During this time your bone is hardening. If you like the way your teeth are, you don't want them to regress. Wearing your retainers is for your benefit.

Discoloration of your teeth can be caused by food and drink. One other possibility is you may have gum issues. Sometimes when your gums are infected, the gum tissue can appear off color. Since you have a lot of gum tissue surrounding your teeth, even a slight change in gum color can make your teeth appear they are yellowing. Visit your dentist. Get your mouth checked. If there are gum issues. Please have it taken care of. Start on a good home care routine. Ask how you should be flossing. Working in dental offices, I cringe when I hear the person cleaning a patient's teeth say, "You know how to floss." Ask how you should be brushing. My experience when I clean patients' teeth is, the patient is in the chair, but the patient's mind is somewhere else. I don't know if it is boring or embarrassing. If the patient was bored, the patient would be doing home care. If the patient has made up his or her mind that I will do what I want, then that is an attitude problem. Attitude is the hardest thing to change. GETTING your teeth whitened will be done after your gums have been checked for gum disease or inflammation. Whitening your teeth when your gums are not healthy can cause gum inflammation. That is why you are advised to have your teeth checked before whitening is done. I have added more information because there are several reasons why your teeth may appear off color. I am OFFERING information to them.

There are reasons why some restorations fall out. Patients think that once a tooth has been fixed, the repair has made the tooth stronger. If it is a large filling, if the filling is on biting edge? You may have been told that the filling may not hold. I know patients will bite into apples or chew ice. The newer restorative materials are great. You can take a small nib of a tooth and make a whole tooth out of the material. It can look great, but it will not last. Insurance companies believe that patients do not take care of their mouth the way they should. That is why insurance has patients paying for part of their gum treatment, crowns, bridges. Insurance companies do not pay for a filling to be done again. Who paid for the first two restorations? Your insurance. If you have it. PAID for the first restoration? Your tooth may not have structure in your tooth for a filling, you may have been told that you need a different type of restoration---a crown? If you choose to see another dentist, you may be told that you need a crown. Placing a restoration in the same tooth by a different dentist and using the same insurance, your new dentist may not be PAID.

Without a visual look at that area, it is hard say. It could be within normal limits. I believe you are talking about the gum tissue, not the teeth. Make an appointment to see your dentist. A visual check and/or X-ray may be needed.

SEALANTS are a good investment. Some insurance companies will pay for the first application. There are restrictions. They are now placing SEALANTS on adults. When SEALANTS are placed, there are some precautions. Chewing sticky candy, gum chewing, ice chewing. Most insurance companies will not pay to replace one. You can see that children have to be watched. Good home care--flossing, brushing, and regular checkups with flouride treatments are a good investment.

If your filling keeps falling off, there are some possibilities. Not knowing where this filling is in your mouth, let's look at your eating habits: Do you bite into apples? Chew on hard foods Nuts? Ice? Sticky candy or food? Chewing on bones? Using your teeth like tools? If you broke your tooth and had it repaired, there may not be enough tooth structure to hold filling. Your tooth may have been decayed and there is not enough remaining structure to hold a filling. There may another solution for a more permanent restoration. Your dentist may have already informed you.

When was the last time you saw your dentist? Have you been treated for gum disease? If you have told you needed gum treatment, are you still deciding? What are you doing for home care? Going to your dentist twice a year. getting your teeth cleaned doesn't help. You eat every day. We put food and drink in our mouths constantly. YOU are the person who has to get the bacteria. dead bacteria, plaque, rotting food off your teeth. When you eat, would anyone pick up a dirty fork or spoon to eat with? By not cleaning your teeth and mouth you are putting fresh food into a mouth that has not been properly cleaned since your last dental check up.
Mouth odor can come from your teeth, gums. throat. You can use a mouthwash, chewing gum, breath mints, a fast brush on your teeth. This might help for a little while. Once the bacteria remultiply in enough numbers, the odor and bad taste are back. I do not know how old you are. Are some of your teeth feeling loose? Do your gums bleed? Are your gums swollen. You may have gum issues. Are your gums receding? Do you have any cavities or do any of your teeth hurt? Maybe your gum problem is just BEGINNING. It could be reversible. You should see your dentist. See what needs to be done.
You can't be feeling that well. Every time you bite down their has to be millions of bacteria and
their wastes going down to your stomach. If your gums. supporting bone and tissues are involved. some of these bacteria and their toxins are getting into your bloodstream. Your blood vessels may be inflamed and your body organs may be getting damaged. The risks of what poor mouth care can do to us is just being discovered. If you need treatment for gum disease, the latest and newest gum disease treatment is LANAP. ALL GUM DISEASE IS GONE IN ONE TREATMENT --NO CUTTING/ NO SEWING. YOU WILL BE INSTRUCTED HOW TO FLOSS AND BRUSH YOUR TEETH. THIS IS YOUR SECOND CHANCE TO START OVER.
Unfortunately without you practicing good home care, plus regular periodontal cleanings gum disease is CONTROLLED!
We eat every day. Plaque, that white sticky substance forms on our teeth and has to be removed every day. Flossing first and brushing correctly will help keep your mouth as healthy as possible

That black stain could be a cavity. You need to see your dentist. If you have not been flossing and brushing correctly on a daily basis, gum line cavities can be your problem. Some cavities appear brown, others have a black appearance

You need to visit your dentist. Have you been on some medication that you recently stopped taking? Medication is one main cause of dry mouth. It is like your saliva is like a semi blocked drain. Stopping medication has opened up the drain and your saliva is flowing. See your dentist, and you will be checked for any other possibilities.

You need to call your dentist. Throbbing is an indication of infection. Your tooth may have been infected before, being the reason for root canal. Some patients that were placed on an antibiotic do not take them. When a tooth is root canaled, it is instrumented and some bacteria may have fallen to the end of the root. One thing everyone has to be made aware of: NOT ALL ROOT CANALS ARE SUCCESSFUL. Everyone is different. It is not that anything was done WRONG. For some patients, root canals don't work. If your root canal is not hurting you, make sure you are doing good home care, flossing, brushing every day, etc.

If your son seems to have cavities more than other children, the next time your son visits the dentist, ask his dentist to show your son how he should be flossing and brushing. Teenagers are going through a tough time. Besides doing home care instructions has your son had SEALANTS placed on his molars and premolars?

SEALANTS fill in the deep grooves of his back teeth so food and other debris CAN'T get into them. If you have dental insurance , sealants could be covered. Even if you don't have insurance, they save teeth.