We’ve covered many topics over the past 18 months - everything from how to get your toddler interested in brushing her teeth to the importance of flossing to how to select dental insurance. Whether you’re a mom wondering when you should start taking your child to the dentist or a single man with a mouth that’s been throbbing for six months, asktheemergencydentist is here to help you navigate the sometimes confusing world of American dentistry.

If you only read this post and don’t go back and look at any of the other helpful information on this site, remembering these three things will put you on the path towards dental health:

1. Brush your teeth and floss your gums daily.
2. Find a dentist and visit him/her for checkups at least every six months.
3. If you’re in pain, don’t continue to try to tough it out. Get to a dentist now.

If fear is keeping you from seeing a dentist regularly, visit emergencydentalcareusa.com and call for a referral for a good dentist in your area. Pain medications and advanced technology mean even root canals and tooth extractions don’t have to hurt. If money is keeping you from getting relief for your mouth/tooth pain, call Emergency Dental Care, USA and ask about the many financing options available. You don’t have to suffer.

Remember, this isn’t 1770. We live in an age where advanced technology makes decaying, rotten and wooden teeth a thing of the past. You can have white teeth and a beautiful smile. Take care of your mouth and you’ll not only feel better, you’ll find yourself smiling more too.

If you read this headline and thought “what is bruxism and why do I need to beat it?” then read on. Bruxism is the technical term for teeth grinding. It’s a common activity for many Americans. Some sufferers grind their teeth at night and so may not realize that they grind their teeth. Others grind their teeth when they feel stressed. Whenever it’s done, teeth grinding can lead to dental problems.

Symptoms of bruxism include a sore jaw and dull headache. While stress and anxiety are two common causes of bruxism, teeth grinding can also occur as a result of sleep disorders, abnormal bite patterns, broken or crooked teeth.

Teeth grinding can lead to loose teeth when it is severe enough. Over time, affected teeth can fracture and even fall out. Your dentist can fit you for a mouth guard that you can wear at night to protect your teeth while you sleep. If you find yourself grinding your teeth as a way to relieve or express stress, stop and find another way to relieve stress. Physical therapy, exercises and muscle relaxants may also help lessen the tension that drives you to grind your teeth.

Talk to your dentist today about steps you can take to stop grinding your teeth. If you don’t have a regular dentist, contact Emergency Dental Care USA, Inc. to get a consultation and start treating your teeth right.

Life takes its toll on teeth. After years of snacking and salivating, teeth may become covered in plaque or tartar. If a person doesn’t practice good oral hygiene habits like daily flossing and brushing and semi-annual dental cleanings, teeth may become decayed. Cavities, a common sign of tooth decay, are often treated by removing the decayed portion of the tooth and filling the empty space with amalgam, silver, gold or porcelain.

Crowns

When tooth decay is severe, more of the tooth has to be removed. What’s left often isn’t substantial enough to support a filling. In those cases, crowns are needed. Crowns are often made from porcelain or gold and fit over the base of a tooth to make the tooth look complete and natural.

Bridges

Just as a bridge connects structures, a dental bridge can be used to secure a false tooth into a mouth without the aid of a dental implant. The two teeth on either side of the false tooth are used to hold the false tooth in place.

Over time, even the best prepared crowns and bridges may break down and require restoration. When a crown or bridge becomes loose or cracks, your dentist can apply new adhesive to secure the crown back onto the tooth. Bridges can be reattached and strengthened as well. Crowns and bridges are just two of the common applications of modern dentistry that help people have beautiful smiles all throughout life.

If you need a crown or bridge repaired and don’t have a dentist, Emergency Dental Care USA, Inc. can help you get rid of your pain and get back your smile.

Whether you wear full or partial dentures, you can wear them comfortably by working with your dentist to make sure they fit right. You should have your dentures checked once a year, even if you don’t have any pain or discomfort while wearing them. If your dentures feel like they don’t fit right, ask your dentist to grind down some of the pressure points on the dentures to relieve your pain. If that doesn’t work, ask to have your dentures realigned. If problems still persist, ask to have the set replaced with a new set of dentures.

Dentures need regular maintenance to stay in the best shape possible. When they don’t fit or are ignored, non-fitting dentures can cause gum sores and constant pain. They can also loosen your remaining teeth, making them vulnerable to extraction. If you can afford it, you might consider dental implants, which cost more than dentures but are less likely to not fit right.

If you’re experiencing mild dental pain, treat your mouth to a smile by seeing your dentist today and having your dentures checked.

Out of all the people interviewed by Consumer Reports, only six percent of those who had teeth pulled said the pain was severe. More than 60 percent said they experienced only mild pain after having a tooth pulled. Thirty percent said they had no problems after the most painful of dental procedures.

What’s all that mean for you? If fear of pain keeps you from going to the dentist to have dental problems resolved, you should know that the pain you experience while you avoid the dentist is likely worse than what you’ll experience getting the problem fixed. Even root canals aren’t painful when they’re being performed. Most of the pain comes from the toothache before the procedure is performed.

Dentists have an array of pain management options at their disposal to treat you and make your dental procedure a pain-free, pleasant one. Most patients avoid serious pain with local anesthetic during the procedure and over-the-counter pain medication afterwards. If you have a root canal, you can expect mild pain and swelling for a few days after the procedure; that pain will pale in comparison to what you’re experiencing now if you’re avoiding the dentist out of fear.

For the sake of your own comfort, free your teeth from pain and your mind from fear by giving a good dentist a chance to help you heal.

• Only 1/3 of survey respondents brushed and flossed as often as they should
• Only 57% of Americans have dental insurance
• 70% of respondents went to the dentist at least twice a year

The article explained that people with dental insurance are more likely to get their dental problems taken care of and to get their teeth cleaned regularly. Interestingly, cost and not fear, is the number one reason why people don’t go to the dentist.

Even if you do go to the dentist twice a year for cleanings, those visits alone aren’t enough to keep your mouth healthy. Everyone should brush their teeth twice a day and floss at least once a day. Regular, consistent brushing and flossing prevents dental problems. If you’re like one of the 70% of Consumer Reports respondents who is more committed to regular dental checkups than daily brushing and flossing consider this recent research finding:

• The bacteria that causes plaque can enter your bloodstream and arteries if left untreated. If you have diabetes or poor blood glucose control, this bacteria can worsen those health issues. In a worst-case scenario, untreated dental infections can lead to jaw and skull infections that can lead to brain injury and in rare cases, death.

Don’t wait for a really scary situation to force you into flossing. Pick up a pack of dental floss, toothbrush and some toothpaste with fluoride in it today and commit yourself to brushing your teeth every morning and evening. Floss either in the morning before you brush or at night before you go to bed, whenever is most convenient for you.

Keep seeing your dentist once or twice a year, but make sure you’re seeing yourself in your bathroom mirror with your mouth open and a toothbrush in it far more often than that.

Consumer Reports is running a story this month in their magazine on dental treatments and insurance. In that article, they quote a dentist named James Bader, D.D.S. as saying “for all treatment recommendations, ask your dentist why. Listen, and see if it makes sense. You should understand the basis of the treatment.”

We agree with Bader’s advice. If you’re not sure why your wisdom teeth should be pulled, don’t understand why you need another set of dental x-rays or aren’t convinced that TMJ surgery will alleviate your pain, ask your dentist to explain why he thinks you need the procedure done. Make sure you understand what it costs and listen carefully to see his explanation makes sense to you.

When To Remove Wisdom Teeth

In general, unless your wisdom are causing you pain or problems like dental crowding or tooth movement, you are probably fine leaving them in, and saving yourself the cost and pain that comes with extracting them. Simply removing wisdom teeth because you can, or because you don’t need them, isn’t necessarily a good enough reason to justify the action.

Excessive X-Rays

One set of bitewing x-rays each year is enough for most people. Unless you have dental problems or pain that your dentist thinks a set of x-rays may help diagnose and treat, you might even be able to go 18 months in between dental x-rays. Avoid having x-rays done more frequently than 12 months as a purely preventative or precautionary action.

TMJ Surgery

TMJ is a painful condition that unfortunately, is rarely improved through surgery. Often, the best treatment for TMJ is to wait for it to go away on its own. Sometimes, a mouthguard for nighttime wearing can be helpful, and it costs a lot less than surgery.

All About Amalgam

Most fillings are amalgam in nature - meaning they’re made of a composite material including metal and mercury. While these fillings are more noticeable than porcelain or composite fillings, they tend to be stronger and more durable than their less-noticeable counterparts. If you are considering replacing an amalgam filling simply because you want a filling that’s less likely to be noticed by someone looking in your mouth, think about the drawbacks:

• You have to remove tooth structure to get the amalgam filling out
• Amalgam fillings with mercury in them aren’t linked to any ill health affects
• The replacement fillings will be weaker and less durable than what you had before

In addition to these common-sense reasons, you can save yourself money by keeping a perfectly good, well-functioning amalgam filling in your mouth.

Atypical Tooth Restorations

When a tooth breaks, chips or cracks, tooth restoration is a helpful way to repair the tooth and protect your mouth from infection and further injury. However, a cosmetic dental treatment has popped up which uses advanced equipment to detect microscopic lines or defects on the surface of a tooth. Some dentists will recommend opening the tooth and filling it with a porcelain or composite material to correct the minor defect which is often unnoticeable to the naked eye.

Use common sense and avoid this kind of cosmetic procedure. Not only is it expensive, but it’s unnecessary. In many cases, your saliva will repair the minor defect. Crowns cost a lot of money and should be reserved for teeth that have genuine, significant decay. Instead of unnecessary restoration, opt for monitoring the decay; if it worsens over time, wait until a crown or filling is legitimately called for to remove the decay and repair the tooth.

• Teeth whitening
• Amalgam filling replacement
• Minor tooth restorations
• Unnecessary removal of wisdom teeth
• Excessive x-rays
• TMJ surgery

Some of these procedures can be necessary and helpful at times. At other times and for some patients, these can be optional, expensive and unnecessary dental procedures. Over the next few weeks, we’ll consider each one and how you can save yourself some money by knowing when you should have them done and when you should just keep your mouth the way it is.

Teeth Whitening

Teeth whitening is the most common cosmetic dental procedure. It’s become so mainstream in fact, that you can purchase a home whitening kit over the counter and whiten your teeth yourself at home. According to a Consumer Reports article about dental procedures its February 2012 issue, most survey respondents were more satisfied with an at-home whitening treatment than one they had their dentists perform in-office.

For starters, at-home teeth whitening kits and whitening strips cost less. Most yellow-tinted teeth are perfectly healthy. A slight yellow tint is actually a sign of a well-calcified tooth. Regular brushing and flossing will remove tea and coffee stains just fine. So, unless you have $300 that you’d rather not spend on anything other than teeth whitening, stick to an over the counter kit or focus your efforts on brushing and flossing.

• Fillings - $288
• Extraction - $501
• Crown - $1,018
• Root canal - $1,201
• Bridge - $2,698
• Dental implant - $3,938

If those prices scare you, take a deep breath and realize that these are reader-reported averages from across the country. If you’re one of the 43 percent of Americans without dental insurance, don’t let it stop you from getting the dental care you need. Consider the options available to you outside of dental insurance to pay for dental procedures that can relieve your pain and prevent worse problems from occurring.

Visit FairHealthConsumer.org and look up what a typical rate for a dental procedure with dental insurance costs in your zip code. Ask your dentist to accept that rate, or even less, in cash, if you can afford it. You may find success especially on higher priced procedures like bridge work and dental implants.

Check out a community health center in your area, if one exists that offers dental care. Or, call a local dental or dental-hygienist school. If you are willing to allow students to work on your teeth, you may be able to receive free or discounted dental work. Find a list of dental schools at ada.org.

Emergency Dental Care, USA Inc. offers locations in select cities across America. While each location is independently operated, most offer finance options including all major credit cards and payment by check. We’re unique in that we specialize in after hours dental care. Like many good dentists, we care most about helping our patients and hate to see concern over cost keep them from getting the help they need.