Q: What do you recommend for mouth sores? A: Mouth sores or canker sores cause great pain and can interfere with daily lives. There is not much you can do to cure them, but to let your body heal them. While healing, you can try a few things to help relieve pain. In dental offices, your dentist can apply a little bit of topical anesthetic gel to numb the pain. Sometimes topical … [Read more...]
Root Coverage Surgery
July 9, 2011 By
Q: What is a root coverage surgery? What is Miller's classification? A: Root coverage surgery is a soft tissue grafting procedure that is done to cover exposed root surface. Root surfaces can become exposed (gingival recession) on the lip side of teeth either by brushing trauma or by inflammation. Exposed root surfaces can become abraded easily while brushing, prone to decay … [Read more...]
High Blood Pressure Medications
July 2, 2011 By
Q: What high blood pressure medications cause gum growth? A: The calcium channel blocking high blood pressure medications can cause gum growth or gingival over-growth. These medications disrupt the calcium ion passage through calcium channels. Examples of these drugs include Amlodipine (Norvasc), Barnidipine (HypoCa) Cilnidipine (Atelec, Cinalong, Siscard) Clevidipine … [Read more...]
Abscess from Crown Lengthening
June 15, 2011 By
Q: Is it possible to get an abscess from crown lengthening? A: Crown lengthening is a routine procedure done by periodontists or general dentists to create more tooth structure available for putting a cap on. Crown lengthening can also be done to correct gummy smile, by removing some gum tissues and exposing more of the tooth structure so that teeth will have esthetic appearance. Crown … [Read more...]
Oral Cancer Screening
June 12, 2011 By
Q: What is oral cancer screening? Do I need to see a dentist who is equipped with a special oral cancer screening device? A: Oral cancers can be deadly but if caught early they can be treated successfully, making oral cancer screening and early detection important. Oral cancer screening can be done with or without special screening devices. Special screening devices help clinicians detect … [Read more...]
Toothpaste and Toothbrush
February 23, 2010 By
Q: "Are some toothpastes better than others in preventing gum disease?" A: According to periodontal research papers published in the 1990's, the ingredients in different toothpastes do not seem to make any significant differences in preventing dental plaque formation or removal of dental plaque. Ingredients such as fluoride have been proven to reduce the incidence of dental caries (cavities) … [Read more...]
Antibiotics and gum disease
December 10, 2008 By
Here are some questions from readers and my answers 1. How about antibiotics? When do you use them? For most periodontitis, antibiotics are not used. Some clinicians and researchers advocate the use of antibiotics in treating periodontal disease. Researches, however, shown little evidence for the routine use of antibiotics in treating periodontal disease. Some periodontal diseases, … [Read more...]