Advice from the Silver Spring Dentist About Bad Breath

This article provides six professional tips for busting and preventing bad breath, or halitosis.

Beat Bad Breath Tip # 1: Good Oral Hygiene

“Good oral hygiene is at the very heart of preventing bad breath, therefore, brushing and flossing more thoroughly and more often is a must,” say a Silver Spring dentist. “As a rule, you should be flossing before you go to bed at night and you should brush for two minutes, three times a day.”

Beat Bad Breath Tip # 2: Use a Tongue Scraper

The tongue is often neglected in the home oral hygiene routine and yet, it’s full of tiny cracks and crevasses where bacteria can hide. Stick your tongue out in the mirror. It should be pink all the way to the back of the mouth - any whiteness or staining is evidence of the oral bacteria that sour your breath. Brush your tongue or make use of a tongue scraper to avoid this problem.

Beat Bad Breath Tip # 3: Stop Smoking

“Smoking causes halitosis, not only because the smell of it seeps into the soft tissues of your mouth, but also because it causes dry mouth,” explains a dentist in Silver Spring. “This renders the oral cavity a more favorable environment for bacterial growth, since saliva contains anti-bacterial enzymes. Smoking also impedes the natural healing process and leaves you more vulnerable to infection, tooth loss and oral cancer.”

Beat Bad Breath Tip # 4: Avoid Stinky Foods

No matter how good you are about keeping your teeth clean, there are certain foods and beverages that will sour your breath. “Pungent foods, such as onion and garlic will immediately make your breath smell bad, but the real problem behind these foods is that they get absorbed by the bloodstream and are then exhaled out through the lungs,” explain Silver Spring dentists. “The same applies to alcohol. Drink enough of it and you’ll literally start breathing alcoholic fumes.”

The best way to remedy bad breath caused by pungent-smelling foods and alcoholic beverages is to either (1) avoid them entirely, (2) enjoy them WITH your date so that you don’t notice it on their breath later, (3) decide not to care what other people think!

Beat Bad Breath Tip # 5: Chew Sugar-free Gum

“Lots of people suck on mints or other candies in an effort to sweeten their breath, when in fact it can have the opposite effect,” explains the dentist in Silver Spring. “Anything with sugar in it will encourage bacteria to flourish in your mouth. And bacteria are responsible for making your breath bad. So, while an after-dinner mint may sweeten your breath for ten minutes or so, it will start to sour shortly thereafter. Chewing sugar-free gum is way better. It also remineralizes your teeth, neutralizes acid and helps to irrigate your mouth.”

Beat Bad Breath Tip # 6: Book an Appointment with Your Dentist or Doctor

If none of your oral hygiene efforts are paying off, it might be time to go and see the dentist! You may have an infection somewhere in your mouth. It is also possible that your problem isn’t oral at all! Certain diseases and infections elsewhere in the body can cause your breath to go bad. Sinus infections and liver, kidney and respiratory problems all have “bad breath” listed under their symptoms, so make sure you ask your Silver Spring dentist for advice!

Oral Health and Hygiene: Silver Spring Dental Experts Have Their Say!

This article looks at general oral health and hygiene maintenance regimens. We provide advice about what you can do at home to ensure your oral health remains in good condition and what your dentist can do to help.

Feeling great about your teeth and subsequently your smile is important not only for your confidence, but it also means that your mouth is happy and healthy. Just like a home needs regular maintenance, your mouth requires and deserves an excellent standard of oral health and hygiene maintenance. In this article, Silver Spring dental experts explain what you can do from home to ensure that your teeth remain not only aesthetically pleasing, but healthy. We also explain how your dentist can aid in your dental care and maintenance.

Oral Health and Hygiene: What Can I Do At Home?

It all starts with you! The best thing that you can do to look after your teeth is to commit to a consistent oral hygiene routine. Here is where to start:

• SPEND: Invest in a good toothbrush and good toothpaste. Seek the advice of your dentist with regard to what kind of toothpaste you should be using for your unique situation. If you have particularly sensitive teeth, you should be using toothpaste specifically designed for your needs. Silver Spring dental experts explain that if you consistently drink coffee or entertain other stain-causing habits, you should use toothpaste with whitening properties.

Going to your dentist for a professional teeth cleaning and whitening procedure will be far more effective, but using whitening toothpaste will definitely help reduce the build-up of tough stains.

• CONSISTENCY: A good oral hygiene routine is based on consistency. Brush, floss, rinse and scrape daily. It is recommended to brush at least twice a day, and if possible, after every meal, as food debris left behind can cause bacterial growth, which may lead to bad breath and other oral health risks. Flossing will help you get to the hard-to-reach spaces in your mouth that brushing alone does not reach. Flossing reaches the little pockets and gaps between your teeth where food debris is often left behind.

Rinsing is also a beneficial step in your oral hygiene regimen. Using an anti-septic mouthwash kills germs that cause bacterial growth and plaque build-up. Many people forget to scrape their tongue during their daily regimen, and the tongue is known to harbor all sorts of bacteria and bits of food. Scraping your tongue will go a long way in ensuring your breath remains minty fresh for much longer, too.

• MAINTENANCE: Go see your dentist! A Silver Spring dentist explains that although your day-to-day oral hygiene routine will do wonders for your oral health, seeing your dentist at least twice a year for general check-ups will ensure that your oral health remains in excellent condition. Also, it ensures that any problems can be dealt with before they develop into a more serious state.

Oral Health and Hygiene: A Final Word

By following the advice provided above, you will help to ensure that your oral health remains in the best possible condition. Your oral health is intricately linked to your general health and vice versa, so you will also be protecting the rest of your body from other health risks.

Dentists in Silver Spring Maryland Talk About Cosmetic Dentistry and Gum Aesthetics, PART 2

This two-part article series focuses on the various cosmetic procedures specifically designed to improve upon the evenness and symmetry of one’s gums and gum line.

Welcome back to our two-part article series on the various cosmetic treatments available for gums that depreciate the overall aesthetics of your smile. As we explained in Part 1 (read here) of the series, the gums simply don’t get the attention or credit they deserve as far as smile appearance is concerned, when in fact they make a huge difference! Pink, healthy gums are as important to your smile as symmetrical, white teeth. We spoke to some dentists in Silver Spring Maryland, about what can be done for patients who are in good oral health, but whose gums just aren’t up to scratch.

Here’s what they had to say...

Cosmetic Solutions for Aesthetically “Bad” Gums: A Recap of Crown Lengthening

The first treatment these dental health care professionals explained was Crown Lengthening, which is recommended for patients who have an atypical gum-to-crown ratio resulting in a gummy smile and teeth that appear to be short and stubby. We’ll now take a look at the reverse situation...

Cosmetic Solutions for Aesthetically “Bad” Gums: Gum Grafts

In cases where patients present will gums that have receded unnaturally from the crowns of the teeth, revealing a greater portion of the crowns or even the roots, dentists in Silver Spring Maryland may recommend gum grafting. Gum recession is often the result of gum disease, aggressive brushing or tongue and lip piercings that have wrought localized soft tissue damage. Either way, it will be the priority of your dentist to treat any infection before addressing the damage done.

“Gum grafting, like crown lengthening, is a fairly simple treatment that involves the lifting of a tiny sliver of soft tissue usually from the roof of the mouth,” explains a dentist in Silver Spring MD. “It is then grafted over the location that is lacking gum tissue. This can either be localized around a specific tooth or, in the case of patients who have been “born” with large crowns, along the length of the gum line.”

Gum grafting is performed to restore a more natural and aesthetic gum-to-crown ratio and in this respect it is a cosmetic treatment. However, it also plays an important role in restoring oral health and oral comfort, especially where the roots of the teeth have become exposed due to gum disease or aggressive brushing. By covering the roots up again, they become less vulnerable to decay and to sensitivity caused by temperature extremes. This is more comfortable for the patient.

A Final Note on Cosmetic Dentistry for the Gums

Most people are convinced that a teeth whitening treatment or restorations like veneers will give them the smile they want, when in many cases, it’s the health of the gums that’s begging attention. “What makes a smile beautiful is healthy teeth and gums,” say dentists in Silver Spring MD. “With good oral hygiene and lifelong health, you can get that perfect smile for a fraction of the cost. And if imperfect gums are in your genetic packet, there are simple, inexpensive and straightforward cosmetic treatments available!”

The Dentist in Silver Spring MD Talks About Cosmetic Dentistry and Gum Aesthetics, PART 1

This two-part article series focuses on the various cosmetic procedures specifically designed to improve upon the evenness and symmetry of one’s gums and gum line.

Most people think of cosmetic dentistry as a suite of procedures and treatments that focus on improving the appearance and general presentation of the teeth. While this is absolutely correct, you are missing one fundamental element... the gums! Teeth whitening, crowns and veneers are all designed to enhance the appearance of, specifically, your teeth, but there are many procedures that can do exactly the same for your gums. We spoke to a qualified and experienced cosmetic dentist in Silver Spring MD to learn more about what can be done for those of us with less than perfect gums.

Your Gums are as Visually Important as Your Teeth

“The crowns of your teeth tend to hog the limelight as far as smile enhancement is concerned,” say dentists in Silver Spring MD. “When you think of improving your smile, you tend to focus exclusively on your teeth and not what can be done for your gums. But, healthy pink gums are just as important to overall smile aesthetics as even, symmetrical and white teeth!”

Gum diseases, such as gingivitis and periodontitis, can really devastate the quality of your smile, not only by yellowing the teeth, but also by rendering the gums red, inflamed and swollen. Puffy gums also make the teeth look shorter and stubbier. This is why dentists in Silver Spring MD really emphasize the importance of good oral hygiene in the fight against oral diseases that depreciate the natural beauty of your smile.

“In many cases, we have patients coming to us with gum disease but who are interested in cosmetic enhancement, when in fact all they need to get their beautiful smiles back is the right treatment for their oral ailments! Instead of veneers or teeth whitening, we begin them on a course of treatment for infection and after a few weeks, they’ll find their teeth and gums looking infinitely better and more attractive. This is the great thing about dentistry: the close relationship between health and beauty!”

But what about people who are “born” with uneven gums? What about those who are in good oral health, but who have “gummy” smiles? Or those who have larger than normal crowns, resulting in a “toothy” grin? Is there hope for these people?

Of course there is!

Cosmetic Solutions for Aesthetically “Bad” Gums: Crown Lengthening

One of the common procedures prescribed for patients who present with excessive gum tissue and short, stubby-looking teeth is crown lengthening. This simple, straightforward and inexpensive treatment involves the removal of a thin strip of soft tissue along the length of the gum margin, revealing a greater portion of the tooth crowns. This has the affect of making the teeth appear bigger and restores a more natural tooth-to-gum ratio.

“Crown lengthening is really very straightforward and yet the results it yields can totally change a patient’s appearance for the better,” say dentists in Silver Spring MD. “What we love about this job is that small changes can make huge differences, not only to the appearance of a patient’s smile, but also to the way they feel about themselves; to their confidence!”

Stay Tuned for Part 2

To find out more about the various cosmetic treatments offered by Silver Spring dentists, stay tuned for the second installment of this two-part article series.