Are Bleeding Gums A Problem?

One of our goals is to help our patients have excellent oral health. It is important for patients to regularly check the state of their oral health and be mindful of any changes. One issue that you may notice on occasion is bleeding gums. This is typically seen when you are brushing and rinsing your mouth. It is not unusual for bleeding gums to occur from time to time; however, if you notice this being a frequent issue, it is best to visit our office to be sure no problems have developed. Some possible causes of bleeding gums can include:

Is Your Lifestyle Negatively Affecting Your Oral Health?

One of our top priorities is to ensure that you have optimal oral health. We do this by encouraging patients to maintain their routine hygiene examination appointments and receive treatment for any problem areas. Unfortunately, some patients have habits that can lead to complications and problems with their oral health, such as:

Is This Bad Habit Harming Your Oral Health?

Do you wake up in the morning and feel discomfort in your jaw and are having a hard time figuring out what could be the problem? If so, you may be suffering from problems related to a condition known as bruxism. Bruxism is the term used to describe a condition where a patient repeatedly clenches and grinds their teeth unconsciously. If not treated in a timely fashion, bruxism can lead to serious oral health complications and the need for additional treatments. One of the biggest problems with this condition is that patients are often unaware of it until they are diagnosed by a dentist because bruxism commonly occurs during sleep.

Medication And The Effect On Oral Health

At Parker & Pennington Dentistry, we know we have a number of patients who take medication daily as a way to treat and prevent health problems. You may be surprised to learn that many medications that help your overall health can cause problems with your oral health. We want to share some of the common side effects and tips to help your oral health:

Try These Relaxation Tips Before Your Next Appointment

Do you feel nervous or uneasy before you visit our office? If so, you are not alone. There are many people who experience some form of nerves or anxiety before they visit the dentist. We never want your feelings to keep you from getting the dental care you need and deserve. Delaying dental care can lead to serious oral health issues, which in turn leads to more time in our office. We want to offer some tips to help you relax before your next visit:

The Importance Of Routine Dental Care

At Parker & Pennington Dentistry, we stress the importance of routine dental care. We encourage every patient to visit us for a hygiene examination and cleaning a minimum of every six months. Some patients who are receiving certain treatments or being monitored may be required to visit more often than six months. With the start of the new year, now is the perfect time to reflect on your last hygiene appointment. If it has been longer than six months since we have seen you, it is time for a visit! We also encourage you to think about the goals you have for your oral health during the next year. Are there any treatments or problems in the mouth you would like to treat?

Learn More About Dental Insurance And The Effect On Your Care

At Parker and Pennington Dentistry, we care greatly about our patients as well as the state of their oral health. Nothing upsets us more than when we learn that patients are not receiving oral care due to dental insurance costs or are not receiving quality care due to the limitations and restrictions set forth by the insurance company. Unfortunately, dental insurance companies don’t always have the patient’s best interest in mind and instead will cover treatments that follow a specific guideline, saving them money. These guidelines many times don’t follow a plan that is what is best needed to restore your oral health. This is the reason we categorize ourselves as a non-restricted provider. Dr. Parker and Dr. Pennington recently sat down to discuss what this means and how it can be beneficial to your dental health. Click above to watch the video.

Root Canal Therapy: A Tooth Saving Treatment

At Parker and Pennington Dentistry, we do everything we can to save our patients’ teeth. For teeth that have experienced severe decay or trauma, one way we save teeth is with root canal therapy. Unfortunately, over the years, thanks in part to movies and television, root canal treatment has often been portrayed as a scary or painful procedure. We greatly dislike these insinuations because root canal therapy is the complete opposite. It is a treatment that can eliminate discomfort, and it keeps patients from losing their natural teeth. We want to explain a little more about this treatment so that patients may understand what a help it can be to their oral health.

Important Information About Gum Disease

Has it been some time since you last visited our office for a hygiene examination and cleaning? If so, we recommend scheduling your next appointment today. We recommend routine exams every six months, with some patients requiring more frequent appointments. During these appointments, we do more than clean the teeth and inspect for decay, we also look for other oral conditions that can greatly affect not only your oral health but your overall health as well. One condition that we inspect for is gum disease. Gum disease affects more than half of American adults and is known as the silent disease because it does not have common warning signs as do other issues such as decay.

Why Routine Care Is So Important

One of our goals is to help you keep your natural teeth for your entire life. There are a number of ways that we do this, but the most important is through hygiene examinations and cleanings. When you visit us for routine appointments, we not only clean your teeth thoroughly, but we also inspect for other diseases that can seriously impact your oral health. Do you know which oral disease affects more than half of American adults and is one of the leading causes of tooth loss in adults? Read on to learn if you guessed correctly.