Scientific research has confirmed that disturbing the colonization of bacteria found in plaque every three to four months significantly reduces its’ destructive nature.  It is the bacteria in plaque that damages the gums and underlying bone that supports the teeth. As bacterial plaque ages, the species become more damaging to these tissues. Your hygienist will advise you if your periodontal health would benefit from having shorter intervals between cleanings.

Factors that may influence your oral health and the need for more frequent cleanings include the following:

-The type of bacteria present in your mouth and your resistance to the destructive nature of these bacteria

-The presence and depth of gum pockets which are difficult to clean at home

-Various health conditions and medications that may cause dry mouth, gum problems or a suppressed immune system

-Difficult areas to clean allowing damaging plaque and tartar build-up

-Smoking

-Gum recession

-Pregnancy 

Periodontal or gum disease is often a chronic inflammatory disease which may introduce bacteria into the bloodstream.  If left untreated, it may stress your immune system making it more difficult to effectively treat and control other health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and respiratory disease.  Periodontal disease in pregnant women has also been linked to premature births.

Each individual has different types and varying amounts of bacteria present in their mouth.  The manner and rate at which these bacteria accumulate and adhere to the teeth may also differ.  Helping our clients to maintain optimum oral health is our goal.   Your hygienist would be happy to discuss your treatment options.

Dental sealants are an excellent way to prevent the cavities that start on the biting surfaces of the back teeth.  Adult first molars erupt around the age of six years, and second molars around twelve years.

The biting surfaces of adult molars can form with many pits and irregular grooves in the enamel.  Some of these pits and grooves can be so narrow and deep that toothbrush bristles are too large to access to the bottom of the pit or groove. 

The bacterial plaque that is present in the mouth can get into the deep narrow crevices and once there, produce acids that start a cavity.

A dental sealant can be placed on the biting surface of the tooth to seal off the pits and grooves from the plaque, and by doing so, prevent decay.

Sealant material is not as hard or long lasting as filling material, and may require “touch ups” as it wears.

As a sealant protects only the biting surface of the tooth, good diet,brushing and flossing habits are still required to prevent decay on other surfaces and in between the teeth.

Decay is the destruction, softening, and eating away of the hard tooth tissue.   First, the outer layer of your tooth, which is made of enamel, then the somewhat softer inner layer of your tooth, called the dentin is affected.

Enamel and dentin once destroyed, do not reform. If decay continues to go deep into the tooth, the nerve tissue (pulp) will die and the tooth will need either a root canal or to be extracted.

For good function (chewing, speaking) and maintenance of gums, teeth should keep their shape.

If a tooth has a large area “hollowed out” by decay, the tooth could break under the gum tissue and not be repairable unless a gum surgery called Crown Lengthening is completed.  

X-rays are a very valuable tool as your dentist is unable to see in between your teeth or under your gums without them. 

X-rays allow the dentist to see areas of your mouth and teeth that would otherwise be invisible.  Among other things they can show any decay (cavities) starting between the teeth, cysts, and infections.  The dentist also monitors bone levels and periodontal (gum) disease.

This means the dentist is able to detect and treat dental problems before the patient is even aware of them.

If you wait for a cavity to get big enough to cause you pain, it means that cavity is already disturbing the nerve (pulp) of your tooth.

If decay and infection go undetected and untreated, they can lead to pain and discomfort as well as more involved and costly treatment.

Many patients are concerned with the radiation from x-rays.  With the newer technology available with digital radiation, we have been able to drastically reduce the amount of radiation from dental x-rays. 

The maximum yearly exposure for a Canadian radiation worker has been set at 5000 millirems.  Dental bitewing (cavity detecting) x-rays are 0.5 millirems.  It would take almost 10,000 dental x-rays to reach the maximum safe yearly dose.

Information about medications you are currently taking can be very important to your health care provider, especially in an emergency.

Many medications have direct side effects that can affect your mouth and teeth.

Some medications can cause reduced saliva flow, which can cause discomfort and an increase in cavities.  The dentist and hygienist can suggest products and homecare techniques to minimize the possible long term damage of this.

There are certain medical conditions that may require you dentist to change the type of local anaesthetic (freezing) that would be used.

Your dental team needs to know what medications you are on and any allergies that you may have to avoid any drug interactions in case you require a prescription from the dentist.

Fluoride is beneficial to oral health by making teeth more resistant to decay.  Fluoride can prevent or even reverse early tooth decay in the outer layer of enamel of the tooth. Fluoride also helps to reduce sensitivity and decay on exposed root surfaces.

Fluoride can be applied topically at home with a fluoridated mouth rinse and toothpaste, as well as in- office fluoride treatments, which are much stronger.

Children under the age of three should only use toothpaste with fluoride if they are at risk for decay. Consult your dentist to find out if your child is at risk. If such a risk exists, the child’s teeth should be brushed by an adult using a minimal amount (a portion the size of a grain of rice) of fluoridated toothpaste. Use of fluoridated toothpaste in a small amount has been determined to achieve a balance between the benefits of fluoride and the risk of developing fluorosis. If your child is not considered to be at risk, the teeth should be brushed using a soft toothbrush with water only.

For children from 3 to 6 years of age, only a small amount (a portion the size of a green pea) of fluoridated toothpaste should be used. Children in this age group should be assisted by an adult in brushing their teeth.

Fluoride ingested within the optimal dosage range causes no health risks. 

Dental fluorosis is a change in the appearance of teeth.  It is caused by higher than optimal amounts of fluoride being ingested in early childhood.  It its mildest and most common form, it causes small white specks on the child’s teeth.

With the exception of dental fluorosis, scientific studies have not found any credible link between fluoridation and adverse health effects.

Find out more at www.cda-adc.ca/en/oral_health/faqs/fluoride_faqs.asp

During your dental cleaning, the hygienist is actively working both above and below the gumline.  Deep gum pockets or inflamed gum tissue around a specific area or generally throughout your mouth may cause an increase in discomfort from the tissue during scaling.

The only way to help the tissue to become less inflamed is to remove the mature plaque and rough areas of tartar from below the gums.  There are options available to increase tissue comfort during your dental cleaning visit.  We offer topical numbing agents and if needed a dentist can administer a local anaesthetic (freezing).

It is not always the gum tissue that is sensitive during your cleaning visit, but the root surfaces of the teeth. Your dentist or hygienist will usually recommend desensitizing toothpaste and a fluoride rinse to be used regularly as part of your homecare routine to decrease root sensitivity. Use an extra-soft tooth brush that is gentle on the gum tissue, enamel and root surface.

There are in-office desensitizing treatments which may help make you more comfortable. 

A bruxism appliance (night guard) will not stop your clenching or grinding habit, but it will reduce the damage to both the teeth and jaw joint.

The custom made acrylic appliance will “wear” away before your teeth.  Grinding and clenching can cause sensitivity, chipping of enamel, jaw problems and headaches.

Usually, regular use of the appliance will help alleviate some of the discomfort associated with a night clenching and grinding habit.  While not every patient gets the desired relief, most patients’ symptoms decrease and the appliance protects the teeth from further wear.

No.  The dentist and hygienist have the appropriate instruments and techniques to safely remove calculus (tartar), plaque and stain build-up without causing damage to the teeth.

Polishing teeth removes surface stain and plaque. Stains from coffee, tea, dark foods, wines and smoking can usually be removed.  Polishing will not remove stains that are within the tooth structure.  Polishing cannot whiten or bleach your teeth. If you see your hygienist two or more times per year, you may not need polishing each time, if you don’t tend to build up much surface stain.  Your dentist or hygienist can discuss if you would benefit from polishing.  

We don’t know.

We are happy to provide estimates for proposed treatment for you and your insurance company.  Because there are a multitude of insurance companies, each with several different levels of plans available, it is impossible for us to know what coverage you have. If you have questions about your plan and have your plan details or booklet available, we would be happy to review it with you. Your insurance plan is a contract between you and your insurance provider and we will gladly assist you with the associated forms, but communication has to go between you and your insurance company due to privacy laws. Every plan has certain coverages and limitations. These limitations do not mean any person covered under that plan doesn’t require any of those treatments, just that the insurance plan is not going to pay for them.

When we propose treatment to you, it is because it is in your best interest to consider that treatment, not based upon your insurance coverages and allowances. 

There are an abundance of oral hygiene aids available on the market today and choosing what to use can be a daunting task.

Most products target specific conditions and areas of your mouth. So, not every product can be used by everyone and some products may actually cause damage to teeth and gums if used improperly.  Consult with your dentist or hygienist to see which aids may be beneficial for you.

If gum tissue completely fills the space in between your teeth in a nice flat tight triangle of gum tissue (papilla), you will not have room between the teeth for a go-between brush.  Go-between brushes are meant to brush and stimulate the area right in between the teeth.  If your gum tissue has pulled back or receded and “opened up” the space between your teeth, a go-between brush or proxybrush that can access between the teeth should be added to your daily routine of brushing and flossing.

Floss is intended to slip below the gumline and wrap around the tooth to disturb and clean plaque out of the pocket. 

Proxybrush and go-betweens are typically used above the gumline unless otherwise directed and demonstrated by your dentist or hygienist.

Sulcabrush is intended to be used as a gumline brush. It is not designed to reach all the way in between the teeth and does not replace the function of dental floss.

This is an extremely frustrating situation for many patients.  There are many factors that can contribute to the build-up of deposits in your mouth. 

Plaque or bacterial plaque is the white, sticky, soft deposit that it constantly growing, forming and reproducing in your mouth.  It gives you the fuzzy feel on your teeth, particularly in the morning. If you take a small scraping from along the gumline and put it under a high powered microscope, it is full of quite lively bacteria.  This bacterium grows and multiplies constantly.  When we clean our teeth at home with toothbrush, floss and other aids, we are trying to remove as much of this soft plaque as possible.  Plaque is responsible for gum disease and cavities.

If we are unable to remove all of this soft plaque with 24-48 hours, it starts to harden or calcify onto our teeth. As saliva washes over areas of this soft plaque left on the teeth, salts and minerals deposit into it and start this calcification process. At this point, once plaque has hardened onto the tooth, it is now called calculus or tartar.  It is no longer removable with brush and floss.  As small bits of calculus form, they provide further rough surface for the soft plaque to stick to and help to perpetuate the formation of the calculus build-up.

Some patients seem to develop or grow more plaque than others. Some people’s plaque calcifies into tartar more quickly than others.  Some calculus or tartar is far more tenacious to remove than others.

If you have reduced saliva flow due to medications or a medical condition, you may have increased plaque accumulations. Saliva actually helps to flush food particles and plaque from our teeth.  Decreased saliva flow means less natural flushing action.  Patients with softer diets tend to have increased accumulation of plaque and calculus as harder foods can help knock some of the plaque off of teeth before it has a chance to calcify.

It only takes 24-48 hours for any plaque you may have missed with your toothbrush and floss to become hardened into calculus.

Keeping up with your homecare is very important but sometimes the amount of deposits that can build up still require frequent professional cleaning despite your best efforts.

Periodontal probing or “pocket measurements” are recorded on a regular basis to monitor the health of your gum tissue and bone support around your teeth.

A normal and healthy probing depth is 1-3 mm.

If the gum tissue becomes inflamed due to plaque build-up, we can see an increase in the probing depth, and possibly tissue bleeding with probing. The depth may be 3-4 mm, but tissue colour, tone, bleeding are taken into account and you may have gingivitis.

The gum tissue may look red, inflamed and soft and when we take pocket measurements we may find probing depths from 4-6 mm.  These reading indicate that the problem is not only affecting the gum tissue that is visible, but is causing destruction of bone around the tooth. This is early periodontitis and bone loss around a tooth is not reversible.  Left untreated the periodontal disease progresses until you have very deep probing depths and possible mobility of the tooth due to lack of bone support.

Gingivitis and periodontitis can look very similar if we only look at the tissue colour, tone, inflammation and bleeding.  It is not until we take actual measurements that we can be sure if the problem is causing bone destruction or not.  Regular pocket measurements allow us to be aware of any changes taking place before they become a problem. 

We feel very lucky to have such variety in choice of providers within a short drive of our city.  There may be conditions or procedures which you require that are beyond the scope of a general dentist.  We refer patients on a regular basis to dental specialists who have more expertise in difficult cases and situations to try to ensure the best outcome for our patients.

We have a wonderful network of specialists in Barrie in case you need more specialized care in the areas of Oral Surgery (wisdom teeth, implant surgery, jaw surgery, biopsy), Endodontics (root canal), Periodontics (Gum Specialist), Prosthodontics (rebuilding of occlusion with dentures or implants and crowns). 

Yes.

We require an x-ray of the root to check for infections, split roots, curved or hooked roots or any other complicating factors prior to extraction.  We also need to perform an examination to make sure that extraction is the only viable treatment option and ensure there are no medical contraindications. If the tooth can be saved, you would be informed prior to making your decision on a treatment option.

If a tooth requires extraction, and the dentist determines that there is unlikely to be any major complications with the extraction, we will proceed with the removal of the tooth. If there are likely to be complications with the extraction, the dentist may refer you to a specialist.

We do not “put you out” in our office. If you require sedation, we will refer you to a specialist.  We do have nitrous oxide (laughing gas) available.  Nitrous oxide does not put you to sleep, you are awake and aware of your surroundings, and you just don’t feel anxious about it! You are able to drive right after your appointment as the nitrous oxide does not stay in your system.

Post-operative instructions will be given to you and tooth replacement options will be discussed. 

Do you do root canals at this office? Yes and no.

Root canal treatment is very specialized.  We do perform some root canal treatments in our office but there are some that we refer to a root canal specialist called an Endodontist.

If a tooth has a single nerve canal with a straight root, we generally perform a great root canal here in this office. When a tooth has four small, twisting nerve canals in a molar at the very back of your mouth with ongoing problems, we are likely to refer that treatment to a specialist. 

We tend to think of thrush as something only babies get.  Thrush is actually an opportunistic yeast infection in your mouth and more adults have it than you would think. It is also called oral candidiasis.

Thrush is most commonly seen in the elderly, infants and medically compromised individuals.

It can take on different appearances but still be a form of thrush.  It may appear as a creamy white soft coating that can be wiped away to expose bright red tissue underneath. It may appear as white areas that cannot be wiped away. It may also be cracked corners of your mouth that just don’t want to seem to heal.

You may not have any discomfort with this infection or you may have the feeling of a burning mouth, tingling, metallic and foul taste.

You are more prone to developing thrush if you have had long term use of a denture or orthodontic appliance, poor oral hygiene, decreased saliva flow, or over-closure of your lips (think of an elderly person and how it can appear that they have folds at the corners of their lips).

You are more prone to developing thrush if you have a weakened immune system. Patients dealing with uncontrolled diabetes, malnutrition, stress or other medical problems are more likely to develop thrush.

If you’ve recently completed a course of broad spectrum antibiotics, use a steroid inhaler, had an organ transplant or undergone chemotherapy, you are at risk for developing thrush.

Once identified, treatment of thrush is fairly straightforward. If there are dentures or orthodontic appliances involved the appliances need to be cleaned.  Ask your dentist or hygienist for details on proper techniques to kill the yeast on the appliance.  

If you have reduced saliva flow, ensure you are drinking plenty of water and take products with xylitol to improve saliva flow.

If your thrush is appearing as the cracked corners of your mouth that will not heal, STOP licking them! Discard all previously used lip balm or lip stick.

If you use a steroid inhaler, brush and rinse your palate after each dose.  Review your inhalation technique and consider using an inhalation chamber.

Your dentist can prescribe you the appropriate rinse and/or ointment to treat the thrush as it typically does not clear up on its own.