Sore Mouth – Learn More

Canker sores (better known as aphthous ulcers) are one of the most common oral conditions affecting people everywhere. Up to 25 percent of the population has these small, painful, persistent sores, with recurrence rates of up to 50 percent.

Canker sores appear on the tongue, soft palate, insides of the cheeks or lips and base of the gums. While they have the benefit of not usually being visible, they are likely to make eating, swallowing and speaking painful.

Cause of Canker Sores

Canker sores are not viral or infectious. They may be hereditary since 30 to 40 percent of those with recurrent canker sores have a family history of the condition. According to research reported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, “Canker sores may be caused by a faulty immune system that uses the body’s defenses against disease to attack and destroy the normal cells of the mouth or tongue.”

Simply stated, their cause is unknown; however, common canker sore triggers may include:

• Stress.
• Immune deficiencies.
• Illness or infection.
• Gastrointestinal disease.
• Tissue manipulation — including prophylactic dental and gum cleanings and overzealous tooth-brushing.
• Tissue injury — for example, biting the inside of the mouth.
• Eating abrasive foods (such as potato chips, dry cereals and dried fruits), acidic foods (such as vinegar) and spicy foods (curries, chilis and hot sauces).
• Food or contact allergies.
• Although not yet proven, nutritional deficiencies — particularly a lack of vitamin B-12, folic acid or iron — may also play a role.

Canker Sore Diagnosis

If you suspect you have canker sores, you may wish to consult with your dentist first to rule out a more serious type of mouth sore. Dentists specializing in oral health conditions are in a better position than physicians when it comes to diagnosing and managing these sores — and particularly at distinguishing them from intraoral herpes, a contagious viral condition which may lead to serious problems in people with an impaired immune system.

To learn more call Dr. Ralph Reilly 732-356-9120

USA Today – Dentist Brush Up on Spa Therapies for Patient Relaxation

As early as 200,1 USA today noted that dentists were using spa therapies to promote patient relaxation.

Does your dentist’s office seem more like a spa than the offices you remember as a child? This is not merely luck! Dentists today understand patient comfort more than ever before  – and they also know that offering luxurious treatments and comforting amenities like paraffin hand dips, heated towels, espresso and lattes in the office create value that is more appreciated by patients than which dental school they graduated from.

Comfort and convenience are key in creating happy life-long patients – Dr. Ralph Reilly and team are committed to your comfort. If you are interested in learning more about the home-like atmosphere of his office call today 732.356.9120 or check our website www.advanceddentistry.net

Baseball Injuries Happen – Protect that Smile!

According to a new study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital an estimated 132,000 high school baseball-related injuries occurred with an injury rate of more than one per 1,000 athletic exposures. 

The study cited, being hit by a batted ball is one of the more common mechanisms of baseball-related injuries and one of the most serious. More than half of the injuries that occurred as a result of being hit by a batted ball were to the head/face and teeth and 40 percent resulted in fractures, lacerations or concussions. When compared to other injuries, injured players struck by a batted ball were more than twice as likely to require surgery. The study also found pitchers are not the only players at risk. Half of the injuries attributed to being hit by a batted ball were sustained during fielding.

“Based on our findings regarding the risk of sustaining an injury when hit by a batted ball, we strongly recommend helmets with face shields or at least mouth guards and eye protection be used by all pitchers, infielders and batters at the high school level,” explained the study’s lead author Christy Collins, MA, research associate in CIRP of Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

“The use of face guards among batters is becoming more accepted in youth baseball,” added study co-author Dawn Comstock, PhD, principal investigator in CIRP of Nationwide Children’s and faculty member of The Ohio State University College of Medicine. “However, the use of proven protective equipment such as face shields, mouth guards and eye protection is not yet widely accepted by players and coaches at the high school level. Research shows that wearing such protective equipment reduces the risk of sports-related facial and dental injuries.”

If your child participates in an organized sport make sure their smile is protected – make sure they wear a mouthguard.

This important information was brought to you by Ralph Reilly, to learn more about preventing dental injury contact the team at Advanced Dentistry www.advanceddentistry.net or 732.356.9120.

 

Dental Disease What You Need to Know

Did you know there are two main dental diseases?

Caries (cavaties or decay) and Periodontal disease.

There are many factors that may increase your risk for these diseases – are you aware of what they are?  Tooth decay is one of the most common diseases affecting adults and children in the US today second only to the common cold. 

Questions to ask yourself? Keep track of your points

 

Do you use a toothpaste that contains fluoride? If NO 2 points

Do you drink beverages that contain sugar or do you add sugar to drinks such as coffee or tea more than three times a day? If YES, 2 points

Have you had more than two new cavities in the last three years? If YES, 2 points

Do you snack on candy or other sugary foods more than twice a day? If YES, 2 points

Have you lost a tooth in the last three years due to decay? If YES, 2 points

Do you brush your teeth less than twice a day? If YES, 1 point

Does the water you drink and cook with contain fluoride? If NO, 1 point

Do you have your teeth cleaned at least once a year by a dentist or a dental hygienist? If NO, 1 point

Do you take any medicine that makes your mouth dry or is your mouth dry as a result of radiation therapy or some other condition? If YES, 1 point

Do you clean between your teeth with dental floss or an interproximal brush at least once a day? If NO, 1 point

Is it uncomfortable to brush areas where your gums have receded? If YES, 1 point

 

 

Now, total up your points

 

If your score is 5 points or more you may be at higher risk for tooth decay.  See your dentist today and discuss how you can lower your risk for decay or call Dr. Ralph Reilly 732.356.9120 to learn more or if you are in need of happy dental home. Check out our website www.advanceddentistry.net

 

 

Energy Drinks Can Distress Your SMILE

In two years, the energy drink boom will have reached $10 billion. Energy drinks include those rather pricey caffeine and sugar crazy colas that everyone is drinking in mass quantities these days. Teens, twenty somethings, thirty somethings even grandmothers and grandfathers are consuming these beverages in extremely high volumes, however, teens, and young adults are the group hit hardest because they are the primary market for energy drinks. These drinks can be found in virtually every convenience store, in vending machines in malls and schools – ready for quick consumption. Many teens and young adults consider energy drinks to be cool – they get a quick burst of energy from the sugar rush and experience an almost euphoric feeling before the “sugar-crash”, which many times prompts them to consume another – creating an unending cycle of consumption.

Like acidic sodas of the past, recent studies show that energy drinks erode tooth enamel, which concerns oral health experts.  The best remedy to combat the ill effects of these drinks is to stay away from them or limit intake to minimal amounts very infrequently. For folks who just can’t give up their energy drink fix, here are a few tips from the AGD to help reduce the potential for tooth enamel erosion:

Drink with a straw positioned at the back of the mouth so teeth don’t come in contact with the beverage.

Rinse your mouth with water after an energy drink.

IF you are consumer of energy drinks be sure to see your dentist regularly. To learn more or to schedule a complimentary evaluation (valued at $120) to see if your energy drink consumption is distressing your smile – call Dr. Ralph Reilly at 732.356.9120

Dental Phobic Patients – Share Your Thoughts and Feelings

Most people with a dental phobia, the fear is tied up within the dentist-patient relationship. We would like to hear your thoughts on the following topics. Many times dental phobic or dental anxious patients can find comfort in knowing they are not alone – although they may feel that way until they meet or hear of someone experiencing the same things they do when faced with a visit to the dentist.

Consider the below questions, they are meant to be thought provoking – many times your wishes can easily be accomodated, all you need to do is communicate or express your thoughts with your dentist or their team. Most dental offices consider your comfort and trust their number one priority – once they have that together you begin to work together on ensuring your oral health is the best it could possibly be….

• What would my “ideal” visit to a dentist be like?
• What would the dentist be like? the dental support team?
• What would they do?
• What wouldn’t they do?
• How would I like to talk? In the dental chair in or in an office?
• Are there things I would prefer not to see? or smell? or hear?
• What relaxes me? Can I integrate that with my visit? (listening to music, reading, knitting, etc.)

Share your thoughts and positive experiences. Dr. Reilly and the Advanced Dentistry team ensure each and every patients comfort – we do whatever it takes to make sure you’re comfortable. To find out more about some of the comfort services we have available, check out www.advanceddentistry.net or call one of our patient care coordinators to schedule a time to stop by for a cup of coffee or tea to check us out with an office tour. We can discuss your thoughts and needs long before you ever have to sit in a dental chair – building a solid relationship is the first step to finding your happy dental home. Call us today 732.356.9120

 

MIDDLESEX COSMETIC DENTIST REMOVE STAINS ON TEETH TO CREATE BEAUTIFUL SMILES DAILY

Stained Teeth, which can be embarrassing to their owners may be changed into beautiful smiles by your Cosmetic Dentist. Porcelain veneers have become one cosmetic dental option that many people choose because the veneers are permanently white and also can correct crooked teeth and remove gaps that exist between teeth.

However, not everyone is willing to commit to the cost of a full-mouth Extreme Makeover of his or her smile. If you are pleased with the basic shape and appearance of your teeth, but wish that they were whiter, then the least expensive option to change and brighten your smile is Tooth Whitening by bleaching. Teeth Whitening also is the least invasive way to correct stains that may hide an otherwise beautiful smile. If the in-office tooth bleaching method is used, it is one of the fastest ways to cosmetically change your smile.

Several factors may lead to stained teeth, including the natural processes of normal aging, and eating foods and beverages. Genetically, some teeth may have a tendency to be gray, off white or yellow in appearance. Some people just naturally have brighter enamel than other people do. The amount of calcium in your teeth plays an important role in tooth color along with other nutritional factors. Some antibiotics can discolor your teeth. This often happens when these medicines are taken as a child while your teeth are still growing. Two antibiotics that cause the worst tooth discoloration and staining are tetracycline and minocycline.

Other things that can cause severe discoloring of teeth occur with cigarette, cigar and pipe smoking. Chewing tobacco is extremely detrimental to the color of your teeth. Additionally, all types of tobacco are inimical to your general overall health and should be avoided. Drinking red wine can contribute significantly to the discoloration and staining of your teeth. Other beverages such as coffee, tea, and some soft drinks with certain coloring dyes can cause tooth staining and darkening of the teeth. Tooth damage can occur over a long period of time from the sugar we eat, which can aide in the alteration of tooth color by changing the enamel structure of the teeth. Regular tooth care and regular use of whitening agents can help to improve the color of your teeth. While modern toothpastes can assist in removing minor surface stains on teeth, deep tooth stains are best handled by whitening agents prescribed by your Cosmetic Dentist. . If you’re using a whitening agent, remember to brush your teeth regularly. This helps ameliorate any long-term chemical effects following the use of Tooth Whitening and bleaching agents.

Improving stained teeth can sometimes prove to be very difficult. Discussing the various options available to you with your Cosmetic Dentists is an effective way to learn about the most modern dental techniques that will remove stains from your teeth. In-office whitening of teeth is the fastest way to bleach teeth, but it is also the most expensive method. At-home Teeth Whitening is less expensive but requires a longer time to yield the same results as in-office bleaching. Over-the-counter Tooth Whitening agents are the least expensive method of bleaching and they are also the least effective method of Teeth Whitening. Ask Dr Ralph Reilly about tooth-whitening options that are available. They include a number of over-the-counter whitening systems, whitening toothpastes, and the latest high-tech option–laser tooth whitening. For maximum whitening, experts agree that peroxide is usually the best bleaching agent to use. Bleaching procedures that are supervised by your Cosmetic Dentist and that are done either in-office or at-home have become among the most popular tooth bleaching treatment options. You should talk to your Cosmetic Dentists before beginning any Tooth Whitening program, because not all teeth are good candidates to be bleached. Yellow teeth are the best candidates for whitening, while brownish teeth are the next best candidates. Grey and dark-gray to blackish teeth are very difficult to bleach and may require porcelain veneers to correct the color of them. People with any type of gum problems should always consult with their Cosmetic Dentist.

Please call Advanced Dentistry and Dr. Ralph Reilly today to learn what teeth whitening procedures are available to you 732.356.9120 or check out www.advanceddentistry.net for more information.

Most Common Causes of Dental Fears and Phobias

• Bad experiences: Dental phobia is most often caused by bad, or in some cases horrific, dental experiences (studies suggest that this is true for about 80 -85% of dental phobias).
• A history of abuse: Dental phobia is also common in people who have been sexually abused, particularly in childhood. A history of bullying or having been physically or emotionally abused by a person in authority may also contribute to developing dental phobia, especially in combination with bad experiences with dentists.
• Uncaring dentist: It is often thought, even among dental professionals, that it is the fear of pain that keeps people from seeing a dentist. But even where pain is the person’s major concern, it is not pain per se that is necessarily the problem. Otherwise, dental phobics would not avoid the dentist even when in pain from toothache. Rather, it is pain inflicted by a dentist who is perceived as cold and controlling that has a huge psychological impact. Pain inflicted by a dentist who is perceived as caring is much less likely to result in psychological trauma.
• Humiliation: Other causes of dental phobia include insensitive, humiliating remarks by a dentist or hygienist. In fact, insensitive remarks and the intense feelings of humiliation they provoke are one of the main factors which can cause or contribute to a dental phobia. Human beings are social animals, and negative social evaluation will upset most people, apart from the most thick-skinned individuals. If you’re the sensitive type, negative evaluation can be shattering.
• Vicarious learning: Another cause is observational learning. If a parent or other caregiver is scared of dentists, children may pick up on this and learn to be scared as well, even in the absence of bad experiences. Also, hearing other people’s horror stories about visits to the psychodentist can have a similar effect.
• Preparedness: Some subtypes of dental phobia may indeed be defined as “irrational” in the traditional sense. People may be inherently “prepared” to learn certain phobias, such as needle phobia. For millions of years people who quickly learned to avoid snakes, heights, and lightning (and sharp objects, such as needles, which would not have been sterilized in those days, apart from giving you a nasty sting!) probably had a good chance to survive and to transmit their genes. So it may not take a painful encounter with a needle to develop a phobia.
• Post-Traumatic Stress: Research suggests that people who’ve had horrific dental experiences (unsurprisingly) suffer from symptoms typically reported by people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is characterized by intrusive thoughts of the bad experience and nightmares about dentists or dental situations.

If you have experienced any of these causes or had a unique experience that you feel has lead to fear or phobia and would like to discuss how to start overcoming it and get on the oral health track call our office today 732.356.9120. Dr. Reilly and his team are ready to help you, with caring and compassionate service we will help guide you to a relaxed and comfortable dental experience.

 

Dental Anxiety, Dental Fear, and Dental Phobia – Is There a Difference?

YES! A distinction has been made between dental anxiety, dental fear, and dental phobia.

DENTAL ANXIETY is a reaction to an UNKNOWN danger. Anxiety is extremely common, and most people experience some degree of dental anxiety especially if they’re about to have something done which they’ve never experienced before. Basically, it’s a fear of the unknown.

DENTAL FEAR is a reaction to a known danger (“I know what the dentist is going to do, been there, done that – I’m scared!!”), which involves a fight-or-flight response when confronted with the threatening stimulus.

DENTAL PHOBIA is basically the same as fear, only much stronger (“I know what happens when I go to the dentist – there’s no way I’m going back if I can help it. I’m so terrified I feel sick”). Also, the fight-or-flight response occurs when just thinking about or being reminded of the situation.

 

Someone with a dental phobia will avoid dental care at all costs until either a physical problem or the psychological burden of the phobia becomes overwhelming.

 

How is dental phobia measured?

There are various instruments for researchers which attempt to measure the degree of the fear, such as Corah’s Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) and a shorter version, the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS).  However, if you suffer from dental phobia, you won’t find it too hard to beat the high score, never mind being scared enough to qualify! And honestly, the score doesn’t matter except to the researchers – any anxiety, fear, or phobia is real and needs to be treated uniquely in a caring and compassionate way.

Problems with defining dental phobia

ASK yourself the following question: “Am I terrified of dentists and avoid them at all costs?” If the answer is yes, this is a good indicator of dental phobia! Even seemingly innocuous reminders of anything dental-related may produce a panic-attack if you suffer from dental phobia, such as people talking about dentists or teeth, toothpaste commercials, or “dental words”. One problem with defining dental phobia is that “dental anxiety” (a reaction to an unknown danger) may feel just as frightening as a “phobia” to a person, and they may well be defined (or define themselves) as phobic. From what little research there is available, this may be more common in people who are generally anxious. Also, some people who’ve never had a bad experience with a dentist or a dental procedure can develop dental fear or phobia – this is usually the result of vicarious learning (that is, scare-stories or media portrayal).

“Dental phobia” is simply useful short-hand for “terror at the thought of dentists and/or dentistry and/or anything dental-related”. Some people feel that their fear is justified and rational, while others feel they’re being silly for getting so upset over something which “everyone else” seems to have no problem with. “Dental Phobia” is really an umbrella term which covers a wide range of different fears.

 

No matter if you suffer from anxiety or fear or phobia – Dr. Reilly is caring, compassionate, and specially trained to help you. Please call our office today 732.356.9120 to learn more about how the Advanced Dentistry team can help you start overcoming your phobias and fears today.

 

 

 

What is Dental Phobia?

A “phobia” is traditionally defined as “an irrational severe fear that leads to avoidance of the feared situation, object or activity” (even though the Greek word “phobia” simply means fear…). Exposure to the feared stimulus provokes an immediate anxiety response, which may take the form of a panic attack. The phobia causes a lot of distress, and impacts on other aspects of the individual’s life, not just their oral health. Dental phobics will spend an awful lot of time thinking about their teeth, dentists, and dental situations, or spend a lot of time trying NOT to think of teeth, dentists, and dental situations. In today’s society, which is saturated with multiple reminders such as toothpaste commercials, cosmetic dental options, and whitening commercials, it is nearly impossible for dental phobics to not be in a constant state of angst.

 

Phobics especially, understand the need to for care since many times their phobia has kept them away from the dental office for extended periods of time. These long absences from care usually only compound the problem – the delay of treatment many times increases the severity of problem. Untreated dental disease is progressive disease.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) describes dental phobia as a “marked and persistent fear that is excessive or unreasonable”. It also assumes that the person recognizes that the fear is excessive or unreasonable. Conclusion? The DSM-IV criteria were obviously not decided upon by a representative group of dental phobics (read on to see why) and although they recognize dental phobia as a mental disorder many of those who suffer would not agree and neither would the dentist who specialize in treating phobics. Dental phobia is common! 

 

Dental phobia does appear to be more common in people who suffer from other psychiatric disorder, notably Generalized Anxiety Disorder, agoraphobia, depression, and emetophobia. Research suggests that about 20% of dental phobics have a concurrent disorder. The main problem in defining “dental phobia” is that there isn’t just ONE type of dental phobia, but many types – some rational, and some which seem more “irrational”. Although, most sufferers and treating dentists would argue that no fear is “irrational”. Fear is fear regardless of it is routed in fact or perceptions.

 

Bracha and others (2006, HI Dental Journal) have suggested that the term dental phobia is typically a misnomer, for much the same reasons outlined here. Whether fear is “unreasonable”, “excessive”, or “irrational” is not for some textbook to define – fear is real and if you end up in the hands of a dentists not trained to handle those fears the phobia can increase and reactions can worsen.

To learn more about phobia and how it can be treated properly – call Advanced Dentistry 732.356.9120 and schedule your complimentary office tour. Come in and check us out find out how we specialize in treating dental phobics and what we can do to make your next visit to the dentist enjoyable!