1)Wisdom tooth symptoms

Are your wisdom teeth giving you pain? Are you able to identify your jaw pain causes?  If there is not sufficient space for your wisdom teeth to erupt in mouth, they are impacted. Sometimes there may be no symptoms at all. But sometimes impacted wisdom teeth cause tenderness, swelling, redness and severe pain.  Seldom do people pay attention to them.  Other wisdom teeth symptoms include sore tooth and jaw, jaw pain headache, jaw pain when eating, jaw pain near ear and sore gum behind molar.

Impacted or partially erupted wisdom teeth can attract a lot of plaque and food , and depending on angulation of these teeth, they may even cause a shift in the alignment of your other teeth. If you notice soreness or swelling near your wisdom teeth, it is vital to have them checked. Sometimes, it may be a good idea to have all wisdom teeth removed simultaneously under sedation at hospital to provide jaw pain relief.

At Valley Gentle Dental, our dentists with the aid of  Xrays can diagnose the need of wisdom teeth removal.  Our dentist has visiting rights to operate at Maryvale Private Hospital.

2)If you notice a loose/mobile tooth, see your dentist

While loose/mobile tooth is perfectly normal when a child is ready to lose his/her baby tooth, it is not normal for an adult to have loose/mobile tooth and you need to see a dentist about it.  The most common reason for a loose tooth in an adult is gum/periodontal disease.  And since gum or periodontal disease can cause tooth loss, it is important to consult a dentist.

Occasionally, a loose tooth can be a sign of oral cancer. A tumour can cause loss of jaw bone and supporting structure surrounding a tooth.  An accident/trauma to head and neck area to your mouth can also loosen a tooth.

At Valley Gentle Dental, our dentists can see you to find out the causes of your loose tooth.

3)Bad breath in your mouth that needs attention

Bad breath can develop as a result of  a consequence of eating food like garlic or onion. What causes bad breath even after brushing?  It could mean you are not cleaning your teeth and gums thoroughly, and as a result large increase of bacteria. But sometimes bad breath causes may include other oral related problems like gum disease, sinusitis, throat infection, tooth decay or a dental abscess.

You may not be fully aware of your bad breath problem. But if you are unable to improve on your bad breath problem by easy bad breath cures like drinking more water or using sugar free gum, consult your dentist.  Your dentist can guide you on how to cure bad breath permanently.

At Valley Gentle Dental, our dentists can help you to find out the reasons and treat your bad breath problem.

4)An Ulcer that does not heal

If you notice an ulcer, a lump or a red or white patch on your tongue, cheek or gum, and maybe bleeding gums when brushing or even bleeding gums without brushing, monitor it for a couple of weeks. If it increases in size or change its appearance, see your dentist immediate.  Oral cancer is very common and manifests itself in all different appearances. Very often, oral cancer is asymptomatic during its initial phases, but when symptomatic, it may be too advanced to treat effectively.

At Valley Gentle Dental, our dentists may help to diagnose an unresolved mouth lesion.

1) Using our teeth as apparatus . We all encounter a moment in time where we can’t find a bottle opener, or a pistachio nut which we are unable to remove the shell. The temptation to use your teeth as as apparatus may be great, but it is dangerous.

Your teeth are designed to bite and cut your food and to smile. While they are harder than your bones, they can still chip or fracture when they encounter similarly hard substances.  Teeth that are heavily filled are also very vulnerable to cracks requiring cracked tooth syndrome treatment and cracked tooth pain relief.

Next time don’t use your teeth as apparatus, consider using the right tool for the right job.

2) Chewing Idiosyncrasies. We have seen many people enjoy the habits of chewing on things like pencils, paper clips, ice cubes and etc. Here at Valley Gentle Dental Traralgon Dentists Clinic, our team of dentists always warn you  against these chewing idiosyncrasies. These habits can potentially be harmful for your teeth causing chipped tooth pain which requires chipped tooth repair.

If you have to chew  while you work, chew on a piece of sugar-free chewing gum.

Exercise and Your Teeth

3) Spending too much time in sports activities. Latest studies suggest long sessions of sports activities are detrimental to teeth. These activities reduce your salivary flow, which in turn cause your teeth to be prone to decay.  Sports drinks which are usually consumed in conjunction with sports activities are loaded with sugar.  These drinks will damage your teeth.

If you have to drink, drink water.

4) Grinding . Have you notice, sometimes when you are late for work or school, or sometimes you have to meet a certain deadline for your project, you seem to be clenching teeth while awake? Subconsciously, clenching of jaw leads to grinding of your teeth.  If you grind your teeth too regularly, you may wear down your teeth causing severe sensitivity.  If you grind your teeth while asleep, you may be suffering from bruxism.  Teeth grinding in babies or teeth grinding in children are however common.

Here at Valley Gentle Dental Traralgon Dentists Clinic, if you are diagnosed with teeth grinding, we can make you a custom nightguard or teeth grinding mouth guard as teeth grinding treatment or teeth grinding solutions.  We use Pride Dental Care as providers of all our lab work.

5) Contact sports. We love our footy.  But how many of your teammates wear a proper mouth guard?  Many of injuries at footy field are avoidable including cracked front tooth, small chipped tooth and slightly chipped tooth.

Consult us today at Valley Gentle Dental Traralgon Dentists clinic, for a custom made mouth guard.  We can even use your team colour.

Traralgon Dentists: Can “Oral Hygiene” Harm Your Dental Health?

6) Brushing immediately after you eat. Most people are unaware that cleaning your teeth immediately you eat can be harmful. Acids created by your saliva to dissolve food exist most during and immediately after meals.

To counter the acids, you can consider chewing on a piece of sugar free chewing gum or even a piece of cheese before you clean your teeth.

7) Brushing too hard. Do you use a medium or hard tooth brush?  If you do, the bristles of these toothbrushes may have caused irreversible damage to your gum.  As a result, you may suffer from sore gums and teeth.

Brushing too hard can also contribute to receding gum.  These in long term may result in sensitivity of your teeth or in severe cases nerves of teeth dying.  Sensitive teeth symptoms or sensitive teeth pain can be overcome by using sensitive teeth toothpaste.

Consider using a soft toothbrush or an electric toothbrush to avoid irreversible damage to your gum.

8. Brushing with natural toothpaste.  Many people enjoy using natural products eg. fluoride free natural toothpaste, charcoal toothpaste etc.  These products lack of one vital ingredient : fluoride.  Without the presence of fluoride, your teeth can be more vulnerable to decay.

At Valley Gentle Dental Traralgon Dentists Clinic, we recommend the use of fluoride containing toothpaste when you clean your teeth.  Toothpastes with Novamin or Arginine  are useful to reduce sensitivity of teeth and sore gums.