While dissatisfactory oral hygiene is the most frequent cause of halitosis, many conditions can contribute to or exacerbate the condition. One of these is the lack of saliva or xerostomia.
Saliva and Oral Health Saliva moistens the teeth and gums and removes odiferous dead cells. Saliva also neutralizes the ever-present acids on the tongue, gums, and cheeks, and the minerals in saliva help to maintain enamel durability. Immunoproteins in saliva curb the overgrowth of microbes in the mouth, thereby protecting the gums from gingivitis. Saliva also functions as a disinfectant by cleansing the mouth of leftover food, bacteria, and fungi. This protects against decay and infections.
Many men and women suffer from dry mouth infrequently; perhaps when they are perceiving anxiety or stress. Limiting caffeine, chewing sugar-free gum, using OTC saliva substitutes, and using a humidifier can add moisture to the mouth.
If you have occasional periods of dry mouth, there is probably nothing to worry about. Constant dry mouth, however, can bring about additional oral and physical health dilemmas.
I am Dr. Kernagis of Your Time Dental Urgent Care. I have been treating xerostomia and bad breath since 2001. If you suffer from either condition, we recommend that you book an exam and consultation with your dentist. Your dentist will help you discover the source and guide you on treatment.
You rarely hear the word “toothpaste” without it being preceded by “fluoride.” “Fluoride toothpaste” is ubiquitous for good reason.
Fluoride is a critical mineral that helps your teeth stay strong. It is found in some foods and water and makes toothpaste more effective at fighting cavities. Fluoride helps teeth by making them stronger and more resistant to the harmful acid that is formed by bacteria. Dr. Richard Kernagis may recommend a fluoride treatment in addition to your dental cleaning.
The fluoride used in in-office treatments comes in either a gel or foam and may be available in several flavors. The fluoride is applied directly to teeth through the use of a plastic dental tray that fits over your teeth. The tray is kept in your mouth for just a few minutes. Fluoride treatments are a fairly simple and painless way to strengthen your teeth and maintain an attractive smile.
While many Your Time Dental Urgent Care patients understand the importance of fluoride treatments in fortifying developing teeth in children, some do not realize the importance of fluoride for adults. For this reason, fluoride treatments are sometimes recommended to adults who are susceptible to enamel wear or tooth decay.
If you wonder if you or your child is getting enough fluoride, communicate with Dr. Kernagis about fluoride supplements. Dr. Kernagis will let you know if they are required and determine the precise supplement dosage. Don’t give your child fluoride supplements without your dentist’s counsel. Too much fluoride can lead to fluorosis which discolors teeth and, ironically, can make teeth more susceptible to decay.
A factor that impacts the amount of fluoride your kids are receiving is where you get your drinking water. Your children may not need fluoride supplements if they drink tap water from a fluoridated Florida municipal water supply. If your family only drinks bottled water without fluoride, you may want to think about supplementation. Keep in mind that the FDA does not require bottled water companies to list the fluoride content on the bottle label and many brands sold in the Tampa area do not contain fluoride.
If your child is getting adequate levels of fluoride but continues to get cavities, speak with Dr. Kernagis about helpful dental sealants. They have proven to be very effective at protecting the rear molars from tooth decay.
Dr. Kernagis is committed to preventative dentistry with vital twice-yearly exams and dental cleanings that may include a fluoride treatment. Call 813-519-0128 to book an exam and cleaning and be on your way to a healthy, attractive smile!
Your Time Dental Urgent Care is located at 13145 Kings Lake Drive Ste 105B in Gibsonton. We provide trusted dental care with a comprehensive menu of general and cosmetic dental procedures including urgent dental care, emergency dental care, and urgent dental care.
Richard Kernagis is a member of the American Dental Association. You can learn more about American Dental Association at https://www.ama-assn.org.
Many Gibsonton dental patients are turning to metal-free dentistry. Instead of amalgam fillings, they choose composite and porcelain restorations. Non-metal fillings and crowns can be matched perfectly to your natural tooth color. Some people are sensitive to the metals used in standard fillings. Non-metal materials can prevent potential tooth sensitivity.
Controversy Over Whether Dental Amalgam is Toxic
Another one of the issues with dental amalgam is that it contains a small amount of mercury. Some dental patients are worried that mercury is toxic or dangerous to one’s health.
Both the American Dental Association and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have reviewed volumes of research and concluded that dental amalgam does not pose a health risk.
“FDA has reviewed the best available scientific evidence to determine whether the low levels of mercury vapor associated with dental amalgam fillings are a cause for concern. Based on this evidence, FDA considers dental amalgam fillings safe for adults and children ages 6 and above. The weight of credible scientific evidence reviewed by FDA does not establish an association between dental amalgam use and adverse health effects in the general population.”(FDA)
That said, many patients do not want any metal in their mouth, regardless of what the FDA and ADA says. This leads to the question “Is there a metal-free alternative to titanium for dental implants?”
Some implant dentists offer Zirconia implants.
What Are Zirconia Implants?
Zirconia tooth implants are routinely touted as a non-metal alternative to titanium posts.
Is Zirconia Actually Metal-Free?
As it turns out, the answer to this question is complex. And you will get different answers depending on whether you consult a manufacturer of Zirconia tooth implants, an implant dentist who prefers titanium, or a scientist who has no ties to the dental industry.
Consider the following:
“Zirconia crowns are made from zirconium dioxide, a very durable type of metal that’s related to titanium, although it’s categorized as a type of ceramic crown.”(Healthline.com)
“Is it misleading when we call zirconium restorations “metal-free”? We all are agreed that titanium is a metal. Zirconium is chemically a metal and has been used in alloys. Its atomic number is 40. To say that Titanium is metal and that Zirconium is not is showing a poor knowledge of chemistry. Zirconium dioxide, an oxidized form of Zirconium that is used for restorations, is a metal. We would not call rust — iron oxide — anything but metal. Now we have a new generation of zirconium dioxide implant fixtures and they are advertised as “metal-free” and calling them ceramic.” (Osseonews.com)
“Zirconium is a silver-gray transition metal, a type of element that is malleable and ductile and easily forms stable compounds.”(LiveScience.com)
How are Zirconia and Titanium Implants Similar?
Both materials are FDA approved, biocompatible and safe to use for dental implants.
Why Don’t all Dental Implant Dentists offer Zirconia Implants?
There are many reasons.
Some dental implant dentists don’t believe they are as durable as titanium dental implants.
Some dental implant dentists don’t offer them because they can’t be used in a variety of configurations. For example, they are not suited for complete mouth restorations and implant-anchored dentures.
Some dental implant dentists don’t perform them because they believe they have a slight risk of fracture–especially narrow diameter Zirconia dental implants.
Some dental implant dentists believe they haven’t proven to provide long-term success.
“A 2017 study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, concluded, “Survival rates and marginal bone loss of zirconia implants are promising, but more evidence on long-term outcomes is needed.”(JADA)
So what do you do if you are interested in getting a dental implant but you don’t want titanium in your mouth? Talk to Dr. Kernagis.
Don’t count on marketing hype to make important decisions about dental implant procedures. Consult a doctor who has been placing tooth implants successfully since 2001 and has a legacy of satisfied patients.
Tampa endodontists, oral surgeons, and general dentists use dental crowns (sometimes called caps) in many restorative treatments. A crown adds strength to a tooth that has a large filling or has been injured, a crown can correct bite misalignments, and a crown is usually necessary after a root canal. In a dental implant procedure, attaching the crown to the abutment is the final step.
Crowns are also used extensively for purely cosmetic problems: yellow teeth, stained teeth, too-small teeth, and teeth that are misshapen.
Dental crowns are fabricated from a variety of materials that vary in appearance and strength:
1. All ceramic (porcelain-based) 2. Porcelain fused to metal 3. Gold alloys 4. Base metal alloys
Your dentist can help you determine which type is right for you. Factors to consider are: the location of the crown in the mouth, your budget, and any allergies to metal.
When many Gibsonton dentists provide a crown restoration, they use a process that requires two office visits. On the first visit, the dentist will prepare the tooth and take an impression for the dental lab. Then, the dentist will make a temporary crown for the patient to use until the permanent crown is ready. Some dentists have special technology that allows them to fabricate and place crowns in one visit.
How Long Do Dental Crowns Last? Dental crowns can last for many years, but are not designed to last indefinitely. Even with proper care, dental patients should not expect crowns to be trouble-free for decades. There is encouraging evidence, however, that points to a high success rate: a 2009 study found that more than 90% of dental crowns will not require treatment within five years of placement. The study also found that 50% to 80% last from 15 to 20 years.1
At Your Time Dental Urgent Care in Gibsonton, we provide quality restorative and cosmetic dentistry. In addition to dental crowns, we offer urgent dental care, dental implants, and emergency dental care
1Bader JD1, Shugars DA., “Summary review of the survival of single crowns,” PubMed.gov, 2009, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19146146, accessed June 16, 2014
Maintaining healthy teeth is an important concern for our local Tampa dental patients. As your Dr., I’m devoted to helping you care for your teeth and keep them healthy. Everyone in Tampa knows that maintaining healthy teeth requires thorough daily brushing and flossing. Regular visits to your local Tampa dental practice are also necessary for preventing cavities and maintaining proper dental hygiene.
We typically forget that maintaining a healthy diet can also be beneficial to your teeth. A diet that includes foods that help your muscles and bones will also help you develop healthy gums and healthy teeth. Examples of local Tampa foods to include in your diet include foods rich in vitamin B such as bread and cereals. Foods rich in vitamin C, usually fruits and vegetables, help improve the health of your gums. Zinc and magnesium are also good for the health of your teeth and are found in foods like lean beef, fish, and poultry.
Saliva is critical to healthy teeth because it assists with maintaining the pH balance in your mouth. Foods high in fiber also encourage saliva production as does the chewing of sugar-free gum. Gum, however, can damage unhealthy teeth or pull out dental fillings, so always use caution when deciding whether to chew gum.
Just as certain diet choices in the Tampa area can be beneficial to the health of your teeth, others can be dangerous. Foods and drinks that are high in sugars – especially soda and energy drinks – are more likely to form the acids that attack your teeth and result in decay. And while table sugar is often associated with the formation of cavities, other sugars such as glucose, fructose, and maltose are also causes and are often found in juices and sodas. Limiting the consumption of sugars to mealtimes lessens the amount of time your healthy teeth are exposed.
Making good diet choices and limiting between-meal sugar consumption can improve the health of your teeth and gums. If you would like to learn how to better care for your healthy teeth in the Gibsonton area, contact Your Time Dental Urgent Care at 813-519-0128. We would love to hear from you.
Restorative dentistry has advanced significantly over the years and there are now several effective ways to correct decayed teeth. In today’s post, we are going to focus on two similar types of restorations: dental inlays and onlays.
Where possible, an inlay or an onlay can be a less-invasive alternative to a complete crown and either one is usually more affordable than a porcelain crown procedure.
Inlays/onlays are “indirect fillings,” meaning that they are produced in a lab and placed whole on the tooth. A traditional “direct filling” is applied to the tooth while the material is malleable and then shaped by the dentist.
An inlay is used to fix the surface of a damaged tooth, often to fill a small cavity or a natural pit that is at risk for decay.
Typically porcelain or composite resin is used for inlays; these materials are tough and look very natural because the color can be matched exactly to the surrounding teeth. An inlay is precisely fitted to your tooth and looks, feels, and functions as the previous tooth.
An onlay covers a larger part of the tooth. Because they cover such a large area of the tooth, they are often referred to as partial crowns. Onlays are usually applied to the biting surface of the tooth. Just like inlays, they are specifically fitted to the damaged part of the tooth. Composite resin and porcelain are also the main materials used to create an onlay. As mentioned before, inlays and onlays serve an important role in restorative and cosmetic dentistry.
At Your Time Dental Urgent Care, we provide first rate dental care including inlays and onlays. If you have one or more teeth that has a cavity, crack, or excessive wear, call 813-519-0128 to make an appointment today.
Believe it or not plaque can rear its ugly head in any Gibsonton mouth – even yours – no matter how meticulous you try to be. If you have deep grooves, watch out. If you have a receding gum line, watch out. If you are a candy-loving Gibsonton resident with the proverbial sweet tooth, watch out.
The plaque process goes something like this: Bacteria naturally occurs in the mouth, always will. Bacteria will try to colonize on the smooth surfaces of your teeth. At first, it will be soft enough to be removed with a fingernail. After 48 hours, it will start to harden. Give it 10 days and it will be that substance most difficult to remove, tartar. (See picture.) This bacteria will feed on sugars and produce acid that will eat away the tissues of the tooth and lead to cavities. Cavities will originate on the surface and spread on and through the tooth. The best way to deal with plaque is to have a consistent removal process, i.e. regular daily brushing and flossing after eating and even sleeping.
A fabulous smile with fabulous teeth isn’t always the reality for Tampa, Apollo Beach, Fish Hawk, and Lithia folks. We encourage anyone in the Tampa area who is unhappy with their smile to consider the benefits of a smile makeover.
Cosmetic dentistry can be a significant investment but the truth of just how much it will cost for veneers, braces, dental implants and even teeth whitening may surprise you. At our Gibsonton cosmetic dentistry office you can expect to learn about urgent dental care, emergency dental care, sedation dentistry, dental implants, cosmetic dentistry and any number of other dental services.
Richard Kernagis has been serving the Gibsonton area since 2001. Call 813-519-0128 to schedule a consultation.
If you are dreading some upcoming dental treatment, you may want to consider oral conscious sedation. First off, oral conscious sedation or sleep dentistry is perfectly safe. At Your Time Dental Urgent Care, we have been providing sedation since 2001. We offer different levels of sedation and a choice of medication including oral analgesics, nitrous oxide, and IV sedation.
When choosing a type of sedation, it is helpful to consider the type of anxiety (fear of immobility, fear of loss of control, fear of pain, etc), the specific procedure(s) you will undergo, the length of time required to complete the treatment, past experiences during treatment, and any complicating health problems. Call 813-519-0128 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Richard Kernagis to discuss your options.
Perhaps you have a dentist-wary child who needs treatment. For simple dental procedures, topical anesthetics are applied to the gums and other tissues reducing sensation. If your child requires more sedation, nitrous oxide and general anesthesia are both safe options.
Perhaps Mommy is the one who is anxious about her child undergoing dental work. Sorry – we can’t sedate you while your child is being treated – but you can take comfort in the fact that we take excellent care of our youngest patients. We make sure they are comfortable, relaxed, and understand exactly what is going to happen. Our team of child-friendly dental professionals has been putting children at ease since 2001.
Regular dental check-ups are critical for your child’s lifelong oral health, so it is important that your child has a positive experience during dental visits. If possible, don’t let your child know that you have dental anxiety. If he/she already knows, explain why your fears are unreasonable and why you are having treatment regardless of your anxiety. Show them how brave Mommy is because she wants healthy teeth.
Your Time Dental Urgent Care offers full-service dental care including sedation dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, and urgent dental care. Thanks for visiting our blog. Check back for more helpful dental details from Your Time Dental Urgent Care in Gibsonton.
Dentists in Gibsonton are dedicated to your oral health and care about the condition of your teeth. At Your Time Dental Urgent Care, we recognize that your teeth help you both eat and speak. You use your teeth to tear, scrape, and chew food, as well as to form words with your tongue.
Healthy teeth and gums are an essential component of complete physical and mental health. An unhealthy smile can erode confidence, cause embarrassment, and make eating and speaking difficult. The team of dental professionals at Your Time Dental Urgent Care in Gibsonton, Florida, wants to help keep your mouth and teeth healthy so that they don’t adversely affect your well-being in any way.
We humans have two sets of teeth in our lifetime. The first set is your ‘primary teeth’, which many people around Gibsonton often call ‘baby teeth. Baby teeth typically start to come in at about 6 months old. An average healthy mouth for a Gibsonton resident has a total of 20 primary teeth by about age 5.
Your primary teeth will eventually fall out and new teeth are known as ‘permanent teeth’ will grow in. Permanent teeth typically begin to come in around age 6 for most Gibsonton residents, but every person is unique and it could be a little earlier or later. By about age 13 an average healthy mouth should have 28 of the total 32 permanent teeth. The last four permanent teeth may or may not come, but typically come in between the ages of 17 and 21 if they do. Because of the late age that these last teeth come in, they are commonly called ‘wisdom teeth‘.
Many adults in the city of Gibsonton have their wisdom teeth pulled out because these teeth can be problematic to your oral health, such as crowding a mouth. Other adults in the Gibsonton keep these teeth because they are not causing problems. If you are concerned about the state of your wisdom teeth you can visit our local Gibsonton office and we can help you make this vital decision.
Caring for all of your teeth – whether you are young and have 20 primary teeth or are an adult and have 28 to 32 permanent teeth – is necessary for total stamina. Let your Gibsonton dentist help keep you healthy and happy.
Today’s post focuses on a problem experienced by many people – bad breath.
Bad breath, or halitosis, has several causes. The most frequent cause is poor oral hygiene. Often, halitosis develops midday arising from the inability to brush teeth between meals. Small food pieces on the teeth, gums, and tongue grow bacteria. The wastes of the bacteria and decay of the food create a sulfur compound, which emits the nasty odor. Food particles, bacteria, and sulfuric gas all need to be removed to eliminate bad breath caused by poor oral hygiene.
While poor oral hygiene is the most prevalent cause of halitosis, many circumstances can contribute to or worsen the dilemma. The best remedy is consistent, thorough brushing and flossing, but other actions might also be required depending on the cause(s).
For example, a salivary gland dilemma or certain medications can cause dry mouth. Saliva moistens the teeth and gums, clearing away odiferous dead cells. Saliva also neutralizes the ever-present acids on the tongue, gums, and cheeks. Limiting caffeine, chewing sugar-free gum, using OTC saliva substitutes, and using a humidifier can add moisture to the mouth.
Most Common Causes of Bad Breath:
Poor oral hygiene Inability to brush between meals Gum disease or cavities Smoking Braces An infected root canal Diabetes Kidney failure Liver problems Infection Dry mouth (Xerostomia) Dieting Age Crooked teeth Ear, nose, throat issues Tonsil issues Constant breathing through the mouth Specific foods: garlic, onions, horseradish, etc. Some prescription medications Ill-fitting dentures To Minimize or Prevent Bad Breath:
Go to the dentist twice a year for professional dental cleanings Brush teeth, tongue, gums, and roof of the mouth Use a tongue spray or scraper Use an antimicrobial mouth rinse Chew sugarless gum Brush and floss after each meal Drink plenty of water (A dry mouth is conducive to bacteria growth) Replace your toothbrush every 3 to 4 months Have a toothbrush and floss available when you are out Talk to your doctor or dentist if bad breath stays despite proper oral hygiene
Remember, the very best defense to bad breath is a good dental care routine – brushing, flossing, and regular visits with your dentist. If you struggle with bad breath regardless of vigilant oral hygiene, ask your dentist for help in identifying the source. It may be an issue outside of the oral cavity. If this is the case, your dentist may refer you to your family physician or a specialist.
If you don’t have a regular dentist or are not satisfied with your current one, we invite you to schedule an appointment with Dr. Kernagis at Your Time Dental Urgent Care in Gibsonton. Dr. Kernagis has been serving patients in the Tampa area since 2001. The comfortable team of dental professionals at Your Time Dental Urgent Care provides the full spectrum of general and cosmetic dental services including urgent dental care, emergency dental care, and sedation dentistry.
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