Author: ottodental
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What Are These White Spots On My Child’s Teeth?
Those are white spot lesions! Let’s talk a bit about why they happen and what we can do about them. What Are White Spot Lesions (WSLs)? White spot lesions are simply areas of decalcification of our enamel. Before we have a true cavity (a cavity results from decay entering the inner layer of our tooth,…
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So You Lost Your Tooth
You’re putting up the Christmas tree after Thanksgiving (hopefully) and, while carefully placing ornaments, you turn around to be greeted by your kid swinging a branch. You look down to reveal your front tooth in your hand and you’ve quickly realized what has happened – you just lost your tooth! Quick – let’s review what…
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Let’s Talk Fluoride
I have a patient at least once a week tell me they don’t use fluoridated toothpaste, and I promptly ask them to divulge why. Let’s talk about why dentists recommend the use of fluoride and why I believe you should use it, too. What Is Fluoride? The CDC states the following about fluoride – ‘Fluoride…
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Sensitive After a Filling?
‘Well it didn’t start hurting until you started messing with it!’ We get this as dental professionals a lot. And we understand. Let’s talk about why post-operative sensitivity can happen and why it (usually) isn’t something to worry about. What Is Post-Operative Sensitivity? A study in 2013 decided to determine what different types of variables…
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What Is Oil Pulling?
Charcoal toothpaste, sucking on lemons, placing aspirin in your mouth – there’s never a shortage of new tips and tricks in dentistry. There’s always going to be changes and claims in medicine as well as new methods to treating disease. It’s our job as practitioners to question these ideas and find research that supports or…
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How Long Will My Crown Last?
More often than not, patients ask me how long their restorations will last. Why should they get a crown when they have a filling that’s doing just fine? There’s a lot of factors that go into the treatment plan a dental practitioner creates, but I think it’s important to understand the longevity of the restorations…
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What Is Combination Syndrome?
The study of prosthodontics allows us to create appliances for those who are missing teeth, and give those who are edentulous a chance to speak and chew properly again. Edentulism (the process of losing teeth) comes with it a host of issues – the syndrome we are going to discuss today has a ‘combination’ of…
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Jada Review: Oral Manifestations of COVID 19
The coronavirus outbreak has been at the forefront of news each week since what seems like forever, and I don’t anticipate the news slowing down anytime soon. Fortunately, new breakthroughs in vaccines have calmed the storm – though reports of new strains and new symptoms seem to continue. In this short summary, we will illustrate…
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Diabetes and Oral Health
Diabetes is the seventh most common cause of death in the United States, accounting for more than 87,000 deaths in 2019¹. Unfortunately, diabetes isn’t quite understood by the general population, and many individuals fail to recognize the gravity of the disease on their health. In today’s post, we will explore what causes diabetes, the side…
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What Are Dry Sockets?
If you’ve ever had a tooth taken out, your dentist has more than likely discussed with you the possibility of dry sockets. Dry sockets are nothing to mess around with, and we are going to talk about just what they are and things we can do to avoid them – as well as discuss risk…