Dental Emergencies and First Aid Procedures

Dental Emergencies and First Aid Procedures

The following first aid procedures are important steps for handling dental emergencies or facial injuries. They provide temporary relief and help in their proper repair or healing. As with any injury, always follow up with personal care from your dentist or physician.

Bitten Tongue/Cut Lip
Clean gently with a cloth. Apply cold compresses to reduce swelling. If bleeding is severe, go to an emergency services provider. After bleeding has subsided, rinse with warm salt water.

Broken Jaw (Possible)
Don't move the jaw. Secure it in place by tying a scarf, necktie, or towel around the jaw and over the top of the head. Apply cold compresses to reduce any swelling. See your dentist or emergency services provider immediately.

Broken Tooth
Rinse the mouth with warm water. Try to remove any dirt, blood, or debris from the injured area using sterile gauze or a clean cloth and warm water. Apply cold compresses on the face next to the injured tooth to reduce swelling. See the dentist immediately. Place the broken piece in a small container of whole milk.

Knocked-Out Tooth
Annually, more than two million teeth are knocked out accidentally; more than 90% of them can be saved with proper treatment.

Holding the tooth from the crown (top part), rinse off the root. Don't scrub or remove any attached tissue fragments. Gently hold the tooth in its socket. (Young children may accidentally swallow; use your judgment.) If this isn't possible, place the tooth in a cup of cold whole milk. Avoid using low fat milk, powdered milk, or milk products like yogurt. Never put the tooth in mouthwash or alcohol. Avoid scrubbing the tooth or touching the root end. Get to the dentist immediately (within 30 minutes) and take the tooth!

Objects Trapped Between Teeth
Try gliding dental floss between teeth (dental tape is often useful in removing shredded dental floss.) Sometimes tying a small knot in the floss may help, too. Avoid using any sharp or pointed objects. See a dentist if object can't be removed.

Toothache
Toothaches can result from different causes. Rinse mouth with warm water. Remove any food trapped between teeth with dental floss. Avoid applying aspirin on the tooth or gum tissues. If a cavity is suspected, insert a small cotton ball or cotton tip soaked in oil of cloves (eugenol). Do not cover a cavity with cotton if there is facial swelling or pus. See a dentist as soon as possible.

Ask your dentist about periodontal disease today! Call our office today at (858) 568-8941 or complete our easy online form to schedule an initial consultation.

DR. GARY SIGAFOOS

LaJolla Periodontics

http://www.lajollaperiodontics.com/

Follow @GarySigafoos on Twitter and do a “Like” at LajollaGumDiseaseCare Fanpage. If you're looking for an experienced periodontist to care for gingivitis and periodontial disease in La Jolla, contact Dr. Sigafoos,  (858) 568-8941.

Dental Care And A New Diagnostic Tool For Mouth Cancer

Dental Care And A New Diagnostic Tool For Mouth Cancer

According to the American Cancer Society, about 30,000 new cases of mouth cancer are diagnosed annually in the U.S. About half of those who have oral cancer die within five years. Early detection can make a dramatic difference in treating the cancer at curable stages and reducing oral cancer deaths.

Early detection capabilities recently have been enhanced by a new computer-assisted mouth cancer screening tool. A nationwide study of 945 patients ranging in ages from 18 to 83 was conducted by dentists at 35 U.S. academic dental care sites.

Brush biopsy specimens were obtained from oral lesions as part of the extensive research, testing the accuracy of computer-assisted diagnostic equipment. The brush biopsy caused little or no bleeding and no anesthetic was required. The computer-assisted image analysis was used to identify suspicious cells in the samples.

The computer analysis properly identified every case of pre-cancerous and cancerous lesions as confirmed by lab tests from their traditional tissue evaluations. Additionally, it also correctly identified some lesions that were benign in appearance, but were actually found to be pre-cancerous or cancerous. Had it not been for this new diagnostic equipment, these lesions would have escaped detection and the patient would not have received any additional oral cancer testing.

"Early evaluation of oral pre-cancerous lesions can have a dramatic impact on oral cancer mortality rates," says Dr. James J. Sciubba, DMD, PhD, professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology at State University of New York at Stony Brook, who also serves as a spokesperson for the study. Early-stage mouth cancers are not easily detectable by visual inspection and may be overlooked.

The oral cancer scanner provides dentists a new evaluation tool that can lead to a significant reduction in cancer deaths. An estimated 8,100 people will die from mouth cancer this year. This new dentistry tool has shown remarkable merit as a reliable dental health device. By providing an accurate diagnosis, it has become a crucial weapon in the fight against oral cancer.

Ask your dentist about periodontal disease today! Call our office today at    (858) 568-8941 or complete our easy online form to schedule an initial consultation.

DR. GARY SIGAFOOS

LaJolla Periodontics

http://www.lajollaperiodontics.com/

Follow @GarySigafoos on Twitter and do a “Like” at LajollaGumDiseaseCare Fanpage. If you're looking for an experienced periodontist to care for gingivitis and periodontial disease in La Jolla, contact Dr. Sigafoos,  (858) 568-8941.

Computerized Dental Radiography

Computerized Dental Radiography

These days, computers are really changing the way we live and work. You've probably experienced their impact in your own home. And believe me, technology is also helping raise our dental practice to a new level of safety, accuracy, and comfort.

Keeping up with all these advances is a full-time occupation that's as important as my work at chairside. One of the most promising of these breakthroughs is an improvement on the oldest evaluation technology we have - dental x-rays.

For close to a century, dentists have used x-rays to detect cavities and damage invisible to the eye. We've long been aware of the drawbacks. Though x-ray radiation is slight, many patients find it a cause for concern. And reading the negative requires a skilled, professional eye-which means my patients can't see what I see.

That's why my office uses a Computed Dental Radiography System as an x-ray alternative. A computer enhances a "photo" of your teeth and shows it instantly on a screen. This new system requires 90% less radiation than the old film x-rays, and can magnify the image up to 300 times. It's as easy to read as a snapshot. When I discuss something I see in your mouth, you'll be able to view it right along with me.

This is an exciting time to be a dentist. We're re-thinking and refining virtually every aspect of our dental practice, and I wanted to pass a bit of it along to you.

Ask your dentist about periodontal disease today! Call our office today at   (858) 568-8941 or complete our easy online form to schedule an initial consultation.

DR. GARY SIGAFOOS

LaJolla Periodontics

http://www.lajollaperiodontics.com/

Follow @GarySigafoos on Twitter and do a “Like” at LajollaGumDiseaseCare Fanpage. If you're looking for an experienced periodontist to care for gingivitis and periodontial disease in La Jolla, contact Dr. Sigafoos,  (858) 568-8941.

Why Bad Breath May Be The Hidden Reason You Will NEVER Get That High Paying Job You've Always Wanted... No Matter How Hard You Work For It

By Tomas Caomhanach

If you have ever failed to get a job or promotion you wanted, even though you had a great resume and had all the right qualifications and experience, it may be because the interviewer thought you were disgusting, and he felt physically sick just talking to you.

Ok, that might sound rude but, if you have bad breath, it may literally be true! The interviewer may not know it (in fact, he might even have thought you were very suitable for the position) but an ancient brain system, originally designed to identify rotten food, literally FORCED him to reject you! The moment it detected your bad breath, the decision not to hire you was made without him even realizing it.

You see, if you performed a chemical analysis of your bad breath, you'd find a whole range of extremely smelly stuff, including hydrogen sulfide, which smells exactly like rotten eggs, methyl mercaptan and skatole, which smell just like feces, cadaverine, which is what makes dead bodies smell, and putrescine, which is given off by rotting meat!

All of these smells (and a number of others also found in bad breath) have something in common: they all evoke disgust, an extreme emotion designed to protect us from things that are unclean, inedible, or infectious. When we feel disgust, our brain tenses-up muscles in our face called the levator labii, which produces the facial characteristics that you would recognize as disgust (i.e. a scrunched nose and raised upper lip), which stops foul odors and/or stray particles (from whatever caused the disgust) from entering your body through the nose and mouth. Also, the brain creates an overwhelming urge to recoil or turn away from the source of disgust in an effort to further isolate the body from possible contamination.

If you have bad breath, that reaction probably very sounds familiar! That's the reason why people turn away... step back... or cover their nose and mouth when you're near them. They can't help it; it doesn't matter if they think you're the greatest person they ever met because their brain doesn't care about you - it only cares about ensuring their survival and, once it detects any of these smells, it recognizes them as a potential source of infection and literally FORCES their body to automatically recoil in disgust. In other words: Because it sees you as a source of those potentially-dangerous chemicals, their brain literallythinks you could kill them!

Picture yourself in a job interview: The person interviewing you might think you have a great resume They might think you sound like the most suitable candidate for the job. When they're sitting across from you, asking you questions, the may be smiling and nodding in response to your answers. To you, everything looks good

However, what you can't see is what happens in their brain once they get even a tiny whiff of your bad breath (and they will!): the very survival mechanism described above will instantly and automatically snap into action and bang go your chances, with you even realizing it. And it's quite possible the interviewer himself won't realize why he suddenly feels very uncomfortable with you either. He just knows that he does, but the end result is still the same anyway:

Somebody ELSE gets the job!

The Bad Breath Report
Scientifically-Proven Method To
Cure Bad Breath At Home
www.TheBadBreathReport.com

 

DR. GARY SIGAFOOS

LaJolla Periodontics
http://www.lajollaperiodontics.com/

Follow @GarySigafoos on Twitter and do a “Like” at LajollaGumDiseaseCare Fanpage. If you're looking for an experienced periodontist to care for gingivitis and periodontial disease in La Jolla, contact Dr. Sigafoos,  (858) 568-8941.

Child Dental Emergencies

Child Dental Emergencies

Uh-oh! A Dental Emergency! If a dental emergency should happen to your child, please remember to act quickly. Stay calm-a parent's apprehension can be transmitted to the child. Bring the child to us with the tooth replanted or kept moist in transit. We'll take care of you immediately.

A child, learning to ride a two-wheeled bicycled, loses her balance, falls, hits a rock and knocks out a front tooth. What do you do?

If the tooth is replaced in the tooth socket immediately, the chances are good that this tooth can be maintained for many years.

Do something and do it now

The success of this replantation procedure is directly related to how soon the tooth is replaced in its socket. If possible, just rinse the tooth with tap water and gently replace the tooth in its socket and come to the office. Otherwise, wrap the tooth in a clean, moistened cloth-or put it in a cup of water or milk-and get to the office, now. Never scrape the tooth or allow it to dry out.

Remember, time is of the essence

If the tooth is left out of the mouth for more than 30 minutes, the chance for successful replantation drops significantly.

We consider replantation successful if we can keep the tooth in position at least during a child's growth period. By maintaining the space, the replanted tooth prevents tipping of adjacent teeth. If it's necessary to replace the injured tooth, it's much easier to do it when the child is older - when all the permanent teeth are in.

The good news is that we have bonding and implant techniques today for tooth replacement-and new materials to fill in for a lost tooth.

Ask your dentist about periodontal disease today! Call our office today at  (858) 568-8941 or complete our easy online form to schedule an initial consultation.

DR. GARY SIGAFOOS

LaJolla Periodontics

http://www.lajollaperiodontics.com/

Follow @GarySigafoos on Twitter and do a “Like” at LajollaGumDiseaseCare Fanpage. If you're looking for an experienced periodontist to care for gingivitis and periodontial disease in La Jolla, contact Dr. Sigafoos,  (858) 568-8941.

Gingivitis and Gum Disease Basics

Gingivitis and Gum Disease Basics

It afflicts as many as nine in ten adults at some point in their lives, as well as teenagers and children as young as five or six years of age. Yet, many suffer from it without even suspecting anything is wrong.

"It" is periodontal disease, or gingivitis - in the minds of most dentists, Public Enemy Number one for teeth.

Only for the last 30 years have researchers understood that gum disease is an infectious disorder, caused by many different species of bacteria. But even today, there is no cure. Fortunately, we have learned a good deal about what periodontal disease is and what can be done about it.

Behind the scenes

The culprits in gum disease are the bacteria that thrive in the crevices between gums and teeth, accumulating in the form of plaque, a hard, colorless film. Plaque produces toxins that not only irritate gums and cause bad breath, but can eventually attack connective tissue, bone and teeth.

These crevices become "pockets" where the bacteria lodge and begin to erode the tissues that connect gums with teeth. If periodontal disease isn't checked, the pockets deepen. The havoc spreads. Eventually, the bone around the teeth and roots is destroyed - and the teeth soon follow.

Sounding the alarm

How can you tell if you have a periodontal problem?

If you have bleeding gums or if you have swollen gums, gingivitis may be the reason why. But mouth disease can strike silently, without any pain or obvious signs.

Any bleeding from your gums should be a tip-off. Make sure you're doing a thorough but gentle job of brushing and flossing every day. If bleeding persists, it's time to see your periodontist. Different people have different levels of susceptibility to periodontal disease, and some forms - including those that affect children and adolescents - can develop quite rapidly.

Not everyone who has gingivitis disease goes on to develop more serious periodontal problems. Some people manage to reverse the disease or stop the progress of chronic gingivitis when it flares up.

Until there's a cure, the fundamentals of gum disease prevention - regular professional care and careful brushing and flossing at home - are still the best line of offense for good dental health.

Ways to fight back

• Periodontal disease can be checked and often reversed with simple preventive measures: brushing, flossing and professional cleaning to remove plaque and stimulate gum circulation.
• If the problem has become more serious, the dentist may do what's called scaling and planning - deep scraping of plaque from under the gum line, and smoothing of root and tooth surfaces so gum tissues have a better chance to reattach.
• Promising new gum disease treatment is already on the horizon: antiseptic or antibiotic drugs placed at the site of infection. And new chlorhexidine mouthwashes that may help prevent the formation of plaque.

Ask your dentist about periodontal disease today! Call our office today at (858) 568-8941 or complete our easy online form to schedule an initial consultation.

DR. GARY SIGAFOOS

LaJolla Periodontics

http://www.lajollaperiodontics.com/

Follow @GarySigafoos on Twitter and do a “Like” at LajollaGumDiseaseCare Fanpage. If you're looking for an experienced periodontist to care for gingivitis and periodontial disease in La Jolla, contact Dr. Sigafoos,  (858) 568-8941.

The Bizarre Psychophysical Effects of Bad Breath: Why It Can Make People Think You Are Literally Going To Kill Them!

The Bizarre Psychophysical Effects of Bad Breath: Why It Can Make People Think You Are Literally Going To Kill Them!

By Tomas Caomhanach

British soul singer Joss Stone has been widely quoted in newspapers and online media as saying that bad breath is her biggest turn-off in a man. 

That's not surprising. In fact, it is a perfectly natural way to feel. And she's not alone either: An extensive survey carried out by the British Dental Association in London some years back found that bad breath was rated the #1 turn-off for everybody, no matter what their age or gender. It was even rated as being worse than stale body odor!

Bad breath isn't just a social issue: Your brain sees
other people's bad breath as a potentially serious threat to your life!

Stone, 24, said: "There is nothing worse than bad breath. I have kissed people with bad breath... and it made me feel sick." And, in all probability, that was not a figure of speech - it really did make her feel physically sick.

That's because of disgust, which is one of the 6 primary human emotions. Normally, we think of emotions as being a purely 'mental' thing but, according to researchers, disgust is quite different: it is often purely physical, involving a sequence of involuntary movements that originally evolved as a way to protect us from sources of disease or infection.

Embarrassing? People feel involuntary disgust towards
other people with bad breath - even their own loved ones!

Because the nose is so close to (and well connected with) the brain, the sense of smell is the primary driver of disgust. The chemical compounds given off by things that can cause disease or infection often have a very distinctive smell, which the human brain recognizes instantly. When it does so, it switches to survival mode right away, and literally forces your body to isolate itself from the source of possible infection.

It does that by making you recoil (which moves you away), scrunching up your nose (which constricts your nasal passages, and stops you breathing in any more noxious smells), and by making you gag (which stops you swallowing anything through your mouth). If you do inhale or swallow too much of those chemicals, you then feel nauseated, and may even vomit (to eject everything you have swallowed from your body).

As it happens, bad breath contains a number of specific chemical compounds that happen to be the SAME as those given off by rotting food, feces, and, believe it or not, dead bodies - all sources of possible infection, and all causes of (sometimes extreme) disgust in every single human being on the planet. If you have bad breath, THAT'S why people recoil, turn away, and step back when you are near them.

That's why it's so sickening. It doesn't matter if the people around you like you - they may even be you own loved ones - their brain still thinks you could literally kill them, and is trying to protect them by making them feel sick and disgusted by you.

And that's why Stone is right: There really is nothing worse than bad breath.

You're going home alone...again!

The Bad Breath Report
Scientifically-Proven Method To
Cure Bad Breath At Home
www.TheBadBreathReport.com

 

DR. GARY SIGAFOOS

LaJolla Periodontics
http://www.lajollaperiodontics.com/