Category: dentistry

Tooth issues are common no matter what the cause of the pain might be. Sometimes, it’s a simple tooth ache from eating something too hot or too cold too quickly. Other times, it may be related to other medical conditions, or a sign that you need to get your teeth cleaned and gums taken care of. Finally, sometimes, it is a sign of a tooth abscess and the need for immediate dental care. Below, we’ll detail what a tooth abscess is, what its symptoms are, what a dentist can do for your tooth abscess, and what to do if you think you have one.

What is a tooth abscess and what are its symptoms?

A tooth abscess is a pocket that is often filled by pus which is usually caused by a bacterial infection, which can occur in different parts of the tooth for different reasons. Unlike cavities, they can occur generally anywhere. There are two different kinds of abscesses. One is called a periapical abscess and occurs at the tip of the root which is at the bottom of the tooth in the gums. The other one, a periodontal abscess, occurs at the side of the tooth near the gums. 

These abscesses are often caused by a bacterial infection that has occurred as a result of an untreated or badly treated cavity, an injury, or prior dental work that was done carelessly. Symptoms of a tooth abscess can include: a toothache that can radiate to your jaw, ear, or other nearby extremities, sensitivity to chewing, biting, or hot and cold temperatures, fever, swelling in the face or neck, a difficulty breathing or swallowing, and other dental-related difficulties. 

What can a New Hyde Park dentist do for my tooth abscess?

If a dentist determines you do indeed have a tooth abscess, there are several possible courses of treatment that can be taken. The first is to open up and drain the abscess by making a small cut and allowing the pus to drain out, while he or she washes it with a saline solution. Another option might be to perform a root canal that can not only drain the abscess, but can help save the infected tooth. The most extreme option is to pull the infected tooth to prevent further damage to the jaw and other areas of the mouth, if the harm is severe enough. A dentist may prescribe antibiotics at his or her discretion to stop any spread of infection or potential spread.

What should I do if I think I have a tooth abscess?

Call our New Hyde Park office today to schedule an appointment to find out what one of our dentists can do for your tooth abscess. Our staff of dental professionals is standing by to help and is ready to assist you, no matter the dental issue you may face.

Brushing twice a day isn’t just good practice, it helps preserve your oral hygiene in the short and long-term, so that you can have a brilliant smile for years to come. For many, they worry when in the course of their brushing, their gums begin to bleed. This leads to asking themselves why their gums are bleeding, even though they are taking proper care of their dental hygiene. Below, we’ll detail a few reasons why gums bleed from the common and every day to the serious. 

Overly aggressive brushing and flossing

We’ve all been there, a bad day at work, a discussion gone wrong with a spouse, or daily frustrations somehow put us in a bad mood. Sometimes, that translates to overly aggressive brushing and flossing that mean you bear down on your teeth harder than you intended to. These brush strokes and flossing can cause your gums – which are naturally sensitive – to bleed and quickly recover. While not advisable, this is not likely to do long term damage to your gums. It is also entirely preventable.

Gingivitis

Gingivitis is the first stage of gum disease and often leaves gums swollen, puffy, and tender. This leads to blood when brushing or flossing at a regular pace and is often a warning sign that you should see a dentist. Gingivitis is reversible given the proper treatment. If you think gingivitis may be the reason your gums bleed, you should contact New Hyde Park Dental immediately so you can begin treatment before it progresses into gum disease.

Medication

Sometimes, the reason why gums bleed is unavoidable. Some medications, such as blood thinners, make gums more susceptible to bleeding. While this isn’t a cause for concern, make sure to mention any medications – especially blood thinners – that you’re taking during your next visit with your dentist or dental hygienist. 

Pregnancy gingivitis

In some cases, women who are pregnant may experience swollen and sensitive gums that bleed while brushing normally. This “pregnancy gingivitis” as it’s known should be mentioned to your dentist, so you can do as much as you can to protect your gums. Ensuring you continue to floss and brush can help make sure any damage does not worsen.

If you have any questions as to why your gums bleed, call our New Hyde Park office today to make an appointment and ensure that you’re on the right course of treatment.

That throbbing feeling you have in your mouth won’t go away no matter how hard you try to avoid hot and cold liquids. More sleep doesn’t help either. An infected tooth is never fun and even less appealing is the pain, swelling, and other discomfort that you feel from the ache that accompanies it. Sometimes, patients will try to ignore the pain or will look for home remedies. Others will rely on aspirin or other over-the-counter pain medications. However, these are not permanent solutions and a patient should consult a New Hyde Park dentist for long-term help with their infected tooth.

What causes an infected tooth?

A tooth infection is caused by bacteria pooling at the base or root of the tooth creating what is called an abscess. This bacterial pooling creates infections that are harmful and painful for the patient. One of the root causes is poor dental hygiene – not taking proper care of your teeth and gums – that can increase your likelihood for gum disease, tooth decay, and other complications. Other causes can include dry mouth, which can lead to tooth decay, or a diet high in sugar which can corrode gums and teeth. A New Hyde Park dentist will be able to determine the exact cause of your infected tooth in order to help you decide on an appropriate treatment.

What symptoms do I feel? 

An infected tooth will have a few different symptoms depending on the person and severity of infection. As mentioned before, throbbing can not only impact the tooth but also extend to the jawbone, neck, ear, or other part of the head. Extreme sensitivity to hot and cold temperatures, sensitivity when a patient chews or bites, a fever, swelling in the face or neck, difficulty breathing or swallowing, and a few other similar symptoms. A New Hyde Park dentist will be able to help you ensure that you get the best pain relief treatment.

How do I prevent an infected tooth?

One of the best ways to prevent an infected tooth is brushing twice a day, eating healthy food and avoiding sugary foods, and replacing your toothbrush. Your dentist can provide more tips on preventing an infected tooth. 

Do I need to see my dentist if I feel these symptoms? 

If you feel any of these symptoms, you should call our office immediately to make an appointment to see a New Hyde Park dentist. Our dentists can quickly help you decide what the right course of treatment is for your infected tooth. Make an appointment today to ensure your questions regarding an infected tooth are answered by our dental staff and dentist!

No one likes feeling pain, even less so when the cause is wisdom tooth headaches. For so many who get wisdom tooth headaches, their immediate reaction is to wonder what causes wisdom tooth headaches and how to fix them. More than just a minor annoyance, they can leave you feeling disoriented, tired, and sluggish. Below, we’ll detail what causes wisdom tooth headaches and how to fix them.

What causes wisdom tooth headaches?

One of the biggest causes of wisdom tooth headaches is emerging wisdom teeth. These teeth come in between the ages of 17 and 25 and often through the jawbone and gum line.

Another cause of wisdom tooth headaches are impacted wisdom teeth. This happens when there may not be enough room in the patient’s mouth for the tooth to grow. Some of the causes of these impacted teeth are teeth emerging at an angle, getting stuck in the jaw, and pushing against other molars. Other problems with wisdom teeth that can cause wisdom tooth headaches include tooth decay, cysts, gum disease, and other damage to neighboring teeth. 

What can I do to fix my wisdom tooth headaches?

One of the quickest, not to mention cheapest, ways to attack your wisdom teeth headaches is to rinse your mouth with warm water and salt. This regimen quickly kills any bacteria in your mouth that could be attacking your wisdom teeth and causing these headaches. Another method that involves medication is taking an aspirin. This simple trick often stops the pain associated with wisdom tooth headaches for a short amount of time.

However, if you find yourself having to take aspirin on a continued, regular basis you should consult with a New Hyde Park dentist. The most drastic solution to fix wisdom tooth headaches is for you to have surgery to remove the wisdom tooth or teeth that are the cause of the headaches. Wisdom teeth are unnecessary for most people and oftentimes are extracted when a person is younger than 30. 

What do I do if I have more questions about wisdom teeth headaches and fixing them?

Contact our New Hyde Park office immediately so we can answer all of your questions regarding wisdom teeth headaches and solutions. Our dental staff is ready to answer any and all questions you may have and to make an appointment today!

For thousands of Americans, mouth odor is a recurring problem that they wonder how to get rid of. This can make a person embarrassed to speak for fear odor will overwhelm their words and leave their intended audience more repelled than anything else. Many feel not only embarrassed but also wonder how they can get rid of the mouth odor that continues to plague them day after day. Below are a few tips on how to prevent mouth odor so you can speak to your friends, family, and colleagues without fear of mouth odor being the first thing they see or feel about you.

• Brush and floss your teeth daily: there are fewer more effective ways than twice daily brushing and flossing of teeth to eliminate odor from food or drinks which has stayed on your mouth over time. This won’t only combat mouth odor but will pay long-term dividends when it comes to your overall oral health.

• Rinse your mouth with a New Hyde Park dentist-recommended mouthwash: sometimes brushing and flossing doesn’t get to all the problem areas you need to tackle. We recommended mouthwash won’t only kill bacteria but will usually also have a minty flavor that can only bolster fresh breath.

• Make sure to use a tongue scraper: over time, a film or layer will develop on your tongue that can lead to ongoing and long-term breath that may be durable no matter your best efforts. Using a tongue scraper can be a hard reset on your mouth and tongue that daily care such as brushing and flossing cannot get rid of.

• Avoid foods that stick on your breath in addition to tobacco: some foods are much more potent breath wise than others. Onions and garlic are huge offenders that cannot simply be brushed away or eliminated with mouthwash as they are absorbed into the bloodstream. If you must eat foods with these ingredients, they are best saved for end of day meals. Additionally, if you’re even a social smoker, kicking the tobacco habit will help ensure you don’t have mouth odor which is difficult to get rid of and that can stain your teeth both in the short and long term.

• Skip the mints, chew gum: mouth bacteria is drawn to sugar which is often highly present in mints, only exacerbating bad breath over time. On the other hand, gum helps produce saliva which can be helpful in fighting bad breath.

• Keep your mouth moist and your gums as healthy as possible: dry mouth leads to bad breath and other mouth odors, so a moist mouth is helpful in a clean, professional presentation. Drinking water will keep your mouth moist and help your breath to be crisp and clean. Additionally, watching your gum health is crucial to helping ensure that you eliminate any potential pockets of bacteria that can cause bad breath or other mouth odor.

• Visit our Lake Success dental office on a regular basis: no matter how intense your home care routine, nothing replaces a visit to the dentist. Be it regular cleanings or more intensive dental help, a visit to our New Hyde Park Dental office will help decrease mouth odor and put you on the right path to oral health for years to come.

For many, COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, has upended expectations about what is normal, and how a person should care for their dental health and well-being in this time of crisis. Working with a New Hyde Park dentist, you can ensure that your teeth are clean and ready to go as usual while not being worried about catching what is becoming a more and more serious pandemic by the day. As medical professionals, dentists in New Hyde Park have an appreciation for health, safety, and sanitation of their office, staff, and customers. There are many who have already delayed or canceled elective procedures that had pure cosmetic motivations with medical implications behind them and others who have postponed routine procedures, such as teeth cleaning, for a few months. These are quick and easy answers to choices most patients can provide themselves without having to consult with a New Hyde Park dentist or Lake Success, NY dentist. However, things get less certain when there is an upcoming emergency dental procedure or another procedure which cannot be rescheduled. Below we’ll detail some of the common questions that patients are asking themselves before heading out to the dentist during a time of uncertainty due to the coronavirus.

Does Coronavirus Mean My Dentist Can No Longer Provide Dental Services?

In practice, a great many dental offices have closed due to the threat coronavirus presents regarding the easy person to person transmission which can occur. For example, a person looking to go to a New Hyde Park dentist may incorporate that stop as one of many throughout the day thus infecting not just a dentist’s office in New Hyde Park or a Lake Success dentist’s office but other people as well. However, as an essential service, the Lake Success dental group and other dentists in New Hyde Park may open at their discretion in order to treat true dental emergencies or have emergency dentists on site and ready. For any dental procedure, whether scheduled or unscheduled, you should call a New Hyde Park dentist before you arrive at their office and attempt to determine the best course of action over the phone prior to any in-person consultation.

If I Visit the Dentist, Does That Mean I Am at Risk for Coronavirus?

Similar to any endeavor in life, there is no 100% guarantee that you will not be exposed to any disease. However, as medical professionals, New Hyde Park dentists and Lake Success, NY dentists at the Lake Success dental group take the most stringent precautions when it comes to cleaning their offices, sanitizing equipment, and working to be aligned with Center for Disease Control guidelines. Especially visiting an emergency dentist in New Hyde Park, you will likely see a much larger use of sanitizers, wipes, and other protective medical equipment which will help promote your safety in addition to that of the dental staff. However, in addition to those at the dental office, you must do your part to help ensure safety by washing or sanitizing your hands in addition to wearing masks and other protective coverings. Don’t solely rely on the dental office staff and Lake Success, NY dentists when visiting the office.

What Happens When the Threat Coronavirus Threat Subsides?

Once federal, state, and/or local authorities give the all clear to return to work and life as usual, Lake Success dental group and many other New Hyde Park dentists will likely open up and return to work again for procedures that were non-emergency or even considered elective, such as teeth whitening.