When You Lose a Filling

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by Lynnwood Song Dental

Lost Dental Filling

Despite all the advances in dental care, fillings are never completely invulnerable. A filling will occasionally pop out, possibly after taking a sharp impact, possibly while you are chewing on a sticky food, and maybe for no discernible reason at all. If this happens, it’s important to alert your Lynnwood dentistry clinic as soon as you can in order to replace this filling and protect the fragile insides of your tooth.

If you swallow a filling, do not worry. Modern dental fillings are non-toxic, and should pass from your system harmlessly. However, there are rare cases of a filling going down the windpipe and getting lodged in the lungs; should this happen, you should bring it to the attention of your doctor.

Possible Pre-existing Issues

When you lose a filling, remember that you shouldn’t necessarily blame the taffy that yanked it out or the baseball that knocked it loose. Chances are that there was a pre-existing issue with your filling; maybe you have some decay underneath the filling that let it fall out. With this in mind, you can look at your lost filling as a sign that it’s time to address what might have been a more serious problem in the future.

Scrape Your Tongue for Better Taste Sensations!

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Scraping your tongue is an important part of your oral hygiene routine. If you fail to clear away the build-up on your tongue’s surface, you are inviting tooth decay, gum disease, and a laundry list of tongue-related illnesses upon yourself. And, in case the health concerns are not enough to motivate you to get a proper tongue scraper, you should also consider the benefits that tongue scraping has at the dinner table.

Cleaner Tongue, Better Taste Buds?

When you allow plaque and detritus to gather on your tongue, your taste buds aren’t able to do their job as well. Tasting food through a thick layer of plaque is like trying to feel something through a thick set of gloves.

Blocked taste buds lead to false cravings and a reduced ability to enjoy the flavor of your food. It’s only by cleaning your tongue that you can open up your tongue’s pores and properly enjoy your favorite meals.

Tongue Cleaning Tips at Song Dental

Consult our Lynnwood dentistry clinic for more on how you can effectively clean your tongue, using a tongue scraper, and more tips.

Looking Out for Oral Cancer

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Oral Cancer Screening

When you get your teeth examined at our Lynnwood Dentistry, we’re also on the lookout for oral cancer.  This represents any cancerous developments on your lips, inside your cheeks, on your tongue, on the floor of your mouth or on your hard palate.

In addition to our efforts, there is also a lot you can be doing at home to look out for malignant growths between your regular dental visits.

Possible Symptoms of Oral Cancer

Keep the following symptoms in mind, and call us immediately if you think you are in danger:

  • Strange lumps, swelling, crusts, roughness, or eroded areas on your lips or anywhere inside your mouth.
  • Lumps in your neck.
  • Velvety red or white patches in your mouth, or a speckled white and red patch.
  • Unusual bleeding in your mouth.
  • A sore throat, or a sensation that you have something caught in the back of your throat.
  • Numbness or loss of feeling in your face, neck, mouth, or ear.
  • Unexplained pain or tenderness in your face, neck, mouth, or ear.
  • Sores in your face, neck, or mouth that bleed easily and persist for more than two weeks.
  • Persistent hoarseness.
  • Difficulty swallowing, chewing, or moving your tongue.
  • Slurred speech or changes in your voice.
  • A change in the way your teeth fit together.
  • Inexplicable weight loss.

What About Toothpicks?

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Are toothpicks beneficial to your teeth?

Every so often, our Lynnwood dentist will have somebody ask about the benefits of toothpicks. Are they beneficial to your teeth? Are they a valid substitute for flossing?

The answer is that toothpicks are a mixed bag and, though they have some valid application, they should never be considered an alternative to a proper oral hygiene system.

Like floss, toothpicks can reach between your teeth somewhat better than the bristles of your brush. Of course, a toothpick is obviously thicker than a string of floss, so you can hardly expect to get as much coverage. They serve well to dislodge bothersome chunks of food, which can lead to a somewhat cleaner mouth, but that’s more or less the limits of their utility.

Possible Issue with Toothpicks

A problem with toothpicks is that they can be a little hard on your gums. Don’t try to shove them too far in between your teeth, as the hard, wooden edges can easily damage your fragile tissue. This is also a good way to splinter the pick, possibly lodging tiny pieces below the gum line. So take care with your tooth-picking, brush and floss every day, and see your Lynnwood dentist regularly to keep your smile clean.

On Guard Against Dry Mouth

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Issues with Having a Dry Mouth

You need saliva in your mouth to guard you from infections.  When your mouth is too dry, it invites harmful cultures of bacteria and fungi to thrive in your teeth and gums and cause tooth rot and gingivitis.

It is for this reason that our Lynnwood dentist wants you to be on the lookout for dry mouth, and be mindful of anything that contributes to this condition.

  • Any kind of smoking can cause dry mouth.
  • Chewing tobacco can dry out your mouth.
  • When you breathe from your mouth, you’re venting moisture faster than it can be replaced.  Excessive mouth-breathing generally leads to dry mouth.
  • A lot of diseases, including AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, anemia, hypertension, mumps, rheumatoid arthritis, and strokes, cause dry mouth.
  • Many medications list dry mouth as a side effect.  Check your medications for such side effects.
  • Certain medical treatments, like chemotherapy, can cause damage to your salivary glands and impair their ability to produce saliva.
  • If you suffer an injury that damages your nerves in your head or neck area, it may inhibit your salivary glands.
  • When you become dehydrated, your body is likely to cut down on saliva production in favor of more vital functions.  Be sure to drink enough water.

What Causes Crooked Teeth?

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“Malocclusion” describes when your teeth aren’t fitting together properly.  This can be very uncomfortable, making it difficult to eat, speak, or clean your teeth properly.  Song’s Lynnwood dental center can help you in avoiding this unfortunate condition, which starts with looking out for the following risk factors:

  • Bad habits like thumb-sucking or mouth-breathing at a young age can cause teeth to come in crooked.  If your child has a persistent habit, consult your dentist for options.
  • Tooth loss can cause teeth to move out of position.  This can be any kind of tooth loss, resulting from tooth decay, injuries, or a tooth extraction.  Try to hang on to all of your teeth by maintaining proper oral hygiene and wearing a mouthguard for all athletic activities.
  • Some people just have bad teeth in their genes.  If you suffered from malocclusion that didn’t result from one of the above effects, there’s a good chance that one of your parents had it, and there’s a good chance your children will have it as well.

If you or one of your family members has malocclusion, consult Song’s Lynnwood dentist to be connected with a proper orthodontist.

Why Are My Teeth Getting Stained?

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We whiten a lot of teeth at our Lynnwood dental clinic, and many patients want to know what they can do to keep their teeth white.  Many of them are already aware of the bigger threats to their enamel: they eschew smoking, coffee, candy and soda, and yet they still routinely find themselves with a lackluster smile.  The unfortunate truth is that it’s hard to completely avoid tooth-staining substances, for even many of our healthier options can have a tendency to leave a mark on your pearly-whites.  Consider this list of tooth-stainers:

  • Berries.  This includes both whole berries and berries that have been processed into pies, jams, wines, and the like.
  • Colorful sauces, like soy sauce, tomato sauce, and curry.
  • Tea, even herbal teas and white teas, may have at least as much staining potential as coffee.
  • Sports drinks and energy drinks.

Obviously, you can’t be expected to cut all of these out of your diet.  Some represent foods that a good nutritionist would advise you to eat on a daily basis, and you shouldn’t be denying yourself a healthy diet to preserve the whiteness of your teeth.

What you can do, however, is adopt habits to minimize tooth stains.  Drinking certain drinks through straws can reduce their staining potential, and brushing soon (but not too soon!) after staining meals can eliminate staining agents before they settle in.  And of course, no matter what may happen, you can always count on Song’s dental center to put the sparkle back into your grin.

Plaque and Tartar: What’s the Difference?

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When you go in for a cleaning with our Lynnwood dental clinic, you’ll probably hear the words “plaque” and “tartar” a lot. Some people make the mistake of thinking that these terms are interchangeable, and this shows an unfortunate lack of understanding in the harmful build-up that afflicts your mouth.

In simple terms, plaque is a sticky film that grows on your teeth. This is where bacteria is mingling with the food you eat and producing the acids that can break down your teeth and gums. The good news is that it’s easy to remove; a gentle, twice-daily brushing and flossing is all you need to keep plaque down to manageable levels.

When plaque isn’t dealt with quickly enough, it will eventually turn into tartar. Tartar is similar to plaque in that it continues to contribute to tooth decay, but now it’s a hard shell that cannot be removed with normal brushing. This is the substance that your dentist needs to scratch away during your regular cleanings.

The process of removing tartar deposits is called scaling, and only a dental professional should attempt it. If you attempt to scale your own teeth, you might dig into your enamel and damage your tooth. So keep up your regular brushing to manage your plaque, and leave the tartar to Song’s Lynnwood dental center.