A:Generally, no. However, its advisable to use a fluoride containing toothpaste to decrease the incidence of dental decay. We recommend our patients use what tastes good to them as long as it contains fluoride.
A:These are restorations to repair a severely broken tooth by covering all or most of the tooth after removing old fillings, fractured tooth structure, and all decay. The restoration material is made of gold, porcelain, composites, or even stainless steel. Dentists refer to all of these restorations as crowns. However, patients often refer to the tooth-colored ones as caps and the gold or stainless steel ones as crowns.
A:Both bridges and partial dentures replace missing teeth. A bridge is permanently attached to abutment teeth or, in some cases, implants. A partial denture is attached by clasps to the teeth and is easily removed by the patient. Patients are usually more satisfied with bridges than with partial dentures.
A:No. While most teeth which have had root canal treatments do need crowns to strengthen the teeth and to return the teeth to normal form and function, not every tooth needing a crown also needs to have a root canal.
A:Morning mouth is a common condition caused by the slowing of salivary flow during sleep. This permits the accumulation of desquamated epithelial cells, organic debris, and bacteria, which would otherwise be cleared from the mouth and swallowed. Everyone has this to an extent. Antimicrobial factors in saliva (enzymes and antibodies) are thought to be irrelevant to bad breath; it is more related to the volume of salivary flow.