White Spot Lesions

Do you ever notice your teeth looking milky and discolored? That’s a sign that enamel is under attack. We’ve seen a lot of tooth decay at the Shoal Creek Prosthodontic Group in Austin, but we’ve also seen a lot of people who were able to protect themselves by catching it in time. This week’s blog post is dedicated to the teeth’s early warning system: white spot lesions.

When acid erodes enamel, the teeth will be demineralized of calcium and phosphate before large chunks of material dissolve. Demineralization can be recognized by white discoloration. It is commonly seen around orthodontic brackets and on the upper back molars of people who suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease. Ordinarily, saliva neutralizes acid, but when a person is dehydrated or their saliva glands have been damaged, white spots are likelier to form. If the incipient lesion is not stopped, it may develop into a cavity.

Ordinary brushing and flossing is usually enough to stop the spread of an infection. But scarring is possible, and it only takes about thirty days for caries to develop. We can help a patient to determine whether a white spot represents an active infection. (Staining from excess fluoride can look similar.) Remineralization therapy is available to combat dental scars. White spots only develop on natural teeth, so patients also have to be attentive to brushing dentures and artificial crowns.

Frederick Shaw, DDS, operates the Shoal Creek Prosthodontic Group at 1500 W 38^th Street, Suite 34, Austin, Texas, 78731. To schedule an appointment, call 512-451-7491 or visit Frederick Shaw DDS and fill out a contact form.

 

Flossing

 

Flossing is a key element of your daily oral health hygiene routine. Though you might not think so, flossing is just as important as brushing. Only flossing can reach areas of your mouth that your toothbrush can’t. Dr. Frederick Shaw, D.D.S. at Shoal Creek Prosthodontic Group, can answer any and all questions you might have about your daily oral routine, including flossing.

One of the best hygiene habits you can have is flossing every time you brush. Establishing a flossing routine is as easy as that. There are a few reasons why people don’t floss regularly. If your teeth are too close together, look into different varieties of floss. Floss comes waxed and unwaxed along with various thicknesses. A common misbelief is that flossing is too time-consuming. In reality, flossing has never been more accessible. Floss can be bought anywhere. Try sitting down to floss while you participate in leisurely activities, like watching TV.

Most patients don’t even realize that they might be flossing wrong. The American Dental Association (ADA) provides a few healthy tips and tricks to flossing correctly.

1. When flossing, use eighteen inches of floss. Wrap the majority of it between your two middle fingers. One finger will twirl out the used floss, the other with the clean floss.

2. Use your thumb and forefinger to guide the floss between the teeth. Be gentle, don’t snap the floss against your gums.

3. Wrap the floss around the tooth in a C shape.

4. Rub along the sides of the tooth in an up and down motion.

5. Throw away your floss when finished.

If you’d like to know more about flossing, or our other provided services, visit Shoal Creek Prosthodontic Group in Austin, TX. Dr. Frederick Shaw, D.D.S. is available for appointments online and over the phone. Visit our website or call 512-451-7491.

 

Flossing Properly

At Shoal Creek Prosthodontic Group, we want to see the families we provide for continue healthy oral care routines at home.  Regular flossing is essential to maintaining oral health and you should floss once a day, either before or after brushing. Remember these tips to floss effectively:

• A strand of dental floss about 18 inches long allows you to wrap the ends of the floss around a finger on each hand. This gives you excellent control over the portion of floss you are using.


• The proper technique to flossing is sliding the floss between the teeth and rubbing the floss back and forth up until you reach your gums.


•  Pushing at your gums too hard with floss can damage your gum line and isn’t necessary to floss properly. Gently rub the floss up to one gum, then down and back up towards the other.


•  As you move on to the next tooth, adjust the floss to expose an unused portion. Repeat this rubbing motion between each tooth and dispose of the floss once you are finished.

To learn more about dental hygiene and the services we offer at the practice, visit FrederickShawDDS.com for more information.  To schedule an appointment with Dr. Frederick Shaw in Austin, TX, call 512-451-7491.

Cleaning Fixed Bridges

When we provide patients with replacement teeth at the Shoal Creek Prosthodontic Group, we hope that they will maintain the proper oral hygiene regimen to make their new teeth last. But there are many types of tooth replacements, and different techniques may have to be used. Let’s take a look at fixed bridges.

When a bridge is cemented to pontic teeth or supported by implants, the main concern is cleaning the area beneath the bridge. When bridges are supported by the surrounding teeth, the most common cleaning method is to thread a strand of floss under the bridge and loop it around. The patient will then slide the floss along each tooth surface and rub it along the underside of the bridge with a back-and-forth motion. The looping may be accomplished with a threader, such as the ones used with orthodontics, or with specialty floss that has a stiffened portion.

Implant supported bridges may be cleaned similarly, but the larger spaces beneath the bridge may also make the use of a proxy brush desirable. (Proxy brushes are the little ones shaped like Christmas trees.) Electric toothbrushes and Waterpiks are also now being manufactured with special tips for cleaning implants.

Frederick Shaw, DDS, operates the Shoal Creek Prosthodontic Group at 1500 W 38^th Street, Suite 34, Austin, Texas, 78731. To schedule an appointment, call 512-451-7491 or visit FrederickShawDDS.com and fill out a contact form.