Difference between Silver and White Fillings

Cavities are a very common dental problem that nearly everyone has had to deal with at some point in their lives. Cavities are exactly what they sound like they are: holes that appear in teeth due to decay. These can cause serious problems unless they can be filled by a dentist. Bacteria can gain access to the interior structure of a tooth through a cavity and cause further damage which can become severe and virtually irreparable over time. Fortunately, there are relatively simple methods that a dentist can use to fill cavities in teeth.

Most dental professionals opt to use fillings to fill cavities in teeth. A filling is a tiny object that fits into a cavity and restores a damaged tooth to its original state. A filling can be made from any number of materials, but most of the time fillings are either white or silver. Few people realize that there are differences between silver and white fillings, and in many ways there aren’t many all that many differences beyond simple aesthetics.

Silver fillings are generally less expensive and more common than white fillings. These fillings are also known as amalgam fillings, and their high metal content makes them idea for withstanding stronger bite forces. These fillings are generally used for back teeth for this very reason. They can sometimes be more noticeable because of their metallic appearance, so many people do not think of them as a very good aesthetic choice. They are also more rigid and require retention grooves to be made in the tooth before placement, which means more of the tooth must be removed. This weakens the tooth and generally makes for a more complex and unpleasant procedure.

White fillings are made from an acrylic and glass composite,which is why they are often referred to as composite fillings. They are more natural looking, making them popular for aesthetic reasons alone. They also harden quickly and bond directly to teeth, meaning that patients who opt for these fillings do not have to worry so much about damaging them or their teeth shortly after placement.

A Family Dental Care Center: Dr. Seth Rosen

2030 West Main St.

Jeffersonville, PA 19403

drsethrosen.com

Three Common Teeth Grinding Causes

Why is it important to know about the causes of teeth grinding? This is an all encompassing matter and a lot of people have it without even recognizing it. As you age, you often times have additional dental issues, and teeth grinding can be an instigator of this. Once you notice you are doing this, it’s effortless to come across an approach for stopping it. To make this simpler, we will now go over some typical teeth grinding instigators.  Stress and anxiety are one the most common causes for teeth grinding.

Everybody deals with stress differently but when you are tense emotionally, your body is usually tense as well and lots of times this tension is “stored” in the jaw. Lots of times, people aren’t even aware that they are grinding their teeth. Sadly, stress can cause teeth grinding while people sleep and that is a much harder habit to stop.This is why dentists and doctors will often prescribe mouth guards for nighttime wear, but it is still unclear as to whether or not this is an effective method of treatment.

If you are grinding your teeth because you are stressed out it is very important that you treat the cause of your stress as well as the actual grinding of your teeth. A condition that is connected to teeth grinding is TMJ, or temporalmandibular joint pain. This causes achiness or tightness in the jaw and also brings about teeth grinding. TMJ has many causes, including arthritis, bad posture or overworking the muscles during physical labor or exercise. All of these, then, can also be indirect causes of teeth grinding.

If you are putting up with TMJ, your physician or dentist will mention a specialist who has experience curing this issue. If this is the situation, ridding yourself of TMJ will almost certainly also treat your teeth grinding. TMJ is a dilemma, which has been receiving increased awareness lately and health professionals are recognizing more operative strategies for treating it. Sometimes teeth grinding is caused by worms like intestinal parasites and pin worms.

This happens more often in countries where there isn’t a lot of good drinking water but it can also happen elsewhere. In fact, some alternative health practitioners believe that parasites are far more prevalent than is commonly believed, and this can cause a variety of symptoms, aside from teeth grinding. There are medical tests that can determine if this is a problem, so if you suspect you or someone in your family grinds their teeth because of worms or parasites, it’s best to get tested for this.

Parasites can cause a lot of big problems but there are lots of ways to get rid of them once they have been found in your system. Teeth grinding is a habit that may not seem serious, but in the long run it can cause many problems with the teeth and gums. When you have correctly identified the reason for this bad habit, do everything you can to break it. The causes of teeth grinding discussed in this article have all been accepted by experts but the exact cause is sometimes hard to figure out.

A Family Dental Care Center: Dr. Seth Rosen

2030 West Main St.

Jeffersonville, PA 19403

drsethrosen.com

Are Electric Toothbrushes Better Than Manual Brushes?

The goals of brushing your teeth are to prevent soft plaque from forming hard plaque on your teeth and to promote soft tissue circulation. To accomplish these goals, most dentists recommend that you brush your teeth several times a day and floss.
The problem comes in when considering whether electric toothbrushes or manual toothbrushes are better at keeping your teeth pristine.

 

What is Plaque?

To really understand which type of toothbrush is best, you need to understand what plaque is. It’s a sticky film that attaches to the surface of your teeth.
Plaque forms inside of your mouth as a byproduct of the Streptococcus mutans bacteria. It starts out as a sticky film that is soft and can be removed by something as soft as the bristles of a brush. It then forms a hard type of tissue that glues itself to the surface of your teeth.
In case you’re wondering why that name looks vaguely familiar, it’s because the strand of bacteria that is responsible for causing plaque in your mouth is a relative of the same bacteria that causes strep throat.

 

Which are Better: Electric or Manual Toothbrushes?

Most dentists will agree that both manual and electric toothbrushes perform their jobs equally, however one may have different benefits over the other.
Most electric toothbrushes can remove soft plaque just as well as a manual toothbrush can when used properly. This means that the bristles are able to dislodge it from the surface of your teeth just fine.
However, there is some debate when it comes to electric toothbrushes. The type of toothbrush that has an oscillating head that moves one way and then turns the opposite way is preferred by some dentists. These dentists state that it removes plaque and reduces gum inflammation better than manual toothbrushes.
The real, indisputable differences between the two types of toothbrushes comes in at the different things that they can do. For some patients, there are parts of their part that they just can’t reach with a manual toothbrush. The molars in the very back of your mouth can be an example of this, especially if you still have your wisdom teeth.
Manual toothbrushes are cheaper. There’s no replacement heads, there’s no batteries to replace and there’s no need to worry about keeping them supplied with electricity. A manual toothbrush is always ready to use.
Electric toothbrushes have two qualities that give them a situational advantage. The handle is usually thick and they don’t require you to move your hand to brush. Both of these things make them easier to use for people lacking the physical or mental dexterity required to brush with manual brushes such as young children or people with arthritis.

 

The Bottom Line About Manual and Electric Toothbrushes

With regard to which toothbrush works the best, only you can answer that. The goal of brushing your teeth is to ultimately keep them clean and to help make sure your gums are healthy and free of any disease. If you’re fine with a manual brush and your teeth don’t have a problem with plaque, then stay with it. If you have certain areas that are hard for you to reach with a manual toothbrush, then consider using an electrical toothbrush.

A Family Dental Care Center: Dr. Seth Rosen

2030 West Main St.

Jeffersonville, PA 19403

drsethrosen.com