Dr. Matarazzo

Can you imagine if your teeth were a computer keyboard?  It very well could be in the future thanks to advances in technology.

Our tongues already control taste and speech, now scientists hope to add one more job to the tongue – turning it into a computer control pad.

Researchers believe that a magnetic, tongue-powered system could transform a disabled person’s mouth into a virtual computer, teeth into a keyboard, and tongue into the key that manipulates it all.  An assistant professor who leads the team’s research says, “You could have full control over your environment by just being able to move your tongue.”  The Tongue Drive System turns the tongue into a joystick of sorts, allowing the disabled individual to maneuver wheelchairs, manage home appliances and control computers.

After turning the system on, users are asked to establish six commands: Left, right, forward, backward, single-click and double-click. A graduate student who tested the technology was cruising the lab at will in a wheelchair, tongue firmly in cheek. The researches hope that soon they can add many more commands that would turn the teeth into keyboards and cheeks into computer consoles.

Isn’t technology just grand?  Visit our website at www.drmatarazzo.com

Is chewing ice bad for your teeth?  Many people have asked this before, because, after all, it is just frozen water right?

However, the truth of the matter is, chewing ice can be dangerous for your teeth.  Even though it is “just water,” the fact of the matter is that it is frozen water.  The problem isn’t that it is cold; the problem is that it is hard.  Ice cubes are so hard that they can chip or crack teeth, especially teeth that have already been weakened by old fillings.

If you have fillings, there is a good chance that the filling has weakened the teeth, making them more susceptible to cracking when biting down on something hard like an ice cube.  And once the tooth cracks, you may have to have a root canal or even a crown to fix the tooth.  You could even lose the tooth. 

So before you bite down on that “frozen water” next time, consider the damage that you could do to your teeth.  And if you should crack a tooth biting on ice, or for any other reason, feel free to contact Dr. Matarazzo for a complimentary consultation.

In yesterday’s blog posting, we discussed the possible damage that the acidity in wine can have on your teeth.  Interestingly, many might feel that whenever you drink something or eat something acidic, or sugary, that you should immediately brush your teeth afterwards.  In fact, most will remember our moms telling us to go brush our teeth right after eating something super sugary.

However, the truth is that this may not be the best idea.  In fact, some dentists recommend that anytime you consume anything that is acidic or sugary, you should wait anywhere up to two hours before brushing your teeth.  Why?  The acid will almost immediately start to eat away at your teeth, and if you brush right away, you may be scraping a lot of the enamel off of your teeth.

You should rinse with water, of if you are going to drink wine, try and have some cheese with it so that it will neutralize the effect.  Chewing sugar-free gum is also a good idea.

We hope you enjoy these posts and the tips that we try to provide.  We are happy to take new clients and hope that you will contact us for a complimentary consultation. 

Attention wine drinkers.  That warm tingly feeling you experience after a few glasses of wine may not be the only thing you have to worry about.  Dentists have become increasingly concerned about a rise in tooth erosion that has been linked to drinking wine.

Many wine drinkers who indulge on a consistent basis of that red or white wine simply may not realize that the wine they are drinking could be harming their teeth.

One dentist stated, “Just like we saw many years ago a rise in teenage tooth erosion caused by the consumption of sugary fizzy drinks, we are starting to see different causes presenting themselves now and one of those is wine.”

The major concern is with those who consume large amounts of wine.  An occasional glass with dinner is not considered harmful.  Nonetheless, dentists advise that those who drink consistently should consider a reduction in the amount of wine they drink.  The acidity in the wine can be damaging to the teeth, with problems such as loss of brightness, discoloration, and sensitivity. It is believed that white wine is slightly more acidic than red, and that beer is less harmful to teeth because it contains fluoride.

Visit our site at www.drmatarazzo.com

Drum roll please!   Here it is our final post for the month of July.  Dental reason number five as to why you may be experiencing a toothache:  TMJ!

Diseases of the temporo-mandibular joint(s) can cause pain, usually in front of one or both ears. The TMJ hinges the lower jaw (mandible) to the skull. Pain in the temporo-mandibular joint(s) can be caused by acute trauma (such as a blow to the face), inflammatory or degenerative arthritis, or by the mandible being pushed back towards the ears whenever you chew or swallow. Sometimes, muscles around the TMJ used for chewing can go into spasm, causing head and neck pain and difficulty opening the mouth normally. These muscle spasms are aggravated by chewing or by life “stress,” which can cause you to clench your teeth and further tighten these muscles. Temporary muscle spasms can also be caused by dental injections that are used to deliver local anesthetic for dental work or by the trauma of extracting impacted wisdom teeth.

Treatment of temporo-mandibular joint pain usually involves oral anti-inflammatory drugs.  Other measures include warm moist compresses to relax the joint areas, regular aerobic exercise to reduce stress, eating soft foods that do not require much chewing, and/or repositioning the mandible forward with a TMJ dental splint.

Repositioning the mandible forward with a splint relieves pressure on the nerves and blood vessels of the TMJ, and relieves pain. The splint changes the position of how the upper and lower teeth meet. To maintain this new position, the TMJ splint needs to be worn all the time, including mealtimes, indefinitely. In patients who do not wish to wear the splint indefinitely, alternative measures to maintain the new position include placing full-coverage crowns on all of the back teeth (bicuspids and molars) or by using dental braces.

Obviously, this is the most serious of the reasons for why you may be experiencing a toothache.  The bottom line is, you must take preventive measures so that what can begin as a small, fixable issue doesn’t become a serious problem requiring a tremendous amount of care.  Never allow dental issues to go on unresolved, and of course, never suffer indefinitely with pain.  If any of these matters are affecting you, please contact our office for a complimentary consultation.  We take patients from the Quincy, MA area and the greater Boston area as well.  We would be thrilled to see you.

Ready everyone?  Here it is, dental reason number four for why you may be experiencing a toothache.  This one is pretty obvious – a cracked tooth!  This is often referred to as cracked tooth syndrome.

“Cracked Tooth Syndrome” refers to toothache caused by a broken tooth (tooth fracture) without associated cavity or advanced gum disease. Biting on the area of tooth fracture can cause severe sharp pains. These fractures are usually due to chewing or biting hard objects such as hard candies, pencils, nuts, ice, etc. Sometimes, the fracture can be seen by painting a special dye on the cracked tooth. Treatment usually involves protecting the tooth with a full-coverage porcelain crown. However, if placing a crown does not relieve pain symptoms, a root canal procedure may be necessary.

Tune in on Monday for our final dental reason for why you may be experiencing a toothache!  More helpful information can be found on our site at www.drmatarazzo.com
 

Here is dental reason number three for why you may be suffering with a toothache.  Chronic gum disease also contributes to toothache due to root sensitivities. The roots are the lower 2/3 of the teeth that are normally buried in bone. The bacterial toxins dissolve the bone around the roots and cause the gum and the bone to recede, exposing the roots. The exposed roots can become sensitive to cold, hot, and sour foods because they are no longer protected by healthy gum and bone. The sensitivities may be so severe that the patient avoids any cold or sour foods.

Early stages of root exposure can be treated with topical fluoride gels applied by the dentist or with special toothpastes which contain fluorides and other minerals. These minerals are absorbed by the surface layer of the roots to make the roots stronger and less sensitive to the oral environment. If the root exposure causes injury and death of the inner living pulp tissue of the tooth, then a root canal procedure or tooth extraction may be necessary.

If you are experiencing any sensitivity to cold or hot beverages, please contact us for a complimentary consultation.

Yesterday we reviewed the first reason for experiencing a toothache which was due to a cavity.  Today, we will discuss the second most common cause of toothache - gum disease.

Gum disease refers to inflammation of the soft tissue (gingiva) and abnormal loss of bone that surrounds the teeth and holds them in place. Gum disease is caused by toxins secreted by bacteria in “plaque” that accumulate over time along the gum line. This plaque is a mixture of food, saliva, and bacteria. Early symptoms of gum disease include gum bleeding without pain. Pain is a symptom of more advanced gum disease as the loss of bone around the teeth leads to the formation of gum pockets. Bacteria in these pockets cause gum infection, swelling, pain, and further bone destruction. Advanced gum disease can cause loss of otherwise healthy teeth.

Treatment of early gum disease involves oral hygiene and removal of bacterial plaque. Moderate to advanced gum disease usually requires a thorough cleaning of the teeth and teeth roots called “root planing” and “subgingival curettage.” Root planing is the removal of plaque and tartar (hardened plaque) from exposed teeth roots while subgingival curettage refers to the removal of the surface of the inflamed layer of gum tissue. Both of these procedures are usually performed under local anesthesia and may be accompanied by the use of oral antibiotics to overcome gum infection or abscess. Follow-up treatment may include various types of gum surgeries. In advanced gum disease with significant bone destruction and loosening of teeth, teeth splinting or teeth extractions may be necessary.

One thing remains clear.  In order to save yourself from painful toothaches and corrective procedures, it is important to brush and floss regularly, as well as see your dentist.  Please contact Dr. Matarazzo of the Quincy, MA area for a complimentary consultation.

In yesterdays blog posting, we noted that there could be many causes for experiencing a toothache, some as serious as heart disease.  Over the next five posts, we will cover the 5 most common dental causes for a toothache.

The most common cause is a dental cavity. Dental cavities are holes in the two outer layers of a tooth called the enamel and the dentin. The enamel is the outermost white hard surface and the dentin is the yellow layer just beneath the enamel. Both layers serve to protect the inner living tooth tissue called the pulp, where blood vessels and nerves reside. Certain bacteria in the mouth convert simple sugars into acid. The acid softens and along with saliva, dissolves the enamel and dentin, creating cavities. Small shallow cavities may not cause pain and may be unnoticed by the patient. The larger deeper cavities can collect food debris. The inner living pulp of the affected tooth can become irritated by bacterial toxins or by foods that are cold, hot, sour, or sweet-causing toothache. Toothache from these larger cavities is the most common reason for visits to dentists.

Treatment of a small and shallow cavity usually involves a dental filling. Treatment of a larger cavity involves an onlay or crown. Treatment of a cavity that has penetrated and injured the pulp requires either a root canal procedure or extraction of the affected tooth. Injury to the pulp can lead to death of pulp tissue, resulting in tooth infection (dental abscess). The treatment of an infected tooth is either removal of the tooth or a root canal procedure. The root canal procedure involves removing the dying pulp tissue (thus avoiding or removing tooth infection) and replacing it with an inert material. The procedure is used in an attempt to save the dying tooth from extraction.

For more information on our dental root canal procedure, click here.  If you are experiencing any pain, come visit us right away.  Go here to fill out a form for a complimentary consultation.

OK, we’ve all had it.  That unbearable pain we feel shooting through our mouth.  “Toothache” usually refers to pain around the teeth or jaws. In most instances, toothaches are caused by tooth or jaw problems, such as a dental cavity, a cracked tooth, an exposed tooth root, gum disease, disease of the jaw joint (temporal- mandibular joint), or spasms of the muscles used for chewing. The severity of a toothache can range from chronic and mild to sharp and excruciating. The pain may be aggravated by chewing or by cold or heat. A thorough oral examination, which includes dental x-rays, can help determine the cause, whether the toothache is coming from a tooth or jaw problem.

Nonetheless, it is important to know that some toothaches may be caused by a problem not originating from a tooth or the jaw. Pain around the teeth and the jaws can be symptoms of diseases of the heart, ear infections, and sinuses. For example, the pain of angina (inadequate supply of oxygenated blood to the heart muscle because of narrowing of the arteries to the heart) is usually located in the chest or the arm. However, in some patients with angina, a toothache or jaw pain is the only symptoms of their heart problem. Infections and diseases of the ears and sinuses can also cause pain around the teeth and jaws. Therefore, evaluations by both dentists and doctors are sometimes necessary to diagnose medical illnesses causing “toothache.”

In our following 5 blog postings for the month of July, we will outline in more detail some of the dental causes of a toothache.  Visit our site at www.drmatarazzo.com for more helpful information.