Bad breath (also called halitosis) is an embarrassing problem that can make people feel isolated and self-conscious — that is, if they even realize they have it. Sometimes, bad breath is a temporary issue, such as after coffee or an especially pungent meal. Other times, halitosis can be a symptom of a more serious dental issue. Let’s look with our family dentist in Jonesborough today at five possible reasons your breath may smell bad.
It’s common knowledge that garlic-laden dishes aren’t going to be the best choice for dinner if, for instance, you’re on a first date. Garlic, onions and spicy dishes are known to cause smelly breath because they contain compounds that enter a person’s bloodstream and are exhaled through the lungs. This means bad breath lingers for hours after consuming the meal with these ingredients.
Solution? When enjoying a meal heavy in garlic, onion and/or spices, be sure you drink plenty of water. Our Jonesborough family dentist also recommends chewing sugar-free gum, which helps increase saliva production. Saliva helps combat bad breath. And, of course, brushing your teeth after meals will help with bad breath, too.
A lack of proper brushing and flossing often results in someone having lingering food particles in their mouth, particularly between the teeth. The food particles attract bad, sulfur-producing bacteria that thrive and multiply on the teeth, gums and tongue.
Solution? Practice strong oral hygiene to be sure you’re eliminating all food particles from your teeth after eating. Our family dentist in Greeneville, like all dentists, recommends brushing your teeth at least twice a day — once after breakfast and once before bed — and flossing once daily, preferably during your nighttime oral health care regime. Boost your regime and the freshness of your breath by adding a mouthwash to your oral hygiene routine, and be sure to visit us at Tusculum Dental Care twice a year for your routine exam and cleaning.
Saliva is the unsung hero of oral health, but it’s Nature’s natural antiseptic mouthwash. It helps wash away food particles and harmful, sulfur-producing bacteria in your mouth. Dry mouth, also called xerostomia, can result from dehydration, taking certain medications or breathing through the mouth instead of the nose.
Solution? The best way to combat dehydration is to always have water handy and sip it throughout the day. You can also chew sugar-free gum or suck on sugar-free candies to stimulate saliva production. If your dry mouth persists despite these efforts, contact our Tusculum Dental Care office.
Chronic bad breath can be a symptom of gum disease, also known as periodontal disease, which occurs when plaque and sulfur-producing bacteria build up on the teeth and irritate the gums, leading to inflammation and infection.
Solution? Gum disease is a condition that usually results from poor oral hygiene and needs to be confirmed and treated by a professional. If you notice pink in your toothpaste when you brush your teeth, or if your gums are red, irritated or inflamed, contact our Erwin family dentist to make an appointment as quickly as possible. Early treatment of gum disease can help prevent more serious dental issues down the road.
Occasionally, bad breath has little to do with oral health and instead is linked to medical conditions such as sinus infections, acid reflux, diabetes or even more serious conditions like kidney or liver problems. These conditions can cause distinctive breath odors that are difficult to mask.
Solution? If you’re struggling with bad breath and have tried each of the oral healthcare tips above to no avail, consult with your primary healthcare provider to address any potential underlying medical conditions that could be causing your bad breath.
Bad breath can be an uncomfortable problem. Thankfully, in many cases, it’s also avoidable. Step up your oral health regime, stay hydrated, chew sugar-free gum and eat garlic, onion and spicy foods in moderation. If you try all of these tips and still struggle with bad breath, contact our Tusculum Dental Care office at (423) 639-7575, or reach out to us online today.
When we have patients who eat a healthy, well-balanced diet and exercise regularly but complain that they still can’t seem to shed unwanted pounds, they’re often surprised to learn of the correlation between oral health and overall health, including a person’s ability to lose weight. Let’s look today with our Erwin family dentist at how dental issues could be the culprit behind your inability to meet your weight-loss goals.
Chronic inflammation from poor oral health, such as gum disease, can significantly affect weight management. Inflammation resulting from oral infections spreads throughout the body, disrupting metabolic processes and contributing to insulin resistance, which may lead to weight gain.
Individuals facing dental problems, including gum disease or missing, decayed, damaged or misaligned teeth, might struggle to chew nutritious foods such as raw, crisp fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains. Consequently, they may opt for softer, processed foods that tend to be higher in calories and sugar.
Poor oral health, misaligned teeth or a small jaw can contribute to sleep apnea, a common sleep disorder characterized by frequent pauses in breathing during sleep. This condition repeatedly interrupts the sleep cycle and prevents deep sleep. Quality sleep is essential for maintaining a healthy metabolism and regulating hunger-related hormones.
Brush your teeth twice a day and floss at least once daily. If you want to boost your regimen, add an antibacterial mouthwash.
Routine checkups help with the early detection of any potential oral health issues, such as gum disease and tooth decay.
If you are missing teeth or have teeth that are decayed or damaged, our Jonesborough restorative dentist can correct this with treatments like fillings, crowns or dental implants.
If you believe you may suffer from sleep apnea, mention that to our Greeneville airway dentist. We can make recommendations, such as oral appliance therapy, that can improve your sleep quality and overall health.
If you’ve tried everything, including maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine, and you still aren’t losing weight, your oral health could be what’s interfering. Schedule an appointment today with us at Tusculum Dental Care. We can be reached at (423) 639-7575 or by contacting us online.
An overbite is a common dental condition in which the upper teeth protrude over the lower teeth more than what is considered normal. Most people have a slight overbite, which is normal and healthy. A more severe overbite, however, is considered a bad bite (malocclusion) and should be evaluated by our cosmetic dentist in Erwin at Tusculum Dental. Let’s look closely today at what overbites are and how cosmetic dentistry can correct them.
There are two primary types of overbites — skeletal and dental. While skeletal malocclusions often require orthodontics or surgical intervention to correct, dental overbites can usually be addressed with nonsurgical treatments, including cosmetic dentistry.
Naturally, most people think of traditional braces or Invisalign — which our Jonesborough cosmetic dentist offers — to correct an overbite.
But mild to moderate overbites and their associated complications can also be addressed with cosmetic dentistry treatments in our office, such as:
Porcelain veneers are very thin, durable shells that adhere to the surface of teeth. They can cover minor imperfections in teeth like discoloration, chips or cracks. They can also be used to reshape teeth and disguise slightly crooked and gapped teeth. Veneers can also be used to fix worn or uneven teeth as the result of an overbite.
Dental bonding addresses many of the same issues as veneers but for less time and money. It involves our cosmetic dentist in Greeneville applying a tooth-colored resin to an affected tooth, shaping it to subtly adjust the length or alignment of the tooth and then hardening it with a special light. This can help minimize the visual impact of an overbite.
Overbites are notorious for causing excessive wear on teeth. Crowns cover and protect teeth that have been damaged, restoring their appearance and function.
Our Erwin cosmetic dentist often recommends Invisalign to correct crooked teeth and bad bites. We custom-create a series of clear trays that gradually shift the teeth into their correct position in usually about half the time it takes braces.
If you are concerned about your overbite, call Tusculum Dental Care at (423) 639-7575, or contact us online today. We would be happy to evaluate your bite and discuss your options with you.
A dental crown is a cap placed over a tooth for one of several reasons but primarily to protect a damaged or weak tooth. Crowns are most well-known for being used in root canals and to top dental implants and attach bridges.
The cost of a crown can vary based on the material used to make it, but generally, it is between $800 and $2,500 per tooth. With that kind of price tag, most of our patients understandably want to know how long they can expect their crowns to last.
Fortunately, crowns are durable and long-lasting, but their life expectancy depends on a few factors. Let’s look at those today with our family dentist in Erwin:
The duration of a crown depends on the material used to make it
A crown’s lifespan not only depends on the material it is made of but also on how well it’s cared for. Here are five of the most common factors, besides material, that impact the lifespan of a crown:
Crowns can’t get cavities; however, any exposed area of the affected tooth near the gumline can. Crowns must be cared for as if they’re natural teeth. That means brushing twice a day, flossing at least once daily and visiting our Jonesborough family dentist for regular checkups and cleanings every six months.
Also known as bruxism, teeth grinding wears down natural teeth and can do the same to a dental crown. If you grind your teeth, be sure to tell our Greeneville cosmetic dentist before you get a crown so that we can custom-make a protective nightguard for you to wear during sleep.
Crunching on ice, chewing on pens, biting nails or opening packages with teeth (using your teeth as tools) can cause damage to both natural teeth and crowns.
Hard foods like popcorn kernels and hard candies can spell disaster for a crown. Chewy foods like taffy and caramel can cause a crown to loosen from a tooth.
Where a crown is located in the mouth can impact its lifespan. The back teeth withstand more pressure because of chewing. This can shorten the life of a crown.
If you have a crown and are experiencing pain or sensitivity in the tooth it covers, if you notice any damage to your crown or if it feels loose, be sure to reach out to our dentist in Erwin as soon as you notice it.
Dental crowns are durable and can last a long time depending on what material they’re made of, where they’re located in the mouth and how well they’re cared for. If you have questions about crowns, or if you have one and you think it may need to be replaced, call Tusculum Dental Care, (423) 639-7575, or contact us online today.
When most people think of sleep apnea treatment, they envision wearing a face mask hooked to a noisy and cumbersome machine at night. A continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine is the standard way to treat sleep apnea, but a patient’s reluctance to use a CPAP can, unfortunately, prevent him or her from seeking treatment for this common and potentially dangerous sleep disorder.
But what if we told you it’s possible to treat mild to moderate cases of sleep apnea without a CPAP? Let’s look with our airway dentist in Erwin today at what sleep apnea is and the different ways it can be treated without a CPAP.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder that is known to frequently interrupt a person’s breathing — and sleep pattern — at night. It’s caused when the throat muscles relax during sleep, either partially or completely blocking the airway. Sleep apnea can lead to snoring, severe daytime fatigue and, if left untreated, more severe overall health problems like high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
The most severe cases of OSA and people with issues like a deviated septum or enlarged tonsils may require surgical intervention, but mild to moderate cases of OSA can be treated in other, less-invasive ways.
Sometimes, simple lifestyle changes can be enough to improve mild to moderate OSA symptoms.
Our Jonesborough sleep apnea dentist custom-makes oral appliances that fit in a patient’s mouth like a nightguard. These appliances comfortably reposition the jaw and tongue to keep the airway open during sleep.
Myofunctional therapy teaches exercises to strengthen the tongue and throat muscles, which helps reduce airway collapse during sleep. For the best results, myofunctional therapy is often used in conjunction with other treatments.
If you feel you’re receiving adequate sleep but still feel extremely tired the following day — or if you’ve heard from a sleeping partner that you have a persistent, loud snore or that you stop breathing at night — call Tusculum Dental Care, (423) 639-7575, or reach out to us online today. Our Greeneville dentist works alongside sleep specialists to design a comprehensive sleep plan that will improve your sleep quality and overall health.
Are you a person who consistently struggles to fall asleep or to stay asleep at night no matter what you try? We all should be aware by now how important sleep is to our overall physical and mental health. Studies show that sleep is directly related to brain function and that insufficient sleep or poor sleep quality weakens the immune system and is linked to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. While the impact of sleep on physical health is well-known, not as many people realize that dental health can be a major factor in the quality of sleep.
At Tusculum Dental, we want you to sleep through every night peacefully, so today our our airway dentist in Erwin is sharing a few tips to help!
All humans have a circadian rhythm, which is a natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Going to bed at the same time each night and waking up at the same time each morning — even on weekends — will help reinforce your body’s internal clock, making it easier to fall asleep and wake up at the same times each day. Over time, this routine will help your sleep schedule, in turn improving your sleep quality, health and well-being.
It’s easy enough to lay in bed at the same time each night, hoping to fall asleep. But it’s often the falling asleep part that proves difficult. It’s important to relax at night and prepare your mind and body for rest. As difficult as it may be at first, our Jonesborough family dentist encourages no screentime — including TVs, phones, computers or tablets — at least an hour before bed. Instead, develop some calming nighttime habits like reading, gentle stretching, taking a warm bath or meditating.
Food right before bed has to be digested so if you eat a big meal or snack just before sleep, your body is still actively working while you’re trying to rest. Also, caffeine is a stimulant that will keep you awake at night, so avoid it before bedtime. While some people turn to a nightcap to help them fall asleep quicker, it actually impairs the body’s ability to get a deep, restful sleep.
Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that is recognized by frequent pauses in breathing during sleep. It happens when the airway becomes partially or completely blocked when the throat muscles relax too much, allowing soft tissues to collapse and obstruct airflow.
Symptoms of OSA include:
Left untreated, OSA can lead to serious health complications such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and diabetes, so it’s very important to talk to our Greeneville airway dentist if you suspect you have the condition. We treat mild to moderate cases of sleep apnea with a custom-fitted oral appliance that keeps the airway open during sleep by repositioning the jaw or tongue slightly forward. This prevents the collapse of soft tissues that block airflow.
At Tusculum Dental Care, we know how much a good night’s sleep affects our patients’ daily lives. If you’re struggling to sleep through the night and think you could have OSA but you’d like to pursue an alternative to a CPAP machine for treatment, call us at (423) 639-7575, or reach out to us online today.
We all try to keep our pearly whites, well, pearly white. Since our smile is usually the first feature others notice about us and it’s a universal sign of friendliness, approachability and self-confidence, we all want our teeth to be white and bright. Unfortunately, age and time often lead to dingy or yellow teeth. If you’ve found yourself hiding your smile because of stained teeth, we have great news: Tusculum Dental can help you rewind the hands of time …. sort of. Let’s dive in with our cosmetic dentist in Erwin today to look at the reason your teeth may be stained and what our dental team can do to help.
Before you decide on a treatment plan for your yellow or dingy teeth, it’s best to try to identify the source of the staining.
Generally, tooth stains can be attributed to one of the following:
Walk into any retail store these days, and you may be overwhelmed with all the brands making promises of whitening your teeth quickly and effectively. Unfortunately, over-the-counter whitening products usually lead to slow and inconsistent results that often leave you with burning gums or sensitive teeth.
In our Jonesborough cosmetic dentist office, we offer truly remarkable, speedy solutions for stained and dingy teeth without the common side effects of store-bought products:
You deserve to have the white, bright, confident smile you’ve always dreamed of. Don’t put off whitening your smile any longer. Contact Tusculum Dental Care today by calling (423) 639-7575 or sending us a message online.
We recognize that we’re probably more excited to see you twice a year for your routine checkups and cleanings than you are to see us. Visiting the dentist doesn’t usually rank high on people’s lists of favorite things to do. Still, your oral health and overall physical health depend on scheduling and attending these regular dental visits. Today, our family dentist in Erwin is exploring six solid reasons you shouldn’t put off your biannual visits to the dentist.
Even if you brush and floss your teeth religiously at home, plaque and tartar can still build up in hard-to-reach places around your teeth and gum line. Tooth decay often begins with no signs or symptoms. Regular checkups at our Jonesborough family dentist office give our dental team a chance to look closely at all of those places where plaque and tartar may be lurking. Tartar can only be removed by dental professionals. Catching cavities early can prevent you from having to have more extensive and expensive procedures, like root canals, down the road.
Have you ever noticed that your gums are red or swollen or perhaps sometimes that your toothpaste is tinted a little pink while you’re brushing your teeth? These are the most common symptoms of gingivitis, also called gum disease, which can fairly easily be managed and reversed. Unfortunately, if gum disease isn’t detected and treated early, it can lead to a more serious stage of gum disease called periodontitis. Gum disease begins the same way cavities do: a buildup of plaque and tartar. At its worst, gum disease can progress and lead to tooth loss and receding gums.
Untreated infections from gum disease have also been linked to serious health issues like heart disease, diabetes and respiratory infections.
Chronic bad breath, also called halitosis, is an embarrassing and isolating problem often caused by dental issues like gum disease, infections or plaque buildup. In a simple exam visit to our Greeneville family dentist, we can pinpoint the cause of bad breath, and we work with our patients on ways to effectively treat the source of the problem.
In addition to the more obvious reasons that routine dental exams are an important part of your oral health, visits to our office twice a year allow our dentist to keep a close eye on serious potential health concerns that may develop, such as cancer. Early detection of oral cancer can make a life-saving difference.
However you may feel about visits to the dentist, it’s important to weigh the cost of preventative dental care versus emergency dental treatments. Crowns, root canals and dental implants are well-known for their beautiful smile restorations. But they’re also known for their price tags. Regular checkups and cleanings not only protect your smile but also your wallet.
Visiting the dentist twice a year helps keep your smile bright and beautiful, but it can also save dollars and your life. The American Dental Association recommends visits to your dentist every six months. If it’s time for your routine checkup, call Tusculum Dental Care at (423) 639-7575 or reach out to us online to schedule your appointment today.
Are you unhappy with the shade of your teeth? Do stubborn areas of discoloration leave you stressed? Today, there are an assortment of different options to whiten your smile – everything from toothpaste to oral rinses to a professional dental whitening procedure. However, any whitening treatment you choose will need to be repeated after a few months at most. What if you could brighten your smile without the need for touch-ups or repeat treatments? This fantasy is within reach through the use of veneers, installed by an experienced cosmetic dentist. Today on the blog, we take a look at how veneers can be used to permanently whiten your smile.
In most cases, tooth discoloration stems from extrinsic staining – when particles from food and drink adhere to the surfaces of your teeth. Extrinsic stains also may form from using tobacco in any form. A whitening treatment breaks down these extrinsic stains, removes them from your teeth and revitalizes your smile in the process. However, teeth also can become discolored from intrinsic stains, which develop when the enamel becomes damaged and the darker interior layers of the tooth structure become visible. Intrinsic stains also can form due to fluorosis or other defects in the enamel, or as a side effect from certain varieties of prescription medication. Typically, a traditional whitening procedure struggles to treat intrinsic stains.
Even after a professional dental whitening, your teeth may not get as white as you might wish. This is because any whitening treatment is limited by the shade of your natural tooth enamel. Even a professional whitening treatment administered by a well-trained and experienced cosmetic dentist will only make teeth as white as your natural tooth enamel allows. If this does not meet your aesthetic goals, you should consider having veneers installed. These can be placed over all the visible surfaces of your teeth, and tinted to whatever shade you desire.
Do you have teeth that are short, unevenly sized, crooked, crowded, worn, or chipped? If so, veneers can correct any and all of these aesthetic flaws—usually at the same time. Veneers also can cover an unwanted gap between teeth. Having any of these issues, in addition to discoloration, make veneers the preferred choice since a teeth whitening treatment will do nothing to address the previously mentioned aesthetic problems.
Tusculum Dental Care prides itself on its different options when it comes to having veneers installed. Our veneers use beautiful dental porcelain, a material that is stain-resistant and also reflects light in a manner similar to real tooth enamel. We also offer DuraThin—veneers made of extremely thin porcelain that can be applied to your teeth without removing any of the existing tooth structure.
To learn more about the veneer options available to you, schedule a consultation at Tusculum Dental Care today. Just call (423) 639-7575 or contact us online.
More and more people are realizing the benefits of cosmetic dentistry. Not only does it create beautiful smiles, but it can also improve a person’s overall oral health. Once someone has decided to improve their smile with cosmetic dentistry, they’re understandably excited to get the show on the road! That often leads to the question: How long do cosmetic treatments take to complete?”
The simple answer is that it depends on the individual case and the particular treatment being carried out. Let’s look today with our cosmetic dentist in Erwin at some of our most common cosmetic treatments and how long they usually take.
Our most requested cosmetic dental treatment is professional teeth whitening. Our patients are amazed at how years of stains are wiped away, often in less than one hour! We offer in-office whitening, at-home whitening and pre-filled trays.
Porcelain veneers are wafer-thin shells of porcelain or composite resin that can cover chipped, cracked or brokekn teeth. Some patients choose veneers to cover intrinsic (internal) staining, often caused by past dental trauma, thinning enamel or certain medications. Veneers generally take no more than three appointments, and each appointment usually lasts under two hours at our Jonesboro cosmetic dentist office.
Similar to veneers, dental bonding involves brushing a composite resin over a tooth that is stained, cracked or chipped. Dental bonding can also be used to mask minor crookedness and gaps between teeth. If you have a tooth that is too little or too short, our cosmetic dentist in Greeneville may recommend dental bonding. The composite resin we use is made to match neighboring teeth. After applying the resin, our dentist will shape and cure it. The entire process usually takes less than an hour per tooth.
Like veneers and cosmetic bonding, crowns also restore damaged teeth, including in the case of advanced tooth decay that threatens the damaged tooth’s nerves. Crowns restore teeth to their natural size, shape and appearance. They typically require two dental appointments: the first to make digital impressions of the damaged tooth and top it with a temporary crown while the permanent one is being made and the second to adhere the permanent crown to the damaged tooth.
To straighten teeth, our Erwin cosmetic dentist recommends traditional metal braces or the ever-popular Invisalign, which straightens teeth using clear, discreet, plastic aligner trays. While braces are known to take 2-3 years with frequent visits to the dentist for adjustments, Invisalign straightens teeth in usually half that time as long as the patient follows instructions to wear the aligner trays for 22 hours a day. Checkups are usually scheduled every 4-6 weeks.
Tusculum Dental Care has several possible cosmetic treatment options for you to consider. Sometimes our patients only want one cosmetic treatment, and others want a combination of treatments to undergo a complete smile makeover. We work with each of our patients individually to help them reach their goals! If you’d like to discuss cosmetic dentistry to improve your smile, call our office at (423) 639-7575, or reach out to us online today.