4 Ways To Use Your Dental Benefits Before They Run Out

Your dental benefits are paid for by you in monthly increments. But at the end of the year, the benefits you have already paid for will go away if you have not used them. Millions of dollars every year go unspent because individuals may not know exactly what their plan covers. Here are 4 ways you may be able to use your dental benefits.

1.     Preventive services. Oral health screenings and other preventative services can help ensure your smile will last a lifetime.

2.     Restorative procedures. It is critical to understand your benefits. If you have missing teeth and you have been holding off getting them fixed, now may be your chance. Many times fillings are paid at a higher percentage, so getting teeth cared for early on saves you significantly.

3.      A periodontal laser procedure can ensure your gums are healthy. When you have periodontal disease or gingivitis, the bacteria build and eventually your gums begin to pull away from your teeth causing you to have bleeding and puffy tissue, and eventually missing teeth.

4.     Gum graft surgery may be a dental treatment you thought was out of your reach, but now with your dental benefits soon expiring and your new benefits beginning, it may be the perfect time to take advantage of procedures that can improve your smile.

For more information on your dental benefits and other ways to benefit, contact Dr. Denine Rice and her team.

Why Do You Need To Brush Your Tongue

It may seem silly to brush your tongue, but it is actually an important part of your dental practices. There is more to it though, then just putting the toothbrush in your mouth and moving from side to side a few times. In order to properly remove the biofilm on your tongue and successfully remove the bacteria from the crevices, it is important to follow these tips and tricks. Buildup of plaque on your tongue can lead to gingivitis and periodontal disease. While taste buds are an important part of our mouth and serve an important role, food and bacteria stick to the tiny hairs on the tongue which can lead to bad oral health.

The toothbrush you use should have small, soft bristles that fit comfortably in your mouth. You do not want it to be too big or the bristles to be rough, this can cause damage to your gums.

Brush back and forth across your tongue for at least 1 minute. Then you’ll want to brush side to side. This ensures that you get all of your tongue and are not missing out and leaving too much bacteria on parts of your tongue.  Once you have brushed, it is important to rinse your mouth out.

For more information contact Dr. Rice and her team today.

Why Gingivitis Should Not Be Left Untreated

Sometimes, when you visit the periodontist, you may not know why it’s important to take care of mild periodontal disease, after all it doesn’t seem to be causing problems. Unfortunately periodontal disease, even minor gingivitis, can wreak havoc on the gums, your smile and your body. Once time has passed, if you have not taken care of the problem, it can then turn to a major problem. Periodontal disease can impact your heart, lungs, and the rest of your body.

“Gingivitis which is the term used for mild periodontal disease has symptoms such as bleeding when you brush or floss,” says Dr. Denine Rice. Any bleeding at all when you brush or floss is not a positive sign and should be taken care of as soon as possible. The sooner you take care of the problem the less likely you are to lose teeth, need major dental work, or to have swollen and puffy gums.

Once you have been diagnosed with gingivitis, schedule an appointment with Dr. Rice and her team for a consultation on which procedure is going to be most appropriate to get your smile back into working order.

How Do I Prevent Bone Loss?

Bone loss occurs when bacteria, over time, continue to attack the gum tissue and the pocket between your tooth and gums becomes deeper. The gums in a healthy mouth are like a tight sleeve that fit around your teeth.  “When you have advanced periodontal disease your gums pull away from the teeth,” says Dr. Denine Rice, the  periodontist at Rice Periodontics and Implant Surgery in Riverside, CA. “Once this occurs, your tissue will not fit tightly and you may begin to loose some of your teeth.”

Your jaw is a bone that’s growth is stimulated by chewing movement. According to one of Inland Empire’s top dentists, Dr. Rice, “Once you have lost some of the teeth the amount of stimulation that your jaw has also begins to decrease.” On average an individual loses more than one tooth at a time due to advanced periodontal disease, this causes even less stimulation for the jaw. This decreased stimulation leads to bone loss in the jaw, which not only means tooth loss, but may also impact you ability to comfortably wear dentures or be a candidate for implants.  

To prevent this from occurring begins with proper oral care. Brushing your teeth twice a day is critical to the prevention of bone loss. As bacteria build up on the teeth it hardens and becomes tarter. Tarter that stays on the teeth attacks the enamel. By brushing your teeth twice a day, food is removed from the surface of the teeth preventing this build-up.

Flossing is the second most important habit. While at first when you are flossing your gums may bleed, over time your gums will become tougher. As they toughen up and you fight early signs of gingivitis, they will stop bleeding and become healthy again.

Dr. Denine Rice says, “You want to make sure to keep your six-month cleaning appointments.” At these visits your dentist can check for more serious conditions however, they also are able to provide a more thorough cleaning to scrape off any tarter build-up you may have missed.

Prevention is the key to preventing bone loss~

What Is The Bacteria That Is Attacking My Gums

Gingivitis is the silent killer that may be damaging the health of your gums. Individuals usually don’t know they have it until they visit their dentist. The Washington Post reported in an article in 2013 that eighty-five million Americans do not have adequate dental insurance. This means millions of Americans who may have an opportunity to reverse the effects of gingivitis are missing out on valuable oral health care because they do not have financial assistance. Recognizing that your dental health contributes to your overall health means seeing, "your dentist regularly whether you are insured or not," suggests Dr. Denine Rice. 

Gingivitis is an initial stage of periodontal disease and can be reversed with brushing and flossing routines. When you brush you are removing the plaque build-up that stays on the teeth while flossing removes the plaque from between the teeth. As plaque stays on the teeth, it turns into an acid that attacks the enamel, however, it also can reach below the gum line and cause a “pocket” to develop. As the bacteria gets worse, the pocket depth gets deeper and deeper until it begins to attack the root of the tooth. Your gums will become swollen and they may bleed when you brush or floss. This is not a sign that you should stop brushing and flossing. 

In fact, you should increase your brushing and flossing to twice a day if you are not already doing this and you can also use a mouthwash that has gingivitis fighting agents. While the more advanced stages of periodontal disease are not reversible, gingivitis is. Do not give this disease the ability to diminish the health of your mouth.

Periodontal Disease & Pregnancy

Unfortunately, periodontal disease and gingivitis impact over 38.4 percent of women according to a study completed by the center for disease control.  Further studies have found that women who are pregnant are more susceptible to the disease due to other hormone changes in the body. Periodontal disease or build-up of bacteria in the body can get into the blood stream and close off arteries and may be responsible for some heart attack related deaths.

Due to an increase in bacteria in the mouth you may also experience large lumps in the gums due to an increase in bacteria. These are called pregnancy lumps and are usually not painful or cancerous, however they may require a visit to the periodontist in order to get them taken care of.

Women who are pregnant and have periodontal disease may have higher levels of CRP. CRP is a C-reactive protein that is produced in the liver. CRP tests can detect whether there is inflammation in the body. High levels of C-reactive protein has been linked to pre-eclampsia in women who are pregnant.  Pre-eclampsia causes high levels of protein in a mother’s urine and high blood pressure. Pre-eclampsia can be mild or it can lead to more severe life-threatening situations where the only choice is to deliver the baby.

While pregnancy and the birth of your baby should be an exciting time in your life, it is very important to take care of periodontal disease or gingivitis very quickly, leaving the disease untreated can cause problems for you and your baby. If your gums bleed when you are brushing and flossing and you are pregnant schedule an appointment today with one of Inland Empire’s top periodontists, Dr. Denine Rice.

Should I expect to lose my teeth when I’m older?

Losing your teeth is not a part of the normal aging process. It is due to gum disease from poor brushing and flossing habits, not visiting the dentist on a regular basis, or poor overall health. The early stage of gum disease is called gingivitis and begins when bacteria builds up in the mouth. When bleeding first occurs intercept the disease by changing your oral routine. It is also recommended by Dr. Denine Rice, of Rice Periodontics and Implant Surgery of Riverside, CA that you schedule an appointment with your dentist or periodontist in order to receive a comprehensive exam to determine the extent of the disease.

Nevertheless, if you do not change your dental habits plaque will continue to build along the gum line. This build-up can become a more aggressive form of gingivitis called periodontal disease. The gums, like a pocket, fit tightly around your teeth in order to hold them in place. And as you age, you may become more susceptible to other diseases that impact your overall health as well as the health of your gums.

Delta Dental of Northwest reports that today about, “sixty percent of adults sixty-five and older have lost at least six or more teeth.” This is an improvement as in the early 1900’s, individuals often had their teeth removed at age twenty-one as a right of passage and to prevent them from falling out. Still individuals today have many more opportunities to keep their natural teeth. They have the ability to visit great dentists and periodontists who can provide state-of-the-art laser technology, such as LANAP surgery for periodontal disease. Dr. Rice says, “Great oral care practices can save your teeth for a lifetime.” Begin taking care of your teeth today by calling for an appointment.

Why should I floss if all my gums do is bleed?

When flossing your teeth you may notice some bleeding. This bleeding is due to a condition called gingivitis.  It is the first stage of periodontal disease but is reversible with the right treatment. “Part of that treatment is brushing and flossing says,” Dr. Denine Rice.   Dental plaque and tarter has bacteria in it that causes irritation to the gums. If you continue to not take proper care of your teeth the bacteria will continue to build and gingivitis can quickly turn into periodontal disease. Once you have periodontal disease, this unfortunately is not reversible.

                             Although, you may feel that you are doing more damage to your gums and therefore want to discontinue flossing you are not doing more damage.  “If you continue to floss for a week and your gums continue to bleed,” Dr. Rice, one of Inland Empire’s Top Periodontists suggests you set up a visit with your dentist.

                             Your gums will not bleed once the bacteria are removed. You want to floss in order to remove food from the gums where your toothbrush cannot be reached.  Depending on how much tarter and plaque is built up will depend on what type of treatment is recommended. You may need to have root planing and scaling to help remove the plaque from your teeth. What you don’t want to do is stop flossing, instead it’s time to actually floss more.