Bad breath, or halitosis, is a very embarrassing social problem for many people. Besides the obvious problem of it being offensive to other people, bad breath is usually a sign of bacteria build-up in the mouth.

Most bad breath is caused by sulfur gases produced by bacteria in the mouth, under the gum line, or on the tongue. The smell of a rotten egg is actually sulfur gases. Since over 85% of mouth odor comes from the mouth, we suggest you follow these simple steps. If it solves the problem, you are all set. If it does not, you need to pursue it with your medical doctor.

The dental approach to treating bad breath, which will solve 9 out of 10 problems, is to start with regular dental cleanings and any periodontal treatment needed to correct an existing gum infection.

Then, the next step is to reduce the bacteria in the mouth on a daily basis with effective home care using a soft toothbrush and dental floss.

The last step is to directly attack the sulfur gases produced by the bacteria. The best way to do this is with a chlorine dioxide toothpaste and rinse.

The chloride dioxide literally breaks up the sulfur gases that are formed in your mouth. Unlike minty flavored cover-ups, the chlorine dioxide eliminates mouth odors.

During a dental cleaning, your dentist targets these problem areas, removes any plaque or tartar using special cleaning tools, and leaves your mouth feeling fresh and clean. The great thing about dental cleaning is that it helps to prevent gum disease and tooth decay by removing more of the plaque and bacteria in your mouth.

There are three aspects to fixing cavities.

1. First, the decay or rotting tooth structure must be removed. If decay is not removed, like cancer, the destruction of the tooth will continue.

2. Second, the cavity has to be sealed so that food and bacteria cannot re- enter the cavity and start the decay again. This is very important because while the exterior of a tooth can be brushed and flossed free of bacteria, the inside of a cavity cannot. That is why a leaking filling or open cavity must be cleaned out and sealed.

3. Third, the repair of the cavity must replace the missing tooth structure for chewing and be strong enough so it does not break open and start to leak. In fixing cavities, the choice of what to do is based on selecting the best material to seal the cavity and restore the missing tooth structure. The analysis of a cavity is based on how big it is. Bigger cavities need stronger material. Smaller ones do not need great strength as much as they need a good seal. To simplify this, we classify cavities as very small, small, medium, large and very large. The very small and small ones can be repaired with laser-bonded composite restorations. They have good strength and provide an excellent seal.

The large cavities, because of the amount of missing tooth structure, need something stronger than a filling, so we recommend custom-cast onlays. These can be made of gold or, today, more commonly, tooth-colored ceramic porcelain. The very large cavities, where most of the tooth structure has been destroyed, need complete crowns to fix them. The medium-sized cavities, depending on the specific tooth involved and the biting forces on the tooth, can sometimes be fixed with a laser-bonded filling, and sometimes need an onlay.

1.) Maintaining a proper dental routine at home: Brushing at least 2x for 2 mins a day and flossing daily.

2.) Use dentist approved and recommended products such as Therasol Mouth wash, electric toothbrush, waterpik and more.

3.) Come in for regular dental cleanings, at least every six months.

4.) A healthy diet: drink water, avoid frequent snack on sugary drinks and beverages. 

5.) And keep up with your regular dental check ups

We are particularly careful to minimize our patient’s exposure to radiation. With contemporary safeguards, the amount of radiation received in a dental X-ray examination is extremely small. In fact, the dental radiographs represent a far smaller risk than an undetected and untreated dental problem. Lead body aprons and shields will protect you. Today’s equipment filters out unnecessary x-rays and restricts the x-ray beam to the area of interest. High-speed film and proper shielding assure that you receive the minimal (safest) amount of radiation exposure.

Just because you do not feel any pain, does not mean you don’t have anything wrong. We hope that nothing is wrong, of course! But by visiting the dentist regularly we can make sure that we prevent anything from going wrong in the future or fix any thing that might not have any symptoms, but could cause problems later on.