Category: Blog/ News

Serving the greater Triangle area – Raleigh, Cary, Apex, and Wake Forest.

At North Raleigh Periodontics, frenectomies, also known as frenulectomies or frenotomies, are one of the many procedures I perform. There are two main types: labial and lingual. The labial frenum is the strip of tissue that connects the upper or lower lip to the midline of the maxillary and mandibular gingiva. The technical definition of a frenectomy is the removal or release of mucosal and muscle elements of a labial or lingual frenum that is associated with a pathological condition, or interferes with proper oral development or treatment. But what does all that mean, and what exactly does a frenectomy procedure involve?

The short answer is individuals who clench or grind their teeth in their sleep. In fact, around 10% of the population grinds their teeth while sleeping, resulting in temporomandibular pain, facial muscle discomfort, and headaches. For many people, night guard devices provide integral protection by preventing the painful symptoms that often accompany teeth clenching, grinding, or bruxism. Moreover, night guards lessen the wearing down of the teeth by inhibiting such grinding.

Furthermore, post-orthodontic patients or even individuals in general find night guards useful in preventing teeth from shifting over time as well as inhibiting the ability to clench and grind the teeth while sleeping. By keeping the teeth in place and alleviating facial muscular and joint pain, night guards force users to bite evenly. Facilitating an aligned bite helps to evenly distribute concentrated muscle stress and tension that people often endure. In addition, keeping the teeth in place disperses the pressure from chewing and biting instead of allowing a few teeth to absorb the impact. In inflamed gum tissue, individual tooth or teeth taking more pressure than normal (trauma from occlusion) can accelerate bone loss. Night guards help prevent such bone loss by lessening trauma from occlusion.

Serving the greater Triangle area – Raleigh, Cary, Apex, and Wake Forest.

Since the time I founded my practice, North Raleigh Periodontics, I have been performing dental implants on my patients. However, some people may not know that I place numerous types of dental implants including single tooth implants, implant-supported bridges to replace multiple missing teeth, and implant-supported dentures.

One type of implant-supported denture that I place is called an “overdenture.” This type of dental implant forms a gum-supported base onto which a removable denture can be placed; overdenture implants are typically performed on the bottom teeth. But what are the fundamental differences between a standard denture and an overdenture, and why would someone choose an implant overdenture as opposed to a full or partial traditional denture?

Serving the greater Triangle area – Raleigh, Cary, Apex, and Wake Forest.

While most people realize that flossing, brushing, and visiting their oral health professional are integral components of maintaining oral health, many do not know that the very foods they choose to eat have a direct impact upon their periodontal well-being. That’s right- your diet uniquely affects your gum’s ability to clear away plaque and calculus, freshen your breath, and strengthen and regenerate gum tissue.

Crunchy foods are great at scraping away bacteria and calculus that accumulate along the gumline. Fresh fruits and vegetables like apples, cucumbers, celery, and carrots not only scrape at bacteria, but they also help eliminate food particles between the teeth and keep the breath fresh between tooth brushing. Moreover, crunchy, fibrous foods take longer to chew, generating more saliva which in turn helps flush the mouth of bacteria near the gum line. Adding fresh, fibrous, crunchy fruits and vegetables to your diet will help rid your mouth of food particles, freshen your breath, and clear away plaque that accumulates around the gums.

Serving the greater Triangle area – Raleigh, Cary, Apex, and Wake Forest.

When people first visit the periodontist, some of their initial questions include: “Is there a difference between a dental cleaning and a periodontal maintenance cleaning?” and “Do I really need to keep consistent periodontal maintenance appointments?” The answers are: “Yes” and “Yes!”

For more information on this topic, listen to the Gum Guru Podcast by clicking the link below:

There Are Bugs Under Your Gums

A Simple Way To Decrease Your Risk of Dementia

These days most people are aware of the negative effects of smoking upon their health. And you’ve probably heard it said at least once–smoking is bad for your mouth. It’s true. Smoking is especially detrimental to individuals’ oral health. It causes a number of periodontal problems and exacerbates numerous pre-existing conditions. But why and how, exactly, does smoking increase people’s risk for gum disease?

Serving the greater Triangle area – Raleigh, Cary, Apex, and Wake Forest.

Flossing daily is a gentle and effective way to protect one’s oral health, and it should not cause the gums to bleed. However, when people do not floss regularly, their gums will tend to bleed when they do floss. This bleeding often deters people from continuing to floss later on. Unfortunately, this usually leads to gingivitis and often to periodontal disease. This seemingly vicious cycle prompts a number of questions (and, fortunately, answers!):

Serving the greater Triangle area – Raleigh, Cary, Apex, and Wake Forest.

Have you ever found yourself checking out at a healthcare office, receiving your bill, and starting to panic because insurance didn’t cover as much as you thought it would? Or maybe you don’t have insurance at all, and your bill is much higher than you assumed it would be in the first place. That’s where CareCredit comes in to help.

Serving the greater Triangle area – Raleigh, Cary, Apex, and Wake Forest.

Over 75 % of Americans suffer from gum disease. And while most people understand the importance of maintaining healthy gums and teeth, many do not know that gum disease is a potentially life-threatening condition that can affect not only the mouth, but also the entire body. Did you know that periodontal (gum) health and systemic (whole body) health are interrelated? Conversely, periodontal disease is linked to a number of systemic diseases. Periodontal disease has even been associated with such conditions as an increased risk of pregnancy complications, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Why is this?