Smiles on Smiles Dental Care: Dental Hygiene and Oral Health Guidelines
Comprehensive handouts for maintaining optimal oral health, addressing common dental concerns, and preventing future complications through proper hygiene practices.
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Table of Contents
Smiles on Smiles Dental Care
Recession and Abrasion Signs
We see signs of recession (the gum level has dropped down) or abrasion (wear from friction). We recommend
  • Brush lightly. Holding the tooth brush with just your fingers to lessen the force.
  • Think of massaging not brushing the gumline.
  • Purchasing an electric tooth brush with pressure or sensitivity settings.
Tooth Sensitivity Management
Your teeth are sensitive.
  • This may be due to excessive force causing hypersensitivity. A nightguard or teeth alignment such as Invisalign can help balance the bite.
  • Listerine sensitivity mouthwash for at least 2 weeks without any breaks
  • Desensitizing trays
  • Sensitivity toothpaste. Often we recommend to brush with it then not rinse it out but only split prior bedtime.
Signs of Erosion
We see signs or erosion. This is some type of acidic demineralization exposure
  • Diet journaling and modification to identify acidic exposures
  • Rinsing with water more often during meals.
  • Consult with your PCP as we see signs that it may be relations to stomach acid reflux.
Smiles on Smiles Dental Care: Hygienist follow up recommendations.
Check boxes for each line item below
Enhanced Daily Care
  • More frequent flossing
  • More frequent brushing. Some patients we recommend brushing at least 3x per day. The extra session when returning home from work in the afternoon or after meals if possible.
Homecare Upgrades
Trying a new tooth brush
  • Sonicare
  • Oral B
Trying a new floss
  • Crest glide
  • Oral B satin
  • Coco floss
  • Dr Tom's
  • Waterpik, waterflosser
Professional Care
  • We recommend more than 2 cleanings per year. The reason for this is we feel that 2 cleanings may not be sufficiently preventative in itself. Often 3-4 cleanings per year are then suggested.
  • We recommend a deep cleaning. Reasoning here fill in.
  • We recommend a specialist follow up. You have conditions that warrant examination by a specialist.
  • We recommend warm salt water and or 3 percent hydrogen peroxide massage.
Wear / Parafunction / TMJ
We see signs of wear on your teeth.
Tooth Wear Assessment
While we cannot determine if there is an active process occurring (i.e. nighttime grinding), your teeth have moderate to significant wear in several areas where there is little enamel protection remaining and the dentine is exposed. The dentin is much softer than enamel.
  • We recommend a hold and protect approach, a night guard
  • We recommend reposition to restore approach. This would be alignment with clear aligners such as Invisalign then when finished to consider restorative therapy such as fillings, bonding or ceramic coverage such as veneers or crowns.
This illustration helps visualize the effects of tooth wear and attrition:
Muscular Tension Treatment
1
We see signs of muscular tension or inflammation
  • We recommend a night guard to provide an even landing point for your joint and muscles which directly provides greater balance to the big three: teeth, muscles and joints.
  • We recommend at least 600-800 mg if ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) at least 2-3 times per day. We recommend taking it with food and most importantly prior bedtime.
Sleep Bruxism Management
We do believe you are grinding or clenching at night, Sleep Bruxism
Teeth Balance is Important
We recommend a night guard. The guard not only protects the teeth but provides an even landing point for the muscles and joints (an even stop to the Lever and. Hinge).
Stress Management
Stress management is important. Stress is a main central driver to grind. Practicing wellness habits to improve your stress level is an important component to reducing bruxism.
Consolidated Sleep
Consolidated Sleep is Important. Try to get a good nights sleep. Avoid eating too close to bedtime (typically 2 hours). Avoid pre-bed time habits such as screen time that might keep you from resting.
Musculoskeletal Balance
Bodily Musculoskeletal Balance is Important. Think about muscular balance. Often times we can have ascending affects in our musculoskeletal system that lead to effects in the jaw tension such as carrying bag only one side (or even a child), computer screen position, head down position for phone use, etc. If severe we recommend a physical therapist evaluation.
Advanced Treatment Options
If the above treatment such as night guard and habit corrections do not help we recommend a muscle relaxant.
If the above treatment does not help then we recommend botox. We do not provide botox therapy but can provide you a referral.
Dental X-Ray Safety: Understanding Radiation Exposure
Dental X-rays are a vital diagnostic tool that allow us to detect potential issues early, often before they become larger, more painful, and more expensive problems. We understand concerns about radiation exposure, and we want to assure you that modern dental X-rays use extremely low levels of radiation.
With advancements in technology, especially digital X-rays, the radiation dose is significantly lower than traditional film X-rays. The benefits of early detection and accurate diagnosis far outweigh the minimal risks associated with these low-dose exposures. Our practice adheres to the ALARA principle (As Low As Reasonably Achievable), ensuring we use the lowest possible radiation dose necessary to obtain diagnostic images.
Here are some key facts regarding typical radiation exposure from dental X-rays:
  • Single digital dental X-ray: 0.005 mSv
  • 4 bitewing X-rays: 0.02 mSv
  • Full mouth series digital: 0.09 mSv
  • Panoramic digital X-ray: 0.007-0.015 mSv
To put these numbers into perspective, let's compare them to common sources of natural and artificial radiation:
  • Eating a banana: 0.0001 mSv
  • One day of natural background radiation: 0.008 mSv
  • Cross-country flight: 0.04 mSv
  • Living in Denver (high altitude) annually: 0.4 mSv
  • Chest X-ray: 0.1 mSv
  • CT scan: 7-10 mSv
As you can see, the radiation from dental X-rays is comparable to, or even less than, everyday exposures. For instance, four bitewing X-rays expose you to less radiation than one day of natural background radiation, and a single digital dental X-ray is equivalent to the radiation from eating a banana.
These X-rays are an essential part of comprehensive dental care, allowing for the early detection of issues like cavities, bone loss, infections, and other oral health problems. Catching these issues early means they can be treated more easily and less expensively, protecting your long-term oral and overall health.