Is it safe to have an X-ray while pregnant?

Some women worry about whether its safe to have an X-ray exam while they are pregnant.

This can cause them to put off treatment they need.

However, untreated dental infections can pose a risk to the fetus, and dental treatment may be necessary to maintain the health of the mother and child. Sometimes this will mean an X-ray is necessary.

Radiation from dental X-rays is extremely low but every precaution is taken to minimize radiation exposure.

For example, a leaded apron reduces exposure to the abdomen and should be used when a dental radiograph is taken.

In addition, a leaded thyroid collar can protect the thyroid from radiation, and should be used whenever possible. The use of a leaded thyroid collar is strongly recommended for women of childbearing age, pregnant women and children.

Overall there is no reason to avoid dental radiographs (X-rays) while pregnant, breastfeeding or trying to become pregnant.

Follow your dentists advice and ask questions if you have any concerns.

Scaling and Planing 101

There are a lot of different things you can do to your teeth to help them stay in great shape. Brushing, flossing, and mouthwash use are the most effective things to do at home. Even then, you still need to have some professional procedures performed to keep your mouth in good shape.

One of those procedures is called scaling and planing. This is an activity performed when you visit any dentists. Let’s go through that process for a few moments.

What is it?
 

At its most basic, scaling and planing is simply the process of removing tartar from around your gum line. When you don’t get rid of plaque, it hardens and turns into tartar. This substance is essentially a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. Tartar buildup is one of the most common causes of oral health problems that Dr. Christian Berdy and Dr. Cary Berdy see.

How does it work?
 

Scaling and planing are really simple. When you come into Berdy Dental Group in Jacksonville, Florida, our team will scale and plane your teeth before cleaning. All of the tartar around your gums will be scraped away, leaving you with a healthy, fresh smile

Why can’t I do it?
 

Tartar is a hard substance, and if you try to remove it at home, you could seriously injure your gums. On top of that, it takes a specialized training to effectively and safely remove tartar. We have a lot of experience doing this in a comfortable, relaxing way.

To learn more, or to make an appointment, call us today at (904) 647-2789.

Toothbrush Trivia

How often do you use your toothbrush? Hopefully it’s at least two times a day. You may have looked at it so many times, though, that you hardly even think about it anymore. They are an object that has been in your life, probably since you can remember. You may even think you know all there is about your toothbrush, but today we’d like to give you some fun trivia facts about them.

The toothbrush may be 5,000 years old. It may have been in different forms, but in some ancient civilizations, people used a “chew stick,” which was a thin twig with a frayed end, to help them remove food that was stuck in their teeth.

The first mass-produced toothbrush was created in prison. In 1770, William Addis was jailed for starting a riot when he observed the other prisoners cleaning their teeth with a rag covered in soot or salt. He saved an animal bone from dinner, got bristles from a guard, bored tiny holes, inserted the bristles and sealed them with glue. Upon his release, he refined his prototype and started a company.

There isn’t a set order for brushing and flossing. It may not really matter to your teeth which you do first, so long as you are doing it.

Your toothbrush’s lifespan may be three or four months. After that, your brush might not be able to do as great of a job at cleaning your teeth and it should be replaced.

If you would like to know more about dental hygiene and you live near Jacksonville, Florida, please call Berdy Dental Group today to schedule an appointment at (904) 647-2789. Drs. Christian and Cary Berdy, and our friendly team members, would be happy to help you have a bright and healthy smile.

Tips For Maintaining Your Oral Appliances

We thought this would be the perfect opportunity to discuss some tips for maintaining your partial denture or orthodontic retainer.

1. Give them a break

Take your dentures out before going to bed so that mouth tissues can recover from wear during the day. Soak dentures or retainers in warm water if they have metal clasps. If they don’t, you can use either a vinegar and water solution or a special denture cleanser. This will help to remove stains, plaque, tartar and bacteria.

2. Handle with care.

Since oral appliances don’t come cheap and can break easily, you’ll want to be careful with them. Clean them over a folded towel or bowl of water in case they drop. Remember; always put them in plastic container when you are not wearing them!

3. Clean daily

Just because these aren’t your real teeth, that doesn’t mean they don’t need regular cleaning. If your dentures are plagued with plaque, it can lead to problems in the tissues underneath, such as infection and irritation. Brush your dentures with a regular soft-bristled brush—not the same one you use for your real teeth. You can use regular hand soap, mild dishwashing detergent, mildly abrasive toothpaste or dental paste for cleaning your dentures.

4. Maintain your oral health

Even if you have complete dentures, you still need to care for your gums. Whenever you take out your dentures, give your mouth a good rinse and then massage your gums with a washcloth or a soft toothbrush. If you have partial dentures, you still need to properly brush and floss your regular teeth every day.

5. See your dentist.

Remember to see your dentist at least once a year and your hygienist for your regularly scheduled cleanings. Dentists examine your oral tissues for changes and for sores that might become cancerous. We can also provide advice as to oral hygiene and denture care.

6. Watch for changes in fit.

If your dentures aren’t fitting properly or just don’t feel right, check with your dentist. The gums and bones in your mouth change over time, leading to an improper denture fit. Your dentist can adjust your dentures to protect against problems like sores, pain and burning that can come from ill-fitting dentures. Ill-fitting dentures can also be a sign of periodontal disease, so it’s important to get checked.

12 Things That Can Ruin Your Smile: Dry Mouth

No one likes a dry mouth. But dry mouth is more than just an annoyance, it’s also bad for your teeth. Saliva plays a crucial role in oral health. It washes away bacteria and neutralizes the harmful acids. Saliva protects against diseases in the mouth and provides the first line of defense against microbial infections that can create serious oral health problems.

Dry mouth—a.k.a. xerostomia—results from an inadequate flow of saliva. It is not a disease, but can be a symptom of certain medical disorders or a side effect of medications such as decongestants, antihistamines, and pain killers. Without saliva, tooth decay is more likely to occur.

To manage dry mouth, try sugar-free candy or gum to stimulate saliva flow. Also, moisture can be replaced by using artificial saliva and oral rinses. If the problem persists, you can contact our office to explore other medical options.

Things That Can Ruin Your Smile: Lemons, Limes, and Oranges! Oh My!

Many of us are much more diligent about flossing than brushing, but flossing everyday is just as important as brushing everyday. Brushing only cleans the service areas of the teeth. Tooth brush bristles alone are not able to clean between these tight spaces. Floss removes the food that gets trapped between the teeth and gets rid of the plaque that accumulates there before it turns into tartar. Tartar is harder to get rid of and makes it more difficult to brush and floss effectively. It only takes plaque 24 hours before plaque begins to harden and form tartar. That’s why it’s important to floss everyday to prevent its accumulation.

Flossing every day is one of the most important things you can do to protect your teeth. It prevents periodontal disease, polishes the tooth’s surface, and can even help control bad breath. Cleaning between teeth is essential to your daily oral hygiene routine. Need instructions on how to floss? Check out Dr. Berdy’s videos about proper flossing technique and how to floss with a handy wipe in order to clean difficult to reach areas of your mouth.

Things That Can Ruin Your Smile: Aging and Your Teeth

As you age, it becomes even more important to take care of your teeth and protect your dental health. Teeth become more susceptible to decay  near old fillings or roots left unprotected by receding gum lines. It is a common misconception that losing your teeth is inevitable. It’s not true. Your teeth can last a lifetime if you care for them properly.

The danger is not aging, but oral disease. However, you can be protect your teeth if you follow a few of these tips to maintain your oral health:

• Brush twice a day with a toothbrush with soft bristles or an electric toothbrush.
• Clean between your teeth once a day with floss, a Waterpik,  or another interdental cleaner.
• Increase your fluoride protection by by drinking tap water. Since most contains fluoride, it helps prevent tooth decay no matter how old you are.
• Quit smoking. Smoking puts you at greater risk for lung and other cancers as well as increases problems with gum disease, tooth decay and tooth loss.
• Visit your dentist regularly for a complete dental check-up.

By adopting these healthy oral habits, making smart choices about diet and lifestyle, and seeking regular dental care, you can help your teeth last a lifetime.

7 Steps to Follow for a Healthy Mouth

My patients often ask me what they can do to keep their mouths in tip top shape. The following is a routine I recommend to all my patients both for improving as well as maintaining a healthy oral environment. While the list may seem long, each time you practice it the routine will become a little easier and faster every time you do it. Following this routine will do wonders for preventing periodontal disease, keeping a beautiful smile, and making your teeth last a lifetime!

Seven steps to follow twice a day to keep a healthy, fresh, and vibrant smile.

1. Water pik

• Water pick are simple water pumps that gently flush areas around your teeth and gums
• Use at a 45 degree angle
• Work systematically around your entire mouth, front to back,  inside & out

2. Rubber tip

• Aids in the removal of debris which can feed harmful bacteria

• Promotes healthy gum tissue by firming – like a workout for your gums!
• Use at a 45 degree angle
• Work in a systematic routine to make sure you clean all areas of your mouth

3. Flossing

• Make sure to pull the floss around your tooth in order to reach all the corner surfaces
• Similarly, push the floss to reach the opposite corner surfaces
• Work systematically around your entire mouth

4. Handy wipes

• tear handy wipes vertically into many strips for future use to save time.
• wrap handy wipe around each tooth to effectively clean hard to reach areas and maintain a healthy oral environment
• If the handy wipe does not fit in certain spaces, do not force handy wipe into gum tissue.

5. Proxabrush

• Use proxabrushes to clean the spaces in between each tooth.
• When used with flossing and brushing the proxabrushes will help maintain hard to clean areas in your mouth.

6. Brushing

• Use electric or manual toothbrush, whichever you prefer and are more comfortable with
• Work in a systematic pattern through all the surfaces of your teeth
• Use a 45 degree angle with your toothbrush, aiming the bristles of the brush into the gumline.
• Work each tooth individually, just brushing all of them back and forth is not very effective

7. H₂O pik

• Use again as in step 1, as a final flush and rinse

It may seem like a lot of work, but trust me- following this routine will prevent future problems such as periodontal disease, decay, tooth loss, and bad breath. Preventing problems before they happen is always easier, cheaper, and less stressful than fixing them after they have already done damage. I believe you can keep your teeth for life and these are 7 important steps to take in accomplishing this goal!

Best Brushing Technique? Who can say…

When it comes to the best way to brush your teeth, dental professionals often do not agree.

Researchers in Britain scoured the information available from dental textbooks, research studies, and  15 of the world’s leading dental associations and found little agreement among the supposed dental health “experts” about the best way to brush.

According to an article in the New York Times, “the study, published in the August issue of the British Dental Journal, found no randomized trials of brushing technique and very little agreement on how to go about cleaning teeth.” ‘Randomized trials’ are the gold standard of clinical study design. Without them, dental professionals are left to debate amongst themselves the relative merits of different brushing techniques.

Sources fall into two main camps. The first group, including the American Dental Association, recommends the Bass technique, which calls for holding the toothbrush at a 45-degree angle to the gums and brushing in short back-and-forth strokes. While others suggest the Fones technique, with its wide, sweeping circles over the entire surface of the tooth.

Our office recommends the use of the modified Bass technique. You can watch this short video to see Dr. Berdy explain the best way to make sure you are taking care of your teeth for a lifetime.

Fall is coming…should your teeth change colors like the trees?

Now that fall is approaching, I felt it appropriate to ask: should your teeth be like leaves and change colors? Teeth usually change colors when an external event has occurred, such as a fall, trauma from a blunt object, or tooth decay (a cavity). They can also change colors due to exposure from the fluids we drink, such as tea, coffee, and sodas as well as the artificial colors that are added to the foods we eat (to make them look better, certainly not for any nutritional value).

The normal, natural color of teeth can vary greatly. As you may know, teeth are made of two substances. The hard outer shell is known as enamel, and the inner portion called dentin.

The color of enamel can vary from white, to shades of yellow or even gray. Sometimes, the enamel can be stained because of the different chemicals you were exposed to in the water you drink as the teeth were being formed. The enamel can also be malformed if you had a serious illness as a child (during the tooth forming years). Furthermore, genetics can also play a roll in enamel formation and color. Smoking can also stain teeth, and in combination with staining liquids can make your teeth look really bad.

As we mature, the enamel portion of the tooth will wear and become thinner. Now, some of the inner portion (dentin) can start to show through and influence the tooth color. The dentin may actually become visible when the overlying enamel shell has partially or completely worn away. Add to that the staining power of foods and liquids that pass through our mouth, and you can understand why teeth can get stained and ugly. Call us to schedule an appointment and we can recommend options to restore the natural beauty of your teeth.

Introducing… Antioxidant Therapy!

A New Way To Protect Your Oral Health

Our office is introducing a new unique approach to addressing problems with the inflammation and bacteria in your mouth that cause disease and decay. The antioxidants in PerioSciences gel and toothpaste will neutralize free radicals that cause the oxidation of our tissues and result in inflammation, infection and eventually disease.

About PerioSciences

PerioSciences researches, formulates, and markets topically applied, antioxidant-based oral care and oral hygiene products. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, PerioSciences has established a new category of products – antioxidant-based oral care. PerioSciences is committed to world-class research and to providing the most advanced products for oral health. Using a state-of-the-art business model, PerioSciences partners in sales and distribution with dental professionals, hygienists, and specialists as well as and other medical professionals and medi-spas.

A revolutionary product category

In the 1970s, it was for hair. Researchers and developers realized that most hair treatments were harmful to hair, so they found ways to incorporate nutrients into products, resulting in a new product category. The first products were sold through exclusive salons by professionals who were in the best position to explain features and benefits of the high-end products.

In the 1990s, it was for skin. Scientists and dermatologists found that antioxidants could have dramatic results on skin cells. As they incorporated these natural compounds into skin care products, they created another new product category, “cosmeceuticals.” Again, professional aestheticians and medi-spa owners—along with dermatologists and plastic surgeons—became the logical channel for providing the advanced products to patients and clients who wanted the most high-caliber skin care available.

Today, it is for oral care. A major focus in science and medicine in recent years has focused on the interaction of oral health with overall, systemic health. At the same time, research has shown that new technologies, including antioxidants, can be incorporated into oral care products. Once again, dental and medical professionals are at the forefront of a sweeping trend for a novel product category and are in the best position to educate their patients on the best-in-class products for optimal oral health.

A unique approach to oral care

Historically, oral care products concentrated on eliminating bacteria in the mouth. Alcohol, the primary ingredient in many products, kills bacteria but also dries oral tissue. However, dry tissues create a fertile environment in which bacteria can actually thrive.

Another anti-bacterial agent is hydrogen peroxide, which is included in many breath products as well as in teeth whiteners. Published research has shown that hydrogen peroxide triggers an oxidation process that leads to a condition called oxidative stress—a precursor to inflammation.

The PerioSciences approach is to work in concert with the body’s natural defense system in the oral cavity. Saliva has natural antioxidants and natural anti-bacterial agents. The antioxidants in PerioSciences products complement those in saliva, and our polyphenol components work with the saliva’s antimicrobial agents. Altogether, our natural ingredients are gentle on soft oral tissue, but provide powerful plant-based antioxidants and polyphenols to enhance the salivary system.

Patient-focused benefits

Some oral care products are designed around a certain feature or function: anti-cavity, whitening, anti-bacterial, and so on. The PerioSciences strategy is to develop products that meet the needs of patients, and provide a combination of benefits for their condition. Smokers want ingredients for breath-freshening and for counteracting the negative effects of nicotine. Health-minded people want the most advanced products available for maximizing their oral and systemic health. Some patients want ingredients that can relieve dry mouth or taste changes due to medication. People with serious oral diseases want high-powered products that address infection and inflammation but are also soothing and pleasant to use.

The PerioSciences commitment is to develop products that focus on comprehensive oral care benefits for patients.

Convenience for the Patient with Innovation

Because dental and medical professionals are in the best position to interpret the vast research published on antioxidants, PerioSciences sells its high-end line of oral care products through dental offices and medi-spas. The line will not be available in stores or pharmacies. During office visits, patients can sign up online for the easy and convenient shipment, including auto-refills. PerioSciences ships products from the warehouse directly to the patient’s home so professional offices do not need to maintain inventory, but we do stock a small amount of product so our patients can walk out of the office with product in hand. Be sure to ask Dr. Berdy or your hygienist about PerioSciences during your next trip to the office!

Are your teeth worth it?

I was watching my dog clean his teeth and thought wouldn’t it be nice if as we ate our food, our teeth cleaned themselves? Instead of a wonderful slice of San Francisco sourdough bread, I could grab a man chew out of my bag and go for the clean teeth look and get rid of my dog breath. Or, if I was a cat I could go to the vet and, for a mere several hundred dollars, have my molars scaled and get rid of that fish breath that my owner hates. But would he measure my gums, check for cavities, give me a fluoride rinse, do an oral cancer screening and give me a toothbrush?

Next time you have your teeth cleaned at our office, know that you will have the best of the best taking care of your teeth and gums!

Let’s talk about toothbrushes.

What should you use? It comes down to two basic types, powered (electric) or manual.

Toothbrushes come with big handles and little handles, many bristles or few bristles. Studies have shown that powered brushes work better but only if they are used correctly! One of the best electric toothbrushes I have found and I recommend to my patients is the Philips Sonicare FlexCare or FlexCare Plus. It’s a bit expensive, but many patients have remarked that their teeth feel nearly as clean as they do after a cleaning! They can often be found at local drugstores, Walmart, or Amazon.com.

A manual brush that is well applied works wonderfully. Don’t forget, the bristles of the brush should be soft, so as not to harm the gums or tooth. Brushes used to be real stiff and made from boars hair, but studies show that although they were efficient at cleaning, they were harmful to the gum tissue and caused excessive tooth wear. Ideally, you should get your teeth healthy and clean after every meal. They should be as clean as if you have just had a professional cleaning. Brushing, along with flossing, rubber tipping, and water picking, is a crucial part of your home regimen to keep a healthy mouth and prevent periodontal disease. If you ever have questions, don’t hesitate to ask myself or any part of our team- we will be happy to show you proper technique. Happy brushing!