Hewlett Family Dental Blog

Frequently Asked Questions  Hewlett Family Dental has the answers to the most commonly asked dental questions. If you have a question that is not addressed here, let us know! FAQs What causes bad breath? Bad breath is generally a result of dental decay and periodontitis, a disease affecting the gums and bone. Periodontitis occurs when the gums become inflamed and infected, ultimately spreading pockets of plaque and tartar from the gums to the bone that supports the teeth. The teeth may become loose and eventually fall out if left untreated. Periodontitis is treatable, but good oral hygiene is the best method of avoiding this problem. How do I repair a cracked tooth? Teeth can crack or chip for a variety of reasons. Especially if they are subjected to chewing hard foods or biting on an unexpectedly hard object, or if teeth have been subjected to large restorations. You may also experience painful chewing, unsolicited pain or discomfort due to cold air. M...

By now we all know that smoking is bad for our health. It increases the risk for cancer, heart disease, and numerous other problems throughout the body. Your mouth is no exception. With the New Year right around the corner, what better time is there to quit? Hewlett Family Dental  wants to help the cause of moving towards a smoke-free life by providing our community members with some more reasons to quit. How Smoking Affects Your Oral Health One of the commonly overlooked dangers of smoking is how it affects oral health.  The truth is, several oral health problems are directly related to smoking, and continuing to smoke can put you at increased risk for: Gum disease Oral cancer Dry mouth Discolored teeth Bad breath Tips to Quit Smoking is addictive and therefore not easy to quit. Some people even try quitting multiple times before they succeed at never picking up another cigarette. We understand how difficult quitting can be and are here to provide ...

When you think about gum, you may think that your dentist wouldn’t like you chewing it. However, here we’re going to discuss how a certain type of gum is not bad for your teeth, but is actually beneficial. Read on to discover which kind of gum is safe for your oral health! Sugar vs. Sugar-Free Chewing gum is only good for your teeth if it’s sugarless. Do not chew gum that contains sugar or you will be harming your teeth by allowing the sugar to linger in your mouth. This sugar is then eaten by your oral bacteria, which produce acidic byproducts that will weaken your tooth enamel. And weak tooth enamel is more prone to tooth decay, cavities, and sensitivity. Can Sugar-Free Gum Help Clean Your Teeth? Studies have found that when you chew sugarless gum for at least 20 minutes after you’ve eaten, the gum can help prevent cavities. This is because as you chew the sugarless gum, it removes food particles from the surface of your teeth, which, if left there, can be turned int...

If you’re interested in having a smile that is white and bright, you may be considering getting your teeth professionally whitened. And you might also be wondering how exactly teeth whitening works. What's the Science Behind Teeth Whitening? Over the years, your teeth can become discolored by things such as poor dental hygiene, teeth grinding, tobacco, and dark-colored drinks like coffee, red wine, and soda. As you age and consume foods and beverages that are sugary or acidic, your enamel (the outer layer of teeth) weakens and thins, which allows your dentin (the underlying yellow layer of teeth) to show through. Teeth whitening agents can solve your discoloration woes by either removing surface stains from the hard shell enamel or by changing the color of the dentin. Whitening toothpastes contain mild abrasives that help remove surface stains from enamel. But to change the color of dentin and achieve a more dramatic result, your smile will require bleach-based whiteners...

Does your mouth feel like a desert? Saliva plays an important role in digestion, your ability to taste, and protecting your teeth against harmful bacteria left behind by food particles. A decrease in your saliva production is not only a nuisance, but it can negatively impact your oral health. Here, we’ll discuss some of the most common causes of dry mouth and a few best practices to correct it. 1. Medicinal Side Effects Medications used to treat a variety of health issues can cause dry mouth. These medications are not limited to prescription drugs, as several over-the-counter medications can have the same effect. The most notable dry mouth inducing medications include antidepressants, antihistamines, pain medication, blood pressure medication, and a variety of others. If one of these medications is responsible for your symptoms, oftentimes your doctor can put you on a different medication or slightly lower the dosage. 2. Excessive Tobacco & Alcohol Use If you notice yo...

Have you ever had the experience where your teeth feel rough? If so, it could be an indication that your tooth enamel may be eroding. Here, we’ll explain what it means if your teeth feel rough and what exactly enamel erosion is. What Is Tooth Enamel? Before we dive into enamel erosion, let’s talk about enamel itself. Tooth enamel is the hard, outermost layer of your teeth that protects them against all kinds of damage, such as decay and trauma from impact. Though it is incredibly strong, enamel is not impervious to acids, which wear away at and erode your enamel and lead to tooth decay. What Causes Enamel Erosion? There are a number of things that can cause enamel erosion: Poor oral hygiene allows plaque to accumulate along your teeth and gumline. When this plaque feeds upon your dietary sugars, it produces enamel-destroying acids. Your diet has a lot to do with the strength or weakness of your enamel. For example, foods and drinks high in acids such as carbonated drink...

Do your teeth feel sensitive when you sip a hot coffee or when you have a bite of ice cream? If so, you could be suffering from tooth sensitivity. But what does that mean and is tooth sensitivity a sign of something worse? What Is Tooth Sensitivity? First, let’s discuss what tooth sensitivity is. Tooth sensitivity is a painful sensation that occurs when you consume certain foods or drinks (like those that are very hot or very cold) because your tooth’s dentin or cementum is exposed. Dentin is the layer underneath your tooth’s enamel, the hard shell that covers and protects your teeth, and cementum is the material that protects the roots of your teeth. Dentin is made up of tiny fluid-filled canals that are connected to nerve endings from the inner pulp, which is a soft bundle of nerves and blood vessels at the center of your tooth. When your enamel is worn away or weakened, or if your gums recede, these sensitive layers become irritated. What Sensitivity Means for Your Oral Hea...

Is Your Favorite Soda Affecting Tooth Enamel Loss? Soda can sound so delicious, but you may want to think twice about guzzling it, no matter how enticing it may seem. Did you know that soda and other high acid drinks can permanently damage your teeth and can be even more devastating on the dental health of your kids? It’s true. It’s not just your favorite fizzy drink that can do your teeth in, but also fruit juice and sports beverages. If the drink is high in acid, your teeth are at risk. From the first sip, within less than a minute, permanent damage can be done to your enamel. The risks are even higher for kids because many adolescents grind their teeth at night and may also have undiagnosed acid reflux which can compound the damage done. Brushing Doesn’t Restore Enamel Damage Sodas If high acidity drinks are consumed, it is not simply a matter of having a child clean their teeth an hour or 30 minutes later and hoping they’ll be okay. But the damage is already done. ...

A new study published in the Journal of Applied and Environmental Biology showed that saliva is an incredible natural weapon in the fight against cavities and tooth decay. The research was done at MIT and Harvard and found that some components of saliva fight the bacteria that cause cavities called Streptococcus mutans (commonly known as S. mutans).  What the study showed about bacteria in your mouth S. mutans utilizes sugars we eat or drink and build up plaque that, over time, erodes your teeth. Here’s how. In short, an evil little film of bacteria forms on your teeth that then produces acids that dissolve enamel and eat holes in your teeth – these holes are cavities. The study found that salivary mucins act like a natural defense against S. mutans that may be more effective than fluoride. Previously, it was thought that mucins only served to keep saliva slippery, but it seems that they have much more important properties. Rather than directly attacking the cavity-causing...

  As the official start of Spring is right around the corner, many of us begin to feel the pull to clean. Most of us think about Spring cleaning in relation to our house, but Spring cleaning shouldn’t just pertain to your house or job, it should also be a part of your oral health care routine. A regular preventive dental care visit typically includes a check-up that consists of x-rays and a cleaning, however, a third of Americans don’t carve out time to see the dentist annually! It’s hard to know why so many people don’t schedule their regular dentist visits, but there are lots of reasons they should. We’ve put together a list of seven reasons, some more obvious than others, for why preventive dental care matters: Reduce Plaque Dental cleanings and education about good oral care are provided to help support you in your dental health journey. Regular dentist visits, including cleanings, remove stubborn plaque from your teeth. Plaque, if allowed to build up, can lead to cavi...