F.C. Dentist Wins Angie’s List Award

FEBRUARY 10, 2016 8:38 PM0 COMMENTS

By Sally Cole

Falls Church dentist Dr. Katherine Dang has earned the dental industry’s coveted Angie’s List Super Service Award, reflecting an exemplary year of service provided to members of the local services marketplace and consumer review site in 2015. According to Angie’s List Founder Angie Hicks, only about five percent of dental providers in the dental field have performed so consistently well enough to earn the Angie’s List Super Service Award.

Dr. Dang’s practice is located at 7115 Leesburg Pike #207 in Falls Church.

https://fcnp.com/2016/02/10/f-c-dentist-wins-angies-list-award/

Smile Again After a Fractured Tooth

Tooth enamel is one of the hardest substances in the human body. Still, years of biting, chewing and especially grinding can take their toll and lead to a fractured tooth. Fillings, crowns and veneers can fracture, too. The good news is that fractures can almost always be repaired while preserving your smile. If you think you have fractured a tooth, call us immediately. 

Fractures are often caused by sports injuries―that’s why we always advise wearing a mouthguard when you participate in sports. Biting down on something hard, like a popcorn kernel, can also cause a tooth fracture, especially in teeth that have fillings or have had root canals. Grinding or clenching your teeth can leave them vulnerable to fracture, too.

If you suffer a fracture, your tooth may or may not hurt. Often, though, you can feel the fracture with your tongue. A fractured tooth might become sensitive to air, heat or cold. If it does not hurt to bite down on the tooth, but does hurt when you release the bite, that probably means you have fractured that tooth.

A fractured filling may not cause any pain. That’s one of the many reasons why regular dental visits are so important. At each visit, we examine your teeth and any dental work you have had done―crowns, veneers, fillings―looking for cracks, fractures or any signs of wear before they lead to more serious problems.

Although the pieces of a fractured tooth may remain in place, gradually the crack can spread. Depending on its size and extent, we may be able to repair the fracture with filling material. You may need a crown to keep the crack from getting worse. If live tissues are damaged, we may need to perform a root canal.

Fractures should not be taken lightly. If you think you may be at risk for a fracture, talk to us about mouthguards and other preventive measures. And if you have suffered a fracture, call us right away. The sooner we examine and repair your tooth, the better your chances will be for a healthy, long-lasting smile. 

Safeguard Your Tooth Enamel

Tooth enamel, the outer coating of your teeth, is the hardest natural substance found in the human body. But it is hardly invincible. Just as time and water can flatten a mountain, all sorts of things can wear away and even destroy your tooth enamel. Knowing this, how do you go about making sure your tooth enamel stays healthy and intact? While the task is not that challenging, it does require a lot of discipline. Here are a few “do’s” and “don’ts” for you to think about:

Do: Be disciplined about your dental health. Brush twice a day; floss at least once a day. If you keep the surfaces of your teeth clean, your enamel will face fewer threats.

Don’t: Overeat foods that are too sugary or acidic. In small quantities, these foods won’t be too harmful. But when eaten to excess, they can damage your teeth. Extra sticky foods that get stuck between your teeth, such as popcorn and gummy bears, can become breeding grounds for bacteria that will erode your enamel over time if they aren’t removed.

Do: Tell us if you have an urge to clench your teeth or any aches and pains you may feel in your teeth, jaw and head, especially if they are causing you sleeping problems. You might be grinding your teeth at night. Tooth grinding will eat away at your tooth enamel, shrinking your teeth and causing additional problems such as poor sleep and headaches. We can help protect you from this by fitting you for a night guard.

Don’t: Eat foods that are too hard. Again, just because tooth enamel is the hardest element in your body doesn’t mean it’s unbreakable. Biting into rock candy or ice cubes might be delightfully crunchy, but it can cause direct damage to your teeth.

Do: Visit us on a regular basis. There is only so much you can do at home. A regular dental cleaning in our office is more thorough than anything you can do at home. And we can detect threats to the health of your tooth enamel before it wears away. Regular visits to our office safeguard your tooth enamel, stopping destruction before it starts.

Keeping Your Mouth Fresh and Clean

It’s one thing to wake up with bad breath. It’s another for it to persist as you go about your day and interact with people. It’s not the most pleasant topic to discuss, but for many, it is a necessary one. If you suffer from bad breath, also known as halitosis, we can prescribe several remedies.

Bad breath is most often caused by poor oral hygiene. When food particles remain on and between your teeth, they encourage the growth of bacteria, which release gases that cause your breath to smell bad. Our primary recommendation is to brush your teeth—and your tongue—twice a day, and floss daily. This will go a long way toward eliminating bad breath.

Certain foods and habits can also contribute to bad breath. In addition to good oral hygiene, we have a few more tips:

• Avoid strong-smelling foods, such as garlic and onions. Though gum, mints and mouthwash can temporarily freshen your mouth, once these foods are digested, they enter your bloodstream and move on to the lungs. The odor may persist for quite a while.
• Drink plenty of water and chew sugarless gum. These help keep your mouth moist and wash away food and bacteria, keeping your mouth fresh and clean.
• Drink green or black tea. In addition to keeping your mouth moist, tea inhibits the growth of bacteria in the mouth.
• Avoid tobacco products. If you need yet another reason to quit smoking, keep in mind that smoking is not just harmful to your teeth and gums, it is also a prime contributor to bad breath.
• Rinse your mouth with peroxide or mouthwash. Since alcohol may dry out your mouth, if you experience dry mouth, look for an alcohol-free mouthwash.

If bad breath persists, call our office for an appointment. It could be a sign of a more serious dental or medical problem, such as tooth decay or gastrointestinal issues. But the primary keys to keeping your breath fresh are regular brushing and flossing along with regular checkups.

Counting Down the Tooth Types

Unless they’ve caused you pain, you probably haven’t thought much about your individual teeth since they grew in one by one when you were a child. Even when they do cause problems, most of us don’t consider the difference between an incisor and a molar—teeth are teeth, right? Actually, that’s not true. We have different types of teeth, and each plays a very specific and important role. Your pearly whites do more than just chew your food: They protect the oral cavity, aid in digestion and even help you speak. Each type of tooth has its own responsibility in these actions, and all work together to make the process function properly.

Let’s start from the middle of your mouth. The first teeth we’ll talk about are the incisors, the four front teeth on the top and on the bottom. They have thin, sharp edges that help you bite into your food. The incisors are usually the first baby teeth to erupt, and the first to be lost in childhood. (Think “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth.”)

Next are the four long-rooted canines—two on the top, two on the bottom. The canines, whose job is to rip and tear food, are the sharpest, strongest teeth in your mouth. Right behind the canines on the top and bottom are two premolars (also referred to as bicuspids) on each side of the mouth that work with the canines to tear food and the molars to crush food. Both the premolars and the canines have “cusps” (one cusp for canines, two to three for premolars), pointed edges that help hold food.

In the rear are two sets of top and bottom molars on each side, with four to five cusps and broad, flat chewing surfaces that help grind food into pieces small enough to swallow. Most people also develop a third set of molars, known as wisdom teeth, in early adulthood. The third molars don’t serve much purpose, are sometimes impacted or may cause overcrowding in the mouth, so dentists frequently recommend their removal.

Each type of tooth plays an essential role. See us regularly to ensure that all the teeth in your mouth—incisors, canines, premolars and molars—stay free of decay and damage.

Don’t Let Your Tooth Enamel Erode

Enamel, the thin outer covering of your teeth, is the hardest substance in the human body. But it’s not invulnerable. Few parts of the human body suffer more daily pressure and punishment than your teeth. Biting, grinding and exposure to acidic drinks such as orange juice and soda can wear down your enamel over time.

Visible chips and cracks, discoloration, sensitivity to pressure and extreme temperatures, and indentations on the surface of your teeth can all be signs of enamel erosion. Knowing about enamel erosion—its causes and effects and how to prevent it—is one of the most important aspects of protecting your dental health.

Enamel erosion has four main causes:

1. Corrosion. This occurs when acidic fluids eat away at your enamel. Not only does drinking acidic or sugary drinks cause corrosion, so does consuming alcohol, vitamin C or aspirin. Corrosion is also a significant risk for people with bulimia because the contents of the stomach are highly acidic. Corrosion can be minimized or prevented by ingesting acidic foods and beverages in limited quantities and by regular brushing and flossing.

2. Trauma. This is direct damage to the tooth from physical trauma―for example, falling off a skateboard and chipping your tooth on the pavement. You can reduce the likelihood of dental trauma by using a mouthguard.

3. Abrasion. This results from steady wear and tear on the enamel. It can be caused by biting and chewing on hard objects but, more alarmingly, can also occur from brushing your teeth too hard. If you are uncertain about whether you are brushing your teeth properly, we will review proper brushing techniques with you.

4. Attrition. This results from grinding or clenching your teeth, which can cause damage to the enamel. Those who grind their teeth in their sleep should see us about acquiring a night guard to prevent this kind of damage.

Remember that enamel erosion might not be visible to the untrained eye. We’ll check your teeth when you come in for a checkup.

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How to Choose the Right Mouthwash

Choosing a mouthwash should be as easy as using a mouthwash. With all the options on the market, however, it can be more confusing than it should be to decide which mouthwash to use.

While every commercial brand makes its own claims, there are a few basic things to understand about mouthwash that can help you make a smart choice. There are three types of mouthwash―those designed to freshen breath, those designed to fight plaque and gum disease, and those designed to fight cavities.

• Breath fresheners. If you’re seeking a mouthwash that makes your mouth feel fresh, most of the commercially available choices will suffice. Keep in mind that many contain alcohol and swallowing large quantities can be harmful. If the alcohol content concerns you, consider one of the organic or natural brands―most of them don’t contain alcohol.
• Germ killers. For a mouthwash to help minimize gum disease, it needs to kill the germs that cause the condition. For those already battling gum disease, a prescription mouthwash containing the antibiotic chlorhexidine may be the best bet. Few over-the-counter options have the blend of essential oils recommended by the American Dental Association (ADA) to help fight periodontal germs.
• Cavity fighters. Fluoride is the important ingredient in cavity-preventing mouthwash. Fluoride is the cross-fit of the dental world, strengthening tooth enamel and protecting teeth from cavity-causing acid. Look for a mouthwash with the ADA Seal of Acceptance to ensure that it actually contains the correct amount of fluoride to be effective.

You may find certain mouthwashes irritate your mouth if you have sensitive gums. If so, try an alcohol-free or natural mouthwash, especially one that contains soothing herbal ingredients like chamomile and aloe.

Depending on your particular dental concerns, you may be better off with a specific type of mouthwash or a prescription version. Our job is to know your mouth well. Ask us to recommend a mouthwash at your next appointment.

Four Tips for Healthier Eating

People are smart―perhaps too smart. Our sense of taste is supposed to tell us what is healthy to eat and what isn’t. But because we’re so smart, we’ve learned to outsmart our appetites and our taste buds. For example, our taste for sweetness tells us that the sweet things that exist in nature, such as fruit, are good for us. But man-made edibles created specifically to be sweet, such as candy, can actually be harmful to your dental and overall health.

People crave sweetness, saltiness and other taste sensations. We like to snack; the mere act of eating is pleasurable. So how do we trick ourselves into not tricking ourselves? Here are some tips.

1. Control your portions. Snacking isn’t necessarily the problem―the problem is excessive snacking. Prepare your snacks in advance in small portions that will satisfy your urge for a quick snack, but won’t let you overdo it. Resist constant snacking throughout the day as this increases your teeth’s exposure to potentially harmful foods or drinks.

2. Replace candy with fruit. As we mentioned earlier, sweetness exists in natural forms. Fresh fruit can satisfy your sweet tooth just as well as a chocolate bar or a hard candy.

3. Replace acidic and sugary drinks with water. Water is the purest and most basic answer to thirst. Acids and sugars are harmful to your teeth. Water helps to protect hard and soft oral tissue and washes away harmful particles. If you do drink a lot of juice, consider watering it down.

4. Limit consumption of fermentable carbohydrates to mealtime. Chips, crackers and cookies are popular snack foods that seem to be made for bingeing. If you must indulge, do so during mealtime. Mixing these foods with mealtime foods such as cheese will help to neutralize acidity in your mouth and prevent tooth decay.

If you have other “bad” eating habits you want to break or dietary questions that need answers, bring them up at your next appointment.