Keeping your teeth and gums clean is a simple process of brushing and flossing your teeth every day, combined with regular visits to your Fresno dentists, Drs. Alex and Claudia Denes, at least once every six months for a thorough dental checkup and cleaning. More complicated issues, like those that affect the function of your mouth, require the care of a professional, but understanding these issues can better prepare you to deal with them follow your doctor’s prescribed treatment. Take our simple quiz below to test your grasp of the basics of total oral health care.
About Your Smile
Movement is a vital component of your mouth’s function. What is the name of the joints responsible for this movement, which lend their name to the disorder that affects them?
Your temporomandibular joints, or TMJs, are the joints located in front of each of your ears that connect your lower jaw (mandible) to the temporal bones in your skull. These Joints are designed to glide smoothly, but when they become misaligned or damaged, a condition called TMJ disorder, the strain can irritate your jaw’s trigeminal nerve and lead to widespread and varied discomfort (i.e., headaches, earaches, jaw pain, difficulty moving your jaw, etc.).
Malocclusion, or a misaligned bite, can lead to a host of dental problems if not treated. What branch of dentistry deals with correcting crooked and/or crowded teeth?
Healthy teeth are designed to evenly distribute the pressure of your bite to minimize damage to your teeth and gums. Orthodontics is the branch of dentistry that focuses on diagnosing and treating malocclusion, often through the use of braces and other devices, to improve your mouth’s function and help avoid dental damage later on.
Function and alignment are vital to your oral health, but general dentistry also focuses on the diseases that attack your teeth and gums. What microbial beings can gather together in your mouth and initiate tooth decay and gum disease?
At any given moment, there are over 600 different kinds of bacteria in your mouth. When they congregate, these germs form sticky dental plaque and adhere to your teeth and gums. Most are harmless, but some of these germs can pave the way for dental diseases to develop. For instance, Streptococcus mutans converts sugar and carbohydrates into acid, which weakens your tooth enamel until your tooth becomes vulnerable to infection and decay. Meanwhile, Porphyromonas gingivalis can manipulate your immune system and cause excessive gum inflammation, damaging your gums and preparing them for the onset of gum disease.
There are specific treatments for specific dental health issues, but sometimes, your entire smile may need an overhaul. What personalized treatment plan is designed to conservatively revamp your smile’s health, function, and beauty?
If your smile suffers from a number of health, functional, and/or cosmetic issues, then Dr. Alex or Dr. Claudia Denes will approach your smile restoration as a whole. The process of systematically rebuilding your smile is known as a full mouth reconstruction and involves purging your mouth of disease, ensuring a sturdy foundation and proper alignment, and finally, restoring unsightly teeth through a series of cosmetic dental procedures.
Excellent Oral Health with Your Fresno Dentists
If you’d like to learn more about the intricacies of your oral health, then contact your Fresno dentists by calling Fresno Dental Studio at (559) 297-1800. Located in the 93720 area, we proudly serve patients from Fresno, Clovis, Mendota, Orange Cove, Reedley, Selma, and the surrounding areas.