Flossing Technique

Brushing and flossing are the two most important parts of oral preventive care, but many people misunderstand them. Flossing, in particular, is easy to do badly if you don’t know the right technique. At All Coast Dental in Pacific Beach, we work hard to provide restorations to people suffering from tooth decay, but in order for our work to last, a patient must understand how to floss properly. We thought it would be helpful to describe the process.

Flossing is supposed to remove debris from your teeth, not move it from one tooth to another. You’ll need to use long strands of floss, of at least fifteen inches, and wrap each end around your middle finger. You’ll be able to manipulate the taunt floss with your index fingers and thumbs, and as you floss each tooth, you’ll unspool a bit more floss from one finger and wrap the other end around the middle finger on the other hand.

To floss well, you need to scrape the floss along the side of each tooth. A common mistake is to simply slide it into the gap between the teeth, but you’ll actually need to pull it into a c-shape against each tooth and slide it a little way into the gingival margin. You’ll then rub the floss back and forth as you lift it back out, and do the same with the other side of the tooth. Doing this shouldn’t hurt or cause bleeding, and if it does, you’re going too far into the gum or you already have a mild gum infection. Sugar-free chewing gum can help remove food debris when you aren’t able to floss immediately after a meal, but flossing needs to be done daily, and be done on both natural and prosthetic teeth.

Drs. Julie and Joseph Boulos operate All Coast Dental at 2180 Garnet Ave, Suite 1-K, Pacific Beach, California, 92109. To schedule an appointment, call 858-270-4904 or visit All Coast Dental and fill out a contact sheet.

 

Diabetes and Gum Disease

If you have diabetes, you probably know that you’re at increased risk for gum disease. But if you don’t, did you know that by preventing gum disease, you can also lower your risk for developing diabetes? November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and in honor of it, we at All Coast Dental want our patients to know more about the relationship between diabetes and gingivitis, and why daily oral hygiene is so important to your overall health.

People with uncontrolled diabetes are generally at greater risk for developing infections. Gum disease is an infection of the gum pockets, which become inflamed in response to the acid produced by bacteria’s respiratory process. A diabetic person’s immune system is less able to fight off the infection, and the cellular damage caused by unprocessed sugars in the bloodstream makes the gum tissue more prone to bleeding. The increased sugar in a diabetic person’s saliva would also provide more nourishment to oral bacteria, although lack of saliva would deprive the teeth of their protection against acid. There is also emerging evidence that the damage caused to gum tissue by bacterial acid inhibits the body’s ability to process sugars and disrupts its immune response, forming a vicious circle between the two diseases.

Keeping the gum pockets clear of food debris is essential for everybody’s health, but especially that of people who have difficulty controlling their blood sugar levels. Everybody should brush their teeth twice a day and floss at least once. It’s also especially important for people on medication to prevent dry mouth. They may use an artificial throat moisturizer, or try producing more saliva by chewing sugarfree gum. But regularly drinking unsweetened water throughout the day is also an important means of removing food debris and bacterial acid, and can also combat the bad breath gum disease sometimes causes.

Drs. Julie and Joseph Boulos operate All Coast Dental at 2180 Garnet Ave, Suite 1-K, Pacific Beach, California, 92109. To schedule an appointment, call 858-270-4904 or visit All Coast Dental and fill out a contact sheet.

What Tools do Dentists Use?

How do you feel when you see dental instruments? Apprehensive? Curious? We hope it’s not the former. At All Coast Dental, we’re a family practice that provides general and dental care to the Pacific Beach community. We want our patients to feel comfortable talking to us about their oral care and to feel informed about their treatment decisions. To that end, we thought it would be helpful if our patients knew how to talk about the instruments we use the most frequently, and had a firmer idea of what they’re for.

The tool we use the most during a routine cleaning is the probe. This metal wand has a hook on each end and serves a variety of purposes. It is most often used to break up tartar, the hardened plaque that forms on teeth and causes gum recession. But it is also used to test the hardness of enamel and, in a specialized form called a scaler, to remove debris from a patient’s gum pockets. The probe is paired with a handheld mirror, which besides allowing us to see the backs of teeth, allows us to hold back the patient’s cheeks. As we remove debris, we’ll also use a tube called an evacuator to clean out the patient’s mouth with suction.

If a patient is suffering from tooth decay, our instruments will allow us to treat them with minimal discomfort. We use a syringe to inject anesthetic and modern dental drills emit water to prevent overheating. Fillings are sculpted with rounded instruments called burnishers to ensure the patient can close their teeth together completely. When teeth need to be extracted, we’ll remove them by wiggling them with flattened spoons called elevators, until they can be lifted out with reverse-action forceps. Some of these tools come in different shapes for more specialized procedures, which we’ll be happy to explain to any patient who’s curious.

Drs. Julie and Joseph Boulos operate All Coast Dental at 2180 Garnet Ave, Suite 1-K, Pacific Beach, California, 92109. To schedule an appointment, call 858-270-4904 or visit All Coast Dental and fill out a contact sheet.