Bloomsburg, Danville, and Lewisburg, PA
Our teeth are designed to withstand a lot of use. With proper care, your teeth could last the rest of your life. But for most adults, they experience dental issues as they age. In this article, your Bloomsburg family dentists at Hamilton Dental Care explore five common dental problems that adults experience and how to deal with these issues.
Problem 1: Missing teeth
Losing a permanent tooth is more common than you might realize. It is estimated that 36 million Americans are living with at least one missing permanent tooth. When you lose a tooth, it doesn’t just create a gap in your smile. It also impacts your ability to chew food and speak clearly, especially with additional tooth loss. It elevates your risk for other dental issues, such as a greater risk of developing gum disease. Losing a permanent tooth also can make the other teeth in your mouth shift, making your bite crooked.
What you can do – There is no home remedy or store-bought solution for replacing a lost tooth, but our Bloomsburg resotrative dentists offer tooth replacement options to restore your smile. Dental bridges, partial dentures, or complete dentures are common means of replacing multiple missing teeth missing teeth.
Problem 2: Excessive wear
Even healthy teeth are going to wear down as you age; it is an inevitable part of the aging process. This deterioration can be accelerated by anything that damages your enamel, the protective outer layer of the tooth structure: eating and drinking too much sugar, over-consumption of acidic drinks that can linger on the teeth, over-brushing, and teeth grinding.
What you can do –To restore excessively worn teeth, dental bonding or veneers are treatment options that can cover teeth and provide a protective layer, enhance the look of your teeth, and reduce tooth sensitivity in areas where enamel has worn thin. In the case of extensive tooth wear, dental crowns may be a better option.
Problem 3: Infections
Are you feeling pain from one of your teeth? Maybe you’re experiencing heightened sensitivity to hot and cold. The cause could be an issue with an existing restoration such as a filling or crown or a deep cavity that has penetrated the soft interior of the tooth. This interior, also known as the dental pulp, contains the blood vessels and nerve. If oral bacteria enter the tooth’s interior, it could lead to a dental abscess, a serious infection that could cause sepsis or be potentially fatal.
What you can do – If you’re experiencing a toothache, the team at Hamilton Dental Care can take digital X-rays to provide a comprehensive, detailed view of the problematic tooth. From there, if an infection is detected, we can treat the infection by performing a root canal to remove the infection and restore the tooth by placing a crown to replace the exterior.
Problem 4: Gum disease
Stemming from a bacterial infection in the gum tissue, gum disease is an epidemic in America, affecting about half of adults in the U.S. over the age of 30, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gum disease is the main reason why adults lose permanent teeth. It affects men 50 percent more than women, and your risk increases if you are 65 and older. Smoking, alcohol use, and a poor dental care regimen can elevate your susceptibility to gum disease as well. Gum disease cannot be cured, although it can be managed with professional dental treatments and by practicing good oral hygiene at home. Left untreated, gum disease worsens, and could eventually result in total tooth loss.
How we can help – Hamilton Dental Care can perform a dental deep cleaning to mitigate the damage from gum disease. This entails a combination of scaling to remove tartar from your teeth and under the gum line, and root planing, which smooths the tooth roots, making it difficult for harmful bacteria to adhere, and stop gum disease from worsening.
Problem 5: Tooth decay
Tooth decay can affect anyone of any age. It’s one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in the entire world. Tooth decay can lead to gum disease, chronic bad breath, dental pain, tooth loss, and a host of other potentially negative consequences.
How we can help – Prevention is your best defense. Brush and floss your teeth daily and consider adding an anti-bacterial oral rinse to your dental hygiene regimen for extra protection. And of course, visit our dentist office in Bloomsburg every six months for a check-up and cleaning.
General Dentistry in Bloomsburg
Led by our dentists Dr. Joel Hamilton and Dr. Leigh Jacopetti, Hamilton Dental Care offers high-quality care for patients of any age. You can trust us to keep your oral health on track. If you encounter any of the above problems, or you just need to get back on track with your regular schedule of dental appointments, give us a call at (570) 387-0533.
Hamilton Dental Care is proud to serve the oral health needs of our patients in the areas of Bloomsburg, Danville, and Lewisburg, PA.
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