Electric vs Traditional Toothbrushes

There are a lot of options to choose from when deciding what toothbrush to clean your teeth with. At Bridges Smile Dental, we encourage our patients to change toothbrushes every 3-4 months or after their bristles are worn down. If your bristles begin to get splayed and distorted, it means you are no longer effectively brushing your teeth.

We advise wanting our patients to ask our doctors what kind of toothbrush works best for their teeth, electric or a traditional toothbrush. If your teeth are in good shape and you brush your teeth and gums thoroughly for a full two minutes, a traditional toothbrush works perfectly fine. We recommend electric toothbrushes for our patients who need to clean better and are at risk of gum disease and cavities. Electric toothbrushes have bristles that rotate and help you to clean more areas on your teeth effectively by removing plaque

The most important thing to us is that you are brushing and flossing consistently. We advise our patients to visit us twice a year for cleaning to make sure your teeth are healthy.

If you have any questions or concerns about what toothbrush works best for you, please give us a call. To learn more about all of the services we provide at our office, visit www.bridgesmilesdental.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with one of our doctors at Bridge Smile Dental Group P.A. in Somerville, NJ, call 908-725-0400.

Root Canal Therapy

Endodontics is the dental specialty that focuses on the roots or nerves of the teeth. The most common of these procedures is the infamous root canal. Root canals are a necessary procedure for when a tooth becomes infected. The infection is often located in the roots or nerves of the teeth, and this procedure is the only way to clear out the infection. Drs. Meghadri and Grewal offer root canals to our patients here at Bridge Smiles Dental Group P.A.

 

An infected tooth is a very serious problem. If left untreated, a tooth can become an abscess, leading to bone loss in the jaw. At the beginning of the procedure, a local anesthetic will be applied to the tooth. Drs. Meghadri or Grewal will then drill down into the tooth to open up the root canal. This allows them to remove the infected tissue. The area will also be cleaned thoroughly as well. After everything is done, a sealant will be applied. A dental crown is often placed on top of the tooth. This not only restores the appearance but helps the tooth heal.

 

With the use of modern technology, root canals aren't the imposing procedure that they used to be. Pain medication and local anesthetics make the procedure almost painless. Any soreness felt afterward is completely normal.

 

Bridge Smiles Dental Group P.A. is located in two offices, located in Neshanic Station and Somerville, NJ. To schedule an appointment with Drs. Meghadri or Grewal, visit our website or call. For the Neshanic Station office, call 908-782-4418. To contact the Somerville office, call 908-725-0400.

Occlusal Adjustment

If you often find yourself waking up with a sore jaw, or feel like your bite is lopsided, you may need an occlusal adjustment. An occlusal adjustment can fix the misalignment of your bite. At Bridge Smiles Dental Group P.A., Drs. Meghadri and Grewal offer these services to our patients. If left untreated, a misalignment can lead to chronic pain and conditions like temporomandibular disorder.

 

A misaligned bite is often caused by loose, missing, crowded, or shifted teeth. When this occurs, the entire balance of the mouth is thrown off. An uneven distribution of pressure causes the pain or soreness in the jaw. An occlusal adjustment can fix your bite, allowing your teeth to meet evenly again. The best candidates for adjustment are patients with these loose or shifting teeth. Patients who grind their teeth or have teeth sensitivity also qualify.

 

At your appointment, Drs. Meghadri or Grewal will use imaging technology to take hundreds of pictures of your mouth. They will record how your teeth fit together when you bite down and open. These images create data that shows us where the adjustments are needed. The procedure itself causes minimum pain and discomfort. A dental drill is used with a fine filing stone. Removal mouthpieces are also used to protect the teeth and relax your jaw muscles afterward.

 

To schedule your appointment with Drs. Meghadri and Grewal, contact Bridge Smiles Dental Group P.A. We are located in two convenient locations, Neshanic Station and Somerville, NJ. You can visit our website to create an appointment or call. To reach the Neshanic Station office, call 908-782-4418. For the Somerville office, call 908-725-0400.

Smoking and Pulpitis

Smokers are at higher risk for oral infections. We at Bridge Smiles Dental Group hope most people by now understand the connection between smoking and gingivitis and oral cancer. But recently, scientists discovered another harmful impact smoking has: increasing the severity and recurrence of dental pulp infections.

Inflammation is part of the immune system’s response to a disease or injury. When a tooth is infected, the inner pulp becomes inflamed (a condition we call “pulpitis”). This has the benefits of filling the area with white blood cells, restricting the flow of infected blood to the rest of the body, and of making cellular walls more permeable to immune system resources. Among those resources are antimicrobial peptides, which are molecules that attach to pathogenic bacteria and neutralize them.

In a recent study, scientists found that smokers lack antimicrobial peptides in their dental pulp. Because of this, their pulpitis was more resistant to treatment. Root canal therapy is the ordinary way of combatting a pulp infection; it allows us to remove the infected material and replace it with a sealant. But without antimicrobial peptides, small amounts of bacteria in overlooked material can linger. We’ll still do our best to care for patients with toothaches, but it is likelier smokers will need to have a tooth replaced. Some good news is that the study found antimicrobial peptides can sometimes return after the patient quits smoking.

Drs. Meghadri and Grewal run Bridge Smiles Dental Group at 820 US Hwy 202 North Neshanic Station, NJ, and 15 North Bridge St. Somerville, NJ. To schedule an appointment, visit Bridge Smiles Dental.

 

Bite Checks

This National Children’s Dental Health Month, we of Bridge Smiles Dental Group want to remind the families we care for why bite checks are so important. Children’s biannual dental examinations are an opportunity to do deep cleanings and provide sealants as a defense against decay. But they’re also an opportunity for us to monitor the progression of our patients’ permanent teeth and determine whether they’re chewing comfortably or grinding their teeth.

Bruxism, nighttime teeth grinding or jaw clenching, is a common reaction to stress. It could also be caused by obstructive sleep apnea, which forces the body to reposition the jaw to open the upper throat’s airways. It can cause pain that radiates to the rest of the head, neck, and shoulders and cause difficulty opening the mouth (a condition known as temporomandibular joint disorder). It also may weaken the gingival ligaments holding teeth in place or cause the teeth to erode or crack.

During the examination, our hygienists will look for signs of bruxism on a patient’s enamel. They may also do a tactile test of the temporomandibular joints, which connect the lower jaw to the head, ask the patient to demonstrate closing their teeth together, and ask about the patient’s comfort when chewing or after waking up. A night guard can protect a patient from bruxism, but we may refer pediatric patients for orthodontic assessments if we think a bite disorder is due to tooth misalignment or has pushed teeth out of place.

Drs. Meghadri and Grewal run Bridge Smiles Dental Group at 820 US Hwy 202 North Neshanic Station, NJ, and 15 North Bridge St. Somerville, NJ. To schedule an appointment, visit Bridge Smiles Dental.

 

Choosing the Right Dental Products

At Bridges Smile Group P.A., we advise our patients on how to practice good oral hygiene. In order for you to properly clean your teeth, you need to use the right toothpaste and toothbrush. Our doctors can help recommend the right cleaning products based on your teeth and gums after a cleaning.

When possible, we encourage our patients with more cavities to use an electric toothbrush. Traditional toothbrushes work just fine as long as you brush properly for two full minutes, but people who regularly get cavities often do not and many are unable to. Toothbrushes come in all shapes and sizes so make sure to choose one that is soft bristled, fits your mouth, and that you can grip easily.

Don’t forget to use toothpaste that contains fluoride unless our doctors recommend otherwise. Fluoride toothpaste helps to strengthen your tooth enamel and keep your teeth clean.

Regardless of the type of toothbrush and toothpaste you use, we want all of our patients to brush twice a day so you have the healthiest teeth!

If you have any questions or concerns about what teeth toothbrush and toothpaste are right for you, please give us a call. To learn more about all of the services we provide at our office, visit www.bridgesmilesdental.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with one of our doctors at Bridge Smile Dental Group P.A. in Somerville, NJ, call 908-725-0400.

Sealants

At Bridge Dental Group P.A., we advise our patients to get sealants to protect their permanent molars. Sealants are a plastic coating that goes on the chewing surface of the molar to prevent tooth decay. Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease among children. It can be difficult for your children to brush their molars effectively because they are located in the back of their mouth.

When applying sealants to molars, an adhesive is used with a liquid that is painted right on your tooth. The liquid then hardens and creates a barrier between your tooth and any plaque or bacteria that can be damaging to your teeth. After sealants are applied, they last for about 10 years and can be replaced when necessary.

Don’t forget to brush your teeth twice a day and floss to prevent tooth decay even with sealants!

If you have any questions or concerns about what teeth toothbrush and toothpaste are right for you, please give us a call. To learn more about all of the services we provide at our office, visit www.bridgesmilesdental.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with one of our doctors at Bridge Smile Dental Group P.A. in Somerville, NJ, call 908-725-0400.