Author: MK & C Dental Group

Nail biting is one of the most common habits of humans, and the behavior is typically triggered by stress, boredom, annoyingly long fingernails, or excitement. However, at our dental offices in Middletown and Kettering, we want to warn our nail biters that this habit can also contribute to a multitude of dental and whole-body problems.

1. Germs, germs, and more germs. Fingernails can hold a lot of germs and bacteria, almost twice as much as your hands. Nail biters are at increased risk for transferring those germs and dangerous bacteria into the body. What’s even scarier is that if gnawed of nails are swallowed, all that gross stuff that lives under the nail enters the body and may lead to stomach issues.
2. Save some dough! According to the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), nail biters spend an average of $4,000 more on dental bills throughout their lives than non-biters. This is mostly due to the fact that nail biting can lead to some serious dental concerns.
3. Tooth damage. Nails are hard, and when we bite them, the chance for chips and cracks greatly increases. Nail biters experience more cracks or chips in their pearly whites. Even more, nail biting can lead to bruxism, or clenching and grinding of the teeth. Bruxism itself can cause jaw pain, wear and tear on teeth, and headaches.
4. Take a break! Like other parts of your body, your teeth also need to rest. Your teeth are there to help you chew and eat, but in between meals, they should take a break. If you’re a nail biter, your teeth are constantly working. This may cause them to wear down quickly or could lead to a bad bite.
5. Ouch, my jaw hurts! Chronic nail biting can be detrimental for your jaw. In fact, constantly chewing your nails can cause TMJ Disorder. TMJ Disorder brings on its own set of issues like jaw pain, headaches, or popping or locking of the jaw.

At our Middletown and Kettering dental offices, we’re always here to give you the advice you need to make sure your smile and your body are healthy. If you’re a nail biter, talk to us about it. We have tips that may help you quit, we’ll examine your mouth for any signs of damage, and work with you to get your smile in its best shape.

Serving patients from Middletown, Franklin, Springboro, Kettering, Beavercreek, Centerville, Oakwood, and nearby communities.

The holidays are well upon us, and there’s never been a better time to celebrate friendships, spend time with family, and be grateful for our health. However, with the hustle and bustle of parties every weekend, fulfilling wish lists pages deep, and all that food, it’s also a time when our health is at increased risk. At our dental offices in Middletown and Kettering, we’re always focused on our patients’ health, and not just in their mouths, but throughout their entire bodies. With that philosophy always at the forefront of everything we do, this holiday season we’d like to share some tips for making your holiday season a healthy one.

Be Stress Free

Over the holidays, life seems to become so incredibly busy, it’s like there’s never a chance to breathe, let alone enjoy it. Try breaking the cycle of constantly being stressed by following these tips.

• Don’t overcommit. If you’re inundated with piles of invitations to holiday parties, don’t feel obligated to accept them all. Overcommitment to more events than you can handle can lead to loss of sleep and an increased risk of getting sick. Politely pass on some of those parties and stay in to relax instead.

• Stay within budget. Start your holidays by setting a budget, then stay within it. Managing the amount of money you’re comfortable spending on gifts, food, and travel can keep your stress levels low and give you one less thing to worry about.

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry – Just Not Too Much

One of the best parts of the holidays is the variety of food and drinks available at every turn. While we’d never tell to you skip out on enjoying a holiday feast, your dentist in Middletown or Kettering will encourage you to monitor your intake of food and alcohol. Overeating can lead to an upset stomach, so watch how much you consume. The same thing applies to alcohol. If you’re of age, partaking a glass of wine with dinner or a dessert of eggnog is absolutely acceptable, just don’t overdo it. Alternate every alcoholic drink with a glass of water, and try to limit yourself to two adult beverages per party. Nothing compromises your immune system or makes you feel sicker than a hangover that belongs on the naughty list.

Wash Your Hands Often

During the holidays, we interact with more people, visit more houses, and are presented with more opportunities to swap germs. This makes washing your hands well and often really important. Scrub with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds to rinse away harmful germs that can make you sick and put a damper on your holiday.

Everyone at our dental offices in Middletown and Kettering wishes you and your family a safe and happy holiday season. Following these tips can help make it a healthy one too.

Welcoming patients from Middletown, Franklin, Springboro, Kettering, Beavercreek, Centerville, Oakwood, and surrounding areas.

Several things can keep you from visiting the dentist every six months as normally recommended. A bad experience, a fear of the dentist, finances, or maybe you’re just too busy. However, when you make the decision to get back in the dental chair, you may still feel reluctant. The team at our Middletown and Kettering dental offices wants to ease your concerns and help you understand what you can expect at your first visit.

A Lecture-Free Zone

One of the main fears patients have when they’re getting ready to come back is fear of a lecture. When you visit your dentist in Middletown or Kettering, we don’t want you to be afraid of getting chastised. Our philosophy doesn’t include making our patients feel guilty, but rather we talk with you about your concerns and work together to ease them. With us, you’re never in trouble and we’re always here to help.

A Longer Visit

Your first visit after a hiatus will typically warrant a longer visit. This isn’t to scare you but because we like to spend time getting to know our patients personally and familiarizing ourselves with their mouths. We’ll also perform a thorough evaluation that will most likely include x-rays, a comprehensive exam, and cleaning. We’ll move at your pace and constantly ensure that you’re at ease.

Cavities

If it’s a been a few years since you’ve seen a dentist, there is a good chance that you have some decay and cavities. However, they’re nothing to fear. Most people, even those who do see the dentist every six months, get several cavities throughout their lifetime. But thanks to improvements in dental technology, treatment is easier, less painful, and faster than ever before. Getting a cavity filled is a much better option than leaving it untreated as a cavity that is left to fester can lead to more serious problems.

Whether it’s been a few months, years, or decades since you last visited the dentist, we’re here to welcome you to our dental offices in Middletown and Kettering. Our goal is not only to get your mouth healthy, but to make sure you’re comfortable and that you’re an active part of your health care team. We welcome you to talk to us about your concerns so we can help ease your worries and get your smile back to health, beauty, and strength.

Welcoming patients from Middletown, Franklin, Springboro, Kettering, Beavercreek, Centerville, Oakwood, and surrounding areas.

We all know brushing and flossing are important for a healthy mouth. However, there are some other things that are important to do, and to avoid, to keep your smile in tip-top shape. One of the things to avoid doing a lot is breathing through your mouth. While it may sound like a simple, involuntary act that’s not a huge deal, at our dental offices in Middletown and Kettering, we want to let you know just how mouth breathing impacts dental health.

Breathing out of your mouth instead of your nose is sometimes caused by an underlying issue with your nasal passage. Chronic nasal obstruction (CNO) is the main reason people mouth breathe. When not enough oxygen gets into our lungs by breathing through the nose, we resort to the next best thing – mouth breathing.

Mouth breathing may lead to some serious oral health concerns. Since breathing out of your mouth dries it out, the amount of saliva decreases, which is a big problem. Saliva is important to ridding your mouth of harmful bacteria and neutralizing acids. When not enough saliva is produced, your chance of tooth decay and other dangerous problems increases.

A dry mouth is a dangerous mouth. Not only can a chronically dry mouth lead to bad breath and increase the risk of tooth decay and cavities, it can also put you at risk for gum disease and gingivitis. Gum disease is a serious oral health problem that has been linked to whole-body issues like heart attacks, strokes, and heart disease.

Mouth breathing may also  lead to allergies, poor sleep, lower oxygen concentration in the blood, and facial deformities in children. Since breathing through the mouth requires a change in posture to keep the airway open, when children are mouth breathers and it’s not caught, their faces can begin to develop into a long, narrow shape with a flattened nose and short upper lip and pouty lower lip. Breathing out of your mouth may also lead to crooked teeth, gummy smiles, headaches, and sore throats.

How do you know if you’re a mouth breather?

There are some common signs and symptoms of being a mouth breather. Some of them include:

• Dry lips
• Crowded teeth
• Snoring and open mouth while sleeping
• Increased number of airway infections including sinus, ear, colds
• Chronic bad breath

Your dentist in Middletown or Kettering can also tell if you breathe out of your mouth, which makes regular appointments even more important.

If you’re suffering from mouth breathing and are ready to fix the problem, give our Middletown or Kettering dental office a call. We’ll work together to determine what’s causing you to breathe out of your mouth and discuss the best way to fix it, not only for the health of your mouth, for your entire well being.

Serving patients in Middletown, Franklin, Springboro, Kettering, Beavercreek, Centerville, and Oakwood.

If you’ve previously been required to take antibiotics before an appointment with your dentist in Middletown or Kettering, we have some important news for you. Recent research shows that using antibiotics as a precaution to infection may not serve as a solution and can possibly create more problems.

If you have a heart condition, taking a precautionary antibiotic before visiting your dentist, even for a cleaning, used to be a common recommendation. However, according to the American Heart Association, this is no longer necessary for most people and could even harm a healthy patient.

After numerous studies were made public, the guidelines for using antibiotics to reduce the risk of infection have been revised. Based on the evidence, the risks associated with taking preventive antibiotics may outweigh the benefits. Risks include negative reactions to the medication as well as actually increasing the chance of infection.

The overuse of antibiotics leads to bacteria becoming immune to the medicine. Resistance to antibiotics allows bacteria to thrive, leading to infections despite the effort to circumvent it. Additionally, antibiotic resistant bacteria may cause more severe infections and lasting medical damage.

However, there are still conditions where the use of preventive antibiotics is appropriate. These conditions include:

• Artificial heart valves
• A history of Infective Endocarditis
• Bicuspid valve disease
• Calcified aortic stenosis
• Certain congenital heart conditions

Patients with these conditions are at the greatest risk of seriously bad outcomes if a heart infection develops. Despite the diagnosis of your condition, we encourage all of our heart patients to talk to their cardiologist prior to their dental appointments to see if taking antibiotics is right for you.

While taking an antibiotic before visits to your Middletown or Kettering dentist may no longer be necessary, it’s still important to keep the number of bacteria in your mouth low. We do this by working together to instill a healthy at-home hygiene routine in addition to regular visits to our dental office in Middletown or Kettering. The best way to reduce your chance of greater infection throughout your body is start with a healthy mouth. Together, we can help keep bacteria and infection away.

Serving patients in Middletown, Franklin, Springboro, Kettering, Beavercreek, Centerville, and Oakwood.