As part of our ongoing efforts to help patients achieve and maintain their healthiest smiles, we recommend regular preventive dental checkups and teeth cleanings. During these visits, you have probably heard your dentist calling out numbers as they check your smile. They are measuring the depths of your gum tissue pockets. This is called periodontal charting, and it helps us keep track of your gum health. This important measure of periodontal (gum) health tracks the depth of the pockets around each tooth. The top of gum tissue does not attach directly to teeth. There is a space or pocket between the gum and the tooth before it attaches. This pocket deepens in the presence of bacteria, plaque, and tartar build up that lead to gum disease. To monitor and evaluate gum health, the pocket depth must be measured, recorded, and monitored over time. In this blog, we’ll walk through what periodontal pockets are, how they are connected to gum health, and why it’s so important to regularly monitor periodontal pocket depths.
(Updated) Cracked or Broken Teeth Symptoms, Causes & Solutions
Cracked or broken teeth are more than uncomfortable, they can also be unsightly and detrimental to oral health. Yet, many patients choose to live with cracked or broken teeth rather than seeking immediate treatment. If you have a cracked or broken tooth, don’t postpone your dental care. Without seeking emergency dental services as soon as possible, your tooth and surrounding teeth may be severely damaged or lost.
The Top 4 McCarl Dental Group Videos of 2018
At McCarl Dental Group, we do our utmost to offer our patients all of the information they need to achieve and maintain their healthiest and most beautiful smiles. Over the last year, we’ve had a lot of fun sharing tips for improved oral health and information about some of our most advanced dentistry procedures on our YouTube channel. We want to thank you all so much for watching and always supporting the McCarl Dental Group team in Millersville and Greenbelt. In this post, we’ve put together some information about each of our most watched videos of 2018, and we look forward to continuing to share more with you in 2019. Thanks for watching!
Health Benefits of Straight Teeth
Straight teeth are something we all want because they look great, but did you know that a properly aligned smile is also good for your oral health? It’s true. If you’ve been putting off correcting your smile because you didn’t want to deal with the inconvenience of traditional bracket and wire orthodontics, it may be time to consider Invisalign clear braces. You can get straighter, healthier teeth with less hassle and feel completely confident sharing your smile in any situation – even as you straighten your teeth. Keep reading to learn more about why it’s so important to achieve a straight smile and how Invisalign may be a great option for your oral healthcare needs.
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Top 3 Benefits of Following the Six Month Rule
Our dentists and team members in Millersville, Maryland always encourage patients to following the six month rule. It’s simple, visit our team every six months for dental exams and teeth cleanings. Then, take care of your smile at home with daily tooth brushing, flossing, and mouth rinse. This is the key to maintaining optimal oral health for every patient. Keep reading to find out more about the invaluable benefits of six month dental checkups and teeth cleaning with our Millersville dentist and team.
Tips for New Denture Wearers
If you’ve just gotten your first set of partial or full dentures, you’re likely experiencing a strange mix of emotions. You’re happy to be able to share a smile again. You’re worried about shifting teeth while eating meals in public with friends and family members, and you’re concerned you aren’t speaking clearly any longer. Most patients get used to their dentures fairly quickly, but if you’re struggling to adjust, we’re here to help. In this post, we’ll discuss some tips to help you achieve ideal denture function, so you can speak, chew, or smile with complete confidence and comfort.
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Protecting Your Smile with Dental Sealants
When it comes to protecting smiles from tooth decay, we encourage all of our dental patients to do their best to brush thoroughly, floss carefully, and of course, keep up with regular preventive dental checkups. When it comes to our kids’ smiles, it can be more of a struggle to keep them healthy. Dental professionals and parents work hard to teach children to remove plaque buildup and clean their smiles thoroughly every day, but even the most diligent parents may not always have time to double check their children’s teeth every time they brush. What can you do to improve your child’s oral health (or your own) quickly and comfortably? Ask your dental hygienist or dentist about dental sealants.
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Celebrity Smile Makeovers
This academy award season, you’re going to see a lot of flawless smiles on your television screen, and many people assume their favorite celebs are just born with beautiful smiles. The odds are you’re looking at the beautiful end result of skilled dental care. If you want to get your smile red carpet ready, cosmetic dentistry isn’t just for celebrities. Your Millersville and Greenbelt dentists and dentistry team at McCarl Dental Group offer a wide range of treatments to deliver flawless smiles to rival your favorite celeb.
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4 Tips for Keeping Your Smile Healthy
If you’re trying to improve your oral health or at-home hygiene routine, the best place to start is with a trip to your trusted general dentist. To get a head start, you can watch this informative video and read this blog for basic tips to improve your oral hygiene. In our educational video, Dr. Jay McCarl talks to a patient about effective strategies to maintain healthy teeth and gums for life. If you haven’t already, now is the time to talk to your dentist or dental hygienist about your at-home hygiene routine, and ask them for help maximizing the efficacy of your daily preventive dentistry routine.
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The Science of Cavities
Ancient humans used crude tools to clean their teeth, ate a coarse diet, and ended up fully or partially without teeth within a few decades of life. Through the ages, people have gotten better at caring for their smiles, and today, the rate of tooth loss has significantly decreased. However, the consumption of diets higher in sugary and acidic foods have caused a noted increase in cavities. In order to properly care for your teeth and keep your smile cavity free, you’ll need to know more about how cavities form.
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