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20 Studio Arcade Bronxville, NY 10708
You’re busy getting ready for your day, and of course you’re starting your day off right by looking after your dental health. A two-minute brushing, some careful flossing, and—wait, is that a white spot on your tooth?
If your mirror reveals a patch of white on your enamel, it could be a symptom of early tooth decay. Does this mean a cavity is necessarily in your future? Perhaps not, if you act promptly to reverse the damage!
Cavities, after all, don’t suddenly appear in our mouths. Tooth decay is a process, and it begins with a weak area in the enamel that often appears as a white spot on the tooth. These weak spots are known as “incipient cavities,” because they can easily become cavities if left untreated.
Why do these weak spots occur? And how can we repair them? Let’s look at some tooth science.
Your tooth enamel is one of the marvels of the human body. Enamel is mostly made of calcium and phosphate ions, minerals which combine to form hydroxyapatite crystals. These crystals create a substance so strong that tooth enamel is the hardest part of the body—harder even than bones.
But it’s not indestructible! If you don’t care for your teeth with regular brushing and flossing, you’re leaving your enamel open to attack.
The bacteria in plaque convert the nutrients they get from the food we eat—especially sugars—into acids. These acids strip away the calcium and phosphate minerals which are the building blocks of our enamel, weakening the surface of the tooth.
Over time, these weak spots get bigger and deeper as bacteria and acids continue to attack the tooth surface. Eventually, cavities form, damaging the enamel surface, and, over time, even reaching into the dentin and the pulp inside the tooth. Once a cavity has formed, you need dental treatment to clean away the decay and repair the tooth structure.
The good news is that, when caught early, it’s possible to rebuild a weak spot in the tooth enamel before a cavity can fully develop.
While acids strip minerals from your enamel, your body is also replacing those lost minerals all throughout the day. How does this balancing act take place? With the help of saliva.
The very minerals which acids strip from your enamel are found in saliva. Saliva bathes your teeth with calcium and phosphate ions which, in turn, bond with your enamel to rebuild and restore enamel strength. When missing minerals are replaced like this, it’s called remineralization.
But this careful balance of demineralization/remineralization can become upset. If you neglect brushing and flossing, for example, plaque buildup will increase the amount of acids your teeth are exposed to. This means that your body won’t be able to replace the minerals as quickly as they are stripped away, and the result is a white patch on your tooth where the enamel has lost mineral strength.
If you’re surprised by the appearance of a white spot on your tooth, it’s a good idea to visit our Bronxville office for a diagnosis. If the spot is caused by an incipient cavity, Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis can provide you with some options to restore your enamel’s strength.
Fluoride toothpastes and fluoride treatments are some of the most efficient ways to remineralize your teeth. Fluoride is attracted to the minerals in your enamel. It bonds with the tooth surface, and, once there, it helps attract the calcium and phosphate ions in your saliva to restore lost minerals and repair weak spots.
But fluoride does more than just restore your tooth’s strength—it improves it! Fluoride ions join with the calcium and phosphate minerals in your teeth to form fluorapatite crystals, which are even larger and stronger than hydroxyapatite crystals.
Early treatment is your best opportunity to reverse the early stages of tooth decay. Keeping up with your brushing and flossing, eating a dental-healthy diet, seeing Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis regularly, and treating incipient cavities promptly will help ensure there are no unwelcome surprises in the mirror—just beautiful, healthy smiles!
Every hour of every day, someone in North America dies of oral cancer, the sixth most common diagnosed form of the disease. The five-year survival rate is only 50 percent, and oral cancer is one of the few cancers whose survival rate has not improved.
This grim statistic may make you think that oral cancer is a particularly deadly form, when in fact the high death rate has more to do with how late in its development oral cancer is detected. Routine screening is the key to early detection and survival, and in our continuing efforts to provide the most advanced technology and highest quality care available to our patients at Bronxville Dental Care, we proudly screen our patients for oral cancer.
So, who’s at risk for oral cancer?
Anyone can develop oral cancer, but some people are at a higher risk. These high-risk groups include those over the age of 50 and men, who are twice as likely as women to develop the disease. Smoking or chewing smokeless tobacco products, consuming alcohol excessively, and constant exposure to the sun at a young age are also risk factors.
How is oral cancer detected?
Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis and our team at Bronxville Dental Care suggest our patients perform a monthly self-examination to check for unusual red or white patches, sores, lumps, or thickenings anywhere inside the mouth, on the lips, or in the throat and neck area.
We encourage you to give us a call at our convenient Bronxville office if you find any of these symptoms or if you have trouble swallowing or experience a chronic sore throat and hoarseness. During your visit, Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis will inspect the oral tissues and neck to determine if abnormalities are present.
What happens if oral cancer is detected?
If we discover abnormal tissues during your visit, a biopsy will be required. The results from the biopsy will be sent to a laboratory to determine if the cells are cancerous or precancerous. If a diagnosis of cancer is made, surgery, as well as treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation may be necessary. Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis and our team will work closely with your oncologist and other members of your medical team to ensure that you achieve the best possible oral health care both during and after treatment.
Finding out you have oral cancer can be devastating news. If you are concerned that you might be at risk for developing oral cancer, talk to us about screenings and other things you can do to reduce your risk. Through a routine visual inspection, Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis and our team at Bronxville Dental Care can often detect premalignant abnormalities and cancer at an early stage when treatment is both less expensive and more successful, and can potentially save your life. Ask us about a screening during your next visit!
When most people think of complications of diabetes, they think of an increased risk of blindness, limb amputation, heart disease, and neuropathy. However, Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis and our team want you to know that emerging research is revealing a possible connection between uncontrolled diabetes and dental problems. Whether you have type 2 diabetes or type 1, uncontrolled high blood glucose level increases the risk of certain oral health conditions, including:
Diabetes and proper dental care
If you have diabetes, it is more important than ever to take your dental care seriously and practice excellent oral hygiene. These recommendations will help:
Managing diabetes takes effort, not only in watching your diet, exercising, monitoring your blood sugar levels, and taking your medication, but obtaining proper dental care.
To learn more about the link between diabetes and oral health, or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis, please give us a call at our convenient Bronxville office!
Getting to the Root of the Problem
While our roots are well protected, they’re not indestructible! Several conditions can damage them. But we’re not just about problems—we also have some suggestions to keep your roots solid and intact for a lifetime.
A blow, a fall from a bike, a sports injury—any trauma which can hurt your visible tooth can hurt your roots as well. And it’s not just accidents that cause harm. Cracks in the tooth caused by oral habits like chewing on ice, pencils, or other hard objects can lead to root fractures.
You can help prevent root injuries by wearing a mouth guard whenever you are engaged in contact sports or any physical activity that might cause damage to your face or mouth. If you have harmful oral habits, talk to Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis about how to break them. And if you do suffer a dental injury, see us as soon as possible to avoid more serious complications.
Bruxism, or tooth grinding, is most often an unconscious habit that takes place while you sleep. Grinding puts enormous pressure on teeth and their roots. The damage can be obvious, with cracked and worn crowns, but your roots can be affected, too. The strain of this constant pressure can stretch the periodontal ligament, causing loose teeth.
Night guards are one of the easiest ways to relieve pressure on individual teeth and roots. Your dentist can fabricate a night guard which will provide comfortable, effective protection for your teeth and jaw.
Any infection or trauma which injures the pulp of the tooth will affect the roots as well. Most of us are familiar with root canal treatment, where infected or damaged pulp is removed, and the insides of the pulp chamber and canals are cleaned, shaped, and filled. A crown is usually placed afterward to cap and protect the tooth.
Sometimes, however, an infection can persist after root canal treatment. An oral surgeon is a specialist in treating complex medical conditions of the face, mouth, and jaw. We may have been recommend to you if a surgical procedure is needed to treat infection around or in the root.
When infections persist near the tip of a root, an apicoectomy is a common surgical treatment. In this procedure, Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis will carefully remove a few millimeters from the tip of the tooth, then clean the infected parts of the root and the tissues around it before sealing the root tip.
Other surgical options are available to help prevent extractions when there’s a root problem. A healthy molar with only one root seriously damaged by infection, trauma, or decay can be treated with a root amputation. Here the injured root is surgically removed, preserving the remaining roots and crown. If part of the crown is damaged as well, Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis can perform a hemisection, dividing the tooth to save as much of the undamaged root and crown as possible.
Taking care of your gums is one of the best ways to protect your roots.
Gums often recede as we age, leaving part of the root exposed. Gum disease, failure to brush and floss regularly, and heavy-handed brushing can also lead to gum recession. The newly revealed cementum is now exposed to the plaque and acids that cause cavities in our enamel, and, since it’s not as strong as enamel, cementum is more vulnerable to erosion and cavities progress more quickly.
When more severe recession takes place, the gums pull away from the teeth, creating pockets which become home to plaque and bacteria. Left untreated, infection and inflammation can develop, attacking teeth, connective tissue, and bone.
Scaling and planing procedures which clean the root surface can help. If you could benefit from soft-tissue grafting to replace lost gum tissue, schedule a visit to our Bronxville office to discover your options.
Healthy roots help you keep your teeth for a lifetime, so it’s important to see Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis as soon as possible if you have any symptoms of potential problems:
Do your part by keeping up with daily brushing and flossing, visiting Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis for exams as recommended, and making an appointment if you are feeling any pain or discomfort. If you could benefit from surgical treatment, talk to your oral surgeon about the most effective treatment options for your individual needs. Strong roots are essential to our oral health, and a lifetime of healthy smiles is something we’re all rooting for!