When you visit our Costa Mesa dentist office, we will focus much of our attention on preventative medicine unless you are coming in with a very specific problem that needs to be dealt with first. Similarly on this blog, and throughout our website, we have the same kind of focus. We know that the internet has become the place many people go to for information. It doesn’t matter if you are looking up how to properly prune the roots of your tree or if you are in need of root canal, the internet will have a hundred sources and often a hundred different opinions on the subject. Our goal is to ensure that you can get information directly from our Costa Mesa dentist office, so that you are getting the right information and also so that you can use this as a conversation starter when visiting our office. There is nothing more positive, or more effective, than having the conversation about your dental challenges face to face in our dentist office. This also leads to less confusion and gives you a better understanding. Because we focus so much of our time, offline and online, on preventative medicine we take a more holistic approach to dentistry. Treating a problem is easy, making sure that the problem never occurs in the first place requires a degree of collaboration.
Here at our Costa Mesa dentist office, we see a lot of the same challenges every day. While there are plenty of places, mostly on the internet, where a simple case of bad breath is portrayed as a terrible disease, we know that for the vast majority of our patients they have a basic cavity or gum disease that can be easily treated. Most people visit us for routine problems like cavities, bad breath, braces, and regularly scheduled cleanings. Of course, we occasionally have complicated, or rare conditions but they are exactly that, rare. The most common reason someone comes in to see us is a toothache caused by a cavity. As a point of interest, toothaches are the second leading cause why people will miss work or school in the United States. The first is the common cold. Many toothaches are caused by a simple cavity that has gone unattended for too long. Sometimes a toothache can be caused by an infection, a root that needs to be removed, or gum diseases, so it is always advisable to come in if you have one. Just know that it will probably be a cavity.
A cavity is a small hole that forms in the enamel of your tooth and it can easily be fixed in our Costa Mesa dentist office. The hole is caused by the acidic secretions of oral bacteria that make their home in the human mouth. All human mouths have bacteria which is perfectly normal and relatively harmless. The trouble occurs when the teeth are not cleaned properly, allowing the bacteria to accumulate or colonize on the teeth. You can tell an accumulation by the thin yellow film that forms on the teeth known as plaque. When plaque is allowed to stand for any period of time, the acid from the bacteria eats a hole in your enamel, and you have a cavity. To schedule an appointment for this or any other oral health problem, give us a call.