Healthy Smiles Family Dental

Asthma is a condition with implications for many bodily systems, including dental health. Patients at Salem’s Healthy Smiles Family Dental know that we cooperate with their other care providers to ensure that all their unique needs are being met. If they suffer from asthma, they may need to make some additional lifestyle and hygiene changes to protect themselves from tooth decay. Saliva plays an important role in combatting bacteria that create cavities. It washes away food particles, depriving bacteria of nutrients, and neutralizes the acid produced by their metabolizing process. But people with asthma commonly suffer from dry mouth (also called xerostomia). They may breathe through their mouths because their upper airways are inflamed, or xerostomia may be a side effect of their medication, but they’ll need to drink more liquids, use humidifiers to maintain a less dry environment, and possibly use throat moisturizers. Patients should consult with their asthma specialist before making...

Do you have a toothache? At Healthy Smiles Family Dental in Salem, we’ve removed a lot of dental pulp infections, allowing patients to feel better and retain the use of their natural teeth. But new research has shown that smokers have an especially difficult time with dental pulp infections, and we want our patients to understand this peril and how closely connected dental health is to the overall immune system. We refer to pulp inflammation as “pulpitis.” This is an immune response, and while it can be triggered by an injury, it is usually due to an infection. Anytime the dental pulp is exposed there is a high risk of infection, but pulpitis can also occur if decay of the enamel becomes severe enough for the acid produced by bacteria to irritate the inner portion of the tooth. Pulp infections are not only painful, they are dangerous. If left untreated, they can lead to blood poisoning and facial abscesses. Smokers have compromised immune systems and suffer from high rates of oral infe...

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and at Healthy Smiles Family Dental in Salem, we want our patients to be aware of the link between diabetes and gum disease. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the body does not produce enough insulin, the hormone that breaks down sugars. Lots of bodily systems are put at risk by it, and in the case of gum disease, there appears to be a mutually-reinforcing relationship. One of the effects of diabetes is to thicken blood vessels, limiting the amount of oxygen and nutrients that reach different parts of the body. This makes it harder for people with diabetes to fight off infections, including those of the gum pockets. In people with uncontrolled diabetes, gum infections are much likelier to develop into periodontal disease, putting the patient at risk for tooth loss as their gums and jaw bone tissue recede. There is also evidence that gum infections make it harder for patients’ bodies to regulate blood sugar, setting off a feedback l...