Healthy Smiles Family Dental

If you’ve suffered from missing or damaged teeth, you may have considered implant-supported crowns to replace them. But if you also have diabetes, you may wonder whether implants are safe for you. People with diabetes are especially vulnerable to tooth loss, so we at Healthy Smiles Family Dental in Salem want them to be able to make informed decisions about their treatment. We thought it would be a good idea to pass along a review of the research into diabetes and implant survival . People with diabetes may suffer blood vessel damage. This not only makes them more vulnerable to gum inflammation, it also means they take longer to recover from injuries. Doctors historically feared that people with diabetes would have higher rates of short-term implant failure because they would not be able to recover from the incisions made to place the implant posts. But although the research found that it takes longer in diabetic patients for their implants to integrate with their jaw bones, as long a...

Did you know that good oral health could protect you from Alzheimer’s disease? That’s the conclusion of break-through scientific studies published in the last year. We provide patients with regular cleanings at Healthy Smiles Family Dental in Salem, but we hope our patients will come see us whenever they notice the signs of gingivitis. The bacteria that cause it could become a big problem. Porphyromonas gingivalis is a species of bacteria that causes gum disease. It excretes toxins called gingipains as a means of defending itself against white blood cells. These toxins are common, but are found in especially high levels in the brains and spinal fluid of people who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. Testing on animals confirmed that the gingipains from oral bacteria that affects their species trigger the production of neural plaque. Another study found that P. gingivalis is able to travel from the mouth to the brain in humans. Scientists caution that gum disease is probably not the ...

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...