Dr. Tara Moshiri, DDS, D.D.S

To insure adequate brushing time (minimum 2 minutes, 2X/day) and brushing technique and to prevent cavities; regardless of children insisting to be independent, parents should continue to supervise their children's brushing until the age 10 to 12.

There are occasions when the pain refuses to go away after an extraction. Even a week or two may pass, and you will still feel the same irritating sensation. If you begin experiencing this, you most likely have a dry socket or alveolar osteitis. When they pull out your tooth, a blood clot should form where the tooth once was. It protects the bone and the nerve until the flesh heals and covers the wound. Sometimes, the blood clot may dissolve and fall out. This leaves the nerves open to damage with no tooth to protect the area.
Infection is a big part of the painful sensation. Usually, the best treatment for this is a preventive one. Dentists usually prescribe antibiotics to prevent this from happening. If dry socket occurs, dentists will place a dry socket paste in the extraction site to help heal the site. Smoking also delays healing and increases the likelihood of dry socket by 40% within 48 hours of extraction.

Using a non abrasive mostly natural toothpaste with wound healing effects and soothing to the gingiva is my recommendation for daily use (i.e. Aloesense). For high risk cavity patients prescription toothpastes such as Prevident 5000 is highly recommended. It is not a bad practice to switch up your toothpastes once in a while, but look for ingredients that best works for your dental needs (i.e sensitivity, dry mouth, higher fluoride dose) and overall health.

Hi, I am glad to hear you brush twice a day. It would be great if you can floss twice per day as well. Keep your 6 month professional cleaning appointments to ensure gingival health. In case of gingival inflammations you can use Peridex rinses prescribed by your dentist as well. Regards

Dryness or Xerostomia can be brought up by several factors. Mouth breathing due to sinus, nasal and breathing problems, stress and certain medications can be some of the reasons for dry mouth. Using over the counter Biotene products or professional Dry mouth toothpastes can be helpful. Overall low water intake can also contribute to dry mouth as well. Other helpful tips are sipping water or sugarless drinks often and during meals as well as
avoiding drinks with caffeine, such as coffee, tea and some sodas.
Chew sugarless gum or suck on sugarless hard candy to stimulate saliva flow — citrus, cinnamon or mint-flavored candies are good choices. Ultimately study any of the medications that you may be taking for dry mouth side effects and discuss them with your physician at your next visit.

Cavities can spread from one tooth to another adjacent to the cavitated tooth. Newly filled teeth can become sensitive lasting a week. Any constant sensitivity that worsens after 10 days should be re-evaluated by your dentist for possible high bite or any gaps with the newly filled tooth, or in cases of deep filling having the nerve of the tooth effected. Now changes in your bite can also cause sensitivity with surrounding teeth especially if you have an overall heavy bite, clench or brux. Regards

To improve and maintain your gingival health you need to have your teeth professionally cleaned every 6 months, brush and floss twice daily, and use prescribed oral rinses with acute periodontal disease to improve overall oral health. Now poor oral hygiene, constant gingival inflammation and periodontal disease is associated with chronic inflammatory diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis and low birth weight.
Recent new studies suggest that periodontal disease may also increase the risk for respiratory infections, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pneumonia. These infections, which are caused when bacteria from the upper throat are inhaled into the lower respiratory tract.
Taking good care of your periodontal health involves daily tooth brushing and flossing. You should also get a comprehensive periodontal evaluation every year.

Rinsing with warm water and salt is mostly recommended to disinfect the oral cavity with oral wounds; soothe and heal mouth sores.
Salt water mouth rinse can be used up to four times a day for treatment for up to two weeks with no adverse effects. However, over time an oral saline solution may adversely affect the tooth enamel, causing decay. Therefore is not recommended for long term use with little or no known whitening effects.

Overall gingival inflammation can be the reason for burning gums. Some ingredients in toothpaste such as cinnamon can cause the gums to burn as well.
It can also be associated with a variety of other conditions including menopause, psychological problems, nutritional deficiencies (vitamin B12 deficiency) and disorders of the mouth, such as oral thrush and dry mouth (xerostomia).