Top 10 Common Dental Problems: How They Affect Your Mouth | Newington, CT Dentist

Are you experiencing oral pain? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

If you are not careful, common dental problems can creep up on you without warning. Did you know that oral problems can lead to many other dental health issues? This blog post is all about common dental problems and how they can affect the mouth if not treated.

1. Gum Disease

Gum disease is one of the most common dental problems, but it’s also easiest to prevent with proper oral care. This disease is caused by dental plaque buildup around the teeth and usually starts with gingivitis. It can lead to other more serious dental problems if not treated early on by your dentist.

Gum disease is characterized as chronic when there are signs of inflammation or ulceration for three months or more; it’s acute otherwise. If you start experiencing any symptoms such as bleeding gums, dental plaque, or bad breath, you should visit your dentist as soon as possible.

Here are some other symptoms of gum disease:

• Swelling and tenderness in the gums and mouth
• Red patches on the gums that bleed when touched
• Sores inside the cheeks near teeth (painful to eat)

If you think you have gum disease avoid eating sticky foods, candies, and drinking sodas. Your dentist will usually prescribe an antibiotic to help in the healing process. They may recommend dental surgery as a more serious treatment option if you have chronic gum disease that has not been treated for some time.

2. Tooth Decay

Dental decay, or dental caries, is an oral disease caused by the destruction of tooth enamel. This problem occurs when acids produced by bacteria in tooth plaque react with natural minerals in teeth to cause tooth decay. If the plaque on your teeth hardens, then you will have to see your dentist to get it removed.

Here are some tooth decay symptoms:

• Pain while chewing or after eating/drinking acidic foods and beverages, such as soda, juice, sports drinks, coffee, or tea.
• Sensitivity to hot or cold temperatures in the tooth area (painful to eat ice cream).
• White spots on teeth that cannot be removed with toothpaste or a toothbrush.
• A sour odor coming from the mouth (halitosis) and bad breath.

3. Cavities

Cavities are dental problems that result in a hole in the tooth. This hole is caused when tooth plaque, food debris, and saliva stick to your teeth and hardens. Similar to tooth decay, the acid will begin to damage the enamel. When dental caries progress into an open cavity, the decay can cause teeth to break off in pieces or fall out.

Here are some warning signs of this common dental problem:

• Toothache or tooth pain that won’t go away
• Uneven dental wear on the teeth, as if they’ve been grinding (also called bruxism)
• Soreness when eating sour foods like lemons and some candies

Some dental diseases such as plaque buildup on your teeth require dental visits more often than others. It is also recommended that you see a dental hygienist every 3 months rather than a dentist because dental hygienists specialize in specific oral issues.

4. Cracked, Chipped, or Broken Teeth

Cracked, chipped, or broken teeth are three distinct dental issues that require different treatments. Teeth grinding is a common cause of cracked teeth. Teeth grinding can be easily treated using a mouthpiece during sleep to hold your jaw and teeth in place. A cracked tooth requires the dentist to carefully fill any holes where the cracked pieces meet with a tooth-colored filling material.

Outside forces usually cause chipped and broken teeth. For example, if you’re a fighter and get punched in the face a lot, you might break a tooth. When an accident happens, and you chip or break a tooth, then the dentist has two options:

1. The dentist might be able to repair the tooth in one visit.
2. Wait for the cracked section of the tooth to heal enough so they can put a crown on it.

5. Toothache

Pain in the tooth that may radiate to the ears is a toothache. Toothaches can be caused by tooth decay, tooth grinding, tooth injury, or infection. To get diagnosed, a dentist should examine your teeth for signs of decay and gum disease. Toothache can also be due to conditions such as sinusitis, meningitis, or an abscessed tooth that will need prompt treatment.

6. Stained Teeth

Several different things can cause stained teeth. Depending on what kind of foods you eat, how much you brush and floss will cause your teeth to become yellow or not. Some people get stained teeth from drinking large amounts of coffee or tea. You can also get stained teeth from smoking tobacco.

7. Sensitive Teeth

Many things can cause your teeth to become sensitive. Sometimes sensitive teeth can be caused by tooth grinding, hurt gums, or fillings that are too close to the sensitive area on your tooth enamel.

Here’s what you should do if you have sensitive teeth:

• Use a softer toothbrush and use gentle brushing motions when brushing your teeth. If you brush with hard pressure, this will aggravate sensitive areas in your mouth and make it worse.
• Avoid chewing gum since sugar can irritate sensitive gums and lead to more plaque buildup, which is one cause of sensitivity for some people.
• Stop smoking tobacco products because nicotine causes dry mouth, making sensitive teeth even worse than usual (harmful bacteria has increased access).

When you have sensitive teeth, you can become sensitive to extremely hot or cold foods, sour and sweet foods, and sugary foods. If you have sensitive teeth, you’ll need to go to your dentist to find a solution.

8. Grinding Your Teeth

There are plenty of different causes for grinding your teeth, including dry mouth, sensitiveness to hot or cold food and drink, pain in the gum tissues due to dental caries, or infected ulcers. Sometimes it can be caused by stress-related tension. Some people will grind their teeth when they are in pain, while others grind their teeth simply because of excessive stress.

Grinding your teeth can be easily treated by using a mouthpiece that holds the grinding jaw in place or using a nightguard. It would be best to protect your teeth from grinding because it can create cracked teeth or break a tooth into pieces.

Here are some warning signs of grinding your teeth:

• Finding small fractures on the chewing surface of your molars. If you have soreness when eating sour food, this could be an indicator.
• Sensitivity in your jaw joint and your teeth.
• If you notice uneven tooth wear or tooth erosion.

9. Wisdom Teeth

The wisdom teeth, also known as third molars, are the furthest back teeth in your mouth. They come in anywhere from age 17 to 25, and wisdom teeth pain is often a result of overcrowding or wisdom tooth impaction. If wisdom teeth cause pain, then it is important to go to the dentist as soon as possible to determine the best treatment for you. Some wisdom teeth will have to be removed with surgery.

10. Oral Mouth Cancer

Many oral cancer cases are a result of tobacco use. It is known to be caused by frequently chewing tobacco or using it in other ways (also smoking, dipping). Tobacco is believed to cause oral cancer because it has 27 carcinogens that can affect oral health. Some specific oral cancers include oral cavity cancer, esophageal cancer, and cancer of the tongue.

Finding Help

East Cedar Dental is a dentist’s office with a professional team ready to help you with all your teeth, gum, and oral disease needs. We are committed to providing patients in the Newington, Connecticut area with dental care that is high-quality and affordable.

At East Cedar Dental, the patient’s welfare is our top priority, and we offer services for all age groups. We offer treatments ranging from teeth cleaning to major dental surgery. So let us know how we can help protect you from all of these common dental problems.