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You just crunched down on a piece of hard food when you suddenly realize there is something hard still in your mouth. Your nightmare is confirmed when you retrieve a piece of your tooth from your mouth. You chipped your tooth; now what?

Obviously, the first thing you need to do is call our East Lyme, CT office. While we make every effort to see emergent cases immediately, you may have to wait a day or so before you can see Dr. James Robson. Luckily, it’s easy to take care of your chipped tooth while you wait.

How to Take Care of a Chipped

The last thing you want is for the tooth to become infected or break even more. Let’s look at a few things you can do:

• If the chipped tooth is causing you pain take an over-the-counter pain medication, like Tylenol. Always follow the directions on the label.
• You should also rinse your mouth with lukewarm saltwater, as this will help prevent an infection from setting in.
• If your chipped tooth has a sharp edge, cover it up with a piece of wax to prevent it from cutting you cheek, tongue, or lip.
• If you have to eat, make sure you eat soft foods and don’t bite down on the chipped or broken tooth.

Treatment Options for a Chipped Tooth

• Dental Filling and Bonding – If you only have a small chip in your tooth, Dr. James Robson will probably fix it with a filling. If it is a front tooth, we may bond the tooth using a tooth-colored compound.
• Dental Crown or Cap – If you broke a large piece of your tooth, we may grind the remaining part of your tooth and put a crown or cap on it.
• Dental Veneers – If you chipped or broke your front tooth then choosing a dental veneer may be your best choice. It will make your tooth look completely normal.
• Root Canal – If you cracked your tooth and the center (pulp) of the tooth is exposed and infected, you will need a root canal. If the center of your tooth is exposed, it becomes vulnerable to bacteria that will cause your tooth to abscess.

Chipping or breaking your tooth is never a good thing, and you should always call our East Lyme, CT office right away. The sooner you get your tooth repaired the less likely you are to have any problems with it.

Keeping your smile its brightest can be a challenge! The foods you eat, healthy habits, unhealthy habits, and time itself can affect the color of your enamel. Luckily, there are some everyday actions you can take to minimize staining and discoloration.

• Limit “Food Coloring”

Some of our favorite foods and beverages cause some of the most noticeable staining. Even though enamel is the strongest substance in our bodies, it’s still porous. This means that enamel can absorb elements from our foods, including tannins and natural food colors, which darken teeth over time.

That’s why a daily cup of coffee or tea, or a glass of red wine with dinner, or frequent helpings of dark berries, can lead to a less than brilliant smile in a matter of months. What’s more, acidic foods like citrus fruits, pickled foods, and sodas erode the enamel surface, which makes it easier for food stains to penetrate.

When you eat those smile-dimming foods, it’s a good idea to rinse with water right away. (When tasty treats are acidic, it’s best to wait to brush for about half an hour to avoid enamel damage.)  And here’s a simple work-around—use a straw when you enjoy discoloring drinks.

You can also reduce staining by adding food allies to your diet. Besides bringing you the nutritional benefits of a healthy, well-balanced diet, crunchy foods such as apples, carrots, and celery can have a mild scrubbing effect on the tooth surface, and dairy foods strengthen enamel and might help prevent staining when added to coffee or tea.

If you’re mindful of your eating habits, you’ll help your smile stay its brightest. And speaking of habits . . .

• Keep Up with Healthy Habits

Plaque is a sticky biofilm which contains oral bacteria, food particles, saliva, and fluids. This film starts forming within hours after brushing, and a buildup of plaque leaves teeth looking yellowish. If plaque is left undisturbed, it hardens into tartar within days. And the yellow and brown colors of tartar aren’t a flattering look for any of us.

Regular brushing and flossing is the best way to keep your teeth plaque-free. For a brighter smile, a whitening toothpaste can help remove superficial surface stains. But what a whitening toothpaste can’t do is to remove deep staining or tartar.

A professional cleaning every time you have a checkup at our East Lyme, CT office is the best way to keep your teeth their cleanest, especially because tartar must be removed by a dental professional. And please feel free to ask for brushing and flossing tips to help maintain your sparkling smile.

• Give Up Unhealthy Habits

Cigarettes, cigars, and other forms of tobacco are terrible for your health and terrible for your smile. While cosmetic concerns are the least of our worries when it comes to tobacco, it’s well known that smoking and chewing tobacco cause unattractive yellow and brown staining.

Quitting tobacco in any form benefits not just your appearance, but your oral health—and your overall health. When you’re ready, talk to Dr. James Robson about some of the methods you can use to give up the habit permanently.

• Beat the Clock

Over the years, erosion and wear cause the enamel layer on the outside of the tooth to thin or crack. This allows the dentin underneath to show through. Because dentin is darker than enamel to begin with, and gets darker over time, teeth can take on a yellow or grey hue as we age.

Keep your smile looking its best through the years with regular checkups and cleanings. Avoid excessive erosion and abrasion by being mindful of the acidic foods in your diet, using a soft-bristled brush for cleaning your teeth, and getting treatment for harmful conditions like bruxism (tooth grinding). If you notice any changes in your smile, it’s a good idea to talk to Dr. James Robson.

While preventing staining naturally with diet and healthy habits is great, sometimes nature needs a nudge. If you have an important event coming up, or if you would simply like to feel more confident about your smile, talk to us about professional whitening. A professional treatment uses a stronger whitening formula, and often works more quickly, is more effective at removing yellowing and stains, and lasts longer than home treatments.

Finally, while you can do a lot to keep your teeth their brightest by preventing and treating external staining, other types of discoloration can also affect your teeth. For staining caused by medication, root canal work, or trauma, ask us about all the options available to you.

Yes, keeping your teeth their brightest can be a challenge, but doing your part—and working with your dental team at Robson Dentistry—will make sure you greet the world with a sparkling, confident smile.

Snoring occurs when the tissues in the throat relax enough to block part of our airways, or physical conditions such as enlarged tonsils or a deviated septum prevent air from flowing freely. This obstruction causes the tissues around the airway to vibrate, producing that familiar, unpleasant sound. But sometimes, loud, constant snoring is a sign of a condition called Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). With OSA, the sleeper actually stops breathing for a few seconds at a time, or, in some cases, even longer. The body wakes to breathe again properly, so we move from the deep sleep we need to keep ourselves healthy mentally and physically to a lighter state of sleep or wakefulness—and this disruption of the sleep cycle can happen dozens of times an hour.

The potential problems caused by sleep apnea are many. You could suffer from daily morning headaches, sore throats, and dry mouth (which can lead to tooth and gum problems). You might find yourself moody, depressed or forgetful. Irritability and loss of libido are common consequences of sleep apnea. Any or all of these problems can make getting through each day a struggle.

Even worse, sleep apnea can lead to very dangerous situations. You could fall asleep while working, watching your children, or even driving. Sleep apnea has been linked to very serious conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. And for those who suffer from this disorder, general anesthesia or pain medication can lead to severe or even fatal consequences.

You should be examined for sleep apnea if you or a loved one notice any of the following symptoms:

• Snoring loudly enough to disturb your sleep or the sleep of others
• Waking up gasping for air
• Pauses between normal breathing during sleep
• Continual drowsiness during the day
• Waking up with headaches, sore throats or dry mouth regularly
• Personality changes

If you are diagnosed with sleep apnea, talk to Dr. James Robson at our East Lyme, CT office. We can point you in the right direction for treatment, including the possibility of crafting an orthodontic oral appliance to maintain open airways as you sleep. But whatever treatment you and your doctors decide on, the important part is following through. Don’t let an annoying situation become a dangerous, and even life-threatening, one.

Now that you are working hard to improve your dental health and appearance with your braces, it might seem like a logical time to whiten your teeth as well. But should you go ahead with home kits or a professional whitening? The answer might be yes, but not quite yet!

Toothpaste

The easiest way to whiten teeth is regular use of a whitening toothpaste. But these do not make a major difference in tooth color and may also contain abrasives which can damage ceramic brackets and make them more likely to stain. And, whether you have metal or ceramic braces, the brackets used are bonded to your teeth. Any part of your tooth covered by a bracket will not be affected by the whitening paste. Ask our office if you are thinking of using one of these products. We will be happy to recommend the best toothpastes to use while your braces are in place.

Whitening Strips and Trays

Whiteners can be applied at home with strips or tray kits. Strips are coated with a whitening gel and then pressed around your teeth. Tray kits provide a mouthguard-like appliance, which is filled with whitening gel. But neither strips nor tray solutions will whiten any area covered by brackets. When your braces come off, there might be noticeable differences in color on each tooth. Strips are difficult to apply with braces, and trays need to be custom-designed to fit your braces and make sure they don’t disturb your orthodontic work. One size most definitely does not fit all! Finally, these whitening agents can cause tooth and gum sensitivity, especially around the time of adjustments. Many manufacturers do not recommend using their products while you have braces. Please talk to us if you are thinking of using them.

Professional Whitening

A dental professional can whiten your teeth in office for the best possible results. The most effective treatments for your unique teeth are combined with protective care of your gums and mouth. Whether this treatment is appropriate while you have braces is something we are happy to discuss.

The best way to keep your teeth bright is to keep up your regular dental routine! Brushing and flossing are more important than ever now, because plaque builds up around brackets. Avoid foods that stain teeth and rinse or brush after every meal and snack. Dr. James Robson will show you the best way to take care of your teeth while your braces are on—and that includes the best way to keep them white and bright. Talk to us about the perfect time to whiten your beautiful smile during your next visit to our East Lyme, CT office. And if you have to wait a few extra days for the smile you’ve been working toward, truly, the wait will be worth it!