Bad breath can be caused by smoking, poor dental hygiene, excessive alcohol use, throat, dental, sinus or lung infections, gum disease, an impacted tooth or a foreign body in the nose (typically in children). It can also be caused by other diseases or conditions in your body. Regular oral hygiene along with the treatment of any underlying causes can reduce this problem.
Bite collapse is a condition in which the upper and lower jaws close together farther than normal. It is usually caused by heavy tooth wear and/or the loss of several teeth. It is also common in people with moderate to severe periodontal disease. Even normal biting forces in people with periodontal disease can tip the teeth enough to cause tooth movement and bite collapse.
Bite collapse can lead to:
Bitewing X-ray images allow your dentist to look at opposing teeth in the upper and lower jaws in a single image. Bitewings expose you to the lowest level of dental radiation among the different types of dental X-ray images.
Bitewing X-rays are normally exposed in a horizontal (landscape) orientation. Vertical bitewings may be used if you have a history of periodontal disease. These images show the teeth and receded bone levels which cannot be seen in horizontal images. A series of bitewing images (usually four) is necessary to visualize all of the teeth, though more may be required for vertical images.
Your dentist will take bitewing X-rays:
The most current American Dental Association (ADA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) frequency guidelines for bitewing X-rays suggest the following:
Children with primary teeth, permanent teeth, or a combination:
Adolescents with permanent teeth before the eruption of wisdom teeth:
This is typically a harmless and painless condition in which tiny projections on the tongue do not shed enough dead skin cells. When these cells remain on the tongue, they can trap food and bacteria giving the tongue a dark, hairy appearance. This condition can be caused by a variety of things, including dry mouth, tobacco use, poor oral hygiene, mouthwashes containing peroxide, antacids, IBS and diarrhea medications, and mouth rinses to treat gum disease.
In some situations, it may be necessary to graft a solid piece of bone (a block) and hold it in place with screws while your body integrates the grafted bone. Bone powder may be used to fill in any gaps around the edges of a block graft.
There are a wide variety of blood disorders that can affect the quantity or proper function of one or more primary parts of your blood, including red or white blood cells, platelets, or clotting factors found in blood plasma. They are typically inherited, but pregnancy and other medical conditions can also cause these conditions. Blood disorders affect millions of people in the U.S. and can have significant effects on your oral health.
A bone graft is a procedure which adds new bone material to a location in your mouth to repair or rebuild bone. It is typically recommended to re-establish the proper amount and shape of bone necessary to support your natural teeth or prepare the area for tooth replacement procedures.
Bone loss refers to the breakdown and eventual permanent loss of the bone that supports the roots of teeth. Bone loss is usually the result of infection from gum disease or long-term stress on the chewing areas of the teeth (occlusal stress or bruxism).
Bone resorption is a process in which bone dissolves away (resorbs) in response to pressure placed on the bone. If you do not replace a missing tooth, biting forces can apply pressure to areas of gum and underlying bone causing the bone to resorb. With people missing multiple teeth, there can also be a lack of pulling forces from the periodontal ligaments which can also cause bone resorption.
A bridge is a type of denture built to replace one or more missing teeth. A bridge typically consists of two retainer crowns that are placed on the natural (abutment) teeth on each side of the missing tooth, along with a replacement tooth that fills the space in between.
A brush biopsy is an important procedure that identifies potentially aggressive or malignant lesions at an early stage when treatment can be most effective. It offers you and your dentist an reliable alternative to simply observing suspicious lesions for changes over time.
A brush biopsy is a non-invasive procedure that typically causes minimal discomfort. A stiff-bristled brush is rubbed on a suspicious oral lesion to harvest cells for evaluation in a laboratory. Cells are harvested from the outer layers of the lesion, where most pre-malignancies can be detected early. Typically, your dentist will take samples from a broad area. This improves the reliability of the test, offering protection against a false negative result.
Brushing your teeth at least twice a day is one of the essential parts of your daily oral health routine. Proper brushing removes plaque and food debris on your teeth, gums, and tongue. Failing to brush frequently and adequately allows the bacteria in plaque to accumulate, leading to bad breath, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.