AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE
My mother would say that to me when I was not taking care of something when I was growing up, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and she was right. Why would you not see your dentist on a regular basis to help keep your teeth and gums healthy for your lifetime? After all, your smile says a great deal about you, furthermore, I know that I like to eat and your teeth are so much better than dentures at chewing. So, you brush twice a day and hopefully floss. I say hopefully because a study shows that roughly 40% of the adult population floss daily, which if you fall into this category, keep it up and I applaud you. While 20% of the population never floss or they say to me “don’t you remember, you did it at my last visit.”
So why is it important to see your dentist for regular check ups? We will find the areas if any that you need to focus on to prevent problems for occurring. But once a problem has occurred, with regular visits we will be able to correct it before larger problems occur. Gum disease will not cause that many symptoms that you may notice until the disease has progressed. But the one symptom, you may notice is the gums bleed more when brushing and flossing. A little bit of pink in the sink is the one of the first symptoms of gum disease. The gums bleed due to a small amount of plaque, the white stuff that builds up on your teeth every day, that is left behind when you brush and floss.
Over time this plaque starts to harden on the teeth usually in between the teeth by the gum line. Once the plaque as harden on teeth it will irritate the gums. This will cause the gums to become inflamed therefore the gums start to bleed easily when you brush and floss. This is the beginning stages of gum disease called gingivitis. The gums will continue to swell up over the harden plaque and once under the gum tissue the hardened plaque starts to eat away at the bone. Now the gum disease has went from inflammation of the gum to bone loss. This is a chronic condition where the plaque which is made up of bacteria is trapped below the gum line eating away at the gum tissue and bone. As the gum disease is left untreated, you may notice that some of your teeth are becoming loose as you lose more bone.
What we do at a routine care check up? We will take yearly x-rays that help show the health of the bone that holds your teeth in place and the condition of your teeth and any fillings and crowns that you may have. Furthermore, we will measure the gum tissue once a year in a patient without gum disease but if you do have gum disease we will measure the gum at each visit with the hygienist. This will help Katie and myself to be able to give you the best care and treat any condition that you may have before it becomes a large problem.
To schedule your appointment please call our team at Dr. Ronald A. Murphy, (630) 879-7642
Best,
Ronald A. Murphy, DMD
MARCH FUN FACTS:
♣March’s flower is the daffodil, which represents hope
♣ The birthstone of March is the aquamarine, which symbolizes courage and bravery
♣ March comes from the name of the Roman god of war, Mars
♣ Spring officially begins in March! It starts anywhere from March 19 to March 21 every year
♣ Celebrity Birthdays this month include:
Jon Bon Jovi (3/2), Jessica Biel (3/3), Chuck Norris (3/10), Albert Einstein (3/14), Adam Levine (3/18), William Shatner (3/22), Reese Witherspoon (3/22), Lady Gaga (3/28), and Celine Dion (3/30).
♣ Monthly observances include:
American Red Cross Month, Fire Prevention Month, Women’s History Month, and National Reading Month
Beware The Ides of March ... unless you’re a cat
We’ve all heard it uttered, but what does “beware the Ides of March” actually mean? On the Roman calendar, the midpoint of every month was known as the Ides. The Ides of March fell on March 15th. This day was supposed to correlate with the first full moon of the year (remember, winter didn’t count then) and marked by religious ceremonies, but thanks to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar we know it for another reason. Supposedly, in 44 BC, a seer told Julius Caesar that his downfall would come no later than the Ides of March. Caesar ignored him, and when the fated day rolled around he joked with the seer, “The Ides of March have come.” The seer replied, “aye, Caesar; but not gone.” Caesar continued on to a senate meeting at the Theatre of Pompey, and was summarily murdered by as many as 60 conspirators. Ironically, the spot where Caesar was assassinated is protected in today’s Rome as a no-kill cat sanctuary.