Oral Piercings Pose a Serious Risk to Your Oral Health
Our dentists at Salmon Creek Family Dentistry understand that there are many reasons why patients choose to get an oral piercing. Whether for self-expression or a matter of style, tongue and lip piercing have seen an uptick in popularity in recent years. Unfortunately, few patients think about the potential damage a piercing may have on their oral health before having one placed. Tongue piercings can significantly impact your oral health, which may not be obvious. Let’s look at some of the health risks and potential complications our dentists at Salmon Creek Family Dentistry see due to patients receiving an oral piercing. Types of Oral Piercings The most common type of piercing our dentists at Salmon Creek Family Dentistry see patients get is the midline tongue piercing. The tongue can be pierced twice in vertical lines known as “venom Bites.” The tongue’s tip can even be pierced horizontally using a curved barbell. The upper and lower frenulum are popular piercing spots, as is the labret piercing, which is done under the bottom lip. Each of these locations presents a slightly different oral health risk, as well as other potential complications caused by the piercing process. These issues include: Abscess Swelling Infection Drooling Hypersalivation Nerve damage Allergic reaction Excess bleeding Cleft tongue Trouble chewing or speaking Obstructed airway Even after the initial wound has healed, patients with oral piercings still face various long-term health risks. These risks can include: Damaged Teeth. Playing with oral jewelry, running a stud back and forth across your teeth, or accidentally biting down on a piercing can cause a tooth to chip, crack, or break. Fillings are at a higher risk of breaking if constantly hitting against a piercing. Having a hard metal object constantly rubbing up against tooth enamel can cause your teeth to wear down, making them more prone to breaking or cracking. Eroded tooth enamel also makes teeth more susceptible to plaque, increasing the risk of cavities. Gum recession. Your gums don’t like a hard metal object in the mouth any more than your teeth. If a piercing is placed too close to the gums, the constant rubbing can lead to gum recession. Studies have shown that 44 percent of patients with oral piercings experience gum recession, while only 7 percent of patients without a piercing are likely to develop the issue. When gum recession becomes severe, a gum graft may be needed to save the tooth. If left untreated, gum recession can lead to permanent tooth loss. Gum disease. Studies have also shown that patients with a piercing have a higher risk of gum disease. The mouth acts as the gateway to the body and the primary entry point for the types of bacteria that harm your health. Chronic inflammation is the root cause of many different types of systemic diseases. Even gingivitis can have a significant impact on your health if left untreated. Endocarditis. Patients with moderate- to high risk of cardiac health problems could be in serious jeopardy from an oral piercing. The holes that piercings make provide an opening for bacteria to enter the bloodstream and travel to the heart. Once the bacteria have settled in the heart, they can cause inflammation of the heart valves. This inflammation can lead to an increased risk of a heart attack. Keeping Your Smile Healthy For patients who understand the risk but still want an oral piercing, you can take a few steps to avoid some of the adverse effects. Keep the site of your piercing clean. Rinse the area following every meal and rinse daily with an antimicrobial mouthwash. Avoid playing with your piercing to avoid damaging your teeth. Frequently check the tightness of your oral fixture to lower the risk of it breaking. Practice quality oral hygiene daily, including flossing. Make and keep regular appointments to see our dentists at Salmon Creek Family Dentistry. Inform our doctors at the first signs of redness, swelling, or infection.
Scientific Breakthroughs Continue to Advance Dental Care
Science has dramatically changed dentistry for the better over the decades. Just 80 years ago, dentistry was far more about treating existing problems than it was about preventing problems from ever developing. Now, your family dentist in Vancouver specializes in providing patients with the type of dental care their teeth and gums require to stay looking and feeling their best for a lifetime. From visiting your family dentist in Vancouver today to what the future of dental care may provide, science plays a vital and invaluable role in determining how dentistry continues to evolve. In recent years, science has already offered a potential glimpse of what the dental care of tomorrow may involve. Preliminary research has attempted to develop methods that enable the body to regrow teeth. Other research has examined how the body may be able to naturally heal the damage done by gum disease. While dentistry may one day enable patients to regrow teeth, naturally heal cavities, and promote stronger, more resilient gum tissue, the industry is already poised to make some significant changes sooner rather than later. Let’s take a look at a few ways science and technology may help to change the way your teeth are treated at Salmon Creek Family Dental. Tele Dentistry The COVID-19 pandemic has already changed the way many patients receive their health care. Doctor visits now just as often involve opening a laptop or tablet as they do driving to a physical location. Virtual visits with health care professionals may have been a direct result of the pandemic, but they won’t be going anywhere even after life returns somewhat back to normal. Dental care obviously requires a more hands on approach than other types of medicine, but some areas of dentistry can still be conducted remotely. Appointments between patients, especially those living in rural communities, and specialists can cover the same information as an in-person appointment. Tooth extractions, dental implants, and dentures are all procedures that typically require a consultation visit prior to any actual treatment. When a specialist has a patient’s records on hand, they can walk a patient through a procedure and answer any questions remotely without needing the patient to visit their office until the scheduled treatment takes place. Patients and their dentists can also conduct follow-up appointments remotely, along with providing some types of screenings. 3D Printing In a world where 3D printing has already made a definite difference to many industries, the dental industry has quickly started to embrace this remarkable technology. For dentistry, 3D printing has enable dentists to create and print out structures, medical devices, and dental implants that perfectly fit their patients’ teeth and jaws. Most commonly, patients will experience the use of 3D printing technology when it comes to the placement of a dental crown. CEREC and other types of highly advanced brands enable a dentist to scan a patient’s mouth, which then enables a computer to create a digital copy. Using that copy, the computer can create and fabricate a crown that will perfectly fit a patient’s tooth. All of this can now be done in office while the patient waits. No more having to send x-rays and dental molds to a laboratory where a crown would then be created to fit over a patient’s tooth. Instead of a process that could once take weeks, a dentist has the ability to create a crown in a matter of minutes. Dental Imaging Aid Your Family Dentist in Vacouver For your family dentist in Vancouver to provide patients with the best dental care possible, dental images and x-rays play an invaluable role. Making an informed decision about the health of a patient’s teeth requires collecting as much information as possible. Digital x-rays provide a clearer, more exact image a dentist can use to assess the signs of tooth decay, presence of gum disease, and how to provide treatment. Advances in dental imaging can now provide a real-time stream that enable dentists to provide treatment quicker and less invasively than ever before. Procedures, such as the placement of a dental implant or oral surgery, now have a far higher success rate thanks to these type of digital tools.
Salmon Creek Family Dental is Back!
We hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety. Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the ADA, CDC, and OSHA. We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued. We do this to make sure that our infection control procedures are current and adhere to each agencies’ recommendations. You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example: Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you are in the office. We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed. You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect. Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment. We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time. We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office at 360-696-9461. Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends. Sincerely, Dr. Nelson and Team