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Dental care

Can Root Canal Affect Your Eyesight?

A root canal is a dental procedure that removes the infected pulp of a tooth. A root canal is a substitution for tooth removal and attempts to repair and save a tooth. It is a traditional way of saving a dead tooth by taking the nerves and blood supply out of the tooth and filling it with a material that occupies the space where nerves and blood vessels were previously present. In other words, a root canal is similar to embalming a dead and decaying tooth. Despite being very common and relatively safe, the procedure comes with its fair share of complications. 

When a tooth is alive, the blood supply and other fluids in the root canal can be easily flushed out, thereby keeping the area clean. However, by disrupting the standard mechanism and alternating the nerves with synthetic material, the possibility of the root canal being clean becomes dim. Hence, an environment conducive to bacteria and virus proliferation is created. Now that we have talked briefly about the nitty-gritty of root canals, let us try and answer the looming question of whether root canals can affect our eyesight or not.

Eyesight and Root Canal Complications
A root canal procedure is not typically related to eyesight complications. Nevertheless, an eye infection can have a dental origin in some cases. Dental infections, including a severely decayed tooth, can sometimes spread to the orbital. The neurotoxic bacteria that cause damage to the root canal can travel from the mouth to the eyes through the lymphatic system and then damage the optic nerve, consequently leading to vision loss. Moreover, it is noteworthy to mention that after a root canal treatment, the patient may suffer from pain in the back of the eye because of muscle spasms. 

Therefore, a root canal procedure can prevent eyesight complications by eliminating bacteria from the mouth. Simultaneously, postoperative pain and facial nerve damage, leading to visual problems, are two possible side effects that few unlucky patients might experience. 

Schedule your appointment with a dentist today and get the treatment on time!

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Dental care

Can a Root Canal Affect Your Brain?

If the internal nerves of your tooth are damaged due to a deep cavity or injury then you might require a root canal. The damage to the root of the tooth causes immense pain, and you can develop sensitivity to food and drinks, which are only at room temperatures. A damaged and painful tooth needs immediate attention from your dentist.

Causes For a Damaged Tooth Pulp
There can be many different reasons for a damaged tooth; some of those can be:

  • Wrong food habits like excess sweets or sugary drinks
  • Certain medications can deteriorate the health of your teeth over time
  • Injury or accident that affects the tooth enamel
  • If there are a lot of dental treatments done to a tooth, it can also cause damage.

Myths About Root Canal and Brain Damage
The root canal is a fearful and uneasy concept to many of us, which gives rise to various myths around the process. The massive pain associated with the root canal was there in old times but with modern technology, which involves anesthetics, the pain of going through the process is much less than living with a damaged tooth.

Let take a look at a few other myths linked with a root canal:

  • A root canal can affect your brain: If you search the internet, you might find lots of information with claims of many illnesses after a root canal. Some of the research on the internet says that root canals can cause cancer, or most brain cancer patients have gone through a root canal. These claims are entirely false and propagated due to poorly designed and debunked research work done by Dr. Weston Prince almost a century ago. But no valid scientific evidence has been established between root canal causing disease elsewhere in the body such as cancer.
  • Better pull the damaged tooth out than get the root canal done: It is always better to save your natural teeth than removing them and replacing them with artificial ones. Artificial teeth cannot match the appearance and function of your natural teeth. Endodontic treatments like root canal have proved to be highly successful where teeth treated by root canal have lasted a lifetime. Going for an implant or bridge is more time-consuming since these treatments also require procedures to be done on supporting tissues and neighboring teeth.

Root canals are an extremely effective, safe, and unobtrusive procedure for the treatment of damaged and infected teeth. Root canals not only allow you to preserve your natural teeth but also eliminate the bacteria that caused the infection and prevent re-infection.

Schedule your appointment with a dentist today and get the treatment on time!

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Dental care

Can you eat apples with dental implants?

Most durable restoration for missing teeth requires special care to last for many years to come. It not only brings the teeth back as good as new but a chance to live a healthier life. Dental implants fuse with the jawbone to retain 90% of the chewing ability so that you can enjoy the meal. 

Hard fruits like apples do not bite them straight after a few weeks of the treatment. Cut them first in small pieces before consuming them in the long run. As that is the action in the first place, you had dental implants.

Here are some other foods that should be avoided, so that they do not damage the implants if eaten. 

  • Sticky & sugary foods such as caramel & cakes promote the growth of harmful bacteria.  
  • Steaks or tough meats that require a lot of chewing can put unnecessary strain on the implants. 
  • Hard vegetables such as carrots, unless shredded into a softer texture. 
  • Crunchy foods such as potato or corn chips & hard taco shells leave crumbs in the implants and cause potential decay. 
  • Ice cubes can lead to the cracking of implants. 

While there is a limit after getting the implants, you still got healthy and approved food options for happy and safe years to come. 

  • Eggs, omelets, and scrambled eggs, easy to chew and continue to heal the jaw.  
  • Filling and nutritious smoothies that do not require chewing and do not use a straw.  
  • Applesauce is a healthy option. You won’t bite an apple but can enjoy the sauce with the same nutrition. 
  • Soups but refrain from acidic foods such as tomatoes. You can enjoy cold soups such as gazpacho to not interfere with the healing process. 
  • You can have dairy products with no added sugar, such as cheese, yogurt, and milk loaded with calcium and protein.  

Following your dental implant surgery, you might lose your normal appetite. Give your body the fuel to heal soon.

Schedule your appointment with a dentist today and get the treatment on time!

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Dental care

Is Alcohol Bad for Dental Implants?

Dental implants are synthetic appliances that help fix dental anomalies caused by injuries, decay, and so forth. In other words, dental implants replace a tooth that may be broken, chipped, or severely decayed. Dental implants serve as a boon for millions of people, but they also have to be associated with pressure. One of the primary questions that people have after getting implants is whether or not they can consume alcohol after that. So, let us now try and answer the looming question and clear the doubts.

Reasons Why Alcohol Is Detrimental for Dental Implant 

  • Alcohol interferes with implant integration, the natural healing procedure wherein the gum tissues regenerate, and the new bone is built to integrate with the titanium implant post.
  • Alcohol consumption can also increase the pain after dental implants. Alcoholic drinks cause capillaries in the gums to dilate, increasing sensitivity. 
  • Alcohol can increase dry mouth. We all know that alcohol is a dehydrating drink and can be dangerous for people recovering from a dental implant. High alcohol consumption can dry out delicate tissues and may not heal properly, thereby increasing sensitivity and discomfort.
  • One of the severe determinants related to alcohol abuse after a dental implant is a condition known as Avascular Necrosis. It is an atypical complication of dental implant surgery wherein the blood vessels that transport essential nutrients to the jaw are blocked and cause the bone to die. Excessive alcohol consumption elevates the risk of AVN as it increases the fat content of the blood and increases the possibility of a clot in the blood vessels. 

As such, it is safe to conclude that excessive alcohol consumption has severe repercussions for dental implants. So, it is best to avoid the drink as much as possible at the beginning of the healing process. Simultaneously, it is also essential to remember that you can have a drink or two after the healing process. 

Schedule your appointment with a dentist today and get the treatment on time!

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Dental care

How can I get help paying for dental implants?

No one should ever hide his or her smile. Yet this is a sad truth for millions of individuals who require expensive or unforeseen dental cures. In fact, a whopping 12.5% of working-age grown-ups refrain from consulting dentists due to expenditures.

If you do not know how to ask for support to bear the dental expenses then, do not lose hope. Below, we reveal two unexpected aids to support you recover your confident smile without financial limitation.

Based on the type of treatment you require, the expenditure of consulting a dentist varies greatly. The complete cost of a dental implant, a surgical process, needs an artificial root to fix the replaced tooth ranging from about $1800 to $9,000 per tooth.

From nonprofits that support tooth dental expenses for elders to low-cost dental clinics, these possibilities can support you to find financial aid for dental treatments.

Dental Grants Program:
These resources can help you regain your confident smile.  However, these programs come with an index of terms & conditions that needs to be read carefully. Read those terms and conditions to check for your eligibility.

School of Dental Medicines:
Government dental service options are open to both dental schools and general health hospitals, which entitles them to offer discounted assistance to those in need. Students under the guidance of a licensed dentist perform these dental practices.

Tips for Locating a Special-Care Dentist
If you need such therapies, the foremost measure is to ask around you. For example, ask your nearby dentist, family, and pals. They might help with a clinic with a dental unit that takes care of uninsured people to afford the cost of care, some of which are funded by state or national grants.

Schedule your appointment with a dentist today and get the treatment on time!