Protect Your Teeth During Sports With a Mouthguard

By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

If you play sports, please consider wearing a mouthguard to protect your teeth.

According to the American Dental Association (ADA), 10-20% of all sports-related injuries are maxillofacial injuries, relating to the mouth and all the connecting regions. The ADA recognizes “the preventive value of orofacial protectors, endorsing their use by those who engage in recreational and sports activities and encouraging widespread use of orofacial protectors with proper fit, including mouthguards.”

While the risk of injury is obvious in classic contact sports like football, boxing, wrestling, lacrosse, and hockey, the ADA also advocates a mouthguard when participating in limited-contact sports like baseball, gymnastics, racquetball and surfing. 

A well-fitting mouthguard will protect your dental health in a variety of ways. While it can’t guarantee that you’ll suffer zero dental damage, a mouthguard is almost certain to reduce dental injuries.

Benefits of Mouthguards

Mouthguards prevent teeth from being knocked out: Having an intact tooth knocked out is no fun. In some cases, it can be retained, but it will require substantial dental attention.

Mouthguards can prevent teeth from fracturing: It may be possible to save a broken tooth, but it will require a substantial filling, a crown, and likely a root canal. If it can’t be saved, an extraction and implant will be needed.

Mouthguards can protect soft tissues: When you suffer an unexpected impact, it’s easy to accidentally bite your tongue, cheek or lips. A mouthguard will help prevent this.

Mouthguards can protect against tooth displacement: Sometimes, an impact can loosen a tooth so that it stays in the socket, but is moveable. When you’re wearing a mouthguard, the force of the impact is distributed over several teeth, reducing the likelihood of displacement. Teeth can be displaced laterally (forwards or backwards) or can be extruded (down).

Mouthguards can prevent jaw fractures: By serving as a shock-absorber, a guard can help prevent the jaw from fracturing—a serious injury that may require surgery.

Mouthguards may help reduce concussions: Evidence is not conclusive, but it’s possible that the padding between the upper and lower jaws can absorb some of the impact that causes a concussion.

In Case of Dental Injury

Should someone suffer a dental injury during sports or any other activity, follow these guidelines:

If a tooth is fractured, stabilize the portion of the tooth retained in the mouth and control the bleeding by gently biting on a towel. Retain all tooth fragments and keep them submerged in water or milk.

If an entire tooth —root and all—is knocked out, handle the tooth by the crown, not the root. You can rinse it gently with water, but do not wash, sterilize, or scrub it. If possible, place it back in the socket (the correct way) and then bite gently on a towel. If not, transport it to the dentist.

In both cases, time is critical and you should be in the dentist’s chair within two hours.

Wear a Mouthguard for Sports

Dr. Elizabeth and Dr. Jeff love seeing you, but we hope you never have to come in for treatment after a preventable dental injury! Take care of your teeth, please. Wear a mouthguard for sports.

Icon Resin Infiltration Restores Uniform Color to Teeth

A fairly common cosmetic concern among our patients is spotting on their tooth enamel.

Sometimes, the enamel of a tooth gets demineralized, resulting in white or brown spots. These spots are called white-spot lesions (WSLs), hypo spots or enamel bruising, and often result from trauma or infection. Sometimes they appear when braces are removed, and sometimes they are a developmental characteristic.

The good news is that the white spots aren’t harmful. However, many people would prefer to have teeth with a more uniform color.

More good news: There’s an easy, painless and fast procedure to erase this discoloration and restore your tooth enamel to a brilliant white.

At Eggert Family Dentistry, Dr. Elizabeth and Dr. Jeff recommend the Icon procedure for patients who want to get rid of these white spot discolorations.

Icon is the resin infiltration treatment we prefer at Eggert Family Dentistry. It’s a minimally invasive restorative treatment that penetrates existing enamel and helps restore the minerals, thereby fading the spots.

Advantages of Icon Resin Treatment

Icon resin treatment is fast, simple and non-invasive. It takes place in a single visit and requires no shots, no anesthesia, and no drilling. After a painless rubbing of the surface in question to remove the spots, we apply a drying agent and then the resin infiltrant. After about three minutes, we remove the excess resin and cure the resin with light. We complete the process a second time to ensure a protective coating on the surface, polish the tooth, and you are ready to go home with a brand new-and-improved smile – after only 45 minutes to an hour in the chair!

How Does the Icon Treatment Work?

The white spots result from demineralization and subsequent remineralization on the surface of the tooth. Icon reconstructs the collapsed architecture of the tooth caused by demineralization. When applied to the tooth, the Icon resin has similar optical properties to those of natural enamel, so it replicates the natural shade of the tooth.

Benefits of Icon

It’s far less invasive, less expensive and faster than alternatives like fillings or veneers. It can easily be completed on patients young and old. With other treatments to correct white spots, like veneers, it is important to wait until the patient’s growth is complete. Even better, teeth that have undergone Icon treatment still respond to bleaching.

If you’re curious about this very conservative, non-invasive, same-day procedure, call Dr. Elizabeth or Dr. Jeff at Eggert Family Dentistry to learn more, 651-482-8412. We’d love to talk to you about your options for improving your beautiful smile by transforming spotted teeth to a consistent, uniform color.

Laser Dentistry – An Innovative Solution

By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

Lasers are increasingly common across nearly all fields of medicine and dentistry is certainly not excluded. Delivering energy in the form of light, laser dentistry procedures are incredibly precise and minimally invasive, making them a popular choice among practitioners and patients alike. At Eggert Family Dentistry, we utilize lasers in a number of procedures to the benefit of our patients.

What can laser dentistry treat?

Dr. Elizabeth and Dr. Jeff implement laser dentistry to treat issues including overgrown gum tissue, gum disease, tooth decay and root canals. We also use lasers when teeth whitening to activate the bleaching solution and speed up the whitening process. Additionally, laser dentistry aids in exposing wisdom teeth and removing benign oral tumors.

How does laser dentistry work?

There are two kinds of lasers used in dentistry:

Hard tissue lasers: These lasers cut through both water and bone and are effective for procedures such as detecting cavities and preparing teeth for fillings.

Soft tissue lasers: These lasers cut through soft tissue and are effective for procedures such as reshaping gums, lengthening crowns and performing biopsies.

What are the benefits of laser dentistry?

When you come in for a laser dentistry consult, Dr. Elizabeth or Dr. Jeff will share with you all the benefits of laser dentistry. These benefits include less bleeding, reduced likelihood of infection, diminished need for anesthesia and reduced healing time. Also, you won’t feel discomfort from the laser like you may from a drill. For this reason, laser dentistry can be a good choice for children who are fearful of the noise and pressure of the drill. Furthermore, our patients who undergo laser dental procedures report less discomfort during the recovery process than following scalpel procedures.

If you would like to learn more about our laser dentistry services here at Eggert Family Dentistry, give us a call at 651.482.8412. We would be happy to discuss this further!

Preventing Dental Injuries with a Mouthguard

By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

Mouthguards provide a tremendous amount of protection for your aspiring athlete. From protecting your child’s mouth against structural damage to the teeth and jaw to preventing lacerations to the cheeks, tongue and lips, mouthguards are an investment well worth making! At Eggert Family Dentistry, we recommend mouthguards for football, hockey, lacrosse, wrestling, basketball, baseball/softball, soccer and all other contact sports your child might be participating in.

When purchasing a mouthguard for your child, it’s important to recognize that all mouthguards are NOT created equal. Mouthguards available over-the-counter are generic plastic trays that fit sloppily in your child’s mouth, providing only a minimal level of protection. They are typically made of thicker plastic which can inhibit clear breathing and speaking. On the contrary, at Eggert Family Dentistry, Dr. Jeff and Dr. Elizabeth can create custom mouthguards that securely “hug” your child’s teeth They are more comfortable and provide optimal protection for your child’s pearly whites. On account of their lower profile and custom fit, your athlete won’t have to spend any time worrying about breathing and they are much easier to speak with. In fact, they will pop their mouthguard in and won’t give it a second thought. This allows your child to keep their focus where it truly belongs – on the big game!

A lot of adult athletes enjoy the comfort and protection of a custom athletic mouthguard as well. With more and more adults participating in life-long sports like hockey and basketball, it is especially important to keep that one set of adult teeth fully protected!

If you are interested in learning more about our custom mouthguards at Eggert Family Dentistry, Dr. Jeff or Dr. Elizabeth would love to speak with you. Contact us anytime at 651.482.8412!

How to Navigate Dental Emergencies

By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

At Eggert Family Dentistry, we are no stranger to unexpected dental incidents. From sports injuries to falls to hard or sticky foods that wreak havoc on teeth, we know there are plenty of scenarios that can lead to dental damage. The challenge comes in deciphering which scenarios constitute a dental emergency and which scenarios don’t need immediate attention, and then proceeding accordingly.

A cracked or broken tooth is one example of unexpected dental damage. In this case, it’s important to weigh the severity of the fracture. If your tooth is only slightly chipped or cracked, and isn’t resulting in significant nerve discomfort or pain, it’s likely not an emergency and you can call us during regular business hours. However, if your tooth is severely fractured and/or is causing you significant nerve pain (8-10/10 on the pain scale), we recommend you call Eggert Family Dentistry immediately. If the emergency happens after normal business hours, you will be directed to call Dr. Elizabeth’s cell phone number.

In the case of a severe trauma, like if a tooth is knocked out, there is a specific protocol we recommend you observe. Stop bleeding with a cold, wet compress. Then, while handling the tooth as little as possible and not touching the root of the root, try and place the dislodged tooth back into the socket. It is very important to orient the tooth in the correct direction. Lightly biting down on moistened gauze may help temporarily relodge the tooth. If your tooth does not go back into the socket, place it in a small cup of milk to preserve it and transport it to our office. Whether the tooth relodges or not, a knocked out tooth always constitutes an emergency. Call Eggert Family Dentistry right away. The tooth needs to be replanted within an hour.

Occasionally, an abscessed tooth will present itself with immediate and intense nerve pain and/or severe swelling. If you suspect this is happening for you, we recommend you give us a call at the onset of symptoms, once again utilizing Dr. Elizabeth’s cell phone number for after hour emergencies. In the middle of the night, she may not get the call. If at any time you feel like your airway is compromised or the swelling is out of control, it is important to go to the nearest Emergency Room.

We make all dental emergencies a top priority. Dr. Jeff and Dr. Elizabeth intentionally leave slots in their schedules to see patients who are in need of urgent dental care.

If you have any questions regarding dental emergencies, we would be happy to connect with you. We can be reached at 651.482.8412!