Diamons

tongue

Photography by Dr. Padval

Bad Breath, A Bad Sign

Do You Have Bad Breath? Get treatment and see a dentist in Sacramento, CA. We all know that bad breath can be embarrassing socially, but it could be a symptom of more serious dental problems. It may be tempting to mask the issue with cover-ups such as chewing gum, breath mints, mouthwash, or other temporary fixes. However, if bad breath (AKA halitosis) is a continuing problem in your life, we highly recommend an evaluation to determine if an oral health issue is an underlying [...]

By |2022-07-26T08:00:45-07:00July 26, 2022|Patient Education|

Cleaning Your Tongue

Tongue, Brushing, Scraping, Etc. Cleaning Your tongue to prevent bad breath & improve oral health. One of the best ways to make sure your breath is fresh and clean is to make sure that your tongue is healthy and clean as well. The tongue may seem like a smooth surface, but nothing could be further from the truth. Upon closer examination, you'll see the tongue has many tiny bumps and divots. This textured surface is perfect for bacteria to grow and thrive. That's why [...]

By |2022-06-07T08:00:04-07:00June 7, 2022|Patient Education|

Pierced Problems

A Pierced Tongue, Lip, or Cheek A pierced body part may be essential to your style, but if it involves the mouth, it may not be the best choice in regards to your oral health. If you do have a piercing or are thinking about getting one, make sure you consider the potential effects and make an informed decision. Might be a dental hazard! Initially, getting any piercing causes trauma, and (because it is an open wound) there is always a risk of infection. [...]

By |2021-04-13T08:00:00-07:00April 13, 2021|Patient Education|

Oral Exams: Checking out the Tongue

Have you ever wondered why doctors and dentists ask you to open wide and say, "Ahhhh?" It's true that dentists are looking for cavities and tooth-related problems, but the tongue and other soft tissues can also be an important indicator of a patient's overall health. Diseases such as diabetes, AIDS, scarlet fever, and different vitamin deficiencies can all manifest symptoms via the tongue. Patients can also do their part by performing self-examinations at home. Whenever you find yourself brushing your teeth (usually in front [...]

By |2019-12-03T08:00:03-08:00December 3, 2019|Preventative Dentistry|

Other Oral Concerns… Besides Teeth

Common Problems of the Oral Cavity Most people associate dentistry with teeth. But the fact is, our focus is on the continued good health of your entire mouth–the oral cavity, as we dentists call it. The Tongue It's a highly helpful indicator of what may be going right–or wrong–inside the mouth. A smooth, or red tongue might suggest some sort of vitamin or mineral deficiency, while a chronically painful tongue may simply suggest poorly-fitting dentures. Dry Mouth (Xerostomia) Beyond just being uncomfortable, dry mouth [...]

By |2019-05-21T08:00:39-07:00May 21, 2019|Patient Education|

Don’t Forget to Clean Your Tongue!

Brushing Your Tongue Helps Freshen Breath With all the mints, mouthwash, chewing gum and other cover-ups available, there are many ways to freshen your breath. But, if you consistently suffer from halitosis, you might be forgetting an easy way to combat odor-causing bacteria... cleaning your tongue! It makes perfect sense if you think about it, the tongue is one of the largest structures in the mouth, and its textured surface provides the perfect environment for bacteria to grow. Furthermore, since this vital organ makes [...]

By |2019-04-23T08:00:52-07:00April 23, 2019|Preventative Dentistry|

Tongue-Thrusting

Train that Tongue Without therapy, the wrong oral habits, sooner or later, will cause tooth movement, breathing and speech problems You'd think swallowing is easy as falling off a log. But some of us need help retraining muscles that we've been using wrong all along. A "bad" swallow is just the luck of the draw, usually caused by unbalanced facial muscles or enlarged tonsils. When you swallow normally (and we do it about 2,000 times a day), the tip of the tongue is against [...]

By |2017-04-11T00:00:14-07:00April 11, 2017|Patient Education|

Making Bad Breath Go Away

Where Bad Breath Comes From Most, but not all, bad breath comes from bacterial plaque and food accumulated mainly towards the back of the tongue. The problem is, there are all sorts of not-likely-but-possible other reasons for halitosis: upset stomach, anxiety, inflamed gums, saliva deficiency, infections and removable dentures are among them. What Not To Do Because nobody—but nobody!— wants bad breath, a billion-dollar industry has sprung up hawking a variety of mouthwashes, rinses, drops, pastes and mints to mask halitosis. But there's a huge [...]

By |2017-03-07T00:00:20-08:00March 7, 2017|Restorative Dentistry|

Tongue Tales

Traditionally, doctors and dentists have depended on the tongue to help them diagnose various diseases. And tongues do have a lot to say. For example, scarlet fever is accompanied by a spotted "strawberry" tongue. Burning tongue, a very painful condition, affects primarily post-menopausal women and can reflect systemic problems. Hairy leukoplakia is a common AIDS-related oral lesion. And candidiasis, a fungus infection which coats the tongue white, also says something is wrong. Now you know why, when you're asked to stick out your tongue [...]

By |2016-10-25T00:00:36-07:00October 25, 2016|Preventative Dentistry|