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Keeping Your Smile Bright During the Holidays | Huntington Beach

Now that we are smack dab in the midst of the holidays, it is important that we don’t let holiday festivities to come in between you and a healthy smile. It’s a crazy time of year – and with loads of things to do, it’s easy for things to slip through the cracks. While enjoying all of the delightful food and beverages the holidays have to offer, keep in mind these simple steps to maintain a healthy mouth this holiday season:

Keep stress to a minimum. Holidays can be a stressful time of year. From trying to choose the perfect gifts to the cooking the perfect holiday meal, your mouth can take a hit from the excess anxiety and stress, like jaw clenching and teeth grinding.

Celebrate mindfully. Candy canes and gingerbread men will create more bacteria from the excess sugar, which leads to cavities. Make sure to brush and floss twice as day, drink lots of water and chew sugar free gum to increase your saliva flow to wash away excess bacteria.

Raising a toast. White and red wines are extremely high in acidity, which are no good for your teeth. Acid can eat away at your tooth enamel, leaving your teeth more prone to tooth decay and cavities. If you’re enjoying wine this holiday, make sure to drink water in between glasses to rinse your teeth of any excess acid. 

Munch your way to a clean smile. There are some vegetables and fruits that can naturally clean our teeth and mouths by stimulating saliva flow, which is a natural defense against cavities. So, make sure to mix it up this holiday season.

If you would like to find out more about holiday dental health , contact Dr. Gamarnik at 714-842-5626 to schedule a consultation or visit www.hbadvanceddentalspecialists.com for additional information.

Dr. Rudy Gamarnik proudly serves Huntington Beach and all surrounding areas.

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What Are Impacted Wisdom Teeth? | Huntington Beach Dentist

We begin to get baby teeth around our first year. They fall out and our permanents come in. But many of us forget the third set of teething that we need to undergo at some point in our young adult lives, generally emerging at some point between the ages of 17 to 25 – wisdom teeth. Now, if you have seen any type of media regarding wisdom teeth, it is rarely a pleasurable experience.

Some people have wisdom teeth that emerge without any problems and line up with the other teeth behind the second molars, making it simple, easy experience. For many of us, this is the exact opposite of the case. The case many of us experience happens because our mouth is too crowded for third molars to develop normally. These crowded third molars become trapped (impacted), which can become very painful. Wisdom teeth (third molars) become impacted because they don’t have enough room to come in (erupt) or develop normally. It is at this time you will likely take a trip to the dentist, because you will possibly need them to be extracted.

An impacted wisdom tooth may partially emerge so that some of the crown is visible (partially impacted), or it may never break through the gums (fully impacted). Whether partially or fully impacted, the tooth may:

  • Break gums at an angle toward the next tooth (second molar)
  • Come in at an angle toward the back of the mouth
  • Grow at a right angle to the other teeth
  • Develop straight up or down like other teeth but stay trapped within the jawbone

If you find that your wisdom teeth may be coming in, make a plan to visit the dentist to find out if you need to have them removed.

If you would like to find out more about wisdom teeth, contact Dr. Gamarnik at 714-842-5626 to schedule a consultation or visit www.hbadvanceddentalspecialists.com for additional information.

Dr. Rudy Gamarnik proudly serves Huntington Beach and all surrounding areas.

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The Many Benefits of IV Sedation | Huntington Beach Dentist

When we need to have a dental procedure done, it never ceases to make us nervous. For some, it is such an issue that they suffer from dental anxiety, especially when it comes to surgery. But these days, there really isn’t anything to fear – the dental industry understands that patients are nervous and have developed IV sedation as an option prior to the procedure, so you can rest at ease. Not only will sedation help ease you enough to calm your nerves, but it will also help your dental professional get the work done with the least amount of resistance. Here are some reasons you may want to mention IV sedation during your next dental procedure:

  • IV sedation kicks in right when it’s first administered, and the drug dosage can be altered to fit each individual patient.
  • A safe level of deep sedation can be reached with IV sedation, as where oral sedation and inhalation sedation can be unpredictable. IV sedation is safe and effective.
  • Certain treatments can be performed at a fast pace and with fewer office visits with the help of IV sedation.
  • With IV sedation, your gag reflex is greatly diminished. If you are using IV sedation for gag reflex, then your dentist may try inhalation sedation first.
  • IV sedation allows patients to be conscious, while also relaxing them. This allows them to cooperate with the dentist instructions and be relaxed at the same time.
  • Recovery time is typically shorter with IV sedation. This is mostly because the drug dosage can be tailored.

As you can see, you don’t need to worry about that dental procedure you’ve been dreading. There’s no reason to let your dental anxiety or sensitive gag reflex keep you from visiting the dentist.

If you would like to find out more about IV sedation, contact Dr. Gamarnik at 714-842-5626 to schedule a consultation or visit www.hbadvanceddentalspecialists.com for additional information.

Dr. Rudy Gamarnik proudly serves Huntington Beach and all surrounding areas.