Redwood Dental Smiles: Blog

We want our patients at Redwood Dental Smiles to feel fully included in their care decisions. Patients tend to have better compliance when they understand their dentist’s reasons for making certain requests of them, which is why we want people to know why they should take seriously their post-operative instructions after undergoing tooth extractions. Dry sockets are an uncommon reaction, but a serious one. After a tooth is extracted, the jaw bone at the end of the empty socket is briefly exposed, but a blood clot usually forms and seals it off. In cases of simple extractions, the socket will close within a few days. However, if a patient is in severe pain for longer than two days after the extraction, they should make an emergency appointment. We can disinfect a dry socket, remoisturize it, and keep a closer eye on the patient while they recover. However, this is usually avoidable if the patient does not dislodge the blood clot by sipping through straws or eating sticky foods. Smoking ...

Nobody should resign themselves to a tooth ache, and that includes children. We’re a family practice at Redwood Dental Smiles, and we want our patients to know they can count on us to help their children with tooth sensitivity. Children are the age demographic most likely to get cavities or caries. These dental infections are the result of acid-producing bacteria feeding on food debris. They can be prevented with better brushing, but sealants provide additional protection. Conversely, it is possible to brush too hard and damage the gum tissue. Only soft-bristled toothbrushes should be used on teeth, and everybody should understand that bleeding gums are a sign of a problem. Sometimes adult teeth are sensitive during their first few days exposed to air. This problem usually goes away on its own, although we can provide mild painkillers. A more serious problem is if the adult teeth are having difficulty erupting, which may require an extraction. People who engage in nighttime tooth grind...

At Redwood Dental Smiles in Castro Valley, we do our best to save our patients’ teeth. But when it comes to the wisdom teeth, extractions are often necessary. Patients may naturally wonder why that is, which is why we wanted them to understand the particular challenges of wisdom teeth. Modern humans, who eat a diet of soft foods, don’t usually develop as large jaw bones as our ancestors did. As a result, there often is not enough room in the arch of the teeth to accommodate the wisdom teeth, which are the largest. To makes matters worse, the wisdom teeth often do not begin to erupt until a person is in their late teens, after their other teeth have undergone orthodontic correction. (Extensive orthodontic correction can only be done on children and adolescents, whose skull bones have not fully fused together). Therefore, the wisdom teeth often either get trapped under the gum line, which creates a cavity hazard, or are able to push through by knocking other teeth out of alignment. Denti...