Mouth Guards

If you play contact sports, mouth guards are a necessary piece of equipment. From football, soccer and basketball to hockey, lacrosse, wrestling and even baseball, if you play a sport where contact is possible, you should wear a mouth guard to protect your teeth. Here in Holmdel, NJ, Dr. Dipika Shah can provide you with a custom mouth guard to protect your jaw, cheeks, teeth, tongue and lips and more importantly your brain.

Mouth guards are essential for protecting your teeth and jaw against structural damage and your tongue and lips against lacerations. They have also been known to decrease the risk of concussions during sports.

While you can buy mouth guards in most sporting goods stores, you should be wary of these. They are ill-fitting and uncomfortable and they do not offer protection. If you want to protect your mouth during sports, a custom mouth guard from Dr. Shah offers the highest level of protection. Created specifically for you the mouth guard is made with a thin plastic that is hardened after being custom fit to the mould of your mouth. Its thinness allows you to breathe and talk easier, which is important when playing team sports.

To ensure that you perform at your best and are protected on the field, rink or court, schedule an appointment at our office by calling 732-264-8180. For more information, visit www.dentistnj.com.

Dental Crowns

Crowns are used to protect and strengthen teeth that have become extremely weak, decayed or fractured. Covering your affected tooth and restoring it to its original shape and size, dental crowns (sometimes called caps) can help reduce pain, save your tooth from needing to be extracted and keep your smile beautiful and functional. At our office in Holmdel, NJ, we can see if a crown is necessary to save your smile.

Over time, as your teeth begin to weaken, they become more susceptible to problems, including decay, cracks and discoloration. Crowns are usually only necessary if decay has reached the point where the tooth structure is compromised. When a crown is installed, the decay is removed from the tooth and a core build-up is used to insulate the nerve and create a surface to bond the crown to. An impression is then made of this surface so that crown can be custom fitted. Usually made of porcelain, gold or porcelain fused to metal, the crown is fabricated in a lab and then cemented onto the current tooth. This fabrication process can take between two to three weeks.

Crowns are made incredibly strong to protect the remaining tooth structure, and the custom fit ensures that the seam between tooth and crown is miniscule, which helps protect the tooth from further decay.

If you’re experiencing pain in one of your teeth, stop by our office to see if a crown can save your smile. Schedule an appointment with Dr. Dipika Shah by calling 732-264-8180. For more information, visit www.dentistnj.com. 

Gum Disease

Caring for your teeth is an essential part of maintaining good oral health, but your gums also play an important role in your health, and proper care is crucial. Gum disease can be a serious detriment to your oral health and overall wellness, and Dr. Dipika Shah provides the type of regular periodontal care and checkups you need to maintain peak health and prevent gum disease.

With periodontal disease responsible for 75 percent of all adult tooth loss cases in the United States, it is critical to check for and treat periodontal issues when they first arise. Periodontal disease is an infection of the gums that starts when a build-up of plaque on your teeth hardens surrounding gums. In its early stages, this gum disease is gingivitis, but if it is left untreated, it becomes periodontis. Periodontis can destroy your gums tissue and lead to tooth loss. Periodontis can even result in a loss of bone mass in your jawbone, and heart disease, diabetes and stroke have also been linked to poor periodontal health.

The state of your gums affects the health of your entire body, so come to our office in Holmdel, NJ for periodontal cleanings and treatment. We will make sure your gums are well cared for. Call 732-264-8180. For more information, visit www.dentistnj.com.

TMJ Disorders

TMJ is an abbreviation for temporomandibular joint, which is the joint that connects your mandible (lower jaw) to your skull at the temporal bone. While many call disorders associated with this joint, TMJ, those disorder are more appropriately called TMD (temporomandibular disorder), and TMD can have symptoms that range from teeth grinding and headaches to trouble chewing and pain when opening and closing your mouth. TMD not only an annoying disorder; it is also a destructive one and can cause serious damage to your teeth if left untreated, and Dr. Dipika Shah can determine if you suffer from TMD and offer ways to treat the disorder.

The TMJ controls an assortment of jaw functions, including chewing, sowhen you’re chewing and muscles or the joint itself is in pain, it is possible that you have TMD. TMD is often caused by stress, which leads to unconscious clenching and teeth grinding while awake and asleep. TMD’s symptoms include pain, trouble chewing, lock jaw, headaches or ear pain and a popping or clicking sound when opening your mouth. However, these symptoms may be indicative of other health problems as well, so it is important to talk to your dentist.

Grinding your teeth is an especially worrisome TMD-associated behavior since it can lead to further problems with your mouth. If your teeth grinding is left unaddressed, you will cause serious wear to the enamel of your teeth and expose the dentin, which will make your teeth more sensitive to heat and cold and more susceptible to decay. However, you can work with Dr. Shah to relieve symptoms with mouthguard or TMJ splint..

If you think that you might be suffering from TMD or teeth grinding in Holmdel, NJ, schedule an appointment with our office by calling 732-264-8180. For more information, visit www.dentistnj.com.

Your Child's First Dental Visit

When children are born, they are born without teeth and without cavities, and if you would like for your child to remain cavity-free even as their teeth come in, it is important to instill good oral hygiene early on. Dr. Dipika Shah will work with you to give your child the smile he or she deserves.

One way to set your child on the right path toward lifelong oral health is to begin with a fearless introduction to the dentist. At our office in Holmdel, NJ, we have a special play room with children’s furniture and entertainment, including books, toys, games and TV shows. This helps make their first and subsequent appointments as much fun as possible.

To help Dr. Shah provide an anxiety free appointment, you can remember to not talk to your child with negative language. Phrases like “the dentist isn’t going to hurt you” or “you won’t feel pain” are counterproductive since it probably never occurred to your child to be scared of the dentist in the first place. If you would like to introduce your child to the idea of going to the dentist ahead of time, you can borrow a video from us that explains that it can be fun to go to the dentist.

In addition to regular dental visits, good oral health can be achieved with a proper diet and regular brushing. To schedule an appointment, call 732-264-8180. For more information, visit www.DentistNJ.com.