Driving With A Sleep Disorder

An average of 1.3 million people die in the US every year as the result of a car accident, and fatigued driving is responsible for a lot of accidents.  People living with untreated sleep apnea or other sleep disorder may not realize how much it impacts their alertness and how dangerous it is to drive.  Dr. Dipika Shah, DDS can help you find relief from sleep apnea, so please schedule a visit for evaluation.

Patients who don’t seek treatment for their poor sleep may think they are used to feeling tired all the time and are unimpaired.  However a chronic lack of restful sleep is shown to have the same effects has being intoxicated by drugs or alcohol.  Excessive sleepiness causes problems with focus and attention, which you need in order to drive.  The lack of focusing and inability to react quickly makes high-risk drivers. If you are planning to drive somewhere but feel sleepy, take a minute to assess your alertness.  A short nap can even revive you for a 30 minute drive.  Caffeine is of course a temporary fix, but it can keep you alert for a short drive and prevent falling asleep at the wheel.  If you ever notice yourself dozing at the wheel, pull over to rest.  Don’t live with a sleep disorder! Come see Dr. Dipika Shah, DDS and start treatment to get your best sleep.

To learn more about sleep apnea and the treatments provided at the practice, visit www.dentistnj.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Dipika Shah DDS, here in our Holmdel, NJ office, call 732-264-8180. 

Water Pik with Orthodontics

Flossing is crucial when it comes to maintaining good oral health. Cleaning between the teeth is an important step to remove food particles that have been left behind after brushing. Flossing can significantly reduce periodontal disease and cavity-causing causing bacteria that leads to tooth decay, but sometimes the act of flossing is difficult for a patient with orthodontics. Dr. Dipika Shah, DDS may suggest using a water Pik for those hard to reach places!

A safe, easy, and effective way to remove plaque around dental braces is to use a water Pik. A water fPik is a handheld device that sprays streams of water in steady pulses. Not only is this beneficial to patients with traditional braces, water piks are also an option for people who have trouble controlling traditional floss by hand. It’s important to brush your teeth at least twice a day and floss at least once a day to reap the maximum benefits of a healthy mouth!

To learn more about orthodontics and the treatments provided at the practice, visit www.dentistnj.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Dipika Shah DDS, here in our Holmdel, NJ office, call 732-264-8180. 

Causes of Bad Breath

If you suffer from bad breath, there may be a deeper issue than lingering food particles. We love teaching patients at Dr. Dipika Shah’s Holmdel dental office about how to take better care of their oral health, and combatting halitosis is one of the ways by which patients know they’re doing something right.

Typically halitosis isn’t just caused by food debris, but by bacterial build-up. Bacteria infect the corners of teeth near the gum line where many people forget to brush and the surface of the tongue, where nasal discharge can drip to. We recommend that patients brush their tongues and use a tongue scraper on a daily basis. Patients also must be vigilant about cleaning removable oral appliances such as dentures, night guards, and mouth guards and the cases they are kept in.

Certain foods such as onions and garlic can contribute to bad breath in unexpected ways. Chemicals from them can enter the bloodstream and into the patient’s lungs or trigger an acid reflux response, which could allow stomach acid into the mouth. In addition to cutting back on these foods, patients might want to avoid anything that could contribute to dry mouth. Without saliva, it is more difficult for the mouth to maintain a pH level that resists bacteria and yeast. Drinking lots of water while cutting sugary drinks is the best way to improve saliva production.

Dr. Dipika Shah, Master in the Academy of General Dentistry, operates at 723 N Beers St, Suite 2F, Holmdel, New Jersey, 07733-1512. To schedule an appointment, call 732-264-8180 or visit Dentist NJ and fill out a contact form.

 

How Smoking Affects Dental Pulp

We’re proud to say that patients with toothaches can get reliable treatment in comfort at the Holmdel dental office of Dr. Dipika Shah. Root canals remove potentially life-threatening infected material while preserving the natural structure of a tooth. But new research shows that smokers have particular problems with dental pulp infections, and we want our patients to be aware of why.

Antimicrobial peptides are one of the foundations of the immune system. They are molecules that kill bacteria by latching onto them and are found in healthy dental pulp. When a tooth is injured or an infection reaches the pulp, the pulp becomes inflamed, allowing peptides to more easily pass through tissue layers. But in smokers, the immune system does not function as well. Smokers have elevated levels of periodontal disease, and a recent study indicated that their dental pulp lacks antimicrobial peptides.

Without antimicrobial peptides, it is much harder for pulp to resist infections and the infections are likelier to recur. In the course of a root canal treatment, we can use antibacterial medication to fight infection in pulp we can’t remove, but complications are less likely if the patient is not a smoker. Some good news is that the researchers found that a few people’s immune systems recovered after they quit smoking.

Dr. Dipika Shah, Master in the Academy of General Dentistry, operates at 723 N Beers St, Suite 2F, Holmdel, New Jersey, 07733-1512. To schedule an appointment, call 732-264-8180 or visit Dentist NJ and fill out a contact form.