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While the last baby teeth generally aren’t lost until age ten or 11, most children stop believing in the tooth fairy by the time they're seven or eight. Of course, children are more than happy to play along with the game when there’s money at stake! While it is impossible to know what the tooth fairy does with all those teeth (are they labeled and stored like museum pieces in a giant fairytale castle?), it is possible to trace the history and myth of the tooth fairy to several cultures and traditions. Dr. Torrejon and our team learned about some interesting myths about the tooth fairy!

The Middle Ages

Legend has it that Europeans in the Middle Ages believed a witch could curse someone by using their teeth, so it was important to dispose of baby teeth correctly. Teeth were swallowed, buried, or burned. Sometimes baby teeth were even left for rodents to eat. Despite being pests, rodents were valued for their strong teeth; it was generally believed a tooth fed to a rodent would lead to the development of a healthy and strong adult tooth.

Eighteenth Century France

The tooth fairy myth began to show more characteristics of a conventional fairytale in 18^th century France. La Bonne Petite Souris, a bedtime story, tells the strange tale of a fairy that changes into a mouse to help a good queen defeat an evil king. The mouse secretly hides under the evil king’s pillow and defeats him by knocking out his teeth.

Scandinavian Lore

So, why does the tooth fairy leave money under the pillow? The idea of exchanging a tooth for coins originated in Scandinavia. Vikings paid children for a lost tooth. Teeth were worn on necklaces as good luck charms in battle. While the idea of exchanging a tooth for coins quickly spread throughout the rest of Europe, a fierce, horn-helmeted Viking is far cry from the image of a fairy collecting teeth.

While the tooth fairy as children know her today didn’t make an appearance until the 1900s, tooth myths and rites of passage have existed in numerous cultures since the dawn of time.

“I’d rather have a root canal!”

That’s the common go-to response to anything unpleasant. But, because the second week of May is “Root Canal Awareness Week,” let’s see if we can take some of the sting out of that cliché by examining just how much root canals actually improve lives!

The pulp chamber and root canals inside each tooth hold the tooth’s pulp, which is living tissue made of nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue. Nerves and blood vessels in the chamber travel through the tooth’s roots, emerging from a small opening in each root tip to connect to your nervous and circulatory systems.

When the pulp inside your tooth is inflamed because of trauma or infection, it’s a condition called pulpitis. Swelling and pressure inside the tooth cause pain, which can be quite severe. If the tooth is left untreated, infection can spread and lead to bone, tissue, and tooth loss.

A root canal procedure treats irreversible pulpitis. You might need a root canal because an injury or trauma has damaged the root’s pulp. Or because a deep cavity or crack in the enamel has exposed the pulp tissue to bacterial infection. Or because serious gum disease has spread to the pulp via the tooth’s roots.

While severe tooth pain is often a symptom of pulpitis, you should see Dr. Torrejon if you experience any symptoms which might indicate pulp trauma or infection:

• Persistent tooth pain, which can be either dull or sharp and severe
• Pain when chewing or when pressure is placed on the tooth
• Prolonged sensitivity to heat or cold
• A cracked, broken, darkened, or discolored tooth
• Gum tissue near the tooth which is sore, red, or swollen
• A pus-filled bump, called an abscess, on the gums which persists or keeps recurring.

If you’ve been postponing a trip to the dentist because you’re anxious about root canal treatment, talk to your dental team at Torrejon Dental in Boynton Beach about the various sedation options available to provide you with your most comfortable experience.

The root canal procedure itself is safe and straightforward:

• The area around the tooth is numbed.
• The dentist makes a small opening in the crown to allow access to the pulp inside.
• Very small instruments are used to remove infected and dead or dying tissue in the pulp chamber and root canals. The interior of the tooth is cleaned.
• The inside of the tooth and each root is shaped, filled with a biocompatible filling, and sealed.
• A temporary filling or crown is placed on the tooth to prevent food particles and bacteria from entering the site while a permanent crown is created.
• A permanent crown shaped and tinted to match your natural teeth will be placed at a later dental appointment.

The entire process usually takes from one to three visits. Any post-procedure discomfort or sensitivity typically lasts only a few days and is often treated with over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen, warm saltwater rinses, and ice packs. Dr. Torrejon will give you detailed instructions for your personalized aftercare.

With all this new information in mind, maybe it’s time to reframe the conversation about root canals!

I’d rather have a root canal . . . than suffer pain.

When a tooth is badly infected or damaged, the pain can be excruciating. Root canal procedures remove the cause of that pain, and many patients feel relief immediately after treatment.

I’d rather have a root canal . . . than lose a tooth.

Losing a tooth can affect your bite, your tooth alignment, your ability to eat, your speech, and your self-confidence.

I’d rather have a root canal . . . than damage my overall health.

Untreated tooth and gum infections can spread to other parts of the body, causing jawbone, face and neck, and, potentially, system-wide infection.

Timely dental care is essential for a lifetime of healthy smiles. If your dentist recommends root canal treatment, get all the facts on just how this procedure can protect and improve your dental health.

So, final thoughts on root canal procedures? They relieve our pain. They save our teeth. They can even safeguard our health. Just something to be aware of, this week and year-round!

As you age, it becomes even more important to take good care of your teeth and dental health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately one-fourth of adults age 65 and older have no remaining teeth. What's more, nearly one-third of older adults have untreated tooth decay.

Oral health, regardless of age, is crucial to overall good health. Ideally, we all want to keep your natural teeth, but whether you're caring for natural teeth or dentures, advancing age may put older adults at risk for a number of oral health problems, including:

• Dry mouth
• Diminished sense of taste
• Root decay
• Gum disease
• Uneven jawbone caused by tooth loss
• Denture-induced tissue inflammation
• Overgrowth of fungus in the mouth
• Attrition (loss of teeth structure by mechanical forces)
• Oral cancer

These conditions may not be diagnosed until it is too late. If you want to feel good, stay healthy, and look great throughout life, you might be surprised what a difference a healthy mouth makes.

Here are some tips for maintaining and improving your oral health as you become older:

• Brush twice a day with a toothbrush with soft bristles. You may also benefit from using an electric toothbrush.
• Clean between your teeth once a day with floss or another interdental cleaner.
• If you wear full or partial dentures, remember to clean them on a daily basis. Take your dentures out of your mouth for at least four hours every day. It’s best to remove them at night.
• Drink tap water. Since most contains fluoride, it helps prevent tooth decay no matter how old you are.
• Quit smoking. Besides putting you at greater risk for lung and other cancers, smoking increases problems with gum disease, tooth decay, and tooth loss.
• Visit Torrejon Dental regularly for a complete dental checkup.

If you have any questions about keeping up with your oral hygiene at home, please give us a call!

You’re biting into something delicious, and, Ouch! You bite into something you didn’t mean to—the inside of your tender cheek.

Painful moments like this happen every now and again. But if you find that more frequent cheek biting means that you’re extra-cautious when eating or speaking, if you wake up with sore cheeks in the morning, or if you catch yourself habitually chewing on your cheeks during the day, it’s time to visit our Boynton Beach office.

Causes of Cheek Biting

Many of us experience the occasional cheek chomp when we’re eating or talking. No fun! Besides the pain, a bite can cause broken skin, inflammation, a canker sore, or a mucous cyst. Luckily, the discomfort from these accidental bites generally resolves after a few days.

Sometimes, though, biting becomes a more frequent annoyance. Regular bites can be caused by several conditions, including:

• Sleep Bruxism

Bruxism is the medical term for tooth grinding. When sleepers unconsciously clench or grind their teeth as they slumber, it’s known as sleep bruxism. Sleep bruxism not only causes tooth damage, jaw problems, and facial pain—that nightly gnashing can mean bites to delicate cheek tissue.

• Problems with Dental Restorations

The placement of a crown, bridge, or implant can cause biting to occur more often if the alignment of your restoration with your other teeth isn’t ideal or has shifted, or if the restoration needs replacement.

• Wisdom Teeth

Most of us don’t have the room to welcome four new—and large—teeth. When wisdom teeth come in, they can lead to cheek bites, especially if they erupt leaning outward toward your cheeks.

• Orthodontic Misalignment

If you notice that you seem to be biting your cheek a lot when eating or speaking, it could be an orthodontic problem.  When your teeth or jaws don’t align properly, if your mouth is small, or if your teeth have shifted over time, your cheeks might feel the consequences.

Treatment Options

Why see Dr. Torrejon? A one-time bite can be extremely uncomfortable, and might lead to inflammation or even a sore spot inside your mouth. Usually, both pain and sore spot fade in a short while, and saltwater rinses or oral gels can soothe your injured cheek tissue. Your dentist’s office can give you advice on treating minor bites.

But what about continuous biting? Regular biting injuries can lead to bigger problems. Tissue in the cheeks can thicken or erode. Scar tissue can build up inside the mouth. Ulcers and other sores can become larger and more painful.

If you’ve been biting your cheeks more often, Dr. Torrejon can diagnose the cause and offer you treatment options depending on the reason for this frequent biting:

• Sleep Bruxism?

Dr. Torrejon might suggest a nightguard to provide protection from the damaging effects of bruxism. Nightguards not only prevent further biting, they give your cheeks the chance to heal. We can custom fabricate a guard for the most comfortable and effective fit.

• Restoration Problems?

If regular cheek biting occurs after you’ve gotten a crown, a bridge, or an implant, visit our Boynton Beach office. This might be a problem that can be resolved with a bit of reshaping, whether removing a bit of the restoration or building up a spot. If a crown or other restoration has shifted or is failing, replacement might be in order.

• No Room for Wisdom Teeth?

Most of us don’t have room in our mouth to accommodate wisdom teeth, and extracting them is a common dental procedure. Wisdom teeth can be the source of many dental problems, including impaction, shifting teeth, and even damage to surrounding teeth. If you see signs that your wisdom teeth are starting to come in, talk to your dentist about your options.

• Orthodontic Problems?

Orthodontic treatment can improve tooth and bite alignment—and can eliminate those painful cheek bites if misalignment is what’s causing them. Modern orthodontic treatment offers patients of all ages more options than ever before, including traditional and lingual braces, clear aligners, and functional appliances.

Whatever the reason for painful cheek biting, you deserve to eat and speak and enjoy your day without constant “Ouch!” moments affecting your comfort and health. If these moments are happening all too often, visit Torrejon Dental for the answers to your biting problems.