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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 Mid-Hudson Oral and Maxillofacial Practice 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!

Happy Independence Day from Dr. Matthew Hilmi and team! The Fourth of July celebrations in America may have changed a lot over the years, but there is no doubt that we Americans love to celebrate the anniversary of our country's independence! Today we're devoting the Mid-Hudson Oral and Maxillofacial Practice blog to some fun facts about the Fourth!

• My, how we have grown! This year the United States Census Bureau estimates that our country has 313.9 million residents celebrating the Fourth of July this year, but back in 1776 there were just 2.5 million members of the country.
• Our country loves to show how proud that we are of our independence. Did you know that there are 31 United States places with the word “Liberty” in their names? The state of Iowa actually has four towns with the word Liberty in the name: Libertyville, New Liberty, North Liberty, and West Liberty.
• The United States loves Fourth of July food! It is expected that around 150 million hot dogs are eaten on the Fourth each year. One of the Fourth's most popular sides, potato salad, goes just perfectly with the hotdogs and hamburgers that are standard Fourth of July fare. Some people choose potato chips instead, but we wouldn't have such a plethora of potatoes if not for the prodigious production of the states of Idaho and Washington -- they provide about half of all the potatoes in the United States today!
• Americans love celebrating the Fourth outdoors: About 74 million Americans fire up their BBQ grill every Fourth of July.
• The Chinese contribution: Did you know that Americans have spent more than $211 million on fireworks that were imported from China?

No matter how your family chooses to celebrate the Fourth, stay safe, take precautions, and don't forget to brush after your fabulous Fourth feast!

The Fun Facts about Wisdom Teeth

Wisdom teeth are the third set of molars that come in behind the rest of your teeth. Why humans even have them is a common question. It could be that they do not fit in the average mouth because fewer people lose teeth nowadays due to improving dental hygiene. Some have suggested that human ancestors needed these teeth to maintain a diet that was rough and difficult to chew, whereas today’s diet fails to meet the same requirements and renders these molars relatively useless.

For many individuals in their late teens and early twenties, pain in the mouth can arrive suddenly and with a vengeance. The discomfort in their jaw turns out to be their wisdom teeth joining the party. If you happen to be dealing with these newcomers, you’ve probably got a few questions, the least of which might be: “Why does wisdom hurt so much?!”

Why do wisdom teeth cause so many problems?

Not all people experience problems with their wisdom teeth. Some are actually able to keep them because their teeth came in straight, and there’s enough room in their jaw to care for them properly.

For the vast majority of individuals, however, the teeth fail to find enough space and come in at odd angles or are unable to surface at all and create a number of problems as a result.

Common problems include:

• Damage to surrounding teeth due to the pressure from the surfacing teeth
• Infection that causes the surrounding gums to swell and become painful
• Tooth decay due to the lack of room to properly clean the teeth
• Impaction (when the tooth is unable to break through the skin)
• A cyst that may damage the jaw, surrounding teeth, and nerves

Undergoing a common oral surgery fairly early in life is believed to make recovery easier, but you should allow yourself and your mouth time to heal.

Many people disagree about the purpose of these seemingly vestigial tools, but the fact remains that whatever their original purpose may have been, wisdom teeth have the potential to cause problems for people today. If and when you encounter these teeth, or the problems they can raise, contact Dr. Matthew Hilmi or our team at Mid-Hudson Oral and Maxillofacial Practice.

Fear of going to the dentist is more common than you may think. That’s why Dr. Matthew Hilmi and our team want to make your visit as relaxing as possible.

Your anxiety about pain or routine procedures doesn’t have to stop you from visiting our Kingston office; we offer various types of sedation to remove the pain and stress from your dental procedure.

Nitrous Oxide Sedation

Nitrous oxide combined with local anesthetics ensures both pain relief and reduced anxiety for many patients. It’s useful because the dosage can be regulated during treatment, and patients are usually able to drive shortly after the procedure is completed.

Oral or Injected Sedation

With oral sedation, you may be given a pill or liquid to consume several hours before your treatment. Make sure someone will be available to drive you to your appointment, because you will not be able to drive yourself.

An oral liquid is often given to children before any shots or intravenous anesthesia. An intramuscular injection may be given at the office to provide relaxation benefits for 20 to 30 minutes.

Nitrous Oxide with an Oral Sedative

For patients with higher levels of anxiety, an oral or injected sedative can be offered before nitrous oxide begins. This can also be effective for reducing anxiety about the injection of local anesthetics itself. A liquid medication followed by nitrous oxide is beneficial for children to produce a deep sedation level.

General Anesthesia

This type of anesthesia can be offered as an inhaled gas or intravenous liquid. If no oral sedative is given before the general anesthesia is administered, you should wake up quickly after your procedure.

To reduce your anxiety, we can offer a pill or liquid medication before intravenous sedation starts. Intravenous sedation can also be used at moderate-to-deep sedation levels without complete loss of consciousness.

Dr. Matthew Hilmi and our team are happy to go over your sedation or pain prevention options when you visit. We’re here to ensure all your questions are answered and your procedure is a relaxing one.