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Tooth Sensitivity to Cold

Have you recently had a cold drink ruined by a sensation of shooting pain in your teeth? It could be eroded enamel. We hope that all our patients at Bernstein Dental Care in Bay Ridge are enjoying summer treats, but if they’re suffering from tooth sensitivity, we can help. The pulp chambers inside our teeth are highly sensitive. They are surrounded by dentin, a hard substance made up of tubules that easily conduct heat. Dentin is a greyish-yellow color, and although it is normally shielded by a crown’s hard enamel, it can be visible when enamel is thin. Enamel may be worn down by mechanical processes if there is a problem with the patient’s bite or if the patient is grinding their teeth, but in most cases of sensitivity, enamel has been eroded by acid. The most common source of acid is bacteria that consume food debris, although it may also be regurgitated from the stomach. Tooth roots are surrounded by a thin substance called cementum. If the gums have receded enough for the cementum
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Mini Implants

Are you searching for a way to replace your teeth that won’t leave you with an extremely long recovery time or unstable denture? It sounds like you could use mini-implants. Available at the Bay Ridge office of Bernstein Dental Care, this technology allows us to secure full and partial dentures to a patient’s jaw through minimally invasive techniques. A typical implant is over three millimeters wide and supports a single tooth or part of a bridge. Those are highly effective, but they are not suitable for situations in which a patient has lost a great deal of jaw bone material or needs to replace multiple teeth that aren’t in a row. Mini-implants are less than three millimeters wide and their strength is derived from their length instead of their width. They can often be inserted without incisions and have a much faster osseointegration process, being able to bear the distributed weight of a denture immediately, whereas traditional implants needed several months to stabilize. The abutmen
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Dental Avulsion - Traumatic Tooth Loss

During the summer, people tend to be more active outdoors and may be at greater risk for dental injuries. While nobody ever plans to get a tooth knocked out, we at Bernstein Dental Care thought it would be a good idea to remind our patients of what steps they can take during a dental emergency to have the best chance of preserving their teeth. When a tooth is knocked out entirely, we call that a “dental avulsion.” The tooth should be lifted by its crown, never its root. There are American Dental Association-approved tooth transport containers that will hopefully be available in a nearby first aid kit, but if not, the tooth should be rinsed with a saline solution. It should then be reinserted into the empty socket, with care to ensure it is facing the right way. If this is too uncomfortable, it may be held in the cheek or in a glass of milk or saltwater, but the patient should have facial lacerations attended to first. We can determine whether a tooth is salvageable. It may not be if th
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Canker Sores

Canker sores are small, shallow ulcers that appear in your mouth and make it difficult for you to eat and talk. The cause of canker sores isn't known although stress is thought to trigger the ulcers. Canker sores are circular and are usually white or gray with a red edge. When possible, we encourage our patients to avoid foods that have citrus and acidic. Some foods to avoid when you have an ulcer include lemons, oranges, apples, and tomatoes. When you have canker sores, it can extremely painful on the inside of your cheeks. You may feel a burning sensation that makes it difficult to eat and drink. Some symptoms that you may have a canker While there is no exact cure for canker sores, If you do get a canker sores, we encourage you to rinse your mouth out with hot salt water a couple times a couple of times a day to help with recovery. If you still have a canker sore after 1-2 weeks we advise you to make an appointment with us at Bernstein Dental Care. Dr. Paul Bernstein runs Bernst
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Dental Phobia

If you have a fear of going to the dentist or dentist working on your teeth, you likely suffer from dental phobia. Dental phobia affects a lot of people with about 9% to 15% of people avoiding the dentist because of it. Going to the dentist can be a traumatic experience if you suffer from dental phobia. Our doctors at Bernstein Dental Care, we want our patients to be comfortable when they visit us. Patients who avoid going to the dentist are at a great risk of developing tooth decay and gum disease. Some signs that you might have dental phobia include tense or nervousness, sleepless nights before the dentist, and the thought of the dentist makes you feel sick. If you experience sickness or nervousness before your appointment, please give us a call. We encourage our patients to ask us questions before your appointment so we can make you feel more comfortable. Your health is the most important thing to us. Dr. Paul Bernstein runs Bernstein Dental Care at 350 91 st  St, Suite 1C, Brooklyn
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Wisdom Teeth Extraction

Your wisdom teeth are the final set of molars that emerge. When they emerge, they will either come in naturally or crowd your gums. If your wisdom teeth protrude your gums, they need to be extracted at your local dentist. At Bernstein Dental Care, we can tell you if your wisdom teeth need to be removed through routine x-rays. In most cases, wisdom teeth will grow in on an angle which can cause crowding for your teeth and possible damage to your jawbone or nerves. Wisdom teeth that develop that only partially impact your gums increases the chance for bacteria to build which leads to more cavities and gum disease. If your wisdom teeth are causing you pain or there appears to be an infection, please give us a call. We can schedule your appointment for x-rays and have your wisdom teeth removed in no time. The sooner you remove your wisdom teeth, the less shifting the rest of your mouth will do. Dr. Paul Bernstein runs Bernstein Dental Care at 350 91 st  St, Suite 1C, Brooklyn, New York, 11
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Choosing a Toothbrush

At Bernstein Dental Care, we advise our patients to change their toothbrush every 3-4 months or when their bristles become worn down and split. Overtime, toothbrushes become less effective the more they are used which means your teeth aren’t being cleaned as effectively as they should be. When buying a new toothbrush, you should consider how well you brush your teeth and for how long before deciding. Traditional toothbrushes work fine as long as you brush for a full two minutes. For patients who tend to brush for less than two minutes, we encourage you to get an electric toothbrush. Electric bristle’s rotate to help you remove plaque from your teeth and gums more effectively. The most important thing to us is that you brush twice a day to keep your teeth clean. We also advise our patients who haven’t had a cleaning in the last 6 months make an appointment with us to ensure your teeth are healthy. Dr. Paul Bernstein runs Bernstein Dental Care at 350 91 st  St, Suite 1C, Brooklyn, New Yo
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