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Some dental problems are more serious than others. If you develop a sudden, severe pain in your mouth or get hit with enough force that a tooth comes out, you're most likely in need of urgent dental care. Knowing what to do and taking action quickly in a dental emergency can help you save your tooth and preserve your smile. Here's what to do if you find yourself in an emergency situation.

If you are missing one or more teeth, you may be embarrassed to smile or talk. A missing tooth can even make eating more difficult or less pleasurable, which means you may not be getting all the nutrition you need for a healthy body. If you don’t replace them, one or more missing teeth can also lead to more dental problems. Fortunately, your dentist at Las Cruces Dental Solutions can create a dental bridge to restore your dazzling smile.

Provided at your routine dental appointments, regular dental cleanings help you get and maintain healthy teeth and gums. Professional dental cleanings are essential even if you take good care of your teeth at home. 

Keep your smile bright with oral prophylaxis, also known as professional dental cleaning, and you’ll stay healthy in the long run. Several serious diseases, such as gum disease, are linked to poor oral hygiene. Keeping your teeth clean and healthy at home is important, but many people start to develop oral problems sooner or later. A professional cleaning can help you prevent this. Maintaining a healthy smile means going to the dentist and seeing a hygienist regularly. Here are some reasons why getting your teeth professionally cleaned on a regular basis is important: 

When you make an appointment with your dentist, you're likely concerned about cavities or gum disease at worst. Yet each routine visit for a cleaning and dental inspection will include a basic screening for oral cancer. In some cases, the dentist may end up recommending further tests to rule out the chance of cancer. The key is to take these warnings seriously without feeling panicked or anxious. Oral cancer screening is a routine part of adult dental care, and a test or two is nothing to worry about. Learn what will make a dentist recommend testing and what methods are used to keep you safe if you show any mouth cancer symptoms.

Teeth grinding, or bruxism, occurs when you're asleep and you clench your teeth and jaw. Many people don't know they grind their teeth at night until a partner complains of loud noise or they wake up with a sore jaw or headache. While bruxism can put you at risk for chipped or worn-out teeth, there are ways to treat it. One option is to have your dentist fit you for a custom nightguard. A night guard for teeth grinding protects your teeth and can ease some discomfort associated with bruxism. For your dental nightguard to work best, it needs to be cleaned and cared for regularly. Here's what you need to do to maintain your nightguard. 

If you are missing most or all of your teeth on your upper or lower jaw (or both), implant supported dentures may be your best choice for restoring your healthy smile. Implant supported dentures may also be right if most or all of your teeth are damaged or decayed beyond repair. But what exactly are implant supported dentures? The dentists at Las Cruces Dental Solutions hear this question often, and would like to share the answer with you.

Missing teeth is a common problem in the United States and in the rest of the world. Approximately 120 million American adults are missing at least one tooth, and about 36 million are missing all their teeth. Lost teeth are a cosmetic issue, but missing teeth can also prevent you from eating well and lost teeth can lead to other dental issues. Missing teeth can change the shape of your face too, making you look older than you really are. 

Sleep apnea is a potentially life-threatening medical condition. It results in temporary pauses in breathing during the night as a result of the muscles supporting the airway becoming too relaxed, causing an obstruction and making it difficult to breathe or get quality sleep. Those living with untreated sleep apnea experience an increased risk of diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and even death.Sleep apnea affects people of all ages, from infancy into late adulthood. It affects approximately 25% of men and 10% of women. Those over the age of 40, as well as those living with obesity, are at an increased risk of developing sleep apnea.

If you have one or more missing teeth, you might be considering dental implants to restore your smile but you may not know much about them. In fact, you may already know someone with dental implants, but not realize it because a tooth implant looks like a real tooth. Learning more about dental implants can help you decide if this state-of-the-art approach to restorative dentistry is right for you.