When the time comes to enhance your smile with a highly effective tooth restoration, you need to ask yourself what your oral health needs and desires are. If you are simply looking to enhance the look of your teeth, a dental veneer treatment is a highly effective option to consider. Dental veneers are thin shells placed atop the fronts of... read more »

Mercury amalgam dental fillings are a very traditional dental treatment, but mercury has also been recognized as being highly toxic to your body, and can leak into your body from your fillings. The hazard of mercury fillings is gaining recognition in the dental community, and many dental patients now prefer alternatives to amalgam dental fillings and have old fillings removed.... read more »

Pungent foods and strongly scented beverages can sometimes cause acute bad breath, which can often be alleviated by brushing and flossing your teeth. A quick rinse with antiseptic mouthwash could also prove helpful for controlling temporary oral odors. At the same time chronic bad breath should not be dismissed. In many cases it is often an early indicator of a... read more »

Sugars, any starch, or carbohydrates (also called EPS “extracellular polysaccharides”), play a central role in the survival capabilities of caries-causing bacteria in dental plaque, report researchers from the University of Basel's Preventative Dentistry and Oral Microbiology Clinic and Department of Biomedical Engineering in the journal PLOS ONE. Cariogenic bacteria live in biofilm and attack dental enamel by converting sugar and... read more »

Multiple people think that periodontal disease is an obvious condition where gums are majorly tinged and chompers are falling out, but that's not quite correct. Gum disease comes in several types and starts out quite subtly. Learn about gum disease by reading this information we've put together for you. Identifying periodontal disease can be difficult, but if you detect two... read more »

To shield yourself from dry mouth, there are a few things you can do. Since the team at John J. Tortora, D.D.S. wants to keep your mouth healthy always, they've assembled this post full of data about dry mouth for your education. Dry mouth impacts millions of people in the US every year. It is estimated that about 20% of... read more »

Have you ever heard of a water flosser? A water flosser is an interdental cleaner that is used to clean between the teeth with a sturdy stream of water in order to cleanse away food particles and debris. Great smiles are promising with water flossers. Here’s are some tips and advantages: - A water flosser is easier to use than... read more »

Have you ever heard of oral biofilm? Oral biofilm forms when bacteria in your mouth adhere to your teeth and gums. Oral biofilm consists of a "slime" byproduct, the bacteria, and numerous forms of bacterial microbes which form a sort of barrier to help protect the bacteria against antibiotics and chemicals. One of the most common forms of oral biofilm... read more »

Oral biofilm is the cause of periodontal disease, tooth decay and systemic inflammation. What are biofilms? Biofilms consist of three parts— The bacteria, The “slime” they produce A defense mechanism: Many species of bacterial cells flock together to form an intricate community. This helps protect them from your infection-fighting white blood cells and antibiotics. Biofilms can form on just about any... read more »

There are many people who let simple tasks like brushing their teeth fall behind. As a result, their oral health falls into a terrible condition that leads to painful and costly problems. That is why, our team here at John J. Tortora, D.D.S. in Brick, New Jersey, gives you the many reasons why we brush our teeth. To begin, did... read more »