McCarl Dental Group Blog

There’s no better way to celebrate Dental Hygiene Month each October than to share a healthy, happy smile! If you’re struggling to maintain the optimal level of oral hygiene, your dentist can recommend steps you to improve your daily at-home routine for effective dental hygiene in Greenbelt. Don’t forget to schedule your biannual dental checkups and professional teeth cleanings to ensure your smile stays healthy for life.

If you’ve ever dealt with stress for more than the few a days or hours before a big job interview or other event, you know that it can negatively impact your body. People under stress experience head and body aches, struggle to maintain a typical sleep schedule, and are often at greater risk for health issues as the immune system is overtaxed in bodies with an elevated level of stress. Unfortunately, your smile isn’t immune to stress either. For many people, oral health issues related to stress are found during regular preventive dentistry visits, and for some, this is a wakeup call that encourages them to make some changes in their daily life and reduce stress levels. Some stress can’t be avoided, but the long term impact on oral and overall health can be detrimental. If you’re experiencing high levels of stress at home, work, or school, finding different ways to manage your stresses may be an important part of protecting your smile and overall health. In this blog, we review some of the common oral health conditions diagnosed in people who are under stress.

If you’ve cracked or broken a dental crown or other restoration, your Greenbelt dentist may be able to help. In some cases, we can replace the dislodged dental crown, but no matter what the situation, we can create a personalized plan to repair your damaged smile as quickly as possible. In this blog, we walk through the process to restore your smile after a dental crown has been damaged.

September is National Gum Care Month. Year-round, we promote preventive dentistry for our Greenbelt dental patients to avoid the majority of oral health concerns, including gum disease, but this month dedicated to increasing awareness is a great time to review some of the basics of achieving and maintaining optimal oral health. In this blog, we discuss the importance of healthy gums and some simple ways to avoid gum disease through preventive dental care at-home and in our Greenbelt dental office.

If you’ve ever dealt with stress for more than the few a days or hours before a big job interview or other event, you know that it can negatively impact your body. People under stress experience head and body aches, struggle to maintain a typical sleep schedule, and are often at greater risk for health issues as the immune system is overtaxed in bodies with an elevated level of stress. Unfortunately, your smile isn’t immune to stress either. For many people, oral health issues related to stress are found during regular preventive dentistry visits, and for some, this is a wakeup call that encourages them to make some changes in their daily life and reduce stress levels. Some stress can’t be avoided, but the long term impact on oral and overall health can be detrimental. If you’re experiencing high levels of stress at home, work, or school, finding different ways to manage your stresses may be an important part of protecting your smile and overall health. In this blog, we review some of the common oral health conditions diagnosed in people who are under stress.

When you look in the mirror, are you suddenly seeing a “toothy” grin where you used to see a healthy smile with equal amounts of tooth and gum tissue? Are you suddenly struggling with sensitive teeth? You may be dealing with receding gums. While many people think of dental problems as relating to only teeth, soft tissue health is just as important to the overall appearance and function of your smile. Gum tissue recession is extremely common and needs to be monitored as it reflects the attachment of the gums to the teeth and underlying bone. Like many other oral health conditions, preventive dentistry, routine care, and understanding the underlying causes are the easiest way to avoid recession.

Sleep apnea is a condition that causes you to stop breathing for ten or more seconds during sleep. This cessation of breathing leads the patient to repeatedly wake from sleep, which often causes daytime exhaustion, difficulty concentrating, and the other commonly known side effects of sleep apnea. What many people don’t know is how the body wakes you from sleep to restart breathing. The body is awoken through a panic response that elevates blood pressure and places strain on the heart. Keep reading to learn a little more about sleep apnea and how it impacts your cardiovascular health.
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