A typical toothpaste aisle at a grocery or drugstore contains dozens of toothpaste varieties. Like many people, you may think that all toothpastes are alike and their marketed differences are simply marketing gimmicks.

If your teeth and gums are perfectly healthy and no problems are typically revealed during your dental exams, you have no reason to overthink your toothpaste choice. However, if you would like to improve your dental health, then putting more thought into the toothpaste you purchase may help you meet your dental health goals.

Read on to learn how to choose the right toothpaste for you if you would like to improve your oral health.

Your teeth are important for a many reasons. While they help you chew, eat, and speak, your teeth also make up your smile, which greatly affects your appearance and self-esteem. Unfortunately, issues affecting the location of your teeth can lead to underlying dental problems, eating difficulties, speech impediments, discomfort, and even self-esteem issues.

Thankfully, orthodontic treatment can help. With this guide, you will learn a few common reasons why you may need orthodontic treatment.

1. Crooked Teeth

There are many causes of crooked teeth. For instance, your baby or permanent teeth may not have erupted properly. Or you may have suffered a trauma to the mouth that displaced or knocked out one or more teeth. Certain habits such as thumb sucking, a pacifier, or a bottle used for a long period of time after to primary teeth have erupted, can affect the location and alignment of teeth.

If you have an abscessed tooth or a tooth that decay has severely affected, your dentist may recommend that you do a root canal procedure. This procedure is often an alternative to pulling a tooth and keeps the tooth in your mouth, which is often better for your overall oral health in the long term.

Of course, if you’re like most patients, you probably have a few questions about root canal procedures. Hopefully, you will find the answers below.

1. Are Root Canals Painful?

Somewhere along the line, root canals got the unfortunate reputation of being painful. The idea of a dentist drilling into your tooth and removing the pulp — which is what happens during a root canal — does not sound pleasant. And it would not be if not for modern anesthetics.

Thankfully, your dentist will inject your gums with a local anesthetic prior to doing any work on your tooth. This won’t render you unconscious like general anesthesia, but it will ensure you don’t feel a thing during the procedure. You’ll just feel a mild pinch and stinging sensation during the injection itself.

Some patients do experience jaw aches from holding their mouth open during the root canal, but this tends to be minor. If you’ve dealt with toothaches and other dental discomfort, a root canal can actually ease that pain.

From the removal of impacted wisdom teeth to taking out an infected tooth to save your oral health, extractions can be beneficial. Of course, extractions do require small incisions in the gum tissue that makes the procedure a bit invasive. Therefore, it is important to follow your dentist’s instructions to heal properly after an extraction.

Unfortunately, dry sockets occur in an estimated two to five percent of extractions. Even though dry sockets are common, especially after the extraction of wisdom teeth, most people do not fully understand this problem. With this guide and your dentist’s help, you will have a full understanding of dry sockets.

A broken tooth is a dental emergency. Unlike the enamel craze lines that may cause cosmetic issues but typically don’t cause pain, breaks in your tooth are serious. You’ll typically feel pain, and in some cases, a portion of your tooth may be loose or even missing.

Although a broken or chipped tooth can occur due to a physical injury, it can also happen when you’re eating or even at night when you grind your teeth in your sleep. Here are some tips on what to do and what not to do if your tooth breaks.