Canker Sores

When a canker sore emerges, you might find yourself running to the drugstore for a numbing agent that will temporarily reduce the pain. You may also find yourself Googling every home remedy you can find to find relief from the problem. Here at Bayberry Dental Care, we can help patients manage painful aphthous ulcers (canker sores) and herpes (cold sores) through routine dental checkups.

Acidic or citrus foods may trigger a canker sore, such as eating copious amounts of pineapple or drinking excessive amounts of orange juice for breakfast. Canker sores can be painful, but usually, clear up on their own within two weeks. If you are suffering from a canker sore and it’s persistent, Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS may suggest antimicrobial mouth rinse or a corticosteroid ointment to treat the problem while reducing pain and irritation.

If you have questions or concerns regarding canker sores or oral hygiene, don’t hesitate to give us a call. To learn about the services we provide at our practice, visit www.bayberrydentalcare.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS in our Tinley Park, IL office, call Bayberry Dental Care at 708-802-8300.

Reasons for Extractions

There are times when a tooth needs to be extracted. We try our best at Bayberry Dental Care to make sure that’s not often, but when it does happen, it’s for a good reason. Although extractions are routine procedures that almost always go smoothly, we thought it would be a good idea for patients to know why they might be recommended.

Baby teeth usually fall out naturally when the adult tooth is pushing them. But sometimes they may get stuck and create a risk that the other teeth will not be able to erupt in the right place. Even if the adult tooth is able to emerge, a stuck baby tooth is a challenge for oral hygiene. More commonly, it is an adult tooth that is causing problems for other teeth’s alignment due to overcrowding. The wisdom teeth are often extracted because they do not erupt until teenagers are already past the age when orthodontic therapy is most effective for major problems. It is also common in overcrowding cases for a set of premolars to be removed, since their function can be taken up by the remaining teeth.

A tooth may also have to be removed if it is badly damaged. Cracked crowns can be repaired, but there is no way to repair a cracked root or implant. In such cases, the patient will be in pain and at risk for infection. A dental pulp infection can also motivate an extraction, although a root canal is usually a viable option for saving the tooth.

Kathleen M. Falsey, D.D.S., operates Bayberry Dental Care at 8014 West 171^st St, Tinley Park, Illinois, 60477. To schedule an appointment, call 708-802-8300 or visit Bayberry Dental Care and fill out a contact sheet.

 

Root Canal Treatment

Root canals have a bad reputation, but they are necessary to save a tooth from becoming badly decayed or infected. A root canal procedure is performed when the nerve of the tooth becomes infected or the pulp becomes damaged. During a root canal procedure, the nerve and pulp are removed, and the inside of the tooth is cleaned and sealed. Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS of Bayberry Dental Care assures each one of her patients that a root canal isn’t as scary as it sounds.

During the first visit, you will be given a local anesthetic to numb the area. A rubber sheet may be placed around the tooth to isolate it. Next, access is drilled from the crown into the pulp chamber, which, along with any infected root canal, is cleaned of all diseased pulp and reshaped. Medication may be inserted into the area to kill bacteria and prevent additional infection. Living with a toothache is much more painful than correcting the pain with a root canal.

If you have questions or concerns regarding root canal, don’t hesitate to give us a call. To learn about the services we provide at our practice, visit www.bayberrydentalcare.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS in our Tinley Park, IL office, call Bayberry Dental Care at 708-802-8300.

National Dental Hygiene Month

Do you have questions about your oral care habits? There’s no better time to ask than National Dental Hygiene Month! In the month leading up to Halloween, we at Bayberry Dental Care in Tinley Park are particularly eager to teach our patients how to brush and floss properly so they won’t have to worry as much about tooth decay during the holiday season.

Patients should always use soft-bristled toothbrushes. They can get good results from proper use of manual or electric toothbrushes, but everyone with teeth needs to brush them twice a day. People using manual toothbrushes should brush for two minutes per session. All the varieties of toothpaste seen in stores can help fight decay, although people with sensitive teeth may want to avoid toothpaste with whitening agents and people with dentures should use specialized toothpaste. Brush every tooth surface, using circular strokes to thoroughly clean the outward-facing sides, and don’t forget the parts of the teeth nearest to the gum line.

Dentists recommend that patients clean debris from between their teeth, but only with things that were made for that purpose. When using floss, use a shoeshine motion to scrape plaque off of the sides of each tooth. Don’t just slide the floss down the gap. Also, be sure to get the backsides of the molars. You can prevent bad breath with daily use of mouthwash or a tongue scraper, but you should also be brushing your tongue.

Kathleen M. Falsey, D.D.S., operates Bayberry Dental Care at 8014 West 171^st St, Tinley Park, Illinois, 60477. To schedule an appointment, call 708-802-8300 or visit Bayberry Dental Care and fill out a contact sheet.

Amalgam Fillings

Amalgam fillings are just one of the fillings Dr. Kathleen Falsey DDS, offers at Bayberry Dental Care. When placing dental amalgam, Dr. Falsey first drills the tooth to remove the decay and then shapes the tooth cavity for placement of the amalgam filling. Next, under appropriate safety conditions, she then mixes the powdered alloy with the liquid mercury to form amalgam putty. This softened amalgam putty is placed and shaped in the prepared cavity, where it rapidly hardens into a solid filling.

Amalgam has been used for generations to help save decayed teeth in more than 100 million Americans. Amalgam has been thoroughly studied, and no properly designed research studies have linked dental amalgam to serious health problems. Dr. Falsey can talk about what type of filling is best for the patient. An amalgam filling is just one of a variety of dental filling options available at her practice. 

If you have questions or concerns regarding cosmetic dental services, please give us a call. To learn about the services we provide at our practice, visit www.bayberrydentalcare.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS in our Tinley Park, IL office, call Bayberry Dental Care at 708-802-8300.

Thank You for Your Positive Reviews!

Here at Bayberry Dental Care, Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS, and staff appreciate feedback from our patients because it teaches us how to improve as a team. Our staff would not only like to thank the following for leaving us reviews, but we would like to thank each one of them for being a dedicated patient. If you recently experienced exceptional service from our office, please let us know!  

• "Feeling so Much Better Thanks to You." -Janet


• "Thanks for making me feel so much better!" -Annie


• "I am not embarrassed to smile anymore all thanks to you Doc." -Mike


• "Cavity Free and Loving Every Second Of It!" -Rose

If you would like to leave a testimonial or are interested in learning more about the services we provide at the practice, visit www.bayberrydentalcare.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS in our Tinley Park office, call 708-802-8300.

Basics of Dental Instruments

It is important for everybody to get their teeth professionally cleaned twice a year. This is usually not a difficult process, but for some, visits to the dentist are a source of anxiety. We strive to create a gentle, caring practice at Bayberry Dental Care in Tinley Park, which is why we thought patients might feel more comfortable if they knew more about our instruments.

The instruments our hygienists use the most frequently are the handheld mirror, the evacuator, and the explorer. The evacuator is the hose which suctions saliva and debris out of the patient’s mouth. Explorers, or probes, are the hooked metal instruments used to test how hard enamel is and whether there is decay below the gum line. We also use explorers to break apart calculus that builds up between visits.

When we need to do a procedure such as drilling away decay, we generally numb the patient with localized anesthetic delivered through a syringe. The drill emits water to protect the patient from its heat. Our office uses white resin composites as filling materials, which we administer to a cavity using a blunt instrument called a burnisher. There are many differently-shaped burnishers for contouring fillings.

Kathleen M. Falsey, D.D.S., operates Bayberry Dental Care at 8014 West 171^st St, Tinley Park, Illinois, 60477. To schedule an appointment, call 708-802-8300 or visit Bayberry Dental Care and fill out a contact sheet.