The McCarl Dental Group at Shipley’s Choice in Millersville, MD, was recently voted as one of the winners of the Best Dentist in Severna Park by local residents. Hosted by the Severna Park Voice, more than 2,100 people voted in their “Best Of” contest. Read on to learn why our dental practice is considered one of the best in the area.
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Same-day dental crowns and other restorations are transforming the dentistry process for many people. They make emergency dentistry faster and more efficient, they deliver quality results, and they save you time. These innovative treatment options offer numerous benefits to our patients beyond convenience. Read this blog to learn five interesting facts about same-day dental crowns from our Millersville, MD dentists.
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Still implementing comprehensive measures to promote safety during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, members of the McCarl Dental Group at Shipley’s Choice team were thrilled to receive the COVID-19 vaccine through the Anne Arundel County Health Department. Healthcare workers, dentists and dental team members were able to receive their vaccine as part of the Anne Arundel County vaccine distribution rollout phase 1A. A large percentage of the staff have received their first dose of the vaccine and are scheduled to receive their second dose at the Health Department in Annapolis. In addition to receiving vaccinations, the McCarl Dental Group team has taken every precaution throughout the pandemic to keep our dental patients, families, and surrounding Millersville, Maryland community safe. We invite you to read our blog to learn a little bit more about our experiences getting the vaccine and our current COVID-19 safety protocol.
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Are you familiar with that holiday classic, “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth?” The song is about a child, missing his front teeth, who just wants his smile back for Christmas. While most of us are lucky enough to have our two front teeth, many of us can still relate to this child’s reticence to share his smile. Whether you’re embarrassed by chips, cracks, stains, or gaps in your smile, if you find yourself singing “All I want for Christmas is to make my two front teeth pretty,” your cosmetic dentist in Millersville, MD has you covered. Keep reading to learn more about cosmetic dentistry options to help you reclaim your smile confidence again.
(more…)If you want to create a beautiful smile for your holiday cards or as part of your New Year’s resolutions, the Thanksgiving holidays may be the perfect time to get started. To find out more about your cosmetic dentistry options or start planning to achieve your New Year’s smile resolution, consider scheduling a consultation visit with your Millersville cosmetic dentist. You can also learn more about the benefits of cosmetic dentistry in this blog.
(more…)October is National Dental Hygiene Month, and even though the McCarl Dental Group team celebrates good oral health and hygiene all year round, we hope you’ll join us in celebrating this national awareness month by making a little more time for your dental care. In this blog, you’ll receive the top three tips to keep your smile healthy during National Dental Hygiene Month and all year long from Dr. Clayton McCarl.
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Gum tissue recession, a common side effect of periodontal disease, can be detrimental to your oral health, leave you at greater risk for whole body health concerns linked to gum disease, and it can negatively impact your appearance. After treating conditions that lead to soft tissue recession, most people have just one question, “Will the recessed gums grow back?” In this blog, the McCarl Dental Group team provides the short answer to that question and a more detailed explanation as well as details about how this issue is addressed in our Millersville dental office.
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A tooth abscess is a serious dental emergency. Many people don’t know the symptoms of a dental abscess or treatment. Instead, they go from experiencing mild sensitivity to heat and cold to debilitating toothache pain within just a few hours without any idea what to do next. What anyone who has ever had a tooth abscess will tell you is that waiting to see a dentist at 9 am on Monday morning isn’t going to work. If you’re experiencing a tooth abscess, you need help right away. Unfortunately, most dental offices just don’t offer treatment outside of the regular 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday hours. That means patients either muddle through until they can get an appointment, or they end up spending way too much money and time having the tooth abscess treated in an emergency room. That’s why McCarl Dental Group decided to do things a little differently. We offer emergency dentistry solutions whenever our patients need us because we believe no one deserves to spend hours in pain. If you need emergency dental care, don’t wait for 9 am to call our dental office. Reach out now.
A dental abscess is a pus producing infection. White blood cells are the infection fighting soldiers of our blood stream. If the cells lose the battle fighting an infection, pus forms. Dental pus causes pressure in your teeth or gums and can cause extreme dental pain. An infection in the tooth and pulp of the tooth is treated differently than an infection in the gums, which is called a periodontal abscess. A periodontal abscess involves gums and can weaken the bony structure supporting the teeth and can lead to loss of your teeth. Dental abscesses are best treated with direct drainage and then with antibiotics.
An abscess occurs when bacteria in the mouth accumulate between the tooth and the gums or inside of the tooth’s inner layer of soft tissue called pulp. These infections can occur due to untreated tooth decay or gum disease, or when a tooth has microscopic cracks that allow bacteria to accumulate in large numbers. When a tooth is abscessed, the infection will spread to surrounding bone and gum tissue, and it can lead to whole body health concerns.
In most cases, tooth abscess begins as a mild pain when biting down or minor sensitivity to hot and cold foods and beverages, but it can escalate quickly to extreme discomfort and other symptoms of infection. You should contact McCarl Dental Group right away if you notice any of the following symptoms of tooth abscess:
Like other dental concerns, it’s more difficult to treat an abscess that has reached a severe level, but many patients don’t realize the concern is serious until it’s too late. We understand not wanting to reach out for emergency dentistry until it’s really necessary, but we also want to see you as soon as possible to minimize the spread of infection. For this reason, we encourage people who are at risk for tooth abscess to reach out to us as soon as they notice any minor discomfort or sensitivity. High risk individuals include the following groups:
We absolutely treat tooth abscess as an emergency, and our team of dentists want to see you as soon as possible to halt the spread of infection and begin renewing your oral health. When you contact our on-call dentist for emergency treatment, we’ll work with you to create a treatment plan to get you out of pain and on the road to recovery as soon as possible. In most cases, this will include performing diagnostic examinations and x-rays. We will explain what we see on the x-ray on s chairside computer and explain what to expect during treatment.
In order to treat an abscessed tooth, we’ll need to take a number of steps. First and foremost, we remove any infection around the tooth by draining sores and prescribing oral antibiotics to help your body eliminate the damaging bacteria. If the infection is very severe, we may need to administer antibiotics before we drain or remove the abscess.
We want to keep your natural tooth if possible, so the x-rays will tell us the severity of the infection and damage. If the abscess is only in the soft tissue, minimally invasive draining, antibiotic treatment, and wound care will likely be enough to renew full oral health. Unfortunately, the bulk of tooth abscesses go much deeper into the pulp layer of the tooth, which means root canal therapy is necessary. This procedure allows us to remove the infected internal tooth structures and replace them with a biologically inert substance. Then, a dental crown will be placed to seal and protect the damaged tooth.
When it’s just not possible to repair and save a damaged tooth, we may need to recommend tooth extraction. This is always our last option, but if you do need to remove your tooth, we have a variety of tooth replacement solutions to fully restore your damaged smile. The McCarl Dental Group team will partner with you from start to finish to address tooth abscess and restore your healthy, beautiful smile.
If you’re experiencing any of the warning signs of tooth abscess or you need our help during any dental emergency, the McCarl Dental Group team would love to hear from you. You can reach our on-call dentist at any time. Call our regular dental office number and follow the emergency instructions if it’s after hours, or if you’re an existing patient, you can contact your dentist directly. If you’re in need of routine dental care, you can request an appointment using our simple online form.
WaterPiks were all the rage after their introduction in the mid 1960s, and when they became a little more affordable in the 1980s and 90s, it seemed like just about everyone bought one to try out. These days, you’re less likely to see a WaterPik or other water flossers in people’s homes, but new research indicates that oral irrigation (water flossing) may be the best way to maintain oral health for those who replace one or more missing teeth with dental implant supported restorations, which is bringing the WaterPik back in vogue. Keep reading to learn more about WaterPiks and other water flossing tools and how using a WaterPik can improve your oral health.
(more…)In the early days of vaping, this habit was promoted as a healthy alternative to smoking cigarettes or using other forms of tobacco. Today, we know that vaping is NOT safe! Vaping may be just as bad for people or even more dangerous. Electronic cigarettes are as addictive as regular cigarettes and many e-cigarette users get even more nicotine from vaping than from tobacco. Vaping products may contain fewer toxic chemicals than traditional cigarettes, but there have been many lung injuries and deaths associated with vaping.
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