Having your wisdom teeth removed has kind of become a rite of passage for many people. If you were to ask around, there probably aren’t many adults who still have their wisdom teeth intact. And, in many cases, these wisdom teeth extractions don’t even occur until early adulthood. While it’s not the most enjoyable experience in the entire world, having your wisdom teeth removed does help improve your overall health and well-being.

First of all, wisdom teeth are the final set of molars that most people tend to get in their late teens or early 20’s, which is why this is the most common time for wisdom teeth extractions. In many, many cases, wisdom teeth grow in ways not are not healthy for the rest of the mouth. They often come in at angles or positions that can damage other teeth, the jawbone, even the nerves.

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It’s something that we all think about; teeth whitening products. It looks so easy on the commercials, right? You just slap on a whitening strip or buy the right kind of toothpast, and your teeth will be whiter then ever before. You want whiter teeth, but you don’t want to spend the money to have it done professionally. But, are those teeth whitening strips actually safe for your teeth? Here are some recent reviews of teeth whitening products:

According to OSI Dental, an online resource for cosmetic dentistry, the Carbamide peroxide used in most tooth whitening products does have the potential to be damaging to the gums. Manufacturers of home whitening products have offset the danger by reducing the concentration of Carbamide peroxide, which may make them less effective than a product applied in the dental office.

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Having a chipped tooth can not only be painful, it can be embarrassing. Sure, as Gilbert and Queen Creek residents we’ve heard our fair share of country jokes, living on the farm and raising cattle with a tooth or two chipped was just a way of life. Today, however, as Gilbert transforms into a bustling little city where unemployment is not good and a chipped tooth could hurt an interview, it’s time to get that chipped to fixed.

With unemployment rates so high, you have to do everything that you possibly can to put yourself ahead of your competition, and having a chipped tooth will definitely set you back a few bars. Dr. Thorpe can easily take care of that chipped tooth, however, and get you off to that interview looking sharp.

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Gum disease has been linked to heart disease and an increase risk for heart conditions for many years now, but a new study is showing that gum disease, also known as gingivitis, might also have an effect on a woman’s risk factors for breast cancer.

In a study recently published in Breast Cancer Research & Treatment, over 3,000 women between the ages of 30 and 40 were evaluated for 15 years, starting in 1985. The women in this study who had documented chronic gum disease, or who had lost at least one molar from gum  disease, were twice as likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than those who had never struggled with gingivitis. Read the rest of this entry »