The Pregnant Dental Patient

Nine Months! Then they make you take it home with you!  Yeah, I know there’s a little more to it than that.  A whole lot more.  We actually break pregnancy down into pre-conception and  three distinctive trimesters: Pre-conception: Stop smoking Stop drinking Stop waiting! Seriously, if you are thinking of or trying to conceive you…

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Toothaches

Your tooth has been keeping you awake at night for 2 weeks!?  Now it is swollen and unbearable and you want me to touch it!? Welcome to the dentist’s world. Cause of Toothaches: Dental decay– The tooth is made in three “layers”: enamel, dentin, pulp (nerve).  The enamel is non-living and is the protective covering…

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Denture Reline: A Common Denture Maintenance Procedure

“Doc.  Just pull out all of my teeth so I won’t have anymore problems with them!”  Ever hear of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire?  Unfortunately, some people loose all of their teeth and have to have dentures made.  Many have their teeth removed and the very same day  have immediate dentures…

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Dental Post-operative Instructions

The mouth is a unique place compared with the rest of your body.  For one thing infections are usually not life threatening and a tooth, in some situations, can actually rot  out of the bone without too much discomfort. SUTURES (Stitches): Most extractions do not need to have a suture placed.  The gums will heal…

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Wisdom Teeth

The very last teeth to erupt in the mouth are the 3rd molars, better known as the wisdom teeth. In most instances the wisdom teeth have no problems erupting into the mouth, and they do not cause any problems as long as they are brushed and flossed regularly. Effective oral hygiene can be difficult for…

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Occlusal Wear: Why Do My Jaws Hurt So Much?

Human skull laying on it's side in rain and mud

What do you think the expected life span of a human being was 100 years ago?  Forty-three.  Life is so much more complicated today!  Are we living longer than our teeth were design to last?  Do people have more stress in their lives than way back then?  These are a few of the complicating factors…

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Relaxing at the dentist just got easier…

When I was a little boy, going to the dentist was scary.  No windows, no TV, no music, and it smelled terrible.  They would sit me in a chair facing a door, and then close it. Taped on that door was a Peanuts Cartoon Snoopy poster, you know the one with Snoopy flying his doghouse…

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Meet Drs Mark and Phillip Kraver…

Dr. Mark Kraver graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1985.  Upon graduation, he chose to begin his career by serving in the United States Air Force. As a Captain, he received advanced training in all aspects of dentistry, which led him to being named department heads of both Periodontics and Endodontics at Tinker AFB.…

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