Author: Anna Riley

A typical trip to the dentist requires you to wait in a queue for a while. However, with San Ramon Emergency Dentistry, the experience is different. You will not have to wait for an appointment, especially when you have a severe toothache, damaged crown, or lose a permanent tooth. Dental emergencies may result in excruciating pain, making life unbearable. Since you do not know when you might have an emergency dental issue, you must have a plan. Emergency dentistry might help you out, especially if you have an issue like a knocked-out tooth that might have a timely window of opportunity.

Why would you need emergency dentistry?

Most dental injuries happen when you bite on hard foods and other physical accidents like sports activities. You are likely to have minor oral injuries like loose crowns that might wait until your dentist’s working hours for medical attention in such occurrences. However, you might need emergency dental treatment when the case is a severe dental injury like nerve damage. Dental issues that might force you to seek your dentist’s emergency services include:

• Broken, loose, dislodged, or knocked-out teeth.
• Constant and unbearable oral pain
• Uncontrollable oral bleeding
• Severe abscess or oral infection
• Bite your tongue
• Split your lip open

How likely are you to benefit from emergency dental care?

Focusing on your overall health tends to make you forget about your dental health. As a result, you find yourself taking action when you have had enough. Seeking emergency dental services from your dentist when you have dental problems like injured jaws or painful swelling in your mouth might prevent the situation from advancing to a severe state. Emergency dentistry has several benefits. They include:

Convenience. Unlike a typical dentist who operates on his working hours, you can always access emergency dentistry services at any time, including the odd hours. As such, you do not have to wait until your appointment day before you get help. The availability of such services might help minimize severe health effects. You have a surety that you can contact your dentist for immediate attention when seeking emergency dental care.

Ensures your overall oral health. Some dental infections and diseases, especially those targeting your tooth’s roots or gums, might end up getting complicated if you ignore them.

Helps minimize pain. Dental pains are traumatizing and may prevent you from enjoying your favorite meal or smiling. Emergency dental services in such instances might help relieve you from pain, letting you enjoy your everyday activities. In unique cases like pregnancy, where your dentist may not suggest an extraction, the professional might prescribe appropriate pain-relieving medication to help with the painful symptoms.

Dental emergencies have no specific time. You will know your dental issue is an emergency case if it cannot wait until your doctor’s operation hours. Do not let traumatizing tooth pain or a severe abscess affect your general health when you can contact your dentist for an emergency dental service. To know more about emergency dentistry, schedule an appointment with your doctor today.

IV infusion is a groundbreaking treatment that can address multiple health issues and optimize your wellness. This alternative is viable since some medications can best be administered using a drip. If you seek Fort Worth IV infusion therapy services, contact Clover Medicine Associates for a practical, personalized treatment solution.

What is Infusion Therapy?

Infusion therapy is a collective term for medications that enter the body through a needle or catheter, usually intravenously (IV). Some drugs cannot be taken through the mouth as they lose their effectiveness if exposed to the digestive tract. IV infusion comes in when there is no alternative oral therapy or when a patient cannot take oral medication.

Besides nutrition, IV therapy can be suitable in delivering other types of medications, including:

•         Antifungals
•         Antibiotics
•         Antivirals
•         Antiemetics
•         Biologics
•         Immunotherapy
•         Growth hormones
•         Corticosteroids
•         Blood factors

Infusion therapy is popular since your provider can regulate your dosing. While some drugs need to be dripped slowly into your bloodstream, others need to reach your bloodstream quickly in difficult situations such as:

•         Heart attack
•         Anaphylactic shock
•         Stroke
•         Poisoning

What Conditions are Treatable with IV Infusion?

Other than cancer, infusion therapy can be ideal for treating conditions such as:

•         Dehydration
•         Autoimmune disorders
•         Congestive heart failure
•         Pain
•         Infections that fail to respond to oral antibiotics

Your specialist at Clover Internal Medicine Associates may also apply IV infusion to deliver medications for complications such as:

•         Psoriatic arthritis
•         Lupus
•         Rheumatoid arthritis
•         Crohn’s disease

What Can I Expect During Treatment?

At Clover Internal Medicine Associates, IV infusion is administered in a clinical, serene setting. Every IV session demands new needle sticks. If you are scheduled to receive multiple IV sessions, your provider might recommend alternatives to a standard IV line. These lines can be inserted into your chest, neck, arm, or groin area.

Another alternative involves using a port that is surgically implanted beneath your skin. Over subsequent treatments, the needle may be used to access the port without sticking you. After completing all your treatments, your providers extract the port.

After inserting a needle into the port or target vein, commonly in the arm, your practitioner connects it to an IV bag holding your medication with a tube. The bag is then hung to allow your medication to drip slowly into your bloodstream.

Why Should I Consider IV Therapy?

IV therapy supersedes hydration. This treatment nourishes your body with minerals, vitamins, and micronutrients. IV therapy offers the best way for your body to absorb nutrients and vitamins, bypassing your digestive system. By taking nutrients intravenously, your body delivers nutrients to your cells at the most effective rate.

At Clover Internal Medicine Associates, your providers are zealous about patient care in science, functionality, and the whole body. An in-house physician closely examines all infusions to ascertain safety and intolerance to the IV hydration. Common nutrients available at the clinic include:

•         B-Complex
•         Amino acids
•         Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
•         Dexpanthenol (B50)
•         Glutathione
•         Pyridoxine (B6)
•         NAD+

Regardless of your need for IV therapy wellness, whether for recovery or hangover relief, the providers at Clover Internal Medicine Associates can help. Call the office and set up your appointment or book conveniently online.

Do you grind your teeth or suffer from headaches due to involuntary teeth clenching in your sleep? If so, you might have bruxism which is a medical condition that causes tension and/or tightness resulting in the act of clenching or grinding your teeth. You should look for an expert to receive a night guard in Richmond and who will educate you on how to use it to prevent bruxism. Read on to learn about the importance of a night guard in coping with bruxism.

What Is Bruxism

Bruxism causes involuntary clenching and teeth grinding in your sleep; it is a common condition and can occur during stressful times. If you suffer from bruxism, you might not know you grind teeth unless a third party informs you. However, you could wake up with headaches due to continuous overuse of the jaw during sleep. Over time, bruxism can lead to adverse damage to the teeth due to friction. The damage could lead to decay, increased sensitivity and teeth cracking, and other oral health issues.

Risk Factors That Predispose You to Bruxism

• Bruxism occurs mainly in young children
• People who are naturally competitive and aggressive might develop bruxism
• Some people could grind their teeth when they are under intense emotions or too much stress
•  Medications and substance abuse could lead to bruxism
•  Bruxism might be associated with other health conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, sleep apnea, and epilepsy

How a Night Guard Prevents Bruxism

When you wear a nightguard, it prevents the upper and bottom teeth from touching when you are sleeping. Since teeth grinding is involuntary, the guard prevents it by avoiding contact, leading to less grinding, clenching, and friction.

The guard also reduces jaw tension and pain by reducing the jaw joints’ stress while you are sleeping. The guard should be specifically customized to fit your mouth smoothly, leading to reduced jaw tension and movements in sleep, which cause bruxism.

It prevents headaches caused by the clenching and grinding associated with bruxism. If you are prone to excessive teeth grinding, it could lead to muscle fatigue, jaw aches, and neck pains, but having the proper night guard can prevent these issues.

The night guard might be essential for attaining the correct sleep patterns as teeth grinding could disrupt your sleep. Your muscles will relax, leading to reduced effects of bruxism. Moreover, it puts your jaw in the right place, making it possible to rest peacefully at night.

The night guard can prevent snoring since clenching can create breathing issues that lead to snoring. Once you place the night guard in the appropriate position, it prevents the teeth from touching, puts the jaws in the appropriate position, and opens the airways improving breathing.

Final Thoughts

A properly customized nightguard might be the solution to your involuntary teeth clenching and grinding. Bruxism can cause severe dental health problems such as tooth decay, and it could be prudent to have a nightguard that prevents the condition. A night guard can improve your life by reducing discomforts such as headaches, neck pain, and jaw pain associated with the condition.

Any surgical procedure involving the veins, arteries, and capillaries is said to be vascular surgery. It involves all the vessels that transport blood and is essential to manage several types of vascular illness. Often, surgery is used in cases where someone has a vascular condition that fails to respond to conventional treatments and lifestyle changes. In such a case, Jacob Rinker, MD, FACS, a board-certified surgeon offering vascular surgery in Gillette, WY, can help you know if the treatment option is suitable for you. Here is more information about vascular surgery to help you understand the treatment procedure.

Why it is Done

In some cases, vascular surgery can be an emergency situation and save a life, like in an aortic aneurysm. But in some cases, the treatment option is recommended to relieve pain and improve your overall quality of life. Besides, vascular surgery can also be used as a preventative measure, such as removing plaque to avoid a stroke.

The following complications often require vascular surgery to manage:

•         Blood clots
•         Aortic aneurysm
•         Critical limb ischemia
•         Diabetes vascular disease
•         Peripheral artery disease
•         Fistula management and dialysis graft
•         Varicose vein
•         Visceral artery disease

Classification of Vascular Surgery

Although there are various types of vascular surgery, two classifications describe this surgical procedure; open surgery and endovascular surgery.

Open surgery is the traditional surgery involving long incisions to give access to the blood vessels and provide a broad view. Endovascular surgery is a minimally invasive procedure that is done through tiny incisions using catheters. Although open surgery is more invasive than endovascular surgery, the two methods can be combined when dealing with some complex vascular situations.

Tests and Labs for Vascular Surgery

Before your provider recommends a vascular surgery, several tests and labs are carried out depending on the particular symptoms you portray. This is because sometimes you can have symptoms that develop very quickly, posing a threat to your life. Other symptoms develop slowly over time but can also be life-threatening. Through the tests and labs, your provider can understand your condition’s severity, helping them decide if and how soon the surgery will be needed.

Invasive and Noninvasive Tests

Both noninvasive and invasive tests are involved in diagnosing your health complication for vascular surgery. Noninvasive testing may be used to assess the veins and arteries in your legs, abdomen, arms, or neck. This may include imaging tests such as ultrasound and magnetic resonance angiogram and non-imaging tests such as ankle-brachial index, tests to evaluate blood circulation, and tests to compare pressure measurements.

Reasons for Noninvasive Vascular Testing

Depending on your particular symptoms, your provider may use noninvasive vascular testing to diagnose the following conditions:

•         Aneurysm
•         Mesenteric artery disease
•         Renal artery stenosis
•         Peripheral arterial disease
•         Carotid artery disease
•         Atherosclerosis
•         Varicose vein
•         Ulcers
•         Trauma to an artery or vein

Why You Would Need a Vascular Surgeon

If vascular surgery is your option, you ought to ensure that you are in the hands of the best provider. Vascular surgeons are specially trained in dealing with circulatory system complications meaning they have exceptional expertise when compared to a primary care provider. Besides, a board-certified vascular surgeon offers a full spectrum of care covering all possible treatments for your vascular disease. Other specialists may only be trained on one or two treatment aspects.

Therefore, you can consult the board-certified surgeon at Wyoming Medical Associates to understand more about vascular surgery. Dr. Rinker will help diagnose vascular disease symptoms and help you understand how vascular surgery can help you.

How much do you know about cardiovascular health, and how it influences your overall well-being? Cardiovascular health involves the diseases of the heart and blood vessels. The issues affect your immune system, inhibiting healing that may deteriorate any underlying illness. For instance, if you have diabetes and have developed ulcers, they may take longer to heal, putting you at risk of more severe problems. If you are suffering from any heart issue and looking for help, Louisiana Cardiovascular and Thoracic Institute is the right place to be. They provide certified diagnoses and treatments for various cardiovascular health issues, including wound care in Alexandria, Louisiana. Call them today or book online to schedule your consultation.

Gary P. Jones, MD, FACS, a board-certified cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon, leads the practice in serving excellent care to patients in and around Alexandria. Together with his team, the highly experienced surgeon offers extensive and individualized care for various cardiovascular health issues, including foot and leg ulcers. They use innovative techniques to provide surgical and non-invasive treatments. Visit the wound care specialist today to boost your healing.

What is wound care?

Wound care involves treating a specific type of wound like diabetic foot ulcers to aid healing and lower the risk of infections.

How do diabetes wounds occur?

Diabetes primarily affects vascular health and circulation and may lead to vascular issues such as peripheral artery disease. Peripheral artery disease takes oxygen from your tissues and blood, inhibiting the natural healing process.

Diabetes may also lead to neuropathy, decreasing your capability to feel any sensations in your feet. The health issues maximize your risk of developing a significant or severe ulcer from a small cut.

What are the benefits of wound care?

When open, non-healing wounds remain untreated, they may lead to necrosis, a tissue death condition, or amputation. Low sensations on your feet cause you to no longer feel pain from your wound, even with an infection.

Wound care helps minimize any possibility of an infection or complications. Besides, your provider may check out the feet for other problems and offer treatments to prevent further issues.

Diabetic foot ulcers usually cause amputation, gangrene, and necrosis. Wound care promotes your health and saves you from limb loss.

What does wound care involve?

During your consultation with the wound care specialist Dr. Jones, he takes away any bandages and cleans your ulcer gently. He then looks out for any sign of infection. He also takes pictures for record purposes and comparison.

Dr. Jones removes any dead tissue to lower your risk of infection. Then he suggests medications and applies bandages to your foot.

Dr. Jones also provides you with easy-to-follow home care instructions to improve your health and prevent further complications. He may also suggest lifestyle modifications or medications for diabetes. Regulating your glucose levels can help prevent your wound from growing or becoming infected.

To sum up, wound care is essential, especially to non-healing wounds, to stimulate healing and reduce the risks of complications such as amputations. Dr. Jones and the Louisiana Cardiovascular and Thoracic Institute team provide top-quality and customized care to help treat your diabetes foot ulcers and promote your health. If you have a non-healing wound or any vascular health issue, visit them today for exceptional care.

As you get older, your skin produces less collagen and elastin. This makes the skin lose its elasticity and may result in wrinkles. However, you can reduce aging effects on the skin with the help of your skilled and experienced aesthetic surgeon in Atlanta. Below are some of the surgical and non-surgical procedures which your specialist may recommend.

Botulinum injections

This treatment method works by preventing muscle contraction. Your doctor may use botulinum injection on wrinkles or frown lines across the forehead, between your eyebrows, and the corners of your eye. You may need multiple injections to maintain the results.

Facelift

This surgical process is also known as rhytidectomy, used to tighten sagging skin and remove extra tissue or fat beneath your skin’s surface. Before the procedure, your surgeon may administer local or general anesthesia, depending on your choice. The results of a facelift are not permanent, and recovery may take several months.

Soft tissue fillers

Your doctor may inject tissues such as fat, hyaluronic acid, and collagen beneath your skin to plump and smoothen wrinkles. It is normal to experience swelling and bruising on your face after treatment. Your doctor may prescribe pain killers to alleviate the pain.

Dermabrasion

This treatment method is used for age spots, wrinkles, and sun damage. Your doctor uses a rotating brush to remove the outer skin layer from different areas on your face during the process. This causes new and more elastic skin to grow on your face. You may experience scabbing and slight swelling after the procedure. The new skin may appear pink for several months after treatment.

Laser resurfacing

A laser beam heats the inner layer of your skin and stimulates the production of more collagen. With advanced technology, there are now fractional lasers that cause less scarring and skin pigmentation. Non-ablative fractional lasers require a short time for recovery. Your doctor may recommend this treatment method if you have fewer wrinkles because the results are not evident.

Chemical peel

For this treatment method, a chemical solution is used to remove the top layer of your skin. After several weeks, new and younger skin grows back in the treatment area. You may experience a few side effects after the procedure, including bruising, scarring, and infection.

Microdermabrasion

This process is similar to dermabrasion. Your specialist will remove a thin layer of your skin. You may require several treatments over time to achieve your desired results. Your doctor may not recommend this treatment if you have rosacea which are small veins on your face. After the procedure, you may have inflammation in the treated area and slight redness.

Photodynamic therapy

This form of treatment involves using a topical photosensitizing agent and wavelength of light to treat fine lines, sun damage, and pigmentation. Photodynamic rejuvenation may also reduce the size of pores and reduce oil glands. Patients with acne may benefit from this treatment method. You may require one or two treatments to start noticing the results.

The results of each treatment method vary depending on the depth of your wrinkles. Anti-aging treatments are considered to be cosmetic procedures and are therefore not covered by insurance. It is also essential to discuss with your doctor to make sure a particular treatment method is suitable for you. Reserve a session with your cosmetic surgeon at John David Mullins, MD PC, to learn more about anti-aging treatment methods.

While you can live with some forms of mild pain until they resolve, chronic pain can turn your life upside down. The extremeness of chronic pain can render you immobile and highly dependent. Effective pain management techniques are often the best way to deal with disturbing chronic pain. You can have your pain sorted by Manalapan Downtown Pain Management experts. The experts offer top-class treatment plans to deal with chronic and acute pain.

Pain management 101

Dr. Ben-Meir, the head of pain management techniques at Downtown Pain Management, defines management as the long-term evaluation and treatment of pain. Pain exists in two ways—acute and chronic. Regardless of your type of pain, pain management seeks to eliminate some pain to help you lead a more bearable life. Downtown Pain Management uses various top-class methods to deal with most types of pain. You can benefit from fluoroscopy-guided injections to ultrasounds that help your doctor make a better diagnosis.

Pain does not just affect you; most times, underlying issues are the reason for chronic pain. That is why when you take painkillers, you mask the problem for some time. Downtown Pain Management deals with pain differently. The doctors there focus on the underlying issue, which ultimately provides long-term relief.

When is the best time to see a doctor about pain?

Pain is an indication that something is off in your system. Therefore, when your pain lasts for a long time, especially when it breaches the four-week mark, you should see an expert. You should also see a doctor when the cause of your pain is from sudden injuries. Conditions like arthritis are the reason for chronic pain; you should often see your doctor for help with conditions that can cause long-term pain.

Issues that require a prompt appointment with a pain expert include:

•         Joint pain
•         Back pain
•         Cancer pain
•         Pinched nerves
•         Nerve pain
•         Pain from traumas such as accidents
•         Post-surgical pain
•         Regional type of pain

Chronic pain can also appear mysteriously with no obvious effect. Your doctor identifies this type of pain by the name chronic pain syndrome, which follows other conditions such as strokes.

What innovative techniques help deal with pain?

Evaluation of pain is the first step in a series of many to determine the reason for your pain. Downtown Pain Management has top-class tools to deal with evaluation and even the next steps required in making a diagnosis. Treatment options available for pain include:

•         Neuroma injections
•         Prolotherapy
•         The use of nerve blocks
•         Epidural injections
•         Platelet-rich plasma
•         Neuroma injections
•         Radiofrequency ablation
•         Nerve root injections

However, for you to have any treatment, your diagnosis must confirm that any procedure offered is the best way to deal with your pain. You can also benefit from multiple ways of dealing with pain, where your doctor combines various treatments.

Pain is an issue that causes distress, which also requires an expert to solve. When you collaborate with Downtown Pain Management, you get the best techniques to deal with pain. Start your journey to a pain-free life by calling the center or booking your appointment online.

Most people suffer from varicose veins that show up on their arms or legs. The causes vary from genetics, age, sedentary lifestyle, and obesity. Experts at Vein & Cardiovascular Center treat Orlando varicose veins by applying both surgical and non-surgical techniques.

Treatment of varicose veins

There are various therapy options in treating varicose veins. It is essential to seek treatment early for it to be effective. The first signs are bulging veins which are visible on the skin.

Your doctor may apply different techniques depending on the stage of the disorder and symptoms. The main objectives of the treatment include relieving the symptoms, reducing edema, improving the skin, and preventing the progression of the disorder.

Compression therapy

Compression therapy helps in treating venous discomfort. Your doctor can recommend compression stockings that apply pressure on the affected vein.

However, this intervention alone may not be sufficient to relieve the discomfort and, your doctor can recommend other treatment procedures.

Treatment for spider veins

Spider veins appear on the upper layer of your skin and assume a net-like structure. The main symptoms include tiredness and, your legs may feel heavy.

Spider veins are medically harmless; however, they can be a cosmetic problem and may affect your self-esteem. Your doctor may apply various treatment options such as laser therapy or Sclerotherapy.

Varicose veins

Varicose veins are hard and abnormally large and occur when the venous valves fail to close and, blood flows back into your legs. Due to pressure on the vein walls, you may feel pain and experience discomfort. Likewise, as you grow old, the skin loses its elasticity and, if you sit for many hours, there is a risk of blood building up in the veins.

Your doctor may prescribe Sclerotherapy, radiofrequency therapy, and laser therapy to treat small veins. However, for large veins, the specialist may suggest surgical procedures such as vein ablation therapy.

Swollen legs

Swollen legs are the first sign of a problematic vein. When there is inflammation, the vein walls open to accommodate the white blood cells for boosting immunity. When this happens, the walls become permeable and, this leads to blood leaking into the tissues. As a result, your legs swell and, edema develops.  

Alongside the compression stockings, your doctor can also prescribe anti-coagulants such as phlebitis and heparin to relieve the inflammation. In severe cases of thrombosis, surgery may be an option.

Changes in skin appearance

As the fluid builds up in your leg, you will notice changes in your skin color, caused by poorly broken red blood pigments. Subsequently, you may experience inflammation as your skin gets thinner and cracks.

An open leg is a severe condition that occurs since there is inadequate blood circulation, oxygen, and nutrients. Your doctor can prescribe wound dressing and compression therapy.

Management of varicose veins

Even though this condition can occur due to hereditary reasons, simple workouts such as walking, leg gymnastics, cycling, and running can prevent varicose veins. You can also manage varicose veins through lifestyle changes to prevent obesity.

Varicose vein patients can live a normal life by seeking treatment early. The specialists at Vein & Cardiovascular Center are available to help you get started in the varicose veins treatment program.