Soft Food Diet for TMJ Relief

If you suffer from a TMJ disorder, you may notice a clicking or a popping in your jaw when you try to eat your favorite foods. This is because symptoms of TMJ disorder can include jaw discomfort and tenderness or pain when opening or closing the mouth. At the dental practice of Dr. Dennis Morehart, DDS, we don’t want you to live on a soft diet, but incorporating soft foods into your diet may alleviate your discomfort.

Soft foods give your jaw and temporomandibular joints the opportunity to rest and heal. Some excellent (and healthy) foods to eat include cooked vegetables and fruits, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, smoothies, soup, and yogurt. If you must eat food that requires a heavy amount of chewing, we recommended chopping it up into small pieces. If you have a sweet tooth, soft cakes, cobblers and cheesecake are good things to choose from.

If you are experiencing jaw pain, please give us a call to discuss your treatment options. To learn about services we provide at our practice, visit www.eniddentalcare.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Dennis Morehart, DDS in Enid, OK, call 580-237-2213.

Stages of Periodontal Disease

If you want to keep your permanent teeth for a lifetime, then you need to practice a proper oral hygiene routine on a daily basis. If you don’t, you’re already headed down the road toward gum disease. Gum disease is an inflammation of the gums that can progress to affect the bone that surrounds and supports your teeth and there are three stages that you need to be aware of. You should always schedule professional cleanings and oral exams with Dr. Dennis Morehart, DDS twice a year to avoid this condition.

• Gingivitis – This is the earliest stage of gum disease, an inflammation of the gums caused by plaque buildup at the gum line. If daily brushing and flossing do not remove the plaque, it produces toxins that can irritate the gum tissue, causing gingivitis. This is when you’ll notice blood in the sink after you complete your brushing routine. However, at this early stage, damage can be reversed, since the bone and connective tissue that hold the teeth in place are not yet affected.


• Periodontitis – This is the second stage of gum disease. By this point, the supporting bone and fibers that hold your teeth in place are irreversibly damaged. Your gums may even begin to form a pocket below the gum line, which traps food and plaque.


• Advanced Periodontitis – This is the final stage of gum disease, and the fibers and bone supporting your teeth are officially destroyed. In this case, your teeth may begin to shift or loosen and your bite may also be affected. If aggressive treatment can’t save them, the teeth will need to be extracted.

If you are experiencing gum inflammation, please give us a call to discuss your treatment options. To learn about services we provide at our practice, visit www.eniddentalcare.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Dennis Morehart, DDS in Enid, OK, call 580-237-2213.

Flossing with Braces

As Dr. Dennis Morehart, DDS will tell you, flossing can be difficult when you have traditional metal braces, but it’s more important than ever to keep the gaps in your teeth clean when you have a mouth full of metal. Many folks who have braces don’t know how to floss with them or think that they can’t floss at all if they have braces and this is not true. We already taught you how to brush with braces, so it’s only fair that we share some tips for flossing effectively and keeping those brackets and wires clean.

• Use waxed floss, because unwaxed floss is more likely to get caught and shred in your braces.


• Use about 18 inches of floss and thread it carefully.


• Take the floss and gently thread it under the main wire of the braces before passing it between two teeth. Then remove the floss and re-thread it under the main wire to pass between the next pair of teeth.


• Be sure not to snap the floss. Simply move the floss up and down carefully against the side of each tooth.

If you have questions about your orthodontic oral care, please give us a call. To learn about services we provide at our practice, visit www.eniddentalcare.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Dennis Morehart, DDS in Enid, OK, call 580-237-2213.

Frenectomy for Lip Tie and Tongue Tie

Lip tie and tongue tie can cause major problems for babies and the troubles can continue all the way through adulthood. Dr. Dennis Morehart, DDS of Enid, OK performs frenectomies to release the lips or tongue and allow them to heal with more range.

The frenectomy is performed here in our office and often, only a local anesthetic is needed to numb the area. The tight or short frenulum that is limiting range of the tongue or lips is detached with a minor cut. The frenulum is then allowed to heal. The end result will be a tongue or lips with more range. The procedure is quick, often performed in less than fifteen minutes.

When a tightened or shortened frenulum causes the lips or tongue limited motion, this causes immediate difficulties for nursing babies. They are unable to latch correctly and will suffer from low weight, delayed development, and digestion problems, among other issues. The mothers also suffer through blockage and injury to their milk ducts. Later on in life in childhood or adulthood, lip tie and tongue tie can affect speech, eating, and cleanliness. It can also interfere with activities like playing a wind instrument, singing, whistling, and kissing.

Lip tie or tongue tie can cause major problems, but fortunately, there is a simple solution. Dr. Dennis Morehart, DDS performs this right in our Enid, OK dental office. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Morehart, call our office at (580) 237-2213 or visit our website, www.eniddentalcare.com. 

The Intraoral Camera

Having an office with advanced technology means that we can provide our patients with the best care possible. Dr. Dennis Morehart, DDS uses an intraoral camera as a way to keep updated technology here in our Enid, OK dental practice. We use the intraoral camera for more accurate diagnoses, more precise treatment plans, and better patient outcomes.

The intraoral camera is about the size of a pen and lets us look at any surface in the mouth much more closely. In the past, there may have been areas of the mouth that were hard to reach and hard to view. We can also use this technology to take pictures and videos. The digital photos and video make future visits more efficient by allowing us to refer back to the past condition of the mouth. Our patients can also take the photos home so that they can keep their eye on changes and certain conditions. These photos are also easy to send to another doctor or to an insurance company.

In addition to these benefits, our patients are also able to see what we see. We can display the pictures or live video on a monitor so the patient knows exactly what we are examining.

To learn more about the technology we use here in our Enid, OK dental office, be sure to visit our website, www.eniddentalcare.com. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Dennis Morehart, DDS, call our office at (580) 237-2213 or visit our website. 

Common Dental Emergencies

Dr. Dennis Morehart, DDS understands that accidents happen. Knowing what to do when one occurs can mean the difference between saving and losing a tooth. If you or your child experience some sort of trauma to your mouth for whatever reason, please give us a call immediately. Meanwhile, in the midst of a dental emergency, utilize these tips to ensure a smooth recovery. 

• For a knocked-out permanent or adult tooth, keep it moist at all times. If you can, try placing the tooth back in the socket without touching the root. If that’s not possible, place it between your cheek and gums, or use a tooth preservation product that has the American Dental Association (ADA) seal of acceptance.


• For a cracked tooth, immediately rinse the mouth with warm water to clean the area.


• If you bite your tongue or lip, clean the area gently with water and apply a cold compress.


• For toothaches, rinse the mouth with warm water to clean it out. Gently use dental floss to remove any food caught between teeth.

If you experience a dental emergency, please give us a call immediately. To learn about services we provide at our practice, visit www.eniddentalcare.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Dennis Morehart, DDS in Enid, OK, call 580-237-2213.

Oral Care for Seniors

As we all grow older, certain health concerns earn our full attention, but we should never forget about the health of our teeth. When it comes down to numbers, according to the Washington Dental Service Foundation (WDSF), around 75 percent of adults 60 and older only have a portion of their original teeth. You only get one set of permanent teeth and Dr. Dennis Morehart, DDS is here to help you take care of them for as long as possible.

Advancing age puts many seniors at risk for a number of oral health problems, such as darkened teeth, dry mouth, root decay, gum disease, tooth loss and even a diminished sense of taste. If teeth are lost over the years and not replaced, an uneven jawbone can develop and this allows the rest of the teeth to drift and shift into open spaces, causing the skin to sag more than it should. At the dental practice of Dr. Dennis Morehart, DDS we want to assist our senior patients in avoiding these problems by providing the best care possible.

If you or a relative are due for a dental checkup, please give us a call. To learn more about our services we provide at the practice, visit www.eniddentalcare.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Dennis Morehart, DDS here in Enid, OK, call 580-237-2213.