Joshua Grooms DDS

When to expect a visit from the Tooth Fairy It is a milestone that will make most parents cry, as they realize their little one is growing up much faster than they want.  A child losing their first tooth is a fun and exciting experience for most little ones but the truth is most parents are caught by surprise when that first tooth gets loose.  Let me cover some basics that may help parents be prepared for whats to come.   First, when will it happen.  While every kid is different, we can give you an average age range of when those baby teeth will come out.  Below is a eruption charts are provided by the American Dental Association and cover both baby teeth eruption and shedding as well as permanent teeth eruption time averages.  Baby Teeth Chart Permanent Teeth Chart   As you can see there are 20 baby teeth that must be lost to make room for 32 permanent teeth (including wisdom teeth).  All of the adult molars will come in behin...

Teeth Whitening Ask most people what they want to change about their teeth and one of the most common answers is definitely the color.  Everyone wants whiter teeth but most people don’t know much about what options exist. Lets first get into what is the difference when you buy an over the counter product vs. a in-office treatment system.  First and foremost the active ingredients are almost always the same. If you look at the over the counter box the active ingredient is most likely either carbamide peroxide or hydrogen peroxide. These over the counter products contain a lower percentage (usually between 6% and 10%) of this active ingredient than what you can get with an professional strength whitening system (usually between 22%-40%)  What this means is that in-office whitening systems are faster but maybe not more effective. The biggest advantage is you don’t have to leave the gel on as long or for as many days to get the desired results. However, the higher c...

Joshua Grooms, DDS, treats patients as an associate of ABC Family Dentistry in Greeneville, Tennessee. A skilled dental professional, Joshua Grooms, DDS , provides comprehensive care using the latest innovations in dentistry, including CEREC. Standing for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics, CEREC is a dental technology that employs computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) to provide dental restorations, including inlays, onlays, and crowns, in one appointment. Before creating a restorative tooth, the dentist uses the handheld CEREC Omnicam or Bluecam to acquire an image of the area to be restored. The image is then sent through advanced computer software that analyzes the image to calculate exact specifications for the restorative tooth. Once the specifications have been calculated, CEREC creates a digital model of the prepared tooth, which the dentist uses to create a restoration while the patient waits chairside. CEREC’s CAM programming...

As a member of ABC Family Dentistry in Greeneville, Tennessee, Joshua Grooms, DDS, helps patients to achieve long-term oral health through diagnostic, preventative, and treatment care. Joshua Grooms, DDS, and his colleagues use digital X-rays, which support the diagnostic process with increasingly accurate imaging. Dental X-rays function as a key element of a complete dental care experience. They allow a dentist to visualize the spaces inside and between teeth, as well as the bony ridges and root systems that support the teeth themselves. Dentists use these images to check for decay in areas that are not perceptible to the naked eye, while also assessing for any abscesses or masses that might compromise the stability of the teeth. When used as part of the diagnostic process, dental X-rays provide practitioners with a baseline from which to assess a patient's oral health. They can support the visualization of decay or impacted teeth before they present a problem, thus indicating...

As a practitioner with ABC Family Dentistry in Greenville, Tennessee, Joshua Grooms, DDS, helps patients care for both natural and replacement teeth. Joshua Grooms, DDS, draws on extensive experience treating patients with dentures, having built early-career experience as an associate with prominent dental offices such as Aspen Dental. Although dentures are artificial teeth and thus immune to decay, broken or dirty dentures can negatively impact the overall health of the mouth. Dentures that do not receive regular cleaning collect bacteria and tartar, which can then spread to the underlying tissues and cause irritation or infection. The same may occur in patients who have dentures and neglect to rinse and massage the gums or in those with partial dentures who do not brush and floss their remaining natural teeth. Denture wearers need to be similarly aware of any changes in the way their appliances fit. The structure of bones and gums can subtly shift with time, whether due to natura...

Joshua Grooms, DDS, practices as a member of ABC Family Dentistry, PLLC , in Greeneville, Tennessee. As part of his practice, Joshua Grooms, DDS, regularly performs extractions and other treatment procedures. The first step of a tooth extraction involves the dentist anesthetizing the area. Many extractions require only a local numbing agent, though more complex procedures require general anesthesia. Once the medication has taken effect, the dentist will being cutting away any gum or bone tissue that covers the tooth. After the tooth is fully exposed, the dentist uses a tool known as a dental elevator to loosen the tooth from its place within the jaw bone, in much the same way a camper loosens a tent peg before pulling it from the ground. The elevator allows the dentist to push the tooth against the bone and thus compress the spongy bone tissue. When the dentist has created enough space to loosen the tooth, he or she uses extraction forceps to rock and twist the tooth. This ultimatel...