How to Reduce Tooth White Spots While Wearing Braces
When your braces finally come off, you’ll hopefully be astounded by what you see –once-crooked teeth replaced by a more attractive smile. But you might also see something you didn’t expect: noticeable white spots on some of your teeth. These spots called white spot lesions (WSLs) appear lighter than the surrounding tooth enamel due to mineral loss […]
How to Maximize Your Child’s Dental Health Potential
There’s a potential threat lurking in your young child’s mouth—tooth decay. This destructive disease can not only rob them of teeth now, it could also impact their dental health long into their adult years. That’s why we focus heavily on decay prevention measures even in primary (“baby”) teeth, as well as early treatment should it […]
4 Tips for Extending the Life of Your Oral Appliance
There are many different removable appliances — from dentures to retainers — that help people enjoy better mouth function and a more attractive smile. But like many things we use, they can wear out. Because they’re also spending a lot of time in the mouth they can become an attractive home for disease-causing bacteria. You […]
3 Factors to Consider When Buying a Toothbrush
If there’s one essential tool for dental health, it’s the toothbrush. But though simple in basic design, manufacturers have nonetheless created a dizzying array of choices that often muddy the decision waters for consumers. It doesn’t need to be that way—you can choose the right toothbrush like a boss. First, though, you need to know […]
Disclosing Agents Show Plaque You’ve Missed When Brushing and Flossing
Removing plaque, a bacterial film that builds up on teeth, daily is crucial in preventing dental disease, but is your brushing and flossing making enough of a difference? Plaque forms every day in our mouths as a result of eating. The bacteria in it produce acid, which can erode tooth enamel and cause tooth decay. […]
The Type of Mouthrinse you use Could be Doing More Than Freshen Breath
As a regular part of your daily hygiene you may be using a mouthrinse — or “mouthwash” — mainly to keep your mouth feeling fresh and clean. Some mouthrinses, though, do more than give you fresher breath. While there are countless mouthrinses available, we can place all of them into two broad categories: cosmetic and […]
Oral Irrigation can be an Effective Alternative to Traditional Flossing
Great oral hygiene is built on two principal tasks — daily brushing and flossing. Brushing removes plaque — a thin film of bacteria and food particles — from broad tooth surfaces. Flossing removes plaque between your teeth you can’t reach effectively with brushing. It takes both tasks to get the most disease prevention benefit from […]
Focus on Prime Dental Health Risk Areas to Map Out Your Care Plan
Dental care is more than brushing and flossing every day, visiting the dentist at least twice a year and occasionally having a problem treated. To get the most out of your care, we need to consider the “big picture” of risk management: identifying where your oral health is most at risk and tailoring your treatment […]
Stop Gum Disease Before it Gets Started with Daily Oral Hygiene
While tooth decay seems to get most of the “media attention,” there’s another oral infection just as common and destructive: periodontal (gum) disease. In fact, nearly half of adults over 30 have some form of it. And like tooth decay, it begins with bacteria: while most are benign or even beneficial, a few strains of […]