Keep Your Smile Healthy!

Adult Fluoride Treatments In the past, it was generally accepted that fluoride should be mainly used for children whose developing teeth fluoride helped the most. But through the years, more research has been done and fluoride is being shown to help prevent tooth decay in people of all ages. You don’t have to go to the dentist to get fluoride. Many toothpastes and some mouthwashes contain fluoride.  Patients that have a more serious risk of tooth decay can be prescribed fluoride treatments that can be used at home. Fluoride, while not the only necessary dental hygiene practice, can work in conjunction with brushing and flossing to help you maintain healthy teeth for a lifetime.

Back to School Basics for Healthy Kids

The school year has just begun here in northern Nevada, and that brings all sorts of changes to the lives of kids and their parents. School nights, homework, eating lunch and snacks at school. As parents, we all want to see our children healthy, growing, and thriving in all that they do. It is easy to forget the privilege and influence we have in our children’s lives amidst the busyness of life.

As providers in the dental healthcare field, we strongly believe that dental health is an essential component to overall health and well-being. For our kids, if they have untreated dental problems, it is nearly impossible for them to be healthy and thriving. Dental pain can cause kids to miss school or have difficulty concentrating while they are at school. It can also cause trouble speaking, chewing, and swallowing.

The good news—dental problems in kids are almost entirely preventable.  We can teach our kids good dental health habits now and we will be giving them healthy habits that last their entire lives.

Shop Smart

Diet plays a primary role in keeping kids’ teeth healthy. Fruits, vegetables, cheese, yogurt, whole grains, and other proteins such as lean meat are all essential for a complete and balanced diet. Soda, excessive fruit juice, fruit snacks, and other sugary foods will eventually cause dental problems and other health issues as well.  The bottom line—buy healthy food for your family, and save the soda and juice for special occasions like birthday parties.

Form Good Habits

Back to school time is the perfect opportunity to get back into healthy habits.  As parents, we know that our kids model our behavior, for better or worse. Enjoy the time with your kids helping make their lunches the night before school. Brush teeth together before going to work or school, and before bedtime.  Turn off the television, go outside, play sports together—your kids will thank you for spending quality time with them and showing them healthy habits.

Will I Need To Get My Wisdom Teeth Out?

“My friend at school just got their wisdom teeth out. Will I need to get my wisdom teeth out?”

Wisdom teeth, also known as 3^rd molars, are the last of the permanent teeth to erupt into the mouth. Often, due to lack of space in the mouth and jaws, wisdom teeth never erupt into the mouth at all and become impacted, where they remain under the bone and gums. Frequently impacted wisdom teeth become a problem for people because of the wisdom tooth’s position under the gums and closeness to neighboring teeth. Left alone, the impacted wisdom tooth can often lead to an infection in the gums or jaw, and can often cause damage to neighboring teeth.

In our practice, if we detect that wisdom teeth are currently a problem, or if we suspect that the wisdom teeth will be a future concern, we recommend an evaluation by an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, where the parents and patient along with the doctor can make an informed decision about how to manage the wisdom teeth.

 Occasionally wisdom teeth erupt into the mouth normally and, with proper diet and oral hygiene, can be healthy, functional teeth.

As any other issue in healthcare, it is always better to address a health concern such as wisdom teeth as early as possible and not wait until symptoms develop.

Baby Teeth

“Why should I have my child’s teeth fixed? Aren’t they just going to fall out eventually?” This is an important question that we hear from many parents at our dental office. Baby teeth, also known as primary teeth, are just as important as permanent teeth. Baby teeth help kids chew and speak properly.  Baby teeth also maintain space in the mouth to allow the permanent teeth to erupt normally.  If a baby tooth is lost early or is missing, the permanent tooth in that area may not come into the mouth in the right position, or may not erupt into the mouth at all, leading to future dental problems.

The first baby tooth usually can be seen in the mouth between 6 and 12 months of age.  The American Dental Association recommends that parents take their children to the dentist by the child’s first birthday.

Baby teeth are prone to decay, pain, and infection in the same manner as permanent teeth.  Even though baby teeth are eventually replaced by permanent teeth, often kids as old as ten or twelve years of age still have one or more of their baby teeth in their mouth.

Baby teeth are very important! Keeping them healthy is a vital component to having a healthy and happy child.

Proper Flossing Techinques

Gum disease begins at the gum line and between teeth. Daily flossing is an important part of your oral health care routine to help remove the plaque from these areas where a toothbrush doesn’t completely reach. But to truly reap the benefits, you need to use proper flossing technique.

The American Dental Hygienists’ Association explains the key elements of proper flossing technique in four simple steps:

1. Wind approximately 12-18 inches of floss around middle fingers of each hand. Pinch floss between thumbs and index fingers, leaving a one- to two-inch length in between. Use thumbs to direct floss between upper teeth.
2. Keep a one- to two-inch length of floss taut between fingers. Use index fingers to guide floss between contacts of the lower teeth.
3. Gently guide floss between the teeth by using a scrubbing motion. Contour floss around the side of the tooth.
4. Slide floss up and down against the tooth surface and under the gum line. Floss each tooth thoroughly with a clean section of floss.

This technique applies to any type of floss. It doesn’t matter whether you start with your upper or lower teeth, or whether you start in the front or the back. Just make sure that you floss all your teeth, including the back side of the very last tooth on the left, right, top and bottom of your mouth.

Brighter, Whiter Smiles

Everyone wants to have the whitest smile possible these days, so the question is – which products will work the best for me? There are so many choices out there, and it can be hard to decide which product to use. Studies have shown that peroxide-based whiteners, which actually bleach the tooth enamel, work very well. Over the counter whiteners contain anywhere from 6% to 10% peroxide, while whiteners obtained from a dental professional may contain up to 20% peroxide. “Whitening" toothpastes are very popular and do provide additional stain removal, but ultimately do not alter the intrinsic color of teeth. Sensitivity after whitening is very common, but should diminish after the treatment has been completed. Use of desensitizing toothpaste, such as Sensodyne, may help while whitening to decrease sensitivity. 

Our practice offers the Opalescence Tooth Whitening System. We have found the results pleasing to us and our patients. To find out more on how Opalescence could work for you click the link below.

http://www.stewartsmiles.com/opalescence.php

Why Fluoride?

Fluoride is a natural element that can be found in many places, like the water we drink and the food we eat. Decades ago, scientists began to notice that children who lived in places where fluoride occurred naturally in the water had fewer dental cavities. As teeth are developing, fluoride safely strengthens the enamel - the hard outer 'shell' of the tooth, and helps to prevent the development and spread of cavities. Use of a fluoride toothpaste or rinse can help to prevent decay. Fluoride can be found in a number of over-the-counter options:

Best over-the-counter fluoride sources: Anti-cavity fluoride rinse, e.g. ACT anti-cavity fluoride rinse or Listerine with fluoride. Also, any fluoride toothpaste with an ADA endorsement, e.g. Crest, or Colgate.

Common food/drinks that contain fluoride: Green Tea, Grape juice, Fish, and Chicken.

Below is a link to the American Dental Association website, which has more information on this topic:

http://www.ada.org/3088.aspx