Halloween is Coming!

It’s that time of year when we start eyeing the candy aisle and wondering what we will buy for all of our cute, costumed, trick-or-treaters that will show up in a few weeks. While, it is true that nearly all sugar-y candy is not good for your teeth, there are a few tips on what to buy for your neighbors and how to handle your own intake of candy:

1. Stick to the chocolate! While, yes, there is still sugar, chocolate melts off of the surface of your teeth and so the sugar won’t ‘stick’ there for a long time. Compared to a sticky candy, like a Jolly Rancher, a milk chocolate is a better option. (You still need to rinse with water after eating chocolate though!)

2. Limit how many and how often you will eat your Halloween candy. Treating it like a dessert and having 2-3 pieces after dinner in a  short amount of time is better than having one piece every 15-30 minutes throughout the day. You can also have your child just choose their favorite kinds of candy to keep and donate the rest to groups like Support the Troops that send them overseas to our soldiers!

3. Be sure to brush and floss! Whether you are eating milk chocolate or sticky candies that can get stuck in-between or in the grooves of your teeth, it is important to keep up with your at home brushing and flossing routine. 

4. Spit, but don’t rinse, when you brush your teeth. This seems weird, and is not what most of us probably do. However, if you don’t rinse with water right after brushing, the fluoride from your toothpaste has a few more minutes to sit on the surfaces of your teeth, giving a little extra boost to it’s benefits to your teeth. Try it!

Halloween is a fun time and a special treat for all of us. It is also a great opportunity to remind ourselves, and our children, about how to keep up our brushing and flossing habits at home, and also talk about why sweets should be eaten only in moderation.

Friendly Reminder: If you haven’t yet finalized your costume, consider this your 3-week warning!

October is National Dental Hygiene Month!

What better way to celebrate this October holiday than by trying to implement our four dental health tips into your daily routine. Dental Hygiene Month is meant to raise awareness of how important the health of your mouth is and to also encourage everyone to take better care of their teeth! With that, we give you four tips for better oral health:

1. Brush: We are aware that we sound a bit like a broken record here, but you should brush your teeth TWICE a day for TWO minutes each time. It is THAT important. =)

2. Floss: One time per day. Over 30% of your tooth structure exists between your teeth, so flossing ensures that ALL of your teeth and ALL of their surfaces gets clean.

3. Rinse: There are a lot of great mouth rinses out their that can provide a fluoride boost before bed. Remember though, even rinsing with water throughout the day or after a meal can help get rid of debris in your mouth! If you do use a mouth rinse, look for one without alcohol.

4. Chew: While too much chewing can put additional stress on your TMJ (temporomandibular joint), chewing a sugar free gum after a meal, can not only pull food debris out of the nooks and crannies of your teeth, but it increases saliva flow and helps to restore your mouth to a neutral pH level. Better yet, find a gum with xylitol, like this one, and give your teeth a protective boost!

All in all, try to set some good habits going now. That way, by the time the stress of the holidays come around, your dental habits will be in tip-top shape and ready to take on the changes in the routine that are sure to come up.

Fall into Good Oral Health!

Some people like to think that their teeth will be exactly like their parents teeth were. You might think, "If mom had a lot of decay, so will I". While genetics can play a role in how your teeth are, your daily habits and routine can make a huge difference in your oral health, regardless of your parents.

So, why not make this fall the time to ‘fall’ into good oral health by developing some good habits and using the best products. For starters, you do need to floss once a day and brush for 2 minutes, two times a day, every day. This is imperative for your teeth to stay healthy! You also might want to consider investing in an electric toothbrush. These tools are extremely helpful in making sure you brush for the correct time and they do a great job at removing debris from your teeth and helping them to keep their pearly white color.

When it comes to color, many people would like to have whiter teeth. At home, try a whitening toothpaste to use when you brush twice a day. In addition, drink liquids that might stain your teeth (coffee, tea, red wine are a few examples) in moderation, and always try to drink water immediately after. 

If you really want to make an impact on your tooth color though, the best thing to do is to professionally whiten your teeth. Seeing a dentist for custom whitening trays will ensure that the whitening solution stays on your teeth, where it belongs, and not on your gums or tongue. Your dentist will also have high quality, professional whitening solution, which will give you the best results. 

While you are at the dentist to ask about your whitening, make sure you schedule your preventative exam and cleaning. These twice-a-year dental visits are extremely important. For one, they allow your dentist and hygienist to make sure you are doing the best job you can at home. They can recommend a product, if needed, and teach you the best way to care for your teeth. In addition, these (usually) bi-annual visits allow your dentist to catch any issues or decay earlier rather than later. The earlier tooth decay is caught, the easier it is to treat it and the less tooth structure it will affect.

So, if you know you are due for your dental visit, we encourage you to schedule it now. Make this fall the season you take charge of your dental health and develop some good dental habits!

And, remember, pumpkin spice lattes are delicious, but they are acidic, sugary and have staining potential … so, everything in moderation!

Avoiding a (tooth)Break During Summer Break!

Summer is a time of relaxation and enjoying the simpler things in life, right? Right! However, summer is not the best time to break a tooth. So here are a few tips to help you and, the kids in your life, to protect your teeth over the summer break!

1. Invest in a mouthguard for your sport-playing kids! This is the time when baseball might be wrapping up but soccer and football are getting ready to start. Whatever the sport, if there is a chance of physical contact or ball-to-head contact, you should invest in a mouthguard for your child. While you can buy these from a local drug store, we recommend that you check with your dentist about making a custom mouth guard for your child. These will fit better, accommodate braces, if necessary, and they will protect your child’s jaw joint, or TMJ. 
2. Drink water! At Grand Avenue Dental Care, we continue to come back to this. Drinking water throughout the day can help your mouth get back to a neutral pH level and can help protect our teeth from possible decay. In addition, snacking on something like cheese can also help neutralize acidic levels in your mouth from things like fresh fruit, coffee, beer or other delicious summer treats. 
3. Consider an Occlusal Guard. This is similar to the mouthguard mentioned above, but this one is meant for anyone who has a crown or a bridge in their mouth. An occlusal guard protects both your crown, or bridge, and your natural teeth. Typically this is worn at night-time, when it is more common for people to clench or grind their teeth. The occlusal guard prevents the crown from wearing on your natural teeth and protects the crown as well. This is a great investment to protect the work you might have already done in your mouth.

Taking care of your teeth in the summer, and year-round, mostly comes down to your at-home care and what you do to protect your teeth between dental visits. However, if you ever have a question about your teeth, or your loved one's teeth, don’t hesitate to ask any of us at Grand Avenue Dental Care!

Get your Dad in for a Dental Visit this Father’s Day!

In most families, it is typical that the wife or mom will be the one to arrange doctor and dental appointments for the family. While this is a good thing, it can sometimes mean that Dad doesn’t get his appointment scheduled. So, this father’s day, why not try to help your dad take that first step towards a healthy mouth!

Usually there are a couple of reasons why dad won’t schedule his dental appointment. 

1. Time - Between work and family, there isn’t a lot of time to get in
2. Fear of Judgement - They haven’t been in a while and they are worried of what someone might think or say
3. Prioritizing themselves - Just like moms, dad’s can also tend to put other things in front of their own health at times

Why Grand Avenue Dental Care might be a good fit for your Dad (or husband)!

1. We have late hours! We are open until 7:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, so there is lots of time for Dad to come over after work.
2. NO Judgement! We never judge anyone who walks through our door. Just by coming, we think that you are taking your next step in improving your oral health, and we are all about that! Welcome to our office!
3. We treat each patient like a person. Each of us should take the time to take care of ourselves and we’ll be sure to encourage your dad to take care of himself. 
4. We serve cookies! (Let's be real ... sometimes we all need a nudge...) =) 

Regardless of whether your dad schedules a dental appointment or not, having a conversation with him about his oral health is a great thing to do and it shows him that you care. If you or your dad need anything, we are always happy to welcome new patients! We hope all of the dads out there have a wonderful and relaxing weekend with their families!

From all of us at Grand Avenue Dental Care, Happy Father’s Day!