Keep on Sharing Smiles- Tips on How to Maintain Your Smile!

In February we focused a lot on how to take care of your teeth when we did our school visits to celebrate Children’s Dental Health Awareness Month. The truth is, being able to maintain our smile and care for our teeth at home is just as important for adults as it is for kids. And, it’s not too difficult to do!

1. Be sure your home care is off to a good start! Brush your teeth for 2 minutes, 2 times a day, every day! Removing the build-up from the day is hugely important in keeping the enamel of your teeth strong and your teeth healthy.  In addition to brushing twice a day (morning and night), floss your teeth once a day. A good amount of your total tooth structure exists between your teeth and, without flossing, you will never be able to remove the daily debris. Use your favorite floss or water flosser once a day and you will be showing some love to your teeth!
2. Be sure to see your dentist regularly for your regular check-ups! Just as you brush your teeth TWO times per day, you should visit your dentist TWO times per year. Many people like to wait until they are in pain or have a broken tooth. If you wait until you have pain, you usually have a large amount of decay that has caused it. It is best to see your dentist on a set schedule, so that if there is any decay, we catch it early, and while it is still small and easy to remove. You should also know that if you have any form of periodontal (gum) disease, your dentist may want you to come in more frequently until there is improvement in your gum health. 
3. Watch what you eat and drink! While genetics does play a role in how healthy our teeth are, it is more likely that what you eat and drink more greatly affects your teeth. For instance, drinks like soda, sports drinks, juice, coffee and tea are all acidic and they make your teeth more likely to get decay. It is hugely important that the main drink that you sip on all day is water, and that after you do have a coffee or other acidic drink, you rinse with water. Alternatively, snacks like cheese are the opposite of acidic and can make your mouth less susceptible to decay. So, adding cheese to your crackers could be benefit for your teeth. Here are some “go-to” snacks and some “sometimes” snacks that you should be aware of. Eat from the blue colume frequently and the other columns, well, just sometimes. 

This snack guide is courtesy of TheDentistDad.com. Remember to eat LOTS from the blue column and only sometimes from the other two columns!

Remember- your mouth plays a big role in your overall health and taking care of your smile is a great step in taking care of YOU!

You've Scheduled! What you should ask about before and during your appointment!

As discussed in an earlier blog post, sometimes the anxiety of not knowing what to expect can prolong us from scheduling something like a dental appointment. One way to help overcome anxiety is by taking some time to ask questions before and during your first appointment.

Two things can happen when you do this. First, you will feel like you have more answers and are more involved in your dental health, which is always a good thing! Second, we will most likely learn more about you and your past dental experiences, which will help us better in knowing how to best serve you. Individualized customer service is what we strive for and the more we know about you - the individual - the better job we can do! So, what might be some things you would ask about?

1. Ask about the overall health of your teeth. While your dentist should go over this information at your first visit, feel free to ask if anything wasn’t covered. Things that should be discussed include: Are you having any pain or discomfort? How are your current dental restorations are looking and holding up? Are you happy with the look of your smile? Do you have any additional concerns? If you do have additional questions about anything related to past or possible dental work, it’s a good idea to write them down. Sometimes we forget when we are there what it is we wanted to ask, but if you go in with your questions on paper, then you’ll get the answers! 
2. Ask your doctor about the health of your gums. Again, most doctors will discuss this with you but the health of your gums, while related, is not the same as the health of your teeth. We do a periodontal exam at your adult new patient exams to measure the health of your gums around each of your teeth. Your doctor should discuss these results with you and if you don’t understand, you should definitely ask for more information!
3. Ask about your Oral Cancer Screening. After your doctor completes this, feel free to ask about how your tissue is looking. Again, if you’ve had any issues with the tissue in and around your mouth, it’s a good time to discuss this with your doctor. This could include any bumps inside your lip or cheeks, pain or discomfort under your jaw, or anything unusual in the area that you are concerned about. Most likely, it’s nothing to worry about, but we’d rather discuss it with you than have you worry.  
4. Call your insurance company before your visit. This is a tricky one because many times patients expect the dental or medical office to know all the ins and outs of their plans. The reality is that there are so many different insurance plans, each with it’s own unique coverage, that it is impossible for us to know exactly what’s covered for each plan. We do our best to estimate for you what we think will be covered, but we highly recommend calling your insurance company first. We also think it’s a good idea to ask about payment plans and financial arrangements with your dental office, if you do need dental treatment. It’s always best to know what is expected earlier rather than later.
5. Ask about what YOU can do to improve your oral health! Many times there are simple things you can do at home that will greatly affect your gums, teeth and overall dental health. From better flossing techniques to using an electric toothbrush or even to slightly altering your diet, there’s usually some way that you can positively impact your dental health! 

So, grab a piece of paper and a pen and write down your top dental questions! More information - it’s a good thing!

What to Expect at Your First Dental Appointment

For many of us, the anxiety of now knowing what to expect is enough to keep us from trying something new. For better or worse, going to the dentist can often times fall into this category and many people don’t schedule an appointment with a dentist because of this. 

We wanted to talk about what you can expect from a visit to the dentist, so that, hopefully, you take the next step and schedule your appointment!

So, here's what you can expect on that first trip to the dentist:

1. We take your blood pressure! Why? this is a question we frequently get. The gist of it is that this is an easy baseline measurement that helps to inform us of your overall health. We want to make sure your heart and overall health are in good shape. 
2. We do an oral cancer screening. This involves both a physical exam where our doctor will examine your neck and jaw tissue and also an oral exam using a VELscope light. This light will show any abnormalities in the tissue in your mouth. This is done for every new patient because if there is any abnormality, we want to catch it early. 
3. We review your medical history. This includes going over past surgeries, your current medication list and any concerns you might have about your oral or overall health.
4. We will take a full mouth or panoramic x-ray. We do this to make sure we are seeing what your tooth structure looks like between your teeth and under your gum line. This is an area of your mouth that we simply cannot see with the naked eye and with X-rays we are able to evaluate the health of this area. 
5. We create an individualized treatment plan for you! After this first visit, we are able to let you know what the next recommended steps are for you and help to get these appointments scheduled, even if your next step is simply a cleaning. We also will do a complimentary benefit check for you and do our best to get you an estimate on any treatment needed before your next scheduled appointment.

Don’t let fear of the unknown keep you from taking the next step toward optimal dental health. Call today!

How Do I Find the Dentist That's Right For Me?

One of the reasons many people don’t go to visit a dentist is that they aren’t sure how to choose one. There are a few things you can look into before choosing a dentist to see if they will be the best fit for you and your family.
Before you go to a dentist, here’s a few things you can look into:

1. Hours - Be sure to check to see what the hours are that the office is open and determine if they will be convenient for you and your family. For years, many dental offices were not open past four or open on a Friday. Nowadays, it is much more common for dental offices to be open later at night and 5 or 6 days a week. 
2. Are the dentists members of applicable dental organizations? For instance the American Dental Association and the Academy of General Dentistry are both organizations that dentists can get involved in. Often times this means that the dentists are keeping up on new technology and research within the dental industry, and can also mean that they are participating in continuing their education. 
3. Do they have positive online reviews? To be honest, this isn’t just how many stars they get, but how often and consistently are they getting reviews. A dentist with one, 5-star review might be good, but a dentist with 80 reviews at a 4.5 star rating show consistent, positive patient feedback.
4. Are they kind on the phone? We are in a healthcare field and we believe that we should be kind on caring, even on the phone! It’s a good test of what you can expect going forward.  

Once you have stepped foot into a dental office there are a few additional things that you can keep an eye out for to make sure that you will be comfortable. 

1. Does the reception space and treatment rooms look clean, organized and updated? An organized space is a clean space and it shows that the staff cares about how the space looks for their patients.
2. Is the staff helpful and informational for you? From the front desk to the dentist, the goal is a staff who will answer your questions or help you to find the answer, in a kind and easy-to-understand way. 
3. Is the clinical staff explaining what they do as they do it? For many people, we like to know what is going on with our dental treatment before or as it is happening, rather than after the fact. Again, questions should be answered in a kind and informational manner and you shouldn’t feel bad for asking.

While some of these things may seem obvious, sometimes we need a reminder. A good way to start is to look up some dentists nearby to you and compare their hours, biographies and online reviews. This will give you a good idea of who you want to take the ‘next step’ with, by giving them a call! 

Be ONE in a HUNDRED million!

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!

Every year, 100 million of us don’t visit our dentist. ONE HUNDRED MILLION. That is NOT a statistic that you should want to be a part of. Waiting until you are in pain or a tooth has broken is not a preventative plan for your oral health and is not what we want for our patients. From the time you get your first tooth or turn one year old, you should make it a habit to visit your dentist twice a year. Visiting your dentist twice a year allows us to check on your gum and tooth health and to see how your home care and lifestyle habits are affecting your teeth. Ideally, it gives us the opportunity to help you before there is major problem or painful area in your mouth. 

So, other than visiting a dentist twice a year, what can you do to take care of your oral health and keep on Sharing Smiles? Well, the answer is as easy as one, two, three!

ONE: Floss your teeth ONCE a day! Whether you prefer to floss in the morning or before bed, make sure you clean between your teeth once a day!

TWO: Brush TWO times per day! You should brush your teeth for TWO minutes both morning and night. Removing the buildup from the day is important to make sure you don’t develop plaque or tarter, which can lead to damage to both your teeth and gums.

THREE: Replace your toothbrush every 3-4 months and if you get sick, replace it earlier!

With these simple steps, you can be sure that you are taking the proper precautionary measures at home to care for your teeth and develop habits that will last a lifetime. Be the ONE in a 100 million and schedule your dental appointment today to ensure that your teeth will last a lifetime also!

Pro Tip: Use an electric toothbrush to help you time your brushing! We love the Oral B or the Sonicare brushes! Feel free to ask us for more information about either!