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Can Pool Water Harm Your Teeth?
Swimming is a wonderful summer activity. It gives the whole family a chance to spend time together in the great outdoors, having fun while getting some exercise, too! Now that summer is winding down, many of us will be giving the swimming pool a final farewell with a long, fun-filled day in the water.
We’re lucky that pools are chlorinated. If they weren’t, swimming pools would be pretty gross! Chlorine helps keep our family safe from the germs that can make us sick. However, chlorine isn’t harmless, particularly to our teeth.
Dental Issues With Chorine Exposure
Chorine works by making the water acidic, which kills germs. However, exposure to acidic substances can also be harmful to your pearly whites. Acids tend to reduce our saliva production, and believe it or not, saliva is essential to your oral health! By rinsing off your teeth and neutralizing acids, saliva protects your enamel and prevents germs from hanging around.
Reduced saliva production will leave you vulnerable to issues like:
- Decay and Gum Disease: When your saliva production is reduced, germs have greater opportunity to multiply, since they aren’t being rinsed away efficiently.
- Tooth Sensitivity: The acid in the pool water can weaken the nerves in your gums, resulting in sensitivity to hot and cold foods. Since saliva helps to neutralize acids, it’s one of the factors helping prevent this.
- Stained Teeth: Since saliva isn’t there to wash stain-causing substances from your teeth, they stick on your teeth for longer periods of time, increasing the likelihood that they will cause staining. (Check out our past blog post on how to avoid tooth staining!)
Does This Mean I Should Stop Swimming?
Absolutely not! There’s no need to give up your favorite summer pastime, as long as you follow these tips and encourage your family to do the same:
- Bring a toothbrush with you to the pool, and give your pearly whites a nice brush as soon as you finish your swim.
- Stay hydrated, which you should be doing anyway, especially when exerting yourself in the summer sun. The more water you drink, the better your salivary glands will function.
- When you’re underwater, keep your mouth shut! Also, make sure your children know not to drink pool water.
We hope you enjoy these last few weeks of summer with your family!
How to Prevent Tooth Stains
If you love to drink coffee, tea, wine, or cola, you may have noticed that there’s a negative to these tasty drinks–they can stain your teeth.
Even though these stains are medically harmless, many people find them unattractive. Choosing between your morning coffee and non-yellow teeth sounds like a huge bummer but don’t worry, it’s not necessary.
All you need to do is employ some simple tricks and you can enjoy your favorite foods and beverages while keeping your pearly whites pearly and white!
Beverages and Foods that Can Cause Tooth Staining
A good rule of thumb is that if a food stains your hands or t-shirt, there’s a good chance it will do the same to your teeth. Some common foods that cause staining are:
- Tomato sauce
- Blueberries
- Beets
- Soy sauce
- Dark beverages like tea, coffee, cola, red wine, grape juice, and cranberry juice
After looking over a list of foods that yellow your teeth, it may be comforting to know that there are yummy foods out there that have the opposite effect! Check out this recent post for more information about foods that whiten teeth.
Five Methods for Cutting Down on Staining
You can still enjoy the foods and drinks you love, without resolving yourself to a life of yellow teeth. Putting these tips to use can go a long way toward reducing the staining effects.
- Throw in Sips of Water: Each time you take a sip of wine, coffee, tea, cola, or juice, take a sip of water. This helps to rinse your teeth between sips. Plus, this can counteract the dehydrating effects of alcohol and coffee.
- Keep Your Mouth Clean: In addition to removing the substance that causes staining, keeping your mouth clean with twice daily brushing and daily flossing removes plaque. This substance creates a sticky surface for the stain-causing foods and drinks to grab on to. Brushing again after eating a stain-causing food is a good idea, however, you should wait 30 minutes. Since most of these foods are acidic, your mouth needs time to return to its normal PH balance. Brushing while the PH in your mouth is acidic can cause damage.
- Use a Straw: This can prevent the stain-causing beverage from ever touching your teeth.
- Make it to Your Dentist’s Office Twice a Year: As plaque sits on your teeth, it eventually hardens into tartar. This substance makes your teeth yellow and dull, and it can only be removed during a professional cleaning.
- Avoid Smoking: In case you needed another reason to quit smoking, using tobacco products seriously yellows your teeth.
What If It’s Too Late?
These tips will help prevent staining, but they won’t remove tooth stains you already have. Fortunately, professional whitening treatments can! Click here to learn more about the whitening services we have available.
Crowns
What is a Crown or Cap?
A crown or cap covers your entire damaged tooth
Why should I consider a Zirconia Crown?
Zirconia crowns have a very smooth surface, helping reduce plaque build-up. Zirconia is metal-free, which will prevent darkening around the gum-line. Zirconia crowns are computer-aided, this provides a precise fit.
What are the advantages of a Crown?
Supports a tooth that was damaged by decay, Anchors a dental bridge, restores a tooth after a root canal was done.
How do I care for my new Crown?
Brush and Floss daily, making sure you hit the gum line when you brush. Sometimes your dentist will recommended a prescription toothpaste or mouth wash.
The most important step you can take to ensure the longevity of your crown is to practice good oral hygiene.
*reference: Colgate.com
A Whiter Smile is a Bite Away…
A Whiter Smile is a Bite Away…
Did you know some foods can naturally whiten teeth? Here are a few……………..
Yogurt and Milk- Diary products contain Lactic acid and enamel-fortifying mineral calcium, this helps whiten and strengthen teeth.
Water- Swishing water between wine or dark colored foods will help pigmented foods not stain your teeth.
Apples- Crunch, crunch- the crunch you hear when you bite into an apple actually helps make your gums stronger & the high water content in an apple will boost saliva flow. The extra saliva washes away bacteria that can cause discoloration.
Vegetables that give a CRUNCH when eating, can act as a natural stain remover. Veggies such as carrots, broccoli, and celery contain calcium & fiber!
Eat up!
Happy Children’s Dental Health Awareness Month!
Ashley dressed up as a molar for our Children’s Dental Health Month presentation.
February is Children’s Dental Health Awareness Month, and we are loving the celebration!
Dr. Alrez & Ashley traveled to a local elementary school to give a presentation about dental health. Ashley even dressed up in a molar costume!
Since it is Children’s Dental Health Month, the time is right for celebration. It’s also a good time to check in with your family and make sure you’re doing everything you can to keep your children’s teeth healthy as they grow. And it doesn’t need to be a chore! With the right mindset and technique, teaching your kids about oral hygiene can be a lot of fun.
Not sure where to begin? Try starting with our list of five ways to get your kids excited about dental hygiene!
Five Ways to Get Your Kids Excited About Dental Hygiene
- Lead by Example: Before you encourage your children to have good oral hygiene, check your own habits! Make sure your kids see you brush every morning and night and floss daily. Don’t forget to talk about how much fun it is and how much you love to take care of your teeth!
- Fun Supplies: Allow children to choose a toothbrush with their favorite cartoon character and fun cup for rinsing. Toothpaste flavors like watermelon or strawberry are also fun to have on hand.
- Sing Along: Find fun oral health songs to sing with your kids. Here is a playlist to get you started.
- Teeth Activities: Create fun, hands-on crafts with your kids to help them learn about oral health. Check out these activities.
- Offer a Reward: Create a chart for keeping track of your child’s brushing habits, marking each day with a cute sticker. After 7 days of brushing, your child gets a reward! Since you are pushing oral health, try to refrain from giving sweet treats as rewards. Some other ideas include choosing a movie to watch as a family, a playdate with friends, a trip to the park, or a certificate.
My Dentist Told Me I need a “Deep Cleaning”
Scaling and root planning is often referred as a ‘Deep Cleaning’. Scaling and root planning is treatment of choice in patients with an infectious disease of the gum tissue and underlying bone termed periodontal disease. This process is also standard treatment for a patient who has healthy bone level, though has not had a regular dental cleaning over a period of time and simply has presence of moderate amounts of calculus (tartar) present below the gum line.
Periodontal disease typically starts with plaque left on the teeth and around gum line. When plaque mixes with saliva is creates calculus over time. Eventually, calculus containing bacteria will irritate gum tissues by attaching to teeth and root surfaces and releasing toxins resulting in inflammation and infection of gums. If untreated, this can ultimately lead to distraction of the bone (bone loss) that surrounds teeth further possible mobility or loss of teeth.
Scaling and root planning is the only non surgical treatment to help treat periodontal disease by mechanically removing all calculus and paired bacteria from teeth and root surfaces. To properly diagnose the presence of periodontal disease in a patient, it is important to get necessary radiographs (X-rays) and detailed measurements of all gum tissues that surround teeth. When bacteria resides in the mouth, it compromises the ligaments that attach gum tissue to root surfaces, therefore creating deeper pockets. Areas that measure greater than 3mm in depth are indicative of periodontal disease. Overall these measurement are imperative to understand severity of this bacterial infection throughout mouth.
In office treatment for deep cleaning can be done in one or two visits. These cleanings are completed by the dentist or dental hygienist by mode of ultra sonic scaler and/or hand instruments. In addition to the deep cleaning, antibacterial agents such as Arestin placement under gum tissue to help further reduce pocketing or Chlorhexidine rinse to reduce bacteria can be used. It is common to administer local anesthetic or other anesthetics for optimal patient comfort during and following procedures.
Maintenance program. It is standard protocol to keep periodontally involved patients on 3 or 4 month recall intervals. This means more frequent cleanings in a year’s time to properly combat periodontal disease and ensure stability of gum tissues and underlying bone. Every case varies, though periodic scaling and root planning may be needed after initial deep cleaning due to more compromised bone level. It is essential that all patients practice proper daily dental hygiene at home for best overall outcome and health of teeth and surrounding structures.
GUM DISEASE
Gum Disease
My Dentist told me I have Gum Disease!
Gum disease is more common than you think. Gum disease, also known as (gingivitis) periodontal disease is an inflammation of the gums. Inflammation can vary from moderate to severe. Severe inflammation can lead to the loss of the tissues holding your teeth in place. Making sure you brush your teeth everyday will help prevent plaque to stick on your teeth. If the plaque isn’t removed it can cause your gums to retract (recede) from your teeth and form a pocket. Pockets then collect bacteria.
What do I do now??
(Gingivitis) Periodontal disease can often be treated in early stages with scaling & root planning. Scaling & root planning removes the plaque & tartar beneath the gumline. Usually local anesthetic is given.
What should I do at home?
Make sure you brush your teeth in the morning & at night. Floss, there are many different kinds out there, the best one is the one you will use! Ask your dental professional to show you how to brush and floss PROPERLY, many people do it wrong! Keep up on your cleaning appointments.
Future dental appointments, will they change?
As a “Perio Patient” you will stick to a 3 month check up. This will help you maintain your oral health.
*Reference: ADA & Colgate website
How do you convince your child to brush their teeth?
How do you convince your child to brush their teeth?
How do you convince your child to brush their teeth?
“Mom I am so tired,” “But daddy my favorite cartoon is on,” we all heard every excuse on the planet. Whether its 6 o’clock in the morning or 8 o’clock at night, most kids try to get out of brushing and flossing. Here are a few tips to encourage brushing & make it a daily routine.
It takes 21 days or 3 weeks to form a habit. Having a routine will help make this habit form.
Start them young
Its never to early to teach your children good oral health! Cleaning the gums around 6 months can guide you in the right direction. Never put a baby down with a bottle of any liquid other than water!
Apps
There are many apps to help aid your child in brushing. Apps are fun and interacting. Disney Magic Timer, Oral-B & Happy teeth are examples of some. Disney Magic Timer helps track time but also teaches children about oral health!
6 month check ups
It is very important your child stays up to date on his/hers 6 month cleaning appointments. Not only does your healthcare professional clean your child’s teeth but they also teach your child how to maintain a healthy smile. We teach patients how to brush, floss & eat healthy.
Disclosing Solution
Disclosing Solution is in a liquid or tab form and makes the plaque on your child’s teeth stain a bright color. Wherever the teeth are stained is where the child forgot to brush. Children usually have fun trying this out! (TIP: have the child brush first then use the tab/liquid to see exactly where the child missed, then brush again.)
GUMCHUCKS ARE FUN!
WE LOVE GUMCHUCKS!
Have you ever heard of nunchucks? Chances are you have. Resembling miniature nunchucks, Gumchucks feature disposable tips that are equipped with a 3/4 inch piece of dental floss. Proper flossing requires making a “C” shape, Gumchucks help this happen. Gumchucks are made for adults & children, they even make special handles for people in braces! Gumchucks with help improve dexterity & extend your reach. They are a one of a kind flossing system.
Benefits include: Easier & faster than traditional floss, Reaches the back teeth without putting fingers in the mouth, Safe & hygienic!
We now sell GUMCHUCKS in our office- ask us for a demo! 🙂
Reference: Gumchuck.com
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