A Patient’s Guide to Finding a Good Dentist

PEOPLE MIGHT NEED to find a new dentist for all sorts of reasons. Maybe they moved to a new city. Maybe their old dentist retired. Maybe they’re new parents and need to find a dentist for their child. Whatever the reason is, we recommend not waiting until an urgent dental health emergency pops up before finding a dentist that fits your needs. Here are five important factors to keep in mind when searching for the best dentist for you.

1. Location, Location, Location!

How close is the practice to your home? To your child’s school or where they play sports? To your workplace? Make sure the distance isn’t so great that making it to twice-yearly checkups will become a major inconvenience. It’s a good idea to decide on a radius that seems doable for you and your family, then determine who the best dentist is within that radius. On the other hand, there might be a dentist slightly farther away who is still worth it for other reasons!

2. Reputation Matters

What kind of reviews does the dentist have? What are their other patients saying about them? Check out the Yelp and Google reviews and maybe ask around your neighborhood, coworkers, and friend group to see if anyone you know is familiar with that particular dentist. While there can sometimes be hidden gems, a lot of good feedback is generally a positive sign.

3. What Specialties Can They Claim?

A dental practice that operates close to you and has fantastic reviews might still not be right for you if they don’t offer some of the services you think you’re likely to need. How good are they with child patients? Do they offer cosmetic treatments? How much experience do they have with root canal therapy or treating gum disease? Do some research into a dentist’s specialties to see if they’re a good fit.

4. How Well Do They Fit Your Budget?

Sometimes a dentist’s only flaw is the cost of their services in comparison to your budget, or that they aren’t in your dental insurance network. It’s still important to find a dentist for regular appointments in this case, because those checkups are much easier on a budget than a serious dental problem that could’ve been caught and treated cheaply in an early stage. Finding a budget-friendly dentist is an excellent investment, both financially and in terms of dental health.

5. Patient Comfort

If you aren’t comfortable around a dentist or within their practice, then the other factors might not matter much to you. It’s a good idea to pay a practice you’re considering an early visit just to get a sense of the place and the staff. A good dentist will always prioritize patient comfort, especially considering how many patients struggle with dental anxiety!

Meanwhile, keep up those oral hygiene habits!

We Look Forward to Meeting You!

If you weren’t sure how to start looking for a great dentist before, we hope we’ve given you a few ideas of where to begin! If you want to learn more about our practice, just give us a call or stop buy. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have!

Thank you for trusting us with your dental health needs!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

AN IMPORTANT PART of keeping your teeth and gums healthy is your toothbrush. That might seem so obvious that it’s not worth saying, but you’d be surprised how many basic mistakes people make when it comes to their toothbrushes. We want to make sure our patients will get the most out of their best teeth-cleaning tools!

1. Replace Your Toothbrush Regularly

Look at your toothbrush. Are the bristles frayed or bent? Are some missing? You might be well overdue for a replacement toothbrush. The American Dental Association recommends that we replace our toothbrushes at least three times a year, because old, worn-out bristles can’t do a very effective job of cleaning teeth.

2. Take Your Time When You Brush

As often as dentists everywhere remind patients to brush for two full minutes, the average is only about 45 seconds. This simply isn’t long enough to get the full cleaning effect. The repeated motions are what clear plaque and food particles away, and we shouldn’t be skimping on that. We encourage our patients to help move that average closer to the recommended two minutes! Playing a song or setting a timer are great ways to keep track of the time.

3. Brush Gently (and Use a Gentle Brush)

When we’re cleaning grout out of the tiles in the kitchen, it often requires a little elbow grease. We understand how some people might get the idea that it’s the same with teeth and gums, but that’s simply not true. Brushing hard or using a firm-bristled brush can actually result in gum recession over time. We recommend soft bristles and a gentle hand. Brushing harder does not mean brushing better!

4. Wait 30 Minutes After Eating Before Brushing

One of the most common mistakes people make with brushing is to do so immediately after a meal. This isn’t a great idea, because the acids in our food and drink temporarily weaken our tooth enamel. If we brush then, we can accidentally cause enamel erosion. That’s why waiting at least half an hour to brush is a good idea; it gives our saliva enough time to neutralize the acid and begin the remineralization process.

5. Store Your Toothbrush Properly

If your toothbrush carries a funky smell, it could be because you aren’t giving it a chance to fully dry between uses. To keep a toothbrush fresh and devoid of moisture-loving bacteria, we should always store our toothbrushes upright and give them enough air flow to dry out. No more toothbrush covers! (And also keep them as far from the toilet as possible.)

6. How’s Your Brushing Technique?

Even brushing twice a day for the full two minutes with a soft-bristled brush that you store correctly won’t be able to fully offset poor brushing technique. Keep in mind that the goal is to get plaque and food particles out of the gumline. Hold the brush at a 45° angle to your gums and gently sweep it in circular motions. Get each area of the mouth at least fifteen times, both on the outside and the tongue side, as well as the chewing surfaces.

Bring Us All Your Toothbrush Questions!

If you’d like any more tips about how to get the most out of your toothbrush, whether you’re looking for technique pointers or recommendations on the best toothbrush for you, we’re happy to help. And don’t forget to floss each day too!

Make sure you’re also keeping up with your regular appointments!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

Get the Most out of Your Toothbrush

AN IMPORTANT PART of keeping your teeth and gums healthy is your toothbrush. That might seem so obvious that it’s not worth saying, but you’d be surprised how many basic mistakes people make when it comes to their toothbrushes. We want to make sure our patients will get the most out of their best teeth-cleaning tools!

1. Replace Your Toothbrush Regularly

Look at your toothbrush. Are the bristles frayed or bent? Are some missing? You might be well overdue for a replacement toothbrush. The American Dental Association recommends that we replace our toothbrushes at least three times a year, because old, worn-out bristles can’t do a very effective job of cleaning teeth.

2. Take Your Time When You Brush

As often as dentists everywhere remind patients to brush for two full minutes, the average is only about 45 seconds. This simply isn’t long enough to get the full cleaning effect. The repeated motions are what clear plaque and food particles away, and we shouldn’t be skimping on that. We encourage our patients to help move that average closer to the recommended two minutes! Playing a song or setting a timer are great ways to keep track of the time.

3. Brush Gently (and Use a Gentle Brush)

When we’re cleaning grout out of the tiles in the kitchen, it often requires a little elbow grease. We understand how some people might get the idea that it’s the same with teeth and gums, but that’s simply not true. Brushing hard or using a firm-bristled brush can actually result in gum recession over time. We recommend soft bristles and a gentle hand. Brushing harder does not mean brushing better!

4. Wait 30 Minutes After Eating Before Brushing

One of the most common mistakes people make with brushing is to do so immediately after a meal. This isn’t a great idea, because the acids in our food and drink temporarily weaken our tooth enamel. If we brush then, we can accidentally cause enamel erosion. That’s why waiting at least half an hour to brush is a good idea; it gives our saliva enough time to neutralize the acid and begin the remineralization process.

5. Store Your Toothbrush Properly

If your toothbrush carries a funky smell, it could be because you aren’t giving it a chance to fully dry between uses. To keep a toothbrush fresh and devoid of moisture-loving bacteria, we should always store our toothbrushes upright and give them enough air flow to dry out. No more toothbrush covers! (And also keep them as far from the toilet as possible.)

6. How’s Your Brushing Technique?

Even brushing twice a day for the full two minutes with a soft-bristled brush that you store correctly won’t be able to fully offset poor brushing technique. Keep in mind that the goal is to get plaque and food particles out of the gumline. Hold the brush at a 45° angle to your gums and gently sweep it in circular motions. Get each area of the mouth at least fifteen times, both on the outside and the tongue side, as well as the chewing surfaces.

Bring Us All Your Toothbrush Questions!

If you’d like any more tips about how to get the most out of your toothbrush, whether you’re looking for technique pointers or recommendations on the best toothbrush for you, we’re happy to help. And don’t forget to floss each day too!

Make sure you’re also keeping up with your regular appointments!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

What Causes Halitosis?

FEW THINGS ARE WORSE at a first date or a job interview than the sudden awareness that bad breath might have ruined your first impression. No matter what else goes right, if the date or potential employer has a nose full of funky smells, it probably isn’t going to end well. So how can we stop bad breath from ruining those big moments? What causes bad breath anyway?

The Simple Answer: Oral Hygiene

The most common cause of bad breath is the chemical breakdown of leftover food particles stuck between our teeth. Oral bacteria eat these particles and then excrete very smelly compounds like hydrogen sulfide (which smells like rotten eggs), turning our breath sour. Fortunately, the solution is also simple: brush twice a day, floss daily, use a tongue-scraper to get extra bacteria off your tongue, and chew sugar-free gum after lunch if necessary.

Sometimes Halitosis Is More Complicated

Unfortunately, not everyone who struggles with bad breath can solve it with a good daily oral hygiene routine alone. Plenty of other things can cause halitosis.

• Mouth-breathing dries out the mouth, which means there isn’t enough saliva to wash away food particles and neutralize acids, so it’s much easier to get smelly.
• Medications commonly cause dry mouth as a side effect, which leads to the same problems as with mouth-breathing.
• Chronic health conditions (even ones without an obvious connection to breath freshness), such as acid reflux, liver or kidney disease, and diabetes.
• Having a cold or sinus infection can mean a lot of smelly mucous that affects the way breath smells.
• Pregnancy symptoms like morning sickness and nausea can affect breath because they increase the amount of acid in the mouth. People struggling with bulimia may have a similar problem.
• Using tobacco products in any form will leave foul-smelling compounds in the mouth as well as drying it out. It also raises the risk of developing gum disease or oral cancer.
• Untreated tooth decay or gum disease tends to go hand-in-hand with halitosis. That’s because the same bacteria that causes bad breath also causes cavities and periodontitis!

Managing and Combating Halitosis

When brushing, flossing, and tongue scraping aren’t enough to keep your breath minty fresh, it’s critical to discover the underlying cause so that you can address it directly instead of only attacking a symptom. We encourage habitual mouth-breathers to try breathing through their noses more. We encourage anyone who smokes or chews tobacco to quit. If the problem is related to dry mouth, sugar-free gum helps to stimulate saliva production, and sipping water and using a humidifier can also help keep the moisture up.

Call in the Professionals!

If you have any concerns about stubborn bad breath, the dentist is a great ally to turn to. The dentist can help you discover what’s causing the bad breath and recommend the best solutions, so make sure to bring all of your questions to your next dental exam!

Thank you for being part of our practice family!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

Swimming, Diving, and Dental Health

IF YOU’RE AN AVID swimmer, maybe you’ve noticed that your teeth feel a little more sensitive after you get out of the pool. It’ll take more than one swim to do it, but this is a real thing called “swimmer’s calculus,” and it’s just one way swimming can affect our teeth.

What Is Swimmer’s Calculus?

Swimmer’s calculus is the result of prolonged exposure to the acidic chlorine ions in pool water. Chlorine is very good at keeping the water sanitary for people to swim in, but it also changes the pH of the water if the levels aren’t closely monitored.

Our teeth are highly vulnerable to acid erosion. Casual swimmers don’t have much cause to worry, but swim teams, water polo players, and anyone whose preferred workout is swimming laps could be at a greater risk of developing yellow and brown stains on their teeth.

Dental Health Concerns of Scuba Divers

If all of your underwater adventures are in natural bodies of water rather than swimming pools, you may not need to worry about swimmer’s calculus, but scuba diving comes with its own dental problems.

Anyone who has touched the bottom of a diving area in a pool has felt the pressure building up in their ears the deeper they go. That pressure can build up in teeth as well. It’s called “tooth squeeze” or barodontalgia, and it mostly affects teeth with untreated cavities or teeth that have had faulty dental work done. The building pressure can be very painful and can even fracture the tooth! That’s why we recommend scheduling a dental visit before your first dive of the year.

Scuba Mouthpieces and Your Jaw

Unless you go diving all the time, you probably don’t have a custom-fitted mouthpiece for scuba diving. Most divers agree that the “one size fits all” mouthpieces don’t really live up to their name. Divers are forced to clench their teeth around the mouthpieces for the entire dive, which is quite the ordeal for their jaws. Anyone who dives more than once or twice a year should consider investing in a custom-fitted mouthpiece to avoid the risk of TMJ issues.

Bring Us Your Tooth-Related Swimming Questions!

We’re happy to answer any other questions you may have about dental health and safety when it comes to swimming and diving. For a final quick tip, keep in mind that tooth injuries are common around swimming pools because of all the slippery surfaces. Avoid running, be careful how fast you come out of the water at the edge of the pool, and definitely don’t dive in shallow water. Stay safe and have fun!

Wishing all our patients a fantastic summer!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

White Spots and Other Dental Stains

WE ALL WANT white, straight, beautiful teeth so that we can dazzle everyone with our smiles. Unfortunately, sometimes stains can get in the way of this goal, and they come in several different types. Let’s take a look at a few of the main types of tooth stains and how they happen.

Fluorosis

Sometimes white spots can appear on the surface of perfectly healthy teeth. This phenomenon is called fluorosis, and it occurs when developing adult teeth get exposed to too much fluoride. They aren’t damaged by it, but they do become unevenly bleached. To prevent fluorosis, make sure to limit the amount of fluoride toothpaste you use when brushing your child’s teeth. No more than a tiny smear for babies and toddlers is enough, and keep it to a pea-sized dab for young children.

Demineralization

Not all white spots are as harmless as the ones caused by fluorosis. They can also come from demineralization, which is the gradual leaching of crucial minerals (like calcium) from the tooth enamel, leaving it weaker. How does demineralization happen? From exposure to acid and the buildup of plaque over time. People with braces are particularly susceptible, which is why it’s so crucial to maintain good brushing and flossing habits while the braces are on.

Surface Stains

Another type of stain is the kind caused by what we eat and drink. Pigments, acid, and other natural and artificial chemicals in food and drink can lead to stains on our teeth if we aren’t careful. Major culprits include wine, coffee, black tea, cola, sports drinks, hard candy, berries, and even tomato sauce.

You won’t end up with stained teeth after a single serving of one of these items, but they can gradually cling to the enamel and wear it away, resulting in unsightly stains over time. We recommend consuming these things in moderation, rinsing with water afterward, and brushing and flossing twice a day to keep the stains at bay. Good oral health habits are a great preventative measure for demineralization too.

Intrinsic Tooth Discoloration

Not all stains happen on the outside of the tooth. Intrinsic tooth discoloration is what happens when the dentin beneath the enamel gets darker. This could be the result of trauma to the tooth from an injury. Certain medications can also cause intrinsic tooth discoloration, as can a rare condition called dentinogenesis imperfecta. External whitening treatments won’t do anything about these kinds of stains.

Let’s Fight Those Stains

As we mentioned above, the best defense against many types of dental stains is a rigorous dental health routine. Brush twice a day with a soft-bristled toothbrush for two full minutes and floss daily. And don’t forget about visiting the dentist twice a year for a professional cleaning! These regular appointments are the best way to catch developing problems in their early stages.

We love our patients’ smiles!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

Can Smiling Make You Healthier?

WE OFTEN HEAR that it takes fewer muscles to smile than to frown. We’re not sure where that came from, but it isn’t actually true. At least ten muscles are involved in smiling, but it might require as few as six to form a frown. We propose changing the saying to “smiling burns more calories than frowning,” but let’s take a look at the other benefits we get from smiling!

The Smiling/Happiness Feedback Loop

To say that we smile when we’re happy might seem so obvious that there’s no point in saying it, but the relationship between smiling and happiness is a lot like the chicken and egg question. We do smile when we’re happy, but we also become happier by smiling! It turns out that the simple act of smiling (even when it’s fake) releases endorphins, also known as the feel-good hormones. So it might be a good idea when you’re having a rough day to try smiling until you feel a little better!

Smiling Reduces Pain and Stress

The endorphins we gain by smiling have a lot of great benefits. In the short term, those include relieving stress and reducing pain. Endorphins function like painkillers (without side effects!) and help us recover more quickly from stressful situations. One experiment in 2012 tested how long it took the subjects’ heart rates to go back to normal after a stressful task, and the smiling subjects recovered more quickly.

Boost Your Immune System with a Smile!

The effects of endorphins can compound over time into something more long-term if we make a habit of smiling. We’re making ourselves more resilient against illnesses — even reducing our chances of getting cancer! This happens because when we manage our stress more effectively, our cells go through fewer stress-induced mutations.

Extend Your Lifespan by Smiling

It’s a well known fact that people perceive a smiling face as being younger and more attractive than a face that isn’t smiling. Well that isn’t just about appearances: over the course of a lifetime, the health benefits from smiling can actually help us live longer. Of course, it’s easier to smile when we’re happy with the way our teeth look, which is just one reason it’s so important to establish and maintain good daily oral health habits!

Bring Us Your Beautiful Smiles!

You don’t have to fight for your healthy smile alone! We’re here to help. If you need advice on what you can do to keep your teeth and gums healthy and strong, just ask, and make sure you’re scheduling regular dental appointments every six months so that any problems that do come up can be dealt with right away!

Our patients make us smile!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

Defeat Bad Breath with a Tongue Scraper

ONE OF THE MAIN things people overlook about a daily oral hygiene routine is cleaning their tongues. That’s right, it doesn’t stop with brushing twice a day for two minutes with a soft-bristled brush and flossing daily. The rough surface of the tongue makes it the perfect place for all kinds of bacteria to hide and build up. Among other things, that bacteria doesn’t help with keeping your breath smelling minty fresh.

Effects of Bacterial Buildup on the Tongue

Bacteria has an easier time building up on our tongues than just about anywhere else on our bodies. (Another germ hotspot is fingernails, which is just one reason we don’t recommend chewing them.) If we aren’t actively cleaning our tongues, harmful bacteria will stay there and multiply, resulting in bad breath and an increased risk of tooth decay on the inner surfaces of our teeth.

Having a lot of bacteria on your tongue can even impact your sense of taste, because it clogs things up and makes it hard for your tastebuds to do their job. Make a habit of cleaning your tongue every day and you might notice that you can enjoy the taste of your favorite foods even better! Finally, bacteria can get in the way of the chemical digestion process that begins as we chew our food. A clean tongue is better at helping the digestive process.

Find a Good Tongue-Scraper

Cleaning your tongue is very easy, but it takes something besides swishing mouthwash, rinsing, or even brushing it with your toothbrush (which mostly just moves bacteria around instead of cleaning it off). All it takes is a couple of passes with a tongue-scraper. You can order one online if there aren’t any at your grocery store by the toothbrushes and floss. They are typically made of plastic or stainless steel, and you can get one with a rough or smooth edge depending on your preference.

When using a tongue-scraper, don’t push hard enough to injure your tongue, but also don’t be alarmed if the first time you use it, it comes away with a lot of weird, smelly gunk. This is the biofilm of bacteria and food particles that builds up over time. It won’t take many days before you should start to notice less and less biofilm coming off on the scraper. That’s a sign that it’s working, so don’t stop!

Want to Learn More about Tongue Cleaning?

If you’re new to tongue cleaning, welcome to the club! We’re happy to answer any questions you have and give you tips if you’re not sure you’re doing it right. We can also recommend good tongue scrapers if you’re not sure which one to get.

It’s an honor to be your trusted dental health professionals!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

What Are Dental Implants?

MODERN DENTISTRY IS incredible. Tooth decay, accidents, and injuries that once would have left someone with a gap in their smile that they could never fill can now be treated so that everything looks and works about as good as new. In many cases, those teeth can even be saved through root canal therapy. When that isn’t possible, dental implants are effective ways to fill in the gaps.

How Implants Compare to False Teeth

Dentures have been a solution for missing teeth for centuries, but they have a few notable flaws. When we use our own teeth to chew, it stimulates the jaw bone and keeps it strong. Dentures aren’t very effective at providing this stimulation, resulting in bone loss in the jaws. This, in turn, can lead to the dentures not fitting very well, so they can slip and fall out easily and leave the gums feeling sore.

Implants, on the other hand, are placed into the jawbone and function the same way as the roots of teeth. Implants greatly reduce the risk of bone loss and they won’t slip and slide while you’re trying to chew your food or have an engaging conversation. You can even brush them the same way as regular teeth! True, the price tag can be higher with implants than dentures, but that’s pretty much the only advantage dentures have.

Different Types of Implants

Dentures come in different types, depending on the needs and budget of the individual patient. Endosteal implants are a great choice for patients with strong, healthy jaws. They consist of titanium posts inserted into the jaw through oral surgery. Once the site has had time to heal, a second surgery follows and a crown that matches the other teeth is placed.

If the patient doesn’t have enough healthy jaw bone to support endosteal implants, they could still benefit from subperiosteal implants. These implants consist of metal frames that the oral surgeon places between the jawbone and the gum tissue. Posts attach to this framework and protrude through the gums so that crowns can be attached.

Implants and Braces?

Braces generally come first for patients who need both orthodontic treatment and implants. Unlike natural teeth, implants won’t move once they’re in place. In some cases, however, an implant can be placed before or during orthodontic treatment so that it can serve as an anchor to help the other teeth move to the desired positions.

Are Implants Right for You?

Millions of Americans get dental implants to fill the gaps in their smiles every year. If you’d like to learn more about this excellent modern solution to an age-old dental problem, we’re happy to answer your questions!

Our favorite smiles are our patients’!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

Your Teeth Are Not Tools!

HUMAN TEETH ARE awesome. We wouldn’t have dedicated our professional lives to working with them if we didn’t think so. There are so many things they can do, from chewing food to providing support for the structure of our faces to facilitating clear speech to being part of our beautiful smiles. Unfortunately, a lot of people try to put their teeth to other uses they weren’t designed for, which can lead to serious problems.

Just Use Scissors or Nail Clippers

We could talk at length about how bad a nail-biting habit is, both for the teeth and the nails, but we’ll keep it short and sweet for now. Fingernails are the least sanitary parts of our hands because it’s so hard to scrub the germs out from under them, and all those germs get into our mouths when we chew our nails. Nail biting also causes a lot of wear and tear to the teeth and can even shift them out of their correct alignment.

We know it’s quick and easy, but resist the impulse to bite through packing tape. It takes a lot more biting pressure to cut through a non-food item like tape than it does to chew actual food. Cutting through tape requires you to grind your teeth, which wears down the chewing surfaces and poses a risk of chipping or fracturing a tooth. It’s bad enough chewing through tape, though; definitely don’t try to cut wire with your teeth.

Just Use a Nutcracker

Trying to crack open nuts with hard shells like walnuts, pecans, or pistachios — or even cracking popcorn kernels — carries a major risk of accidentally cracking or chipping a tooth instead. Teeth that have already had dental work done or have untreated cavities are especially vulnerable to damage. Just use a nutcracker!

Just Use a Bottle Opener

Just because tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the body doesn’t mean it’s up to the task of popping a metal lid off a bottle. Enamel might be hard, but it’s also very brittle. Using our teeth to open bottles is a great way to damage them, and if we slip, we could also damage the soft tissues of our lips or gums. It’s just not worth it.

Just Set It Down

It might seem convenient to hold a pencil, some nails, or a few sewing pins in your mouth until your hands are free, but this can have some scary unintended consequences. What if you trip? What if you get caught off-guard by a sudden hiccup or yawn? There are cases of people choking on or swallowing things they only meant to hold in their mouths for a few seconds. But even if an accident never happens, these objects can still wear down the teeth.

Use Your Teeth for Teeth Things Only!

The third-highest cause of tooth loss is cracking and fracturing, so don’t put your teeth at risk by using them for things they weren’t designed to do! You’ll save yourself an emergency dental visit and expensive repairs by sticking to using your teeth for chewing and talking. Also make sure to keep up the daily flossing, twice-daily brushing with a soft-bristled brush, and twice-yearly dental visits!

Our patients have the best smiles!

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.