Smile with Confidence: A Comprehensive Guide to Dental Health and Care

Tag: cavities

Sugary Foods

Halloween and Dental Health

It’s almost here… Halloween! The trick-or-treating. The parties. The costumes. The ghouls and goblins. The candy. Oh, the candy. It’s a time of year that can bring your kids loads of fun… and, if they’re not careful, loads of cavities. Naturally, as a parent, you want your children to have the time of their lives choosing their costumes, getting all ready for that big party or night of going to door-to-door with their friends. But you don’t want them to overdo it on the candy, and not just because you don’t want them getting all hyped up on sugar, either. You know that all that extra sugar can lead to cavities. And what’s a cavity? It’s nothing more than tooth decay. If you’re a parent who’s dreading Halloween for its notorious ability to bring on the tooth decay, try following some of these dental health tips to help keep your kids’ teeth healthy no matter how much candy they get.

Reasons Why Flossing is Important

Studies reveal that only four out of every ten Americans floss at least once per day, while an astounding 20 percent of the population never flosses at all.  Unfortunately, foregoing the flossing step is a vital part of maintaining healthy teeth and proper oral hygiene.  Flossing helps to clean those hard to reach places between the teeth.  Without flossing, the likelihood of developing cavities significantly increases as food remains lodged between teeth, fostering a breeding ground for harmful bacteria.  For discerning New Jersey residents who are searching for a top dentist, here is what the dental health experts have to say about the importance of flossing.

The Truth About What Causes Cavities

When considering a visit to the dentist, cavities are one of the top reasons people schedule an appointment.  Studies have shown that cavities impact as much as 90 percent of the population.  Sometimes they are small and go unnoticed, other times they are a large enough to collect food and become quite painful, often sending the patient straight to the dentist’s chair.  In fact, toothaches caused by cavities are one of the single most common reasons for a trip to the dentist.  Cavities are even more problematic for children who are much more vulnerable to them than adults.  This is because young teeth haven’t matured fully yet and are more likely to be exposed to unhealthy, sugary treats more often.  As such, be sure to check with a family dentist to receive quality care for the entire family.  Here is a general rundown of how cavities form and how families can avoid them altogether.  If you have a toothache or think that you may have a cavity you should contact a family dentist near you for help.

Health Benefits of Tap Water

The trend today is toward drinking bottled water – sometimes it is vitamin-enhanced or flavored, but, don’t you wish you had a dollar for everyone you see walking around with fingers wrapped around a bottled water?

Unless there is a reason why you use must use bottled water, like water contamination issues, regular water from your tap will do the trick to quench your thirst, and, to help prevent cavities!  And look at all the money you’ll save by not buying bottled water, not to save the inconvenience of lugging cases to and from the store.

That’s right… your bottled water cannot give you the natural fluoridation properties that regular old tap water can, and tap water has been giving you this little dental boost for some 70 years.

The First Cavity

All parents dreams of perfect dental checkups for their children. Every time you send your child off to the dentist, you hope to hear that all-important phrase, “Look, Ma, no cavities!” Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world, and that means that your child may, at times, return from a visit to the dentist with news of one or more cavities. So what do you do when you hear those words… ‘I have a cavity’… for the first time? Is there anything you, as a parent, can do about this cavity, or anything you can do to prevent the next one? The good news about cavities is that they’re virtually always preventable. And, yes, there is a lot you, as a parent, can do to help your child’s next and subsequent dental checkups be cavity-free. Here are some tips from dentists about cavities, how to react to your child’s first cavity, and concrete steps that you, as a parent, can take to prevent further cavities.

Foods That are Bad for Teeth

Before picking up your fork, you should know a few tips about how to manage the foods that are bad for your teeth. You may be thinking, why should I care? Foods that are bad for your teeth cause more than just cavities. A prime example would be the day you are on your lunch break during work and you decide to indulge in pasta. After your meal, you have a meeting, and while you sit there you can’t stop brushing your teeth with your tongue to remove the leftovers. Pasta is a high carb food that is more likely to cause plaque. This embarrassing situation could have been prevented with a toothbrush or saving the pasta enjoyment for after work. Luckily, you’ve come to the right place to learn what foods are bad for teeth according to top dental offices.

Best Candy for Teeth

Say what?! Best candy for teeth?! Is there such a thing? You bet. Fact: Your kids love Halloween. Fact: They want to go trick-or-treating. Fact: You’re going to let them (or suffer the consequences of whiny kids from now until next Halloween). Fact: They’re going to get lots and lots (and lots) of sweet, sugary, sticky, ooey, gooey candies. So, what can you, as a parent, do about all these facts?  Do you put your foot down and forbid your kids from going trick-or-treating? Not likely. Or, do you just throw in the towel and let ’em have at it? Of course not. Believe it or not, there is some middle ground here. Not all of your kids’ Halloween treats are ghoulish on their teeth. In fact, some of it isn’t so bad at all, and some is actually good. Here are some dental health tips about the best types of candy for teeth that can help parents sift through all the scary information about the effects of Halloween candy on their kids’ teeth.

Sugar, the Tooth Killer

Consuming too much sugar can be damaging to your health, but many times we forget how damaging sugar can be to the teeth and mouth in general. About half of kids have tooth decay by the time they are 8 years old. This can lead to a higher risk of developing tooth decay as adults. Each time sugar is consumed, the bacteria on the surface of the teeth converts to acid. This acid basically attacks the teeth and gradually destroys the outer layer of enamel which protects the teeth. This can cause very fast decay of a tooth.

Health Benefits of Braces

Braces have long been used by dental professionals to create beautiful smiles. We know braces are used to help straighten the teeth but there are many other benefits from wearing braces, they are more than aesthetic. Before you get fitted for braces, talk to your dentist about the many other health benefits that are associated with braces. Braces definitely play a major role in enhancing your smile, but they can also be very beneficial in helping achieve wellness and affect your overall health. Here are a few ways braces can offer you a healthier life.

Myths about Dental Health

There are so many myths floating around these days about all things health-related, and dental health is no exception. In fact, to hear some of these myths, you’d think your teeth were ready to fall out of your mouth at any second. So how do you discern the myths from the facts? For instance, do kids really get a lot more cavities than adults? Will you always be able to feel a cavity? Do big gaps between your teeth ensure that you’ll have lots of cavities? And what about fillings? Should these last a lifetime, or will you always have to replace them? These are questions that deserve answers. As someone who wants to keep their teeth healthy and functioning properly for a lifetime, you need to know the difference between the myths and the facts floating around about a proper dental health routine. And family dentists have the following answers to those questions, in order to dispel the myths and get to the truth about oral health.