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

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Common Dental Questions, dental care questions and answers, dental health tips, cosmetic dental procedures and restorative dentistry, dental technology, ask a dentist

How to Choose a Dentist

It may have been a while since the last dental appointment and a number of different factors could have occurred between that time and now to make it necessary to choose a new dental provider.  Relocation, changes in medical insurance, or simply because of personal preferences it may be time to choose a new dentist.  But what is the best way to pick a top dentist near you?  Here are a few steps to follow when choosing the best dentist to meet any patient’s needs.

Are Stained Teeth Unhealthy Teeth?

You want white teeth and a dazzling smile, so should you forego those blueberries so that your pearly whites stay that way?  Or drop that jolt of java from your morning routine because it might stain your teeth?  And, if you unwind with a glass of cabernet sauvignon, surely your purplish lips and tongue must mean that your teeth are also being stained, right?  Do you need to give up all these treats?  If you are concerned about teeth staining and want to learn more about teeth whitening you should contact a dentist who does teeth whitening.  A top Clearwater cosmetic dentist will answer all of your teeth whitening questions and will suggest ways to keep you teeth healthy and white.

Best Diet to Prevent Bad Breath

It’s hard to resist raw chopped onions on a Coney dog or a big burger with a thin slice of raw onion, but you’d better hope you don’t have to socialize too much after downing these tasty treats.

Battling Bad Breath

As a general rule, bad breath is related to what we drink or eat.  As to beverages, alcohol is sure to give you bad breath, coffee does as well.  Different cultures have spicy foods, and people who consume these foods on a regular basis, will experience odors, not only emanating from their mouth, but also from their pores.

Listerine, a leading mouthwash manufacturer, says there are five top foods that will give you bad breath – of course, we are familiar with onions and garlic being the biggest culprits, and even canned tuna is no surprise, but horseradish and dairy foods also make your mouth feel a little funky.

Dairy products as a source for bad breath may surprise you, but, while dairy products may be good for your teeth and bones, they make your mouth feel unclean.  This is because naturally occurring bacteria from your tongue feeds on the amino acids in dairy products (milk, cottage cheese, yogurt and cheeses), resulting in a foul odor.

What Does Wine Do to Teeth?

Red wine and concord grape juice have been long known to do two things:

#1 – make an indelible stain on clothes or carpeting; and

#2 – prevent the oxidation of bad cholesterol that leads to the formation of plaque in artery walls.

As to #2, if you were looking for an excuse to have that morning glass of grape juice or a  nightly glass of red wine perhaps you have one now.  After all, if a mere beverage can help lower the risk of developing blood clots that lead to heart attacks, you might as well go for it, right?  One important thing to remember is that having stained teeth does not mean that your teeth are unhealthy, and if you have stained teeth there are solutions such as a visit to a top dentist and an in office tooth whitening procedure.

Health Benefits of Smiling

“We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do” ~Mother Teresa

Those are wise words indeed, spoken by the late Mother Teresa.  These days, world events have us weary and worried.  Many times we shuffle out of the door, breaking a smile to those to whom we feel obligated to smile at, but, admittedly our smile is not always heartfelt.  We are wise to cast our cares aside when we venture out, so that we let others see the good in our soul, and not the sorrows or angst that we might carry with us.  Even those who suffer from depression will benefit from a smile – a shared smile that they give away or one that they receive.

Just Grin

The idea of presenting a happy face to the world is good for your psyche.  In fact, smiling is the best present we can give to ourselves.  It is free and people will be more enamored with you from benefiting from your positive influence on them.

Common Myths About Dental Care

There are old wives’ tales and urban legends on every topic imaginable.  Once upon a time, household hints and medical tips were passed along from generation to generation and circulated by housewives at a kaffeeklatsch  or via the glossy pages of “Good Housekeeping” magazine.  Through the wonders of the internet, we no longer need to rely on the written words and collection of “how to” tips from our ancestors –  we need only “Google” to get what info we need.  If the solution is dubious, we go to “Snopes” to verify the facts… but, even in this modern age, there are still many myths about dental care that exist.  Wherever do these stories come from?  Many of them are untrue, and simply unbelievable!  Have a look for yourself below:

The Anatomy of Teeth

The Tooth Fairy deposits spare change for each tooth she collects from under your pillow while you are fast asleep.  I don’t know what the going rate for teeth which have wriggled free from their gums is these days, but once you read about just how extraordinary your pearly whites really are, you’ll realize that all these years later you were gypped!

Composition of a tooth

If you Google Images to find the composition of a tooth, you might be surprised just how many layers or actual components you will see.

There are four major tissues that make up the tooth:

The tooth is supported in place by:

  • Gum
  • Bone

Dental Care for New Immigrants

Coming to the ‘Land of Opportunity’ has been your dream for years, and you finally made it here. At last, you’re a free person in a free land. Of course, you may also be a stranger in a strange land. No matter how many times you’ve been to the United States before you made it to stay, you likely have a lot of questions that you may not have had before. One of the biggest (and perhaps most neglected) questions of all facing new immigrants to the U.S. is regarding dental care. Naturally, you already know how to physically care for your teeth, as you’ve been doing it your whole life. But what about all those questions you have over and above your own brushing and flossing? For instance, how do you, as someone who has just newly immigrated to America, go about caring for your teeth financially? What do you do if you get a cavity? What if you lose a tooth or you need to have a tooth pulled? What if you need dentures or implants? And, perhaps most important of all, how do you care for your children’s teeth? Following is some important information that may help you wade through your dental care options, including your rights and the rights of your children, now that you’re a new immigrant to the United States of America.

Pros and Cons of Tooth Whitening Toothpaste

When you walk down the hygiene aisle of a grocery store looking for toothpaste you might feel bombarded with choices. There are so many different brands, types, and forms of toothpaste. Some toothpaste might offer plaque removal, bad breath fighting, or tooth whitening. Are these different kinds of toothpaste doing what they claim to do? For many people the tooth whitening toothpaste is appealing since it seems easy to do. To get whiter teeth, does it just take changing toothpaste? If you’re the one stopped in front of the whitening toothpaste, there are a few things you’ll need to know. There are experts on tooth whitening that can help.