February brings National Children’s Dental Health Month! This is brought to you by the American Dental Association to create child awareness of the benefits of good oral health. This year’s month-long campaign is, “Brush and clean in between to build a healthy smile.”

First Dental Visit

Around their first birthday, or within six months after their first tooth emerges, visit our dentist to make sure the teeth of your child are developing properly. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, over 50 percent of children will have some kind of tooth decay before they turn five, so it is important for your child to attend early dental visits. We can address any oral hygiene questions you have and let you know when it is time to start using a toothbrush.

Let them see you brushing and flossing, and help them brush and floss their teeth. By following the 2-2-2 Rule (seeing the dentist twice a year and brushing and flossing twice a day for two minutes), you will develop healthy oral hygiene habits.

Brushing Technique

• Hold the toothbrush at a 45° angle and brush along the gum line.
• Brush each tooth in a back and forth, up and down motion.
• Clean the inside, outside, back and top surfaces of each tooth.
• Gently wipe the tongue to remove bacteria.

Brush twice a day for two minutes each, giving the molars some extra attention. If your little one wants to help, you can take turns brushing or let them start and you finish. Don not let them share their toothbrush, and replace it when the bristles start to fray.

Flossing

When your child’s teeth touch, it is time to start flossing the areas that the toothbrush can’t clean. Whether it is dental floss, floss sticks/picks or oral irrigators, find a flossing tool that works best and use it!

Flossing Technique

• Using about 18 inches of floss, you can wrap an end around each of your middle fingers.
• Slide the floss between two teeth gently
• At the gum line, create a C-shape around each tooth
• Pull the floss tight to scrape against each tooth and repeat until all have been cleaned.

When your child’s manual dexterity and coordination is developed around six or seven years old, you can let them start brushing on their own. At this time, our dentist can also speak with you about fluoride and dental sealants to prevent cavities. Your child can usually floss by themselves by the time they are nine or ten.

Teen Care

High schoolers are often busy with school, sports and extracurricular activities, work and socializing, so you want to help them stick to their daily oral hygiene habits. They may be wearing braces, having wisdom teeth removed and feeling self-conscious about their smile (and their breath), so good oral hygiene habits can support their goals.

• Encourage them to use a timer, listen to their favorite song while brushing and flossing for two minutes, or switch to an electric toothbrush with a timer.
• Keep plenty of dental hygiene supplies in stock such as soft toothbrushes, flavored flosses, toothpaste and a toothbrush for their backpack when they are on the go.
• Keep fruits and vegetables handy instead of junk food for healthier snacking.
• If they are active in sports, supply them with an athletic guard to protect teeth from being chipped, cracked or lost.
• Talk to your teen about peer-pressure activities that can damage his or her smile like smoking, drinking or getting an oral piercing.

Your teens want to look and feel their best, so support their efforts for maintaining those oral habits instilled in their childhood. This month is a good time to reinforce good habits and provide your children and teens with the tools and support they need for a lifetime of healthy smiles!

Your daily brushing and flossing routine is crucial to thwarting dreaded cavities and gum disease from invading your smile, but by itself, it’s still not enough to maintain top-notch oral health. There is a reason we recommend regular dental cleanings and exams!

Seeing our dental team for routine dental checkups and cleanings supports your daily oral hygiene efforts by taking care of those things you can’t at home, like removing tartar (that hardened plaque of sticky film which destroys gum tissue and tooth enamel) as well as detecting problems early when they are the least invasive and costly to treat. Surprisingly, plaque and tartar can build up in a short period of time making your mouth vulnerable to all kinds of dental issues.

When you come in for a routine dental cleaning, our experienced team will scrape the tartar off of the gum line and below it, as well as give your pearly whites a thorough polish and flossing. Polishing removes stains on tooth enamel that builds up from the food and beverages consumed.

You will also receive a thorough examination of your oral tissues, including the gums and the throat along with your teeth. With the help of dental X-rays, we can detect problems that may not be noticeable to you right now, such as cavity formation, gum disease, oral cancer, jawbone issues, bite issues, impacted teeth, abscesses, diabetes and more.

Why You Should Come in Twice Yearly for Dental Cleanings

• Save tooth enamel from the destructive acids in plaque and tartar as well as the effects of bruxism (teeth grinding).
• Keep gum disease from inflaming your oral tissues and preventing tooth and bone loss.
• Make sure your jaw bone is healthy and supportive to prevent tooth and bone loss.
• Keep your teeth whiter and brighter by removing stains and discolorations
• Keep your breath fresher and prevent halitosis.
• Detect oral cancer in the early and most successfully treated stages.
• Keep your body healthier as your mouth is free of disease, including heart disease and stroke.
• Maintain previous dental restorations such as fillings, crowns, dentures, etc.

If you are at increased risk for dental issues, it is crucial that you don’t skip annual dental cleanings and checkups. High risks include being 55 and older, male, a woman experiencing hormonal changes like menopause or pregnancy, being a regular tobacco user or regularly drinking alcohol. You are also at greater risk if you have diabetes or cancer, take medications that result in dry mouth, have poor oral hygiene, are excessively stressed or have a family history of poor oral health.

In addition to preventing oral issues, seeing our dentist for preventative maintenance can reduce the amount you spend on extensive dental work down the road, including lower dental insurance. Preventative maintenance is a wise investment in your oral health and overall health as well as your bank account. With the holidays in full swing, gift your loved ones and yourself with end-of-year dental cleanings and start your new year off with better dental health!

October is here and fall has officially begun, bringing with it Breast Cancer Awareness Month as well as National Dental Hygiene Month. This is a time to raise awareness for both and help to prevent problems by monitoring your health and being mindful of your lifestyle choices. Whether you are fighting cancer or dental problems, catching problems in their early stages helps stack the success rate in your favor.

When it comes to breast cancer awareness, you can find out about local and national outreach to educate yourself about steps you can take to help prevent and fight this disease. In addition, your overall health can have an impact on your oral health, and vice versa. According to the American Cancer Society, all women should have a breast exam by a physician every three years from the age of 20-39, and after that, yearly at age 40. The ACS also advises conducting breast self-exams every month. When it comes to your day to day habits, eating a balanced diet, limiting alcohol intake and avoiding smoking can help you tip the balance in your favor to prevent this deadly disease.

October is also when we celebrate the work dental hygienists do to protect your oral health and prevent dental problems. It allows us to stress the importance of regularly monitoring your oral health to catch problems in their early stage when they are most easily and least invasively treated. As with breast cancer, avoiding smoking (or tobacco in any form) and limiting alcohol can help you prevent oral cancer. There are also steps you can take to keep oral cancer away:

What You Can Do:

– Avoid smoking and tobacco in all its forms.

– Limit alcohol use or avoid altogether.

– Avoid prolonged exposure to the sun, particularly between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Use sunscreen to help protect your skin.

– Shield your lips with a lip balm containing SPF 30 or more when you are outside.

– A daily diet rich in cancer-fighting fruits and vegetables for their phytonutrients and other unique compounds. Vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes and garlic, and fruits like berries, red grapes and citrus.

– Keep up with all routine dental checkups.

When you see our dentist for routine cleanings and exams, we will also be checking for oral cancer. Cancer can show up on the lips, inside your mouth, on the salivary glands, your tonsils, the back of the throat, on your tongue or esophagus. If you are being treated for cancer anywhere in your body using radiation or chemotherapy, your dental health can be impacted so it’s especially important to check for problems.

When it comes to your daily oral hygiene habits, you want to maintain healthy teeth and gums to avoid oral cancer and other dental problems. As part of Dental Hygiene awareness month, we encourage you to follow the advice of the American Dental Association which promotes your best dental health.

Dental Hygiene Tips

– Brush at least twice a day with a toothbrush that fits into your mouth easily. Brush the surfaces of all your teeth – the front, back, and tops – and don’t forget the ones in the back. Also, brush your tongue to reduce bacteria in the mouth and fight halitosis.

– Floss between the teeth and around the gum line at least once a day with a flossing method of your choice. Be sure you clean between your pearly whites daily to avoid harmful build-up or the hardening of plaque.

– Rinse with a non-alcohol microbial mouthwash to remove bacteria and biofilm that can lead to tooth decay and gum disease.

– Chewing sugar-free gum for 20 minutes after meals can stimulate healthy saliva production which neutralizes harmful acids and washes away bacterial debris.

Daily brushing, flossing, eating healthy and checking your mouth monthly for signs of unusual activity can all go a long way in protecting your health for a lifetime of healthy smiles. For October, we encourage you to take stock of your overall health as well as your dental health and do what you can to live your healthiest life. You hold the keys to better health by detecting problems early on when the success rate is highest. We wish you the best of health and are here to support your daily efforts!