by 110 Dental & Orthodontics | Dec 1, 2021 | Dental Health
The holidays are coming and going and it’s that time of year again! Time to choose your goals to make the new year your best yet. Let’s talk about New Year’s resolutions for dental health so you can set goals that you are sure to finish.
Daily Dental Care
When planning your New Year’s resolutions for dental health, it can be helpful to break them down into specifics to make them easier to track. For example, if your resolution is better oral hygiene, what does that look like for your daily dental care routine?
We suggest making simple and achievable goals like brushing your teeth for a full 2 minutes each brushing session and flossing daily. These are both specific and easy steps towards better oral hygiene that only take a few minutes out of your busy schedule.
Improving Your Smile
Of course, practicing better oral hygiene will improve your smile, but if you want to take things to another level, it makes sense to make some New Year’s resolutions for dental health that involve additional steps such as whitening treatments.
Some over-the-counter treatments are more effective than others so if you’re going that route it can be helpful to talk with your dentist about your goals so that they can point you in the direction of the treatment that will best suit your lifestyle and desired results. They can also offer professional whitening treatments for ensured results and safety.
Working with Your Dentist
Many people make New Year’s resolutions for their health that prove to be difficult to maintain long term, but have found success with the help of personal trainers or coaches at gyms and fitness centers. It may be helpful to think of your dentist like a coach for your dental health and call on them for support in planning and achieving your New Year’s resolutions for dental health.
Similar to a fitness coach, your dentist can offer expert analysis of your current dental health as well as the steps needed to get to the ultimate results you want to see. They may suggest tools to help such as dental apps to track and provide encouragement as you develop new habits. Like a trainer, your dentist can also support and celebrate your progress when you get regular dental cleanings and exams. Your resolutions are achievable and your dentist is here to help!
Call our Whitehouse dental office to make an appointment with a dentist who may be able to help you find out more about this topic, and improve your oral health.
by 110 Dental & Orthodontics | Nov 1, 2021 | Dental Health
Holidays often involve traveling to gather with friends and family to celebrate. This can be one of the best things about the holidays, but at the same time it’s not always easy. Traveling can make keeping up with your routines more challenging. Here are some great tips and tools for caring for your dental health while traveling.
Packing for Your Trip
If you want to make caring for your dental health while traveling easier, it’s important to make sure that you have the right tools. It can be helpful to make a detailed packing list before you start to pack.
Of course, your toothbrush and toothpaste should be on that list, but if you’re traveling with family it can also be a good idea to buy a few extras to bring just in case somebody forgets theirs while preparing for a holiday trip.
Dental picks, floss picks and travel-sized mouthwash are all useful items to pack as well when traveling. They can be great for when you want to clean your teeth after a holiday snack, but may not have a lot of time to dedicate to brushing and flossing thoroughly just yet. They can also help when you get something stuck in your teeth or if you snack on something that contains onion or garlic and just want a quick refresh.
Snacking on the Road
Caring for your dental health while traveling isn’t just about cleaning your teeth, it’s also good to be mindful about what you’re eating, too. If you get to choose what snacks and drinks your family consumes, try to choose options that are sugar-free or low in sugar, high in fiber and that won’t leave behind a sticky residue or food particles caught in between teeth.
Fresh, crunchy fruits and veggies like apples, carrots, celery and strawberries or hard cheese are all great, natural, and healthy snacks that can help to keep your family’s teeth clean while providing nourishment.
Maintaining Routines
While hitting the road for the holidays can be a great break from many routines like work and school, it’s important to keep up the routines that are vital to your wellbeing like caring for your dental health while traveling. If you’re traveling as a family, it can help to set aside some time every morning and night to ensure that everybody brushes and flosses. Traveling during the holidays should be fun and maintaining good dental health can help give you peace of mind so that you can focus on the important time spent with family and friends.
Call our Whitehouse dental office to make an appointment with a dentist who may be able to help you find out more about this topic, and improve your oral health.
by 110 Dental & Orthodontics | Oct 1, 2021 | Dental Health
It’s a common habit for a lot of us: When you want to freshen your breath, pop a stick of chewing gum in your mouth. The minty freshness feels good, but is gum good for your teeth or can it cause problems? Read on to learn the pros and cons of chewing gum.
Where Did the Idea Come From?
You may have wondered, where did the idea of chewing gum come from? Chewing gum has actually been around since ancient times when people made it from natural tree saps. Modern chewing gum is typically made of synthetic materials, but the concept is still the same, and it’s still popular. But popular doesn’t always mean healthy, so is gum good for your teeth?
Ingredients Matter
Some gums contain natural sugar as part of their flavoring and sugar can put your teeth at an increased risk for cavities. This is because sugar feeds the bacteria that naturally occurs in your mouth, which produces an acid that can lead to erosion of your enamel or the outer layer of your teeth.
So when selecting chewing gum, make sure to check for the words “sugar-free” on the packaging. Sugar-free gums contain alternative sweeteners that are typically less harmful for your teeth.
Even better, if you can find a gum that contains xylitol as the sweetener. Xylitol is a special sweetener that has been shown to change the pH balance of your mouth over time and help to reduce the bacteria and acid in your mouth as well as its ability to adhere to your teeth.
It Helps with Dry Mouth, Too!
Chewing gum can also be good for your teeth for another reason. The action of chewing can stimulate saliva flow in your mouth. This is a positive because saliva is your body’s natural defense system against cavities. Dry mouth is a big culprit in putting teeth at a higher risk of cavities, but increased saliva flow, especially if you chew gum after a meal, can help your saliva to do its job of neutralizing and washing away acids and residue from your teeth and gums.
Practicing Oral Hygiene with Chewing Gum
The answer to the question, “Is gum good for your teeth?” can be a complicated one, because it depends on which gum you choose. And of course, brushing and flossing your teeth is still vitally important to maintaining your dental health, but when you can’t brush your teeth right away after a meal, chewing gum with the right ingredients can help in the meantime.
If you’re wanting to find a gum that is good for your teeth, talk to your dentist about what you’re looking for in a chewing gum and ask if there are any types of gum they may recommend to you that can also benefit your dental health.
Call our Whitehouse dental office to make an appointment with a dentist who may be able to help you find out more about this topic, and improve your oral health.
by 110 Dental & Orthodontics | Aug 2, 2021 | Dental Health
It’s time to hit the road, relax and forget about your responsibilities at home. Some routines are important to keep even while on vacation, though, so don’t let your dental health be forgotten in all the fun and busyness of traveling. Here are some dental health travel tips to help make it easier to stay on top of your oral hygiene while on the road.
What to Pack
A toothbrush and toothpaste are the obvious essentials, but it can be helpful to buy a couple of extra travel sized ones to keep in your purse or backpack for when it’s a hassle to access your larger luggage. It’s also always a good idea to have extras on hand while traveling in case a toothbrush gets lost or somebody forgets theirs.
Some Hacks for the Road
Dental picks and a travel-sized bottle of mouthwash are also travel must-haves. Both are great for when you’re on the go and don’t have access to clean water or time for a thorough floss, but want to clean and refresh your mouth as much as possible until you get to a place where you can brush and floss. Keep a few on hand in your purse and car so they are always handy wherever you need them.
How to Snack
Snacking on the road can be a major culprit in developing cavities while traveling. At home, it’s easy to remember to brush your teeth after each meal, but away from home it can feel a lot more complicated to stay consistent with oral hygiene. So how you snack can be even more important than usual when you’re on the road.
Try to choose snacks that are low in sugar or sugar-free, high in fiber and that don’t leave behind sticky food particles or residue. Fresh fruits and veggies such as apples, carrots or strawberries are all great choices that can actually help to clean your teeth and promote saliva production thanks to their added crunch factor.
Foods high in calcium and other vitamins and minerals like cheese, yogurt or fresh greens can also be a great option because they help to provide the nourishment your teeth need to stay healthy and strong.
Before You Go
Last but not least, one of the most helpful dental health travel tips is simply to schedule an appointment with your dentist before you travel. Taking preventative steps is often your best bet at avoiding dental problems while on the road because your dentist can help to spot any issues early on. Plus, it can save you the hassle of having to find an emergency dentist while in an unfamiliar place.
It will also give you the chance to ask your dentist for any dental health travel tips they’d recommend to you personally. Traveling should be fun and you shouldn’t have to take time away to worry about your dental health while on vacation.
Call our Whitehouse dental office to make an appointment with a dentist who may be able to help you find out more about this topic, and improve your oral health.
by 110 Dental & Orthodontics | Jun 1, 2021 | General Dentistry
If you’re looking for ways to protect your teeth from decay and cavities, reducing sugar intake can be an important step to take towards that goal. In addition to keeping an eye out for sugar-free options, xylitol can be an alternative sweetener that may actually be beneficial to your teeth dental health. Let’s talk about what’s so sweet about xylitol and how it can benefit you.
What is Xylitol?
Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that is naturally found in small amounts in many fruits and vegetables and is even produced by the human body’s normal metabolism. It can be processed from trees such as birch or a plant fiber known as xylan. Xylitol has less calories at just 2.4 calories per gram than traditional table sugar at 4 calories per gram — a 40% decrease! Xylitol also doesn’t raise your blood sugar levels, although it looks and tastes similar to regular sugar. But what’s so sweet about xylitol is that it can actually benefit your teeth, in contrast to regular sugar, and in addition to all these other advantages.
How Can Xylitol Benefit My Teeth?
With use over time, xylitol has been shown to neutralize the pH environment of your mouth to reduce bacteria content and its ability to adhere to your teeth. While regular table sugar helps to feed bacteria, producing an acidic environment in your mouth that is more prone to the development of cavities, xylitol may actually help to slow down and even reverse tooth decay and enable your enamel to rebuild, preventing future cavities.
How Can I Replace Sugar with Xylitol?
Xylitol has been shown to be safe for all ages, so it can replace sugar in most products. The sweetener is becoming more and more common in toothpastes, floss, mouthwash, gum, mints, packaged foods and even candies.
Many bakers and cooks have said that xylitol stacks up better than other alternative sweeteners in baking recipes, too, which means that you can try it as a replacement for sugar in many of your favorite recipes. What’s so sweet about xylitol is that the possibilities are endless!
Ask Your Dentist About Xylitol
If you’re curious to know more about xylitol and how it can be added to your oral care regimen to benefit your teeth, it’s a great topic to bring up with your dentist. Dentists are experts in caring for teeth and are always happy to help you find ways that you can better your oral health while enjoying the food, drinks and lifestyle that brings you joy.
Call our Whitehouse dental office to make an appointment with a dentist who may be able to help you find out more about this topic, and improve your oral health.
