Category: General Dental Care
Now that we all have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic from individuals to big corporations and no matter what we do, “staying in place” has become the norm, at least for now. Your dental offices are one of the most highly affected businesses next to the hospitals and medical offices. After all, dentists, regardless of the practice model, endodontists, oral surgeon, orthodontists, pediatric dentists all work in the one of most cautious areas on the body, the mouth. Talking about coughing and sneezing being dangerous, would you want to work in someone’s mouth right now? I don’t think so....
It’s funny but over the years I have heard some parents say, “Oh, they’re just baby teeth”, and others will say, “But they’re his/her baby teeth!” So who’s right and what’s the real answer to this question…Are baby teeth just as important as adult teeth? Well first let’s think of it this way. Although babies can’t always express everything they are thinking, they still try to speak, need to eat and of course before vanity sets in, let’s face it babies love to smile! While a toothless smile is cute, a smile with one or two teeth is even better...
Here comes the bride…zilla…again! Ok so in my intro piece I talked about how one shouldnt wait until the big day is almost upon you to decide to get your teeth ready for those all of those photographs you will be taking and of course showing to everyone for the rest of your life. Isn’t that the real point?, you want a smile you can show for the rest of your life? Therefore, you need to start by talking with your dentist about the condition of your teeth as soon as the proposal is out in the open. Let’s say...
Here comes the bride…zilla! So you’re getting married in let’s say in 2-3-4 months or even a year from now. You’ve been planning for the big day… You got the church and the place for the reception The flowers The caterer The cake Mom’s outfit The bridemaids and their dresses The vows The ring(s)…oops maybe that the groom’s job! And the photographer and videographer Wow life is looking pretty good right now until you’re standing there in the mirror looking at yourself trying to figure out what hairstyle will make that veil pop! Then all of a sudden you smile...
In order to understand some of the details of why it is important to clean your teeth or keep your pearly whites clean, you need to understand the physical makeup of our teeth and/or how our teeth are structured. Without using too much dental jargon, I’ll try to give you a snapshot version of the makeup of our teeth. So let’s build a tooth. Our teeth have two sections, like a plant, there’s the top (crown) which sits above our gums and the roots which are underneath our gums. Enamel: This is most outer layer of each tooth, this is what...
Back in the day a dentist was a dentist was a dentist, but these days just like in medicine, there are several specialties of dentistry. So here goes the breakdown: General Dentist (GD) – The practioner who most of us go to for our regular checkups. I consider them the Jack of All Trades so to speak, because although training usually includes all aspects of dentistry, the GD mainly concentrates on the overall health of your teeth. Procedures usually performed are cleanings, fillings, maybe some crown & bridge work, and/or maybe some simple extractiions (simple meaning not wisdom teeth or other possible...
At sometime in your life, my life, our lives, everyone has heard those words, or has been asked that question more times than they can count… “Did you brush your teeth? ” And as the dental world evolved over these last 10-20 years, the question turned into “Did you or have you brushed and flossed your teeth?” Brushing and flossing, why? Or what one should ask is why not? For some or us, without that welcomed or dreaded ritual of brushing and flossing, our teeth would just rot away, not to mention all of the dental diseases that would infect our gums...
During your child’s last dental check up the dentist suggested having dental sealants placed on your little one’s teeth. Now you’re wondering, why? Let me try to clarify the mystery of sealants… Dental sealants are a special resin to help prevent the development of cavities on the chewing surfaces of the bicuspid and/or molar teeth. Think of them as a sort of protective shield like applying a coat of wax on your car. No one sees it but you know it’s there keeping the elements from ruining your car’s finish. The procedure is simple. The dentist simply isolates the tooth/teeth...
So now that we’ve discussed what to expect at your child’s first dental visit, now let’s discuss the dynamics of the parent’s role in helping their child have a dental experience which will continue throughout their life. As always, I must mention how things use to be just to give you a chance to open your mind to the differences between how things were done in the past compared to today. Long ago when a child went to the dentist, their mother or father usually accompanied them into the office and the kid just sat down without any dispute. Now...
