Our Blog

There are some tried and true methods to get a healthy smile like avoiding sugar, brushing your teeth twice per day, and visiting your dentist twice per year. But, there are some more subtle actions that you can take to get a healthier smile that you may be ignoring.

1 – Floss Regularly 

The fact is that brushing doesn’t completely clean teeth, and flossing helps remove food debris from the hard-to-reach areas in between teeth and below the gum line. Try to floss once per day, and thoroughly clean each side of every tooth, and just below your gum line. There are a number of types of floss, and flossing devices that can help you get into a better flossing routine. Try to buy floss with the ADA seal of approval, so you know that you’re getting a thoroughly tested product.

When beginning a flossing routine, be gentle on your teeth and gums. If you haven’t flossed in a while, then your gums could be sensitive to a new flossing routine.

2 – Have Water Handy 

Water promotes a healthy body, and it is the perfect drink for oral health! Water helps keep the mouth clean in a couple of important ways. First, it helps remove food debris from teeth, which helps prevent cavities and unhealthy plaque build-up. Water also stimulates saliva production, which naturally cleans teeth of damaging acids, and helps keep the mouth at a healthy ph level. 

Try keeping a bottle of water handy so that you can rinse after meals, and prevent your mouth from becoming dry. This will help your teeth stay cleaner while away from your house, and keep you properly hydrated! 

3 – Drop the Late-Night Snack 

We all love late-night snacks, but eating right before bed can harm your teeth – especially if you eat starchy or sugary snacks. Food adheres to the surface of teeth, and provides fuel for bad bacteria that cause cavities. If you after you’ve brushed your teeth, then you risk sleeping with food stuck to your teeth for an extended period of time. This can lead to unhealthy plaque buildup, and even tooth decay. 

Try not to eat any food after you have brushed your teeth before bed. If you must have something, then stick to water so you can keep your teeth free of debris and sugar while you sleep.

Is Your Family Mouth-Healthy? 

As an adult, it can be easy to get a healthy smile with dedication and some time management. But, it can be more difficult for children to care for their teeth and get a healthy mouth without help, and that’s where we come in. Our office will help your child get the smile they deserve by evaluating the state of their mouth, and teaching them about proper oral health practices.  

Visit us today for a stress-free first visit, and begin your child down the path to a healthier smile today.  

New and expecting parents have a million things on their mind, all aimed at creating the healthiest environment possible for their young child. Today, we discuss how parents can baby-proof their house to prevent potential injuries to their babies and toddlers.

First: Get on Their Level to Identify Problems 

Before beginning, identify potential problems by getting on your hands and knees, and crawling around your house to observe it from your child’s perspective. Look for things that are within reach and look appealing to children. What looks tempting for babies? How could they use their surroundings to injure themselves? This exercise will help you identify areas in your home where you need to focus extra effort, like cabinets, drawers and other spaces that may house hazardous material. 

Protect Outlets 

Outlet covers help prevent children from shocking themselves by sticking a foreign object in the outlet. Unfortunately, a lot of outlet covers are small and easily swallowed by a toddler. Instead of outlet covers, we suggest replacing electrical outlet covers that have a sliding safety latch, which is far more difficult for a toddler to access. 

Secure Heavy Furniture and Fixtures 

According to the U.S. Product Safety Commission (CPSC), more than 16,000 children under the age of 5 are injured each year by television sets, bookcases, and other heavy pieces of furniture. To prevent this, we suggest securing your heavy furniture to the wall with bolts to prevent it from falling over. Also, move heavy items away from the edges of furniture pieces so that your toddler doesn’t pull something down on herself. Additionally, always put heavier things in the bottom shelves or drawers to make your furniture less top-heavy.

Prevent Poisoning 

According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, more than 1.2 million possible poisonings of children under age 5 were reported in 2009. This makes it imperative that parents store all of their hazardous chemicals out of reach of their children in a secure area. Additionally, parents should keep medications well out of reach of their young children, and dispose of any old medication. Also, watch out for carbon monoxide by installing carbon detectors, which will alert you if your home has unsafe carbon monoxide levels. 

Be prepared for a potential poisoning by having the National Poison Control Center’s number accessible: 800.222.1222.

Practice Water Safety 

Accidental drowning is the number one cause of death of children between the ages of 1 – 4, and most of these unfortunate accidents occur inside the home, not at the pool.  Most in-house accidents involve babies and bathtubs, which make it critical that parents monitor supervise their children in the bathroom, and NEVER leave them unattended near a pool of water. Buckets, bathtubs, and even toilets are dangerous to toddlers, so parents must closely supervise their children around water. 

Protect Their Teeth 

It’s important that parents establish a dental home for their child by their first birthday. This way, a pediatric dentist can help guide your family to oral health success, and offer strategies for protecting your young child’s teeth. 

We would love to be your dental home! Schedule a visit with our office today so that we can evaluate the state of your child’s teeth, and begin them down the path to a healthy smile.

As a parent, time is often in limited supply. That can lead you to foregoing making a meal, and instead choosing fast food to fuel your family. If you MUST eat fast food, then try making the meal a little healthier with these tips.

Choose Your Drink with Care 

A place where sugar loves to hide is in the beverages that we consume everyday.  When grabbing a quick bite to eat, don’t go for a soda or carbonated drink – which are packed with sugar and acid that can damage and erode tooth enamel. Instead, get a bottle of water or a small bottle of milk, both of which are healthy for teeth.

Try a Side other than Fries 

Listen, everybody loves fries, we all know that. Unfortunately, fries are starchy snacks, which can stick to teeth after meal time has ended. Try looking for fresh fruit sides, or a side salad when choosing a fast food option. Many fast food places have sides that are far healthier than fries.

Avoid Meals with Buns 

Most fast food burgers are served between two generic buns made up of white bread. Unfortunately, white bread is a sticky starch that can stay on teeth long after it is consumed. This can feed bad bacteria on teeth, and lead to tooth decay and cavities. When getting a quick meal, try finding one that doesn’t include a bun.

Try a Salad 

Salads have incredible health benefits, but are also very healthy for teeth! That’s because they’re packed with fresh greens that contain a lot of fiber, which naturally scrubs teeth as it is chewed. Additionally, you can add cheese to a salad for protein and calcium, both of which strengthen teeth! 

Say “No” to the Post Meal Shake 

Getting fast food is a treat for most people, and part that involves treating oneself to a shake for dessert. We advise that you avoid shakes or sugary sweets, and instead choose fresh fruit for dessert. Shakes are loaded with sugar, and often contain more than one person should eat in any given day. Fresh fruit, on the other hand, contains natural sugar and provides more overall nutritional value.

Prepare Your Own Meals 

The best way to get a mouth-healthy meal is by preparing your lunch in advance, and the same goes for children. If you let your children purchase their lunch at school, then they aren’t likely to get a well-rounded nutritional meal. Try making their lunch for them and giving them mouth healthy foods like Apples, Greek yogurt, cheese, nuts like almonds or cashews, and veggies like carrots or celery.

As a parent, you have the world on your mind when it comes to raising your child. A healthy diet is one of the primary concerns of most parents, and can go a long way in helping children get healthy teeth. Unfortunately, some of your child’s favorite drinks at Starbucks are packed with sugar, and terrible for their teeth.

Sugar is the Enemy

Sugar feeds the harmful bacteria on teeth, and creates acid that erodes enamel. This causes plaque and ultimately cavities, which is why you should limit the number of sugary foods and drinks your child consumes. Unfortunately, most of your kid’s favorite drinks from Starbucks are absolutely LOADED with sugar. 

Top 3 Worst Starbucks Drinks for Kids Teeth

The American Heart Association recommends children limit their daily sugar intake to less than 26 grams per day, and adults should have less than 36 grams per day. Unfortunately, most of the items on Starbucks’ menu far exceed 30 grams of sugar – even if the drink is a “small” (tall) on the menu.

1 - Any Frappuccino

One of the most popular drinks aimed at kids, Frappuccinos, are absolutely loaded with sugar - each of which contains AT LEAST 50 grams of sugar per drink. Frappuccinos come in a variety of flavors, but each of them contains far more sugar than your child needs to consume in one day.

2 – Iced White Chocolate Mocha

Another iced drink, the Iced White Chocolate Mocha contains 54 grams of sugar per drink, which is far too much sugar for one drink to contain. That’s because white chocolate is made with vanilla, and sweetened with sugar when it’s processed.

3 - Cinnamon Dolce Crème

Here’s an item from the kid’s menu that is terrible for teeth. The Cinnamon Dolce Crème doesn’t have caffeine, but it is loaded with sugar at 28 grams of sugar in a tall drink, and 37 grams in a grande.

Don’t be Fooled by the Kids Menu

Starbucks has a kid’s menu that features drinks with less sugar and caffeine than their other beverages. But, don’t be fooled: each drink contains at least 25 grams of sugar, and the steamed apple juice has a whopping 50 grams of sugar. If you choose to get your child a beverage from Starbucks, go with a hot, decaffeinated tea and a little bit of honey.

Visit Our Office

We suggest that your child avoids visiting Starbucks, and instead focuses on drinking more water and real fruit juices. Drinks from Starbucks are loaded with sugar that can cause cavities, and lead to other oral health issues.   

Visit our office for more information about a mouth-healthy diet that can help your child grow a healthy smile.