Congratulations to Greg Hong (Dr. Kari's brother) and Maggie on their recent engagement! Maggie was a dental assistant at our office for many years until she moved with Greg to New York City to launch Reserve, a mobile app for fine dining. They are both doing great and on their way to a wonderful future. Best wishes from California!
Mouthwash can be a great tool in achieving overall oral health. However, it is important to acknowledge why you are using it and pick a product that meets your goals. Many patients gravitate towards alcohol based products like Listerine Ultraclean and Scope. These brands are designed to fight against plaque and gingivitis with their antimicrobial properties. They are excellent choices for individuals with periodontal disease and inflamed gum tissue. However, these mouthwashes tend to be acidic and abrasive to tooth enamel.
We feel that the majority of our patients would be better suited with a fluoride rinse type of mouthwash like Act Rinse. These products are designed to strengthen enamel and interfere with decay-causing bacteria. While they may not have the satisfying "burn" of an alcohol mouthwash, they are definitely doing their job!
Using mouthwash for fresh breath? You might want to try a different tactic. Once the flavoring wears off, mouthwashes aren't particularly protective against bad breath. Your best bet is to target the smells at the source. Flossing and tongue brushing have been shown to be particularly helpful in approving mouth odors. If you have any other mouthwash related questions, be sure to give our office a call!
Duke will be turning one year old this week and already has 8 of his primary teeth! The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that all children have their first dental visit by 12 months to ensure that development is continuing normally. If your youngster needs his first checkup, give our office a call!
If you've ever had Ice Breakers gum, Spry mints or a hard candy from our office, you have enjoyed the benefits of Xylitol sweeteners. Xylitol is a natural sugar that is harvested from plants. While it tastes sweet like glucose, a slight difference in chemical structure prevents it from being digested by our oral bacteria. As such, foods with sufficient xylitol content can help prevent tooth decay!
When our mouth bacteria encounter typical sugars (glucose, fructose, cooked starches, etc.), their enzymes process it to make acid that causes tooth decay. However, xylitol interferes with these enzymes and stops the bacteria in their tracks. You will typically find xylitol in products like gum, mints and toothpaste, but it can be used to sweeten anything. Dr. John's candies are a great example of tasty, low calorie xylitol treats (try them at our office!).
As with anything, enjoy xylitol in moderation! Too much in one setting can cause stomach aches and GI distress. Additionally, xylitol is poisonous to dogs, so make sure you keep it out of Fido's reach. If you have any other questions about xylitol or its benefits, don't hesitate to call our office!
This case is a great example of the amazing transformations that can be achieved using dental bridges! Today's patient came to us with significant decay on their upper anterior teeth and periodontal disease on their lowers. A thorough examination revealed that the teeth weren't savable and unfortunately needed to be extracted.
While the patient healed, our lab designed upper and lower bridges to replace the missing teeth. In this instance, bridges allowed us to provide permanently fixed and natural appearing restorations. There are no removable parts (as with dentures) and there was no need for surgery (as with implants). Overall, this solution created dramatic and life-changing improvement for this patient's smile!
While flossing is mostly foolproof, there are a few pointers to keep in mind. Floss is primarily used to remove plaque from the interdental space. For it to work efficiently, floss needs to contact the tooth, hug it, slide down below the gum level and be brought back up. In each space, make sure to clean both the more forward and more backward tooth. In contrast, flossing without contacting the teeth only removes stuck food and doesn't impart the full benefit. If you're short on time or juggling a busy schedule, consider keeping a pack of flossers in your car for the morning commute. Remember to use floss daily, along with brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste!
For a quick refresher on all our homecare information, here's a short video our office put together:
What makes a good brush? Take a look at these five guidelines and you're sure to pick a great product!
1. Look for a toothbrush with a small brush head. Bigger brushes are hard to maneuver and tend to miss important areas.
2. Only buy soft brush heads. Stiff bristles can damage enamel and wear away at gums causing serious damage.
3. Don't fall for gimmicks. What's more important than "cross bristles" or "massaging action" is that you use the brush for two minutes twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.
4. Remember to replace often. Older brushes harbor bacteria and don't work as efficiently. Make sure you are getting a brush that you are comfortable replacing on a regular basis.
5. Consider going electric. Electric brushes take a lot of the guesswork out of brushing your teeth. Look for products from Oral-B and Sonicare for the best battery life, easiest to find replacement heads and beneficial features. Try to find a model with a built in timer and pressure sensor to get the most out of brushing.
Is kicking bad habits part of your New Years Resolution? Recently, the American Dental Association's blog released a list of some of the worst habits for your teeth. While many of these ticks may seem harmless, they can all cause permanent damage to your teeth, gums or jaw muscles. Over time, these can become very expensive problems- requiring everything from crowns to gum surgery. Take a look at some of the worst offenders and how to manage them!
1. Nail Biting- On top of being unhygienic (your fingernails harbor an entire ecosystem of bacteria), nail biting forces the teeth and jaw to function in ways that they were never designed to. Under repeated stress, the front teeth will crack and chip easily. Even crowns and fillings can become repeatedly damaged. Additionally, protruding your lower jaw to make the front teeth connect puts unneeded strain on your muscles. Consider wearing a bitter tasting nail polish or lotion to put a stop to the biting!
2. Hard/Rigorous Brushing- Many people believe that using generous force and scrubbing the teeth/gums can compensate for a shorter brush time. On the contrary, brushing your teeth too hard will wear away at the teeth and enamel prematurely. Even if you can't brush for a whole two minutes, stick to a gentle pressure. If possible, invest in an electric toothbrush that has a built in pressure sensor like certain Oral-B and Sonicare models.
3. Grinding and Clenching- These habits typically occur subconsciously or while you are asleep, which makes them more difficult to manage. Unfortunately, our jaw muscles develop a tremendous amount of force which can erode or completely shatter enamel. The best way to manage these habits is by treating stress directly. Try meditation, exercise or any other calming techniques. If you still can't stop clenching, custom night guards will protect your teeth from fracturing while lessening tension headaches.
4. Chewing Ice Cubes- While Ice breaks easily under the force of our teeth, it is a very hard substance. Repeatedly crushing ice with your teeth will break cusps, loosen fillings and even fracture crowns. Your best bet is to chill your beverages without ice or use a straw to avoid temptation.
5. Snacking- Tooth decay relies on three things: bacteria, sugar/carbohydrate and time. When you constantly graze on food, you are increasing the amount of time your oral bacteria can feed and cause decay. While the best option is to avoid snacking all together, you can mitigate damage by switching to non-sticky foods with low sugar content.
6. Using Teeth as Tools- Always a bad idea. Your mouth was designed for speaking, eating and breathing, not opening plastic bags. Take some extra time and avoid using your mouth as a third hand!
One of the newest "buzz words" in the dental field is no-drill dentistry. The idea behind this treatment is that if tooth decay is caught early enough it can be remineralized and "reversed" through a number of preventative measures. While these techniques sound new and exciting, they are based on established concepts that we have been using in our office for years.
Tooth decay starts in enamel and spreads towards the inner layers of dentin and pulp. The bacteria begin by removing mineral from enamel, followed by destroying the scaffolding that holds the minerals. While decay sits entirely in enamel, it can be stopped and remineralized. This relies on the use of fluoride (found in drinking water, toothpaste, etc.) along with good oral hygiene (frequent brushing/flossing, low sugar diet, infrequent snacking). However, once the underlying scaffolding is gone, there is no "regrowing" lost enamel. Furthermore, decay that extends into dentin spreads rampantly and cannot be stopped from further progression. At this point, traditional dental work must be performed to keep the cavity from growing.
Thousand Oaks Family Dentistry uses the principals of no-drill dentistry on every one of our patients. We only treat decay via traditional methods when we absolutely have to and always try to naturally remineralize first. Our younger patients all receive fluoride foam treatment with every cleaning while our adult patients are consulted and evaluated for special rinses, pastes or other preventative measures. In short, we try everything possible before touching a tooth with a drill. If you would like to know more about no-drill dentistry, preventative dentistry or any other techniques, please give our office a call!
Everyone had a great time at our office holiday party this weekend! A special thank you to Dr. Kari Ann Hong and her husband Erik for hosting our staff and their loved ones. So you can better plan your own festivities: please note that the office will be closed from Saturday, December 19th to Sunday, December 27th. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
