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BEING “TONGUE-TIED” is a common expression in the English language, but it’s also a real medical condition. Being lip-tied is another, and both are caused by thin pieces of tissue called frenula. One frenulum connects the upper lip to the upper gums, and another connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth. We have other frenula, but these are the two we’re going to focus on
IN JUST THE UNITED STATES, sleep apnea affects over 18 million adults and up to 20 percent of children who habitually snore. Sleep apnea is a disorder involving brief, repeated interruptions to normal breathing during sleep. In addition to being potentially life-threatening, this disorder can be very harmful to oral health.
January 8th, 2020 | What Makes Teeth Sensitive
IF YOU CAN’T REALLY enjoy ice cream because every bite sends a nasty jolt through your teeth, then you know what it’s like to deal with tooth sensitivity. You aren’t alone in that; at least one in eight people in the U.S. has sensitive teeth, including kids. So why does this happen to so many of us?
COMING DOWN WITH the flu is never any fun, but it’s still no time to let up on your oral hygiene routine. The same applies if you get a cold. With flu and cold season starting up, we thought this was a good time to share some tips for maintaining good oral health through one of these common illnesses.
TOOTHACHES CAN HAPPEN for a number of reasons. It’s important to know what to do about them, because they don’t always happen when the dentist’s office is open. Do you have a plan for how to deal with an after-hours toothache?
IF YOU LOOK AT ANY tube of toothpaste with the American Dental Association’s Seal of Acceptance, you’ll see fluoride listed as the active ingredient. Trace amounts of fluoride are also added to the drinking water in many communities to further promote strong and healthy teeth. But what is fluoride and how does it work?
FROM CLOTHING TO HAIRSTYLE to cosmetics to accessories, our personal style is how we portray who we are, and this can include piercings. However, where clothing and hairstyles are very rarely health risks (we hope), the same isn’t true of piercings. Oral piercings, specifically, pose several risks to healthy teeth and gums.
BLEEDING GUMS ARE the most common symptom of gum disease, but that’s not the only thing that can cause this problem. Let’s take a closer look at bleeding gums, the various causes, and what we can do about it.
November 20th, 2019 | Conquering Dental Anxiety
EVEN THOUGH WE know, logically, that going to the dentist is a safe, normal, and important part of staying healthy, many of us don’t find it particularly fun to...
ONE OF THE MOST common complications of diabetes is gum disease, and that isn’t the only way diabetes is hard on teeth and gums. Diabetes and oral health have a close relationship. If the diabetes isn’t carefully controlled, it will be much harder to maintain good oral health, and vice versa.
WE’VE ALL HEARD over and over how smoking can adversely impact health, with the most infamous example being lung cancer. But smoking doesn’t only harm the lungs; it damages every single system in the body, and it also damages oral health.
WHAT COMES TO MIND when you hear the word “sugar”? Probably your favorite type of candy or dessert, maybe your favorite soda. You probably didn’t picture barbecue sauce, granola bars, flavored yogurt, or fruit juice, but all of these and plenty more foods you wouldn’t suspect are loaded with sugar. That isn’t great news for our oral health.
TEETH ARE OUR PASSION, and while we spend most of our time focusing on human teeth, sometimes it’s fun to take a look at the truly amazing teeth of the animal kingdom. So today we’re going to hold the olympics of animal teeth, to see which critters win the gold for biggest, strongest, hardest, and most teeth, as well as the teeth that are simply the strangest.
October 15th, 2019 | Teeth-Friendly Halloween Treats
HALLOWEEN IS A TON OF fun every year, and it’s right around the corner! We love the costumes, the decorations, and the local events, but we’re a little...
October 1st, 2019 | Charcoal Toothpaste: Science Versus Fads
IF GIVEN THE CHANCE to change something about their smiles, most people would choose to have whiter teeth, and quite a few are willing to try just about...
September 24th, 2019 | Daily Habits That Harm Our Teeth
OUR TOOTH ENAMEL holds the distinction of being the hardest substance in our bodies — even harder than bone! But don’t take that to mean...
September 19th, 2019 | How To Prepare For A Dental Emergency
EMERGENCIES ARE SO MUCH easier to deal with if we’ve prepared for them in advance, and that includes dental emergencies. You might be wondering what you can do to prepare for something like...
EVERY MEDICATION COMES with a list of potential side effects. Sometimes those side effects include a negative impact on oral health.
TOOTH LOSS HAS BEEN a problem people have had to deal with all throughout history, and false teeth have been a solution since at least 2500 B.C
THERE ARE A NUMBER of reasons why someone might need a new dentist. Maybe their insurance changed, they’re moving to a new area, or they simply haven’t looked for a dentist yet. Whatever the reason, if you don’t already have a dentist, it’s a good idea to choose one now so that you and your family can get regular dental exams and so that you’ll be ready in the event of a dental emergency.
“MAINTAINING GOOD DENTAL health isn’t just about the quantity of your brushing — it’s also about the quality. There are several mistakes many of us make when brushing our teeth, whether because we’re...
ROUTINE PROFESSIONAL DENTAL cleanings by your dental hygienist include scaling, or the careful removal of plaque and tartar from around the gumline. Tartar in particular can only be removed at a professional cleaning, as brushing and flossing alone can’t do the trick. However, if you have symptoms of gum disease, your teeth may need an even more advanced cleaning called dental scaling and root planing.
HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED any extra sensitivity in your teeth after a fun afternoon swimming? You aren’t imagining things, though it usually takes more than just one trip to the local pool before there are any effects. But what does swimming have to do with tooth sensitivity?
THERE ARE A LOT of things that can leave stains on our teeth, and stains can come in many different colors. You could see yellow stains, brown stains, or even the temporary stain from eating...
BRUSH YOUR TEETH for two full minutes twice a day and floss your teeth once a day.” You’ve probably lost count of how many times you’ve heard that, but how often have you heard that you should be cleaning your tongue every day too?
TOOTH DECAY, ACCIDENTS, and sports-related injuries are a few of the most common causes of tooth loss, but thanks to modern dentistry, we don’t need to live with a gap in our smiles. Among the most effective ways to fill in the gaps are dental implants.
“IT TAKES MORE MUSCLES to frown than to smile,” the old cliché goes, so you should smile more to conserve energy. Well, it turns out the...
BRUSH YOUR TEETH for two full minutes twice a day and floss your teeth once a day.” You’ve probably lost count of how many times you’ve heard that, but how often have you heard that you should be cleaning your tongue every day too?
TOOTH DECAY, ACCIDENTS, and sports-related injuries are a few of the most common causes of tooth loss, but thanks to modern dentistry, we don’t need to live with a gap in our smiles. Among the most effective ways to fill in the gaps are dental implants.
June 25th, 2019 | Don't Take A Vacation From Oral Hygiene
WITH THE ARRIVAL OF SUMMER comes the season of family vacations and exciting trips to new places. We’re as excited for it as our patients, but before everyone leaves to explore parts unknown, we want to give you a few tips and reminders about taking care of your teeth while you’re away from home.
OUR TEETH ARE pretty amazing, and there’s a lot they can do. They chew our food, they provide structural support for the lower third of our faces, they help us speak clearly, and they give us our beautiful smiles. However, many people also find other uses for their teeth, which can be very dangerous. Teeth are not tools, and shouldn’t be used in place of them.
With regular dental appointments, we can catch cases of hypodontia and hyperdontia early on and make a plan for how to address it. Keep up with your daily dental hygiene routine, keep scheduling those regular appointments, and give us a call if you have any questions about these rare conditions!
GRINDING OUR TEETH briefly when we’re nervous or frustrated is pretty normal. When the grinding doesn’t stop, however, it can do a lot of damage, whether it happens during the day or while we’re asleep. This kind of chronic grinding is called bruxism.
PLAQUE AND TARTAR are two words that you probably hear a lot when you come in for a dental cleaning. You might already know that they cause tooth decay and gum disease, but do you know what they are? Let’s take a closer look at these two substances that are a constant threat to our oral health.
CHEWING ICE MIGHT SEEM refreshing in the moment, but it’s not doing any favors for your teeth in the long run. Today we’re going to take a look at why ice chewing is such a common habit despite the dangers it poses, as well as what someone with this habit can do to stop.
IT’S EASY TO ASSUME that our pets don’t need dental care like we do. After all, wild animals can’t exactly brush their teeth, and that doesn’t seem to be a problem for them. However, it turns out that our pets’ teeth have a very different situation than the teeth of wild animals, and they do need our help to stay healthy.
WE ALL WANT a perfect, pearly-white smile. Sometimes all it takes is a good brushing and flossing habit and regular dental visits, but not everyone is lucky enough to have naturally strong teeth that are easy to take care of. For some people, a healthy smile is much harder to achieve because of a condition called enamel hypoplasia.
WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE BEFORE — sitting in the middle of a job interview or a first date and realizing that our breath is far from minty fresh. Even when everything else is going perfectly, bad breath can be enough to ruin your confidence and turn a good experience sour. Why do we get bad breath, and what can we do to stop it?
IS A SIMPLE SPOONFUL of ice cream enough to make you cringe because of the pain in your teeth? Do you have to be careful when you drink hot coffee that none of it touches your chompers? If you know the feeling, then you’re one of millions who experience tooth sensitivity. Let’s take a closer look at what causes tooth sensitivity and what can we do about it.
WORKING IN THE DENTAL health business, one of our favorite things to see is our patients’ smiles. So today, we thought we’d celebrate those happy faces by sharing some of our favorite quotes about smiling!
April 10th, 2019 | A Closer Look at Your Teeth
April 1st, 2019 | The First Loose Tooth: A Rite Of Passage
March 5th, 2019 | Canker Sores: Causes And Treatments
THE MOST OBVIOUS impact of orthodontic treatment is a straighter, more attractive smile. While it is true that we tend to perceive people with properly aligned teeth as happier and more successful, the benefits aren’t just superficial.
YOU CAN ALWAYS expect your body to go through a lot of changes when you’re expecting, but did you know that some of those changes are to your oral health? The changing hormone levels of pregnancy actually put expecting mothers at greater risk of developing a variety of oral health issues, including gum disease, enamel erosion, and unusual swellings in the gums.
IT’S TIME TO DEBUNK some of the biggest myths surrounding root canal treatment, so come check out our new blog post!
VALENTINE’S DAY IS COMING up, and many of us will want to pucker up! However, we share more than love with our kisses. Read our new blog post to learn how kissing affects oral bacteria
OUCH! THAT LASAGNA is hot! If you’ve ever dug into your favorite hot food too quickly, you know what a burned tongue feels like. Check out our new blog post for tips on what to do to soothe the burn.
SAWING LOGS ALL NIGHT but waking up exhausted? It could be sleep apnea. Check out our new blog post to learn about sleep apnea and how it impacts dental health.
IF YOU’VE NEVER had laughing gas during a dental appointment, check out our new blog post to learn what it is, what it does, and why we use it in dentistry!
LOOKING FOR WAYS to quench your thirst that aren't bad for your teeth? Check out our new blog post for a few ideas!
DO YOUR LITTLE NINJAS know how important it is to floss their teeth daily? Read our new blog post for tips on how to train them to be masters of flossing!
FADS AREN’T ALWAYS ABOUT hairstyles and slang; they can also be about the way we take care of our bodies, including our teeth. It’s important to be able to tell the difference between...
DO YOU KNOW WHAT to do about a toothache if one strikes? Read our new blog post to learn what you can do to manage it until you can get to the dentist!
ONE OF LIFE’S CRUELEST ironies is that so many of the foods and drinks we enjoy the most aren’t good for us at all. Naturally, as dental professionals, we’re particularly concerned about the ones that...
WE ALL LIKE to show off our personality and sense of style in the way we present ourselves, from clothing to hairstyle to cosmetics. Piercings are often an important component of...
IT MIGHT SEEM LIKE diabetes and oral health have little to do with each other, but this is unfortunately not the case. One of the most common effects of diabetes is, in fact, gum disease, and the two conditions can...
November 20th, 2018 | Reasons To Be Thankful For The Dentist
WHAT ARE YOU most thankful for this year? Your family? Your friends? An awesome opportunity? How about your dentist? Check out our new blog post about why we’re thankful for dentists!
WHEN WE PICTURE SOMEONE with braces, we usually picture a teenager with a mouthful of colorful brackets. What we don’t typically picture is ...
YOU’RE PROBABLY FAMILIAR with some of the ways smoking impacts our health, particularly lung cancer. However, that’s not where the damage ends. Smoking can harm every part of the body, including...
WHEN WE THINK OF SUGARY FOOD, we usually picture things like candy, cake, pie, ice cream, and soda, but there is sugar hiding in many of the foods we buy at the grocery store — even foods we don’t...
ON THE SURFACE, a toothbrush seems like just another item on the grocery list, but choosing the best one for you can be tricky. There are several factors to take into account, such as...
HALLOWEEN IS ONE OF the most highly anticipated holidays of the year, and it’s almost here! This holiday sees...
WHEN WE THINK OF an emergency, we probably don’t imagine it could have something to do with our teeth. However...
October 2nd, 2018 | Top Causes Of Childhood Tooth Decay
42 PERCENT OF CHILDREN will get at least one cavity between ages 2 and 11, and tooth decay is the most common childhood disease. Why is it so...
MEDICAL PROBLEMS ARE things none of us ask for but many of us have, and with medical problems come medications. Unfortunately, along with medications come...
EVERYONE LOVES A good sweet snack once in a while, but unfortunately, that includes the bacteria in our mouths. Those little germs’ favorite food in the world is sugary treats, and the more...
ANIMALS MIGHT NOT BE as concerned with maintaining their oral health and hygiene as we are, but that doesn’t stop some of them from having very interesting teeth! Like our teeth are adapted to...
MANY OF US HAVE TO deal with tooth loss as we get older, whether because of an injury or tooth decay. What can we do when this happens to us? Fortunately, the field of prosthodontics (false teeth) has...
NAIL BITING IS A HABIT shared by between a quarter and a third of children and nearly half of teenagers. Compulsive behaviors don’t always have negative effects on a person’s physical health, but this one...
WE ALL USE TOOTHBRUSHES to take care of our teeth, but what are we doing to take care of our toothbrushes? It’s critical that our toothbrushes remain in good condition so they can...
MOVING TO A NEW AREA comes with a long to-do list, and one important item on it is finding the right dentist. There are a few factors to take into account when ...
WE ALL KNOW WHAT it’s like to have a cold, with a nose so stuffy that you can’t breathe through it. At times like that, we breathe through our mouths instead, and that’s pretty much how it should work. Mouth-breathing is an emergency...
BRUSHING OUR TEETH is something we can get so used to doing that we don’t really think about it, but are we doing it the right way? It can be easy to get into some bad...
WHEN WE SMILE, it triggers a chemical reaction in our bodies: the release of endorphins. Endorphins are natural hormones that inhibit pain and produce feelings of euphoria. We get them after a good workout, and we also get them when...
FOR PEOPLE WITH DENTAL anxiety, the prospect of an appointment with the dentist can be so intimidating that they’d rather suffer...
HERE’S NOTHING BETTER than a swim in the pool to cool down during the hot summer months. Before we dive in, we should be aware of...
HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED white spots on your own or someone else’s teeth? When we think of stains, we usually think of dark colors, but stains on teeth can...
TOOTH ENAMEL is the hardest substance in the human body. It’s like the castle walls, protecting the softer dentin and...
GOING TO THE DENTIST is something we should all be doing twice a year every year. If you’re already in the habit of...
GRINDING OR CLENCHING YOUR teeth is a pretty normal thing to do when you’re annoyed or stressed, and that’s nothing to worry about. However, if you grind your teeth on...
RAISING A CHILD IS TOUGH work. There are so many things parents have to teach them so that they can succeed as they grow older. Included on that list are ...
EVERY PERSON IS BORN with their own unique smile. Some smile with all of their teeth, some only show the top row, and some don’t show their teeth at all, and a smile can come in all shapes and sizes and still...
WISDOM TEETH REMOVAL is a major rite of passage for many in their late teens and early twenties. They post images of their swollen cheeks on social media, share videos of themselves acting...
May 15th, 2018 | The Battle Against Bad Breath
THERE’S NOTHING WORSE than being in the middle of a social situation and suddenly realizing you have bad breath. Whether it’s a first date or a job interview, having bad breath can...
MOST PEOPLE WILL develop a total of twenty baby teeth that are gradually replaced by a total of thirty-two adult teeth. Sometimes those teeth don’t...
MAINTAINING GOOD ORAL HEALTH is a goal we should all be striving to achieve each and every day. Not only does this help us to feel like...
YOU HEAR ALL THE TIME about the importance of brushing your teeth for two minutes twice a day, and you hear almost...
April 17th, 2018 | Five Types Of Dental Fillings
YOU HEAR ALL THE TIME about the importance of brushing your teeth for two minutes twice a day, and you hear almost...
ORAL CANCER IS A SUBJECT we’d all prefer not to have to think about, but it’s critical to have a basic understanding of risk factors and...
YOU’VE PROBABLY NOTICED that your teeth aren’t all the same shape, but do you know the reason? Humans have four different types of teeth, and they each serve specific purposes, both in helping...
SPRING IS IN THE AIR…and that means so are allergies. Seasonal allergies affect millions of people every year, but did you know that they can also...
TEETH ARE A LOT more complicated than they might seem from the outside, which is why we’re using...
TEETH ARE A LOT more complicated than they might seem from the outside, which is why we’re using...
IT’S ONE THING TO lose a tooth, whether through poor oral hygiene, accident, or ...
YOU MIGHT BE TEMPTED to think that because wild animals can’t do much for their dental hygiene, pets like dogs and cats don’t need...
YOU’VE HEARD OF being tongue-tied, but what about lip-tied? Both are actually legitimate medical conditions, and...
TO SOME, IT MIGHT seem like the benefits of having straight teeth are purely cosmetic. And those benefits certainly do exist. Studies have shown that people tend to...
MOST PEOPLE OUTSIDE of teeth-related professions probably only think about their teeth when something’s wrong, like when there’s...
DO YOU GET a painful jolt through your teeth every time you try to enjoy a bite of ice cream or a sip of fresh coffee? If you do, then...
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED how your toothbrush was made or how it’s different from toothbrushes of the past?
ALTHOUGH MEN AND WOMEN have a lot in common, there are quite a few differences when it comes to oral health.
SALIVA IS SUCH an ordinary thing that you probably haven’t given it much thought, but it’s actually as important to the healthy function of our mouths as...
BECAUSE PREVENTION IS such a major part of good dental care, it’s critical to visit the dentist for...
EVEN THOUGH WE ALL know how important it is to go to the dentist, dental anxiety can make...
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD of “Mountain Dew Mouth”? It’s what happens to our teeth when...
MAINTAINING GOOD ORAL HEALTH is crucial for everyone, but that can mean different things for...
WE ALL KNOW that calcium is the main component of our teeth and jaw bones, but our mouths are....
THE DISEASE WE USUALLY think of when we hear “health risks of smoking” is....
ALL FIRST-TIME PARENTS are faced with a seemingly endless stream of ....
WHEN IT COMES to teeth whitening, strips, toothpastes, and rinses are the most ....
DIABETES IS A CHRONIC DISEASE that either means the pancreas doesn’t produce insulin (type 1) or....
HALLOWEEN IS OUR favorite spooky time of year, but when it comes to sugar’s effects on teeth....
BACK IN THE GOOD old days before the 1930s, toothbrush bristles were made of....
MOST TRENDS ARE HARMLESS symptoms of an ever-evolving society and culture, but when they affect the ways we take care of ourselves, they can become serious....
WHILE TRADITIONAL WIRE braces are still the most efficient at straightening teeth, fixing crowding, and correcting an over...
September 25th, 2017 | The Coolest Teeth in the Animal Kingdom
MOST OF US already know that sharks constantly grow new teeth, venomous snakes use their fangs like syringes full of poison, and elephants have enormous tusks. As lovers of teeth of all shapes and sizes, today...
September 18th, 2017 | Dentures Then & Now
As recently as 2012, one-fifth of American adults over sixty-five had lost all of their natural teeth. Whether the tooth loss is from age or other causes, it is....