There’s an old saying that, “An apple is nature’s toothbrush.” But while eating an apple for lunch dessert is definitely better for your teeth (and your waistline) than eating a candy bar, brushing after eating is still the best way to take care of your teeth and maintain your pretty smile.

Still, Americans need to take a much closer look at what they eat, especially at lunchtime when many are away from home and don’t think to brush after their meals.  This is be especially true of school children. A government study done a couple of years ago strongly recommended that cavity-causing colas and other sweet drinks be removed from schools because they only provide sugary, empty calories that damage teeth and make kids fat. And while many states have responded by providing bottled water and juices, far too many kids still consider a cola essential accompaniments to their midday meals.

So what should you eat for lunch? Well, sandwiches can be fine if made with low fat, whole grain bread that doesn’t load the system with sugars and starches and include a low fat protein such as tuna or lean meat. Salads are even better, especially if filled with leafy greens rich in the antioxidants and B vitamins that boost immune systems and help prevent disease, including diseases of the teeth and mouth.

Think fresh. Think veggies. Think crunchy instead of soft, and your lunch choices will automatically improve.

If you were with us for the last three issues, you’ll recall Threat #1 to your dental health was Neglect, either by you or your dentist, Threat #2 was Under-treatment and Threat #3 was Over-treatment.

This month we’re going to discus Threat #4, Diet. From age 6 to 96, diet is the most common culprit in tooth decay and other dental problems.

It often starts when we are young children receiving candies, cakes and colas without proper instruction in dental care, like the need to brush your teeth or rinse your mouth out with water after any sweets are consumed. 

The next “danger zone” is the teenage years when children receive less supervision and more independence to decide what they’ll eat after school, at their part-time jobs, etc.

The third at-risk age group is the 22 to 32 year-olds.  During this phase, they are so busy juggling getting their first jobs, moving, buying cars, getting married, etc. that dentistry often gets put off until “later.”  Many times it isn’t until they have children of their own and become more settled that the importance of good dental health sinks in.   

Once this happens, gum disease has often already taken hold and started a downward spiral that cannot be stopped without dental intervention and a renewed commitment to dental care.

By the time it reaches this stage, many adults experience bad breath or bleeding when they brush their teeth. 

Unfortunately, their first reaction is often to begin using mints or to stop brushing their teeth, both of which worsen their condition.

The only thing they DON’T stop is the intake of sweets and sodas that caused the problem in the first place.

Now I’m not saying you must cut out all sweets and sodas from  your diet in order o have healthy teeth. What I am saying is that you should take some precautions during and after enjoying these treats like:        

• Do NOT nurse a soda over the course of hours. This causes the pH level in your mouth to remain high and the sugars to do their worst to your teeth.
• When you finish a soda or sweet treat, rinse your mouth out with water to remove the sugars and return the acidity in your mouth to a normal level.

What exactly is a smile?  A smile is an involuntary reaction that occurs when your muscles contract around the ends of your mouth and they may even extend right up to your eyes, depending on how big your smile is.  The better you feel about your smile, the bigger and brighter it will be and the more contagious it is to others.

Smiling is a sign of confidence and captures the attention and trust of the people around you.  When you smile at people, it makes them feel more comfortable and you feel better, too.  Out of the forty-seven different facial expressions people can make, smiling is the most commonly seen.  Everyone feels great when they are smiling which is why it is so popular.

By visiting your dentist regularly, you will feel confident about your smile and ready to show it for any reason.  A ready smile can help you to get an important job, convey feelings of affection and make new friends.  Smiling can improve the overall mood of a room and make others feels at ease.  When you smile, you even release endorphins that help relieve stress.  By maintaining good oral hygiene and scheduling routine dental appointments, you will want to smile as much as possible and everyone is sure to notice!

Using a tongue cleaner is a great way to avoid bad breath, improve your oral hygiene and have better oral health overall.  A tongue cleaner removes the bacteria left behind from food you eat for a cleaner, fresher smelling mouth.

Recent reports from the American Dental Association News showed that halitosis experts agreed that one of the leading causes of bad breath is bacteria left behind on your tongue.  A tongue cleaner scrapes away the bacteria on your tongue by using a head with a scraping edge on a handle.  The scraping edge of the head takes off bacteria from your entire tongue, including the curved area in the back that is difficult to reach with a toothbrush.  By using gentle back and forward and side to side motions, you can remove the dead bacteria from your tongue to refresh your mouth and boost your oral hygiene.

The American Dental Association recommends both flossing and cleaning your tongue for maximum oral health.  Because this healthy habit is encouraged by the American Dental Association and dentists, you should get into the routine of cleaning your tongue every day.  Remember, to keep your mouth as healthy as possible, you need to to clean your tongue along with your teeth and gums, as well as make regular visit to your dentist's office for exams.

Choosing the proper toothbrush enables you to reach as many areas as possible in your mouth to prevent built up tartar, which causes plaque to form.  The right toothbrush promotes better oral hygiene and helps you to avoid getting cavities and gum disease.

All toothbrushes have about 2,500 bristles that come out of a head on a handle.  There are a number of different toothbrush textures and handles available.  Usually dentists recommend that you use a toothbrush with soft or medium bristles that are rounded.  You can check with your dentist to see which type would be best for you.  The head should be short enough to reach your back teeth easily and get to tight places in your mouth.  The handle should be long enough to get to the back of your mouth and comfortable to hold while you brush your teeth. 

You should brush your teeth at least twice a day and use dental floss to be in between teeth and at the gum line where brushing can't reach.  Your toothbrush should be changed at least once every three months and after you have a cold.  Brush your teeth for three to four minutes with a fluoride toothpaste to ensure you have removed all the tartar on your teeth.  By using the proper toothbrush and brushing at least twice a day, you will have good reports when you visit your dentist for regular checkups.

It's never too soon to show your child how to exercise proper oral hygiene.  Dental care begins when the first tooth comes in and lasts for a lifetime.

Encourage good oral hygiene by brushing your teeth regularly yourself and encouraging your child to join you.  Brush at least two times every day with a fluoride toothpaste recommended by the American Dental Association (ADA).  Explain to your child that regular brushing removes the plaque from food that can cause tooth decay and cavities. Show your child how to brush back and forth, at the gum line, behind teeth and even brush the tongue for outstanding oral hygiene.

Besides brushing, your child needs to know the importance of flossing daily to remove plaque that build in between teeth and under the gum line that can develop into harmful tartar.  Encourage your child to eat healthy snacks and avoid sugary foods that produce plaque acids.  Discuss vitamins with fluoride and fluorinated water with your pediatrician.

Finally, schedule regular dental checkups.  The dentist will discuss good oral hygiene habits with your child and correct areas that need improvement. The behaviors you teach your child about taking proper care of their teeth today will form the foundation for a lifetime of good oral hygiene.

If you were with us for the last two issues, you’ll recall Threat #1 to your dental health was Neglect, either by you or your dentist, and Threat #2 was Under-treatment.

This month we’re discussing Threat #3, Over-treatment.  

How does a dentist over-treat a patient? By not getting clear on exactly what the patient wants.

For example, let’s say a patient walks into the dentist’s office and tells her, “I want a whiter, brighter, pretty smile.”  

A dentist’s first task would be to carefully evaluate the current health of her patient’s teeth, observing the position of each tooth, look, color, shape and overall condition.

Once those steps are complete, the dentist would likely move on to discussing possible treatments with the patient including selectively straightening specific teeth and then bleaching all of them. 

Now, that could be a relatively simple thing to do.  It would not require a lot of dental care and could range from $1,000.00 to $2,000.00 from start to finish.

Over-treatment rears its ugly head when the dentist doesn’t get clear on the fact that this is  ALL the patient  REALLY wants.   Instead they assume the patient is looking for, or should be looking for, “the perfect smile.”  

Now, over-treatment is not nearly as risky to your health as the others we’ll cover, but it does put the strong-arm on your wallet.

Moral of the story? Get clear on what you want then make sure your dentist is reading from the same page.

Tune in next week for the most common dental threat of all!

Bad breath is more than just offensive to others—it can signal the presence of serious dental problems such as gum disease and tooth decay.

Both tooth decay and gum disease begin when the acids and bacteria in plaque, that sticky, nearly invisible white substance that develops on the surface of teeth over time, begin to eat away at the outer enamel layer of the teeth. If the process isn’t stopped by professional cleaning and treatment, the sugars and starches in the diet feed those bacteria until the decay process creates cavities.

And if those cavities aren’t treated when small, they just get bigger and bigger until the tooth can be lost. Along the way, the continued buildup and presence of these bacteria can cause breath to smell very bad, even if you brush and floss religiously after every meal.

So if your breath isn’t as sweet as it should be, don’t wait—call your dentist and find out why your breath isn’t as nice as you want it to be and get the problem solved today. Oral disease is an issue…don't let it become an issue for you!

The before and after pictures of American Idol contestant Elliot Yasmin tell a dramatic story of the appearance improvements that modern cosmetic dentistry can make. Yasmin, who apparently had a few broken teeth as well as numerous ones with other dental problems, lost the American Idol championship but won something that will prove to be much more valuable in the long run—a $50,000 smile makeover!

In addition to getting the broken teeth and other dental health problems resolved, Yasmin got porcelain veneers on all of his teeth. The difference is simply amazing!

You don’t have to go on American Idol OR spend $50,000 to get a great smile. Your teeth probably aren’t as bad as Yasmin’s were, and assuming that you practice great dental hygiene, avoid accidents and getting into situations like barroom fights that could cost you one or more teeth, your cosmetic dentist can make your smile much brighter for a lot less than what Yasmin’s dentist charged. So don’t let fear of price stop you.  Schedule a consultation with your cosmetic dentist today and start getting a brighter smile right away!

Many people think that a little “pink in the sink” is nothing to worry about.

They’re wrong. Seeing pink in your saliva during or after brushing your teeth means one thing and one thing only—you need to see your dentist as soon as possible.

Pink in saliva is caused by blood in saliva, and that blood comes from gums that are beginning to suffer the ravages of gingivitis that will lead to periodontal disease and tooth loss if left untreated.

Gingivitis is an inflammation of the gums (gingiva) around the teeth. It can make itself known every time you brush or only intermittently, so don’t think for a moment that just because pink isn’t showing up in your sink every day doesn’t mean that the problem went away!

Gingivitis may be caused by a build up of tartar and plaque by gum injuries caused from brushing or flossing improperly. Caught early, gingivitis is generally reversible. Seeing your dentist for professional cleaning and evaluation at least twice a year and brushing and flossing teeth correctly after every meal are the best ways to prevent gingivitis.

So if pink is showing up in your sink, don’t delay. Schedule an appointment with your dentists today and get started getting healthier gums and no more pink in the sink today!