From the category archives:

Patient Education

Dental Care for Mature Adults

January 31, 2012

You couldn’t afford good dental care in your 20s. In your 30s, you had a good job and dental insurance, so you saw your dentist more regularly. Then you had children and often put their dental needs ahead of your own, only visiting your dentist when there was a serious problem. Now that you are [...]

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Traveling For the Holidays? Don’t Forget Your Dental Travel Kit!

December 27, 2011

You should always have dental essentials when you travel. A toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and mouthwash are the bare minimum you need to keep your mouth healthy and clean while on an overnight trip. For longer journeys, you may want to take a few more specialty items we discuss in today’s post.

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Going Beyond the General Checkup

December 23, 2011

Sometimes your dentist will suggest more extensive dental treatment after a complete dental physical. This is something that very few patients volunteer for and, frankly, most are a little wary of such treatment. Many of the treatments sound scary, so as part of your discussions with your dentist, ask him or her to tell you [...]

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What’s My Risk for Oral Cancer?

December 20, 2011

You already know that using tobacco and heavy drinking increase your risk of oral cancer. But in the last few decades, the demographics of oral cancer patients have changed. More cases are occurring in patients under 40 who do not smoke or drink. What’s the culprit? The answer may be viral.
How Can a Virus Cause [...]

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C-Reactive Protein: A Marker that Signals a Menace

December 16, 2011

C-Reactive Protein (CRP)
C-reactive protein (CRP) is a protein present in your blood plasma when your body senses inflammation. Doctors use it as an inflammation marker, a way to tell that your body is fighting inflammation somewhere, even though it may not be detectable.
What do CRPs Do?
CRP is produced by the liver, but only under certain [...]

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Dental Do’s and Don’ts

December 9, 2011

This is an excerpt from Dr. Martin’s book “This Won’t Hurt a Bit!” where Dr. Martin outlines do’s and dont’s for oral and overall health.

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Gum Disease and Diabetes: The Two-Way Street

December 8, 2011

Researchers show that diabetes and periodontal disease form a two-way street. Just as diabetes makes gum disease worse, gum disease affects how well diabetics can control their blood glucose levels. One study showed that diabetics with severe periodontitis had six times the risk of worsening blood glucose control than diabetics who didn’t have gum disease.
How [...]

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Preemies Need Early Dental Care

November 8, 2011

It is widely known that women who smoke or use drugs or alcohol during pregnancy are at risk for having a premature baby. But did you know that a pregnant woman who has periodontal disease is just as likely to have a baby born early or with a low birth weight as someone who partakes [...]

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Keeping Dental Patients Informed

October 11, 2011

No matter the subject, the more knowledge you have, the greater your confidence with that subject. The same goes for dentistry. When you are informed, you won’t be as nervous. At Richmond Smile Center, we do all we can to give you information that will help you make choices that are right for you. Modern [...]

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Relaxing in the Dentist’s Chair

October 5, 2011

Those of us who’ve been around for a while probably remember the days of fearing the dentist’s chair.  It used to be, the best you could hope for was a shot of whiskey and biting down on a rag while the old doc yanked the bad tooth out with a pair of pliers. Okay…that’s probably [...]

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