Category: Oral Health

Kid-Friendly St. Patrick Treats that are Great for Teeth

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St. Patrick’s day can be a fun holiday for the whole family to celebrate. This year, try making some mouth-healthy green treats that your family will love so much they may pinch you!

Super Green Super Food Smoothie 

This super green smoothie is fantastic for cooling down on a warm spring day. The kale gives it a mouth-healthy kick with calcium and vitamin-B. Calcium strengthens teeth, and B vitamins help treat and prevent gingivitis, often called gum disease.

Ingredients:

  • 2 frozen bananas 

  • 2 cups kale, packed 

  • 2 tbsp chopped mint, packed 

  • 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder 

  • 2 cups coconut milk 

  • 1/2 cup of apple juice

Directions:

Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. You can add more ice to the mixture to give it more of a frozen body, if required. You can also add more mint to your liking, or garnish with fresh mint leaves. 

Yogurt and Kiwi Popsicles

Yogurt is high in calcium and casein, but it also contains a high amount of healthy bacteria. Healthy bacteria in yogurt helps fight the bad bacteria that can stick to your teeth, and lead to cavities. The best news is that yogurt and fruit popsicles are a fun way to get a healthy serving of calcium and super easy to make. Kiwi is a great, green fruit that is high in vitamin C, which helps boost gum health.

Ingredients: 

1 cup frozen kiwi 

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt 

3 tablespoon honey 

Directions: 

1 – In a blender, combine frozen kiwi and 2 tablespoons of honey and purée.  

2 – In a separate bowl, combine yogurt with one tablespoon honey and mix.  

3 – Place alternate layers of yogurt and fruit puree in small paper cups, or ice cube tray. Place a popsicle stick in the center of the cup, and put them in the freezer until they are solid.

A Healthy Diet is Important for Strong Teeth

A proper oral health routine should incorporate a mouth-healthy diet for the best results. Try giving your child more leafy green vegetables, healthy proteins like nuts and yogurt, and encourage them to drink more water, which keeps teeth clean and helps fight cavities. If you have questions about your child’s diet, then visit our office. We’ll discuss mouth-healthy options that can help your child earn a healthier smile.

The 4 Essential Tools to Keep Teeth Clean and Healthy

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Caring for teeth is a full-time job that lasts a lifetime. But, you can make that job a lot easier (and more successful) by using the four most essential tools for optimum oral health.

1 – Toothbrush 

Often overlooked and under considered, it is vital that you take the time to buy the right toothbrush for your child. By selecting the proper toothbrush, you can help your child get a healthier smile with ease and comfort. Be sure that the head of the brush easily fits into your child’s mouth, and that they can comfortably grip the handle. Change out their toothbrush every six months, or immediately after they’ve overcome an illness like a cold or flu.

2 – Dental Floss 

Brushing only cleans about 1/3 of the total surface area of teeth which leaves most of the teeth unclean! Your child should floss once per day, and clean between every space in their teeth. For young children, flat dental tape works well as a beginner’s floss, and a set of floss picks can also help young children floss more easily.

3 – Water 

Water is fantastic for a healthy mouth in a lot of ways. For instance, water helps clean teeth of food debris that can lead to tooth decay and cavities. But, did you know that saliva is critical in keeping tooth enamel strong? Saliva is the body’s natural way to rid teeth of food debris and keep the mouth at a healthy Ph level. Saliva is also 99% water, so make sure that your child drinks plenty of water to keep their teeth debris-free and clean.

4 – Toothpaste 

For more than 50 years, the American Dental Association has recommended using toothpaste containing fluoride to prevent cavities. Fluoridated toothpaste does an excellent job of cleaning teeth, but make sure that you spit all of it out and rinse your mouth thoroughly after brushing. When shopping for toothpaste, avoid abrasives, and look for the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) seal of approval on the packaging to ensure that you’re getting the best toothpaste available.

The ADA Seal of Approval 

Look for the American Dental Association’s seal of approval when buying any dental or oral care products. The seal will be easily viewable on the box. The ADA’s stringent testing procedures help ensure that you’re buying a useful product that actually works.

Make Sure Your Child Brushes Twice per Day 

To prevent cavities and tooth decay, your child should be brushing twice per day for two minutes at a time, and floss once per day. If they are complaining of sensitive or painful teeth, then visit our office for further evaluation. Our team will check their mouth for signs of tooth and provide them with a treatment plan that will get them a healthy smile that lasts a lifetime.

The Three Threats to Teen Teeth

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Growing a healthy, adult smile takes a lot of work and maintenance, but your teenager can earn a healthy mouth by avoiding some the greatest threats to teen teeth.  

1 – Cavities 

Cavities are the most prevalent disease affecting children and teens in the United States, but cavities are nearly 100% preventable. Your teen can fight cavities by avoiding eating and drinking too much sugar, adding high fiber fruits and vegetables to their diet, and brushing twice per day for two minutes at a time and flossing once per day.  In addition to a proper oral care routine, your teen should have an oral health checkup every six months in our office so that we can help them navigate growing a healthy, adult smile. 

2 – Sports Injuries 

The CDC estimates that more than 3 million teeth are knocked out at youth sporting events. Mouth guards – sometimes called mouth protectors – work by helping cushion a blow to the face, and minimizing the risk of breaking teeth, or lacerating a lip, tongue or cheek. Mouth guards work to prevent tooth loss and other facial injuries.

Without a mouth guard, young athletes are susceptible to jaw damage, lacerated lips and tongue, broken teeth, and even concussions. If your child is playing any contact sport, then buy them a mouth guard that will provide adequate protection for their sport. If you’re unsure, just check online too see if their sport requires – or even suggests – using a mouth guard to prevent an injury.  

3 – Tobacco and Nicotine 

90% of adult smokers began smoking as teens, and each day more than 3,200 Americans younger than 18 try their first cigarette. Tobacco use harms teeth and health in many ways. It can lead to oral cancer, periodontal disease, delayed healing after oral procedure, bad breath, stained teeth and gums and damage the ability to smell and taste. The health risks related to tobacco use are serious, and negative oral side effects are chilling. Unfortunately, teen use of e-cigarettes and nicotine vaporizers is on the rise, and they’re also terrible for teeth.

Most studies find that teens that are actively discouraged from smoking, or that live in an environment where smoking is not normalized, are less likely to use tobacco as an adult, so encourage your children to stay away from all nicotine and tobacco products.

Visit Our Office 

Call us today to schedule an appointment so that we can evaluate the state of your children’s teeth, and help them reach healthier smile this year.

Children and Starbucks – What Should Parents Do?

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Starbucks is one of the most popular spots for young adults to gather and hang out, and enjoy coffee with friends.  But, a lot of the drinks on Starbucks’ menu are terrible for teeth. So, what should parents do?

The Problem: Way Too Much Sugar 

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.

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.

What about 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.

The Worst Offenders:

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.

Make Starbucks a Special Treat 

It can be easier for parents to justify getting a black cup of coffee everyday from Starbucks, but most of the drinks intended for children are loaded with sugar, and should be seen more like milkshakes and less like coffee. Since their favorite drinks are like milkshakes, then treat them that way and limit the number of drinks they purchase from Starbucks to once per week. If your child regularly enjoys beverages that are loaded with sugar, then they are more susceptible to cavities and their overall health can suffer.  

3 of the Worst Cavity Causing Activities

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Cavities are the most prevalent disease affecting children in the United States, but cavities are nearly 100% preventable. Here are some of the worst activities for teeth that can lead to cavities.

1 – Not Brushing Twice Per Day 

Avoiding cavities begins with proper, routine oral care. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry advises that everyone brushes their teeth twice per day, for two minutes each session. By brushing for the proper amount of time, you help ensure that your child is cleaning all of the bad bacteria off of their teeth and preventing cavities. Be sure that they brush the entire surface of their teeth, including the backs of teeth – which is often neglected. 

2 – Too Much Sugar 

We all know that too much sugar can cause tooth decay. But how does it work? When you consume sugar, bad bacteria in your mouth feeds off of it and create acids that destroy tooth enamel. Try limiting the amount of sugar your child eats to keep their enamel strong and prevent cavities. Additionally, reduce the amount of starchy carbs that they consume (like bread and chips) to keep teeth strong. When left in the mouth for too long, starchy carbs eventually turn into sugar and fuel bad bacteria.

A good place to start cutting back on sugar intake is in the beverages that your child enjoys. Try to avoid fruit juice, sports drinks and colas, which all contain a high amount of sugar.

3 – Not Enough Water 

Did you know that fruit juices contain about as much sugar as a bottle of cola? If your child is drinking too much fruit juice – or anything other than water – then it is providing sugary fuel that cavities need to thrive.

Water is one of the best things for a healthy mouth. Did you know that saliva is 99% water, or that saliva is critical in the fight against cavities? This makes it imperative that your child drinks plenty of water so that they can keep their enamel strong, and stay cavity-free. By drinking enough water, your child can avoid dry mouth and ensure that their saliva is produced at an optimal rate. 

Fight Cavities with Proper Dental Care 

Your child should visit our dental office once every six months for a routine checkup. This checkup allows us to get ahead of any oral health issues that may be occurring, and helps them maintain a healthier smile that lasts a lifetime.

Our Favorite Holiday Gifts for Healthy Teeth

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Your children have probably made their winter holiday wish list very well known to you, but they probably haven’t asked for gifts that can improve their oral health. With that in mind, here are our favorite holiday gifts for healthy teeth. 

An Electric Toothbrush 

Electric toothbrushes are handy tools for teeth of all ages, and can make brushing fun for young children. Most electric toothbrushes also feature timers, which can help ensure that children brush for the recommended two minutes per session. Additionally, many electric toothbrushes feature a pressure sensor that helps kids limit how hard they are brushing to prevent upsetting or damaging their gums. An electric toothbrush is an excellent Christmas gift for young brushers that can help take their brushing to the next level. 

A Mouth Guard for Spring Sports 

Mouth guards – sometimes called mouth protectors – work by helping cushion a blow to the face, and minimizing the risk of breaking teeth, or lacerating a lip, tongue or cheek. The CDC estimates that more than 3 million teeth are knocked out at youth sporting events. Mouth guards work to prevent tooth loss and other facial injuries. Mouth guards come in all shapes and sizes, so visit our office and ask which type of mouth guard works best for your young athlete. Mouth guards make great stocking stuffers, and most are adequate for any sport your child can play. 

Oral Health Travel Kit 

Is your family traveling this winter holiday? If so, it’s important to prepare your family with individual oral health travel kits. A travel-sized mouth care kit will encourage your children to keep taking care of their teeth while away from home and the familiarity of their bathroom. We suggest buying a small toothpaste, mouthwash, and floss for each family member on the trip. You can pack your dental travel kit on top of your clothes so that it’s the first thing you see when you get to your destination. We also suggest making sure you make time for your family to take care of their teeth while on vacation.

Fun Oral Health Book For Kids:  What to Expect When You Go to the Dentist 

A lot of children experience quite a bit of anxiety when they first visit the dentist, and this book seeks to help with that. “What to Expect When You Go to the Dentist” teaches children about the dentist’s job, and helps children overcome their fear of visiting the dentist. This book does a great job of explaining dental tools, and the importance of regular dental checkups, and makes for an excellent Christmas gift or stocking stuffer.

Visit Our Office This Holiday Break 

The winter holiday break is a great time to schedule your child for a routine checkup in our office. Visiting our office during the holidays is a great way to get their appointment in without interfering during their busy school schedule.  

Here’s How to Care for Retainers and Braces

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Oral appliances are vital tools in helping someone get a healthy smile. It’s important, then, that someone wearing an oral appliance cares for it properly to ensure its long-term effectiveness. Here’s how to care for two of the most popular oral appliances – braces and retainers.

Caring for a Retainer 

Retainer care is all about keeping it bacteria-free, and in good shape so that teeth can go to their intended destination. 

You can clean your retainer with a gentle, unscented hand soap and warm water. Or, you can use a non-abrasive toothpaste to gently scrub your retainer to clean it. Usually, whitening toothpastes have abrasives, so stay away from those when cleaning your retainer. Be sure to thoroughly rinse your retainer with cool water after scrubbing it. And NEVER use soap with bleach or bleaching agents on your retainer. 

Use a Separate Toothbrush 

When cleaning your retainer, use a clean toothbrush that you don’t use on your teeth. This helps ensure that your appliance gets as clean as possible, and keeps it bacteria-free.

Don’t Use Mouthwash or Boil Your Retainer 

Never rinse your mouth with mouthwash while wearing your retainer or oral appliance, nor should you attempt to clean your retainer with mouthwash. Mouthwash, particularly flavored mouthwash that is colored, can stain and weaken oral appliances and retainers. Additionally, never boil your retainer to clean it, which can alter its shape and render it useless, which will cost you time and money to replace. 

After cleaning your retainer, store it in its case or in a clean glass of water overnight. 

Caring for Braces 

Braces are meant to be clean and free of food-debris so that teeth can remain healthy while the braces are worn. Food buildup can expose teeth to acid assaults that destroy tooth enamel and lead to cavities. The best way to keep braces clean is by brushing after each major meal per day for two minutes at a time. By keeping braces clean and free of debris, you can protect the surface and health of your teeth, and keep your brackets and wires in working order.

Try using braces-specific cleaning tools like Waterpiks and floss-threaders, which help flossing around brackets, and getting food debris out from the hard-to-reach areas.

ALWAYS Avoid Oral Piercings 

Oral piercings are popular among teenagers, and are surprisingly common with people that wear oral appliances. Surveys of adolescents and young adults (age 13 – 29) report that 25% to 35% have a body piercing at a site other than the ear lobe. Oral piercings are mostly made of metal, and they can do real damage to oral appliances like braces or retainers. An oral piercing of any sort can dislodge wires, break brackets and get caught in an appliance, which can lead to bleeding. If you have an oral appliance, we advise you to stay away from any oral piercing until it is removed.

Ask Us!

If you’re concerned about how to care for your oral appliance, or your child’s oral appliance, then visit our office. We can offer tips on how to keep your appliance in working order, and save you money on potential costly repairs.  

The Worst Thanksgiving Dishes for Teeth

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Thanksgiving is all about food and family, but some classic Thanksgiving dishes are absolutely terrible for teeth.  

Stuffing

Stuffing is a Thanksgiving classic that can really harm teeth. That’s because most stuffing recipes revolve around bread. Starches like bread provide cavity-causing bacteria the energy they need to chip away at tooth enamel. Additionally, starches can be very sticky and stay on teeth long after a meal has finished, and cause further damage. The high amount of starch sadly makes stuffing unhealthy for teeth. Combined with the fact that stuffing is full of carbohydrates and lacks dense nutritional value, and you begin running out of reasons to eat it. 

Try getting your stuffing fix by making a tooth-healthy breadless stuffing that uses beans instead of bread as a base! Beans are full of protein and fiber, which makes it a much healthier replacement for bread in stuffing recipes.  

Fruit Cake

A seasonal favorite that appears on tables between Thanksgiving and Christmas, fruitcake sounds like it would be a healthy treat, the word “fruit” is right in the name after all! Unfortunately, fruitcake is full of dried fruit, which can really damage teeth. Dried fruit contains much higher levels of sugar than their natural counterparts, and none of the water that helps make fruit so healthy. Dried fruit is also very sticky, and can stay on teeth longer after a meal in done. The sugar and the sticky consistency make fruitcake a no-no for healthy teeth. If you are looking for an alternative, you can make a fresh fruit crumble, which has much less sugar and isn’t nearly as sticky.  

Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce is a Thanksgiving staple in many households, and seldom appears on dinner tables outside of turkey day. Despite its tart deliciousness, cranberry sauce is packed with sugar and offers little nutritional value at all. In fact, one of the most popular choices for cranberry sauce –canned cranberry sauce – has 121 grams of sugar per can, and no protein or fiber at all. All of that sugar provides nourishment and energy to bad oral bacteria that cause cavities.  

As an alternative, try finding a recipe that calls for fresh cranberries, so that you can control the amount of sugar your family consumes this holiday season. 

But, What about the Turkey?

Believe it or not, that Thanksgiving turkey is actually a dental super food! Turkey contains high amounts of phosphorous, which helps bones and teeth absorb calcium and vitamin D that makes them stronger and more resilient. Turkey is also high in B vitamins, which helps keep cavities away. People with inadequate vitamin B-12 are at a greater risk of contracting more cavities than those with normal level of vitamin B-12. 

Be Sure to Brush

The best way to avoid cavities in any season is to maintain a healthy oral routine by brushing twice per day for two minutes at a time, and flossing once daily. Be sure to drink plenty of water, and try to eat mouth healthy fruits and vegetables that clean teeth as they’re being chewed.  

The Top-5 Scariest Teeth in the Animal Kingdom!

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Teeth are pretty incredible, and in the animal kingdom, teeth can be pretty terrifying! Here’s our list of the scariest teeth found in the wild.

5 – Great White Sharks


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The Great White Shark is the largest predatory fish on earth, and it wields a lot of impressive teeth. Great White Sharks have around 3,000 teeth in their mouth at one time in multiple rows on their jaws. If a tooth is lost, another one simply slides forward to replace it, and they grow a new one. These fascinating sharks are constantly growing teeth, and the Great White will go through around 30,000 teeth in its lifetime! 

4 – Hippopotamus 

Did you know that Hippopotamuses have the largest teeth of any land animal? Their front incisors can grow to be 1.2 feet in length, and their canines can get to be 1.5 feet!

3 – Saltwater Crocodiles 

Which animal has the strongest bite force in the world? That title belongs to the Saltwater Crocodile, which has a bite force of 3,700 pounds per square inch! By comparison, humans can only generate a bite force of around 150 – 200 pounds per square inch.

2 – Babirusa 

Have you ever seen a saber-toothed pig? Well, now you have. The Babirusa is a hog with a dental problem, and has two very large canine teeth that can grow up to 8 inches long and even grow through their skin! The Babirusa’s canine teeth never stop growing, and their top canines can grow and curl back onto themselves.

1 – Payara 


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The Payara fish is nicknamed the “Vampire Fish,” and earned the nickname with its incredible teeth. The Payara has two large fangs that grow from its lower jaw and go INTO the upper jaw and head of the fish. There are two negative spaces in the fish’s head where these 6-inch fangs rest when they aren’t being utilized by this carnivorous fish. 

Keep Teeth Clean! 

Did you know that animals have ways that they keep their teeth clean? Oral health routines shouldn’t be a wild concept to your family, though. Be sure that your family brushes their teeth twice per day for two minutes at a time and flosses once per day.

These Halloween Candies Can Destroy Teeth

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Halloween is an awesome time for families to dress up like their favorite superheroes and explore their neighborhoods together, searching for candy. However, candy contains a lot of sugar and is really unhealthy for teeth. But, among the bad candy, a few Halloween classic candies stand out as truly bad for teeth.

Circus Peanuts 

How can a candy named “Circus Peanuts” contain zero actual nuts? Regardless of the lack of nuts, Circus Peanuts are a marshmallow candy that is made almost entirely of sugar. It comes in a bright orange shaped peanut, and is textured like a marshmallow. Circus Peanuts are a sticky candy, and that’s terrible news for teeth. Sticky candy is difficult to remove from teeth, and gives bad bacteria more time to eat away tooth enamel and cause cavities.

Atomic Fireballs 

This spicy Halloween favorite is a staple in many candy bowls nationwide, but Atomic Fireballs can harm teeth. Atomic Fireballs are basically spicy jawbreakers, which is a very hard candy. Hard candy comes in nearly every flavor and size imaginable, but chewing hard candy can lead to a cracked tooth. Hard candy also tends to stick around longer than other candy, which exposes teeth to sugar for longer. Extended contact with sugar can lead to more cavities because sugar provides bad bacteria with the energy it needs to destroy enamel.

Candy Corn 

This may be a bummer for a lot of Halloween fans, but Candy Corn is actually awful for teeth, and it’s largely due to one ingredient: confectioner’s wax, which is basically waxy sugar. The waxy consistency of confectioners wax makes it difficult for saliva to break down, and also causes it to stick to teeth. As specified above, sugar that sticks to teeth gives cavities the nutrition they need to thrive and worsen.

Avoid the Candy Binge this Halloween 

Do your best to limit the amount of candy your child has per day, and be sure that they rinse their mouth out with water, or brush and floss after eating candy to thoroughly remove any sugar or candy particles left behind on their teeth. 

If your child begins experiencing tooth pain this Halloween, then schedule an appointment with our office. Have a happy and safe Halloween, and don’t forget to brush! 

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