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coffee and sugar can damage your teeth, dentist, Greenville Dental Studio, Greenville, South Carolina

Avoid These Foods for Healthy Teeth

Checkups, Fighting Decay, foods to avoid, Taking care of your teeth , , , , , ,

Avoid These Foods for Healthy Teeth

Your diet plays a large role in the health of your teeth.  Avoid these foods to keep your smile healthy and bright.  First on the list are sodas.  Sipping on sodas constantly feeds cavity bacteria.  The sugar and acid can destroy your enamel.   Other acidic and sugary drinks, like energy drinks, sports drinks and coffee and tea with sugar also damage teeth and feed harmful bacteria. Water is the best thing to drink throughout the day.

Don’t Chew Ice

Chewing ice can fracture teeth and dental work. For many, chewing ice is a habit. It’s one habit you should avoid.  Even though ice doesn’t contain sugar, it can still wear down your teeth and lead to expensive dental work.

Avoid chewing ice

A Warning About Sticky Foods

Many dried fruits are sticky and will hold sugar against your teeth for an extended period of time.  This increases your chance of getting cavities.  This might surprise you, but raisins can be worse for your teeth than chocolate.  If you like to snack on trail mix containing dried fruit, be sure to brush and floss after you eat.

Dried fruit leaves sugar on your teeth

Limit Citrus Intake

Lemon water or other citrus flavored water is refreshing, but it can lead to an increase in cavities.  Be mindful of your citrus intake and rinse with water after eating acidic fruits, such as oranges, limes, grapefruit and lemons.  The American Dental Association suggests you eat acidic foods as part of a meal instead of by themselves.  This includes tomatoes.

Hard Candy Danger

Hard candy is sticky and sugary.  This is awful for your teeth.  I’m talking about mints with sugar, lollipops and your other favorites in the candy aisle. Breath mints that contain sugar are no different than any other type of candy.  Therefore, select sugar free mints.

Avoid These Foods

Limit sweets in general.  What’s good for your body is also good for your teeth.  As you’ve heard before, everything in moderation.  As always, brush and floss to keep those teeth happy and healthy.

Checkups are Important

Regular visits to the dentist keep you aware of how your teeth are doing.  I recommend checkups twice a year.  This professional examination can identify problem areas and help form a checklist to achieve and maintain healthy teeth and gums.  We are accepting new patients.  You can call us to schedule at 864-520-2942 or click here to request an appointment.

Taking care of your teeth

Dental checkup

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flossing, dental checkup, Children's Dental Health Month

Children’s Dental Health Month

Checkups, family dentistry, Fighting Decay, News, Taking care of your teeth , , , , , , , , , ,

Children’s Dental Health Month

February is National Children’s Dental health Month, so it’s a good time to talk about building healthy habits from an early age.

Teaching kids to properly care for their teeth will help them develop healthy habits from the start, and not struggle to brush and floss regularly, like most adults.

Tooth Decay

Dental disease is preventable, and prevention is always better than treatment.

Children’s Dental Health Month is a time to raise awareness that cavities can be prevented, and healthy habits begin at home with parents and caregivers.

Tooth decay, which we also call cavities, is the most common chronic disease in children.  Kids get cavities because they’re not brushing properly.  Their diets may also contain too much sugar.

Dental Checkup, brushing and flossing

What Parents Should Know

Parents should be actively involved in brushing their children’s teeth up through the age of eight years old.  This means parents should be in the room with their kids, thoroughly brushing their children’s teeth for two minutes, twice a day.  Start the flossing habit each night before bedtime too, as soon as your kids have two teeth that touch.

It’s good to get young children involved in brushing their teeth, but children below the age of eight are generally not able to properly brush and care for their teeth by themselves.

Family Dentistry

Our practice is focused on family dentistry.  You can book a checkup and a cleaning on our website or by calling 864-520-2942.  We work with your schedule to provide morning, evening, weekend and emergency appointments, and all major insurance is accepted.  We created a video to show you what a checkup with x-rays will look like, click here.

Important Recommendations

South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) encourages parents to implement mouth care routines beginning as early as infancy, before a child’s first tooth even appears. Here’s what DHEC recommends for parents:

  • Begin oral care during infancy by wiping a baby’s gums and mouth with a soft cloth
  • Brush a child’s teeth with fluoridated toothpaste twice a day for two minutes. Children under the age of three should use a smear of toothpaste, and children over three should use a pea-sized amount.
  • Take their children for regular dentist visits beginning at the age of one.
  • Talk to a pediatrician, family doctor, nurse or dentist about putting fluoride varnish on children’s teeth as soon as they get their first tooth.
  • Limit a child’s consumption of sugary snacks and drinks.
  • Ask their child’s dentist about dental sealants that protect teeth from decay.
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    We care for patients of all ages

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Dr. Andy Bullard, family dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, Greenville Dental Studio, Greenville, South Carolina

Regular Cleanings and Checkups Can Save You $

Checkups, Cleanings, Fighting Decay, Taking care of your teeth , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Cleanings and Checkups

Let me tell you how important it is to visit your dentist at least twice a year for cleanings and checkups.

You can catch problems earlier or prevent them from happening at all, with regular visits.  Once cavities reach a certain stage, they’ll only continue to grow, and you can end up with a root canal or having to pull a tooth.

checkup, cleaning

The hard buildup around your teeth by the gum line won’t go away on its own.  Brushing and flossing won’t remove it, but your family dentist can knock it out with special instruments.

Checkup, cleaning

That buildup is called tartar, and it can lead to decay and gum disease.  Take a look at the before and after pictures from a recent cleaning in Dr. Bullard’s office:

dental cleaning, dental checkup, family dentistry, dentist

Before

dental cleaning, checkup, family dentistry, dentist

After

According to the American Dental Association, almost half of adults over 30 have some form of gum disease.  You simply do not want to miss checkups.  Your problem areas won’t go away, and they will cost you more money down the road.  Imagine the bill for a routine cleaning and checkup compared to a root canal and crown.

Even if you don’t have any symptoms, you can still have dental health problems.  Small cavities and gum disease often go unnoticed if you’re not feeling any pain.

Use Your Dental Benefits

If you have dental benefits, you are already paying to see your dentist twice a year, so you may as well schedule an appointment, and show up!

Dental cleanings and checkups are part of your overall health and wellness.  Studies show there is a link between a healthy mouth and a healthy heart.  Dental checkups fit right in with exercise and eating well to keep your body in top shape.

Fresher Breath and Whiter Teeth

You can have whiter teeth and fresher breath.  At your dental cleanings, your hygienist or dentist will remove stains from your teeth that are impossible to brush away at home.  A professional cleaning will also remove bacteria that cause bad breath.  Your smile is often the first thing others notice about you.  Don’t you just love how your teeth feel after a cleaning?  Doesn’t it make the day seem brighter?

Book an Appointment

To schedule your next checkup, click here.  You can also call our office at 864-520-2942.

 

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Fluoride Treatments

Fighting Decay, Fluoride Treatment

Fluoride is like a coat of armor for your teeth

For a fluoride treatment, we use a sticky varnish to paint onto the surfaces of your teeth.  The treatment delivers a high dose of fluoride directly where it is applied.  In the right situation, fluoride treatments have proven to be an effective part of treating and fighting decay .  Fluoride disrupts bacteria that cause decay.  It also makes teeth strong, so they can stand up to decay.

There are several different situations where fluoride treatments have proven to be most effective:

Children at risk of decay
The varnish used in fluoride treatments has been shown to reverse early decay.  It also stops the progression of enamel decay in primary and permanent teeth.

Orthodontics and Braces
After braces come off, fluoride treatments can help treat white spot legions that can develop on teeth.

Dry Mouth Syndrome
Saliva is a vital and natural way your body works at fighting decay.  There are hundreds of medicines that cause dry mouth.  When your natural protection is decreased, fluoride varnish can be an effective supplement.  Everyone with dry mouth is susceptible to root decay under old fillings and crowns.  Root decay moves fast and can be catastrophic for a tooth.  Fluoride treatments can help protect vulnerable, exposed root areas.

Patients who have had head and neck radiation
Radiation can kill the saliva glands that are so important at fighting decay in your teeth.

Adults at moderate risk of decay
Adults who have three areas of early decay or who have had any fillings in the last three years would benefit from a fluoride treatment.

At Comprehensive and Cosmetic Dental Studio of Greenville, we are focused on the prevention of disease and fighting decay.  We will assess your risks and the possible benefits of fluoride treatments.