40% OF KIDS WILL have at least one cavity by the time they start school, usually due to poor oral hygiene and eating and drinking lots of sugary things. It’s critical to teach kids good oral health habits early on and to help them brush their teeth until they are able to do it themselves, but it can still be tricky for them to clean out the crevices in their molars. That’s where sealants come in.
How Do Sealants Work?
Dental sealants are a layer of clear plastic that we brush onto the chewing surfaces of teeth to keep cavity-causing plaque and bacteria out. Sealants reduce childhood tooth decay in the back teeth by as much as 80%, which is why they’ve been such a popular treatment since the 1960s. The application process is quick, painless, and easy and can be done within a regular appointment.
Who Can Get Sealants?
We recommend that kids get sealants as soon as their first adult molars erupt, which is usually around age 6. The earlier, the better, but sealants aren’t only for young children; older kids, teens, and adults can get them too!
Ask Us About Dental Sealants
Dental sealants are a remarkable preventive tool that can safeguard your or your child’s oral health for years to come. By providing a protective barrier against cavities, especially in those hard-to-reach areas of your molars and premolars, they offer a simple yet effective way to maintain a healthy smile.
Let’s work together to keep those smiles cavity-free!
The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.
FOR AS LONG AS there have been people, there has been tooth decay, but people in past civilizations didn’t have as many answers about what caused their tooth problems as we do now. That led to some very strange beliefs about dental health. One of the most common was the “tooth worm.”
Ancient Well-Intentioned Errors
As far back as 5000 B.C. in ancient Sumeria, people were blaming their cavities on tooth worms. They are mentioned in ancient Chinese scripts from 1500 B.C. too, and the Roman Empire and medieval Europeans also believed there were worms gnawing at their teeth.
How Did They Get it So Wrong?
Where did this idea come from? There are a few theories. Dental roots could maybe be described as worm-like, so people who didn’t know better might’ve assumed that was the case. They were also familiar with a variety of parasitic worms, including guinea worms in drinking water. They could’ve assumed something similar was affecting their teeth. They also used henbane seed treatments, and the ash of burned henbane seeds resembles worms.
What’s Really Causing cavities?
Although oral bacteria is something we must fight daily by brushing and flossing, tooth worms are, thankfully, a myth. The real culprit behind most cavities is sugar!
The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.
“MOUTH-BREATHER” HAS made the rounds as an insult in recent years, but breathing primarily through the mouth instead of the nose can actually have some pretty negative effects on health, including oral health. Mouth-breathing should only be done as an emergency backup, not the main way to breathe.
The Nose Is a Built-In Air Filter
The nose has a built-in filtration system and triggers nitric oxide production, helping our lungs absorb oxygen better. We don’t get any of that from mouth breathing. Short-term effects of mouth breathing include dry mouth, reduced oxygen levels, and impaired speech. Dry mouth is particularly dangerous for dental health, because saliva is the teeth and gums’ first line of defense against bacteria and acid. We also need saliva to taste our food!
Mouth-Breathing Can Change the Shape of the Face
Children who grow up breathing mainly through their mouths can actually develop differently, their faces becoming flatter, with weaker chins and droopy eyelids as they grow up. They are more likely to have complex orthodontic problems, with narrow arches and lots of crowding. Other long-term effects for habitual mouth-breathers include an increased likelihood of sleep apnea, which in turn comes with low energy, poor concentration, and a weaker immune system.
The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.
WE CAN SEE a hint of the state of dental health in Shakespeare’s England from a sonnet in which he describes his lady love’s reeking breath. The lines “black contagious breath” and “his breath stinks with eating toasted cheese” make it into two of the history plays. This was likely because dental health in England was in a sorry state during the Bard’s day.
The Sugar Trade Devastates English Dental Health
Cavities and missing teeth were common in Early Modern England, but it was much worse for the wealthy and even Queen Elizabeth herself, whose teeth were described as “very yellow and unequal” by a French ambassador and “her teeth black” by a German traveler, who correctly identified sugar as the culprit. That’s right: the sugar trade had reached England, and aristocratic teeth paid a heavy price for it. Surgeons, tooth-drawers, and blacksmiths had a lot of work to do pulling rotten teeth.
Cavities Only the Nobility Could Afford
Sugar was so expensive that only the wealthy could afford it. Some were even using sugar paste to brush their teeth! Many in the lower classes would actually rub charcoal on their teeth to make themselves appear richer. As for actual dental hygiene, people would use quills or wood for toothpicks and cloths to wipe off plaque. We’re definitely happier with modern floss and toothbrushes!
The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.
YOU PROBABLY HEARD the line “it takes fewer muscles to smile than to frown” when you were growing up, but the pedantic dentist might point out that it technically isn’t true. At least ten muscles are involved in smiling, while as few as six are required for frowning. But that’s no reason to frown more; if you think about it, it just means that smiling burns more calories! Even better, there are many other benefits that come from a smiling face.
We Smile When We’re Happy…and Vice Versa?
We obviously smile when we feel happy, but evidence indicates that smiling and happiness are so closely linked that the simple act of smiling can cause happy feelings. Even if it’s a fake smile, it can still release endorphins (also known as the feel-good hormone) and make us feel better. It might be worth trying a smile the next time you’re having a rough day to see if it helps.
Smiling Can Reduce Pain and Stress
Thanks to that endorphin boost from smiling, we can get a lot of other benefits beyond improving our mood. In the moment, endorphins can help reduce pain and relieve stress. They function a lot like painkillers, except that they are free of side-effects!
In 2012, an experiment showed some interesting results with the simple act of smiling. Subjects were given a stressful task, and some were required to hold a pencil between their lips as they did the task (simulating a pouty expression) while others were required to hold it between their teeth (simulating smiling). The second group’s heart rates returned to normal more quickly, suggesting that smiling helps us manage stress.
The Effects Multiply Over Time
It’s lovely to get some short-term effects from endorphins, but those effects are cumulative over time. If we make a habit of smiling more, we can end up with long-term health benefits like being more resilient against illnesses and less likely to get cancer. The reason it reduces the risk of cancer is that when we are better at managing our stress, our cells undergo fewer stress-induced mutations throughout our lives.
Add to Your Lifespan Through Smiles
People will often perceive a smiling face as younger and more attractive, but that can go deeper than appearances. A lifetime of smiling may actually come with enough health benefits to be longer! But it can be difficult to smile when we aren’t confident in the way our teeth look. Having a smile we’re proud to show off requires us to be diligent with our dental hygiene routine, and it may mean orthodontic treatment or other dental work is necessary.
Come to the Dentist With Your Beautiful Smile!
You don’t have to fight alone for your smile’s health — the dentist is your biggest ally. Make sure to schedule regular cleanings and exams so that you can get that deep clean from the hygienist and so that the dentist has a chance to catch any problems when they are minor and easy to treat. Also bring your questions about your dental health!
The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.
BY THEIR ELEVENTH birthday, 2 in 5 kids will have at least one cavity, but parents can do a lot to keep their child’s teeth healthy. One major cavity culprit is sugary drinks, and that includes fruit juice. The worst way to drink it is by sipping it throughout the day, which can cause extensive tooth decay nicknamed “bottle rot.”
Sugar: Oral Bacteria’s Favorite Treat
Sugary treats are also a problem. So many snacks are loaded with sugar. Try to limit sugar consumption to mealtimes. We recommend trading sugary snacks for sliced fruits and veggies, especially if your child needs the energy boost from a snack in between meals.
Preventing Bottle Rot
It’s safe to use a bottle of water after the baby is six months old or a sippy cup of water for toddlers. (Another benefit to water aside from better oral health: no risk of stains or stickiness on clothing, carpet, or furniture!)
With infants, clean away the milk residue after every meal. As soon as baby teeth begin to appear, start brushing them with a soft toothbrush and only a tiny smear of toothpaste (as babies can’t rinse and spit). A good daily oral hygiene routine is paramount.
Make Regular Dental Visits
A child who is already showing signs of tooth decay should see the dentist. We can assess how advanced the decay is, deal with the cavities, and come up with a plan with you to prevent further problems. We can help protect their teeth with fluoride varnish and dental sealants.
The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.
THE FIRST BABY TOOTH and the first loose tooth are two of childhood’s biggest milestones, and new parents probably have a lot of questions about what to expect and whether it’s time to start worrying. We’re here to give you an easy guide to let you know when incoming baby teeth typically arrive and when the adult set should start to make an appearance.
Babies Start Developing Their Teeth in Utero
While it’s very uncommon for a baby to be born with erupted teeth, tooth buds begin forming as early as the sixth week of pregnancy. They continue developing until the baby is born and beyond. The process is called odontogenesis, and it keeps going even after the teeth start to erupt, because the roots will still have some growing to do at that point.
Two Baby Teeth for the Price of One
Though we don’t get an entire set of teeth all at once, we do usually get them two by two, first on the bottom, then the top. Babies typically get their bottom central incisors first, sometime between six and ten months old. Next up are the top two front teeth between the eighth and twelfth months. Then come the bottom lateral incisors, then the top ones.
Are the canines next in line? Actually no! They’ll come later. First are the lower molars, then the upper molars. Now it’s the canines’ turn, and finally the second set of molars appear, and most toddlers complete their set of baby teeth by age three.
When Should I Worry That Teeth Haven’t Appeared?
If you’re nervous about your toddler’s teeth taking longer than they should, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Most of the time, there isn’t any reason to worry until no teeth have appeared by a year and a half, but whether teeth are early or late, make sure to schedule baby’s first dental appointment as soon as that first tooth appears!
Call the Tooth Fairy; The Adult Teeth Are on the Way!
Your child could have their first wiggly tooth as early as age five. If it takes them longer than most of their peers, they might start feeling left behind. It’s a tangible and highly visible sign of maturity to lose a tooth, and they’ll probably be some combination of scared and excited for this rite of passage.
If their seventh birthday comes and goes with no loose teeth, it might be time for a dentist to take a look. They could just be a late bloomer, and that often means their teeth will be stronger and more cavity-resistant than if they came early!
What About Natal Teeth?
We mentioned that babies are sometimes born with a tooth or two. There has been a lot of folklore about these odd (but harmless) teeth across the world, ranging from being seen as bad luck in China to a sign of sorcery in Ural-Altaic tribes to good fortune in Europe. These are natal teeth, which aren’t part of the normal baby teeth set. They tend to be oddly shaped and have weak roots. A doctor might even remove them before the parents bring the baby home for the first time.
Teeth of All Ages Need Brushing!
No matter how many teeth your child has, every tooth needs daily cleaning to stay healthy. Early childhood is the right time to establish good brushing and flossing habits. That way, when their adult teeth arrive, they’ll be ready to take care of them on their own! They’ll need to continue those habits into adulthood so that their teeth stay healthy for a lifetime.
The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.
WE TEND TO IMAGINE that people from earlier eras must’ve had worse teeth than we do because they didn’t have things like modern dentistry, orthodontics, and root canal treatment, but what dental problems were they dealing with and how did they protect their teeth?
Gum Disease Through History
We have evidence that ancient Native Americans — specifically the Manitou cliff dwellers near modern Colorado Springs — sometimes got tooth decay and gum disease, because we can see the damage to their teeth and jaws in remains found in the area.
The ancient cliff dwellers ate a diet of corn (maize), beans, squash, fish, and fresh fruits and nuts. Such a high-fiber diet is great for dental health because harmful oral bacteria needs sugar and starch to multiply but high-fiber foods help keep our teeth clean as we eat them.
Dental Hygiene Before Modern Toothbrushes
Aside from their diet being a mostly healthy one for their teeth and gums, they used chewsticks to clean their teeth and chewed fresh herbs like mint, cucacua, and sage to keep their breath fresh. Chewsticks were twigs with a pointy end that could act as a toothpick and the other end was frayed and worked kind of like a toothbrush.
The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.
ANYONE WHO REGULARLY swims might have noticed that your teeth are more sensitive after climbing out of the pool. That’s not just your imagination. Doing a lot of swimming actually can take a toll on our teeth if we aren’t careful.
Pool Chlorine Can Cause “Swimmer’s Calculus”
To most people, the word “calculus” calls forth scary flashbacks from high school math class, but in this context, it refers to a dental health condition. Prolonged exposure to the acidic chlorine ions in pool water can make a swimmer’s teeth develop yellow or brown stains, which we call swimmer’s calculus. Chlorine is excellent for keeping a public pool sanitary for everyone swimming in it, but if it isn’t monitored carefully, the water’s pH levels can become more acidic.
Our teeth are very vulnerable to erosion from acid, so even mildly acidic pool water can make it more likely that we will develop these kinds of stains. You might be able to minimize this by keeping your mouth closed in the water and drinking plenty of water to rinse any pool water off of your teeth. Regular dental appointments are also important.
The Dental Woes of Scuba Divers
If you prefer scuba diving over swimming at the pool, you will face a different set of dental health risks, including barodontalgia or “tooth squeeze.” If you’ve ever felt pressure building up in your ears when you dive to the bottom of the deep end, you’ve gotten a taste of what can happen inside of individual teeth — particularly those with cavities that haven’t been treated yet or have been treated ineffectively.
The pressure of all that water can build so much that it can actually fracture a tooth. For this reason, we strongly encourage divers to begin their diving season with a visit to the dentist so that they can get ahead of any potential problems.
The All-Size-Fits-None Scuba Mouthpiece
Many scuba divers struggle with the supposedly one-size-fits-all mouthpieces that don’t really fit anyone very well. Most divers don’t go into the water often enough to feel like the cost of a custom-fitted mouthpiece is worth it. As dentists, we would argue that it’s worth it for anyone diving multiple times a year, because a custom-fitted mouthpiece won’t cause the problems the generic one can.
Generally, divers must clench down on the mouthpiece to keep it from falling out while diving, which can put a high level of strain on the jaws. It could even cause TMD (temporomandibular joint disorder).
Do You Still Have Questions About Teeth and Water Activities?
If we haven’t answered all of your questions about how to look after your dental health while being an avid fan of water activities, just ask! A less obvious danger to be aware of as well is the tripping hazard of slippery areas around pools; a fall could easily cause an injury to your mouth. Take the right precautions for your teeth and enjoy all the water you want to this year!
The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.
IT ISN’T ALWAYS easy to teach a young child important life skills. They have boundless energy and short attention spans, so a session of sitting still with a toothbrush isn’t always going to go as planned. Following these tips might help when imparting these essential skills:
1. Show them that brushing is a priority. If brushing their teeth comes across to them as an inconvenient chore, they’ll see dental hygiene as an inconvenience. Frame it as something easy but unskippable — a part of every morning and evening.
2. Feel free to move brushing outside of the bathroom. All it takes is a toothbrush to brush a child’s teeth wherever it’s easiest. It could save a lot of frustration.
3. Using toothpaste isn’t as important as using a toothbrush. If the child practiced their finger-painting skills with the entire toothpaste tube, simply brush without it until it’s possible to get more.
4. Let the child choose their own toothbrush. This will help them feel more ownership over the process and make it more exciting.
5. When possible, brush in front of the mirror so they can watch how the process works. It will also help them feel more involved.
6. Make brushing fun! They’ll be happier to cooperate if it’s presented like a game. Maintain a cheerful attitude and play fun music in time with their two minutes of brushing.
The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.
In my 57 years of life, Dr. Simon is the best dentist I’ve ever seen. We are a military family and have moved several (more than I care to count) times. With each move comes the same challenges relating to finding new doctors, dentists, etc. A good dentist is particularly hard to find, as they are f… Read more
Colleen Moore
Service is great, staff is knowledgeable and courteous. Highly recommended.
Roy Johnson Sr.
I recently went to visit Dr.Simon and was informed that I needed quite a bit of dental work, this came as a shock to me and I was of course very nervous. Dr.Simon and his staff were very kind and accommodating through the entire process. The work that he did was excellent, he takes pride in what he … Read more
Dr. Simon is very sincere and thorough. He takes the time necessary to explain the procedures, expected outcomes and future care. His compassionate approach with a healing hand to all orthotic procedures make him a well-trusted dental professional and an exemplary human-being.
I’ve been a patient of Dr. Simon for many years and he’s the best! I’m faithful about having a check-up every six months because Dr. Simon is always on time and very considerate. I like the Brandermill location and his staff is professional, friendly and courteous.
