You already know that this month is the National Dental Hygiene Month (NDHM) as celebrated by the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA). Any day of the first week of the month is going to be celebrated as the Hygienists’ Appreciation Day. So, this is the best time to visit your dental hygienist and thank him/her for his/her work.

If you are wondering who a dental hygienist is, you are not alone. Most of us know dental doctors simply as dentists. However, there is a team behind a dentist. This team comprises of hygienists, technicians, therapists, and assistants. ADHA describes a dental hygienist in the following words:

“Dental hygienists are licensed oral health professionals who focus on preventing and treating oral diseases-both to protect teeth and gums, and also to protect patients’ total health. They are graduates of accredited dental hygiene education programs in colleges and universities, and must take a written national board examination and a clinical examination before they are licensed to practice. In addition to treating patients directly, dental hygienists may also work as educators, researchers, and administrators.”

A dental hygienist will typically be the one to list out the advantages of proper dental care and hygiene. He/she will also extend you information on proper nutrition. A dental hygienist is usually involved in the preventive measures to keep your teeth healthy.

If you know the dental hygienist at your dental clinic, thank him/her today.

Happy smiling!

How?

• Brush everyday, especially after meals.

• Invest at least 2-3 minutes on brushing.
• Floss everyday.
• Clean your tongue everyday.
• Rinse your mouth after consuming anything.
• Change your toothbrush the moment it appears tattered. If it does not and you have been using it for three months, it’s time to change your brush.
• Pay attention to your diet. Consume calcium, fluoride, vitamin C and vitamin D through the food you eat.
• Cut down on smoking.
• Don’t treat your teeth like tools. Stop using your teeth for opening containers.
• Cut down on sugary foods.
• Do not brush immediately after meals. Brush at least after an hour of eating anything.
• Eat plenty of fiber. Go for a fruit than its juice.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Do not ignore the slightest hint of an oral problem.
• Greet your dentist on World’s Dentist Day (March 6).

Happy smiling!

Happy smiling!

First and foremost, why would you want to please your dentist? Well, if you don’t know, this person has the potential to make you weep for several days; he/she has in his/her control your teeth and your precious smile. Do not annoy him/her. In fact, try to keep him/her happy. If you are lucky, he/she may hand over a bonus candy along with the treatment. So, here’s our list of what you should do to keep your dentist happy.

Listen to him/her

Yes, at every moment. Listen to him/her whether he/she is asking you to visit again or take eat certain food, or instructing you to brush properly, or asking you to move your head/chin in a direction. Failure to follow any of his/her instructions, especially when he/she asks you to move your head/chin, may cost you dearly.

Eat what he/she asks you to

Along with giving you instructions on brushing, flossing, and post-treatment care, your dentist will prescribe to you certain foods. Snacking on these food may prove better than medication.

Do not miss appointments

Are you the kind who gives more importance to a lunch appointment with a friend than an appointment with your dentist? You may think that friendship is more important than a visit to the clinic, it is not. After all, a disappointed friend won’t give you pain; an angry dentist may.

Thank him/her

Thank him/her profusely. It may be his/her job, but if he/she does not do it sincerely, you are gone! So, thank him/her for the comfortable, painless experience at the clinic.

Greet him/her on Dentists’ Day

March 6 is Dentists’ Day. Call up, e-mail, or leave a message on Dentists’ Day. This is just another way of thanking him/her.

Happy smiling!

My dentist says I have to go for the root canal treatment. What is it? Is it painful?

Root canal treatment is done when pus forms at the root of a tooth and it becomes infected. In the root canal therapy/treatment, or RCT, as it is popularly knows as, the pus and the damaged tissues are removed from the root of the tooth.

The treatment usually takes two or three sessions. However, it can be done in one session depending on the condition of your tooth. Your tooth may become a little sensitive after the procedure, which is common. You should, however, inform your dentist of the degree of sensitivity to make sure everything is alright.

How soon can I eat something after a dental treatment?

It is better to wait for a couple of hours before consuming anything after any dental treatment. You may eat sooner if your dentist permits. Ask your dentist for advice on eating time and habits after any major dental treatment.

Does root canal treatment imply tooth extraction?

The root canal treatment is not equivalent to tooth extraction. RCT is done to treat a tooth with infected root. Typically, the root is cleaned off pus and dead tissues, followed by a filling so that your tooth can remain attached. Your dentist will look at saving the teeth rather than removing it. Only in exceptional cases, you may find tooth extraction.

Happy smiling!

In this post, we bring you signs that tell you that you should see your dentist immediately.

Sign# 1: Your gums have become red and/or swollen.

Sign# 2: Your teeth appear loose and move while brushing.

Sign# 3: You feel bad taste in the mouth.

Sign# 4: You have pain in the teeth and gums.

Sign# 5: Your gums bleed when you brush. You should not stop brushing if you find blood in your gums. Your dentist will diagnose the problem and treat you.

Sign# 6: You have become too sensitive to sweet, hot, and cold food.

Sign# 7: Your bad breath does not go away even after regular oral care. Click here to read a post on tips to avoid bad breath.

Sign# 8: You have yellow or brown stains on your teeth.

Sign# 9: You have tartar on your teeth. Click here to understand what tartar is.

Sign# 10: You have sores in your mouth.

Sign# 11: Your teeth are chipped or broken.

Sign# 12: You fell or had an accident that affected your mouth.

Last but not least, make an appointment with your dentist if your last visit was six-months ago.

The above-mentioned signs are easy to notice. You should not ignore these thinking the problem will go away on its own. Seeking expert help will ensure that the problem does not aggravate.

Till the next post, happy smiling!

We all agree that cavities are a menace. What can we do to fight cavities? Here are some easy-to-follow pointers to help fight cavities.

• First of all, do not hesitate to go to your dentist to get the cavities removed even if they have just started building. You need not wait for the cavities to grow before making a visit to the dentist.
• Drink water after every cup of coffee, tea or a glass of juice, coke etc. Water cleanses our mouth apart from cleansing our systems, thus making sugar and starch do less damage to our teeth.
• Brush after every meal. Yes, we all know this one but rarely follow it. Remember, adhering to this simple rule will go a long way in keeping that perfect smile. So, brush regularly and properly.
• Floss, floss, floss. Yes, this one keeps coming back! Flossing helps remove food particles from between teeth, thus making them less prone to damage.
• Drink plenty of water. Yes, you must have heard this all the time, even for body care and skin care. Water is a panacea for a lot of things. It even avoids obesity!

  The water in Minneapolis is treated with Fluoride, thus making it excellent for prevention of teeth decay. The water goes through multiple treatments to arrive in your kitchen. Minneapolis water is made extremely soft by these treatments, so feel free to gulp down galloons everyday.

• While choosing a toothpaste, go for a fluoride-based one.
• If you feel that you have tarter on your teeth, seek immediate professional help. You dentist will cleanse your teeth, making it less prone to cavity. Tarter will not vanish even with you brushing and flossing your teeth regularly. Leave this part to the experts.

We cannot afford to neglect our teeth unless we want to try dentures in future!

Till the next post, happy smiling!

If you or your child is thinking about becoming a dentist, there are several steps that you need to take in order to fufil your dreams. Here is the step by step guide to becoming a dentist.

Step 1 - In high school take biology, chemistry, physics, health and mathematics and try and maintain a high grade point average.

Step 2 - Ask your guidance counselor for information on colleges that have a two-year pre-dental program that emphasizes the sciences. Most pre-dental students complete a bachelor’s degree.

Step 3 - Send for college catalogs and applications and apply for several of them.

Step 4 - Commit yourself to receiving high grades in college, especially in your science courses.

Step 5 - Contact the American Dental Association for a list of four-year dental schools accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation. Make certain you’ll meet the admission requirements. (See the ADA Web site at ada.org.)

Step 6 - Take the Dental Admissions Test (DAT). Your test scores, overall grade point average, science average and recommendations will all weigh heavily in the decision to admit you to a dental school.

Step 7 - Understand that the first two years in dental school will consist of classroom and lab courses. The final two years are spent in clinics under the supervision of licensed dentists.

Step 8 - Obtain your license by passing additional written and practical state examinations after you’ve graduated from dental school. Make certain you know what your state’s licensing requirements are well before you get to this point.

Step 9 - Check on your state’s requirements for specialty licenses in the dental field. An additional two to five years of study is required.

When you are looking for a new dentist for yourself or your family it is important that you find one that you feel comfortable with and that you get along with. There is no point in going to a dentist who you don’t trust and don’t feel as relaxed as possible that you need. There are a few tips that can help you find the right dentist.

The best place to start your search is looking for a family or general dentist. They are licensed to diagnose dental issues and oral conditions as well as come up with a treatment plan and carry out most treatments. If they are not able to treat it themselves, they will send you to a specialist, but it is best if you start with them.

There are a few things that you should know about your dentist before you decide which one is the best one for you. For example, it is good to know how long they have been in practice. Also, ask about their training and what type of clinical experience they have. Ask about what kind of emergency care they offer such as evenings and weekends. Ask as many questions as you possibly can so that you get to know them before you make the choice. The overall decision should be based on how comfortable you are with them.

If you are getting a lot of dental work done, you may here the term Cerec around quite a bit, but what is it and what does it do? Cerec is a dental restoration product that helps dentists to produce ceramic dental restoration using computers and computer technology to help it.

The best thing about Cerec is that restoring a tooth can be performed in a single sitting with a patient because the cavity is photographed and stored as a three dimentional digital model. A special software is used to figure out the approximate restoration shape using biogeneric comparisons to the teeth that surround the tooth that needs to be restored. Once the dental practitioner refines the model, a milling machine carves the restoration out of a ceramic block using diamond cutters and driven by the computer. When it is carved, the dentist can bond it to the tooth using resin, making restoring teeth quick and easy.

So how do you explain it in easy English? A computer takes a picture of your tooth and makes the restoration while you wait so that you don’t have to make multiple trips to the dentist! Its as simple as that! Ask your dentist about using Cerec for your next tooth restoration!

Everyone has their own preferences that are going to weigh in when they choose a dentist. In some cases, the decisions that they are going to make are going to be made based on past experiences - some people have one really unpleasant experience with a dentist back when they were kids (or heard their parents talk about a bad experience with a dentist). In other cases, it all comes down to knowing that they aren’t doing everything that they could to make sure that their dental health is as great as it could be.

When you’re looking for a dentist, it’s important to look at who you are, what your experiences have been and what you need to have access to.

• If you have had a bad experience with a dentist in the past, make sure that you feel comfortable talking over your options with someone new.
• If you’e been uncomfortable with dentists in the past, it’s a good idea to schedule an appointment and to sit down with someone up front.
• If you’ve thought about having cosmetic work done and you’re looking at choosing a new dentist, take the time to see whether or not the dentist you are thinking about working with can meet your needs.

Choosing a dentist, ultimately, is about building a relationship. Look at the big picture, talk about your options and focus on working with a dentist who can provide the care that you need.