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3 Nasty Things That May Be On Your Toothbrush

Your toothbrush is meant to rid your mouth of bacteria and germs. But at my Douglasville dental office, we know that your toothbrush may not always be clean itself. In fact, your toothbrush may be home to some seriously nasty things.

Like What Nasty Things?

We’re glad you asked. Some of the grossest things sometimes found lingering on toothbrushes can include:

• E. Coli. Storing your toothbrush too close to your toilet can allow fecal matter and possibly the E.Coli bacteria to land on it (yes, we know this is super gross, but that’s why we’re telling you).
• Blood. If you have gum disease or mouth sores caused by trauma, chances are you bleed when you brush, allowing the blood to transfer onto the toothbrush.
• Staphylococcus Aureus. This bacteria usually lives within your respiratory system. And when we breathe, it can cause it to come to our mouths and, in turn, on our toothbrushes. Don’t fret too much though, it’s usually pretty rare.

Proper Toothbrush Care

To help keep your toothbrush clean and free of these scary germs, follow the tips below.

Rinse, Rinse, Rinse. After each and every brushing session, spend a few extra seconds thoroughly rinsing your toothbrush with water. A good rinse helps remove any lingering food that was removed, rids the brush of leftover toothpaste, and flushes germs and bacteria down the sink.

Smart Storage. Keeping your toothbrush stored upright allows anything that may still be lingering around to fall away from the bristles. What’s more, allowing it to air dry and not sealing it up in a container limits the opportunity for bacteria growth. Lastly, if more than one toothbrush is stored in close quarters, try not to let them touch. More on this in the next tip.

Sharing is NOT Caring. Sharing a toothbrush or allowing the bristles of multiple brushes to touch could allow germs and bacteria to be transferred from one person to another, increasing the risk for infections and illness.

Get a New One. You should treat yourself to a new toothbrush every three to four months. Bristles tend to become frayed around this time and become ineffective. A replacement toothbrush should also be purchased following a sickness.

The best ways to keep your mouth as healthy as possible are to follow a good at-home oral health program of brushing well, flossing often, and keeping your toothbrush clean. But that’s only half of it. Maintaining regular visits with your dentist is crucial to catching problems early and treating them effectively. If it’s time for your checkup, give my Douglasville dental office a call today and schedule an appointment.

Serving patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica

She’s Got Her Mother’s Smile! Or Does She?

It’s all in the genes when it comes to many traits and characteristics inherited from parent to child. In some ways, the same can be said for our smiles. At my Douglasville dental office, we were curious to know if children are more likely to inherit the same dental problems as their parents and how DNA influences dental health. Let’s find out.

Blame it on the DNA
Several dental problems can be passed down from parent to child through DNA including:

• The size and shape of the mouth, which could result in a bad bite and TMJ pain
• Teeth alignment including gaps, crookedness, and overcrowding
• Oral cancer risk
• Cleft palates

Knowing your family’s medical history and what diseases tend to be more prominent is a great first step in being able to detect and treat problems early. Make sure you share this information with your dentist.

Nature vs. Nurture
Don’t place all the blame on genetics when it comes to dental dilemmas. Discoloration, cavities, and even gum disease are nurtured behaviors — not natural genetic traits. Think of the copycat syndrome where kids learn by doing. By making brushing, flossing, and checkups fun for children, they’re more likely to maintain these good habits in the future. This leads to better oral and overall health, and can provide an added defense against what nature may inherently have in the cards. Remember: decay and gum disease aren’t a result of DNA, but neglecting everyday hygiene habits.

Get on Track
Start on the path to better health immediately and increase not only your chances of improved oral health, but also help the little ones who look up to you too. It’s as simple as daily brushing and flossing, watching your diet, and being tobacco-free. Keeping regularly scheduled appointments with your Douglasville dentist for both you and your kids, every six months is also crucial.

If you’re looking for dentist, give my dental office in Douglasville a call and schedule an appointment. We’ll talk about your current oral health and work together to find a plan that will get your smile healthy, beautiful, and vibrant.

Accepting new patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica.

How Long Does a Tooth Filling Last?

While there are several dental myths we strive to debunk everyday by educating our patients, there’s one that’s particularly concerning for all of us at my Douglasville dental office.  A common misconception is that once you get a cavity filled, you’re good to go for life. Never worry about it again. One and done. We never like to be the bearer of unfortunate news, but that’s just not the case.

The lifespan of dental fillings depends on what type of material is used to fill the cavity. Some last longer than others. Some have other advantages to them besides lasting a long time. It depends on which type of filling is used, where it’s used, and how well you care for your teeth that can all impact the life expectancy of a dental filling.

Silver Fillings

There are some pros to getting silver fillings, but also some negatives. Silver fillings, also known as amalgam fillings, are strong, durable, and can withstand a lot of wear and tear. They typically last anywhere from 10 to 15 years, and are a great option to fill in any decayed areas of your teeth. However, some patients dislike the fact that these restorations are pretty visible and can even cause some discoloration in your smile. There’s also been an increase in concern regarding the level of mercury in the material used. If this is something that worries you, we encourage you to talk with a dentist.

White Fillings

The most popular type of fillings are white, tooth-colored fillings, also known as composite fillings. Designed to match your teeth and blend seamlessly into your smile, they’re basically invisible. These restorations also usually require less drilling, which means more of your healthy tooth can be kept in tact. However, while they’re definitely more aesthetically pleasing, they may not always be an option. White fillings don’t last as long as silver fillings, and on average sustain for about 7-10 years. Nonetheless, they’re still an incredibly strong, successful treatment for most cavities.

Which is Right for You?

Your dentist in Douglasville will talk to you about which restoration option is most appropriate for you. They’ll look at the level of decay, where in your mouth the cavity is, and talk with you about your preferences.

Think you may have a cavity? Call my Douglasville dental office to schedule a visit today. We’ll check out what’s going on, discuss your treatment options, and get you back on track towards optimal oral health.

Always accepting patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica.

Top 3 Worst Easter Candies for your Teeth

Another holiday traditionally packed full of sweets is upon us, and at my Douglasville dental office, we’re all about sweet treats — in moderation. Moderation is key to any diet, especially when it comes to your oral health and sugar-loaded snacks. This Easter, try to avoid these top three worst candies, and swap them out for healthier alternatives.

The Top Culprits

Dentists have a reputation of being anti-sugar, and with good reason. Sugar is one of the main causes of decay and cavities, and most candies are full of the stuff. But some are worse for your teeth than others. Let’s take a look at what to avoid.

• Ooey, Gooey, Sticky Stuff – Caramels, gummies, and taffy are some of the worst candy for your teeth. Sticky stuff gets stuck in crevices and hard-to-reach places in teeth, allowing sugar to linger even after you’re done eating.

• Pucker-inducing Sours – Sour candy contains acid. A lot of it. Acid is what causes enamel to erode, making it easy for bacteria to wiggle in and create cavities.

• Rock Hard Sweets –  Hard sweets like lollipops take awhile to eat, leaving teeth exposed to sugar for a long time. The longer it’s there, the more chance there is for decay, cavities, and the need for fillings or other dental treatment.

Healthier Choices

There are some candy out there that aren’t as terrible for your teeth, or your overall health. Try some of these alternatives to satisfy your candy craving while keeping your smile in tact.

• Hollow Dark Chocolates – Hollow chocolates not only cut calories, they also lower your exposure to sugar. Make the hollow mold of goodness dark chocolate instead of milk and provide your body with powerful antioxidants too.

• Sugar-Free Snacks – If sugar is what makes most candy bad, candy without sugar is obviously better. Look around for some sugar-free options to still get your candy fix without the damaging effects of sugar.

Besides avoiding, or at least limiting, the top three worst candies for your grin, make sure you brush and floss everyday and maintain regular visits to your dentist in Douglasville. Both are crucial for health smiles and healthy bodies.

If it’s time for your checkup and you’re looking for a dental team that puts you first, give my Douglasville dental office a call. We’ll be happy to see you!

Welcoming patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica.

Which Vitamins Are Most Important for Dental Health?

A healthy body relies on receiving enough vitamins in order to function properly. Your mouth is no different. Some of the same vitamins crucial for optimal whole-body wellness are necessary for a healthy mouth. At my Douglasville dental office, we’re here to explain which vitamins are sure to make your smile happy.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A-rich foods like carrots, sweet potatoes, and kale build immunity and aid your body in fighting off unwanted infections. How does this help your mouth? Very similarly, in fact. A diet rich in vitamin A promotes healing and keeps gums healthy. It’s also helpful in saliva production which rinses away food particles and bacteria.

B Vitamins

Vitamins that fall within the B family help you keep calm and ease stress. They also are a natural anti-inflammatory. Receiving enough B vitamins can decrease tongue inflammation and even keep canker sores or other mouth sores away. Get yours by eating chicken, fish, or spinach.

Vitamin C

Another immune booster, vitamin C is also essential for healthy gums. It can reduce gum inflammation by helping to repair the tissues that surround the teeth. Not enough vitamin C can actually increase the risk for gum disease, so make sure you eat your broccoli, kale, and citrus fruits.

D Vitamins

D vitamins help calcium absorption. Without your D vitamins, the calcium that builds strong bones and teeth can’t be absorbed, and bones are left to deteriorate. A lack of D vitamins can also cause dry mouth or create a metallic taste in the mouth. Both of which are pretty unpleasant.

Vitamins are received through the foods we eat, and if your diet includes an adequate amount of dairy, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains, you just may be getting all you need. But sometimes a well-balanced, healthy meal isn’t so easy to come by. That’s when you may be lacking some crucial vitamins and a supplement may be needed. However, before starting a vitamin supplement routine, it’s best to consult your physician.

Eating well is only part of getting your mouth in its healthiest state. You still need to follow a oral hygiene routine of brushing and flossing every day and maintain regular dental checkups. At my dental office in Douglasville, we’re always accepting new patients and would love the opportunity to help you smile. Give us a call today!

Welcoming patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica.

The Link Between Smiling and Attraction

It’s the glimmer between strangers meeting eyes across the room. It’s the sparkle that lights up a photograph. It can whisper sweet nothings. It can shout with enthusiasm. It can unite people in moments of warmth and magic. It’s a smile, and it’s the universal communicator of joy and connection. But if your smile is broken, discolored or damaged, it can be a barrier between you and life. Let my dental office in Douglasville help.

How Smiling Makes us Feel

Smiling is more than nonverbal communication. It also triggers an amazing array of physical responses, both in the giver of the smile and the receiver. The key ingredient here is dopamine, that wonderful feel-good neurotransmitter. Because pleasure is such a motivator, anything that releases dopamine can become addicting, says Gary L. Wenk, a Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience & Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics at the Ohio State University and Medical Center. “When we smile…the contractions of the facial muscles slightly distorts the shape of the thin facial bones. This slight distortion in their shape leads to an increase in blood flow into the frontal lobes of the brain and increases in the release of dopamine. As a result, walking around all day with a smile on your face will bias your mood to be happier. Not only will you be happier, but your smile might spontaneously induce the release of dopamine in someone else’s brain.” No wonder smiling makes you more attractive – it causes the same chemical response as coffee or chocolate…or falling in love!

Smiling and Health

Smiling doesn’t just feel good, it makes you healthier too.  Every time you smile, your body produces greater quantities of antibodies and T-cells (or white blood cells), which may give your immune system a big boost. Smiling is also super relaxing, which we all know is good for our health. It releases both endorphins, those “feel-good” hormones, and serotonin, a natural stress-reducer.

If you would like to smile more – for health, relaxation, fun, and attraction – but you feel self-conscious about some aspect of your smile, don’t worry. Just call my Douglasville dental office. We have a multitude of cosmetic dentistry options that can get you a confident smile. Whether it’s stains, gaps, chips, cracks, or crookedness, we have the solution just for you. Schedule an appointment today and start enjoying all the benefits of smiling.

Welcoming new patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica.

Smother Your Valentine with Minty-Fresh Kisses

Everyone wants to share a kiss and a smile on Valentine’s Day. Make sure your mouth is ready for it! A good way to start is by having your teeth cleaned. This not only freshens and brightens your teeth, it can really help clear away any lingering bad breath problems you might have. Bad breath is often caused by bacteria in your mouth and sometimes is an indicator of periodontal disease. If you have chronic bad breath, it is a certain indicator that it is time for a checkup at my dental office in Douglasville.

We also recommend using Xylitol products like mints, gum, or mouthrinse to keep your smile healthy and your breath super fresh!  Xylitol is effective because it inhibits and destroys mouth bacteria.

Here are a few other ways to get your breath super sweet and ready for kisses:

• Eat more fruits and vegetables

Crunchy fruits and vegetables help loosen trapped particles of food, clear away debris, and moisten your mouth. If those fruits and veggies are high in vitamin C, even better! Vitamin C helps create an environment that is not hospitable to oral bacteria.

• Add some yogurt to your diet

Try eating three ounces or more of probiotic yogurt. The good bacteria in yogurt lowers your levels of odor-causing compounds, while the vitamin D reduces mouth bacteria.  It should be sugar free, because sugar feeds bacteria and increases acid production which leads to cavities.

• Stop smoking

We don’t even need to discuss this one; everyone knows what smoker’s breath is like. Even brushing can’t scrub it away. And don’t forget – tobacco dries your mouth out, another contributor to bad breath. It’s a double whammy. Oh, and should we mention the staining? Not a big turn-on either.

Whatever your plans are this Valentine’s Day, consider adding a cleaning to your preparation schedule. It is the one sure way you can be sure your kisses will be as smoochable as possible. Schedule an appointment at my Douglasville dental office today.

We’re always welcoming new patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica

Can Your Smile Affect Your Career?

While we’d love to believe that looks aren’t everything, the truth is, they mean a lot. Especially when it comes to your smile. In fact, research has shown a direct correlation between a pretty smile and a successful career. Unfortunate? Yes. Truthful? Also yes. At my Douglasville dental office, we’d like to share a few reasons why.

Smart

Your resume is top-notch, your interview skills are slamming, and your smile is… lackluster. Do you land the job or not? According to research conducted by Kelton Research for Invisalign, Americans believe those with straight teeth are 45% more likely to be offered a position over someone with the same resumé but a crooked grin. What’s more, nearly 75% of the population believe having an unattractive smile would keep them from a promotion. We don’t like it, but the research doesn’t lie.

Healthy

A straight, white smile with fresh breath automatically shows those around you that you’re healthy and you care about your appearance. Not only that, but a truly healthy smile can actually make your whole body healthy too, which means less days off work due to sickness and perhaps a bonus in the future.

Trustworthy

It doesn’t matter if you’re a lawyer, doctor, plumber, or electrician, every career requires building and earning trust with others. One of the best ways to succeed at this is with your smile. Around 75% of Americans are more likely to trust those with healthy, beautiful smiles than those who dress professionally or drive fancy cars.

Options to Boost Your Smile

There are a multitude of options available that can help you get the smile of your dreams, and help you land that well-deserved career, too. Some of the ways you can boost the appearance of your smile include:

• Veneers
• Whitening
• Implants
• Tooth-colored fillings

No matter what your smile goals are, we can help you at my Douglasville dental office. We treat each patient as an individual and will work with you to get you the correct treatment to land that million dollar-looking smile, and just maybe a million dollar career to go with it.

Welcoming patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica.

New Year’s Resolutions for Better Oral Health

As the calendar rolls into another year, so many resolutions are being made every day — to eat healthier, call your mom more, and get to the gym regularly. Chances are by June, more than half of all resolutions will have fallen by the wayside. At my Douglasville dental office, we’d like to propose a 2016 resolution challenge for better oral health, and help you keep it all year around.

Resolution #1: Drink More Water

Water is incredibly important not just for your oral health, but for your whole body. But most people don’t drink nearly enough of it. It’s a generally accepted rule to drink eight, 8-ounce glasses of water every day. This ensures your body is hydrated and able to function properly. It also helps rid your mouth of dangerous bacteria and stimulates saliva flow.

Resolution #2: Quit Smoking

Although quitting smoking comes with a whole host of health benefits like decreased risk for heart disease and cancer, putting down the cigarettes helps limit your chance for oral cancer, yellow teeth, and plaque and tartar build up.

Resolution #3: Choose Fruits and Veggies

Fruits, veggies, and even nuts are packed full of antioxidants that can help combat inflammation and kill bacteria, protecting teeth and gums. A bonus is the crunchy texture of some fruits and veggies like apples and carrots remove tooth plaque and can even freshen breath.

Resolution #4: Limit Alcohol

Alcohol is naturally drying, and a dry mouth is an unhappy mouth. Saliva is your body’s natural way of rinsing away food particles, neutralizing acids, and removing plaque and bacteria. The less saliva produced and the drier the mouth, the more likely bacteria and plaque are to linger around and cause problems.

Resolution #5: Visit Your Dentist in Douglasville

We typically recommend visiting us at least every six months, sometimes more if necessary. At these visits we not only check for potential problems that may be lurking around, we also use them as a chance to make sure your resolutions are holding strong and your oral health is thanking you for it.

There’s never been a better time to resolve to get your mouth in its best shape yet. And all of us at my dental office in Douglasville want to help. Dedicate 2016 to a healthier smile and an overall healthier you. Schedule your appointment today and we’ll be with you every step of the way.
Welcoming patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica.

2016 – It’s the Year to get Serious About Dental Health

Everyone is busy gearing up for a new year. Here at my Douglasville dental office, we’ve been working on our New Year’s resolution lists too. What’s on yours? More exercise? More time to relax? A new hobby? Whatever is on your list already, I’d like to suggest that you add more regular dental hygiene visits. Even if you don’t have a lot of plaque buildup between cleanings and you take great care of your teeth, you still have a certain amount of biofilm on your teeth. And that biofilm needs to be disrupted with regularity to prevent gum disease and other health problems. Now more than ever, science is discovering clear and direct links between oral health and whole body health.

Here are a few more ways to make your dental health part of your New Year’s’ resolution and get serious about smiling:

• Eat only at meal times. Why? For about 20 minutes after you drink or eat anything, especially sugary foods and candies, your mouth is under attack. If you tend to eat and snack throughout the day, your teeth will be exposed to harm for much longer than they should be! Try to do all your eating at once and try to choose treats that aren’t sticky or chewy.

• Remember that sweets affect more than your middle. Sugar can have devastating effects on your diet, but it isn’t good for your mouth either. Instead of sugary foods and drinks, or foods high in carbohydrates (which turn into sugar and feed bacteria too), try foods high in protein, calcium, and phosphorous like nuts, chicken, and cheese. Include crunchy fruits and vegetables for their water content and tooth-cleaning properties as well.

• If you are going to drink a lot of red wine and coffee over the holiday season, keep in mind that these are very staining. Consider scheduling a post-holiday whitening and cleaning to get your teeth back in shape after all the indulgence.

• Keep up on your regular cleanings and checkups. The more we see your teeth, the more likely we are to catch problems like gum disease, oral cancer, cavities, and other wear and tear. That means more saved teeth and more saved money as well!

• Don’t get lazy about your home hygiene routine either. Be sure to brush and floss twice a day and more often if you are snacking a lot. remember that your oral health affects your whole-body health.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call my Douglasville dental practice today. We are here to help our Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica friends and neighbors find better health and stronger smiles in the new year.