Kids loves chewing gum. They anticipate the age where mom or dad says it is ok to start chewing gum without the fear of choking. When it comes to chewing gum, it is the type of gum that really make the difference in whether it is helpful or harmful to your teeth. If the gum you choose contains sugar, than you are essentially giving your teeth a bath of sweetness. This can invite those pesky [...]
If you asked a pediatric dentist what their favorite month of the year was, my guess is most would say February. Why February? Well, for starters, it has been designated as National Children's Dental Health Month. All over the United States, pediatric dental offices increase their outreach during this time. They visit with local school children and educate them and their parents about good oral health. Some communities even participate in Give Kids a Smile [...]
Valentine's Day is February 14. It is a day to express love. You can love yourself, your neighbor, your spouse, your kids, and even your kids' teeth! Valentine's Day is now one of the three largest consumer holidays in the United States. According to WalletHub, 94% of Americans want chocolate as a gift. This adds up to over 1.8 billion dollars in sales. That is not even counting, how much money is made on flowers [...]
With a new year, often times comes new resolutions. Whether it's going to the gym more often or promising to stay in touch with family and friends, the new year is a time of thoughtful consideration of how the next 365 days of one's life will go. One of the best resolutions one can make is to pledge to get in good dental health. It is amazing how much poor dental health can adversely affect [...]
Your body starts digesting food in your mouth, thanks to enzymes in your saliva that break down starches. Swallowing would be terribly uncomfortable without saliva to help us move our food down. You wouldn’t be able to taste your food if you didn’t have saliva. As food mixes with saliva, it carries it to the taste buds that are embedded on your tongue. Your body makes 4 – 8 cups of saliva every day! It [...]
By the time your child starts kindergarten, you may have almost forgotten that their cute set of teeth are just place holders for the permanent ones. After all, it was a long, sometimes tearful, teething process growing in those first teeth - who wouldn’t want to forget that? Well, be reassured that for most kids the transition from baby teeth to adult teeth is more giggles than tears. So don’t be too concerned when the [...]
This relatively new treatment consists of a simple application of a liquid called silver diamine fluoride, or SDF. You probably recognize fluoride in the title, a substance that helps to harden the enamel of our teeth, making it more difficult for bacteria to do damage. The silver component acts as an antimicrobial agent. You can think of it like Neosporin for teeth. It actually kills the bacteria that created the cavity! Altogether, SDF is a [...]
Braces have been a right-of-passage for most teenagers. The embarrassment of having a “metal mouth” and the discomfort of the brackets rubbing against the inside of the cheek was the price you had to pay for that great smile. Luckily for today’s teenagers, there is another option. Invisalign is the next generation of technology for teeth alignment. The beauty of it is in the simplicity, especially for the patient. Just imagine, Tessa Teen goes to [...]
If your child needs a crown on a tooth, Dr. Jamie can now provide you with the option of white crowns in place of the standard stainless steel crown. While front teeth white crowns are common, newer back teeth white crowns are now available. Made of durable zirconia, these crowns are not only strong, they are beautiful! A crown is usually used to cover a tooth that has a very large filling. Perhaps the decay [...]
This blogger is a mom with a kid about to start kindergarten. While looking up some basic info on my daughter’s soon-to-be school’s webpage, I noticed a post in the side bar about a new policy banning foods with high sugar content. I smirked at that policy because I already have pretty strict sugar rules for my kids. You won’t find any soda around here, no sirree. The candy is doled out in tiny portions, [...]
