If there is one gift you can help provide your child that will last for their lifetime, it is the gift of great oral health. While there are no guarantees, there are many things you can do that will contribute to good oral health … educate, provide, and make sure your child sees the family dentist every six months.

Educate: Teach your child the proper daily care of brushing and flossing. As soon as those first baby teeth erupt, the educating process begins. Example is a great teacher … allow your child to watch the steps you take to care for your own teeth.

Provide: This encompasses many things starting with diet. While you may treat your child occasionally, make sure their daily diet consists of primarily the basics … vegetables, fruits, dairy, protein, and healthy grains. Do not make soda or juice a daily staple; serve water or milk. When your child is young, you control what they eat and drink. Help them to form great habits that hopefully they will continue as they age.

Another important provision involves the correct tools to clean their teeth. A soft bristle toothbrush and age appropriate toothpaste are needed for twice daily use. A fun and inexpensive tool that might encourage brushing is to provide an electric toothbrush with a favorite character on it. Most come with a timer that signals when they’ve brushed for the recommended two minutes.

Flossing is important as the toothbrush only reaches two thirds of the surfaces of teeth. If a child is taught to floss every day from early childhood, hopefully this habit will also become ingrained. 

Your child’s first dental visit should occur around the age of twelve months. This first visit is usually just an exam but consistent visits will allow your child to become comfortable with the sights and sounds of the dental office so when they are ready for their actual first cleaning, they won’t be fearful.

If your child’s first visit to the dentist is due to a dental problem, subsequent visits are likely to represent fear and discomfort. Hopefully, everything you do to support your child’s dental health will prevent the need for cavity repair. 

Cavity prevention is possible with the proper care and nutrition coupled with regular visits with the family dentist for cleaning and dental exam. If it’s time to schedule your child’s next visit, contact our team at Friendly Dental Care today.

Moving to a new city can be stressful for many reasons … research is needed to locate the best schools, a safe place to live, and locations for grocery shopping, places of worship, and providers for health and dental care. It is always wise to do a little early investigating so you aren’t put into a difficult situation if a dental emergency should arise … some of the things to consider when determining your next dentist include:

Referrals: Having someone you know and trust recommend a dentist is a good place to start.

Location: If you are considering all family members, your search should probably start near your home. However, if your search is for yourself only, a location closer to your place of employment might be a better choice.

Available Services: Having a dentist that can provide the majority of services you may need prevents being referred for different treatments. Regular dental visits for cleaning and exam; cavity prevention and treatment; solutions for gum disease or gum recession; teeth whitening; dental bonding and tooth colored fillings are standard for most dental practices. Other considerations might be restorations such as crowns and bridges, cosmetic work, Invisalign orthodontic treatment, endodontic therapy, and periodontal therapy.

Once you have narrowed down your choices, it’s time for a personal visit to check for:

Cleanliness – If the waiting room is a mess or the floor is dirty, this may be an indicator of the condition of the rest of the office.

Staff – Are they friendly and helpful? If new patients are not treated well, that situation probably won’t improve over time.

Insurance – If you have dental insurance, you should make sure it is accepted by your dental provider.

If you don’t feel comfortable with the dentist or staff, move on. After all, these are the people that you are entrusting the dental health for you and your family. Great dental health is imperative for good overall health.

Moving to a new location is hard enough … do the things you can to make your dental transition as easy as possible. If you’re new to the area and are looking for a dental provider, call our team at Friendly Dental Care. We’re here to answer any questions or to schedule a visit.

Sleep Apnea is a condition where tissues in or around the throat collapse blocking the airway preventing oxygen from reaching the brain. This occurrence can impact the patient up to hundreds of times every night.

Although a sleep study is needed to accurately diagnose sleep apnea, there are symptoms that can signal that your sleep is interrupted throughout the night. 

Snoring – People snore for many reasons, but this coupled with other symptoms may be an indicator that you are suffering from sleep apnea.

Fatigue – You feel tired although you thought you had a full night’s sleep or you often awaken with a headache. 

Distracted – You have difficulty concentrating or feel depressed, but you don’t know why.

If you suspect you might be suffering from this sleep dysfunction, a good place to start to find relief may be with your dentist. There are a variety of treatments that might work, but oral appliance therapy has been proven to be one of the most effective options available. 

With an oral appliance, your dentist will customize a mouthpiece specifically for your needs. It works by supporting the jaw in a forward position to help keep the airway open. This solution is often recommended to treat mild sleep apnea.

In addition, your dentist may suggest sleeping on your side or losing a few pounds if you are overweight. Many patients make the mistake of taking sleep medications or turning to a cocktail or glass of wine before bed to try to relax. But ironically, relaxation is what is causing excess tissues in the throat to collapse.

Many patients may not recognize their symptoms as sleep apnea, but this condition is not to be taken lightly. Left untreated, sleep apnea can lead to high blood pressure, heart ailments, stroke, or even death.

Restful sleep is often difficult due to everyday external complications; do not allow sleep apnea to keep you from a good night’s sleep when relief may be as easy as a visit with your dentist. Contact our team at Friendly Dental Care for a consultation regarding symptoms you are experiencing.

Gingivitis is the early stage of gum disease. If not caught and treated, it can escalate to periodontitis … at this point the patient is at risk of infection and possibly tooth loss. If you are attentive to your daily oral care that includes brushing and flossing; and see your dentist every six months for cleaning and a dental exam, you are already doing some of the things needed to maintain good oral health.

There are signs to indicate the onset of gingivitis including:

Red, swollen, or bleeding gum tissue – If you brush with a hard bristle toothbrush and/or a heavy hand, you may experience bleeding gums. But if your gums are swollen and red (healthy gum tissue is pink and firm), or they bleed without provocation, you are seeing one of the first symptoms of gum disease.

Chronic bad breath – Many foods (onion, garlic); beverages (coffee, wine); lifestyle (smoking and tobacco use) … all of these things can result in halitosis. But if brushing, mouthwash, or a breath mint do not reduce or eliminate bad breath, you may have infected gum tissue. A sour odor is often present when infection occurs.

Teeth pulling away from gum tissue – If one or more teeth appear to be receding from gums, you need to see your dentist right away.

Teeth feel loose – This is definitely not normal. Failure to obtain treatment right away can mean the loss of one or more teeth.

Gum disease can impact one area of the mouth, a full arch, or both upper and lower teeth. A deep cleaning, also known as root planing and scaling, involves going beneath the surface of the gums to remove plaque from affected teeth. This treatment is the initial step in restoring your dental health.

Additional aids your dentist might recommend include anti-bacterial rinses, antibiotics (when infection is present), and in-office treatments that are intended to improve your condition. A thorough explanation of how to use these products so you can maintain your oral health should accompany treatment.

Once treatment has been rendered, the patient will be educated on how to prevent a recurrence. Keep gum tissue stimulated and help control plaque buildup with a healthy diet; minimize consumption of sugary beverages; eliminate tobacco use; brush at least twice each day with fluoridated toothpaste; and floss every day to remove food debris your toothbrush missed.

Contact Friendly Dental Care at 740-687-6105 today to schedule your next visit.

We do things every day that we consider normal and in some cases habitual. Some are harmless, but knowing about the harmful ones can lead to improved dental and overall health. While your dentist may caution you about things like brushing and flossing, some others that may not receive acknowledgement during your dental visit include:

1. Nail biting – Often performed by younger folks and sometimes attributed to boredom, nail biting is unsanitary to say the least. But the way the jaw contorts can result in a malocclusion; and dental enamel can be damaged resulting in chipped and/or broken teeth.
2. Chewing ice – Biting down on anything hard, including ice cubes, can lead to tooth damage.
3. Soda consumption – This is a major topic for discussion that has been on-going for years. The primary concern usually focuses on the sugar content; but even the sugar free varieties can contribute to dental decay. The acidic value attributed to the very thing that many people love about soda (its fizz) can damage your teeth.
4. Teeth grinding – This can be difficult to catch right away. Teeth grinding and jaw clenching often originate during periods of sleep so unless a partner hears what is going on, this may go undiagnosed until your dentist detects signs such as tooth wear during a dental exam. Teeth grinding can become so habitual you may continue to do it during waking hours, but are totally unaware of the action.
5. Tobacco use – We are all aware of the warnings regarding smoking and its effects on your health … primarily lung cancer and heart disease … but any kind of tobacco use is particularly damaging to your dentition. Patients who use tobacco are far more likely to develop periodontal disease – a condition where the patient suffers from bleeding and swollen gums, chronic bad breath, gum tissue pulling away from teeth, and the potential for tooth loss.

We only get one set of permanent teeth so anything we can do to preserve them is important. That means being aware of damaging habits and stopping them. In addition, we can adopt good habits like brushing twice every day with a fluoridated toothpaste; flossing daily to remove what the toothbrush missed; and visiting the dentist every six months for cleaning and exam.

If it’s time to schedule your next visit, contact Friendly Dental Care at 740-687-6105 today.