September’s Artist of the Month!

Miss Karis has been chosen to be this  month’s Artist of the Month! Congratulations Karis! Karis really enjoys going to gymnastics, reading, playing with dolls, playing outside and going to church. Congratulations again, Karis, for being September’s Artist of the Month!

How to brush video

This cute video is brought to you by Colgate.

Bad Breath?

Flossing As Prevention For Bad Breath

Need another reason to floss your teeth at least once a day? Flossing daily helps improve bad breath by effectively removing the food particles and bacteria that contribute to it. That makes flossing one of the easiest ways to prevent and banish bad breath.

Bad breath, also known as halitosis, is more common than many people realize. You may joke about bad breath, whether it’s your own or someone else’s, but it’s an important oral health issue. Bad breath can be more than an embarrassing social problem—it can be a sign of disease or illness.

Saliva is Your Friend

Less saliva means that your mouth is more susceptible to plaque buildup, which can create an unpleasant smell on your breath. Pay extra attention to any of the following circumstances that can reduce the saliva in your mouth and promote bad breath:

• Drinking alcohol. Alcohol-containing beverages may promote a dry mouth and cause bad breath. So don’t forget to floss after an evening out on the town, no matter how much you’re tempted to hop into bed and forget about it.
• Early morning. Saliva stops flowing while you sleep, so you may be prone to bad breath in the morning. If so, mornings may be the best time for your daily dental flossing.
• Being hungry or thirsty. When you’re dehydrated, there’s not as much saliva in your mouth, so you’re prone to bad breath and increased bacterial buildup. Drink enough fluids and remember to floss. Also, remember that chewing food increases the saliva in your mouth, so if you’re skipping meals or dieting, you may develop bad breath.

If you’re dieting and eating less frequently, a mint floss can not only help bad breath by removing bacteria, it may help you with your diet by providing a fresh taste in your mouth that makes you less tempted to snack. People who are following extremely low carbohydrate diets also sometimes report bad breath, but these reports are anecdotal. If you’re on a low-carb diet, or any restrictive diet, you may be promoting bad breath. If you must restrict your food intake and eat infrequently, drink plenty of water to help maintain the level of saliva in your mouth to help prevent bad breath in addition to following a good oral care routine.

Other Causes

If you experience chronic bad breath that doesn’t seem to improve despite a consistent oral hygiene routine, talk to your dentist and doctor for further evaluation to identify or prevent serious health problems.

Sometimes bad breath can be a sign of a more serious issue. Some serious oral health conditions associated with bad breath include:

• Throat problems such as strep throat.
• Dental cavities or gum disease.
• Throat or oral cancer.
• Tonsils that contain trapped food particles.
• An infected root canal

In addition, bad breath can be a symptom of a variety of serious non-oral health problems including liver disease, diabetes, HIV, digestive system ailments such as reflux and even lung infections or lung disease.

The Importance of Habit

Research supports a link between lack of flossing (among other poor oral hygiene behaviors) and bad breath. In a study of more than 1,000 adults conducted in Kuwait, never using dental floss was significantly associated with reports of bad breath, as was infrequent tooth brushing, being or having been a smoker.

Your oral care routine to help prevent bad breath should include not only daily flossing, but also brushing the teeth, tongue, gums and roof of your mouth twice each day. Using a mouthwash can provide short-term relief for bad breath, but use it as an addition to (not a substitute for) brushing and flossing

(Article original – http://www.oralb.com/topics/flossing-bad-breath-killer.aspx#)

Sports Guards

With baseball season in full swing and lots of end of the year festivities, it’s so easy to get caught in our busy schedules. I encourage all my patients that play sports to look into getting a mouth-guard. Whether you have one made, make one at home, or go with a more generic style, it’s important to wear them with playing any sport. I’ve seen too many injuries to the mouth and teeth NOT to recommend one. Stores that carry mouth-guards range from Walmart, Dicks sporting goods, Omega sports and Hibbetts. Go ahead and grab one before it’s too late!

I have to also remind myself and my kids the risks of Gatorade and Powerade. Sports drinks are known to have the highest acid levels, which break down tooth enamel more frequently than even soda! Moderation of sports drinks is the key, as well as good brushing habits after drinking anything but water.

Now, let’s play some ball!

Spring Fever

Spring has arrived! It seems as if everyone gets excited for outside activities, baseball, and spending more time with your family. Being busy with school work and practices can be pretty hectic (I have four of my own), which brings me to the topic of sports drinks.

What many people may not know is that sports drinks, when constantly sipped throughout the day, has a huge impact on our teeth. The levels of acid in drinks like gatorade or powerade can cause harm and decay. Drinking anything but water has the potential for tooth decay, and even more potential when it’s sitting on our teeth all day long. Even mixing drinks with water still has the ability to cause cavitites.

If you decide to have sports drinks any other time than practices or with meals, remember to brush your teeth really good before bedtime, and don’t forget that floss!