The average person changes their toothbrush about two times each year. This is half the typical recommendation, which is to change your tooth brush (or brush head, if you use a Sonicare or similar) no less than four times per year. This is significant because a worn toothbrush simply can’t clean your mouth as effectively…
How to Make Flossing Fun for Kids: Three Easy Tips for Parents and Caregivers
In order to keep a child’s mouth healthy and cavity-free, children should be in the habit of flossing daily as a vital part of their oral care routine. Brushing alone is never enough to remove all the food left over after meals and snacks. Leaving food behind gives bacteria (the kind that causes cavities) the…
Flossing and Your Healthy Eating Goals: What the Two Have in Common
Your teeth can last a lifetime if you follow your dentist’s recommendations. Even after hearing a dental professional give sound advice about oral care, many people still walk away thinking that brushing their teeth is enough. Yes, brushing your teeth is very important, but it only handles a small portion of the job. Along with…
Flossing: The Perfect Time to Check Your Mouth for Oral Health Issues
Like many patients, chances are you’ve been sitting in your hygienist’s chair, every six months or so, admitting that you don’t floss regularly. Flossing is an instrumental component in keeping your mouth healthy – free from disease and cavities. Because there is no instant gratification from flossing like there is from brushing, it’s often a…
Dental Scaling 101: Understand the Tools Used in this Common Dental Procedure
Dental planing and scaling, also known as deep cleaning, is a procedure done at your dentist’s office to rid your gums of harmful bacteria that causes periodontal disease. Plaque, a sticky layer that is made up of bacteria and food particles, will calcify over time becoming hard and irremovable at home through regular brushing. The…
Can Flavoured Floss Be the Key to Better Flossing?
Good flossing habits are key to having a healthy mouth. With all of the many choices of floss there are on the market, it can be difficult to choose the right one for you and your family. Finding one that makes flossing more enjoyable is sure to lead to flossing more consistently. Flossing: Often Neglected,…
Plaque Disclosing Tablets for Kids: A Great Tool for Kids and Parents Alike
It would be so much easier to keep a child’s mouth healthy if plaque was as easy to see as it is in much of the literature available about the topic. In reality, plaque is quite difficult to see, and you may not even know you have a problem with plaque build-up until your gums…
Partially Erupted Teeth Can Lead To Gingivitis: Learn How Impacted Teeth Can Lead To This Common Oral Problem
Everyone is born with two sets of teeth; your primary (or “baby”) teeth, and your permanent teeth. Both are equally important to take care of, and equally susceptible to gingivitis. Gingivitis is gum inflammation that is primarily caused by bacteria in plaque buildup. With normal maintenance and good hygiene practices, it is possible to avoid…
How Menopause and Medicines Can Lead to Gingivitis
Hormonal changes can wreak havoc on a woman’s body, but many women don’t realize the impact these changes can have on parts of the body they take for granted – including gums. Research suggests that there is a strong relationship between puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, oral contraceptives, and menopause when it comes to hormonal changes. These…
Flossing For Teens: How Getting Older Affects Oral Hygiene
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dental decay is the most common chronic disease in young people from the ages of 5 – 17. A younger child tends to get more time and assistance in their hygiene routines, but most teenagers are in charge (and on their own) when it comes…