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How You Save Money by Having a Healthy Smile

These days, everyone is looking to save money to do what they want: take a vacation, buy something special, or treat their kids to an amusement park. But unfortunately, dental work can add up quickly. If you are not careful, your dental expenses can add up to thousands of dollars.

How do you prevent spending that kind of money on your teeth? Preventative maintenance, of course. Just as preventative maintenance for your car contains thousands of damages, good oral care saves you money in the long run.

How To Care For Your Teeth, Long Term

One of the first things you need to do to care for your teeth is to brush and floss daily. Daily brushing and flossing can go a long way toward preventing cavities because brushing and flossing work to minimize the amount of acid on your teeth, which works to lessen the chances you will have a cavity.

In addition to brushing and flossing, scheduling regular dental visits will also save you money in the long run. You can accomplish several objectives if you visit the dentist for regular checkups every six months. First, you’ll be able to get your teeth super clean, which will blast away any plaque you did not catch with your brushing and flossing.

Second, your dentist will be able to check your teeth and ensure that you don’t have any minor problems that may become majorly expensive problems if they aren’t fixed. It may be that your dentist could find a minor flaw, such as a cavity, that can be quickly taken care of.

If you’re unsure how to keep minor dental problems from becoming big, expensive ones, why not call us today? Then, we can be a big part of your overall dental health plan.

If Your Teeth Could Ask for Drinks, The Top 3 Would Be These

Have you ever really thought about what you’re drinking and how it affects your body? From water to sodas, juice to alcohol, everything you consume has some effect.

Some of these drinks are healthy and helpful for your body, while others are not. Some that you may think are healthy can have some pretty unhealthy ingredients. If your teeth could talk, here are the three drinks they would ask for.


Water


There’s no other drink as healthy as water. It contains nothing negative at all. It helps rinse out your mouth, removing the bacteria that cause cavities. If you’re drinking water that has been fortified with fluoride (i.e., city water from the tap), it’s even more beneficial because it will help strengthen your teeth. Water has no calories and will help your body remain hydrated.

Tea

Tea can be a tricky drink. Some teas do have detrimental effects on your teeth. Black tea, for example, can stain your teeth. Some other teas contain caffeine, and even healthy teas can be bad for you if you add a lot of sugar. On the upside, some teas are very beneficial to your teeth. Green tea, for example, has been found to decrease the risk of gum disease and other oral health issues.

Coconut Water

Coc coconut water is a good option if you feel like you need a bit of flavoring in your water. It helps keep you hydrated and replaces lost electrolytes. When it comes to your mouth, coconut water helps remove the bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease. It also contains antioxidants and contains very few calories.

Do you have any questions about what your drinks are doing to your teeth? Contact us at Carolina Smiles Family Dentistry today to discuss them.

Why You Need to Make Sure You Take Your Oral Health Seriously

You know you must brush your teeth regularly to fight off cavities and decay. However, you might not know that taking care of your oral health is a serious business. Failure to do so can lead to a variety of health issues.

A Healthy Mouth For A Healthy Heart

Did you know that researchers have found a connection between gum disease and an increased risk for heart disease? It is true. Studies show that people with gum disease are at a heightened risk of heart disease and are twice as likely to experience a fatal heart attack as those without gum disease.

Diabetes And Blood Sugar

There is also a connection between gum disease and diabetes. Diabetes is frequently associated with infection, and some studies show that gum disease may make it harder for the body to control blood sugar levels. However, other research shows that treating gum disease can improve some of the symptoms of diabetes.

Memory Impairment
Newer research suggests that there may be a connection between poor dental health and increased dementia risk. Experts believe that oral bacteria may move through the brain into the cranial nerves, contributing to the plaque associated with Alzheimer’s.

Breathing Troubles
Gum disease might also affect your risk of respiratory infections, including pneumonia and COPD. Oral bacteria may cause these infections if inhaled into the lungs, leading to inflammation within the airways.

While brushing and flossing are essential for good oral health, remember that you also need regular dental cleanings. Therefore, we recommend you visit our office every six months to have your teeth cleaned and inspected. We look forward to helping you maintain good oral health that will keep the rest of your body healthy.

You Need to Protect Your Teeth After Having a Root Canal Procedure

A root canal usually results from not taking care of a cavity when it starts. The longer you allow a cavity to grow, the more damage it causes. The cavity can lead to damaged nerve tissue and infection.

At some point, a simple filling is not enough. The cavity will spread to the root of the teeth and the gums. That is when a root canal becomes necessary.

The Root Canal Procedure

The goal of the root canal procedure is to remove all the damage to the tooth. The procedure removes the pulp of the tooth and the damaged nerve tissue. It also removes any bacteria that cause the infection in the tooth. The root canal procedure removes more of the tooth and tissue than a normal cavity requires. The work is more extensive, and there are more risks for problems during recovery if not taken care of properly.

Aftercare Instructions
It is essential to follow the aftercare instructions following a root canal. Not protecting the teeth can lead to a variety of other problems. In addition, because part of the root canal procedure involves dealing with the infection, medications are needed to help fight the disease. Medicines on the site of the root canal can help resolve it entirely.

Because the medicine placed on the root canal site needs to remain in place, a temporary filling seals the area after the procedure. The temporary filling can stay for about a week until the infection is completely cleared and a permanent filling is put in place. While the temporary filling is in place, it is essential to continue brushing carefully to allow the tooth to heal.

A root canal is a surgical procedure, meaning a person needs to make sure they give their body the chance to recover. That means taking steps to protect the tooth and ensuring you do not damage the surgical site until it heals.

Contact our office to schedule an appointment to learn more about this or any other oral health issue.

How Tea Could Be the Key to Improved Oral Health

For some people, sitting down at the end of the day in a quiet room with a cup of tea is a great way to relax. It can help relieve the stress of a busy day, but that is not the only way drinking tea can help. It is also possible that drinking tea can improve your oral health. It surprises many people to find out the ways that this can happen.

What Does Green Tea Do

There are a few different ways that green tea can help improve your oral health. The most significant danger to the health of your teeth and gums is the bacteria inside the mouth. No matter how much you brush and floss, the bacteria in your mouth continue to grow. If they are not removed daily, they can form plaque and problems with your teeth and gums. Green tea can slow down the growth of bacteria in the mouth. It can also stop the bacteria from sticking to the teeth and gums.

In addition to impacting the growth of bacteria and preventing the bacteria from reaching healthy gum tissue, green tea also can help reduce the production of acid in the mouth. It does this by impacting the enzymes that break down the sugar and the acids that generally eat away at the enamel of the teeth.

Other Teas Can Help

While most people think of green tea when they look for oral health benefits, black tea and Oolong tea can also help with the same. They also work to fight the bacteria in the mouth and to limit the growth of oral health-damaging bacteria.

Drinking tea is a great way to fight the bacteria that threaten your oral health. It is also a great way to reduce stress in your life. Time to relax with a cup of tea will help your oral and overall health.

For more information about this or any other oral health issue, contact our office to schedule an appointment.

Is There a Way to Remove Tobacco Stains from Your Teeth?

If you’ve been smoking or using other forms of tobacco for years, you’ve likely noticed that your teeth are no longer that pearly white everyone loves.

Instead, they’ve turned an ugly shade of yellow. Tobacco will quickly stain your teeth, but fortunately, there are a few different ways to remove these stains.

Tooth Whitening Kits

One of the most common methods people use when they want to remove the stains from their teeth is over-the-counter tooth whitening kits. These kits are often inexpensive, but they do range in quality. Some do help whiten teeth a little bit, but they may not permanently whiten all of your teeth. Others may not be that effective or may only help cover the stains rather than remove them.

Whitening toothpaste can also help clean your teeth, but if you’ve been smoking for years, toothpaste probably aren’t be able to remove all of the stains that have built up on your teeth.

At-Home Remedies

While some at-home remedies are myths that won’t ever really work, there are a few options. For example, lemon juice can help naturally bleach your teeth if you mix it with water and swish it around in your mouth a few times a day. Another option is a paste from strawberries and baking powder. Again, though, these home remedies aren’t usually strong enough to deal with years of tobacco stains.

Professional Whitening

So what can you do to remove tobacco stains? First, you can make an appointment with us for a professional cleaning. The whitening agents we use are more potent than in over-the-counter kits. You can also rest assured that we will whiten all of your teeth. So you won’t have any that remain stained or streaks on them. If you want to learn more about our whitening process, call us today.

Causes of Pain Following a Root Canal

We know that having a root canal is not anyone’s choice on how to spend the day. However, sometimes a root canal is necessary. For example, you may have been in a lot of pain before the root canal and feel significant relief after the procedure is over because you won’t be in pain.

While a bit of pain after the procedure is expected, you need to keep reading if you are still in distress following a root canal. You will need to know when pain after a root canal is normal- and when it isn’t.

What Causes The Pain?

Nearly everyone feels a little pain after a root canal procedure because to fix your tooth, an incision must be made to clean the pulp and the dentin. When a root canal is needed, you may have a severe tooth infection and be in considerable pain. A root canal should relieve the pain and save the tooth. During cleaning, you may experience irritated nerves and gums surrounding the tooth.

Your tooth may hurt as well. This pain is normal. Of course, we don’t want you to be in pain. We want you to feel better, which means we may give you medication to help with the pain and show you recommendations to help ease your pain.

However, if your pain gets worse, you need to call us immediately if you start running a fever or notice swelling in your jaw. Sometimes, even trying to clean out the tooth does not solve the problem, and we will need to look at the tooth to determine what is wrong.

If you have questions about whether you need a root canal or not, why not give us a call? We would love to discuss how root canals are done or how you can avoid needing a root canal in the first place.

DIY Whitening Systems Can Come with Risks

Everyone wants whiter, better-looking teeth. It is just something that is desired. But, when it comes to whitening your teeth, know that having it done in our office is much better than going off and doing a DIY kit that you can purchase over the counter at any store.

Continuing Of Whitening
When you do the whitening on your own at home, you will notice that it doesn’t stay for very long. This is because it is no prescription strength whitening formulas in the product. These are products you can only get through our qualified dental office.

Tooth Whitening May Do More Harm

Before whitening your teeth, you must advise us first, whether you’re doing it at home or in our office. Not only because this can cause gum irritation, but those that have sensitive, worn-out enamel or soft teeth might do more harm to their teeth than good.

Doing Them Right
The teeth whitening product you are using might have vague directions on what needs to be done. When this is the case, you might not be doing the whitening how it should be done. This can cause problems with your mouth and overall oral health.

Skip doing the teeth whitening on your own when you have our office here. We provide an affordable way to whiten your teeth professionally so you can get the smile you want.

If you’re considering teeth whitening, then give our office a call. We can schedule a time for you to come and get the whitening you need. We can also answer any questions about our whitening process so you know that it is the proper method for you to take. So call us today and feel good about your whiter, better-looking smile tomorrow.

How Quickly After Dental Whitening Can You See Results?

F you want a bright white smile, you are not alone. While some people may think they can keep their teeth white through regular brushing and dental cleaning, it is not always that easy.

There are times when white teeth require something more. Teeth whitening is one way to do it. There are home products, and it is something that we do in our office. Before trying dental whitening, it is essential to know what to expect.

Different Types Of Whitening

There are many different methods for teeth whitening. The speed at which they produce results will depend on the technique used and the process used. Some ways to whiten teeth include whitening toothpaste, rinses, gels, strips, and professional teeth whitening.

All the methods work in a somewhat similar fashion. They all use chemicals that essentially bleach the teeth and help turn them whiter. The speed at which they work will depend on the chemicals’ strength.

The Different Speeds
Generally, the products used at home will take the longest to see results. For example, whitening rinses and toothpaste will take the longest, with anywhere from a month to several months to see any results. Gels and whitening strips take a few 2 to 4 weeks for results. All these home-based methods depend on using the products as directed.

Our professional whitening is the best choice for the people who want the fastest, safest and best results. Our professional whitening uses more potent chemicals and is applied by our trained professionals in our office. A typical procedure takes about 90 minutes. You will notice that your teeth are a few shades lighter when you leave the office after the treatment.

It is essential to know what to expect before opting for teeth whitening. However, you do not want to set your expectations too high, or you will end up disappointed.

For more information about this or any other oral health issue, contact our office to schedule an appointment.

What Happens to Your Teeth if You Brush Too Long?

Many people enjoy the way their mouths feel after brushing their teeth. Unfortunately, this mistakenly leads them to believe that the more they touch, the better it’ll be for their mouths. Unfortunately, this is incorrect. If you brush your teeth too often or too long, you can cause problems in your mouth.

Tooth Abrasion

Abrasion occurs when you lose tooth enamel and cementum (the material responsible for covering the roots of your tooth) if you brush too hard. This is especially true in areas where your tooth and its root meet.

Receding Gums

Your gums may start to recede, causing the soft cementum on your tooth’s roots to become exposed. This makes them more vulnerable to enamel decay too. Once your cementum becomes soft, it’s easily worn away. When this happens, you will develop issues of pain and sensitivity.

Unfortunately, once this happens, your gums will never return to their original state. Sometimes you may even need to undergo periodontal surgery.

Sensitive Teeth

Brushing your teeth too much can also wear out the enamel layer of your teeth. Whether this is caused by erosion or abrasion, the nerve endings found in your dentin layer will become exposed. Even if they only get close to your mouth’s surface, it’s enough to cause you to have problems with sensitivity when you drink or eat foods that are either too hot or too cold.

In particularly severe cases, touching or brushing your teeth will make you feel uncomfortable. Unfortunately, it’s also true that cold air can make you feel the same way.

Since you don’t want to experience any of these issues, you need to learn how to brush your teeth, especially if you have done a root canal procedure without overdoing them properly. Of course, you’ll also want to make sure you use the correct products when doing so.

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