Here Comes Peter Cottontail!

Abstaining from Easter Candy is no fun for anybody. Asking a child to watch all their friends find and consume candy right in front of them while they’re left to munch on a carrot stick is no fun at all. A few simple tips can ensure that your child gets to enjoy the fun treats while protecting their teeth.

Try not to let sugary treats sit in your mouth for too long. Stick with candy that dissolves quickly or is chewable. Bacteria in the mouth feed off of sugar to create acidic reactions, and when there is a lot of sugar sitting on your teeth for long periods of time, the acid can damage their teeth enamel.

Parents may want to use discretion on how much Easter candy their child can eat, especially if he or she ended up with a lot of  loot! One suggestion is, eat as much candy as they want –As long as they brush their teeth between each piece!  The amount of candy they consume is entirely up to them at this point.

Try to have them eat all the candy they want in one sitting, and then get rid of the rest. Dragging out the candy consumption is actually worse for your teeth, because you’re consistently feeding sugar to the bacteria. If your kids eat a lot at once, then they can just brush their teeth and be done with it.

HAPPY EASTER

Soft Tissue Laser: Right For You?

We weren't born with perfectly shaped teeth? Few of us were. But did you know that there might be an easy fix for that? A treatment with a soft tissue laser can give you the smile of your dreams in one office visit. While it’s more important to have healthy teeth and gums, it’s hard not to want that “perfect” smile as well. Someone with a radiant smile is considered more successful, wealthier and more attractive, and you deserve to be that someone.

Many adults have “short teeth,” sometimes called a “gummy smile,” in need of reshaping. Actually, their teeth are the correct length; it’s just that the gum tissue covers more of the tooth surface than it should. A soft tissue laser uses a high energy beam of light to re-contour your gums. This minimally invasive method simply trims back the excess gum tissue to reveal your hidden smile. Unlike a surgical procedure, a soft tissue laser beam pinpoints just a few cells at a time.

A laser beam is used to remove extra gum cells using a heat method that doesn't “cut” into the gum tissue. This heat method also seals the gum tissue in a similar manner to cauterization. No stitches required! The laser leaves no scarring, is virtually pain- and complication-free, and it speeds up your healing time. In fact, the procedure is so simple and non-invasive that you are ready to continue your busy day when you leave the office.

Don’t wait any longer to get the beautiful smile you have always wanted. Let’s discuss your smile goals and set up a treatment plan.

A "Breath" of Fresh Air

Bad breath isn't only an adult problem. For some of the same reason, kids also develop bad breath issues. So, if your little angel smells like he or she has been ‘licking zombie feet’ look to some of the most common causes. 

Morning breath is caused by slow saliva production during sleep.
Saliva helps to keep the mouth clean, and it provides important chemicals to help deter oral bacterial growth.

Mouth breathing is a major culprit. Some children breathe through their mouths which also causes a decrease in saliva production. To keep saliva moving, it is important for your child to drink plenty of water during the day.

Poor quality brushing and flossing can be another cause. When food particles attract bacteria that are not regularly removed by brushing and flossing from between the teeth or off the tongue, the dining bacteria produce a gas that smells like rotten eggs. The gas is most noticeable at the back of the tongue where food particles get lodged between the papillae (finger-like projections that cover the top side of the tongue).

Sometimes, bad breath is indicative of a more serious condition. Drippy noses and sinuses issues, tonsillitis, tooth decay, GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease) and diabetes are a few of the common conditions that also produce bad breath.

For most breath issues, the best way to eliminate morning and chronic bad breath is brushing and flossing at least twice each day. For children, use a non-alcohol oral rinse that was designed for younger users. However, for the more serious cases, bad breath is the first indicator of a serious disease. If you suspect something more serious than ‘zombie feet’ may be the cause, we’d need to examine your child to determine the cause of the bad breath. Early disease diagnosis is yet another important reason to schedule those twice yearly dental hygiene exams.