Helpful Tips Archives | Quality Dental Care

Techniques to Clean Around Braces

With fixed orthodontic appliances (braces), it’s important to be able to clean around wires and brackets. Otherwise, they’re like a magnet for plaque build-up on a day to day basis. If you don’t clean plaque away properly, it can lead to demineralization around the brackets, permanent white spots in your enamel, unwanted cavities, and gingivitis. Depending on the type of braces that you’re wearing and how well your dexterity is, there are some different things to have on hand to help keep your smile as clean as possible between your dental checkups. Proxy-brush — These tufted ended tips look … Continue reading

Three Causes of Flat, Worn Teeth

Are you noticing your teeth looking shorter or flatter than they used to? While some natural wear is normal with time, there are instances where flat teeth are due to other factors. If not intercepted, aggressive tooth wear, damage, or TMJ problems are likely to develop. Here are three of the most common causes of accelerated tooth wear: A Misaligned Bite Each of our teeth is designed in such a way that it bites against the opposing tooth in a particular manner. When that doesn’t happen — due to jaw irregularities or tooth misalignment — the teeth wear down prematurely. … Continue reading “Three Causes of Flat, Worn Teeth”

Diet Habits that Cause Tooth Decay

Think you’re familiar with everything there is to know about what causes cavities? You may be surprised to learn that it’s not necessarily linked with how many lollies you eat. It turns out, healthy people with seemingly healthy lifestyles can also be prone to a higher level of tooth decay if they’re not careful. Here are a few of the most common ones we see in our Wantrina South office: Subbing Your Soft Drink for Diet Soda “Sugar free” diet sodas don’t mean “cavity free.” Even artificial sweeteners and low pH levels encourage acidic environments and bacterial growth inside of … Continue reading

Four Tips to Help Your Child with Their Braces

Is your child getting braces? Here are a few ways to make the process easier on everyone: 1.Make Mealtime and Snacking Easy for Them Eating with braces is one of the biggest changes that our Wantrina South patients have to adjust to. In the beginning, choose softer foods that are easier to chew, especially since their mouth may be sore early on. As firmer foods become easier to chew, be sure to have them cut up into small enough pieces or cook them so that they don’t interfere with the orthodontic appliances. For example, cut corn off of the cob … Continue reading

Make a Commitment to Improving Your Oral Care This New Year

woman using a water flosser to clean teeth

If you take an honest evaluation of your dental care routine would you admit it’s lacking a bit? Most people would, especially when it comes to flossing. Growing up we were told by our parents and dentists to brush twice a day (best after every meal), and floss daily. But how many of us really do that? Your oral health could really be suffering from a lack of care without you realizing until it’s become severe. So, with the upcoming new year and all the resolutions that are being made, why not include a commitment to improving your oral care? … Continue reading

Dental Cavities: What You Need to Know

Dental cavities, also known as tooth decay or dental caries, develop when your tooth enamel (the outermost layer of the tooth) gets eroded by acids. These acids come from the breakdown of sugars in your mouth. If left untreated, the cavity, which looks like a dark hole in your tooth, grows larger and deeper. This decay can reach the nerve (which is the innermost portion of the tooth) and cause infection. It may even lead to your tooth breaking off and make it unrestorable. How to Repair Dental Caries If cavities are caught early enough, then they can … Continue reading

How to Care for Your New Crown

You just got a brand-new porcelain dental crown. Before that, you had a large filling or maybe no restoration at all. To help your new investment last as long as possible, our Wantrina South dentists have several suggestions on how to care for your new cap: Floss Daily Many people have a fear that flossing a new crown will cause it to fall off. Not so. The cement that we use to keep your crown in place is very strong. If a crown were to come off while flossing, I would have anyway. Keeping the margin of your cap clean … Continue reading “How to Care for Your New Crown”

Three Dental Causes of Bad Breath

Is Halitosis a problem that you struggle with? Chronic bad breath can be embarrassing on both private and social levels, whether we’re aware of it or not. It’s usually a sensitive subject for our patients to discuss, but at Studfield Dental Group we’re happy to help you determine the underlying cause of breath malodour and what to do to help it. Aside from avoiding odorous foods like garlic and dairy, here are three big issues that can cause halitosis (bad breath): Xerostomia (Dry Mouth) Dry mouth can be caused by a number of issues; most commonly reactions to … Continue reading

The Dos and Don’ts of Flossing

Is there more to flossing than running a strand of waxed thread up and down between your teeth? Actually, yes. At Studfield Dental Group, we don’t just want our patients to understand how important flossing is, but more importantly, how important it is to floss correctly. Here are a few dos and don’ts to keep in mind: Do floss every day. Brushing doesn’t physically clean between your teeth, where cavities and gum disease tend to start. You need to physically clean where your teeth touch side-by-side at least once every day. Don’t always opt for a “floss pick.” A floss pick … Continue reading “The Dos and Don’ts of Flossing”

Four Ways to Reduce Your Risk of Tooth Decay

Does it seem like no matter what you do, you’re constantly getting new cavities each year? Although there may be some genetic and hereditary reasons behind an elevated cavity risk, there are several things you can do to reduce the frequency and amount of developing tooth decay. Here are a few of the tips that we recommend to our Wantrina South patients: Drink Water Whenever Possible Most of the drinks we consume tend to feed oral bacteria, including fruit juice, milk, sports drinks, sweetened tea or coffee, and soda (whether it’s regular or diet.) Hydrating with water cleans your teeth … Continue reading

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