Which Vitamins Are Most Important for Dental Health?
A healthy body relies on receiving enough vitamins in order to function properly. Your mouth is no different. Some of the same vitamins crucial for optimal whole-body wellness are necessary for a healthy mouth. At my Douglasville dental office, we’re here to explain which vitamins are sure to make your smile happy.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A-rich foods like carrots, sweet potatoes, and kale build immunity and aid your body in fighting off unwanted infections. How does this help your mouth? Very similarly, in fact. A diet rich in vitamin A promotes healing and keeps gums healthy. It’s also helpful in saliva production which rinses away food particles and bacteria.
B Vitamins
Vitamins that fall within the B family help you keep calm and ease stress. They also are a natural anti-inflammatory. Receiving enough B vitamins can decrease tongue inflammation and even keep canker sores or other mouth sores away. Get yours by eating chicken, fish, or spinach.
Vitamin C
Another immune booster, vitamin C is also essential for healthy gums. It can reduce gum inflammation by helping to repair the tissues that surround the teeth. Not enough vitamin C can actually increase the risk for gum disease, so make sure you eat your broccoli, kale, and citrus fruits.
D Vitamins
D vitamins help calcium absorption. Without your D vitamins, the calcium that builds strong bones and teeth can’t be absorbed, and bones are left to deteriorate. A lack of D vitamins can also cause dry mouth or create a metallic taste in the mouth. Both of which are pretty unpleasant.
Vitamins are received through the foods we eat, and if your diet includes an adequate amount of dairy, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains, you just may be getting all you need. But sometimes a well-balanced, healthy meal isn’t so easy to come by. That’s when you may be lacking some crucial vitamins and a supplement may be needed. However, before starting a vitamin supplement routine, it’s best to consult your physician.
Eating well is only part of getting your mouth in its healthiest state. You still need to follow a oral hygiene routine of brushing and flossing every day and maintain regular dental checkups. At my dental office in Douglasville, we’re always accepting new patients and would love the opportunity to help you smile. Give us a call today!
Welcoming patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica.
The Link Between Smiling and Attraction
It’s the glimmer between strangers meeting eyes across the room. It’s the sparkle that lights up a photograph. It can whisper sweet nothings. It can shout with enthusiasm. It can unite people in moments of warmth and magic. It’s a smile, and it’s the universal communicator of joy and connection. But if your smile is broken, discolored or damaged, it can be a barrier between you and life. Let my dental office in Douglasville help.
How Smiling Makes us Feel
Smiling is more than nonverbal communication. It also triggers an amazing array of physical responses, both in the giver of the smile and the receiver. The key ingredient here is dopamine, that wonderful feel-good neurotransmitter. Because pleasure is such a motivator, anything that releases dopamine can become addicting, says Gary L. Wenk, a Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience & Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics at the Ohio State University and Medical Center. “When we smile…the contractions of the facial muscles slightly distorts the shape of the thin facial bones. This slight distortion in their shape leads to an increase in blood flow into the frontal lobes of the brain and increases in the release of dopamine. As a result, walking around all day with a smile on your face will bias your mood to be happier. Not only will you be happier, but your smile might spontaneously induce the release of dopamine in someone else’s brain.” No wonder smiling makes you more attractive – it causes the same chemical response as coffee or chocolate…or falling in love!
Smiling and Health
Smiling doesn’t just feel good, it makes you healthier too. Every time you smile, your body produces greater quantities of antibodies and T-cells (or white blood cells), which may give your immune system a big boost. Smiling is also super relaxing, which we all know is good for our health. It releases both endorphins, those “feel-good” hormones, and serotonin, a natural stress-reducer.
If you would like to smile more – for health, relaxation, fun, and attraction – but you feel self-conscious about some aspect of your smile, don’t worry. Just call my Douglasville dental office. We have a multitude of cosmetic dentistry options that can get you a confident smile. Whether it’s stains, gaps, chips, cracks, or crookedness, we have the solution just for you. Schedule an appointment today and start enjoying all the benefits of smiling.
Welcoming new patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica.
Smother Your Valentine with Minty-Fresh Kisses
Everyone wants to share a kiss and a smile on Valentine’s Day. Make sure your mouth is ready for it! A good way to start is by having your teeth cleaned. This not only freshens and brightens your teeth, it can really help clear away any lingering bad breath problems you might have. Bad breath is often caused by bacteria in your mouth and sometimes is an indicator of periodontal disease. If you have chronic bad breath, it is a certain indicator that it is time for a checkup at my dental office in Douglasville.
We also recommend using Xylitol products like mints, gum, or mouthrinse to keep your smile healthy and your breath super fresh! Xylitol is effective because it inhibits and destroys mouth bacteria.
Here are a few other ways to get your breath super sweet and ready for kisses:
- Eat more fruits and vegetables
Crunchy fruits and vegetables help loosen trapped particles of food, clear away debris, and moisten your mouth. If those fruits and veggies are high in vitamin C, even better! Vitamin C helps create an environment that is not hospitable to oral bacteria.
- Add some yogurt to your diet
Try eating three ounces or more of probiotic yogurt. The good bacteria in yogurt lowers your levels of odor-causing compounds, while the vitamin D reduces mouth bacteria. It should be sugar free, because sugar feeds bacteria and increases acid production which leads to cavities.
- Stop smoking
We don’t even need to discuss this one; everyone knows what smoker’s breath is like. Even brushing can’t scrub it away. And don’t forget – tobacco dries your mouth out, another contributor to bad breath. It’s a double whammy. Oh, and should we mention the staining? Not a big turn-on either.
Whatever your plans are this Valentine’s Day, consider adding a cleaning to your preparation schedule. It is the one sure way you can be sure your kisses will be as smoochable as possible. Schedule an appointment at my Douglasville dental office today.
We’re always welcoming new patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica
Can Your Smile Affect Your Career?
While we’d love to believe that looks aren’t everything, the truth is, they mean a lot. Especially when it comes to your smile. In fact, research has shown a direct correlation between a pretty smile and a successful career. Unfortunate? Yes. Truthful? Also yes. At my Douglasville dental office, we’d like to share a few reasons why.
Smart
Your resume is top-notch, your interview skills are slamming, and your smile is… lackluster. Do you land the job or not? According to research conducted by Kelton Research for Invisalign, Americans believe those with straight teeth are 45% more likely to be offered a position over someone with the same resumé but a crooked grin. What’s more, nearly 75% of the population believe having an unattractive smile would keep them from a promotion. We don’t like it, but the research doesn’t lie.
Healthy
A straight, white smile with fresh breath automatically shows those around you that you’re healthy and you care about your appearance. Not only that, but a truly healthy smile can actually make your whole body healthy too, which means less days off work due to sickness and perhaps a bonus in the future.
Trustworthy
It doesn’t matter if you’re a lawyer, doctor, plumber, or electrician, every career requires building and earning trust with others. One of the best ways to succeed at this is with your smile. Around 75% of Americans are more likely to trust those with healthy, beautiful smiles than those who dress professionally or drive fancy cars.
Options to Boost Your Smile
There are a multitude of options available that can help you get the smile of your dreams, and help you land that well-deserved career, too. Some of the ways you can boost the appearance of your smile include:
No matter what your smile goals are, we can help you at my Douglasville dental office. We treat each patient as an individual and will work with you to get you the correct treatment to land that million dollar-looking smile, and just maybe a million dollar career to go with it.
Welcoming patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica.
New Year’s Resolutions for Better Oral Health
As the calendar rolls into another year, so many resolutions are being made every day — to eat healthier, call your mom more, and get to the gym regularly. Chances are by June, more than half of all resolutions will have fallen by the wayside. At my Douglasville dental office, we’d like to propose a 2016 resolution challenge for better oral health, and help you keep it all year around.
Resolution #1: Drink More Water
Water is incredibly important not just for your oral health, but for your whole body. But most people don’t drink nearly enough of it. It’s a generally accepted rule to drink eight, 8-ounce glasses of water every day. This ensures your body is hydrated and able to function properly. It also helps rid your mouth of dangerous bacteria and stimulates saliva flow.
Resolution #2: Quit Smoking
Although quitting smoking comes with a whole host of health benefits like decreased risk for heart disease and cancer, putting down the cigarettes helps limit your chance for oral cancer, yellow teeth, and plaque and tartar build up.
Resolution #3: Choose Fruits and Veggies
Fruits, veggies, and even nuts are packed full of antioxidants that can help combat inflammation and kill bacteria, protecting teeth and gums. A bonus is the crunchy texture of some fruits and veggies like apples and carrots remove tooth plaque and can even freshen breath.
Resolution #4: Limit Alcohol
Alcohol is naturally drying, and a dry mouth is an unhappy mouth. Saliva is your body’s natural way of rinsing away food particles, neutralizing acids, and removing plaque and bacteria. The less saliva produced and the drier the mouth, the more likely bacteria and plaque are to linger around and cause problems.
Resolution #5: Visit Your Dentist in Douglasville
We typically recommend visiting us at least every six months, sometimes more if necessary. At these visits we not only check for potential problems that may be lurking around, we also use them as a chance to make sure your resolutions are holding strong and your oral health is thanking you for it.
There’s never been a better time to resolve to get your mouth in its best shape yet. And all of us at my dental office in Douglasville want to help. Dedicate 2016 to a healthier smile and an overall healthier you. Schedule your appointment today and we’ll be with you every step of the way.
Welcoming patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica.
2016 – It’s the Year to get Serious About Dental Health
Everyone is busy gearing up for a new year. Here at my Douglasville dental office, we’ve been working on our New Year’s resolution lists too. What’s on yours? More exercise? More time to relax? A new hobby? Whatever is on your list already, I’d like to suggest that you add more regular dental hygiene visits. Even if you don’t have a lot of plaque buildup between cleanings and you take great care of your teeth, you still have a certain amount of biofilm on your teeth. And that biofilm needs to be disrupted with regularity to prevent gum disease and other health problems. Now more than ever, science is discovering clear and direct links between oral health and whole body health.
Here are a few more ways to make your dental health part of your New Year’s’ resolution and get serious about smiling:
- Eat only at meal times. Why? For about 20 minutes after you drink or eat anything, especially sugary foods and candies, your mouth is under attack. If you tend to eat and snack throughout the day, your teeth will be exposed to harm for much longer than they should be! Try to do all your eating at once and try to choose treats that aren’t sticky or chewy.
- Remember that sweets affect more than your middle. Sugar can have devastating effects on your diet, but it isn’t good for your mouth either. Instead of sugary foods and drinks, or foods high in carbohydrates (which turn into sugar and feed bacteria too), try foods high in protein, calcium, and phosphorous like nuts, chicken, and cheese. Include crunchy fruits and vegetables for their water content and tooth-cleaning properties as well.
- If you are going to drink a lot of red wine and coffee over the holiday season, keep in mind that these are very staining. Consider scheduling a post-holiday whitening and cleaning to get your teeth back in shape after all the indulgence.
- Keep up on your regular cleanings and checkups. The more we see your teeth, the more likely we are to catch problems like gum disease, oral cancer, cavities, and other wear and tear. That means more saved teeth and more saved money as well!
- Don’t get lazy about your home hygiene routine either. Be sure to brush and floss twice a day and more often if you are snacking a lot. remember that your oral health affects your whole-body health.
If you have any questions or concerns, please call my Douglasville dental practice today. We are here to help our Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica friends and neighbors find better health and stronger smiles in the new year.
The Night Fight – Getting Rid of the Grind
You wake up with a headache most mornings. Your tongue looks weirdly scalloped. Your teeth have hairline fractures and look shorter than they used to. What is happening while you sleep? It could be bruxism, otherwise known as unconscious clenching and grinding. If it is, you really need a nightguard.
What Exactly is a Nightguard?
A nightguard works almost exactly like a sports mouthguard – it protects your teeth and prevents painful damage. It is small and portable and most patients find them very easy and comfortable to wear. In fact, most of our patients love them because of the relief and peace of mind they offer.
The Symptoms of Tooth Grinding and Clenching
While all of these do not necessarily indicate that you are bruxing or grinding at night, they are a pretty good clue! If you experience any of the following symptoms, please give my Douglasville dental office a call:
- Worn, chipped, broken teeth
- Flattened tooth surfaces
- Exposure of tooth layers and loss of enamel
- Tooth sensitivity
- Jaw pain
- Headache and facial pain
- Earache from jaw muscle tension and contraction
- A scalloped tongue or irregular tongue edges
- Damaged mouth tissue
Bruxism can also cause micro fracturing and sensitivity at the gum line, and it can even lead to chronic headaches and TMJ disorder. Not something we want our patients to deal with – ever!
Why am I Grinding my Teeth?
It can be hard to pinpoint the cause: It might be a result of a car accident or other injury. Sometimes chronic stress or medical conditions, such as sleep apnea, can trigger bruxism. Other times it is caused by poorly balanced dental work or missing teeth. Whatever the cause, if you clench or grind your teeth, you could be facing a long list of dental problems, including the painful effects of TMJ disorder or arthritis of the temporomandibular joints.
Let Us Help
I’d love to help you protect your teeth and let you get a truly relaxing night’s sleep. At my Douglasville dental office, my team and I can fit you with a custom-made nightguard appliance that will reduce the damage to your teeth and protect your dental investments! If you think you might grind your teeth at night, call us today!
We welcome patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica.
The Importance of Proper Denture Care
If you’re missing some or all of your teeth, you may have selected to replace them with a denture. While dentures may seem like a simple solution to replace missing teeth, there’s actually a detailed maintenance routine necessary to keep your dentures fitting well and to keep your mouth healthy.
Dentures Deserve Care, Too!
At my Douglasville dental office, we’re here to educate our patients on oral health and provide tips on how to keep mouths healthy. When it comes to our denture wearers, it’s no different. Even though dentures are not natural teeth, is doesn’t mean they don’t require just as much care. Proper denture care is crucial to maintaining the life of the appliance and to sustain oral health.
Often times if dentures aren’t cared for properly, plaque builds up and creates some serious concerns. When left alone, the plaque can cause additional tooth loss, bad breath, and even gum disease.
How to Properly Care for Dentures
- Handle with Care. Dentures are an investment in your oral health. They’re also pretty fragile, so handle them as carefully as possible to reduce risk of damage or needing repairs.
- Rinse Well. After every meal, rinse your dentures with water to remove any loose food particles. If left there, the particles can lead to bad breath or gum disease.
- Brush ‘Em. Brush your dentures daily for the best care possible. Select a soft-bristled brush or a denture-specific brush to decrease the chance of damage. Also, make sure to use a denture-safe cleanser.
- Let Them Soak. Dentures need to remain moist and hydrated. Whenever your dentures aren’t in your mouth they should be soaking in water or a solution recommended by your doctor.
- Visit Often. Maintain regular visits with your dentist in Douglasville to ensure there are no potential problems and your dentures are fitting and functioning properly.
If you already have dentures and want to make sure they’re in the best shape possible, or if you think dentures may be a good fit for you, give my dental office in Douglasville a call. We’re here to provide you the best solution for your missing teeth and will develop a personalized treatment just for you.
Serving patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica.
Healthier Mouth, Healthier You
We’re always talking to our patients about the importance of a proper oral hygiene routine of brushing twice a day, flossing once a day, and visiting my dental office in Douglasville regularly. But did you know these guidelines can do more than just ensure a healthy mouth? They can also provide insight to other whole-body problems.
The Mouth/Body Connection
Many systemic diseases (whole-body diseases) have oral manifestations and often first show signs in the mouth. Some of these overall health problems are incredibly serious, such as:
- Heart disease
- Pancreatic cancer
- Leukemia
- Diabetes
Notice Any of These Signs?
If you see any of these symptoms, it’s important to call your Douglasville dentist as soon as possible. Early detection is key for the most successful treatment, so don’t wait. Serious signs include:
- Swollen, red, or bleeding gums
- Gums that have pulled away from teeth
- Chronic bad breath
- Ulcers
Steps to Better Health
In addition to a proper, at-home hygiene routine and regular dental visits, there are several ways you can help protect your smile against dangerous bacteria, and your body against serious disease.
- Water, water, water. When it comes to choosing your beverage of choice, select water whenever possible. It helps rinse away bacteria and acid in the mouth and hydrates your body.
- Say no to tobacco. Besides the effects smoking or chewing tobacco can have on your smile, using any form of tobacco can lead to overall health complications.
- Practice proper nutrition. Eating well-balanced meals is important for proper body function as well as optimal oral health. Avoid snacking throughout the day, especially sticky, sugary foods.
Your dentist could be the first line of defense against many serious diseases. If you’re experiencing any of the signs above, or if you haven’t seen a dentist in awhile, give my Douglasville dental office a call. We’ll perform a thorough exam, talk with you about any potential problems we find, and stand with you through your individualized treatment plan. Your health is the most important thing to us, and we’ll help any way we can.
Welcoming patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica.
Sleeping and Your Oral Health
Your teeth are at risk all the time–even while you sleep! Here at my Douglasville dental office, we help our patients protect their teeth day and night with treatment and care tips. We believe a little education can go a long way toward keeping your teeth strong and healthy day or night.
Here are two-night time habits, or issues, and the solutions that may save your teeth:
Snoring and Sleep Apnea
Not only is snoring a possible sign of sleep apnea, a potentially deadly disorder that disrupts your sleep, it’s also a common cause of dry mouth. Everyone needs saliva to keep their mouths healthy. Saliva works to:
- Lubricate the tissues of your mouth
- Cleanse and rinse the oral cavity and teeth, minimizing plaque build-up, washing away trapped food particles, and removing dead cells that can lead to bad breath, infections, and sores.
- Neutralize the acids plaque produces to stop enamel erosion.
If you snore or wonder if you have sleep apnea, please call us or talk to your physician or dentist right away. Sleep apnea won’t just dry your mouth out, it can lead to all kinds of health problems from extreme fatigue to an increased risk for strokes and heart attacks.
Grinding or Bruxism
Stress, certain medications, and dental problems can all cause people to grind and clench their teeth during sleep, a disorder called bruxism. Bruxism seems pretty self explanatory in the fact that it can cause your teeth to break, chip, crack, and even decay because of enamel erosion, but did you know it can also lead to a variety of other problems?
Problems caused by bruxism may include:
- Headaches, especially in the morning
- Toothaches
- Facial pain
- Jaw pain and dysfunction sometimes known as TMJ disorder
- Gum disease
- Facial aging due to shortening of teeth
- Tooth damage
If you or someone you know grinds or clenches their teeth at night, please call my dental office in Douglasville. We’ll work with you to diagnose what’s going on in your mouth and recommend the best solution for you so you can get back to oral health and back to a good night’s sleep.
Welcoming patients from Douglasville, Lithia Springs, and Villa Rica.