A New, Fun Way for Kids to Brush Their Teeth!

Steve Letavish of Proctor & Gamble came in to meet with us about their new products available to patients and our office. Oral B has two cool applications for smartphones. There is one for kids and one for adults. The kids' app allows them to "scan" their toothbrush (as long as it is Oral B) then plays a two minute clock uncovering the character on the brush. The kids can earn virtual stickers on the app. The adult one allows for blue tooth downloads from the newer Oral B electric toothbrushes to save and share in the future, if they want, with our office. Both apps are available for free on iTunes here: Oral-B App and Oral-B's Disney Timer App

(From left to right) Theresa, Ginny, Steve Letavish from Proctor and Gamble, Judy, Jennifer and Dr. Todd display the fun apps available from Oral-B. 

It'll ruin your smile over time!!

Excessive diet-soda drinking could leave you looking like a "Breaking Bad" extra, according to a case study published in the journal General Dentistry. 

The research compared the mouths of a cocaine user, a methamphetamine user, and a habitual diet-soda drinker, and found the same level of tooth erosion in each of them. The culprit here is citric acid, which weakens and destroys tooth enamel over time. 

12 Worst Candies for Halloween!!

We are all aware that beggars can't be choosers, but let's face it, on Halloween, trick-or-treaters have options. We all remember going to romp around in the "good candy neighborhoods" as kids. The places where you didn't have to scoop your hand into a bucket of lame treats more than once. Don't be the bad candy house. We're here to help, with our round-up of the worst Halloween candy out there. To see which candies are the worst, click on this link and take a look: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/17/worst-halloween-candy_n_1968573.html

Dry Mouth

A dry mouth isn't just unpleasant, it's bad for your teeth. Saliva washes away cavity-causing bacteria and neutralizes harmful acids. 

Drink lots of water, chew sugarless gum, use a fluoride toothpaste or rinse, and consider over-the-counter artificial saliva substitutes. See your doctor if it's a frequent problem. 

Diet and Eating

Restrictive diets and poor eating habits can deprive you of the vitamins and nutrients necessary for a beautiful smile. It's especially important to get enough folate, B vitamins, protein, calcium, and vitamin C-all of which are considered essential for healthy teeth and gums.

Poor nutrition can affect your entire immune system, increasing your susceptibility to many disorders and infections, including periodontal disease.

Love coffee? Read this.

Black tea and coffee contain stain-promoting tannins that lodge into the pits and grooves of the tooth enamel, producing a rough, stained surface, which is sticky and can retain decay-producing bacteria. 

Consume such beverages in moderation, drink more water every day, and add milk to your coffee or tea to help neutralize the acids.