Don’t Miss Out, 5 Tips To Saving Your Smile

It is a great idea to keep your smile healthy and your gums looking fantastic. The healthier your smile the more likely you are to reach your goals. A smile is a connection with others, and employers report it is the first thing they look at when interviewing someone for a new position. “Without a healthy smile, you may be missing out on important opportunities,” says Dr.Denine Rice. 

Here are 5 tips to save your smile.

1.     Floss 1x a day. Flossing is the only way to remove food from between the teeth.

2.     Brush 2x a day. This helps to keep food from the surface of the teeth, helping to prevent cavities and decay.

3.     Consume eight fruits and vegetables a day. The water from the fruit and vegetables helps to remove food from the surface of the teeth and keep your smile looking healthy.

4.     Drink plenty of water throughout your day. A dry mouth allows for more bacteria to grow in your mouth. The more bacteria the more chance you have of getting periodontal disease.

5.     Visit the periodontist right away if recommended by your dentist. Once you have periodontal disease it doesn’t go away but not taking care of it makes the problem worse.

For more information on how to keep your smile healthy, contact Dr. Rice & her team.

5 Things To Expect When You Visit The Periodontist

It can be a bit scary and overwhelming when you have been referred to a periodontist. Your gums may be bleeding or you may have lost a tooth or two. A referral is usually made when your dentist is recommending you receive a laser periodontal evaluation or  perio therapy in order to get the periodontal disease under control. But there is no reason to be nervous, here are five things to expect from your visit.

The periodontist will review your health history. This is easy enough. They want to make sure you have not had any hospitalizations or are taking any medications they are not aware of. They may spend some time going over your medical history with you if there is anything you have marked.

Dr. Denine Rice and her team will review the x-rays that were sent over from your dentist. By evaluating the x-rays that already have been taken it will allow them to evaluate what your current needs are.

After this is done there will be an exam. An exam is simply a look at your gums in order for the periodontist to get a really good idea of what type of treatment you are going to need and whether you really need to have laser surgery or whether something else can be done instead.

Once your exam is over, there will be time for a consultation. During this time, the doctor will outline the plan for you. You’ll talk about whether you’re a candidate for laser surgery, what to expect if you have laser surgery and healing time after the procedure.

Finally, you’ll get an estimate of the cost and schedule your next appointment. Then you will be on your way and ready to get the healthy gums you deserve. For more information on laser periodontal procedures, contact Dr. Denine Rice and her team today.

Don’t Leave Your Gums Behind!

If it’s a race to achieving a healthy smile, your gums are the backbone to a healthy smile. Without them your smile cannot live up to its finest potential. If your gums are bleeding, puffy and swollen, then your teeth and your smile are going to be unhealthy, which can add years to your face. Dr. Rice says, “Now days you read all about healthy living. How to cut out gluten from your diet to help reduce swelling, how you should exercise for you heart, well, it's time to brush for your teeth.” Your gums need love to, so don’t leave them behind. Increase your flossing regime to 1x a day and we promise your gums will thank you.

Gums are the soft forgotten tissue that helps protect your teeth. Without your gums there is nothing to hold your teeth in place. Your gums protect roots from being exposed, which can lead to sensitivity. Without your gums, your teeth will look uneven and unhealthy. Your gums are providing the sturdy mountain that holds your teeth together.

Millions of Americans every year lie to their dentist and periodontist about flossing. But there is no single action that protects your gums better and keeps them healthy then picking up that floss 1x a day. If you struggle to floss your teeth with regular floss, periodontist Dr. Denine Rice recommends finding a water pic or waxed floss to keep your gums healthy for a lifetime.

For more tips on flossing contact Dr. Rice & her team today!

Why Periodontist Recommend You Should Smile More

You may think your smile has no bearing on the rest of your life, but did you know that smiling and the health of your smile is linked to your overall success and happiness in life? The healthier your smile is the more you share your smile with the world and the happier you are overall in life.

Research has found individuals who do not love their smile tend to smile less, and they may even attempt to cover up their teeth by tucking in their lips. Smiling is a universal sign for individuals to know that others are happy about something, or are appreciative. Lack of smiling can create a barrier between individuals and decrease a person’s sense of belonging.

Smiling can help you to feel happy even if you are feeling down. The more you smile, the more you release endorphins that produce happiness. If you are feeling down about something in your life, Periodontist Dr. Denine Rice recommends you find some great friends that can help you smile or spend time doing things that automatically make you smile. It can turn your life around. While you may not feel happy all the time, the more often you smile, the quicker you will find things that make you happy, and then you'll spend less time thinking about the things that do not make you happy.

For more information on the importance of smiling, contact Dr. Rice & her team.

Create A Flawless Smile

If you think achieving a cosmetically beautiful smile is out of your reach, periodontist Dr. Denine Rice and her team are here to help. There are lots of ways you can achieve the smile of your dreams. Here are 4 Tips from Dr. Rice on how to create a flawless smile.

1.     Floss. There is no other way to say it and no single piece of dental activity that helps you achieve the smile you were born to have. While millions of individuals say they floss, they in fact don’t. If you are struggling to floss regularly, Dr. Rice recommends you do some research to find floss that suits your needs and helps you create this necessary regime to your dental routine.

2.     Drink water. Drinking water helps to reduce bacteria in the mouth. A dry mouth is a breeding ground for dental problems. The more water you consume the less opportunity bacteria has to reek havoc. Water can also reduce the food left on your teeth from high carbohydrate foods.

3.     Consume healthy fruits and vegetables. This advice has as much to do with improving your overall health as it does in creating a healthy and flawless smile. The more fruits and vegetables you consume with a high water concentration the more food that is stuck to the teeth is removed. It also decreases bacteria that causes decay. Fruits and vegetables do not tend to stick to the teeth.

4.     Check out if you are a candidate for a laser periodontal procedure to reduce your risk of periodontal disease. Periodontal disease not only impacts the look of your smile, but your overall health as well.

Don’t live with a smile you don’t love, implement these 4 tips and create the smile you want for a lifetime.

Being Healthy Is Awesome

Bacteria in periodontal disease can impact your smile and your health. You could wake up every day, brush, floss, visit the dentist, eat healthy and exercise, but if you do not floss and take care of your gums some of these efforts will be wasted energy. Being healthy and having healthy gums is the new sexy. Get your sexy on today by loving your gums.

You spend time completing all kinds of activities throughout your day. Make sure you are completing the right ones. "Once you have periodontal disease," says Dr. Rice, "you, unfortunately, are never able to get rid of it.” Laser treatment can help manage the health of your gums and drastically decrease your symptoms of bleeding, swollen gums and other problems you may encounter.

          Controlling inflammation in the mouth is the key to decreasing the negative impact of

periodontal disease. Do this by having laser procedure and you can reclaim your

healthy smile. Stroke, heart disease and diabetes are a few diseases that are higher in individuals who are impacted by periodontal disease.

For more information on how to, “Love your Gums,” contact Dr. Rice and here team

today!

Five Fruits That Are Best for Your Gums

With hundreds of fruits to pick from in order to improve your gums and increase saliva it can be a daunting task to determine which ones are the best for your gums. Dr. Denine Rice states that, “You could spend time eating fruit and never really getting the full benefit.”

 Here is a list of 10 fruits that are best for your gums.

1.     Oranges are not only great for your gums because of the Vitamin C content, they also help to increase the overall saliva in your mouth.

2.     Kiwis are another great source of Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps reduce inflammation throughout the body including your gums. Vitamin C also helps to produce collagen, which can help you fight periodontal disease.

3.     Strawberries are a fantastic fruit that help create a barrier in protecting your gums. Without Vitamin C you are more susceptible to the bacteria that cause gum disease.  

4.     Apples surpass other fruit by a long shot in keeping your gums healthy. They have the water you need to produce saliva and to keep the bacteria that causes periodontal disease under control. 

5.     Berries are a rich source of antioxidants. Not only do they help protect against cell damage they also protect against bacterial infections.

If these fruits are not a part of your daily consumption, Dr. Rice and her team recommend you eat at least eat 4 servings of fruit a day and include at least one of these 1x a day.

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Do You Love Your Gums?

February was the month of love, and perio.org and Dr. Rice were there to remind you to love your gums. But did you? Did you floss more? Or did you commit to brushing 2x a day? Did you visit your periodontist or have a laser periodontal procedure completed? Well, it is not too late. Just because February was the month of love doesn’t mean that March can’t be a month of change.

Millions of adults continue to fib to their periodontist about flossing, but unfortunately this is not something you can hide. Once you forget to floss for long periods of time your gums become red, swollen and may even bleed. As soon as you smile your gums tell Dr. Denine Rice and her team the truth, even before you have time to speak.

You only have one set of natural gums and while technology has come along way and you certainly can be given gum graft procedures to reconstruct your smile, why go through this when you can simply, “Love Your Gums,” and keep them healthy for a lifetime.

Make March your month of change. Find floss you love or a water pic you can’t live without. Take advantage of a sale on floss and stock up. Don’t let one more day go by without sharing your healthy gums with the world.

Periodontal Disease & Pregnancy

Dr. Rice knows better than anyone about the importance of taking care of your smile during pregnancy. Just a few short weeks ago she gave birth to a healthy baby boy named, Samuel. She knew during pregnancy that her oral hygiene was at risk and so she encourages every pregnant and new mom to brush 2x a day, floss regularly and to visit the periodontist if you are having trouble.

When you’re pregnant you may experience sensitive gums, your gums may bleed, or be swollen. This is not normal and should not be occurring just because you are going to have a baby. Not only does periodontal disease impact your health, you also can pass the negative effects of gum disease on to your baby.

If you are struggling with your gum health, and you already brush, floss and visit the periodontist, you may need to increase your overall consumption of fruits and vegetables. This helps to remove any food from your teeth between brushing. The more water content the fruit and vegetable has the greater the benefit to your gums and smile. Dry mouth can be a breeding ground for excessive bacteria to grow, while water can help keep this problem to a minimum.

For more information, & tips on how to keep your gums healthy during pregnancy contact Dr. Rice & her team today.