A Walk a Day Can Keep Your Smile Healthy

If you are looking to hang onto your pearly whites for longer, healthy dental habits along with a daily walk can help to strengthen your teeth and keep them healthy for longer. As you get older the risk of bone loss becomes even greater and a lifetime of poor dental habits can negatively impact your smile. By implementing a walk a day and/or taking Vitamin D supplements can help to decrease the risk of bone loss.

But just taking a walk or supplements isn’t going to save your teeth, you will also have to engage in positive dental habits to ensure your smile stays healthy for a lifetime. The research study conducted by WebMD showed that individuals who flossed, took a supplement or walked and utilized a medication that lowered blood pressure were 40% less likely to lose a tooth compared to people who didn’t.

Increasing water consumption and decreasing your chance of a dry mouth can also help to decrease the build-up of bacteria in your mouth. There are multiple medications and climates that can increase dry mouth, consuming fruit infused water, or sugar free gum can help to decrease the impact of bacteria.

For more information on vitamin D and how vitamins can improve your smile contact Dr. Rice and her team today.

Hormones and the Impact They Have On Your Smile

Being pregnant is an exciting time for you and your family. There are plenty of changes that are going to occur with your body, including your smile. Visiting the dentist when you are pregnant is as important as visiting regularly when you are not. The extra progesterone and estrogen that is in your body can cause your gums to be red, puffy and swollen. The higher levels of hormones can further increase your chance of minor infections in your mouth.

Brushing, flossing and eating heathy are even more important when you are pregnant says Dr. Rice. Brushing and flossing helps to remove food from the surface of your smile and from between the teeth. Food that stays in between the teeth breaks down the integrity of your gums leaving you susceptible to problems with periodontal disease. But periodontal disease doesn’t just impact you, it can also impact your unborn baby.

For more information on hormones and how they can impact you and your child, contact Dr. Denine Rice and her team today.

Don’t Settle For An Average Smile

Your smile is important. It can help connect you to others and improve your mood. Your smile can help improve your life circumstances and can increase your self-confidence. You do not need to settle for an average smile because you think that a new smile is too expensive or out of reach. Dr. Rice recommends meeting with a periodontist in order to evaluate your smile and determine how to get the smile of your dreams.  Further research shows that people who smile, tend to be more open and flexible. They are willing to share a part of themselves with another human being and tend to have happier marriages.

Periodontal laser procedures can clean your gums and reduce damage that is caused by periodontal disease. If your gums are red, swollen or bleeding, laser periodontal procedures can remove bacteria below the gum line and decrease the pocket depths without having to cut the gums.

Flossing on a regular basis can reduce swelling in your gums and keep the pocket between your gums and teeth tight. You want the pocket to be tight because it acts like a seal and decreases the chance of your teeth becoming loose.

For more information on how to improve your smile, contact Dr. Rice and her team.

Crown Lengthening and How It Can Fix Your Smile

Crown lengthening can help to improve the look of your smile and can restore your smile to its natural healthy state. If your tooth has been negatively impacted and not enough of it is above the gum line to fix, crown lengthening can expose more of the tooth structure to allow the tooth to be restored.

If you are struggling with your smile and think that crown lengthening may help to fix your problem, you can contact Dr. Rice and her team. Once she has evaluated your smile and taken x-rays, you will be able to develop a plan in order to determine if crown lengthening is appropriate for you.

The length of time that crown lengthening takes depends on the number of teeth you have that need to be corrected. In order to expose more of the tooth, Dr. Rice may need to cut some of the area around the gum. Once the incisions have been made, sometimes sutures will be necessary, but generally your gums will be able to begin immediately to repair themselves.

For more information on crown lengthening and how to improve your smile, contact Dr. Denine Rice and her team today.

5 Cosmetic Periodontal Procedures That Can Improve Your Smile

Your smile is important and can help you to engage with others across a room. It also displays self-confidence, and research shows when you are having a bad day, smiling instantly improves your mood. Here are 5 cosmetic periodontal procedures that can help improve your smile, so you will want to show it off to the world.

1.     Gum graft procedures can create an even look if your gums are receding. Gum graft procedures help to improve your gum health by evening out gums that are receding or if you have had gum trauma.

2.     Laser periodontal surgery can reduce the size of gum pockets and decrease your impact of periodontal disease.

3.     Dental implants can replace missing teeth. Dental implants replace missing teeth and help to restore your smile.

4.     Crown Lengthening can help to improve overall gum health.

5.     Ridge augmentation improves the bone in order to be ready for an implant or to even out your smile. It helps to contour your bone in order to even out the ridge of your gums to seat an implant. Once you lose a tooth, or you have damage to your gums, it can leave an indent in the gums that looks awkward.

For more information on how to improve your smile, contact Dr. Rice and her team today.

3 Ways To Destroy Your Gums

Your gums are the glue that hold your teeth in the socket. Without your gums, your teeth would not be able to maintain their position in your mouth. Dental decay and periodontal disease causes a pocket to build between the gum and the teeth, which can then cause your teeth to become loose and eventually fall out. Here are 3 ways which you can destroy your gums from Dr. Denine Rice,

1.     Consuming tobacco products. Periodontal disease is an infection in your mouth that can go to other parts of your body. Smoking and chewing tobacco decreases your body’s ability to fight infection. Once you have periodontal disease smoking also makes it harder for your gums to heal from infections.

2.     Not drinking enough fluids throughout the day. There are already bacteria in your mouth. When your mouth becomes dry the bacteria that is bad for your mouth can get worse, causing periodontal disease and other problems.

3.      Not fixing missing teeth. Once you have one missing tooth it is common for you to begin to lose other teeth. As you lose teeth, your other teeth shift into the position of the missing tooth. This can then cause problems for your bite as well as cause you to look older. 

For more information on healthy dental habits, contact Dr. Rice and her team.

Age Doesn’t Have To Mean Losing Your Teeth

It is a rumor and a myth that has been floating around for years that as you get older you must lose your teeth. The health of your teeth and gums are determined over a lifetime of habits. Individuals who demonstrate healthy and consistent dental habits have a higher chance of having a healthy, decay free smile that will last a lifetime.

Avoiding bad habits such as chewing tobacco, not flossing, drinking soda or consuming large amounts of carbohydrates and sugar without brushing and flossing can cause damage to your smile that is expensive and time consuming to fix. Dr. Rice recommends that if you engage in any of these negative dental habits that you begin to remove them from your daily life and begin to develop healthy habits. Even if you have not engaged in healthy routine dental habits, you can wake up at any point and decide that today is the day you are going to change your smile.

For more information on healthy dental habits, contact Dr. Denine Rice and her team.

5 Habits To a Healthy Smile

Healthy dental habits are not established by accident. They take dedication and practice. By engaging in these 5 dental habits you can have a healthy smile that lasts a lifetime.

1.     Brush 2x a day with a favorite toothpaste that has fluoride in it. Fluoride can help to strengthen the enamel in your teeth. This can protect them from chipping, breaking and dental decay.

2.     Floss regularly. There is no other single action that removes food from between the gums and protects against gum disease.

3.     Eating healthy foods. Eight servings of fruits and vegetables can prevent your mouth from drying out. Eating foods with reduced sugar can help to decrease the risk of decay.

4.     When brushing your teeth, use gentle round circles instead of vigorous brushing strokes. It can cause your gums to recede if you brush too hard.

5.     Visit the periodontist and have the pockets of your gums measured. Gum disease needs to be taken care of as soon as problems arise. By visiting the periodontist on a regular basis it will let you know if there are problems.

For more information on healthy dental habits, contact Dr. Rice and her team.

3 Myths About Periodontal Disease

There are tons of information floating out there on the web about periodontal disease and the dangers of it. It can be overwhelming and difficult to distinguish between the facts and the myths. Dr. Denine Rice recommends everyone should be well informed about periodontal disease in order to combat the negative impact of the disease. Here are 3 myths about periodontal disease and what you can do to save your gums for a lifetime. 

1.     Bleeding gums are not a big deal.

a.     Your gums may have bled since before you can remember. This does not mean they are healthy and it is a big deal. If your gums bleed even a little bit it is the number one sign there is a concern with your dental health. 

2.     Visiting the periodontist is unnecessary and scary.

a.     Visiting a periodontist is similar to visiting your regular dentist. They will consult with you, evaluate your x-rays, and complete a check-up to see the health of your gums. Then they will let you know on a course of treatment. Nothing scary about it. But it is necessary and can be the difference between paying more for dental problems later on since periodontal disease strikes at the foundation of your teeth.

3.     You don’t need to floss.

a.     Flossing is critical to the success of your gums. There is only one way to keep your gums in shape and that requires flossing.

For more information on periodontal disease, contact Dr. Rice and her team today!