by Roseman Dental | Oct 2, 2015 | Dental Clinic Blog, Dental School, Roseman Dental - NV, Roseman Dental - UT
The first Friday in October every year is designated World Smile Day, a holiday that was initiated by the inventor of the iconic yellow smiley face, commercial artist Harvey Ball. The Smile Foundation that was created in his memory strives to improve the world one smile at a time. Harvey Ball and the Smile Foundation know how important a single smile can be, but the many benefits of smiling may surprise you.
- Your smile can make you happy. Feeling happy can make you smile, but the reverse is true as well. Studies have shown that smiling, whether genuine or forced, can release endorphins that create an authentic feeling of happiness, so next time you’re upset or stressed, put a smile on your face and trick your brain into changing your mood!
- Your smile can make someone else happy. A smile is like a yawn – when you see one, you instinctively copy it, and the happiness circuits in your brain light up. The same goes for everyone else, so greet the world with a smile on your face and others will instinctively smile back, increasing happiness everywhere you go.
- Your smile can help you relax. When you smile, your brain releases chemicals that can fight off stress, relax your body and lower your heart rate and blood pressure. The chemicals released can also diminish feelings of pain and depression.
- Your smile can make you seem more attractive. Most people perceive someone with a pleasant expression as attractive and sincere. When you smile, you seem more approachable and more likeable. There’s no easier way to increase your appeal.
- Your smile can land you a job. A smile can also make you seem more reliable and trustworthy, traits that an interviewer may value. By making eye contact and smiling when greeting a potential employer, you signal that you are confident, pleasant and capable.
Whether you’re feeling down or looking to make a good impression, take a minute to remember a joke or a pleasant memory and let the thought bring a smile to your face. This World Smile Day, remember that a smile costs nothing, but benefits you and everyone you see.
by Roseman Dental | Aug 21, 2015 | Dental Clinic Blog, Oral Health, Roseman Dental - NV, Roseman Dental - UT
Your teeth and mouth are an extremely important part of your body. If you don’t take care of oral health, you may experience a range of problems from difficulty and pain when trying to eat and talk to severe inflammation, infection, and even tooth loss. By adhering to a basic regimen, you enjoy a better chance of having healthy teeth for a lifetime.
Brush and Floss Your Teeth
Don’t forget to brush your teeth twice daily for at least two minutes. Take care to thoroughly target every surface, including teeth near the back of your mouth that are harder to reach. Use fluoride toothpaste and make sure to replace your toothbrush every three to four months, and floss once a day.
Schedule Regular Dental Checkups
Ideally, you should visit a dentist regularly for professional cleanings, and more often if you cope with problems such as sensitivity, crooked teeth or excessive decay. During appointments, be sure to ask the provider if he or she has any specific suggestions for how you should best care for your teeth at home between appointments.
Instill Good Oral Health Habits
Proper dental care begins at a young age. Soon after your baby is born, wipe his or her gums with a soft cloth. That gets the infant used to having someone gently tend to his or her mouth. Then, once teeth begin to break through the gums, brush them gently with water and a baby-sized toothbrush.
Once a child is old enough, instruct him or her how to properly brush teeth and emphasize how important it is that the toothpaste gets spit into the sink rather than swallowed. Always just use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste, so if any accidental swallowing does occur, there shouldn’t be any harmful consequences.
It’s also important that you set a good example for kids by brushing your own teeth well and visiting your dentist regularly.
Thanks to proactive measures like these, you can avoid many major dental problems and enjoy a beautiful and healthy smile for your whole life.
by Roseman Dental | Jul 31, 2015 | Dental Clinic Blog, Oral Health, Roseman Dental - NV, Roseman Dental - UT
You brush your teeth to get rid of germs and bacteria in your mouth, but did you know you may be introducing more into it than you’re clearing away? If your toothbrush sits out in the open, especially near a sink or a toilet, you’re probably using a contaminated one.
Potty Mouth
Every time you flush the toilet, moisture droplets can become airborne. The contaminants in that spray can reach as high as 10 inches and spread to any surface in between. That means your toothbrush, minding its own business in a cup in the corner, is susceptible to nasty bacteria and viruses. The bottom line: close the lid before you flush, store it somewhere that is protected like a drawer, or move it farther away from the toilet.
Sinking Feeling
The corner perch is dangerous every time you wash your hands as well. Walk into any public restroom and you’ll notice how much water and soap gets splashed around when hands are washed. That same mess is sprinkling around your sink and onto your brush.
Don’t Even Think About It
If you feel sharing a toothbrush isn’t a big deal, try again: the average mouth has up to 200 types of bacteria in it, and that’s after scrubbing. Your toothpaste is also a great source for sharing germs. Each time you wipe the paste onto your brush, you are pressing on material from the previous person’s toothbrush. To keep everyone healthier, especially if someone is sick, give everyone their own tube.
Get Some Air
Covering you toothbrush may seem like the only recourse. While keeping it protected is a good idea, don’t smother it. Avoid using plastic caps or containers, like travel cases, because the brush will stay wet and mold can grow. Instead, try putting it away in a cabinet or drawer so it can be shielded and dry out.
Brushing your teeth is supposed to be good for your health, but introducing germs can do the opposite. Taking a few simple steps can help you prevent dodgy microbes from going into your mouth.
by Roseman Dental | Jun 24, 2015 | Dental Clinic Blog, Oral Health, Roseman Dental - NV, Roseman Dental - UT
A child losing a baby tooth is considered to be a rite of passage, but a child, teen, or adult losing a permanent tooth is considered a dental emergency. If you or someone you know ever loses a permanent tooth, a dentist may be able to save the tooth if it’s replaced within about an hour. Learn what to do when someone is involved in an accident and dislodges a permanent tooth.
Babies, Toddlers and Young Children Tooth Injuries
If the gums or baby teeth are injured, use a piece of cold, wet gauze to apply pressure to the affected area. If the child is capable of following directions, have him bite down on the gauze. Reduce swelling with an ice pop or an icepack wrapped in a clean washcloth and held to the cheek. Use ibuprofen or acetaminophen (according to package and dosage directions) to help ease the pain if needed after you call a dentist to schedule an appointment. In the meantime, you’ll want to keep an eye out for signs of fever, pain, inflammation or tooth discoloration.
For broken or chipped permanent teeth, gather as many pieces of the tooth as possible and rinse the child’s mouth out with warm water. Contact the child’s dentist and make an appointment for the next available appointment.
Dislodged Permanent Tooth
Take your child to an urgent care dental clinic as soon as possible if a permanent tooth is knocked out (if it’s late and your dentist is not open you may consider going to the emergency room, although the doctors will likely only be able to treat the bleeding and control the pain; they probably will be unable to replace the tooth).
If possible, find the tooth and bring it along with you, holding it by the “chewing end” rather than the root. To preserve the tooth, place it in a solution of water with a pinch of table salt or a container of milk. For older kids, teens, or even adults, you can attempt to place the tooth back in the socket, taking care that you don’t touch the root of the tooth.
If the tooth is dirty, rinse it with water prior to placing it back in the mouth. Have the person bite down on gauze to keep the tooth in place. If the tooth has to be stored in a container, add a little bit of milk or some water with a pinch of table salt, then put gauze or a clean handkerchief or towel in the person’s mouth to slow the bleeding on your way to the dentist.
Act quickly and keep calm if your child ever loses a permanent tooth. Follow the above steps and get to the dentist as soon as possible to help your child keep his or her smile.
by Roseman Dental | Jun 19, 2015 | Dental Clinic Blog, Oral Health, Roseman Dental - NV, Roseman Dental - UT
There are more things you can do to whiten your teeth besides switch toothpaste, visit your dentist, and use whitening strips and trays. Even if you’re already taking these actions, there are several other steps you can take to brighten your smile without spending a lot of money.
Swap Your Toothbrush More Often
Trade out your old toothbrush for a new one every three months or whenever your bristles start to look faded and worn. Doing so ensures that your toothbrush is always providing the proper friction for scrubbing your teeth cleaner and whiter.
Avoid Eating Dark Pigment Foods
No matter how much you might like blueberries, marinara sauce, soy sauce and other dark foods, they aren’t doing your teeth any favors. Such foods can leave stains on your teeth thanks to their dark pigmentation. While not all dark foods are necessarily bad, it’s a good idea to limit how much of these types of foods you eat and make sure you enjoy them with plenty of water to help reduce the chances of staining.
Use Apple Cider Vinegar
While not as powerful as other whitening methods, rinsing with apple cider vinegar is a natural way to help brighten your smile (though perhaps not a very enjoyable one). To make the most of this tip, you’ll want to rinse your mouth out for a full minute with a mixture of one part apple cider and two parts water.
Avoid Drinking Energy Drinks
Besides dark foods, tea, coffee and red wine, energy drinks have also been known to cause staining on your teeth due to high acid content. Acid is also found in citrus fruits, so you’ll want to be careful of those as well. If you simply can’t go without your energy drink or soda, it’s better that you drink it through a straw to keep the liquid from coming into direct contact with your teeth.
Making a few small changes can do wonders not only for the color of your teeth, but for your overall oral health. Pay attention to the small signs that your teeth and mouth might be giving you about the state of your teeth to get a whiter smile and a healthier mouth.
by Roseman Dental | Jun 9, 2015 | Dental Clinic Blog, Oral Health, Roseman Dental - NV, Roseman Dental - UT
If you ever check on your children at night, you may notice that they are grinding their teeth. The official medical term for teeth grinding is “bruxism,” it can be pretty common in children and often takes place during sleep or times of stress. According to statistics, two to three out of ten kids clench and grind their teeth and jaw, but a majority of them will eventually outgrow it.
Triggers for Bruxism
The exact cause of bruxism has yet to be determined, but there are cases where children grind their teeth because their bottom teeth are improperly aligned. Other stressful times, such as teething and earaches, can be reasons for kids to clench their teeth in an effort to ease the discomfort.
Children can also become stressed by a shift in a normal routine or due to exterior factors like after-school activities, tests, and assignments in school. A child can also suffer if parents are arguing around them, causing them to react by clenching their jaw and grinding their teeth. There are also situations where children who are on certain mediations or suffer from medical conditions, including cerebral palsy, start to show signs of bruxism.
Effects of Bruxism
A majority of children who develop bruxism do so without any negative effects and do eventually outgrow the condition, but there are instances where it can cause earaches or headaches and be an annoyance to family members and those around the child because of the sound of grinding teeth.
There are also situations where the child can clench or grind his teeth so much that he starts to wear away at tooth enamel, chip a tooth, experience sensitivity to temperatures and/or develop major jaw complications and facial pain. One example of jaw problems a child might suffer from because of bruxism is temporomandibular joint disease, otherwise known as TMJ. Unless and until bruxism becomes a chronic condition, it generally will not become TMJ.
If your child has developed bruxism, make an appointment with your dentist to have them checked today.
