Parents Teaching Kids about Dental Hygiene: Part Two

Get your child enthusiastic about daily dental hygiene.

Make it more acceptable and even fun by choosing a toothpaste and toothbrush that your child will like and will want to use. Pick fluoride toothpaste with appealing flavors and colors. Teach children the proper technique early to help encourage them to develop good oral health habits.

How about teaching children about the effects of too much sugar on teeth?

Teach your kids that too much sugar in their diet can cause caries and decay that can cause toothache and loss of teeth. Relegate treats like candy, cookies and pies after mealtime when the amount of saliva is greater; better to wash down excess sugar. Serve milk or cheese with candies and treats as dairy acts as a buffer to the acids produced by bacteria. Minimize hard candy because they can get stuck between teeth, especially if they should be chewed on for lengths of time. Flossing can help remove the candy particles.

Encourage your children to drink more water while limiting intake of juices, smoothies, and other drinks that are loaded with sugar. Bottled water should be checked for fluoride content. According to the American Dental Association, fluoridated water can reduce the frequency of cavities in children ‘s teeth.

More Oral Hygiene Techniques for Kids in Bellevue

Want to know more useful tips to teach your kids better oral hygiene? Pay us a visit at Overlake Dental when you are in Bellevue.

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Parents Teaching Kids about Dental Hygiene: Part One

Helpful Oral Hygiene Tips for Parents

Why should children know about oral hygiene?

Oral hygiene is key to oral health. Children, as young as they are, should know how important it is to keep their teeth and gums healthy that will serve them in good stead into their adult lives. Firstly, primary teeth are there to keep the jaw straight and hold the space for secondary teeth.

Children use their teeth to chew food, to talk and even smile. Having healthy teeth will help with confidence and participation in their education and social life. Caries and tooth decay can lead to early loss of teeth, cause other teeth to move and disrupt adult teeth eruption.

At what age should oral hygiene be started?

In fact, before a baby’s teeth start appearing, oral care can start. After feeding, the baby’s gums should be wiped with a soft washcloth or a baby toothbrush using water only. When a child’s first tooth appears, brush your baby’s teeth for two minutes twice a day.

Switch to a child-sized, soft-bristled toothbrush with a cushioned head, and a pea-sized dab of non-fluoridated toothpaste. Start flossing as soon as the child has teeth that are in contact with each other, usually around age two to three years.

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Whitening Teeth While Wearing Dental Braces

Different Whitening Options

Can you still whiten your teeth while you have braces on?

Yes, you can. It’s important, however, to know which whitening option is best suited to your brace type. You will not have many options if you’re using the traditional braces, which have brackets that cover the front of the teeth. On the other hand, lingual or removable aligners allow for a more thorough whitening treatment to be completed as the surfaces of the teeth are not obstructed.

For those with lingual or removable braces, due to the front surfaces of the teeth being exposed, the best whitening treatment is In-Office whitening. This can be accomplished in one or two dentist visits. The procedure is quite simple. A strong bleaching agent will be applied on the teeth to lift the stains and thereby whiten the teeth. Most practices may use special UV lighting to speed up the whitening process.

An alternate whitening option should be considered for those with traditional braces. If the same whitening procedure is applied to these braces, teeth may acquire a two-tone color when the time comes to remove the braces. This is due to the presence of the metal brackets on the teeth front which obstructs the whitening application. Hence, only when the braces are off can teeth whitening be recommended.

As far as at-home teeth whitening is concerned, there are some very effective methods that can be carried out in the comfort of home. White strips, bleaching gels, and whitening trays are recommended for quick whitening for those using lingual braces or removable aligners. They may not be prescribed for traditional braces because of the difficult process to whiten. Also, due to the shifting of teeth during the orthodontic process, it may increase tooth sensitivity or gum irritation.

Can everyday whitening be considered for those wearing braces?

Yes. Incorporating whitening products in one’s daily oral care routine is recommended. Whatever the type of braces you are wearing, a whitening toothpaste and whitening mouthwash are great ways to keep up that great smile. Some products can remove 80% of surface stains, protect against further staining, and freshen breath at the same time. Additionally, an electric toothbrush can work better than your usual manual one, able to remove even stains under your braces.

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Confident Smiles While Wearing Braces in Bellevue

Whatever type of braces you have, there’s a whitening option right for you, here at Overlake Dental in Bellevue. See us for a consultation.

The Wisdom of Wisdom Tooth Extraction

The Problems with Wisdom Teeth

Wisdom teeth are the last to emerge in the dental arch, around the ages 17 to 21 years, making their appearance in the realm of the later teen years bordering into early adulthood. With enough space left in the arch, assuming the jaws have reached their full growth, there should be no problem for wisdom teeth coming in. However, these molars are notorious troublemakers for a lot of young people.

For you, even if enough space is left and complete jaw growth is achieved, these teeth may still present problems in more ways than one. Even if perfectly erupted, they are the most difficult to access by brushing or flossing. As such, they are the first to show signs of cavities and decay, if seen early at all.

Usually, your wisdom teeth would be growing in the wrong position, or are partially erupted, or are impacted. Any one of these situations make them difficult to clean, can lead to cavities and decay, can put pressure on adjacent teeth, or damage the roots of its neighbor or the bones of the jaw. Your dentist will have to recommend removal. In addition, if you feel pain and there is infection during eruption, there is gingivitis, or this tooth is going to compromise your normal bite or your normal alignment – the tooth has to come off.

Painless Wisdom Tooth Extraction in Bellevue

Come to Overlake Dental in Bellevue and experience painless wisdom extraction. Even if you decide to keep your molars, let him monitor your progress with regular visits.

Receding Gums: How Do You Tell?

Understanding Why Gums Recede

Our gums are the often overlooked structures in our mouth as we really put more emphasis in the care of our pearly whites. We regard our perfectly white and aligned teeth as signs of health. Then one day we noticed some teeth looking quite different, like they have elongated. It’s not your teeth that’s having issues, it’s your gums. You’re starting to have receding gums.

Your gums are soft but firm tissues that surround each tooth and keep them in place in their bony arches. They hug your teeth up to what is called the gum line, that separates much of the crown from the root of the teeth. They are rich in nerve and blood supply, and carry that pinkish color if healthy. Now, if they start to recede, you’ll notice that they are somewhat pulled back, exposing more teeth, thus, appearing longer.

Apart from that, how do you know your gums are receding? Receding gums are most likely accompanied with thin gum tissue, and one of the first symptoms is sensitivity during brushing or taking cold drinks, or there may be bleeding while brushing, flossing, or biting on hard food. Other symptoms are red, swollen, or tender gums or other pain in your mouth, or teeth that might be loose or separating. You might notice pus between your teeth and gums, or a sore, a foul odor. And when you bite, your teeth might not be occluding well as before. If you are wearing partial dentures, they don’t seem to fit well anymore.

What might be causing receding gums?

For one, you might be brushing too hard; hard brushing doesn’t mean you’re cleaning your teeth better. Just look at your brush and you might notice the bristles are already frayed, and it’s not even an old toothbrush. Brushing hard can hurt your gums and shrink the gum line. Another is teeth grinding. You might not be aware that you’re tooth grinding while asleep and that may cause undue pressure on tooth surfaces, ligaments and gum tissue as well.

Gum disease is another cause of receding gums, and it might be the foremost cause. Periodontal disease, if untreated, can cause the gums and supporting bone structure to deteriorate. This can lead to gum recession or even tooth loss. You might want to know that gum disease can run in families.

Treating Receding Gums? Visit Overlake Dental in Bellevue

If you see these symptoms, come see your Bellevue dentist right away. Don’t delay for these issues are treatable. Save the health of your teeth and gums by regularly dental visitations.