Your hygienist is the person you spend the most time with typically when you go for routine check-ups at the dentist. There are some things they wish everyone knew.

We Know if You Floss

When you get your teeth cleaned and your hygienist asks, “how often do you floss?” we, actually, already have a pretty good idea. A couple of things can clue us into how diligent you are with your home care.

People who floss don’t bleed when they get their teeth cleaned. People who don’t floss typically have a lot bleeding and probably a lot of wincing during their dental cleaning. Flossing is like a workout for your gum tissue, the more you do it the better you feel. It removes irritants under the gum tissue, if you let “stuff” sit under your gum tissue for days…weeks…6 months, your tissue starts to get infected. A dead giveaway to us, the tarter that builds up between your teeth is worth a thousand words! If you are removing that bacteria daily, you won’t get extreme buildup of tartar.

Know when it’s time to get a new toothbrush

You should change your toothbrush every three months, or after you get sick. Brushes harbor bacteria.

Brush your teeth BEFORE going to your dentist appointment

For the love of compassion, please do NOT eat right before you come in for a cleaning without brushing first! We are human beings and do NOT enjoy picking food out of your teeth. It’s just gross.

X-rays are important

People who think that one or two X-rays will instantly cause cancer: a full set of X-rays (18 films) is comparable to the radiation you receive from a 30-minute flight in a plane. You are much worse off if we are unable to detect decay or any other issue because you refuse X-rays.

Fluoride won’t hurt you

Fluoride is not poison. If it was harmful to you, we wouldn’t apply it.

Teach kids how to properly care for their teeth.

Please help your children brush their teeth and floss! Even 12-year-olds have a hard time brushing all surfaces of their teeth, i.e. along the gum lines, in the very back, and on the tongue side. So many parents try to blame their kids for not flossing and brushing right, but you need to teach them and help them from a young age.

There are a lot of things that are surprisingly bad for your teeth

Energy/sports drinks are worse for your teeth than soda! Soda is bad, but other drinks are worse because of the acidity.

Be honest about your medical history.

It really is important to let us know your medical history and medication list. There are some crazy things out there that could harm you due to lack of information.

“SOFT TEETH” is not an excuse for getting cavities

Having soft teeth is kind of like saying you have soft bones, it’s not a real thing! Although certain dental abnormalities effect a very small percentage of people the more likely cause of dental problems are one of two things: diet and home care. Diet, this doesn’t mean you necessarily have an unhealthy diet, you can destroy your teeth with milk or fruit. But your teeth can only handle so much. Every time you ingest something with the exception of water your body creates an acid to help digest the food or beverage. This acid also weakens your teeth, typically your saliva will neutralize that acid pretty quickly. If you are constantly snacking or sipping on something your teeth are constantly soaking in acid which leads to decay.

If you have any questions, please contact us. We are happy to help!