Healthy Living Orthodontics Content from Local Doctors

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• Flossing Teeth: No More Excuses!

  

  Posted 6:16 PM 7/21/2010

  Do you floss? Or, like many people, do you always seem to find a reason not to?

  A 2008 survey found that only 49% of Americans floss daily, and 10% never floss. That's most unfortunate, dentists say, because flossing is even more important than brushing when it comes to preventing periodontal (gum) disease and tooth loss.

  "If you were stuck on a desert island and a boat could bring only one thing, you'd want it to bring floss," says Samuel B. Low (More)
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• 10 Toothbrushing Mistakes

  

  Posted 6:06 PM 7/21/2010

  Toothbrushing is such an ingrained habit, few people think twice about it. But as with any habit, you can get sloppy, and that can lead to cavities and gum disease.

  Here, dentists and oral health experts point out 10 common toothbrushing mistakes and how to fix them.

  Toothbrushing Mistake No. 1: Not Using the Right Toothbrush

  Consider the size of your mouth when picking a toothbrush, says Richard H. Price, DMD, the consumer advisor for the (More)
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• Cavities: 15 Myths and Facts

  

  Posted 5:36 PM 7/20/2010

  Only one of the following is true. Do you know which?

  • Eating acidic things like lemons causes cavities.
  • If you have a cavity, you'll definitely know it.
  • Once you treat a cavity, the tooth decay stops.

  To separate dental health myth from fact, WebMD talked with Kimberly A. Harms, DDS, an American Dental Association consumer advisor and past president of the Minnesota Dental Association. Check the myths and facts below to find (More)
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• 5 Habits That Cause Plaque on Your Teeth

  

  Posted 5:34 PM 7/20/2010

  Plaque. Since childhood, we've been trained to resist that dreaded enemy of teeth. Regular brushing and flossing are sure bets for dental health. What else could you be doing -- or avoiding -- to keep plaque off your knockout smile?

  "Keeping plaque off your teeth isn't complicated, but consistency is key," says Richard Price, DMD, spokesman for the American Dental Association. "Good habits make for healthy teeth -- for most people, it's that simple," Price (More)
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• What Your Dental Health Says About You

  

  Posted 6:37 PM 7/13/2010

  It's easy to ignore the effects of poor oral hygiene because they're hidden in your mouth. But gum disease produces a bleeding, infected wound that's the equivalent in size to the palms of both your hands, says Susan Karabin, DDS, a New York periodontist and president of the American Academy of Periodontology.

  "If you had an infection that size on your thigh, you'd be hospitalized," Karabin says. "Yet people walk around with this infection in their mouth (More)
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• Bad Breath Troubles?

  

  Posted 6:34 PM 7/13/2010

  The kiss. The smile. The breath. What's most important to you (and to your significant other)? Chances are it's good breath.

  Let's get personal. Bad breath (halitosis) may be common in dogs -- but for people, bad breath affects how you feel about yourself, not to mention how others perceive you. In fact, you may not know you have halitosis until a brave friend tells you.

  How can you tell if you have bad breath? A simple way is to stick a clean (More)
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• Electric Toothbrushes: Are They for You?

  

  Posted 10:05 PM 7/9/2010

  Elizabeth Turkenkopf has been using an electric toothbrush for more than seven years, and has been impressed with the results -- cleaner teeth and minimal plaque build-up, which translates into less scraping at her regular dental check-ups.

  She hasn't had a cavity since she made the switch from a hand-powered toothbrush, and her gums are in good shape. Although she can't say for sure her pristine oral health is the result of her electric toothbrush, she's (More)
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• Brushing Teeth May Keep Away Heart Disease

  

  Posted 10:54 PM 5/27/2010

  May 27, 2010 -- Brushing your teeth is not only good for your pearly whites, it also decreases your chances of suffering a heart attack, a new study indicates.

  Researchers in England analyzed data from more than 11,000 people taking part in a study called the Scottish Health Survey. They examined lifestyle habits such as smoking, overall (More)
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• More Reasons Why You Should Floss

  

  Posted 4:21 PM 4/23/2010

  Every six months, you visit the dentist for a cleaning -- and likely a lecture about the importance of flossing. But if you're like many dental patients, the advice travels in one ear and out the other -- much like, well, dental floss gliding between the spaces of your teeth.

  "There is no instant gratification with flossing -- that's the problem," says Alla Wheeler, RDH, MPA, associate professor of the Dental Hygiene Program at the New York University (More)
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• Bad Breath: Good and Bad Foods

  

  Posted 6:04 PM 4/16/2010

  Got bad breath? You may want to take a look at your diet.

  If your dental hygiene is great -- you brush your teeth twice a day, floss once a day, and clean your tongue -- your bad breath could be linked to your diet.

  Certain foods can taint your breath for hours and contribute to dragon breath in other ways. Here are some of the culprits:

  Garlic and onions. "Garlic and onions top the list when it comes to halitosis," says Lisa Harper (More)
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