Getting Your New Year Off to a Healthy Start

 New Year is the time for resolutions and challenges. Most of the time, these challenges involve being healthier. When you come out of the holiday season feeling lethargic from sugar and squeezing into your clothes, of course you want to take up jogging and other healthy habits. If you want to renovate your health, you should start with your mouth. Your whole family can see a Salinas family dentist to jumpstart the process. Regular dentistry, flossing, and brushing can have health benefits that extend far beyond your mouth.

Brushing

The first step to reaching new heights of oral health comes from selecting the right toothbrush. It needs to be the right size and shape. Despite all the fancy angles and extras that tooth brushes come with, it really doesn’t matter so much which one you get. You want one that’s small enough that you can use it to clean your back teeth. You also want to use one with soft bristles. While it may seem like it makes more sense to scour your teeth clean, you actually want to be gentle with your teeth. Stiff toothbrushes can wear away your enamel.

Ideally, you’ll be brushing after every meal and especially after a sugary drink or snack. You can arrange this by keeping a small, travel toothbrush at home or in your purse. If you’re not ready to commit to that, you should absolutely brush a minimum of twice a day—every morning after breakfast and before bed!

Flossing

While recent studies have been inconclusive about flossing, the main standard stands: you should be polishing your teeth at least once a day. Keeping a bit of floss on hand is also a great idea. Food that gets stuck between teeth can be painful and unsightly, but it can also lead to cavities over time. Ask your Salinas family dentist for flossing tips for young children, or those with limited hand dexterity.

The right dentist

Your Salinas family dentist should make you feel comfortable. Anxiety about the dentist is totally normal—and your dentist should be able to help you through it. A good Salinas family dentist should be able to set you at ease. They should also be able to take care of your whole family. People with different dental needs might need a specialist’s care, but in general you should be able to go to one dentist for everything.

The health impact extends beyond the mouth

A healthy mouth may help you have a healthier heart! The presence of gum disease is strongly correlated to the presence of heart disease. Clean up your gums and you can limit the number of bacteria entering your blood stream through your mouth. Plus, when you take care of your health in one area, it’s easier to do so in others as well.

Your new year’s resolution could be easier to keep than you think. Outfit yourself and your family with the essentials this new year: a good toothbrush, plenty of floss, and Dr. Cureton your Salinas family dentist. Improved health is just a resolution away.

Dental Care Tips for Seniors

Senior dental care is an important topic. Some dentists actually specialize in senior dental care. Seniors, like children, are prone to dental problems. Keeping on top of your hygiene and following these tips helps ensure you have to see your dentist for years to come. Even if you have dentures, some of these tips will apply to you.

1. Keep dry mouth at bay

Dry mouth is a huge cause of dental problems in aging people. Even though dry mouth doesn’t seem to have anything to with aging, it does make our mouths resemble the Sahara Desert. There is something in most medicine cabinets, that causes this effect. Most seniors are on at least one prescription medication. While these are great for keeping you alive, dry mouth is one of the most common side-effects. Moreover, dry mouth aids the growth of bacteria and speeds up the process of getting a cavity. Whoops!

2. Antibacterial mouthwash is a must

As you age, it takes less and less getting under your skin to get you sick. Your mouth is a breeding ground for bacteria of all kinds. The good news? These bacteria have nowhere to go most of the time. However, if you open little lesions in your gums after you brush or floss, you could be exposing yourself to more germs than you think. A great way to strike back at this is to use an antibacterial mouthwash before or during your oral hygiene routine. Even if you knick your gums flossing, no germs will enter your bloodstream, because they’re all washed away.

3. Increase fluoride

Dental care for seniors often revolves around helping them preserve as much good quality, natural teeth as they can. One of the best tools for this is fluoride. Currently, many cities are adding it to their water supply, and it’s working wonders. Not only is it odorless and tasteless, fluoride also helps to keep your enamel thick and strong. The thicker your enamel, the more it will take for a cavity to break all the way through. If you can’t stand the thought of drinking tap water, get access to filtered or sparkling water instead.

4. Avoid tobacco

If you’re still using tobacco as a senior, there’s nothing more to say. You’ve heard everything that every doctor has said about leaving tobacco behind. Whether you’re a cigarette smoker or you prefer to chew doesn’t matter. All forms of tobacco put you at increased risk of mouth and throat cancer. By the time these are caught, it’s frequently too late. While there may be nothing a dentist for seniors can say about quitting that you haven’t heard, there still may be. Sometimes losing their smile is the last straw that prompts people to quit.

5. Always be upfront with your dentist

This one is simple. Tell your dentist about your diagnosis and needs. If they ask if you take medication, tell them. Some procedures are tougher than others. It’s sometimes recommended that you take antibiotics before a difficult procedure. This can only happen if you’re honest with your dentist.

Finding a dentist for seniors can be a chore. While you’re looking for senior dental care, follow these tips. The better you take care of your teeth, the less the chance that you’ll have to come to the dentist in the first place. That’s a cause we can all get behind.

Value of Invisalign

No one enjoys the idea of having to wear braces, however the value of Invisalign is in how simple and effective they are. Invisalign is a better choice than traditional braces for people who are self-conscious about their smile. Moreover, Invisalign provides quick correction for a wide variety of orthodontic issues. The good news is that you don’t have to go far to find them. Salinas Invisalign programs are available to help you get the smile you’ve always wanted.

No self-consciousness or anxiety

The biggest difference between Invisalign and traditional braces is in their appearance. The Invisalign system is based on a series of clear plastic trays that gently nudge your teeth into alignment. Fortunately, Invisalign is very difficult to see. If you don’t broadcast that you’re wearing them, no one will even know. Gone are the days of worrying about getting salad caught in your braces.

If you are like most people, you might be self-conscious about your smile. For some people, enduring a couple of years of wire braces sounds worse than keeping their crooked smile. Invisalign removes the source of anxiety. If you want to improve your smile in order to improve their business opportunities, then Invisalign is your answer. Realtors, sales associates, and others who rely on charisma and a great smile, are often hesitant to wear braces. Your smile is a great asset in closing the deal, improve it with an Salinas Invisalign treatment.

Quick progress

Unlike traditional braces, Invisalign treatments take about a year to complete. This is quicker than the average wire and bracket braces procedure. Invisalign works by using a series of clear plastic trays made especially for your teeth. These trays slowly nudge them into position. Every few weeks you change your set of trays. How many sets you go through will depend on your progress. On average, it’s somewhere between 18 and 30.

Simply visit your Salinas orthodontist every few weeks to have your Invisalign treatments overseen. Consistent visits allow you to address any issues you may have. Because the trays are custom made, your orthodontist can adjust them to meet your needs as you progress. For this reason, the entire set isn’t made at once, but over time.

Versatile corrections

Invisalign isn’t used just to straighten teeth. It’s considered a viable option for a whole variety of procedures. Correcting more than crooked teeth, Invisalign is also used to correct overbites, under bites, and cross bites. As each tray is custom made with your needs in mind, your dentist actually prioritizes your concerns as treatment progresses. Close gaps between your teeth or even space them out with Invisalign. In short, it’s possible to replicate any treatment that you can get with traditional wire and bracket with Invisalign.

Invisalign is a quick and versatile solution to many oral concerns. You don’t have to avoid pictures for a couple years or give up using your winning smile to earn commission. While traditional braces make the wearer more self-conscious before they’re removed, Invisalign works invisibly to align your teeth so that you can have the smile you’ve always wanted. Contact Dr. Cureton to improve your smile today!