Acworth, GA Dentist: Brush and Floss if you want to keep ‘em.

Often I am asked questions such as how often I should floss and is flossing really necessary.  I am famous for saying “You should only brush and floss the teeth you want to keep!”  Brushing and flossing your teeth are the two most important patient activities you can do to ensure good oral health. 

The goal of brushing and flossing is to reduce or rid your mouth of harmful bacteria that can adversely affect both your gums and teeth. Microscopic bacteria reside in your mouth calling it home, feeding off the food particles left on our teeth.

Bacteria produce acid from their feasting and this acid eats into your tooth enamel creating cavities. Addition toxins are produced from bacteria in plaque that will inflame and irritate your gum tissue. And finally, without proper care the bacteria can also sulfur compounds that create bad breath.

In the most recent studies, poor oral health can be linked to other related health issues that may stem from oral bacteria entering the bloodstream affecting other internal organs.  Regular brushing and flossing removes the plaque and the bacteria plaque contains. Unfortunately, many people think brushing alone is sufficient to rid the mouth of these bacteria.   But flossing is a key component to your good oral hygiene program.

If you do not floss and allow plaque to remain in between teeth it eventually hardens into a substance known as tartar. Unlike plaque which can be easily removed by brushing, tartar can only be removed by your dentist.

Over time, failing to floss will result in irritated and inflamed gums. This condition is known as gingivitis, which if left untreated can progress to periodontal disease domino’ing into gingival recession, bone loss, loose teeth, and so on until ultimately your teeth are lost.

Timely and regular flossing removes the bacteria that escapes the reach of the toothbrush.  Brushing alone only does part of the job.  So you really need to floss. The American Dental Association recommends that you floss at least once a day, but I would suggest once in the morning and once in the evening as the better protocol.

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

5471 Bells Ferry Road, Suite 200

Acworth, GA 30102

770-928-7281

info@rightsmilecenter.com

www.rightsmileacworth.com

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Woodstock, GA Dentist: Brush and Floss if you want to keep ‘em.

Often I am asked questions such as how often I should floss and is flossing really necessary.  I am famous for saying “You should only brush and floss the teeth you want to keep!”  Brushing and flossing your teeth are the two most important patient activities you can do to ensure good oral health. 

The goal of brushing and flossing is to reduce or rid your mouth of harmful bacteria that can adversely affect both your gums and teeth. Microscopic bacteria reside in your mouth calling it home, feeding off the food particles left on our teeth.

Bacteria produce acid from their feasting and this acid eats into your tooth enamel creating cavities. Addition toxins are produced from bacteria in plaque that will inflame and irritate your gum tissue. And finally, without proper care the bacteria can also sulfur compounds that create bad breath.

In the most recent studies, poor oral health can be linked to other related health issues that may stem from oral bacteria entering the bloodstream affecting other internal organs.  Regular brushing and flossing removes the plaque and the bacteria plaque contains. Unfortunately, many people think brushing alone is sufficient to rid the mouth of these bacteria.   But flossing is a key component to your good oral hygiene program.

If you do not floss and allow plaque to remain in between teeth it eventually hardens into a substance known as tartar. Unlike plaque which can be easily removed by brushing, tartar can only be removed by your dentist.

Over time, failing to floss will result in irritated and inflamed gums. This condition is known as gingivitis, which if left untreated can progress to periodontal disease domino’ing into gingival recession, bone loss, loose teeth, and so on until ultimately your teeth are lost.

Timely and regular flossing removes the bacteria that escapes the reach of the toothbrush.  Brushing alone only does part of the job.  So you really need to floss. The American Dental Association recommends that you floss at least once a day, but I would suggest once in the morning and once in the evening as the better protocol.

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

5471 Bells Ferry Road, Suite 200

Acworth, GA 30102

770-928-7281

info@rightsmilecenter.com

www.rightsmilewoodstock.com

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Dentist Serving Roswell – 4 Steps to Promoting Good Oral Health

Image via Wikipedia

Good oral hygiene is important for maintaining one’s overall health.  If you believe this and you should, then there are 4 essential guidelines of preventative care to maintaining good oral health, all of which are endorsed by the American Dental Association:

1. Floss regularly and floss first- It is recommended that individuals floss on a regular basis after meals and before brushing their teeth.  The reason to floss first is to dislodge any food particles trapped in between your teeth, which can be disposed of while brushing.  The proper way to floss is to push the floss gently between your teeth to the gum to loosen debris your toothbrush cannot reach. Initially, you may experience some light bleeding but this should disappear once your gums get used to the flossing process.

1. Brushing your teeth- If you don’t have an electric toothbrush, good brushing by hand should take a minimum of 2 minutes and should involve brushing in a circular motion, which the electric toothbrush does for you.  You work your way from one side of the mouth to the other, keeping in mind to pay attention to certain neglected areas such as the very back teeth and your tongue. Dentists recommend using soft bristle brushes and toothpaste that contain fluoride.  The fluoride is important, because the rise in the consumption of bottled water has led to the population’s decline in fluoride intake.

1. Mouthwash- I am not sure how effective this is, but if you’re not going to brush twice a day, using a mouthwash that contains fluoride at least twice a day is a good preventative measure that kills the bacteria responsible for cavities and gum disease.  Given recent research, you might want to choose a non-alcohol based rinse.

 

1. Your Dental visits- Maintaining your oral health requires regular dental visits at least every six months.  You need to do this for early detection of potential global health problems that could develop into more serious issues and the hygienist can clean areas that might have been missed or that were resistant to the 3 steps above.

Finally, Finding a Dentist that is Right for You

Research shows that your dental care is an important aspect of your overall general health care.  So you need to make sure you find a dentist that is right for you. This can be a difficult process.  Look for someone who’s competent and you feel comfortable with, one you can have a collaborative relationship with. This is important because there are conditions and problems that were not discussed in this article that the dentist will need to pay attention to during your regular checkups. Hopefully after reading this article, you will have a better understanding of the basics for good oral health.   I you have questions or concerns feel free to contact or call.

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

Atlanta (Sandy Springs), GA 30328

404-256-3620

www.rightsmilecenter.com

receptionist@rightsmilecenter.com

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Alpharetta Dental: Brush and Floss if you want to keep ‘em.

Often I am asked questions such as how often I should floss and is flossing really necessary.  I am famous for saying “You should only brush and floss the teeth you want to keep!”  Brushing and flossing your teeth are the two most important patient activities you can do to ensure good oral health. 

The goal of brushing and flossing is to reduce or rid your mouth of harmful bacteria that can adversely affect both your gums and teeth. Microscopic bacteria reside in your mouth calling it home, feeding off the food particles left on our teeth.

Bacteria produce acid from their feasting and this acid eats into your tooth enamel creating cavities. Addition toxins are produced from bacteria in plaque that will inflame and irritate your gum tissue. And finally, without proper care the bacteria can also sulfur compounds that create bad breath.

In the most recent studies, poor oral health can be linked to other related health issues that may stem from oral bacteria entering the bloodstream affecting other internal organs.  Regular brushing and flossing removes the plaque and the bacteria plaque contains. Unfortunately, many people think brushing alone is sufficient to rid the mouth of these bacteria.   But flossing is a key component to your good oral hygiene program.

If you do not floss and allow plaque to remain in between teeth it eventually hardens into a substance known as tartar. Unlike plaque which can be easily removed by brushing, tartar can only be removed by your dentist.

Over time, failing to floss will result in irritated and inflamed gums. This condition is known as gingivitis, which if left untreated can progress to periodontal disease domino’ing into gingival recession, bone loss, loose teeth, and so on until ultimately your teeth are lost.

Timely and regular flossing removes the bacteria that escapes the reach of the toothbrush.  Brushing alone only does part of the job.  So you really need to floss. The American Dental Association recommends that you floss at least once a day, but I would suggest once in the morning and once in the evening as the better protocol.

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A                                                 

Atlanta (Sandy Springs), GA 30328

404-256-3620

receptionist@rightsmilecenter.com

www.rightsmilecenter.com

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Atlanta Dentist – Why Conserve Water When Brushing?

Image via Wikipedia

Because we all need to do our part.   Water is taken for granted by most people in the US, but water is quickly become an at risk commodity because of our wasteful habits.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “The average bathroom faucet [in a home built post 1992] flows at a rate of two gallons per minute [GPM], but for homes built pre-1992, faucets flow at a rate of 4 GPM.  Turning off the tap while brushing your teeth in the morning and at bedtime can save up to 8 gallons of water per day [post-1992 faucet], which equals 240 gallons a month!”

While we in dentistry encourage our patients to brush twice a day for the rest of your life, the time has come where we need to be more socially conscious in the education of our patient pool with respect to their use of water while brushing.  I encourage all of your family members and friends to turn the water off every time they brush their teeth (at least twice a day) and run the water only when necessary as in rinsing your mouth or cleaning your brush.

That’s it?  Yes, that’s all you have to do to be good environmental citizens.  Depending on where your water source come from, turning off the tap while brushing your teeth can have a positive impact on our springs, rivers, and wetland habitats that might otherwise be damaged by water treatment plants.  The incremental impact when taken as a whole can be lessened in huge ways that will positively affect our entire country and for that matter the entire earth.   Applying this practice will equal a savings of over 2,800 gallons of water per year for each individual in the US who takes this simple step.  And for those still operating pre-1992 faucets, the number is double.

If you are one of those people that don’t think about how much water your faucet it putting out, you will probably leave your water running while you brush your teeth.  Generally, the average person will turn on the water, rinse their tooth brush, put tooth paste on tooth brush, brush their teeth, spit a couple times, brush a little more, rinse tooth brush off, maybe even use a mouth rinse or mouth wash, swish that around a bit, spit it out, rinse out the sink, and finally turn off the water.  This process can take up to 3 minutes to complete.   In fact, the Oral-B electric brush does a 3 minute countdown to brushing your teeth.   So during those 3 minutes about 12 gallons of water is wasted. The average person brushes their teeth 2 – 3 times a day, which would now make your water usage about 24 to 36 gallons of water per person per day.  Looked at the usage from this approach, we are up to a single person brushing their teeth anywhere from 732 to 1098 gallons of per month, which is a drastic difference from the conservative amount estimated in the paragraph above.  With 365 days in a year, that’s over 13,000 gallons a year.  That’s an awful lot of wasted water.

It’s easy.  Make a conscious effort to turn off the water while you brush your teeth.  Each person in each family can use water more efficiently to preserve water supplies and our environment for future generations.  This means that you, your family, and your friends can participate in protecting the future of our nation’s limited water supply and your children’s future each time you brush your teeth.  And a self-imposed effort now could avoid our government from stepping in and imposing conservation later.  Conserving water is not incompatible with brushing twice a day and as model citizens, you become trustees of small measures that will make a big difference and ensure efficient use of our water supply for generations to come.

It makes cents. If you can’t be motivated by being green, then look at the dollars.  The average cost of water is $0.005/gallon.  So if a single person uses 13,000 gallons of water a year to brush their teeth, this costs $65/year for 1 person to brush their teeth. So take $65 and multiply this by how many people live in your home and you will see how much water is costing you just for you to keep your teeth healthy.  And this doesn’t even count that most jurisdictions charge 1 to 4x for the cost of sewer’ing the water.

It’s simple.  Turn your water off unless you are using it.  Don’t turn on your water and just let it run in the sink while you are brushings your teeth.   And if your faucet is older than 1992, you should to buy a new one.

As always, if we can be of help please contact us.

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

Atlanta (Sandy Springs), GA, 30328

404-256-3620

www.rightsmilecenter.com

receptionist@rightsmilecenter.com

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Dentist Sandy Springs – 4 Steps to Promoting Good Oral Health

Image via Wikipedia

Good oral hygiene is important for maintaining one’s overall health.  If you believe this and you should, then there are 4 essential guidelines of preventative care to maintaining good oral health, all of which are endorsed by the American Dental Association:

1. Floss regularly and floss first- It is recommended that individuals floss on a regular basis after meals and before brushing their teeth.  The reason to floss first is to dislodge any food particles trapped in between your teeth, which can be disposed of while brushing.  The proper way to floss is to push the floss gently between your teeth to the gum to loosen debris your toothbrush cannot reach. Initially, you may experience some light bleeding but this should disappear once your gums get used to the flossing process.

 

1. Brushing your teeth-  If you don’t have an electric toothbrush, good brushing by hand should take a minimum of 2 minutes and should involve brushing in a circular motion, which the electric toothbrush does for you.  You work your way from one side of the mouth to the other, keeping in mind to pay attention to certain neglected areas such as the very back teeth and your tongue. Dentists recommend using soft bristle brushes and toothpaste that contain fluoride.  The fluoride is important, but the rise in use of bottled water has led to the population’s decline in fluoride intake.

 

1. Mouthwash- I am not sure how effective this is, but if you’re not going to brush twice a day, using a mouthwash that contains fluoride at least twice a day is a good preventative measure that kills the bacteria responsible for cavities and gum disease.

 

1. Your Dental visits- Maintaining your oral health requires regular dental visits at least every six months.  You need to do this for early detection of potential problems that could develop into more serious problems and the hygienist can clean areas that might have been missed or that were resistant to the 3 steps above.

Finally, Finding a Dentist that is Right for You

Your dental care is an important aspect of your general health care.  So you need to make sure you find a dentist that is right for you. This can be a difficult process.  Look for someone who’s competent and you feel comfortable with, one you can have a collaborative relationship with. This is important because there are conditions and problems that were not discussed in this article that the dentist will need to pay attention to during your regular checkups. Hopefully after reading this article, you will have a better understanding of the basics for good oral health.   I you have questions or concerns feel free to contact or call.

Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC

290 Carpenter Drive, 200A

Atlanta (Sandy Springs), GA 30328

404-256-3620

www.rightsmilecenter.com

receptionist@rightsmilecenter.com

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