Dupont Family Dentistry Blog

Dental hygiene is important for a number of reasons. Poor oral hygiene has a long line of consequences such as gum disease, bone loss, heart disease, infection and stroke. However, there are simple things you can do to make sure your oral health is great!

Devoted Family Dental has some great tips:

Proper Brushing 

It’s no surprise that brushing is the first step to healthy teeth. While most of us know that we should be brushing our teeth twice daily, a lot of people may not realize that there’s an art to brushing. The bristles on your toothbrush should be angled 45 degrees near the gum line. When brushing, you should be hitting the outer surfaces of your teeth using a back-and-forth, up-and-down motion. Keep in mind that your toothbrush should always be in contact with your teeth and gum line; but brush gently to avoid bleeding gums.

Flossing 

Devoted Family Dental really encourages you to floss! Flossing is a major part to keeping your dental hygiene amazing. It may seem like a chore, but trust us; it makes a world of difference. Not only does flossing remove food particles that brushing simply cannot reach, but it also gives your mouth a very clean feeling. We suggest flossing at least once a day.

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As we age, we have to pay a lot more close attention to our overall health. Since our oral health becomes weaker as we get older, we must do our part to keep our teeth as healthy as possible.

Devoted Family Dental has outlined a few tips on how your teeth can continue to stay strong and healthy as you age:
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As parents, you try your best to make sure your children remain healthy. Oral hygiene is very important, and weighs heavily on what your child is eating.  If your child is eating good healthy food, then he/she will have good teeth.  However, if your child is eating bad food, then he/she could be heading in the direction of tooth decay.

Devoted Family Dental Suggests you take the following preventative measures to keep your children’s teeth healthy:
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The saying: “you are what you eat” is greatly associated with the health of your teeth. In order to truly fight tooth decay it is important to brush and floss your teeth daily and get semi-annual office cleanings and checkups.  In addition to all of these things, you also need to watch what you’re eating.  Yes, your diet has a lot to do with your teeth!

The foods you eat may be harming your teeth in ways that you wouldn’t even imagine. Check out the following most common foods that could be harmful to your teeth:
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For many, going to the dentist is not an exciting event.  Who really wants someone to suck up their saliva while drilling, picking, and filling their teeth?!  (more…)

Keeping your teeth healthy may seem like a chore although it is very important to your health. We here at Devoted Family Dental make caring for your teeth fun! Here is a list of fun facts about your teeth. (more…)

Regardless of the profession you are in, dental and mouth injuries are all too common. These injuries can affect the front teeth, as well as soft tissues, tongue, lips, or even inner cheeks. These injuries can be extremely painful, costly, and in worse case scenarios, permanent! Athletes are prime candidates; they have a 33 to 56 percent chance of obtaining an orofacial injury during their athletic career. Meaning, sooner or later, you are more than likely to end up being a victim of such an injury if you do not take extra precautions!

This can be achieved by wearing protective mouth gear! This will save you time, pain, money, and most importantly, prevent permeant damage. It is quite common for dental injuries to occur in sports. Dentists predict that around 13% to 39% of dental injuries happen while playing sports, and 80 percent of the time, they cause injuries to at least one of the front teeth. Taking this into account, we have listed the top 10 tips to help you avoid dental injuries.

1. Mouth guards: Make sure to wear mouth guards while taking part in sports or athletic activities. Wearing mouth guards is a great way to avoid injuries to your teeth. To make sure that your mouth guard does its job and better protects your teeth, have your dentist custom-fit your mouth guard.
2. Helmets: Helmets are imperative when it comes to playing sports that are high impact or high speed, such as hockey, football, biking, and skating. Make sure your helmet fits correctly and is customized to the sport. This will allow for the best protection.
3. Cage: A face cage allows for full protection and guarantees you will not need stiches or dental work.
4. Visor/Shield: A visor/shield does not offer as much protection as a cage, but it is better than not wearing a barrier to your face at all.
5. Make sure that all of your protective gear fits perfectly and is comfortable for you.
6. Go to a dentist or hospital as soon as you incur a dental injury. Consider it an emergency, as you would a serious bodily injury.
7. Try not to touch the injured area! It may cause the injury to get worse and make it more difficult for the dentist to repair or recover the injured part of your mouth.
8. In case of excessive bleeding, make sure you only use sterile gauze to avoid infection.
9. Take precautions to avoid complications and recover as quickly as possible.
10. Most importantly have fun but be safe! Prevention is the best option.

If you still happen to incur an orofacial injury, get to your dentist as soon as possible to help decrease the chances of permanent damage and maximize efficient recovery. At Devoted Family Dental, we provide emergency dental service and will help address your situation ASAP.

The end of summer is soon approaching which means you’re probably busy getting your kids ready for school. New clothes and supplies will most likely make it to the top of the back to school checklist, but don’t forget to add a dental cleaning so your children are ready to take on the new school year with a smile. Preventative dental care is so important, especially for children and young adults. As a bonus, when you schedule a dentist appointment for your children by the end of August, they will be placed into a raffle to win a free backpack containing all the essential school supplies! This will help you check off a number of things on your back to school list. Why wait, the initial consultation is also free of charge! (more…)

We understand as a parent you want what’s best for your child! However, sometimes it is tough to judge how much dental care your child needs. You know you want to prevent cavities for your little one but knowing the best way to do so can be challenging. Here are some suggestions and tips to help!

Going to the dentist can be a scary and daunting experience for young children… even for some adults.  An unknown person with a mask on, strange shiny devices and power tools approaching your mouth isn’t the most inviting image. It’s understandable why kids have a fear of going to the oh-so dreaded dentist. This is why it is important to break the “scary” dentist stereotype and educate your children about how great and beneficial the dentist is, and get them excited for their next visit. Here are some tips and tricks for making the dentist a fun/painless experience for you and your children!

1)    Prepare

Before going to the dentist let your kids know what is going to happen. To help better prepare your kids for the experience you can play pretend dentist and walk through different scenarios.  In most cases, this will calm their nerves. When kids have no idea what is going on they can panic and tense up.

Photo Credit: makelessnoise

2)    Have some fun

A little fun goes a long way! There are a variety of things you can do to reinforce that going to the dentist will be a fun trip!

Dress up – let your kids dress up in their favorite superhero or princess costumes. Kids love dressing up as their favorite character for a day. You might be reluctant to let them wear costumes to school or run errands in them but if you allow them to wear them to the dentist office they’ll have something to look forward to.

Watch videos – If your child is drawn to a particular character on TV try to find videos that show that character caring about dental hygiene. If they see their favorite character doing something they are more likely to follow their lead.

Prize – Talk about how you’ll get a fun toothbrush/ toothpaste when going to the dentist.

Charts – Every time your child brushes their teeth correctly add a sticker to a chart. At the end of the week if they have brushed their teeth twice a day, every day treat them to a special outing or reward them in some way.

Photo Credit: Phillip Dean

3)    Positive reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is key! If your children do an awesome job at the dentist and have no cavities reward them every once in a while. By rewarding good behavior, they will strive for this behavior every time they attend the dentist.  Some popular places kids love to go are:

Kidz Bounce – Kidz Bounce is a place with a variety of bounce houses, optical illusions, and slides.   They have several drop-in times where your children can play for an hour and a half for only 7 dollars. Your kids will be jumping off the walls with excitement!

Wilson Playfields in Kent and Lake Meridian- Take your kids to this park filled with fun activities. This park includes a nautical theme playground, picnic areas, a swimming beach, boat launch, and more. This park is great for a variety of ages. There is truly something for everyone to do.

Little Discoveries 

Little Discoveries is a place where your children can find out what sport they’re passionate about through class sampling. Kids from 4 to 7 will be able to try ice skating, gymnastic, taekwondo, and swimming classes to see what truly interest them before choosing a specific program. Little Discoveries isn’t only a fun place for children to play but a healthy activity for children to do.

Mike N Terry’s Outdoor Fun Park – offers an exciting variety of sports that include: mini-golf, go-karts and batting cages.

Chuck E Cheese’s – Chuck E Cheese’s has always been a favorite among kids. Filled with arcade games, slides, and pizza your children are guaranteed a great day.

Kent Bowl – If your children love to bowl take them to Kent Bowl. They will be able to bowl, play in the arcade and eat here!

4)    Lead by example

Show your kids that you floss and brush your teeth on a regular basis as well as reiterate that flossing and brushing are for big girls and boys too. You can make flossing and brushing more fun by getting musical toothbrushes or cool flossers. Also when it is time to take your child to the dentist never show that you are stressed or nervous about taking them. We know that it can be a little nerve-racking for some parents to take their children to the dentist especially the first time. Try to hide any emotions that are negative. Your children will pick up on this and it will higher their anxiety about going. You always want to make going to the dentist a positive, exciting visit, not a nervous, dreaded visit.

As you experiment with different ways to help your children see the dentist in a positive light, don’t forget to have fun yourself! Remember it doesn’t have to be a day filled with stress and anxiety. Try our tips above and before you know it your children might enjoy going to the dentist!