MI Paste™. A New Product for Your Smile!

We at Crabapple Dental excited about a new product for your teeth!  We’ve seen it produce excellent results for people who’ve experienced tooth discoloration.

It’s called MI Paste™.  It’s designed to replenish the minerals in your teeth, improving the strength and color of your smile.  Just as you might take a vitamin to ensure your body doesn’t become deficient, you use MI Paste™ as a supplement for your teeth.

The most well known mineral for teeth is fluoride.  That’s why we see it in our toothpaste and water.  However, other minerals are important as well, including calcium and phosphate.  Over time, acid in our foods causes our teeth to lose these minerals.  This demineralization makes our teeth more susceptible to cavities and discoloration.

After flossing and brushing, you simply apply a small amount of MI Paste™ and go to bed.  Over time, your teeth will become healthier and prettier as the paste replenishes their minerals.

What many people don’t realize is that the health of your teeth is connected to and reflective of the health of your entire body.  We think this product is definitely worth mentioning to you!

You can’t get MI Paste™ over the counter, so ask us next time you come in!

Listen to Dr. Sarah Roberts discuss Anti-Aging for Your Teeth.

Dr. Sarah Roberts recently made a guest appearance on the radio talk show Super Human Radio.  You can listen to Dr. Roberts discuss Anti-Aging for Your Teeth here.  In addition, here are a few interesting takeaways from the show, for those interested in truly understanding how to keep their smiles – and themselves – as young and healthy as possible.

1. First, the best way to maintain a youthful smile is PREVENTION.

2. Eat healthy foods.  People who eat too much junk food or are diabetic have more sugar in their blood.  Since this blood, minus the red cells, surrounds your teeth and gums, sugary blood can cause bacteria to grow and decay to occur.  Thus, teeth can rot or become discolored.  The connection between eating healthy, non-sugary foods and healthy smiles is clear.

3. Brush your teeth 2-3 times per day for about 2 minutes each time.  Use a soft toothbrush, angled at 45 degrees.  An excellent option for brushing is the Sonicare toothbrush.  Sonicare works well because it has a sonic vibration that loosens debris you can’t see.

4. If you absolutely cannot brush your teeth after a meal, chew gum.  After a meal, the pH levels in your mouth are more acidic, which can cause decay.  Chewing gum balances the pH in your mouth.

5. If your smile already shows signs of aging, you have many cosmetic options to improve the look and health of your smile, including whitening, orthodontics and procedures to lengthen teeth that have been ground down due to stress (many people actually grind their teeth while they exercise or sleep – which ages your smile).

6. Crown lengthening adjusts the gum line to make it smooth and even, which is a crucial aspect of a beautiful smile.

7. If you chose at-home whitening, make sure you chose a name brand.  Whereas many off-brands have compromised the integrity of their product, name brands put a lot of effort into managing the pH of their product.  This ensures their products are safe for tooth enamel.

8. Whatever your smile situation, there is usually a cosmetic solution.  Remember, cosmetic dentistry is not simply about aesthetics; it is also about health.  Beautiful smiles are healthy smiles.

Fluoride. Is it safe? Should I use it? How much?

There’s been plenty of talk around fluoride lately, between the EPA’s recent lowering of fluoride limits in water and claims that too much fluoride can cause spots on children’s teeth.

Here’s the deal.

The condition some children develop, in which spots appear on their teeth, most likely comes from when a child continuously swallows toothpaste.  The condition is very rare, is not harmful, and is usually only visible to dentists.  In most cases, a non-dentist wouldn’t be able to see the spots.

The pros far outweigh the cons.

The American Dental Association states that water fluoridation “has dramatically improved the oral health of tens of millions of Americans,” and is “the single most effective public health measure to prevent tooth decay.”

In a recently released study by the ADC, scientists concluded that fluoride gel or varnish, when applied at least every six months for 4 minutes or more, is effective in preventing tooth decay and cavities in school-aged children.  Further, the ADC recommends fluoride supplements for children with a high risk of tooth decay, who do not have adequate access to water with fluoride.  Another recent study concluded that infant formulas reconstituted with fluoridated drinking water were okay, with some exceptions (please talk to your dentist for guidance).

So as with anything, you can have too much of a good thing, but fluoridated drinking water, fluoride toothpaste, and professional fluoride treatments are all excellent means of preventing tooth decay and cavities in children, which means healthier teeth and gums as adults.

Ten Tips for Maintaining a Beautiful Smile

It’s our very first blog post here at Crabapple Dental, and we thought we’d start with a few pieces of expert advice for a beautiful, healthy smile.

Ten Tips for Maintaining a Beautiful Smile.

1. When we say a healthy smile, we mean it.  Few people seem to realize just how connected to your physical health your teeth and gums are. Just as you wouldn’t want disease in your skin, heart, or other body parts and organs, you don’t want disease in your mouth.  If your gums bleed, that’s periodontal disease, and you should see a dentist immediately.

2. Get a Waterpik.  We know those were popular in the 1970s, but they actually really work to prevent bad breath and cavities.  Each tooth has a pocket of saliva surrounding it.  A Waterpik washes away that saliva each day, so it can be replaced with fresh saliva.  Just rinsing your mouth with mouthwash won’t work as well.

3. You are what you eat, and your teeth absolutely reflect your eating habits.  So limit sugar, which causes cavities.  Eat vitamin- and calcium-rich leafy greens. Stop drinking soda. You may as well soak your teeth in acid.

4. Proper oral hygiene requires ten minutes of brushing and flossing every day.  The average adult spends two or three minutes total, and kids spend even less.  So reevaluate the time you allot to brushing your teeth.

5. Floss every day. Period. Flossing has such an enormous impact on your dental and overall health, it makes no sense to consider it optional.

6. Replace your toothbrush every two to three months.  The bristles get worn over time, rendering them less effective, and sometimes just having a brand new toothbrush in a fun color can invite you to brush your teeth!

7. Buy a travel toothbrush. Keep it in your purse. Take a few minutes after lunch and brush your teeth.

8. Using baking soda in place of your toothpaste every so often can help remove stains. Don’t overuse though, or else you risk removing enamel.

9. Brush your tongue, the roof of your mouth, and the insides of your cheeks. Bacteria collects there as well as on your teeth and gums, yet many people skip these places.  Brushing your entire mouth reduces bacteria and keeps your breath fresh and clean.

10. Visit your dentist at least twice a year – the recommended minimum for patients with healthy teeth and gums.