dentist

Below are 3 things that are easy to switch up right now to prevent cavities for you and your family.

1- Swap out the between meal beverages for water

There’s a delicate balancing act going on in your mouth all the time. When your oral pH is high, your teeth are better protected and can reabsorb minerals from your saliva that build and strengthen tooth enamel. When you eat or drink, your oral pH drops, becoming more acidic. The acid environment strips minerals from the tooth enamel and weakens it. Your oral pH rises over time after eating and drinking, but if you’re constantly putting more acid pressure on your mouth by drinking and eating with only short intervals between, you are setting yourself up for favorable cavity conditions.

There’s no reason to be thirsty, however, in your quest for a cavity-free smile. Swap out your between-meal beverages for plain water, leaving other drinks as meal-time accompaniments. Plain water will not lower your oral pH, leaving those minerals in your enamel where they belong. As a happy side effect, you may see other health benefits if you are replacing less healthy beverage choices with plain water.

 

2- Switch up your oral care products

It’s possible that your home oral care routine is not working as hard as you are to maintain your oral health. Does your toothpaste or your oral rinse help balance oral pH? Does your toothpaste contain remineralizing ingredients? Are your products sweetened with xylitol to help build oral health, or are they just sweetened? Oral care products that correct pH, remineralize tooth enamel, and have the added benefits of xylitol are formulated to do a better job keeping teeth healthy.

 

3- Keep dry mouth in check

The thing about dry mouth is that, even though everyone experiences it at some point in their lives, it really shouldn’t be ignored. Dry mouth is a major risk factor for cavity development. Saliva is the protective substance your body makes to protect tooth health. Not having enough saliva leaves teeth vulnerable and unprotected.

 

If you experience dry mouth, try sipping water. Chewing sugar-free gum sweetened with xylitol can provide relief as well. Oral sprays may be an appropriate choice if dry mouth is persistent or caused by medication. Just be sure to select one formulated to relieve dry mouth, not an alcohol containing spray meant just to freshen breath. The drying effects of alcohol can make dry mouth worse.

This article is from the Carifree company, which we believe have excellent science-backed products to help our patients. For more information on the Carifree line of products to help with preventing cavities, please visit https://carifree.com.

For an exam, cleaning, or any questions for our dentists, Dr. Jessica Chen and Dr. Daniel Kwong at our Duvall, WA office, please call (425) 354-3628 or email us at info@duvallfamilydental.com

 

What Does My Smile Have Anything To Do With Covid-19?

Ongoing research demonstrates repeatedly the close connection between the health of the oral cavity and the development of certain diseases. For example, in recent years researchers believe that there is a strong correlation between inflammation in the mouth, as a response to bacterial plaque, that causes gum disease to type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease.  Therefore, it’s not a leap to wonder in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, how does one’s oral health have an impact with this novel virus?

A recent study published in the British Dental Journal explored the link between oral health and COVID-19 infection, this study identified that known risks from oral bacterial overload, including heart disease and diabetes, are common complications that make COVID-19 illness more severe. They also pointed out the additional risks related to aspirating (inhaling) saliva with a high oral bacterial load for causing pneumonia and other respiratory difficulties. Finally, they examine the link between increased inflammation, a known problem from high oral bacterial load, and poor outcomes in COVID-19. They concluded that oral health should be maintained or improved to preserve overall health during the pandemic.

As always, we encourage you to stay healthy, mask up, wash your hands, brush twice a day and floss daily. For a check-up exam with Drs. Jessica Chen or Daniel Kwong at Duvall Family Dental, please call us at (425) 354-3628, or email at info@duvallfamilydental.com and know that we’ve taken increased precautions, more than required by health authorities, to keep you and our team safe during the pandemic.

Below is a list of the added protocols and precautions we’re taking moving forward, some of which we look to you for understanding and cooperation. We can’t do it without you!

1. You will be contacted 48-72 hours prior to your appointment via phone, text or email and asked a set of health-related questions. It is required that we complete this questionnaire prior to your appointment. We will have to reschedule your appointment if we are unable to complete this step.
2. Personalized arrival procedures to guide you from your car directly to treatment rooms to eliminate contacting surfaces. Check-in via the link in your text or by calling us at 425-354-3628.
3. Payment arrangements will be made in advance to avoid delay and allow contactless exit from appointment.
4. We ask drivers and parents to wait in the car as we limit the number of people in our building. Young children with appointments may be accompanied by one guardian. Please do not bring children to adult appointments.
5. We require a mask or face covering of mouth and nose upon entering our office and leaving. Due to limited supply of PPEs, we are unable to provide masks to you.
6. Hand sanitizers are available to use upon entering and more throughout the office.
7. We have removed magazines, water, coffee, toys, and other items that can harbor or transfer germs which are difficult to clean and disinfect.
8. We’re introducing an oral pre-rinse to all patients to reduce exposure to germs.
9. Recording temperature of every patient upon entering the office.
10. Recording temperature and lung efficiency of every team member on a daily basis, at the beginning and end of work period.
11. Enhanced operatory disinfection procedures before and after all appointments with fogging devices to access hard to reach places.
12. Ambient air management with medical grade ionizing HEPA air filtration in treatment rooms and common areas to remove germs from circulating air.
13. Sneeze guards at reception area.
14. We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.
15. Enhanced nightly disinfection procedures of equipment and office fixtures like computers, keyboards, telephones, tablets, chairs, doorknobs, and buttons that may be touched unconsciously.

Quite the list right? We thought so too. If we didn’t feel it is necessary to achieve our goal of safety while providing you excellent dental care during this COVOID-19 Pandemic, the protocol wouldn’t have made the cut.

 

Thank you for taking the time to visit our blog. Please check back often for weekly updates on fun and exciting events happening at our office, important and interesting information about the dental industry, and the latest news about our practice.

Feel free to leave a comment or question for our doctor and staff – we hope this will be a valuable resource for our patients, their families, and friends!