Local Dental Care - Tennessee Emergency Pediatric Dentist

The Making Of An Awesome, Most Excellent Smile

A winning smile is awesome! It's a very special part of your face. Your teeth are a big part of your smile. Keeping them in good shape helps your smile.

Taking care of your teeth is your job. Make it a habit. Here are some tips to follow for keeping your teeth, gums, and all parts of your mouth healthy. These give your mouth something to really smile about!

• Brush your teeth in the morning and at night with a fluoride toothpaste. There may be times you don't feel like it, but good brushing habits can save you from lots of problems later.
• Cavities are caused by a sticky film containing germs. It's called plaque and it coats your teeth. Plaque is nasty and needs to be brushed away at least twice a day. So if you go to bed without brushing your teeth, get up and brush! Or, if you forget to brush before going to school in the morning, rinse your mouth with water. Brush your teeth as soon as you get home.
• If you don't, you're in for a plaque attack, and that causes cavities!
• Use a tongue scraper or brush your tongue, too. Swish with water after brushing to rinse your mouth. If you're 12 years old or older, you can use a mouth rinse, too. Be careful not to swallow it. Don't swallow any toothpaste either. It's good for your teeth but not good in your tummy.
• Use dental floss or an interdental cleaner (special picks, brushes, or sticks) to clean between teeth every day. Plaque gets between teeth, too. Cleaning between your teeth removes plaque and trapped food particles your toothbrush might not get. Do it as part of your bedtime routine. Fighting tooth decay is your job.
• See your dentist twice a year for check-ups and cleanings. They have special tools that can get your teeth really clean. Think of your dentist and dental hygienist as your healthy teeth team. They like helping to keep your smile in good shape!
• Clean your teeth after snacks, even if it only means "swishing" out with water. Even healthy snacks like fruits and vegetables leave food particles and natural sugar in your teeth. Don't eat too many sweets. When you do eat sweets, brush your teeth as soon as possible. Cavity-causing germs love sweets. They start attacking your teeth right away.
• Wear a mouth protector when participating in sports. They can save your teeth from getting chipped, broken, or knocked out.
• Stay away from all tobacco products including cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco. Tobacco is very bad for your teeth, gums, lips, and mouth. Yuck! It can stain your teeth, give you sores that really hurt, and make you very sick. It's a bad habit for your whole body.

Follow these steps to an awesome smile.

• Brush teeth in the morning and at night.
• Floss every day.
• Rinse or brush after snacks.
• See your dentist for check-ups and cleanings twice a year.
• Wear a mouth protector for sports activities.
• Stay away from tobacco.

You're in charge of your teeth. Brush them. Floss them. Build strong, healthy teeth with healthy foods. Follow good health habits. You are sure to make and keep an awesome, most excellent smile!

Discover what pediatric dentistry can do for your child's smile.

by Brian J. Gray, DDS, MAGD, FICO

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

Pediatric Dentistry Prevent Tooth Decay in Children

Snacking -- it's a frequent ritual for all ages and a regular part of most kids' lives. Healthy snack foods can contribute to a well-balanced diet that includes a variety of foods, giving our bodies the nutrients they need.

The Daily Food Pyramid established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is a good guide to daily food choices. The best snacks for good dental health include foods rich in complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and protein. Fruits and vegetables are rich sources of vitamins and minerals, free of cholesterol, virtually fat-free, and low in calories -- which are good reasons for enjoying them as snacks.

Foods containing fats, oils, pastries, candy, and other sweets should be eaten sparingly. However, food products that are high in these things often have the large advertising budgets and are heavily promoted to children.

Serving your children healthy snacks or having these ingredients on hand for them to serve themselves is easy and convenient. Teaching them early about making healthful food choices is good guidance that lasts a lifetime.

At least five servings of fruits and vegetables are recommended daily. Snacks are a good way to get them. However, even natural sugars found in them can contribute to tooth decay. Limit the frequency of snacking because frequent "grazing" coats the teeth in cavity-causing bacteria.

Some research has shown that when cheese or peanuts are eaten with or after carbohydrates, they may help to counter the effects of acids harmful to teeth. In any event, be sure and rinse or brush after each snack!

Here are some fresh, snack ideas from a children's dentist for satisfying and healthy treats:

• Munch on a colorful assortment of fresh fruit. There's a rainbow of snack ideas - apples, pears, grapes, kiwi, berries, peaches, plums, melons, and more. Try some of the new fruits, too, from around the world now available in produce departments.
• Enjoy celery, broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, and other crunchy fresh vegetables plain or dunk them into a dressing or your favorite dip.
• Zip up a zesty snack with citrus fruits including juicy oranges, grapefruit, and those easy-to-peel, "zipper" fruits: tangerines and tangelos.
• Make frozen banana chips to have on hand whenever the snack urge strikes. Cut a green-tipped or ripe banana crosswise into rounds; spread rounds on aluminum foil, then wrap tightly. Freeze and enjoy a frosty snack.
• Make fruit smoothies for refreshing, satisfying, and healthful snacks. Choose from the cool collection of fruits. Combine chunks of fruit like bananas, berries, or nectarines with some milk and ice, and whirl in a blender. You can also add some yogurt or fruit juice or sweeten smoothies with a little sugar, if desired. The ideas are endless with the rainbow of fruits, flavored yogurts, and juices.
• Make a snack mix of low sugar cereals with peanuts, tiny snack crackers, sesame sticks, and raisins, or other dried fruits such as cranberries.

Encourage children to eat healthy snacks but limit the frequency of snacking. Let them know that brushing between meals whenever possible is an excellent way to fight cavities. Don't let snack attacks become plaque attacks!

by Brian J. Gray, DDS, MAGD, FICO

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.