Make Your Game Day Snacks More Smile-Friendly

WATCHING FOOTBALL IS ONE OF AMERICA’S GREAT TRADITIONS. Many families and friends gather together on a weekly basis to watch their favorite teams go head to head. And while people come for the football, we all know what they’re really there for… the food!

Traditional game day snacks may be delicious–think wings, sliders, nachos, pizza–but they are certainly not the healthiest for our bodies, or our teeth for that matter.

Make Healthier Choices On Game Day

October is one of the busiest sports months of the year. For all you sports fans out there, you’re going to have a lot of games to watch and, as a result, a lot of unhealthy finger food you may be planning to eat. Making healthier choices for the big game is easy… and well worth it!

For more smile-friendly snacks, try these healthy alternatives to traditional game day food:

• Veggie-filled wraps instead of sliders. Leafy greens contain vitamins essential for healthy teeth and gums.
• Yogurt instead of ice cream. You know dairy is good for your teeth! But watch out for added sugars you can find in ice cream and some yogurts. Make a greek yogurt parfait or a yogurt-based dip for fruit to protect those chompers.
• Bruschetta instead of pizza. Fresh-made bruschetta, especially with calcium-rich cheese on top, is a great substitute for greasy pizza.
• Vegetables instead of chips. Refined, starchy foods can be worse for your teeth than sugar. Bake your own kale chips or substitute cucumbers, celery, and carrots for greasy chips. You’ll get that crunch factor you crave as well as protect your teeth from decay.
• Zucchini or sweet potato fries instead of french fries. Bake your fries instead of deep-fry them. Sweet potatoes have a lot of vitamin C which promotes healthy gums. Zucchini has an extremely high water content which will get your saliva flowing.

You could even try this healthy spinach and artichoke dip at your next watch-party!

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Here’s another fun fact: including apples and strawberries in your snack game plan can actually help whiten your teeth! These fruits contain malic acid which removes surface stains from your teeth and whitens enamel.

In addition, nuts, celery, carrots and again, apples, are great finger foods that work as natural toothbrushes. That’s right! Because of their abrasive texture, they naturally remove bacteria and plaque. They also increase saliva production, helping to wash away food particles and bacteria in your mouth. So the next time you want to just eat the wings and leave the celery, think again.

Eat Right For A Winning Smile

We know you want your team to win the big game, but it’s even more important to have a winning smile! What are your favorite healthy game day snacks? Let us know in the comments below. We’d love to get some more ideas!

Happy watching to all our football fans!

Top image by Flickr user Abdulla Al Muhairi used under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

Flossing Is Essential To Your Oral Hygiene

WE’VE MENTIONED IT TIME AND TIME AGAIN… Flossing is an essential part of good oral hygiene. Many people don’t see the need for flossing when they already brush their teeth; others simply hate the task. We understand that it can be tedious! But as your trusted dental professionals, we want to assure you that flossing will greatly benefit your dental and overall health.

So, How Does Flossing Benefit My Health?

Did you know that when you don’t floss, you miss cleaning 35 percent of tooth surfaces in your mouth? That’s because brushing simply cannot get into those hard-to-reach spaces between your teeth. Unfortunately, however, bacteria can! Flossing completes brushing by cleaning the spaces your toothbrush can’t.

Regular flossing can:

• Prevent cavities. Have you ever flossed, even after brushing your teeth, and were surprised to find a remnant of your last meal? Flossing removes food debris and plaque, preventing cavity formation between the teeth, a common place for tooth decay.
• Fight bad breath. If food or plaque are left in between teeth, they will eventually release a bad smell. Yuck!
• Inhibit tartar buildup and gum disease. If left on teeth for too long, plaque hardens into tartar, which can only be removed by a dental professional. The presence of tartar can lead to gum disease and tooth loss. Gum disease is associated with other systemic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
• Improve your appearance. Food debris and plaque make teeth look more yellow and gritty. Clean, healthy teeth always appear whiter and brighter!

From years of experience, we can confidently say that flossing makes a big difference in your oral and overall health.

For Flossing To Work, It Has To Be Done Correctly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhdoPXNKNm4

To reap the benefits of flossing, it has to be done correctly. In a 2006 study, researchers wanted to see whether flossing at home had the same benefits as having daily flossing done by professionals. The study showed that participants who were flossed professionally had a 40 percent decrease in their risk of cavities than their at-home flossing counterparts. The researchers concluded that flossing, when done properly, has a substantial, positive effect on oral health.

Many people simply snap the floss in between their teeth and pull it back out. The correct way, however, is to curve the floss around the tooth, as if the floss were hugging it. Still curved around the tooth, move the floss up and down to scrape the plaque. Do the same on the other tooth.

Take The Flossing Challenge

We’d like to challenge you to make daily flossing a part of your oral healthcare routine. We promise you’ll feel the difference! If you still have questions about flossing, call or come in to see us. Seeing our patients is the best part of our day!

Top image by Flickr user angela n. used under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

Snacking Tips To Keep Your Child’s Smile Healthy

GOOD NUTRITION IS ESSENTIAL for a child’s healthy growth and development. It’s also important for their dental health! A good diet can help your child build strong, healthy teeth, while poor eating habits puts your child at a higher risk of tooth decay.

You may understand how important nutritious meals are, but one thing some parents struggle with is snack time. Here are our best tips on how to make sure your child’s snack time is tooth-friendly!

Not All Snacks Are Created Equal

Stay away from starchy, sticky or sugary foods during snack time, like dried fruit, crackers, chips and cookies. These types of snacks can stick to the teeth for long periods of time, potentially causing cavities. For snack time it’s best to opt for fruits, vegetables, nuts, yogurt and cheese.

If You Indulge, Do It During Mealtime

Don’t worry, we don’t expect you or your child to never eat sweets or starches. There is a better time to eat them than at snack time, however, and that is during meals! That’s because it’s not just important what you eat, but when you eat. At mealtime, there is an increased amount of saliva in the mouth that can help wash away those starches or sugary treats, counteract acid-producing bacteria and remineralize teeth.

Watch Out For Added Sugars

Almost all foods have some type of sugar in them. Naturally occurring sugars–like those found in milk and vegetables–are less worrisome, since these choices are healthy overall. What you want to keep an eye out for when choosing snacks are added sugars.

According to the American Dental Association, added sugar consumption should be limited to less than 10 percent of total energy intake, ideally less than five percent. To put things in perspective, one can of soda is equivalent to three times the daily recommended sugar intake of a child!

Choose Beverages Wisely

On that note, we’d like to advise parents to choose their children’s beverages wisely. Soda and juice may be your child’s preferred drinks, but milk and water are much healthier choices. Good sources of calcium, like milk, aid in building strong teeth and bones and water helps to wash away food particles that may be clinging to teeth, thus protecting against decay.

Sip All Day, Get Decay

Whether your child is drinking milk, juice or soda, don’t let them sip it throughout the day. Constant consumption of either food or drink is harmful for teeth, because not only are you feeding yourself, you’re also feeding the cavity-causing bacteria that reside in your mouth. Limit snacking to once or twice a day and have your child sip on water. If they drink anything that contains sugar, have them drink it during mealtimes or all at once.

Your Family’s Health Is Our Priority

If you have any tips or healthy snack ideas that your kids love, leave it in the comments below! At our practice, we care about the health of your whole family. Proper nutrition, especially at snack time, will ensure healthy smiles for you and your children for a lifetime!

Thank you for being part of our practice family!

Top image by Flickr user Larry Grubbs used under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

The Benefits Of Brushing With An Electric Toothbrush

BRUSHING TWICE A DAY is important to keeping your smile healthy, but what can switching from a manual to an electric toothbrush do for your oral health routine?

Electric Toothbrushes Provide Many Benefits

While a manual toothbrush can get the job done if used properly, an electric toothbrush provides benefits that go beyond simply scrubbing your teeth.

They clean teeth more thoroughly. When we brush by hand, we average about 300 strokes per minute. Electric toothbrushes can average thousands or even tens of thousands of strokes per minute depending on what technology they employ.

They’re easier for those with dexterity issues. Certain conditions–such as arthritis, limited mobility, or involuntary tremors–can make brushing with a manual toothbrush difficult. The larger handles of electric toothbrushes can be easier to hold, while the powered toothbrush head does all the cleaning for you.

They help ensure you’re brushing properly. Many electric toothbrushes feature built-in timers and pressure sensors. These features help ensure you’re not too brushing too hard and that you brush for a full two minutes.

They clean hard to reach spots around braces. Some electric toothbrushes even have special attachments made specifically for cleaning around brackets and orthodontic appliances.

Check out the video below to see how to properly use an electric toothbrush.

For more information about your oral health, please call our office. (254)799-5746

Top image by Flickr user William Warby used under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

Let Lumineers Brighten Your Smile

WOULD YOU LIKE to bring out the best of your smile? With Lumineers®, you can have a bright, beautiful smile faster than you’ve ever imagined.

Lumineers Have Many Advantages Over Traditional Veneers

Unlike traditional veneers, Lumineers are designed to be ultra-thin—about as thin as a contact lens—so they can be applied seamlessly over your teeth. Lumineers are so thin, in fact, that little to no tooth reduction is required for treatment. Traditional veneers are much thicker and often require grinding down of the original tooth structure for proper placement.

Lumineers’ innovative design not only makes application far less invasive than traditional veneers, but it also makes for a speedy treatment process. Most cases can be taken care of in as little as two visits. That’s right, only two visits!



Lumineers Solve A Variety Of Dental Problems

Here are just a few of the ways Lumineers improve smiles:

• Brighten stained and discolored teeth
• Restore chipped teeth
• Eliminate spacing and gaps
• Align crooked teeth
• Reshape small or misshapen teeth
• Renew old dental work
• Perfect your Hollywood smile

We Love Brightening Our Patients' Smiles With Lumineers

The joy of a beautiful smile is priceless. We love helping our patients achieve the smiles they’ve always wanted, and with the help of Lumineers, it’s as simple as ever. If you have questions about how Lumineers can help your smile, give us a call to set an appointment or reach out to us on social media! We’d love to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you for placing your trust in our practice. We love our patients!

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

Is Your Smile Cramping Your Style?

Let's fix that!

• Are you embarrassed by old silver-colored fillings showing up in photos?
• Are you self-conscious about the gray ridge around your crowns?
• Do you look at other people and wish you had their smile?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, we can help! 

    With today's superior quality materials, we can quickly, painlessly, and easliy replace your old fillings and crowns.  People notice a beautiful smile. It's one of the most important social links we have. And when a person is confident about their smile, they exude happiness... and that's a very attractive feature!
    If you find yourself covering your smile, drop that hand and call us for a consultation. We can whiten your old restorations quickly and have you laughing out loud in no time!

Keep Your Secret! With Invisalign

    The preferred method for straightening teeth used to be metal train-track braces. We are happy to say that Dr. Ross and Dr. Billman are certified in Invisalign, one of the most advanced components of adult cosmetics.

What is Invisalign?
It's a proven method for straightening teeth using a series of custom-made, nearly undetectable aligners. 

How does Invisalign work?
Each aligner is precisely calibrated and manufactured to custom-fit over your teeth and gently move them through every stage of your treatment. There are no metal wires and brackets, and you can still enjoy your favorite foods, and brush and floss easily.

Can I benefit?
Adults account for nearly 25% of all orthodontic patients! The most common problems are crowded teeth, teeth spaced too far apart, protruding upper or lower teeth, and upper and lower front teeth that do not touch.

How do I get started?
After consultation and deciding on a treatment plan, we take an impression of your teeth, and submit it to Invisalign. Using the latest 3-D computer technology, our instructions are translated into a series of medical-grade plastic aligners. You can view your own virtual treatment plan   when you start, so you can see how great your straight teeth will look!    

We know you'll be inspired to consider Invisalign!

Please call us for a Free Invisalign Consultation.