Great New Year’s Resolutions for a Healthy Smile

Every new year we all get a fresh start, an opportunity to make changes in our lives. You may be considering resolving to save more money, get a better job or lose weight. Many people set new goals about having a healthier lifestyle in the new year. Why not make one of your New Year’s resolutions improving your dental health? Below are a few healthy resolutions can keep your teeth healthy for years to come.

Brush at Least Twice a Day and Floss at Least Once a Day

Brushing and flossing protect your teeth from decay and gum disease, which is caused by your teeth’s most persistent enemy, plaque – a sticky, colorless, invisible film of harmful bacteria that builds up on your teeth every day. Both brushing and flossing are equally important for good oral health: according to the Academy of General Dentistry, only flossing can remove plaque from between teeth and below the gumline, where decay and gum disease often begins.

Without proper brushing and flossing, you may develop bleeding gums, which may worsen to severely swollen, red, bleeding gums (gingivitis) and, eventually, gum disease. Because diseases of the mouth can affect the rest of your body, it is especially important to maintain good oral health.

Change Your Toothbrush at Least Every Three Months

Even though your brush may look normal, after three months the bristles become weakened and are not effective. It is also a good idea to get a new toothbrush after an illness. And never (yuck) share your toothbrush with anyone.

 

Eat your Fruits and Vegetables

Eating well is important not just for your overall health, but for your dental health as well. Poor nutrition can affect the entire immune system, increasing the susceptibility to many common dental problems such as gum disease. Antioxidants and other nutrients found in fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts improve your body’s ability to fight bacteria and other inflammation, helping to protect your teeth and gums. In addition, crisp fruits and raw vegetables like apples, carrots and celery help clean plaque from teeth and freshen breath.

For this new year, resolve to treat your mouth right: improve your diet, quit smoking and improve your oral hygiene habits – your teeth and your body will thank you for it!

 

Happy New Year!!!

Bloch Dentistry Center specializes in a wide range of dental services including: general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, teeth whitening, veneers, dental implants, root canals, periodontic treatments, and reconstructive dentistry. 

Call our friendly staff to schedule an appointment at (305)385-5555 or visit our website at http://www.BlochDentistry.com. We want to see you smile!

 

 

Maintaining a Great Holiday Smile: Dental Tips to Help You Smile Through the Holidays!

With a busy holiday schedule, proper dental care and maintenance can be a challenge. However, taking care of your teeth should not be one of those forgotten routines.  In fact it is better to brush and floss more often during this time of heavenly meals and delectable sweets.  Below are a few dental care tips to help maintain your holiday smile:

Don't over-indulge in sweet cocktails and drinks. Not only can excessively sweet drinks cause weight gain, but they can also result in tooth decay. When drinking in a social setting, order club soda with lime. If choosing among alcoholic drinks, a dry red or white wine is preferable to a piña colada, mojito, or daiquiri.
Your teeth are not tools – During the holiday season, there are a multitude of different seasonal nuts and seeds.  To handle those nuts you need a nutcracker not your teeth.  Biting to crack a nut can do just the opposite; it can crack the tooth leaving the nut in its original state and you in pain.  Avoid using your teeth as tools to crack nuts, open bottles, and bit things that just don’t belong there.
Don't forget about emergency dental contacts. Many dental offices close over the holidays. Be sure to ask the dentist when he or she is planning on taking a vacation and obtain some emergency dental contact phone numbers and locations. One can never predict just when a crown might break during a Thanksgiving Day celebration, or a filling fall out on New Year's Eve.

Our practice wants to wish you a happy and safe Holiday Season! Keep smiling!

Bloch Dentistry Center specializes in a wide range of dental services including: general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, teeth whitening, veneers, dental implants, root canals, periodontic treatments, and reconstructive dentistry.

Call our friendly staff to schedule an appointment at (305)385-5555 or visit our website at http://www.BlochDentistry.com. We want to see you smile!

Great Ways To Improve Your Smile Today

Teeth whitening is an easy way to give your self-confidence a boost and get a winning smile. If you are ashamed to smile and show your teeth, you have the perfect reason to do something to give you whiter teeth and a better smile. Use the tips given in this article as a way to help you whiten your teeth successfully.

Always eat and drink with care after your teeth have just been whitened. Whitened teeth are more susceptible to stains. Dark-colored foods and drinks may stain or discolor newly whitened teeth. Coffee is a prime example of the type of drink that could cause a discoloration to the teeth once it has soaked in.

Follow a healthy diet consisting of raw fruits and vegetables. Fast food or processed foods can discolor your teeth and will not whiten them like raw food can. Do the best you can to have healthy teeth by not consuming these foods. If you choose to eat constantly, it will result in discoloration and an overall unhealthy gum-line.

You may develop a sensitivity to some teeth whitening products. This is usually temporary, but it still hurts none the less. Make sure you go to your dentist if this begins to occur. You can learn something insightful at the dentist's office, they can help you manage your problem.

As was stated before, teeth whitening can do wonders for your life by boosting your self confidence. Being able to smile freely and have teeth that you're proud of can make all the difference in your life. If you apply these simple methods, you'll see how easy it is to get a great smile and beautiful, white teeth.

Bloch Dentistry Center specializes in a wide range of dental services including: general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, teeth whitening, veneers, dental implants, root canals, periodontic treatments, and reconstructive dentistry.

Call our friendly staff to schedule an appointment at (305)385-5555 or visit our website at http://www.BlochDentistry.com. We want to see you smile!

The Advantages of Dental Implants

The Advantages of Dental Implants

If you’ve lost one or more teeth, there are three options for permanent or semi-permanent replacement: dentures, bridges, and dental implants. Although dental implants are the most expensive of the three, they are generally considered the best option. Here are some of the advantages of dental implants over dentures and bridges.

1. Dental implants stimulate the jaw.
   The number one problem with both bridges and dentures is that they don’t stimulate the jaw when you chew. As a result, the jawbone starts to deteriorate. This bone loss causes changes in the facial structure that make you look much older.
2. They don’t move around.
   Dentures can slip and make chewing uncomfortable. Dental implants are permanently anchored to the jawbone, so they stay firmly in place, even while you are chewing.
3. You can eat anything you want.
   Dental implants give you the ability to eat what you want. With dentures and removable bridges, wearers often find that they have to avoid certain foods because they cause the replacement teeth to move around or pop out of place.
4. Dental implants don’t interfere with speech or taste.
   Full dentures cover the roof of the mouth, which can interfere with both speech and taste. Dental implants and bridges do not have this problem.
5. Dental implants are easier to care for than dentures.
   One thing many denture wearers hate is having to remove the dentures for cleaning. With fixed bridges and implants, cleaning is as simple as caring for your natural teeth.
6. Your healthy teeth are not affected.
   For full dentures, you may have to have teeth pulled that could be saved. For bridges, the healthy teeth on either side of the bridge are reshaped to accommodate the bridge. This can result in sensitivity of the previously healthy teeth and/or increase the likelihood that the adjoining teeth will decay, resulting in the need for extraction or a root canal.
7. You’ll have improved confidence and self-esteem.
   Any tooth replacement option is better for your self-esteem than having a gap where the tooth should be. Some people are self-conscious about dentures and removable bridges because they worry about them coming loose. If your dentures cause you difficulty speaking, that will add to the psychological impact of the new teeth. Implants and fixed bridges generally look, feel, and act like real teeth, so you can live your life confidently, without being embarrassed by your teeth.
8. They are permanent. Unlike dentures and bridges, dental implants can be expected to last for the rest of your life in most cases. Dentures and bridges have an average life expectancy of 5-10 years, but can sometimes last 20 years or more if they are well cared for.

Whatever method of tooth replacement you choose, it is important to act quickly. If you wait too long, the adjacent teeth can drift into the empty space or spaces, causing problems with your bite and adding orthodontic work to your treatment. The jawbone will also start to deteriorate over time, increasing the chances that you will need to get a bone graft before you can get your implants

Bloch Dentistry Center specializes in a wide range of dental services including: general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, teeth whitening, veneers, dental implants, root canals, periodontic treatments, and reconstructive dentistry.

Call our friendly staff to schedule an appointment at (305)385-5555 or visit our website at http://www.BlochDentistry.com  We want to see you smile!

Pumpkin and Oral Health?

What Makes a Pumpkin Great (For Your Teeth)

• Potassium—Many different influences can affect the state of your oral health. One of these influences is hypertension, or high blood pressure. Typically, hypertension does not directly cause dental issues, but the condition can prevent you from undergoing much-needed dental treatment. Potassium, which helps regulate our sodium intake, helps maintain normal blood pressure levels, simplifying the dental treatment process, should you need dental work done.

• Zinc—This mineral is essential for your body’s health and growth. Zinc deficiency can lead to a decreased sense of smell and taste, as well as a diminished wound-healing ability, which can negatively affect your mouth’s natural healing properties and exacerbate oral health issues like gum disease. Zinc also strengthens bones, helping to ensure that your gums and teeth rest on a solid foundation of jawbone.

• Antioxidants—In the world of supplements, minerals, nutrients, and other health-related nutritional topics, antioxidants are sort of a superstar. The agents hunt down and eliminate harmful biological substances, like free radicals that can lead to certain cancers or foreign microbes that can lead to serious infection. Pumpkins have an abundance of antioxidants, increasing your body’s (and mouth’s) protection against disease.

• Fiber—Because they are packed with fiber, pumpkins can also benefit those who wish to lose weight. Fiber helps balance your weight, lower your cholesterol, and regulate your digestive system. Maintaining a healthy weight also benefits your oral health, since obesity has been linked to higher risks of tooth decay and gum disease.

Keep Your Mouth and Body Healthy

This holiday, remember to eat well for your oral health as well as your physical wellbeing!

Call our friendly staff to schedule an appointment at (305)385-5555 or visit our website at http://www.BlochDentistry.com. We want to see you smile!

Osteoporosis and Oral Health

It’s important to let your dentist know about all the medications that you take. That’s because certain medications can influence dental treatment decisions.
In the case of antiresorptive agents—medicines that help strengthen bones—these medications have been associated with a rare but serious condition called osteonecrosis (OSS-tee-oh-ne-KRO-sis) of the jaw (ONJ) that can cause severe damage to the jawbone.

Some antiresorptive agents, such as Fosamax, Actonel, Atelvia, Didronel and Boniva, are taken orally to help prevent or treat osteoporosis (thinning of bone) and Paget's disease of the bone, a disorder that involves abnormal bone destruction and regrowth, which can result in deformity. Others antiresorptive agents, such as Boniva IV, Reclast or Prolia, are administered by injection. Higher and more frequent dosing of these agents is given as part of cancer therapy to reduce bone pain and hypercalcemia of malignancy (abnormally high calcium levels in the blood) associated with metastatic breast cancer, prostate cancer and multiple myeloma.

How do these medications affect dental treatment plans?
While osteonecrosis of the jaw can occur spontaneously, it more commonly occurs after dental procedures that affect the bone or associated tissues (for example, pulling a tooth). Be sure to tell your dentist if you are taking antiresorptive agents so he or she can take that into account when developing your treatment plan.

It’s not possible to say who will develop osteonecrosis and who will not. Most people (more than 90 percent) diagnosed with ONJ associated with these medications are patients with cancer who are receiving or have received repeated high doses of antiresorptive agents through an infusion. The other 10 percent (of people with ONJ) were receiving much lower doses of these medications for treatment of osteoporosis. It may be beneficial for anyone who will be starting osteoporosis treatment with antiresorptive agents to see their dentist before beginning treatment or shortly after. This way, you and your dentist can ensure that you have good oral health going into treatment and develop a plan that will keep your mouth healthy during treatment.

Continue regular dental visits
If you are taking antiresorptive agents for the treatment of osteoporosis, you typically do not need to avoid or postpone dental treatment. The risk of developing osteonecrosis of the jaw is very low. By contrast, untreated dental disease can progress to become more serious, perhaps even involving the bone and associated tissues, increasing the chances that you might need more invasive treatment. People who are taking antiresorptive agents for cancer treatment should avoid invasive dental treatments, if possible. Ideally, these patients should have a dental examination before beginning therapy with antiresorptive agents so that any oral disease can be treated. Let your dentist know that you will be starting therapy with these drugs. Likewise, let your physician know if you recently have had dental treatment.

Talk to your physician before ending medications
It is not generally recommended that patients stop taking their osteoporosis medications. The risk of developing bone weakness and a possible fracture is higher than those of developing osteonecrosis.
Talk to your physician before you stop taking any medication.

Symptoms of osteonecrosis of the jaw include, but are not limited to:

• pain, swelling, or infection of the gums or jaw
• injured or recently treated gums that are not healing
• loose teeth
• numbness or a feeling of heaviness in the jaw
• exposed bone

Contact your dentist, general physician or oncologist right away if you develop any of these symptoms after dental treatment.

Bloch Dentistry Center specializes in a wide range of dental services including: general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, teeth whitening, veneers, dental implants, root canals, periodontic treatments, and reconstructive dentistry.

Call our friendly staff to schedule an appointment at (305)385-5555 or visit our website at http://www.BlochDentistry.com. We want to see you smile!