At What Age Should My Child Have His First Dental Visit?

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All of us want to do right by our kids, and give them every push and opportunity to make something great of themselves. Helping them develop an attractive dentition is a big part of this preparation. I prefer seeing your child about one to three months after birth to at least take a look and go over healthy feeding habits and do a little bonding and positive relationship-building with the child and parents.

Every child and adult need a 'dental home' to call their very own. The American Association of Pediatric Dentistry emphasizes that children should have their first visit by their first birthdays. At that first visit, the lifestyle and risk factors of the child will be examined.

I’ll ask if the parents or siblings or caregivers have cavities (because they may unknowingly transmit infectious mouth germs to the baby that might cause a higher possibility of a lifetime of caries- especially if introduced into the mouth in that critical ‘window’ from birth to 6 months of age), are significant amounts of sweets consumed in the home, and if the  family drinks optimally fluoridated water ( 1 part per million fluoride in water).

I also go over things like are there any oral habits practiced like thumb- or finger-sucking, is the child bottle or breast fed, and when teething might happen and what to do about it. I also stress that the parents try to accident-proof the home as much as possible (cover electrical sockets, round out sharp corners on low tables, etc.).

The teeth and gums will be checked. How the bite comes together will also be assessed. I'd like to know if the baby smiles yet. If the baby does bottle or sippy-cup feeding at night, I will emphasize that only water be should be given while sleeping , because it doesn't cause cavitation of the enamel, especially of the upper front teeth.

We will show the parent how to clean the young child's teeth with a toothbrush or gauze and fluoride-free toothpaste, and what to expect in the child's development in the coming months. Parents are asked to look in the child's mouth frequently to notice any changes. A plan for follow-up care and appointment frequency will be formulated. A fluoride varnish may be applied on the teeth for more fortification against cavities.

If you keep your child's mouth cavity-free, then they won't need uncomfortable treatments, and they won't mind coming back for dental checks! Plus, when they grow up, they may keep visiting their dental home and experience a lifetime of good dental health, and overall health, to help them succeed in life.

May you have many…oh so cute and squeezable, a future happy adult, never had a cavity!…smiles!

Straight Or Gay, Your Smile Still Needs To Radiate “Hotness!”

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Make no mistake about it! People who look at us can quickly and critically profile our smiles all up and down, and sideways in a half a nanosecond!

No matter how we live and share our lives with our loved ones, and with the world around us, our smiles still need to be at least half-way decent .  

But, better yet, our smiles should have some superlative, and maybe even some ethereally-magnetic qualities about them, that sets us apart, gets us noticed, and creates a nice following for us.

Let’s face it, we all want others to press our social media and facial “like” buttons, and for our psychological health, we all want to be accepted. That’s a basic human need.

But if our smiles don’t have those required tangible and intangible “Hotness Factors,” we might be seen as lacking, especially to those who like to check out our “packages” closely!

In other words, you don’t want a lukewarm or even chilly smile about you…you want your smile to “throw heat!”

Missing front teeth, off-colored teeth, crooked teeth, and excessively-spaced teeth, among many other things, can all splash a big, drenching bucket of ice-cold water on any “Hotness” your smile hopes to exude.

Many anatomic, cosmetic, and synergistic factors are evaluated to determine a person’s “Smile Hotness ,” which numerically reveals an impact score called the Winge Orality Quotient  (WAQ), viewable on YouTube.

Ranging from 1 to 10, (or from “badly needing rehab” to “supremely smokin’,” so to speak), a person’s WOQ directly and inextricably contributes, in part, to what brand and celebrity publicists call one’s “Q” rating.

So if you want your smile to be rated favorably by family and friends (and jealous foes) alike, get your pearly whites together and keep them maintained with the help of your “Hotness Factors Dispensing Dentists!”

May you have many… living life with unbridled passion...show me yours and I’ll show you mine...I can feel your smile’s “Hotness” when we kiss!…smiles!

"Floss Only The Teeth That…...

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"Floss Only The Teeth That…...

... you want to keep!"

In reality, that statement is more serious than it is sarcastic, especially if you have permanent teeth. Flossing helps to remove the constantly-forming dental plaque from the two surfaces of a tooth (between the teeth) where the toothbrush can't reach.

Toothbrushing helps to remove plaque from the remaining, easily accessible three side of a tooth (the cheek or lip side, the tongue side, and the biting or chewing side). Flossing and brushing perfectly complement each other to significantly reduce the plaque/biofilm around the whole mouth. The author recommends that you floss first, then brush, then finish with an enamel remineralizing rinse.

Before one flosses, it is recommended at he or she wash the hands thoroughly, maybe even two times, the first time to get the hand’s surface oils off, and the second time to actually remove bacteria, other microbes, and deeper debris. Or just use gloves. But remember that frequent hand washing is a good preventive measure anyway.

Food left between teeth gets degraded by the millions of bacteria there and can cause a "rotten food" smell of the breath (from the sulfur-containing bacterial end products produced). Acids are also produced by some of the bacteria.

Those acids can work to remove minerals from the between teeth areas, which, if not replaced by remineralization, may eventually lead to cavities being formed between teeth, and gum irritation, leading to gingivitis (red and swollen gums). If plaque is not removed from the teeth regularly, at least once a day, it can harden by crystallizing into tartar (calculus).

The presence of tartar above, at, and especially, under the gums can accelerate the loss of bone which holds the teeth in place, a condition called periodontitis, or gum disease. Bacteria can enter the blood stream through diseased gums and spread to other parts of the body wreaking havoc.

So, in a way, collecting frequent flosser miles regularly, can save your life!

May you have many…flossed-up and ready, can you believe that some bikinis are made of this, everybody had bad breath before floss came out… smiles!

Dental Veneers May Be Just What You Need To…

The HSR's going to POUR PROTECTION on your "free at last" smile!

…give your two rows of teeth the perfection and recognition they deserve! Both your smile and your face will thank you for investing in them by giving you a greatly improved look!

Dental veneers are shaped like the front of a virgin natural tooth.  They are thin—only about ½ a millimeter thick--which is almost the thickness of a fingernail.

They are great for covering imperfections in the teeth, or to just make the teeth whiter and more attractive.

Veneers can give new life to teeth that are stained, worn, and chipped. Front teeth that have visible edges of old fillings are great candidates for this procedure.

Slightly crooked teeth, if straightened first with ortho, can look spectacular after a veneer covering.

Slight spacing between the front teeth can be closed with these dental facades. However, if large spacings are closed with veneers, the resulting teeth may look too wide in appearance. So in this case, orthodontic correction before veneers are placed makes a lot of sense.

Direct veneers can be placed in one visit, and are made of composite plastic material. No tooth structure may need to be removed or “prepped” with this type of direct bonding technique. If a direct veneer breaks, it’s no big deal to repair the restoration. If a patient changes his or her mind, and wants them off, they can be removed easily. In three or four years, surface staining may occur. In that case, the surface of the composite can be refreshened, and brought back to its original shine.

Indirect, or laboratory-processed porcelain veneers are more expensive than the direct option and are way more lifelike, but small amounts of enamel need to be removed to make room for the veneer. This is an irreversible procedure. These laminates may need replacing every 5 to 10 years. 

If a piece breaks off, it cannot be repaired, a new one has to be made. Impressions need to be taken of the veneer-prepared teeth, and sent to the dental lab. In about 2 weeks, the finished case is returned to the dental office, where the patient will have them applied to the teeth. The veneers will be temporarily tried on before final cementation, and any last minute trimming is accomplished so the veneers fit into the bite. 

Care must be taken so too much force or stresses aren’t put on the veneers—they can break. Patients can wear a mouth guard at night to protect their significant investments. People who grind at night should not get porcelain veneers because of the possibility of repeated fracturing. 

Staining can be picked up over time, so rinse out quickly after drinking coffee, tea, red wine or other dark beverages.  

Your smile can be specifically engineered for perfection. Balanced and precise anatomical form can be achieved. Naturally-occuring “Golden Proportion” principles that are found everywhere in nature, are incorporated into your finished smile to give it guaranteed attractivity and the elusive and mysterious aura of an enviable smile!

Your veneers don’t need any special care. Twice-daily brushing, once-daily flossing, and daily fluoride rinsing, along with regular dentist visits, will help keep your whole mouth in tiptop shape!

May you have many…, the best money can buy, hypnotically beautiful, my--what smooth teeth lines you have my dear…smiles!