“Brush your teeth!”
This is my first blog post as your friendly neighborhood family dentist. So I will start with the most basic of all dental topics – brushing your teeth. Brushing your teeth is something your mother asked you to do nightly to “avoid” seeing the dentist. As a dentist I often hear from mothers to their children, “see? You should have brushed more!” While this is quite often what leads to prevention of cavities, sometimes more is at play.
Saliva
Our saliva often caries with it factors we cannot control. Sometimes the amount of calcium is low. Sometimes we have other issues going on inside of our bodies such as acid reflux. We are detectives at times as dentists to help rule out issues that may be sabotaging the success of our patients. Whether it is a filling, a crown, a veneer, or even an extraction, I must determine what is the cause for work to be done. We need a diagnosis. If the root cause is identified, we can avoid problems in the future. Home care is a big part of this and that includes brushing as well as flossing.
Pumice
Is it possible to brush too much? Absolutely. In fact, the American Dental Association recommends brushing twice daily with a toothpaste that has fluoride. Toothpastes contain pumice. Pumice is a polisher used in many fields that is also abrasive. We try and avoid highly abrasive materials on our teeth to keep them from wearing down. www.MouthHealthy.org is a great website to consult for all things dental and they specifically have videos and more recommendations on the topic of brushing https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/b/brushing-your-teeth+There is even a list available of toothpastes that are more abrasive than others!
If reading is not your thing, book an appointment with us! We would love to explain more to you directly, in office. We have several options to choose from including calling in at (530)222-0920 or visiting our website. Requesting an appointment is easy to do with our online options. Visit our page General Dentistry Services to learn more and book an appointment today should you have more questions!
