Haunted by Halitosis?

By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

How to Handle SCARY and Dreaded Chronic Bad Breath

Does the fear of halitosis keep you up at night? If so, you’re not alone. Millions of Americans suffer from chronic bad breath. But you don’t have to suffer through this waking nightmare. Fortunately, we know many of the causes of halitosis, so we can offer you ways to treat and prevent it.

What’s Causing Your Bad Breath
Halitosis is more than morning breath or lingering odor from a tuna salad sandwich. It’s caused by bacteria thriving in your mouth and sinuses. Cavities and gum disease give bacteria extra places to live and breed. Bacteria also love the mucus your body produces when you’re recovering from a cold. If you have dry mouth from medications, an illness, or alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine use, you’re also likely to experience halitosis. That’s because saliva washes away potential food for bacteria. Without saliva, bacteria thrives.

Chronic illnesses can also cause halitosis. Gastric reflux, liver disease, kidney disease, and diabetes can all cause chronic bad breath. So can smoking tobacco, which contributes to gum disease and dry mouth.

Handling Halitosis
Since you know what causes halitosis, you can take steps to treat and prevent it. If you use tobacco or drink alcohol and caffeine excessively, consider quitting. If you’re battling a cold or sinus infection, work to clear your nose and sinuses as well as brush your teeth regularly and use mouth wash for your comfort while you heal. And if you wear dentures, make sure to take them out at night and clean them well before popping them back in your mouth in the morning.

If cavities or gum disease are causing your halitosis, it’s time to book a recare appointment with Eggert Family Dentistry. We can treat your cavities and diagnose and treat gum disease to keep bacteria at bay. Continue your care at home with regular brushing and flossing. Scraping your tongue with your tooth brush or a special tongue scraper can cut down on halitosis, too.

You don’t have to be haunted by halitosis anymore. Schedule your recare appointment with us today to start treating your chronic bad breath.

Rebuilding Worn Teeth – Gina’s Story

By Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

How did this start?
Gina came to us as an established patient at one of her routine recare appointments. Dr. Elizabeth noted decay around her front teeth and Gina mentioned how she noticed wear on her teeth and she was frustrated that her teeth were deteriorating despite her efforts in caring for them. Dr. Elizabeth recommended Gina go through our records process so she could delve deeper into underlying causes behind her decaying and worn teeth.

What did Gina want?
Gina noticed a lot more wear lately and wanted to keep as many of her natural teeth as possible. She was concerned because she recently needed a root canal for one tooth and needed another tooth extracted because of a vertical root fracture. Gina wanted to take action before other teeth declined. She also wanted her teeth whiter, more even, more uniform looking and wanted things to function better. Gina wanted a conservative, comprehensive plan for restoring her teeth.

Before

What was involved?
Dr. Elizabeth used photos and x-rays of Gina’s teeth along with the results of a thorough muscle and joint evaluation to develop Gina’s plan. The details of the records process revealed that the position of Gina’s teeth caused multiple interferences when she chewed. This is why her teeth were seriously starting to break down.

Dr. Elizabeth and Gina decided that Gina’s best option for restoring her teeth would first require moving her teeth to a better position with orthodontics. Gina worked with Dr. Brian DeVoe, a local orthodontist, until she had an even biting surface. Dr. Elizabeth then worked with a local lab and together they designed a blueprint of Gina’s new front teeth out of wax. This blueprint, called a laboratory wax-up, provided the ability for Dr. Elizabeth to create Gina’s new smile. Gina wanted to be as conservative as possible so it was decided to proceed with three porcelain crowns to remove the decay and to rebuild the worn edges of Gina’s front teeth.

After

What does Gina think?
“It sounded like a lot to do at first with the orthodontics and the crowns, but I knew I needed to do something to address the cause of the breakdown. I definitely didn’t want to lose any more teeth. I am so glad I went to the consultation with the orthodontist and went through with braces. My bite feels comfortable and everything feels so good! I would tell anyone considering getting this done to do it right away.”

Keeping Your Teeth Clean with Braces

By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

We urge everyone to practice good oral hygiene habits so they can have a life-long healthy, attractive smile. If you’ve got braces, it’s especially important, and just a little trickier than it is for the unbraced.

Greater Risks with Braces

It’s especially crucial because poor care and hygiene could cause problems leading to prolonged treatment. If you want the braces chapter of your life to come to a timely conclusion, take extra good care of your teeth to avoid risk of tooth decay, gum disease or simply undesirable coloration.

Plaque and bacteria are on a mission to stick to the surfaces of your teeth and spread. Also, stains from coffee, tea, wine and other foods can discolor your enamel, and when the braces come off, they may reveal whiter squares where the brackets were attached.

Long-Term Benefits of Braces

Braces are a long-term commitment with a great payoff: Not only are well-aligned teeth more attractive, they also avoid unnecessary wear, and they’re easier to keep clean, preventing decay and cavities.

Here are our tips for making sure that when the long-anticipated unveiling takes place, your teeth look their best–and there are no unpleasant surprises.

Brush After Every Meal and Before Bed

Brushing is the number-one defense against problems. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush, an electric toothbrush, or a high-tech one like Sonicare. Inspect your bristles regularly–they’ll wear out faster than without braces, so replace your brush regularly.

Develop good brushing habits, the same as we recommend for folks without braces. Brush for two minutes each session, and develop a routine so you give equal attention to each quarter of your mouth: top and bottom, left and right. Use a smooth, circular motion when you brush, and adjust the angle to get past your hardware. Don’t press too hard or saw back and forth. Remember to brush both sides of the bracket!

Interdental Brush

Use these miniature bottle brushes to tackle gaps or spaces between teeth, and to gently clean around and underneath your braces and wires where your brush isn’t making contact. Again, be systematic: start at one end and go all the way to the other, moving the brush between each set of brackets.

Floss with a Threader Once Daily

While you’re wearing braces, a floss threader is essential. It’s just like a plastic needle and thread. It allows you to slip the floss between your teeth and address plaque at the gum line. Follow a pattern, making sure you hit every gap: top to bottom, left to right, whatever works for you. Be gentle on your gums, and don’t saw back and forth–use an up-and-down motion.

Rinse Your Mouth

Take a good mouthful of water and swish it around to dislodge any remaining debris. For an extra level of care, use an extra strength, prescription fluoride toothpaste, or minimally an over the counter fluoride rinse.

Check a Mirror

Simple — make sure you’ve gotten rid of all visible particles and don’t forget to check under your lips!.

Keeping Braces Clean is a Little Extra Work, but Worth it

Getting braces requires an extra commitment to oral hygiene, but it only takes a few minutes a day to ensure that you’re taking the best possible care of your mouth. Because you’ll probably be brushing more frequently than you did previously, put together a kit with your essentials, so you can brush on the go. Toothbrush, toothpaste, interdental brush, mirror and floss don’t take up much space, and will ensure that you don’t walk around with any embarrassing bits of food clinging to your braces.

We hope these tips reassure you that it’s easy to take great care of your teeth, with or without braces. The good oral habits you develop now will continue to serve you long after the braces are off. If you have any questions, the team at Eggert Family Dentistry is happy to help you out.

The Vital Role of Teeth and Chewing in Overall Health

By Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

It’s an unfortunate fact of life: sometimes we last longer than our teeth. It’s not uncommon to lose teeth to accidents, decay, disease or deterioration.

Replace Missing Teeth with Implants or Dentures

Dentures have historically been the go-to solution, but dentures definitely are not teeth and satisfaction varies. Some people find them awkward or painful, or have trouble chewing. Luckily, dental implants can provide a tremendous improvement. Implant technology is one of the great advances of the last few decades, and enable everyone to have a full set of functional “teeth” well into an advanced old age.

Why Tooth Replacement is Crucial to Health

If you’re facing missing teeth, why is it important to replace them?

While some people might be tempted to soldier on with missing teeth, this means relying on gum surfaces for chewing; restricting the diet to soft foods; or pureeing foods to make them palatable. We do not recommend these solutions–they may ultimately have negative impacts on the health of your mouth and body.

Jaw and Gum Issues Due to Missing Teeth

When teeth are missing, you have to work harder to chew. Natural teeth have a bite force of 200-250 pounds and dentures have a bite force around 50 pounds. The soft tissue of the gums can’t approach the strength of either. Over time, you’re at risk of suffering irritated, sore, or even infected gums, which will further diminish your chewing ability.

TMJ disorders may also result from the loss of teeth. The TMJ is the temporomandibular joint, where your jaw connects to your skull. Disorders of this joint can lead to headaches, tooth grinding, locking of the joint, and pain in the joint. When you are missing teeth, your TMJ has to work extra hard to compensate.

The integrity of the bone in the jaw depends on the resistance it experiences during the act of chewing to maintain its strength. When the act of chewing doesn’t place pressure on the jaw, the bone of the jaw weakens over time, becoming prone to fractures and potentially jeopardizing neighboring teeth.

Gastrointestinal Problems Resulting from Inadequate Chewing

Digestion is a complex process depending on multiple organs. Each organ must do its part for successful digestion. The role of chewing is more than simply mechanical and with missing teeth, things get complicated. Long story short, on a purely mechanical level, digestion depends on small food fragments. Large fragments cannot be properly broken down, resulting in incomplete digestion. This means nutrients are not fully extracted. Undigested food can lead to indigestion, discomfort, irregularity and excess gas.

Dental Implants or Dentures Restore Chewing Function

Chewing is essential for good nutrient absorption and a healthy, responsive digestive system. If teeth problems are interfering with your ability to chew, talk to us about your options. We’ll be happy to discuss a treatment plan, and explore the pros and cons of dental implants or dentures to resolve your issues and ensure your oral and digestive health.

10 Common Foods and Beverages That Stain Your Teeth

By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

Let’s face it. No one wants discolored teeth. A less than sparkling smile can be socially awkward and put a huge dent in our self-confidence. We think if we find the perfect toothpaste and commit to brushing, flossing and rinsing with mouthwash with more vigilance then maybe, just maybe, we can counteract the yellowing and staining. The reality is, although each of these components of dental care are incredibly important, we do ourselves a disservice if we don’t look at one of the main culprits of dental discoloration – our diet.
Here is a list of 10 of the top foods and beverages that may be working against our pearly white smiles…

1. Soda
We love our pop but the sugar and acid it contains don’t love our teeth. Even diet soda is highly acidic and can erode the enamel on our teeth – exposing the yellow tissue behind it. Most soda also contains artificial colors that cause staining. If you can’t kick the habit altogether consider sipping it through a straw to minimize the acidic effect.

2. Tomatoes
Tomatoes and tomato-based sauces are highly acidic – to the point where many people experience acid-reflux after consuming them! Your teeth are not immune to the effect of this acid. Tomatoes also have a deep, reddish hue which stains everything it comes into contact with – clothing, carpet and teeth included! If you’re concerned about yellowing teeth, minimizing tomato-based products will pay dividends in the dental department.

3. Tea
Tea is a healthy alternative to soda but comes with its own dental challenges! Not only is tea acidic but it contains tannins, or plant-based compounds, which make your teeth a magnet for staining. It’s helpful to rinse your mouth with water after a cup of tea or consider adding milk to your tea – the casein component of which can reduce acid and counteract the staining effect.

4. Beets
Although highly-nutritious, beets are also deeply pigmented. Consider pairing them with cheese to experience the stain-fighting benefit of casein!

5. Citrus
Citrus is well-known as highly-acidic (citric acid, anyone?). Citrus fruits, while nutrient-rich, are enamel enemies much like soda, working to break it down and expose the yellow tissue, or dentin, under it.

6. Wine
It is a common misconception that only red wines cause dental staining and decay on account of their rich pigmentation. Red wines contain much higher levels of tannins but both red and white wines are highly acidic and the acid from both red and white wine can intensify staining. A helpful tip? Enjoy hard foods such as nuts with your glass of wine to scrub away plaque and increase saliva production which helps neutralize acid.

7. Curry
If you love Indian food but also love your sparkling smile try and minimize your consumption of these beautifully-hued spices and drink plenty of water with your meal.

8. Coffee
Coffee contains both tannins and chromogens, or natural dyes, and is very acidic. As with tea, consider adding milk to your coffee to counteract staining.

9. Berries
Who doesn’t love fresh berries? They are nutritious, delicious and beautiful. Beware of their staining effect, however, and avoid berry-based jams and juices which have added sugar and compound the negative effect on your teeth.

10. Popsicles
Don’t be fooled into believing that popsicles are a benign go-to for snacking. They often contain artificial colors and are actually loaded with sugar (processed or natural) which sticks to your teeth and creates a breeding ground for discoloration.

If you are concerned about your smile and want to ensure proper care, Eggert Family Dentistry would love to help! We would be happy to assist you with a routine check up and cleaning or a professional teeth whitening treatment. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have!

 

Tooth Triage: How to Handle 9 Common Dental Emergencies

tooth emergenciesby Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

Whether they occur at the hand of a baseball bat, an auto accident, or poor dental habits, dental emergencies happen. We handle all sorts of tooth triage at Eggert Family Dentistry. Here are 9 of the most common dental emergencies we see in our office and immediate steps you can take to relieve pain and get your smile back.

  1. Soft Tissue Injuries

Jabs from metal braces or a misplaced bite can do damage to gums, cheeks, and your tongue. If you’re bleeding, rinse your mouth with a saltwater solution and apply pressure with gauze or a teabag for 30 minutes. A cold compress can also offer pain relief. If these measures don’t stop the bleeding, give us a call or go to the emergency room.

  1. Severe Toothaches

Resist the urge to put painkillers directly on the affected tooth, as this can cause burning of the gum tissue or tooth and even more pain. Instead, rinse your mouth with warm water and apply a cold compress on the outside of your mouth. Then, call us to schedule an appointment as soon as possible.

  1. Abscesses

If you have severe gum disease, tooth decay, or cracking, you may develop a painful infection called an abscess. Abscesses appear right along your gum line or at the tip of where your root would be. If left untreated, abscesses can spread infection to other parts of your body. A developing abscess often looks like a little pimple on your gums and can be painful. If you spot one, schedule your appointment with us and rinse your mouth with saltwater to alleviate any pain and draw the pus toward your gum’s surface.

  1. Lost Crown or Filling

You might be chowing down on that gooey brownie when you feel it happen—your filling or crown becomes dislodged. Call us to schedule an appointment to replace your crown or filling. In the meantime, if you’ve lost a filling and it is sharp to your tongue, you can place orthodontic wax or the temporary filling material you find at the drug store. If you’ve lost a crown, bring it along with you to your dental appointment. Sometimes we can re-use it! If you’re able, toothpaste and/or Vaseline can be used to temporarily place the crown on your tooth while you are at home. If you have pain, ibuprofen often helps or you can try clove oil, which can be a great pain reliever for teeth.

  1. Broken & Loose Braces

Wire braces are common culprits in dental emergencies. Broken wires and loose braces can poke and cut your gums, tongue, or cheeks, causing painful lacerations. If you’re unable to reposition the wire (the eraser end of a pencil is our favorite at-home tool for this), cover the wire with wax and schedule an appointment with your orthodontist to repair it. Never trim the wire—you could swallow it or breathe it into your lungs.

  1. Lodged Objects

Getting something stuck between your teeth is very uncomfortable. We recommend dental floss to try and dislodge stuck food or other objects. If floss doesn’t do the trick, call us. Don’t try to use something sharp to dislodge the stuck object, as you could injure your gums or your tooth’s enamel.

  1. Broken or Chipped Teeth

If you’ve taken a digger and chipped or broken a tooth, try to keep as many of the pieces as you can. Rinse your mouth to get any pieces left in your mouth, then apply gauze to stop any bleeding. A cold compress outside the mouth can relieve pain and reduce swelling. Then, see us right away to repair your tooth.

  1. Partially Dislodged Teeth

Partially dislodged or extruded teeth are hanging on by a thread and require immediate attention from us. Call ahead to let us know you’re coming, then get in the car with a cold compress against your mouth or cheek to reduce swelling. Take a pain reliever such as Tylenol or Advil, it is best to get this on board early on.

  1. Knocked-Out Teeth

A knocked-out tooth is a true dental emergency. Call ahead to let us know you’re coming, but don’t delay in getting to our clinic. If we can return the tooth to its socket within an hour, it has a high chance of being saved. Take the tooth with you to our clinic.  If you can keep the tooth within your cheek without swallowing it, that is a great place for it. Otherwise, if you have to hold the tooth, do so by holding it by the part that’s visible in your mouth (not the root). If the tooth is dirty, it’s okay to rinse it gently with water, but don’t scrub it or remove any attached tissue. You can try to place the tooth back in its socket (make sure you have it the right way) and it is a good idea to try if it will be more than an hour before you are able to see us.

Dental emergencies are no fun, but most are treatable if you act quickly and don’t panic. You can rely on the Eggert Family Dentistry team for your tooth triage and recare needs. Contact our clinic today to schedule your appointment.

Hudson’s Composite Bonding Success Story: Congenitally Missing Teeth

By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

A wisdom tooth that never grew in is a good thing—one less tooth to remove! However, being a child with a missing front tooth is quite a different story. Teenage years are often difficult enough without having to worry about appearance. With the emotional roller coaster of being a teen, we need to give our children any excuse to smile!

A congenitally missing tooth is one of the most common dental developmental abnormalities. In fact, roughly 20 percent of adults have at least one tooth that never developed.

Why is that number so high? Well, we’ve all heard of that person who didn’t develop all, if any, wisdom teeth. If you take wisdom teeth out of the picture, the percentage of adults with congenitally missing teeth drops to only 5 percent. Other permanent teeth we see missing are second premolars, upper lateral incisors, and lower central incisors.

Hudson’s Success Story

Hudson Before
Hudson’s Smile Before

Hudson is a 17-year-old patient of ours who never developed his upper lateral incisors. Typically, implants are the treatment of choice to replace missing teeth like this. The golden rule for teenagers is to proceed with implant placement once skeletal growth is complete. Early implant placement, at a time of continuing growth, can lead to unaesthetic final results.

Hudson wore traditional braces to improve and even out the spacing to allow room for implants once skeletal growth is complete. But, what could be done now for Hudson?

Dr. Elizabeth recommended composite bonding, which should last many years and give Hudson a fixed option to replace the missing teeth and keep his teeth from shifting. To even out Hudson’s symmetry, resin composite bonding material was added to his six front teeth to create a natural-looking smile that he can confidently wear until it’s time for implants. Hudson loves his new smile!

Hudson After
Hudson’s Smile After

Don’t let missing teeth affect your confidence. Contact us today to discuss treatment options.

Hudson Before and After
Hudson’s Smile Before and After

John’s Success Story: Replacing a Failing Bridge

By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

John came to us as an established patient at one of his routine recare appointments. Dr. Elizabeth noted decay around the edges of his expansive 6-unit bridge on his upper front teeth.

After further examination, one of the natural teeth of the bridge was showing signs of infection and needed to be removed. Dr. Elizabeth recommended John go through our records process so she could help John plan for a more stable, longer-lasting tooth replacement option for his front teeth.

What did John want his future smile to look like?

John wanted to replace his missing teeth with a stable and long-lasting solution. Dr. Elizabeth noted changes on one of the anchor teeth of John’s front bridge on radiographs, and the tooth needed to be extracted. John wanted to do what was needed to keep his natural teeth healthy and wanted to replace the front teeth with the longest lasting replacement option. John liked the look of his current bridge.

John Before
John’s Smile Before

What did Eggert Family Dentistry do?

Dr. Elizabeth used photos and x-rays of John’s teeth along with the results of a thorough muscle and joint evaluation to present John with the current health of his teeth, gums, and the function of his jaw and muscles. The details of the records process revealed that the position of John’s bridge and many of his natural teeth caused multiple interferences when he chewed. This means he was biting down unevenly, causing the breakdown of his teeth. This deterioration was negatively impacting the function of his teeth and likely contributed to the failing bridge.

Dr. Elizabeth and John decided that John’s best replacement option for the bridge would involve placing two implants and connecting them with an implant bridge. This made it possible to detach some teeth from his original bridge and allow for easier cleaning.

Before we could start with John’s implants, though, we had to address the instability in his bite. John first wore an anterior deprogrammer to take pressure off his back teeth and relax his muscles so his new bridge could be restored to a more stable, comfortable bite. John then had restorations placed on many of his back teeth to rebuild tooth structure into a better functioning bite. John then had two implants placed in front and wore a temporary bridge during the healing phase. The final phase was for Dr. Elizabeth to fabricate a new implant bridge to replace his front teeth.

What does John think of the results?

“Everything turned out great! I like how it looks and I like how it feels! Everyone comments on how nice it looks. At first, I didn’t fully understand how it was all going to come together, but I trusted Dr. Elizabeth and her abilities and I am glad I did!” John is excited to also have brightened his smile and is considering bleaching his lower teeth. Contact us to schedule your bridge consultation.

John After
John’s Smile After

Teeth Grinding – Causes & Solutions

By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

Teeth grinding is a common problem in both children and adults. It can take place in waking hours as well as while sleeping. Bruxism is a term we use to describe the habit of tooth clenching and/or grinding.

Lots of us carry some stress in our jaw muscles, and it’s no surprise that stress can be a cause of teeth grinding, but there may be more to it than that. In addition to stress and anxiety, other common causes of grinding include an abnormal bite, missing or crooked teeth, and sleep disordered breathing, often diagnosed as sleep apnea. Additionally, alcohol and tobacco use are linked with a 50% increase in teeth grinding.

Many folks grind their teeth without knowing it, so if you notice loved ones grinding away while sleeping, let them know so they can take steps to prevent it. Other symptoms that may reveal a grinding problem include headaches, especially in the morning; sore jaw joints or muscles; painful or loose teeth; and cracked or even fractured teeth. Any of these situations may lead to the need for dental interventions like crowns, implants, root canals or dentures, so it’s worth taking steps to resolve the problem.

The first step is to talk to us, your dentists, who can evaluate your mouth and jaw for possible signs of grinding. Some things we look for are excessive tooth wear and jaw tenderness, as well as how well your teeth function with each other. If we determine a dental reason for your bruxism, we might recommend splint therapy. There are many methods for splint therapy and we work to determine the most successful treatments for you, often through our records process (integrate link to other blog(s))

If stress seems to be the problem, take steps to reduce it. Consider counseling, exercise, meditation, or journaling to find a calmer state of mind. Along a similar vein, reducing or eliminating caffeine, alcohol and smoking often helps reduce bruxism.

An often overlooked, but becoming better understood, reason for bruxism is because of sleep disordered breathing. If your body can’t get enough air, especially when you are lying down and sleeping, one way your body compensates is to push the teeth around to open your airway. Ask your medical doctor to evaluate you for a sleep disorder, and start treatment if you have one. You often have to be an advocate for yourself to get the right testing and treatment and seeking a second opinion or seeking out a sleep specialist may be in order.

Break yourself of any chewing habits. Quit chewing on pens or pencils, nails and chewing gum. Habitual chewing not related to eating promotes over-active jaw muscles.

If you’re a day grinder, train yourself not to grind or clench your teeth. When you notice it happening, place the tip of your tongue at the roof of your mouth. This will remind your jaw muscles to relax.

Children also grind their teeth. They’re particularly prone to it when their baby teeth emerge and when they get their permanent teeth, and they often stop grinding once the teeth have become established. Children who grind their teeth should always be evaluated for sleep disordered breathing.

Teeth grinding may seem like a minor problem, but like any habit it becomes more entrenched over the years. After years of grinding, it can have a seriously negative impact on your oral health. Talk to us, your dentists, if you think bruxism may be a problem for you. We at Eggert Family Dentistry will help evaluate the problem and determine the right treatment for you!

Keep Your Mouth Healthy All Summer Long

By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

Summertime can make it hard for people to take good care of their teeth. Vacations, summer camp and days at the pool interfere with everyone’s schedule and unfortunately, brushing routines may suffer. Both kids and grownups may face the temptation of extra sugar, from donuts in the car on the way to the beach, to a cooler full of pop, to late night s’mores around the campfire.

Here are some tips for ensuring that when September comes, your teeth are in better shape than they were in June.

Remind kids to keep to their regular brushing and flossing schedule–and remind yourself, too.

Start summer with a fresh toothbrush for everyone, and a fresh travel brush too. Get travel-sized toothpastes for the whole family, and a few backup brushes for guests and to cover misplaced toothbrushes.

Keep the kitchen and cooler stocked with healthy snacks. Think fruits and vegetables instead of sweets. Sugar encourages bacteria and acidity in your mouth, which causes plaque to form and damage to easily occur with your enamel and gums. Every time you eat sugar, your mouth will boost acid production for up to 20 minutes.

Soda is especially harsh on teeth, containing phosphoric acid and citric acid, which weakens tooth enamel  and makes it more susceptible to cavities. Instead of soda and juice, choose iced tea or water perked up with sliced berries, citrus or cucumber and a few mint leaves.

Book check-ups before school starts again.  It is important that all members of your family see us at least  twice annually. This will also help reduce the chance that someone in your family will suffer tooth pain on vacation.

Quit tobacco. Nicotine and tar damage your gums, and encourage bacteria and plaque. Tobacco can also lead to oral cancer. Smoking and chewing are bad news for your oral health.

Have both kids and grownups wear the proper protective headgear and mouthguards for contact sports.

Enforce the rules around the pool–they’re ubiquitous for a reason! According to the Academy of General Dentistry, summer oral injuries often take place around the pool. Shallow-water dives, running on slippery pool decks, and bumping the pool ledge can easily chip or fracture a tooth or even knock one loose.

Put together a dental emergency kit for sports and vacations. Include a clean handkerchief, gauze, a clean small-lidded container, ibuprofen and our office’s contact information.

If you are around a dental injury, get the patient to our dental office ASAP. In the meantime, clean the area with warm water and apply a cold pack to reduce swelling. Use gauze to stop bleeding. If a permanent tooth has been knocked out, place it back in the mouth if possible. Otherwise, place it in salt water or milk to keep it moist and bring all fragments into our office with you.

We at Eggert Family Dentistry look forward to seeing you! Please come in for your summer checkup, and take good care of your teeth, mouth and gums so you can enjoy uneventful checkups for years to come.