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Oral Hygiene Do’s and Don’ts
The mouth is the gateway to the body… good health begins with good teeth. Tooth decay, infection and/or gum disease can lead to a variety of ailments and just generally ‘feeling bad.’ Here’s a list of Do’s and Don’ts for keeping your oral hygiene the best it can be:
Oral Hygiene Do’s
- Visit your dentist regularly for check-ups and cleaning.
- Visit an orthodontist for an evaluation if you see any of the early warning signs of orthodontic problems.
- Have your child(ren) evaluated by an orthodontist by age seven. Many orthodontic problems can be more easily corrected before tooth and facial growth is complete.
- Brush your teeth at least twice a day using a soft-bristled toothbrush and a fluoride toothpaste.
- Floss between your teeth at least once a day, after dinner and before bedtime. (Tip: Use toothpaste on your floss for extra fresh breath.)
- Rinse and gargle with the mouthwash, ideally right before bedtime.
- Eat a balanced diet, limit between-meal snacks and eliminate sugary foods.
- Clean your tongue when your brush your teeth. (Tip: Instead of using toothpaste to brush your tongue, dip your toothbrush in mouthwash.)
- Drink plenty of liquids, especially water to keep your mouth moist. (Tip: If your mouth is dry, try sucking in your cheeks as if eating something sour to increase flow from the salivary glands.)
Oral Hygiene Don’ts
- Don’t forget to clean behind your back teeth.
- Don’t give mouthwash or fluoride toothpaste to young children, as they can swallow it.
- Don’t clean your tongue so hard that it hurts.
- Don’t rely on mouthwash alone too keep your teeth and gums clean and your breath fresh. Practice complete oral hygiene.
- Don’t ignore your gums – you can lose your teeth as well as have bad breath.
- Don’t drink too much coffee.
- Don’t smoke.
For those wearing braces or other orthodontic appliances, keeping teeth and gums clean may take a bit more time, but the resulting smile will be worth the effort. If you wear braces…
Braces Do’s
- Brush after every meal. If you can’t brush right away, rinse your mouth (and removable appliance) with water.
- Floss every day. Your orthodontist can give you a floss threader if you’re having difficulties.
- Chew only sugarless gum.
- Call your orthodontist if anything is loose or broken.
Braces Don’ts
- Don’t miss your orthodontic appointments. Missed or delayed appointments mean you’ll have to wear your braces longer.
- Don’t eat hard, sticky or chewy foods, crunchy foods.
- Don’t chew on pens, pencils, ice, fingernails or anything that might break your braces.
Shiny clean teeth and fresh breath are good reasons for practicing good oral hygiene, but the most important reason is that keeping your gums and teeth clean and healthy will help you keep your teeth throughout your life. Although some diseases and conditions can make dental disease and tooth loss more likely, most of us have a great deal of control over whether we keep our teeth into old age. Wouldn’t you rather be chewing with your own natural teeth?
By FROST
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Posted in Uncategorized
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Tagged braces, Damon braces, Damon Clear, Damon Clear Braces, Damon System, Dr. Stuart Frost, Frost Orthodontics, Hygiene, Oral hygiene, orthodontist, Stuart Frost DDS, teeth, www.frostortho.com
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 How Much Do You Know About St. Patrick’s Day?
1. When is St. Patrick’s Day celebrated every year?
A. The third Sunday in March
B. The second Wednesday in March
C. March 17th
2. St. Patrick drove snakes from Ireland by:
A. Playing a flute
B. Banging a drum
C. Eating shamrocks
3. While he was in Ireland, St. Patrick:
A. Converted the Irish to Christianity
B. Herded and tended sheep and swine
C. Drove snakes and venomous beasts away
4. St. Patrick is the:
A. Patron saint of Ireland
B. Patron saint of snakes
C. Patron saint of Britain
5. Leprechauns are:
A. The national symbol of Ireland
B. Real creatures who drink mead
C. Self-appointed guardian of ancient treasure
***Answer all correct & you’re entered into a drawing to win a Frost Orthodontics t-shirt***
Drawing will be held on Tuesday, March 30th!
What if I have a problem and you are not open?
In case of an EXTREME EMERGENCY, such as a trauma or injury, please call our office for instructions. We always have an assistant that is on call. Remember, true emergencies are rare.
| Problem |
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Solution |
| Wire Poke |
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Apply wax over the brace or wire that is poking you. Call the office for an appointment to have the wire trimmed. |
| Broken Bracket |
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Call the office for an appointment to have it repaired If you are wearing rubber bands discontinue wearing them until your braces have been repaired. |
| Need Rubberbands |
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Call the office and we will mail some to you, or you can stop by to pick them up. |
If you have a bracket that comes loose, please call our office to set-up an appointment for repair. 480.325.7500
When you have brackets come loose, please keep the bracket and bring it with you to your appointment. After the bracket has been bonded, eat soft foods for the next 48 hours. This allows the bracket and bond material to cure.
Treat your appliance and braces with care as you would an expensive piece of jewelry. Please remember in order to receive the best possible result, patients must remember to eat proper foods and brush after each meal.
By FROST
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Posted in Treatment
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Tagged braces, brackets, broke bracket, broken bracket, Damon braces, Damon Clear, Damon System, Dr. Stuart Frost, Frost Orthodontics, Gilbert, loose bracket, Mesa, orthodontist, Treatment, www.frostortho.com
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Foods to avoid while wearing braces:
Gummy bears
Chewing ice
Hard bread
Hard pretzels
Apples
Carrots
Popcorn
Frozen candy bars
Nuts
Hard candies
Sticky candies
Meat on the bone
Beef jerky
Celery
Granola bars
Corn on the cob
Bubble gum
Tootsie rolls
Crunchy chips
Hard Tacos
By FROST
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Posted in Treatment
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Tagged braces, brackets, Damon braces, Damon Clear, Damon System, Dr. Stuart Frost, food not to eat, Food to avoid, Frost Orthodontics, orthodontist, patient, Treatment, what can i eat, www.frostortho.com
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Dr. Frost & his staff want to give each & every patient the best possible care. To help achieve this goal we also need the participation of each and every patient. The following will help with maintaining your braces.
Always be sure to eat the proper foods during orthodontic wear. Eating hard, sticky foods can result in breakage.
The following foods should not be eaten:
Nuts, ice, crisp taco shells, whole apples and carrots (cut them into very small pieces), hard french bread and rolls, spare ribs, corn on the cob (cut the corn off before eating), and popcorn. These foods risk breaking brackets and wires.
Also, beware of nail, pen or pencil chewing habits. These can damage your braces as well. Do not eat sticky foods such as caramels, bubble gum, and sticky candy of any sort.
A small piece of sugarless gum occasionally is acceptable. Use common sense about most foods.
If you have any questions, call our office at 480.325.7500 or ask your assistant at your next appointment.
By FROST
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Posted in Treatment
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Tagged braces, brackets, Damon braces, Damon Clear, Damon System, Dr. Stuart Frost, Frost Orthodontics, orthodontics, What not to eat, What to eat, www.frostortho.com
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To understand why any food would be considered ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for your teeth, it’s important to understand how food affects your teeth. Plaque is a film of bacteria that forms from the bacteria that naturally live in your mouth and uses carbohydrates in the food you eat to produce acid, which can attack your dental enamel and cause demineralization, leading to cavities. In the decades since the cavity-preventing characteristics of fluoride was discovered, diet has become a lesser factor in cavity prevention than it was in the past. Also, research has changed the way we view the foods once considered ‘bad’ or ‘good.’
Research does indicate that certain snack foods have anti-cavity power. For instance, cheese stimulates production of saliva which clears carbohydrates (sugars and starches) and harmful acids, re-mineralizes teeth, and also neutralizes harmful acids. New research even indicates that cheese coupled with good oral hygiene can heal small breaks in tooth enamel. Studies also show that peanuts and cashews fight plaque and neutralize the bacteria that cause tooth decay.
Research also indicates that some of the foods previously thought ‘bad’ might not be as bad as others. You might think sugary snacks would be ‘bad’, but recent research has shown that cooked starches can stay in your mouth longer than some candy, which is more quickly washed away by saliva. If complex carbohydrates like bread, cereal, pasta, crackers or potato chips remain in your mouth for several hours, the bacteria that live in your mouth will break them down into sugars, producing acids that attack your tooth enamel. Even fruit can cause acid formation on your teeth if it’s not cleaned away. While foods such as cheese, nuts, milk, fruits and vegetables contribute to strong bones and healthy teeth and gums, they can set you up for tooth decay if your oral hygiene is poor.
For those wearing braces, dietary requirements are a bit different. You need avoid foods that would cause acid attacks on your teeth, and you also should avoid anything that would break or bend your appliances. It’s easy if you just remember, ‘Don’t eat or chew anything crunchy, munchy or sticky.’
Instead of saying that some foods are ‘bad’ for your mouth, you’re better off following these simple rules:
- Reserve sugars and cooked starches are for mealtime when saliva production is increased and naturally rinsing foods and beverages are being consumed.
- Limit the frequency of snacks and drinks containing carbohydrates.
- Brush twice daily with toothpaste containing fluoride.
- Floss at least once a day.
- Don’t consume any food after your last brushing at night.
- Don’t take food to bed.
- If you have a baby still nursing or using a bottle, be sure to clean his or her teeth after each feeding.
A balanced diet of healthy foods and snacks is always best for your health, but the best way to keep your teeth and gums healthy is to limit between meal snacks and to practice a regime of excellent oral hygiene.
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February 26, 2010 – 7:39 pm |
Congratulations on your new braces!
We want to give you some simple guidlines for the 2 – 3 days after you get your braces. The following is a list of foods that might make your first few days with braces more comfortable. These foods are softer and easier to chew.
Soup
Shakes
Omelets
Quiche
Fish
Yogurt
Chili
Spaghetti
Scrambles Eggs
Cooked Cereal
Macaroni & Cheese
Steamed Vegetables
Mashed Potatoes
Sloppy Joes
Jello
Pudding
Ice Cream
Cheesy Potatoes
Pancakes
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February 25, 2010 – 7:22 pm |
Wear a mouth guard for any contact sport (soccer, yes; chess, probably not). Mouth guards can help prevent jaw, mouth and teeth injuries and are less costly than recovering from the injury.
Wear a helmet and it will protect your head by absorbing the energy of an impact. You don’t have to lose your head because you take a spill when cycling, snowboarding, rollerblading or horseback riding.
Wear protective eyewear so your mom won’t have to say, “You’ll poke your eye out.” More importantly, you’ll be able to keep your eye on the tennis ball, baseball, football, etc.
Wear a face shield to keep your skin free from scratches and bruises. Hockey pucks, basketballs, and racquetballs can do severe damage.
Be aware of family pets. Each year roughly 44,000 people incur facial injuries from dog bites. Children should be supervised when playing with family pets (cats and rabbits too).
Buckle up and use appropriate child safety seats. Passengers who don’t buckle up are more likely to have a brain injury in a crash than the buckled driver.
Keep babies and toddlers safe. They crawl and climb, so pad sharp corners of tables, use safety locks on cabinets, install stairwell safety gates, and secure windows. They also teethe, so hide the sharp pencils.
Be alert. Alert spectators can avoid foul baseballs and flying hockey pucks. Watch your step when climbing up bleachers.
Use common sense. If an activity carries risk of dental or facial injury, wear the right protective gear. Without it, even a pickup basketball game could result in a trip to the emergency room.
Ask the experts. To learn more, visit www.aaoms.org, www.braces.org and www.aapd.org.
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February 22, 2010 – 6:50 pm |
Repost-
I left Phoenix behind me as I flew to the Dallas airport in a rush. We had just finished half a day of seeing patients and I knew that this flight to Dallas would be short but enough time for me to wind down from the busy day. Good bye Phoenix, hello Lone-star state.
We caught the red-eye flight out to Sao Paulo, Brazil. I had a nice little seat with in-flight entertainment and enough room to catch some shut-eye on the way over. We left the country of Stars and Stripes and ascended into the friendly foreign skies.
I arrived at 7:00 am and was met by Carlos and Miriam who are Ormco “dealers” in Sao Paulo. They aren’t sales reps like we have in the US; they were more like car salesmen. That’s how they do it in Brazil.
We were anticipating horrible traffic, as the morning traffic is usually congested and takes quite a long time to get from here to there throughout the city. We were relieved to find that this morning, it was like the freeways opened up just so I could see the scenery without frustration. It only took us 30 minutes to get to the hotel.
I checked in and decided I didn’t’ want to waste time sitting by myself in the hotel. I wasn’t going to be speaking until the next day, so I ventured out to the mall. It looked a lot like an American mall. It was a fun little adventure, but kind of scary going out by myself. I spent about 4 hours there roaming around, trying to speak to people, which was quite a chore. Not many people in Sao Paulo speak English even though it is a large city. Everyone was looking at me funny when I spoke English to them. There were interesting things to see and I sat for a bit to people watch.
I was really surprised by the Japanese and Italian influence there. A lot of Japanese and Italian families from Asia and Europe moved 3 generations ago to Brazil. So you have people that look Japanese that speak Portuguese. It was interesting to see a melting pot in a country I didn’t know was multi-racial. Everywhere I went the people were great. Very nice, and very friendly to me.
The food was fantastic! It was a lot of beef, rice and black beans. One cool dish I liked was called Slave Soup, which was black bean soup with pork or beef and other spices. I was told how this dish came about. It was a surprise to me that there used to be a lot of slavery in Brazil. Apparently, the slaves would use the leftover pork that their owners didn’t want to make this soup. The smell of it would waft through the fields up to the owners houses. The slave owners would smell the soup and they couldn’t resist, so they would go out into the fields to get some.
I went to a great restaurant called Fogo de Chão the first night. It’s a Churrascaria style steakhouse where they serve 15 different cuts of meat and continuous table side service. Basically all you can eat! It was excellent. I realized later that there is a Fogo de Chão in Scottsdale. So, I guess it’s authentic!
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