Monthly Archives: September 2011

Tweet Tweet! From The Dentist Chair

29 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in Adult Dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, General Dentistry, oral hygeine

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Celebrities are just like us!  They go to the dentist to get their pearly whites taken care of.  No pain, no gain, right?

Here are a few celebrity Tweets reminding us just how cool the dentist chair really is!

It’s no secret that reality-TV star Kim Kardashian keeps up her gorgeous smile.  She has her dentist to thank for it!  “At the dentist for a good teeth cleaning! This is serious!” she Tweeted.

This singer-songwriter and runner-up to Season 9’s American Idol shared a photo of her gap-less smile.  “Whats NOT missing in this picture?????? Yeah. That’s right,” Crystal Bowersox tweeted.  Oh the powers of cosmetic dentistry!

NFL player and former Dancing With the Stars contestant Chad Ochocinco shared a wisdom tooth-less smile in this TwitPic.  “That smile is still on point, lost my wisdom teeth doesn’t mean I lose my wisdom,” he tweeted.

Pro golfer Ian James Poulter demonstrates why it’s important to visit the dentist often.  He tweeted:  “8 filling required oh dear not great news being numbed as we speak.”  Make sure you make your bi-annual check ups!

Donald Trump‘s daughter tweeted this picture, “From the dentist chair! I’m happy to report that no cavities were found,” Tweeted Ivanka Trump. “I’ll celebrate with a cupcake!” she joked.  The Donald would be proud.

Hopefully these celebrities will inspire you to visit the dentist more often.  Find yourself a perfect dentist using DentistUSA.

Do you tweet photos of yourself visiting the dentist?  Share some with us on our Twitter, Twitter.com/Dentist_USA

Is white wine better for your teeth than red wine?

22 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in Tooth Enamel

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Is White Wine better for teeth than Red Wine?

I went out to dinner with some friends last night and while ordering we got into the discussion of wine stained teeth. My wife, being of sound mind, decided that she was going to drink white wine with dinner to avoid light purple, stained chompers at the end of the evening. This got me thinking… Is white wine really better for your teeth than red wine?

White Wine, is it really better for your teeth?

White wines contain far less pigments than red wine. However, the problem comes from the acid, which both wines contain and is the element that is most damaging to teeth. The acid erodes the tooth enamel and leads to staining. Of course over time, loss of enamel can lead to host of other problems, including, sensitivity, tooth pain and tooth decay.

Cow’s teeth that were immersed in white wine and black tea (left), and in red wine and black tea, (right).

A study led by Mark Wolff at the New York University College of Dentistry, had cow teeth (which are very similar to human teeth) soaked in black tea alone, then soaked in white wine followed by black tea.  According to the study, the teeth soaked in the wine picked up a great deal of brownish-red pigment, while the teeth soaked only in black tea were unstained. The findings were that the wine helped to erode some of the enamel and left teeth exposed to the staining pigments in the tea.

So what can you do once those pearly whites are stained? Wolff suggests using a toothpaste with a mild whitening agent. But don’t brush too hard, and don’t brush immediately after that wine or juice (when tooth enamel has been weakened), or you could just make the problem worse.

Of course, if you are trying to avoid staining your teeth, you’ll probably want to pick a different beverage altogether.

 

Four Minutes A Day Keeps the Dentist at Bay

13 Tuesday Sep 2011

Posted by in General Dentistry, oral hygeine

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Even though dentists might not necessarily agree on the “best brand” of toothbrush for you, or the “best brand toothpaste” that you should use, they will unanimously agree on one thing: you must brush your teeth for a minimum of 2 minutes, twice a day.  Two minutes a day doesn’t seem too bad, does it?

At the CDA convention, my coworker and I were given two Arm & Hammer Spinbrush GloBrushes (and by given, I really mean that we begged) to take home and try out.  We didn’t know what they were, just that they were free electric toothbrushes that lit up.  And no, we didn’t mind that they were clearly marketed towards children.

Fast forward a few months later, I dug out this toothbrush and decided to give it a try to see how this differed from my regular toothbrush.  I put on my Crest 3D Vivid White toothpaste and got to brushing, and saw that the toothbrush changed colors from green to red to green to red.  A quick Google search brought me to a video that shows GloBrush changes colors every 30 seconds to indicate it’s time to switch quadrants.  We think this is a pretty neat idea to encourage a thorough 2 minute brushing.

After brushing with the GloBrush, I realized that two minutes is actually much longer than I originally thought.  In general, I have pretty healthy teeth (I brush and floss) but I did have two cavities a year ago.  Perhaps it was because I wasn’t brushing for long enough.

Overall, I think toothbrushes with timers are an excellent reminder to those of us who aren’t sure if we do brush the required two minutes.  I should warn you, your husband may make fun of you if he sees you around the bathroom sink with a toothbrush that glows!  Sonicare & Oral-B sell rechargeable electric toothbrushes that also come with a 2-minute timer that I recommend for those who want more adult-like toothbrushes.  It’s a fabulous little reminder that two minutes each time a day is going to help your overall oral health.

At your next semi-annual checkup, brushing for two minutes, twice a day and flossing will surely impress your dentist!  Keep smiling.