Many of the drinks we enjoy the most aren’t actually good for us at all! As dental professionals, we are particularly concerned about the ones that are bad for our teeth – especially soda, sports drinks and fruit juice. Two of the most harmful things for our teeth are sugar and acid, and carbonated beverages are full of both!  Sugar is harmful because the bad bacteria in our mouths eat it and excrete acid on our teeth.  When we drink something acidic, we are actually just simply applying the acid to the teeth (no bacteria needed!)  Tooth enamel begins to dissolve at a pH of 5.5, and soft drinks range in acidity from a pH of 2.32 to 5.24.  Even diet soda isn’t much less acidic than its sugar-loaded counterpart. We all enjoy a refreshing drink after a hard workout, but the sports drinks we use to replenish our electrolytes…

For the first quarter of 2019 we are kicking it off by giving away an iRobot Roomba in March. Getting entered into the raffle is easy! Refer any family member or friend to our office for a consultation and make sure they mention your name when they come in for the consultation. After their consultation, your name will be entered into the raffle for the iRobot Roomba. The more friends you refer, the more chances you have to WIN! Our office will be giving away 1 iRobot Roomba. The winner will be chosen at random on April 1st. The winner will be called and announced on our Facebook page on April 1st, 2019. New patients must come into the office from January 1st 2019 – March 29th 2019 for the referring patient to be entered into the raffle. 

MOST PEOPLE GRIND OR CLENCH their teeth briefly when annoyed or in a tense situation. That level of teeth-grinding isn’t really something to worry about. It’s when you do it far more frequently, often without even realizing it (you might even do it in your sleep!), that it can potentially become a serious problem. The medical term for this kind of teeth-grinding is bruxism. Bruxism: What and Why The main causes of bruxism is stress and an imperfect bite. Symptoms of Bruxism: Frequent headaches from all the strain Enlargement in your jaw muscles (because you’re giving them quite the workout!) Shifting teeth Flattened chewing surfaces of teeth Exposed dentin and increased tooth sensitivity Chipped/cracked/split teeth Tooth loss Your Next Steps Depending on which type of bruxism you have, there are a variety of treatments or approaches to either reduce the grinding or the damage it causes. Relaxation Particularly for stress-related bruxism, relaxation techniques such…