• The type of toothbrush IS important. There are many types of toothbrushes, but you should use a soft-bristled toothbrush to reach every surface of each tooth. If the bristles on your toothbrush are bent or frayed, it is time to buy a new one. If you have been sick, make sure you replace your toothbrush after you become well and also every three months.
• Most toothpaste has fluoride but some don’t. Choose toothpaste with fluoride. This can reduce tooth decay by as much as 40 percent.
• Take the time to brush your teeth properly. Position the brush at a 45-degree angle where your gums and teeth meet. Gently move the brush in a circular motion using short, gentle strokes. To clean the inside surfaces of the upper and lower front teeth, hold the brush vertically. Spend at least three minutes brushing.
• You MUST floss. Brushing is not enough. Gently insert floss between teeth using a back-and-forth motion. Do not force the floss or snap it into place. Curve the floss into a C-shape against one tooth and then the other. Get a recommendation from your dentist on the best type of floss – they may even have some samples!

If you have been searching for the best dentist for you and your family, why not visit our office, Wayzata Dental & SmileSpa. Our Plymouth family dentistry offers general dentistry for your entire family plus cosmetic treatments to get your teeth in tip-top-shape. You can even make an appointment online!

Brushing and flossing will help eliminate plaque but if plaque is not caught early, plaque will form tartar — a harder substance to clean. Tartar harbors bacteria that make it easier to invade your gums, causing gum disease.

In the beginning, bacteria from tartar will cause inflammation of the gums or gingivitis, swelling and reddening of the gums. If you have gingivitis, your gums bleed easily even during toothbrushing.

Visiting your dentist for a general cleaning will help eliminate this and improve your teeth, but if left untreated, gingivitis will develop into periodontitis, which is more serious. Gum disease has also been linked to other health problems such as heart disease.

To protect yourself from gum disease it is important to practice good oral hygiene. This includes brushing your teeth diligently twice daily, flossing your teeth, avoiding cigarettes and tobacco products, eating a balanced diet and making regular visits to your family dentist. These as well as being aware of how your teeth look and feel will help you have healthier teeth and gums.

If you are searching for a family dentist, one that you as well as your children can visit to get regular checkups and cleanings, consider our office at Wayzata Dental & SmileSpa. We are a Plymouth dental office that also offers cosmetic dentistry such as professional teeth whitening. You can make an appointment online on our website.

What are they?

Here’s a list of the top foods to eat for white, healthy teeth.

• 1. Green Tea has a well-deserved reputation for providing many benefits. With teeth, green tea offers up natural antioxidant compounds that prevent plaque from accumulating, therefore reducing the risk of cavities and bad breath.
• 2. Anything dairy is low in acidity and sugar making them great choices to quench your thirst or have as a healthy snack. This is good news for both tooth erosion and tooth decay.
• 3. Fruit is great for your teeth especially when eaten in whole, raw form. It keeps down plaque and massages your gums.
• 4.All kinds of vegetables are another good idea if you are trying to build a good foundation for your teeth. Broccoli, carrots, sweet potato and pumpkin are rich in Vitamin A – great for your teeth.
• 5.Oh, the stinky onion – yes onions — are rich in powerful anti-bacterial sulphur compounds, which kill the bacteria that harm your teeth and gums.
• 6. Celery is another great friend of the dentist. Eat it raw and it will not only massage your gums, but clean your teeth. This is a natural toothbrush.
• 7. Sesame seeds, which are best combined with bread and rolls, dissolve plaque and help build tooth enamel. The tasty seeds are also rich in calcium, which will keep your teeth and jawbone healthy.
• 8. Water is great for your health and teeth! Drink more of it.

Visit us at Wayzata Dental & SmileSpa for the best dental care. You can even make appointments online.

If it is you with the bad breath, it can be embarrassing and may cause social anxiety. Store shelves are overflowing with all kinds of gum, mints and mouthwashes? Many of these products help but are usually temporary.

How do you get bad breath? You can get it from foods like garlic and onions but also from bad oral hygiene habits. Irregular teeth brushing of your teeth and tongue after eating, not using dental floss and avoiding drinking plenty of water will bring on the bad breath.

Here are some things to think about:

• Food particles remaining in your mouth. Your mouth collects bacteria that can emit chemicals, such as hydrogen sulfide. If you don’t know what this is, it is the same chemical that gives rotten eggs that terrible odor.
• Dry mouth can cause bad breath too. Saliva is a natural mouth cleanser. Dry mouth is even more of a problem if you breathe through the mouth at night.
• Diseases can cause bad breath. There are certain health problems and disease such as metabolic disorders, diabetes, kidney or liver failure, chronic reflux that all cause bad breath. Certain medications also can cause a release of chemicals that result in bad breath.

Bad breath is a social problem but may also be a sign of a bigger medical problem. Contacting your family dentist, like Wayzata Dental & SmileSpa, is an important step in finding out whether you are having a health issue that may be life threatening.

Bad breath is something that no one wants, especially if you are trying to get into the social circle. Food is a big culprit. Once food is absorbed into the bloodstream, it is transferred to the lungs where it is expelled. Brushing, flossing and mouthwash will only mask the odor for a little whilte. Odors continue until the body eliminates the food.

Actually, dieters may notice bad breath because they will develop unpleasant breath from infrequent eating.

Dental care and hygiene is crucial if you don’t want to experience bad breath. If you don’t brush and floss daily, particles of food remain in the mouth, collecting bacteria, which can cause bad breath. Bad breath can also be the result of medication. You should consult with your family dentist to see if there is an underlying problem.

As surprising as it may seem, bad breath is also caused by dry mouth, which occurs when the flow of saliva decreases. Dry mouth may be caused by medications, salivary gland problems or continuously breathing through the mouth.

Tobacco products cause bad breath, stain teeth, and reduce one’s ability to taste foods and irritate gum tissues. Tobacco users are at a great risk for developing oral cancer.

As with any preventive dental care, you should brush twice daily and floss. You should also visit the dentist regularly. Bad breath could also be a sign of a serious medical problem or a side effect of medication.

As surprising as it may seem, in the United States, about seven percent of adults have missing teeth and about 10 percent of adults have no teeth.

Aside from the negative signals you get from people, missing teeth can lead to other problems with your overall dental health. Our full set of teeth is designed to work together as a system. When a tooth or teeth are missing, problems can occur like a collapse or tilt. This can then lead to bite problems and even gum problems.

Also, your face shape and appearance may change . . . and not for the better. Missing teeth may also lead to changes in the structure of your face and appearance such as sunken cheeks and flat or drooping lips. You can look older because you skin may start to sag due to missing teeth.

If you have a missing tooth or teeth, you can correct this problem easily by first visiting your family dentist. You have several options such as:
• Dental Implants.
• Fixed Bridges
• Partial Dentures
• Complete Dentures

People with missing teeth often don’t smile and lack confidence. Dental care comes last because there may be a lack of positive motivation to keep up with dental care so other teeth become unattractive and unhealthy.

You can change all this. Visit Wayzata Dental and SmileSpa. We know the benefits of a healthy smile and are experts at restoring it. Give us a call at (952) 473-4900 to set up an dental appointment or an evaluation.

But what do you look for? How do you know if you have a cavity?

Here are some common signs:
• White or brown spots on the teeth.
• Sensitivity of the teeth when eating hot, cold and sweet foods.
• A toothache.
• Pits or holes in the teeth.
• Pain in the tooth when chewing.

But if you are looking and cannot see anything, you still may have a cavity – you may not have any symptoms. Smaller cavities may not present any type of pain or discomfort for you. Because of this, it is important for you to keep and maintain a six-month check-up schedule with your family dentist. A regular check-up will ensure that any cavity, big or small, will be detected and a treatment plan will be in place before you experience any aches and pains.

At Wayzata Dental and SmileSpa, we make dental visits as comfortable as possible for our youngest dental patients to our oldest. In fact, our practice is built around patient care. Aside from prevention and hygiene care, we specialize in cosmetic dentistry and are known to create beautiful and healthy smiles.

Schedule a visit or consultation with our office and Dr. Jason McDowell. You can either make the appointment online or call us at (952) 473-4900. Your smile is something you have for a lifetime. Don’t put your smile on hold. . . take care of your teeth now.

What is a waterpik?
Using a stream of water, a Waterpik helps to remove food particles and debris from the teeth and gums. Waterpiks are sometimes called dental water jets, water flossers or oral irrigators.

Benefits of waterpiks
Waterpiks improve oral hygiene and health by shooting a stream of water between the teeth and below the gum line, where it flushes out food that a traditional toothbrush or dental floss can not reach. Adding the use of a Waterpik to your daily oral care routine can also help to reduce bacteria by achieving a deeper clean than flossing.

Types of waterpiks
There are basically two styles of waterpiks: a countertop model and a more portable, cordless one. The countertop Waterpiks are larger than cordless and come with a wide variety of tips. They also have anywhere from six to 10 pressure settings available. On the other hand, cordless waterpiks are conveniently smaller and wireless but slightly less efficient than traditional countertop models due to a reservoir capacity that ranges between 30 and 45 seconds – about half of what the countertop models offer. They also come with fewer tips and limited to only two pressure settings.

The best person to talk to about the proper tools to use to get your teeth clean at home is your family dentist like Wayzata Dental and SmileSpa. We are experts at creating breathtaking smiles and teaching you the best ways to keep your teeth health and clean. Contact us to make an appointment or a consultation.

Flossing is an important part of dental health. But do you really have to floss your teeth every day?

The answer is yes.

You may feel like you’re getting your mouth clean enough by just brushing. The truth is you will not be able to get into those tight spaces between your teeth without flossing and therefore you will not get the food particles unstuck – the same ones that causes cavities and gum disease.

Not only should you floss every day, but you should be sure you’re doing it correctly.

How do you floss correctly?
• First, take a piece of floss about 18 inches long and wrap it around your middle fingers, leaving an inch or two of space in the middle.
• Gently glide the floss back and forth in between your teeth.
• Move up to the gums, resisting a snapping motion, which can hurt your gums.
• Move the floss up and down gently, and then angle it to one side at the top of the tooth so it hugs the gum line.
• Repeat with the opposite side of the tooth.
• Before moving on to the next tooth, change the position of the floss so you have a fresh piece.
• Finally, rinse your mouth out to get rid of food particles left by flossing.

Flossing is as important as brushing your teeth. Make it a habit, and you will see a difference in your overall dental care. Dr. Jason McDowell and the rest of our team at Wayzata Dental and SmileSpa are experts at making sure your smile is not only perfect but that you know the best way to take care of your teeth when you are at home.

Something happened in the 1990’s, we suddenly stopped promoting dental care. People stopped brushing, or rather, the next generation didn’t pick up the brushing habit. Dentists are now reporting an increase in the number of people attending their offices with dental decay. Dentists are now performing more fillings and extractions than ten years ago, and the demand for dentures has increased, not by the elderly, but by those much younger.

What is required is a return to the basics of dental care. While we have mentioned the routine before, it’s always timely to revisit the subject, and to give everyone a friendly reminder. Why? Because prevention is always better than the cure, and because the habits that the generation from the 1970’s and 80’s picked up worked – they maintained strong healthy teeth. So what are the basics? You know what I am going to say!

• Brush twice a day with a good toothbrush and a toothpaste with fluoride
• Floss regularly
• Rinse your mouth after eating
• Visit your dentist every six months

It is very basic, yet that simple routine worked. If you are not following this routine, then it’s never to late to start. More importantly, establish these habits in your children now – it’s too late once they reach adulthood, they have already learned the bad habits, and with them, the bad teeth.