Teach Kids How To Brush And Floss!

This is a fun but messy activity to teach your young children how to brush and floss correctly!

All you will need is:

• Rubber glove
• Peanut butter
• Dental Floss
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste

1. Have an adult put on the glove, and have someone or yourself put some peanut butter between your fingers (make sure you get it all the way down). 
2. Tighten your fingers together (your fingers represent the teeth and the peanut butter is the food that gets trapped). 
3. With your fingers still tightly together and extended, have your child use the toothbrush and toothpaste to try and remove the peanut butter. 
4. Once they are finished brushing have them try and remove the peanut butter using the floss.

This will help your child understand that brushing simply can't reach all the places between your teeth. Dental Floss does a much better job of removing food.

Is There An Appropriate Retirement Age For Dentists?

"I just realized my dentist is older than dirt! Shouldn't he retire?"  "Is it safe to see a dentist that is well past retirement age?'  

These are some of the questions I have been asked recently.  The answers are complicated.      

The average age in the U.S for a dentist to retire is 68 years, according to a study done in 2017.  That said, I have known dentists who have continued to work into their seventies.  

Following the recession in 2008, many dentists were actually forced out of retirement.  With the continued volatility of todays market in 2022, many have no choice but to work. However, many dentists simply love the work....and the income!  

There is no guideline for when a dentist should retire.  If he is able to practice at age 74, then bravo!  Many will continue to practice but at a diminished capacity, sticking to the simpler procedures.  

If you have doubts or are skeptical about getting treatment by an elderly dentist, you can always contact your local Board of Dental Examiners to see if there are any recent complaints or if his/her license is restricted.  Most often, though, they are able to perform just as well as they ever did.  Chalk that up to experience! 

Keep Smiling!

Clean Your Dentures With These Easy Remedies

 Many products made for cleaning dentures can be expensive and harsh.  If your dentures have metal parts, some commercial denture cleaners can cause them to corrode over time.  Here is a short list of inexpensive, reliable (old time, tried and true) products that you can use to clean, disinfect and even help remove tartar from your false teeth! (Yes, even false teeth can get a buildup of tartar over time, cultivating an unhealthy array of germs and bacteria.)

Here goes!:

1. BAKING SODA.  Make a paste with a little bit of the soda and water and use your denture brush to clean your dentures.  It will freshen, too.

2. VINEGAR.  Use equal parts of vinegar and water and soak your dentures for 20-30 minutes. This will also help to remove tartar buildup.

3. HYDROGEN PEROXIDE.  This is especially useful for disinfecting.  Soak in a 3% or 6% solution (the usual strength sold in stores) for approximately 30 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with water.

Now, there were a couple of other suggestions that I found online that I didn't think were particularly useful; that is, they were not things that I would personally try for cleaning something that you would put in your mouth! Someone on another website suggested a bleach/water solution for disinfecting and a teaspoon of Calgon water softener added for removing tartar. Of course you would need to rinse your dentures especially well so as not to get the bleach solution in your mouth. Hmmm...I don't know...  To me, that falls into the same catagory as fixing your dentures with super glue.  What do you think?

Avoid Tooth Decay After Halloween!

Halloween is over... but that doesn't mean you shouldn't keep an eye on how much of those yummy sugary treats your child consumes!  Eating too much candy may lead to tooth decay.

If you follow these simple steps it will help ease your mind, instead of worrying about your child's teeth.

• Do moderate portions, don't let them have free access to the candy bucket.
• Make sure your child brushes their teeth properly 2-3 times a day.
• Have your child use a fluoride mouthwash.
• Help your child floss their teeth.
• Try to avoid sticky candy (caramel, taffy)
• Give your kids sugar-free gum to chew

Hope you all had a great Halloween!