Apr 25, 2011
Recently a famous celebrity doctor (whose last name sounds like a land where Dorothy from Kansas found a great and powerful wizard) recommended a simple at-home whitening formula. The recipe? Coat your teeth with a mixture of baking soda and lemon juice before brushing.
Does this really work? Well, it certainly may remove some stains. But unfortunately it can also be a recipe for disaster.
Lemon juice is an acid, so even though fruits are generally healthy, large concentrations of the juice can actually wear away enamel, the hard outer layer of your teeth. Once that erodes, not only are teeth quite unattractive – they are incredibly prone to cavities and difficult to repair.
Baking soda is an abrasive material, kind of like sandpaper. So even though in very small amounts it can polish your teeth nicely, use the wrong amount and you may as well be sanding your teeth away!
Our suggestion?
Put the lemon in your tea and use baking soda in the kitchen! When it comes to whitening your teeth, your best bet is to ask a dental professional.
Over-the-counter whitening toothpastes and whitening products from the drug store can do a decent job on lightly stained teeth, especially for those in their late teens and early twenties. But we find that most people who express the desire for whiter teeth need what only a dental office can offer.
There are many different treatments available, from take home systems with custom molded trays to much stronger products that must be supervised by a dentist. At Falmouth Dental Arts, we will be glad to tell you which one is right for you. Or we may even recommend that you keep your teeth as they are!
As far as that TV doctor – we wish him the best and hope he doesn’t grind his teeth away. When it comes to dental advice, please ask a member of the dental profession!
Please remember that at Falmouth Dental Arts, we are here for you! If you have any questions about this or anything else concerning your dental health, please give us a call at 207-781-5900, or visit our website at www.portlandmainedentists.com
Apr 6, 2011
If you, a friend, or a loved one wears dentures that spend much of the time either floating around in the mouth or, even worse, sitting in a glass, then there are many new solutions to this problem. Many people wear their dentures for too many years before they are remade or even relined. Sometimes this is due to the fact they weren’t told to get them checked every year. Sometimes they just can’t afford to keep up with the maintenance. A lot of the time, they just “get used to them” and forget about doing anything further about them.
The American Dental Association recommends that dentures be redone or relined every 3-4 years. The main reason is that the bone supporting the dentures will erode away if they don’t fit correctly, hence they get “loose.” When this happens simple biting becomes a chore and a hopeless feeling of ever being able to bite into an apple again takes place. Many people are fine with this feeling, but many others wish that something could be done about it.
One solution could be as simple as remaking the denture to the eroded ridges. Sometimes this will improve the bite tremendously. Another solution could be to reline the inside of the denture to fit better. Most dentists are capable of doing these procedures which are the least expensive.
To truly have “Tight Dentures” the placement of Mini Dental Implants can be a Godsend. These tiny, FDA approved Titanium implants have revolutionized dentistry and have made thousands of denture wearers able to “bite into that apple.” A Mini Dental Implant, once placed, can anchor an upper or lower denture and keep it from dislodging and “floating” around in the mouth. No need for all that goopy denture adhesive – it becomes a thing of the past. The upper denture can be so well anchored with “Minis” that it can be horseshoe shaped and not have plastic in the roof of the mouth! Most of the time, to do this, several implants have to be placed.
Another great advantage of the Mini Dental Implants is that they are one-third to one-half the cost of conventional implants. And most of the time they only require one visit! Next time we’ll talk about how Mini Implants can be used to replace one or more missing teeth.
Here Falmouth Dental Arts we are able to provide this superb service. Let us know if you, a friend or a loved one is interested!
