Search Results for: blog all about your choppers

Five More Ways To Protect Your Heart

Don’t stop at just five changes to protect yourself from heart disease. Here are some more things you can do to help lower your risk of heart disease. Watch your cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and triglycerides. Keep a copy of your blood work from annual check ups. LDL cholesterol should be under 100 mg/dL; HDL cholesterol should be 50 or above. Blood pressure should be 120/80 or lower. Fasting blood sugar should be 100 mg/dL or lower. Triglycerides should be under 150 mg/dL. Stay active! Physical activity can reduce every controllable risk factor for heart disease. Just ten minutes … Continue reading →

Foods That Are Good For Your Teeth

The food you eat helps build a strong, healthy body — that includes your teeth! Adding a few simple things to your diet can help your choppers stay strong and healthy. Watch when you eat your carbs. Carbohydrates break down into sugars, which can be converted to plaque in the mouth. Plaque is the primary cause of gum disease and cavities! If you snack on carbs like chips, cookies, and crackers, foods can get caught between teeth and under the gum line, making it easy for bacteria to get to work. If you eat your carbs at mealtimes, you’ll be … Continue reading →

All About Your Choppers

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What’s your Tooth IQ? Let’s see if you know the basics. Every tooth has three parts: the crown, the neck, and the root. The crown is the visible part of the tooth — what you see above the gum line. This is where the enamel is; enamel protects your crown. The neck is the part of the tooth between the crown and the root. The root is the part of the tooth that goes through the gums and down into the jawbone. A child has twenty baby teeth, also known as temporary teeth, primary teeth, or deciduous teeth. Four first … Continue reading →

All About Tooth Whitening

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A recent survey found that nearly half of consumers would feel better if their teeth were whiter. Check your choppers in the mirror — are you thinking about tooth whitening? Bleaching won’t harm your teeth, as long as there’s no sort of acid in the ingredients. Hydrogen or carbomide peroxide are whitening agents that help maintain the protective enamel on your teeth; acids like citric acid can strip the enamel away and leave your teeth sensitive. Be sure to read the label if you’re using an over the counter product. A home whitening kit can save you the big bucks … Continue reading →

Cloudy With a Chance of Tooth Showers

It’s raining teeth around here. Teeny-tiny, itsy-bitsy pearly whites belonging to a child who was absolutely convinced that she would go to her grave with all of her baby teeth intact. My 8-year-old has turned into a human slot machine, except when you pull her arm she spits out teeth instead of quarters. Which is not to say that she hasn’t made out like a pachislo addict. Who needs to hit the jackpot on a real one-arm bandit when you’ve got the Tooth Fairy making sure you win big when you loose little choppers? My daughter’s teeth have been falling … Continue reading →

Of Mice, Teeth, and Fairies

The magical day has arrived… Happy Halloween to those who are dressing up and celebrating today! I’m taking a break from putting the finishing touches on my costume to give some thought to the Tooth Fairy. Why? Because that’s what I’m going to be for Halloween! For many people, teeth are a milestone. When are the baby teeth coming in? When are the baby teeth falling out, to be replaced by adult teeth? The change from infant to child to adolescent can be measured in our teeth. In the days when superstition was strong, teeth falling out could be bad … Continue reading →

Are You Afraid of the Big, Bad Dentist?

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If you get a little anxious thinking about going to the dentist, you’re not alone. Dental phobia keeps a lot of people from getting the care they need for their pearly whites. There are a lot of different facets to dental phobia. Some of the most common fears involving the dentist’s office include: Embarassment — “I haven’t been to the dentist’s office in years, and my teeth are going to be horrible. The dentist is going to lecture me about what a failure I am.” Pain — “It’s going to hurt when they clean my teeth. I’ll have cavities that … Continue reading →

Dentist Anxiety

There’s been a lot of talk in my life about dentists lately… namely because a coworker at the cats-only boarding facility where I have a part time job just had a heck of a time having one of her wisdom teeth removed. My coworker’s rough time made me think of the rough time Heather had with her wisdom teeth: Dental Horror Story: The Wisdom in Teeth The Horror of Dental Insurance and Teeth Dental Horror Story: Going Back to School Dental Horror Story: The Happily Ever After Part I was lucky that I had a very easy time of it … Continue reading →

Wisdom Teeth: The Basics

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I was lucky — when I had to have my wisdom teeth taken out, I had a very easy time of it. Others (like Families.com’s own Heather Long) didn’t have an easy time at all. Wisdom teeth are the third set of molars in the mouth — a pair on the top and a pair on the bottom. They earned the name “wisdom teeth” because they usually show up when a person is (supposedly) old enough to have earned some wisdom. If your wisdom teeth are healthy and there’s enough room in your mouth for an extra set of molars, … Continue reading →

The Basics for Brushing

Just because we brush every day (often twice a day) doesn’t mean we’re doing it right! Studies have shown that there are lots of people out there who have bad brushing habits. Here are some tips to help you get it right. Don’t brush too hard. You can actually hurt your teeth and gums this way. A thorough brushing takes two minutes or more — whether you use an electric toothbrush or a traditional one. Set a timer if you need to. Most people think they’re brushing long enough and they just aren’t. Those “Tooth Tunes” brushes are great for … Continue reading →