Canadian Dental Association Five Point Plan

The Canadian Dental Association has created a Five Point Plan to help us to remember the key tips for maintaining a healthy smile.

1. Brush your teeth carefully at least twice every 24 hours. It takes about 2.5 to 3 minutes to do the job right.
2. Floss your teeth daily. Flossing cleans those areas your toothbrush simply can't reach like between the teeth and under the gum-line.
3. Eat, drink, but be wary. Eat a well-balanced diet! Avoid sweet foods and drinks, especially between meals. And please don't smoke. Smoking can promote serious dental problems like gum disease and oral cancer.
4. Check you gums. Check regularly for these signs of gum disease, the leading cause of adult tooth loss: red, puffy or tender gums; gums that bleed even slightly when you brush or floss; and persistent bad breath. See your dentist if any occur.
5. Don't wait until it hurts. See your dentist for preventative checkups and professional cleanings. Regular visits are the best way to prevent trouble and unnecessary expense.

Teeth Cleaning and Checkups

What to Expect During Your Dental Prophylaxis (Cleaning) Appointment

This appointment is a routine, preventative procedure. Regular appointments are encouraged since many forms of dental problems can be treated and risks decreased by early intervention.

This is especially important in children and the patients of advanced age. The dental team will update your medical history and discuss any current health status and changes and how they can affect your oral health.

The Actual Cleaning Part of the Appointment

Did you know that plaque on teeth starts building up on teeth surfaces as soon as one stops brushing? Single most important thing one can do to decrease the risk of gum and tooth problems is to brush and floss regularly. By doing that, a patient minimizes the chance of the sticky plaque to permanently stick onto the tooth surface. Even the best brushers and flossers out there will have plaque that will build and in some cases harden on and between teeth to form tartar or calculus. If left untreated, it can cause bleeding and painful gums, tooth decay and bad breath, among many other problems. By using scalers and other forms of instruments, this debris is removed and then the teeth are polished. In some patients, other treatments such as fluoride application is recommended after the polishing.

How Often Do You Need to See Us For Cleaning?

Simply it depends...however, most individuals require a visit twice per year. If your teeth and gums are very healthy, your dentist may not need to see you as often. On the contrary, patients that are in high risk group (smokers, current gum disease, a lot of cavities, heavy plaque and tartar buildup) may need to be seen more often, sometimes as often as every three months. Other higher risk groups are pregnant women, patients living with diabetes and ones with weakened immune systems.

On-Going Oral Care Recommendations

Your doctor and the team may make recommendations, such as brushing twice a day and flossing once a day, for taking better care of your mouth at home.

Some patients may require prophylactic antibiotics for various ailments. It is important to advise the dentist and the team if any of your primary care physicians, specialists, and other professionals ever discussed with you the need for antibiotic prophylaxis. This is recommended for people with certain heart conditions, like prosthetic cardiac valves, to try to prevent infective endocarditis (an inflammation of the heart's inner lining). Some people with prosthetic joints may need antibiotic prophylaxis, too. Your doctor and dentist can let you know if you'll need antibiotics prior to your appointment.

Baby Dental Care, Infants and Toddlers

Oral examinations to help to identify poor feeding of even the youngest patients is important as many of the breast feeding issues that are seen can be eliminated by procedures called frenectomies or frenotomies. As the child ages, further developmental issues of the head and the neck region can be diagnosed earlier with regular dental appointments. We recommend that every child should be seen by age 1, earlier of course if they are having troubles with feeding, whether breast milk and/or bottle, and solids.

During your appointment, you may need to have radiographs and intra-oral photos taken. Your dentist will then perform a full examination of your mouth. This includes examining your teeth, gums and the rest of your mouth for signs of disease.

Having your children experience the benefits of good dental hygiene at a young age is really important and sets them up for life by ensuring they have a health and happy smile.

Please find below some great information on how to care for your children's teeth.

Caring for Children's Teeth

Frenectomy

As our bodies develop even in-utero, there sometimes remain extra appendages of tissue that do no real harm except they prevent our tissues to move passively within their normal range. We are talking about lip ties and tongue ties. These conditions are quite common, and normally in most situations they do not pose any problems. In fact, many patients are unaware that they have a lip and/or a tongue tie.

In other situations, breast feeding babies may struggle with latch and mom breasts and nipples can be extremely sore. One of the most common reasons for this is an infant with one or both of the ties. Especially in. infants that their mother wants to nurture exclusively by breastfeeding, it is imperative to assess and treat the ties promptly.

In other cases, children having speech issues and/or musculo-skeletal issues, especially in the head and neck region, may benefit from having an assessment done on how their lip and/or tongue ties may affect the conditions.

Some adults have never licked an ice cream cone because they COULD NOT due to their tongue being tied...we can help with that.

Radiographs

Radiographs, or as more commonly known as "x-rays", help your doctor discover possible underlying causes of pain, discomfort, and other problems that one may encounter in the mouth and jaw. The frequency and the number of radiographs required is dependent on many factors. For example a new patient to the clinic, or one that is at higher risk for oral disease, radiographs may need to be taken more frequently. Other factors are age, oral health status and if there are already signs and symptoms of possible disease.

Periodontal Probing for Measuring Tissue Depth

Health of gum tissues is very important. As a solid house requires excellent foundation, the teeth are no different. Gums and the underlying bone must be in good health in order to support the teeth. A probe is a device that is used to measure pocket depths. It is one of the simplest way to tell where the problems may be and how severe they are.

Dental Sealants

Sealants - thin coating that is applied onto the tooth surface to prevent food particles getting stuck in the grooves of teeth, typically the back teeth. They are painless and can last a very long time. Adults and kids can benefit from this type of treatment.

Orthodontics/Teeth Straightening

Not only do braces help someone to have a nicer, more natural smile, but they also help with correcting the position of teeth and sometimes the jaws to help you bite better and potentially save your teeth from irreversible damage. When teeth do not fit together, they can wear faster, have more gum and decay problems, and can even fracture easier. In some cases, orthodontics can be used to correct breathing problems and other associated issues as well.

Bad Breath

Halitosis is a technical term for bad breath. It is derived from Latin meaning diseased breath. There are many reasons why someone may suffer from bad breath, short and long term. Cavities, gum disease, poor oral hygiene, dry mouth and some medication can cause it. Even what you eat has an effect on odor of your breath. Things like onions, garlic etc are easy to understand but other underlying problems such as digestive problems, etc can cause unique odors from the patient's mouth. There are many therapies that can be successfully applied to treat halitosis.

Dry Mouth

Not only can it cause bad breath, but as many patients know, it is an unfortunate side effect of some of the most common medications prescribed. Dry mouth can also inhibit patients to swallow and taste food properly, leading them to avoid whole foods and supplements with "liquefied" diet which unfortunately tends to be high in processed forms of foods and sugars, leading to increase in plaque and ultimately having a higher risk of decay. In many cases, consultation regarding adjunct therapies for dry mouth sufferers can be beneficial.