Frequently Asked Questions

Home care
Brush twice a day
Floss everyday
Necessary Xray, exam, and professional cleaning every 6 months

Why coming to see us every 6 months?
When you come in every 6 months, the plaque and tartar level is low. You will feel good to know you have been doing a good job. We will be more than happy to motivate you to do better. And if we spot some early warning signs, we will let you know and what you can do about it, so your mouth will not have any trouble.

Another scenario: you chose to come in to clean your teeth every couple years, there will be a lot of buildup. We clean, clean, and clean. Your gum is so inflamed. Like taking off a winter coat, your teeth will be freezing or sensitive for couple days. And it takes couple days for the gum to heal assuming a good oral hygiene routine. You are not going to feel too good. And if we spot some warning signs, we would not know how fast or slow they progress. For example, if we have been watching a small cavity every 6 months for 3 years, I will probably just recommend watching for another 6 months. However, if you have not seen a dentist for 10 years and you have the same size cavity, I am going to recommend doing a filling because we do not know when is your next time having a dental exam. I do not want to wait and that cavity turns into a root canal or an extraction.

What does Fluoride do?
Fluoride remineralizes and strengths our teeth. Most toothpaste lists it as active ingredient. We use a higher concentrated fluoride products on kids and sensitive teeth in our office. Fluoride vanish is applied once at our office. Colgate Prevident 5000 toothpaste is used at home.

Question about different dental products.
What is the best toothbrush, toothpaste...
In general, I look for ADA Seal of Acceptance. With that seal, anything on that package is supported by scientific research and approved by the American Dental Association.

A soft head toothbrush is very important. Brushing too hard is not good. We do not want you to brush away your gum and your teeth. Electric toothbrush has a timer. Some electric toothbrush even has indicator to tell if you were brushing too hard.

Most fluoride toothpaste is good. I would avoid certain toothpaste that has abrasives and a toothpaste that is just trying to do too much.

For abrasives, I mean, the little piece that you can feel. When you are scrubbing, you will be wearing away your teeth.

Whitening could cause sensitivity. I am not sure if the multi-purpose toothpaste is the cause or the solution.

We need to pay attention to mouthwash. The literature says Listerine Original, but you have to follow the instruction. If you have bad breath, check with me and brush your teeth and your tongue. The trouble with mouthwash is there are some many bottles now. Some bottle says anti-gum disease, some bottle says anti-cavity, some bottle says whitening and some bottle says all of the above...

Another general rule, I hate things that will give you a false security. I just hate to have you go through buying the thing and spend your time on it. And at the end, you are not getting the result. And the worst part is you lost the time to do the good things such as brushing and flossing.

What about waterflosser?
A company has their own company doing research or at least fund the research. I have not seen an independent high quality research study stating it is better than traditional flossing.

Ask me over facebook regarding any dental products you want me to look into. Let me investigate and reply you there.

What's MI Paste?
MI Paste is a prescription I recommend a lot, especially for those people having or had braces. MI stands for minimal invasive. With brackets and braces, it is so hard to keep your teeth clean. The bacteria and food will demineralize teeth and leave some white spots on your teeth. The MI Paste can remineralize your teeth and bring the natural tooth color back to life.

During the exam, you recommended flosser, what is that? Use this if you have trouble flossing those back teeth. The trick is to be gentle when you floss. Wiggle in between the teeth without hurting the gum. Wrap around the back side of the tooth and the front side of the other tooth. And don't forget the back side of the very last tooth.       Choose Eric, for all your dental needs. Schedule your next dental appointment now. Give us a call today, you deserve it, 209.358.0800. (Best time to reach us: 9am to 1pm, 2pm-4:30pm Monday to Thursday) Or text us at 209.358.0800 Or fill in your information and we will call you to schedule your next appointment.