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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.
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