Brushing Tips to Impress Your Dentist
DENTIST APPOINTMENTS can be scary. Sitting in that chair with a bright light shining above you while the dentist scrapes between your teeth is enough to keep anyone away. And as your gums begin to bleed, you silently plea that your next appointment will be better – and it will be, if you follow these tips that will help keep your entire mouth clean and impress your dentist.
Set a timer. Haphazardly brushing your teeth in the morning before you run out the door to catch your bus might get rid of your morning breath, but it’s not likely to have a meaningful effect on your overall health, says Eugene Antenucci, a clinical associate with the New York University College of Dentistry and spokesman for Academy of General Dentistry. “To effectively reach all areas and rid your mouth of cavity-causing bacteria, it is recommended to brush for at least two minutes, twice a day,” he says. ”Use a timer, or play a song that lasts two minutes.”
Brush softer. Most people try to scrub their teeth clean with their toothbrush, but doing that does little more than ruin your enamel, Antenucci says. Instead, hold your brush softly at a 45-degree angle, and brush in a circular motion. “Brushing too hard in a sawing, back-and-forth motion can cause the gums to recede and possibly even damage tooth structure,” he says. Buying a softer toothbrush can help save your enamel as well. “It’s a myth that harder bristles do a better job,” Antenucci says. “Harder bristles can damage gum and tooth structures.”
Change your toothbrush often. An old, frayed toothbrush isn’t going to do a great job getting your mouth clean, Antenucci says, so be sure to replace your brush whenever you see the bristles start to wear. “Not only are old toothbrushes ineffective, but they may harbor harmful bacteria that can cause infections such as gingivitis and gum disease,” he says. “Toothbrushes should be changed every three to four months or after you’ve been sick.”
Go high-tech. Electric toothbrushes are a better choice for some people than manual brushes, says Linda Niessen, dean of the Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine, because they closely resemble the tools dentists use in their office. “They also do a better job of cleaning in hard to reach places,” she says. Niessen also recommends a free app called Brush DJ that will play music in two-minute increments to help you time your brushing. “Once the music is up, you know you’re done.”
HELPFUL THINGS TO MAKE CHOOSING A TOOTHPASTE EASY
You’ve squeezed the last of the life out of your tube of toothpaste. The dreaded time has come. You have to face the convenience store’s wall of toothpaste!
You know what we’re talking about. You go to the store looking for a tube of toothpaste, but there are so many options available that you don’t know what to get.
The experience usually goes something like this: you either A) grab the first toothpaste brand you see and recognize, B) end up buying multiple types of toothpaste, or C) stand there reading the promised benefits of each toothpaste and realize that you’ve been staring at toothpaste for 10 minutes! Eventually, you grab one of many that sounded good and just hope for the best.
FLUORIDE
When choosing a type of toothpaste, the most important thing to look for is fluoride. This naturally-occurring mineral helps protect the teeth from cavities. Fluoride strengthens tooth enamel and can reverse the early stages of tooth decay. It also helps with tooth sensitivity.
TARTAR CONTROL
Plaque, a layer of bacteria on the teeth, can harden into tartar if not removed with proper dental hygiene. Some toothpastes are designed to help prevent the buildup of tartar on your pearly whites. Effective tartar-fighting ingredients to look for are pyrophosphates and zinc citrate.
Standard of Care in Dentistry
You’ve done your research. You’ve mastered your techniques. You’ve tucked away every nugget of advice you’ve received from trusted mentors and respected colleagues. You think you’ve learned everything you needed to know in dental school, or you’ve learned it in the subsequent years spent hard at work in practice. But are you forgetting something? What about the Hippocratic Oath, the Golden Rule—or even Mom or Dad’s advice? Are they practical words of wisdom, or lofty, practically useless ideals? One says to do no harm. Another says do unto others as you would have done to you. Yet another says to use your best judgment.
You most likely chose dentistry as your profession out of a deep desire to help people—to help ease their pain, to help cure their disease, to help improve their well-being and quality of life—all of which is admirable. All of which could also find the most educated, talented, and well-intentioned clinician in a ton of trouble if something goes wrong. And if that happens, there are several defenses that just may not work on the witness stand, when you find yourself trying to explain your course of action to a judge and jury. Not only do the declarations “I did it the way I learned it in school,” “I did my best,” or “I did it the way all of my colleagues are doing it,” sound like excuses for failing a high school shop class, there’s a good chance that they just won’t work in a lawsuit alleging dental malpractice.
To truly properly care for your patients, all dentists are ethically and even legally bound to follow some combination of all of the moral compasses just described. But how? A “standard of care” in dentistry seems to be nebulous at best. Dentists don’t have to sign a Hippocratic Oath, the Golden Rule is purely freedom of choice, and, unfortunately, the advice given by friends and loved ones just may not be enough to hold up in a court of law one day.
Is There a Standard of Care
“standard of care” actually exists in the definition of “negligence,” which has four distinct elements; all must be met if it is to be used as grounds for a malpractice suit
that a duty of care was owed by the dentist to the patient;
that the dentist violated the applicable standard of care;
that the plaintiff suffered a compensable injury;
that such injury was caused in fact and proximately caused by the substandard conduct.
Dental care for babies
Baby teeth development
Baby teeth develop while babies are still in the womb. Newborns have a full set of 20 baby teeth hidden in their gums. For most babies, teeth begin to appear between 6 and 10 months. In some children, teeth appear as early as three months. In others, they don’t arrive until around 12 months. Children get teeth at different times. A very small number of children are born with 1-2 teeth.
Baby teeth can arrive in any order, although the central bottom teeth are often first. All 20 baby teeth will usually arrive by the time your child is three years old. The 32 adult teeth replace the baby teeth between the ages of 6 and 20 years.
Teething
As each baby tooth gets to the surface of the gum, the gum opens up to show the tooth. Babies sometimes rub their gums together when new teeth are starting to come through the gum. This isn’t usually a problem.
Many people think that ‘teething’ babies also:
cry a lot or seem extra cranky
don’t feed as well as usual
suck on objects like toys, dummies and bibs
have more dirty nappies more often
pull the ear on the same side as the tooth coming through.
These signs might be caused by teething – or they might just be a normal part of development or a result of minor infections and illnesses. If your baby isn’t well, it’s always best to take your baby to your GP, especially if baby has a fever or diarrhoea, or you’re worried about any other symptoms.
A Painless Guide to Social Media Marketing for Dentists
By 2021 the dental industry is projected to be worth around $36.8 billion. That’s a lot of teeth for the tooth fairy. But if your practice wants a piece of the profit, it’s incredibly important to start a social media marketing plan for dentists and your specific industry.
For decades, dentists relied almost exclusively on reputation and word of mouth marketing to help them build their practice. But it’s 2018 and more likely than not, your audience is on social. Whether it’s blogging, video marketing, paid social ads or even podcasts, you have to learn the specifics of social media marketing for dentists.
Just like any other industry, there are ways to better attract, retain and ultimately market to your patients. And for the sake of this article, we’re looking at the dentists needing the extra push for social marketing efforts.
Why Does Social Media Marketing Matter For Dentists?
Social media marketing for dentists is still in the early roots of adoption, but more dental practices are seeing the power of being active on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. For an industry that leaves 15% of the population quivering with dread, what better way to earn a loyal patient than to consistently show them there’s nothing to fear?
Dentists are in a bit of different position than many other industries. Clothing stores, software companies, restaurants and other industries have to convince people that what they’re selling is worth their money—even if it’s something they don’t need. Dentists on the other hand don’t need to convince people they need to get their teeth and gums checked. Everyone knows they need to visit the dentist.
