Archive for the ‘Tips’ Category

Holiday Stress? Meet Holiday Bruxism.

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

I have never been so happy to see my own apartment as I was Sunday night. Between December 22nd and January 3rd I spent just three nights at home. Three!! The rest I was driving around the country to visit family for the holidays. I got home Sunday and refuse to leave again until March at the earliest.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the festivities and getting to see people I love, but it’s stressful! I knew it was getting bad when I developed something I’ve never had: bruxism, or nighttime teeth grinding. Needless to say, that little discovery drove me to figure out how to calm things down.

Here’s what I found:

  • EXERCISE – Since we usually get that “fight or flight” response we call stress in places we can’t fight or flee, stress hormone levels stay too high for too long. Exercise (“fighting” or “fleeing”) works those hormones and neurochemicals out of your system. Even as little as one 20-minute walk a day will have a positive impact on your health.
  • Get back to a comfortable routine – No, don’t schedule every second of your day hoping to avoid surprises, but do create a comfortable framework that can ease you through hectic times.
  • Take a break – Spend some time doing what you want for a while and decompress. Enjoy a hobby. Take a walk. Have lunch with a friend. Do something, anything, to interrupt the stress response cycle. Uninterrupted stress is very harmful, so breaking it up will help you get those hormones back down to manageable levels.

I’m putting a few of these into practice as my new year’s resolution in hopes of post-holiday relaxation, grind-free nights and a less-stressed new year. Try it yourself and tell me what you think!

For more detailed information on stress and the body’s reaction to it, read this doctor-written-and-reviewed article and MedicineNet.com.

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Refresher Course in Flossing Technique

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

CB049519If you read Monday’s post, you know it’s been a while since we’ve paid attention to non-pick flossing. Now that we’ve launched our three pick-less dental flosses, it might be a good time for a refresher course in technique, right?

Here are some good things to remember when flossing the old-fashioned way:

  • Wrap around your middle fingers, not index fingers. You’ll need your index fingers to grip the floss with your thumbs and guide it gently between your teeth.
  • Clean below the gumline. Your teeth extend below your gumline, making a perfect place for plaque to hide. Gently rub your floss against your tooth beneath your gumline to scrub out the plaque and food that gets caught in there.
  • Curve the floss around your teeth like this while gently flossing instead of going straight up and down. This will clean a larger surface area and avoid tearing up your soft gum tissue.
  • Be gentle. Oh. Have I said that already? That’s probably because it’s really important. Flossing too hard can do some serious and painful damage to your gums. Take it easy and avoid uncomfortable cuts and bleeding.

One more thing to remember is to keep at it, even if it’s  uncomfortable or your gums bleed at first. It takes a little while for your mouth to get used to being flossed, but if you make it a habit any discomfort will most likely fade. If pain persists, definitely take it up with your dentist.

Ready for our first guest post? Check back Monday!

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Oral Healthcare Can’t Wait

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

The recession is making everyone watch their wallets more closely, and dentist visits seem to be the first thing to get cut from the family budget. This is a dangerous move, and could end up costing American families thousands of dollars in the long run. That’s why the Dental Trade Alliance developed the Oral Healthcare Can’t Wait campaign, a national effort to educate dentists and patients about the importance of keeping up good dental care during tough times.

Prevention is the key concept here, and these are some reasons why the dentist is worth it:

  1. Prevention is cheaper! Let me put it this way: spend $100 now to fill a tooth or $1000 later for a root canal or crown. Not a tough choice, right? Recession or not, $900 looks much better in your bank account than your dentist’s.
  2. If it hurts, it’s too late. Even in a good economy, many people put off going to the dentist (or doctor, for that matter) until something starts to hurt. Chances are a dentist could have discovered the problem at an early, less painful stage, which means fewer missed days at work due to pain or dental appointments.
  3. Many serious issues won’t hurt. Some dental problems like bruxism, TMJ, gingivits, and even some types of cancer don’t hurt at first, but a good dentist can spot the warning signs and stop problems before they start.
  4. Free stuff! Sure, it may look like just a toothbrush an a tiny tin of floss, but those free tools are just what you need to prevent larger problems. Good daily oral care, like brushing and flossing, keep all kinds of dental problems at bay, which means less chance of time-consuming and expensive dental emergencies.

Want more information? Check out www.visityourdentistnow.com for more information and helpful links to trusted dental care sources like the American Dental association. Like what you see? Tell your dentist to check out www.oralhealthcarecantwait.com to get more information on the program.

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5 Tips for a Cavity-Free Halloween

Thursday, October 29th, 2009
Fun Flossers are perfect for teaching kids the importance of keeping teeth healthy.

Fun Flossers are perfect for teaching kids the importance of keeping teeth healthy.

Halloween is a much-anticipated night for just about every candy-loving youth. But as children dream of Skittles, Snickers and Starbursts, parents worry about the negative effects of all that candy on their children’s health – especially their teeth.

This year, teach your kids what sugar does to their teeth and show them easy ways to stay healthy. Use colorful, made-for-kids tools like DenTek Fun Flossers to make oral care fun as well as educational. With their wild fruit flavors and wacky colors, they fit right into the Halloween theme. After Halloween is over they’re still a great incentive to keep the flossing habit going.

Here are five more tips to prevent a scary post-Halloween smile:

  1. Educate yourself on which candies are most harmful to your children’s teeth, and limit after-dinner stash looting to just 2 pieces of candy.
  2. Give the extra-sticky candies to charities like the Halloween Candy Buyback program. They pay a dollar a pound for candy and send it to our troops overseas.
  3. Encourage kids to drink water throughout the day, especially after eating candy, to help rinse away sugars between brushings.
  4. Make sure your children brush and floss after every meal and every candy stash raid.
  5. Teach children to floss daily with Fun Flossers! Follow the flossing instructions below.

Flossing Instructions: Hold flosser firmly between thumb and index finger. Using a gentle back-and-forth motion, slide floss between teeth. Move up & down against tooth to clean above & below the gum line. Repeat steps for each tooth. Discard after use.

Halloween is a fun holiday. Parents and children shouldn’t have to worry about scary tooth decay. By practicing good oral hygiene, kids can have fun and still enjoy the candy! Click here for more information on Fun Flossers or to show your children an instructional flossing video.

Happy Halloween from DenTek!

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5 Ways to Teach Kids to Brush (and Floss!)

Monday, October 26th, 2009

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Getting kids to care for their teeth is evidently a big challenge. We get notes and reviews from Fun Flosser customers all the time telling us how hard it is, and the candy-coated Halloween season is about to make it worse. What better time to take a fresh look at how to make oral care fun and educational? Take a look at these five tips for making good oral care interesting.

  1. Lead by example! I don’t mean to repeat your dentist’s broken record, but good habits are contagious. Let your kids see how much you care about your smile and chances are they’ll want to be just like you.
  2. Let them pick out their tools. There are dozens of tooth-care tools for kids out there, from brushes to mouthwash. Get your child involved in the process by letting them choose what they use. We think kid-friendly handles and awesome flavor make Fun Flossers the best choice for flossing, but if your little one wants princesses or superheroes, go for it.
  3. Find a way to make it fun. Make up a song or game to go along with brushing and flossing. Silly? Absolutely. But the laughter and goofiness is something your kids will remember for years, along with good habits, of course.
  4. Teach your kids why oral care is so important. Tell them what plaque, cavities, and gingivitis are and how to prevent them. Ask your dentist for some disclosure tablets, chewable tabs that turn plaque different colors, or pick up some plaque-revealing mouthwash. Even the youngest kids can see the post-brushing difference if plaque is bright blue!
  5. Let them be the teacher. This might seem a little backwards, but education experts say that teaching a subject is sometimes the best way to learn it. While you’re practicing good oral care, set a date when your little student will become the teacher. Set aside a morning for them to teach you how to take care of your teeth.

So how did you teach your kids to take care of their teeth? Do you remember what made good brushing and flossing habits stick in your own mind? Share your tips and tricks in the comments!

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