Reach for the Lemon Water 

Dry mouth is often the cause of bad breath so keep your mouth moist and hydrated to avoid bad breath altogether. Washing down bacteria with lemon juice and water can help minimize bad breath and get you smiling again.

Chew on This

Sugar-free gum offers almost instant relief from bad breath. If you’re not a fan of chewing, you can opt for breath strips or mints instead. For a completely natural remedy to bad breath, order a dish that’s garnished with ginger, basil, mint or parsley.

Always Be Prepared 

Carry a travel-sized toothbrush and toothpaste in your purse or bag for optimal oral hygiene on the go. Mouthwash or baking soda are also ideal for quick breath fixes and should eliminate bad breath altogether.

A word of caution from your dentist. Bad breath may be caused by poor oral hygiene or oral infections. If your bad breath is persistent and not caused by anything you ordered at lunch, schedule an appointment at Willow Dental Care Langley and we’ll help you keep your breath fresh so that you can focus on the important things, like getting a new client or a second date.

Subscribe to the Willow Dental Care Langley Blog for more secrets straight from your dentist. We’re social, too! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Tip #1: Practice Tooth Brushing

Simple things like letting your child choose the colour of their toothbrush and making tooth brushing a fun, bonding experience can help foster important oral health care habits in your child. If your child doesn’t like toothbrushes, try a musical toothbrush or one that resembles their favourite cartoon.

Tip #2: Play Dental Games

Others have recognized the importance of preparing your child for the dentist. Help your child prepare for a happy dental visit by practising how to open their mouth wide and playing dentist, which can help your child get in the right frame of mind for visiting our Willow Dental Care Langley clinic.

Tip #3: Show, Don’t Tell about Oral Health Care

If your child sees you properly brushing and flossing, they’re likely to want to emulate your behaviour. You can explain to them after you’ve brushed your teeth and flossed for a total of 10 minutes how you’ve fought away evil cavity-causing bacteria that can rot your teeth.

For more important baby teeth tips for parents and oral health care tips in general, subscribe to the Willow Dental Care Langley blog. We’re social, too! Find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Some of our Langley patients are surprised when their previously healthy, pink gums start to turn red and begin to bleed, but an individual’s oral health can change at any time. This is why gum disease prevention must be an ongoing effort on your part.  Without daily flossing and brushing, plus regular checkups and cleanings at Willow Dental Care Langley, you’re likely to be at risk for  periodontal disease. Make sure you brush at least twice a day, as well as floss daily, to avoid plaque build-up. Plaque, a film containing bacteria and acids, ruins tooth enamel as well as causes periodontal disease. Food particles can become trapped in plaque and further the progress of the disease, so it’s important to get regular hygienist cleanings plus gum disease prevention support from your dentist, who may recommend fluoride or other decay-preventive solutions.

Getting tips and checkups at Willow Dental Care Langley is an easy way to prevent gum disease and avoid destroying the structure of your teeth. Without regular professional care, moderate and late stages of gum disease may occur. If the gums aren’t healthy, they can’t adequately support the teeth. In the moderate stage of periodontal disease, gums tend to recede and expose large portions of the upper teeth–negatively affecting the tooth structure. Teeth often become loose at this stage. You’ll need to see your oral health expert to help avoid the advanced stage of gum disease. This stage of periodontal disease is the main cause of adult tooth loss and pain is typically present due to infection being built up deeply within the gums.

Don’t put off the state of your oral health! Contact the team at Willow Dental Care Langley to book an appointment for personalized gum disease prevention and treatment.

Here’s a great video about what you can do to prevent gum disease and keep your smile healthy!

- Take the dental floss and put it around the base of each tooth so you get into the gumline. Do not be forceful with the floss because it can harm gum tissue.
 
- When you move between teeth, be sure to use the clean section of the floss.
 
-Removing the floss from your mouth is easy: use a similar back-and-forth motion so you can move the floss up and away from your teeth.
 
The two kinds of floss you can use are Nylon floss or PTFE. With nylon floss, you can choose between waxed and unwaxed, and there are many different flavors. The problem with nylon floss is that it can sometimes tear easily, but this won’t happen with PTFE floss. PTFE floss is more expensive but worth it because it maneuvers easily between teeth and won’t shred. However, both kinds of floss are efficient in eliminating plaque.
 
For any questions about dental floss and clean teeth, contact us at Willow Dental Care Langley and we can give you all the information you need.
 
So, do you have the answer to “How do I floss properly” yet? If not, check out this informative video from Colgate:
 

Nail biting is a common habit within certain age groups, including children, teens and young adults. Stress often triggers nail biting, and can diminish as you get older. However, nail biting should be stopped at a young age because it is unclean and unhealthy.

Biting your nails can be detrimental to your oral health for a variety of reasons:

It’s unsanitary. Nails are filled with dirt and they’re even filthier than your fingers. If you bite into your nails, germs will easily get into your mouth and help the spread of bacteria.

Chewing objects is bad for your teeth – When you bite your nails, your teeth will be chewing constantly. The motion of chewing wears down teeth quite fast and puts stress on your teeth which can cause them to misalign.

They harm braces - If you have braces, you know how much pressure is placed on your teeth. If you want to add to this pressure, biting your nails is a great idea! This will stress your teeth out and weaken them, harming your  orthodontic treatment and your overall bite.

It can end up costing you -  You wouldn’t think that nail biting would be an expensive habit, but it can end up costing you up to $4,000 in extra dental bills during your life!

So what can you do about your problem? Just knowing the facts and how damaging nail biting can be should help you take action and kick that habit for good. The dental team at Willow Dental Care Langley can answer any questions you might have about nail biting. Contact us today!

Did 
you 
know?

• Oral
 Cancer
 is 
the
 13th most common
 cancer
 reported in Canada?
• Men
 are 
more
 susceptible to 
Oral 
Cancer
 than women?
• A 
screening
 for 
Oral Cancer 
only 
takes
 2
– 3
 minutes?

Are
 you
 at 
risk?

Male 
smokers
 over
 the
 age 
of 
40
 are 
the
 most 
susceptible 
to 
Oral 
Cancer
 but everyone’s 
at 
risk
 – something
 as
 simple
 as getting too
 much
 sun, 
smoking
 or drinking
 alcohol
 may
 increase
 your
 chances
 of
 suffering 
from
 Oral 
Cancer.

What
 Can
 You 
Do?

With 
Oral 
Cancer,
 prevention
 and
 early
 detection
 is 
key. 
Practice
 correct
 oral
 health care 
by
 brushing
 twice
 daily
 and
 flossing every
 day
 and
 come 
in 
for
 your 
FREE VELscope 
oral 
cancer 
screening
 at 
your
 nearest 
123Dentist.com
 Community
 Dentist Network practice.

Mark
 the 
Date

As 
part
 of 
Oral 
Health
 Month,
 members 
of
 the 123Dentist.com
 Community
 Dentist Network are 
offering
 a 
FREE
 Velscope
 Oral Cancer
 screening
 on
 April
 26,
 2012. VELscope
 screenings 
typically 
take
 only 
a
 few
 minutes 
and
 are 
completely 
pain‐free.

Reserve
 your 
FREE 
Oral 
Cancer
 screening
 appointment 
or 
find
 the 
nearest participating 
location
 near
 you 
by 
clicking 
here.

The
 VELscope
 system
 is 
a 
laser
 device
 that 
was
 invented
 by
 the 
BC 
Cancer
 Agency
 as 
a 
tool 
to 
fight
 Oral 
Cancer
 through
 early
 detection.
 Oral
 Cancer
 is
 a
 potentially
 deadly
 disease
 and
 early 
detection
 and
 early 
treatment are
 key 
in 
the 
fight
 against Oral 
Cancer.

The 
VELscope
 oral 
cancer
 scanner 
works
 by 
using 
fluorescent
 light 
technology
 to help
 detect 
signs 
of 
cancer 
and
 precancer
 that 
are 
not 
visible
 to 
the 
naked 
eye. 
Quick and
 painless,
 an 
oral 
cancer
 screening
 often 
takes 
just 
2 
to 
3 
minutes.

Consider
 this: over
 3,400
 new
 cases
 of 
oral 
cancer
 were 
found
 last 
year 
in 
Canada
 alone.

Take 
just 
5 
minutes 
out 
of 
your 
day
 on
 April 
26,
 2012 
to
 ensure 
you 
have
 a
 safer
 Oral 
Health 
Month.

For 
more 
information
 about 
our
 Free
 VELscope
 Oral 
Cancer
 screening
 on
 April 
26
 or
 to 
reserve 
your 
appointment, please 
click 
here.

Practicing proper oral health care

If you’re wondering when the right time is to start brushing your baby’s teeth, we have some tips for you.  Regular dental cleanings should be done after your baby has their teeth. After you have breastfed or bottle-fed your baby, take a damp washcloth and softly rub your baby’s gums. To make cleaning easier, you can wrap the cloth around one of your fingers to remove all those food scraps from your baby’s mouth.

As soon as your baby’s first tooth comes, a baby toothbrush will be needed. You can easily find special children’s oral health care toothbrushes at your local drugstore. These brushes are gentle and have only a few bristles. You don’t have to worry about buying toothpaste, you’ll only need water to clean your child’s teeth.

Children’s oral health care experts have determined that when more teeth start to come in, that’s when toothpaste becomes necessary. You will only need a very small amount and be sure that there is no fluoride in the toothpaste for the first few years. A great exercise is to have your child pretend to spit out toothpaste after brushing – then they will have already formed good habits when it comes time to use fluoride toothpaste which is hazardous when swallowed.

Here’s a great informational video about baby teeth:

For more questions or concerns about proper children’s oral health or your baby’s teeth, call or visit us at Willow Dental Care Langley.

There has been evidence that shows a correlation between gum disease and premature babies. Researchers have revealed that pregnant women who have gum disease are more likely than other pregnant women to have a premature birth.

There needs to be more research on this subject, but it does seem that gum disease is detrimental to fluids that induce labour. If gum disease worsens during pregnancy, the risk will be greater of having a baby born too early or too small.

The dental health team at Willow Dental Care Langley encourages pregnant women to visit our Langley dental practice for regular dental appointments so that oral health issues can be treated before they have an impact on pregnancy.

While you are pregnant, the team at our Langley dental practice will pay close attention to your teeth and gums. In order to keep your mouth healthy, brush and floss on a regular basis and make sure your diet is nutritious. Ensure that you visit Willow Dental Care Langley for your regular checkups and to prevent dental issues.

Aside from gum disease, another issue that women may develop during pregnancy is gingivitis. This occurs when plaque is stored in the teeth, causing gums to be irritated. Symptoms of this dental problem are red, swollen and bloody gums, and inflammation.

Gingivitis is a major concern for pregnant women who visit our Langley dental practice because the high level of hormones make the way gums respond to plaque much worse. It should be noted that plaque is the major cause of pregnancy gingivitis, not hormones.

If you are diligent about keeping your teeth clean, this will reduce your chances of gingivitis. Make sure to pay special attention to the gumline, as it attracts plaque and bacteria the most.

Let the Willow Dental Care Langley team know about your pregnancy when you make your appointment.

If you’re worried that your sweet tooth might turn into tooth decay, don’t be! You can enjoy your Easter treats and keep your teeth healthy! Just keep in mind these simple things when hunting for your Easter eggs:

• Pick Dark Chocolate - dark chocolate can help lower your cholesterol and blood pressure.
• Avoid Anything Gooey - candy that sticks to your teeth is more likely to feed the bacteria in your mouth that causes cavities
• Water It Down - water can help wash away-cavity causing bacteria, so be sure to keep a glassful close at hand.
• Practice Good Oral Health - be sure to brush twice a day for 3 minutes, floss daily before bed and visit Willow Dental Care Langley for your dental hygiene appointment every 6 months or if you suspect that you might have a cavity.

The dental health team at Willow Dental Care Langley wishes you and your family a sweet Easter filled with smiles!