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Oral Care Accessories to Enhance Your Smile At Home | Ottawa Dentist

woman brushing teeth

In the ever-evolving technological age, there are a number of ways you can enhance the hygiene and aesthetic of your smile. There are also a number of gadgets on the market specifically designed to fill whatever gaps you feel are present as you strive to enhance your smile. These means essentially fall into two categories; hygienic and aesthetic. Of course, a well-rounded oral care routine is the first step towards attaining the smile you want, but if your hygiene is quite good, and you still aren’t seeing the results you want, these care additions may do the trick.

Hygienic

Electric Toothbrushes: Do you even complete your two-minute scrub and think “my teeth don’t feel very clean”? It may be because the traditional toothbrush just isn’t cutting it anymore. Electric toothbrushes have gained popularity because they are designed to provide brush strokes that work to give you a better clean in the same amount of time. It can go a long way to providing the basic care your teeth need.

Flossers: There are so many ways to floss available for your choosing. Traditional waxed or unwaxed threads are no longer the only option. Water flossers and plush threads are great alternatives (if not better alternatives) to the floss we commonly associate with.

Tongue Scraper: While there is no definitive rule that these need to be employed in your care routine, the benefit of incorporating one is the added removal of potentially harmful bacteria. Tongue scraping removes the same bacteria that feed on the sugars left between the teeth after a meal from the surface of the tongue, improving overall hygiene.

Aesthetic

At-Home Aligners: At-home aligners are an easy, effective means of straightening out your teeth for an enhanced aesthetic. While they aren’t meant for everyone, and you should speak with your dentist prior to incorporating at-home aligners into your oral care practices, they can gently move your teeth into their proper position and enhance your smile.

Whitening Trays: These work similarly to the teeth aligners mentioned above. Instead of working to straighten your teeth however, you simply mold the trey to your teeth, brush on the included whitening solution to the inside of the tray and allow it to rest on your teeth for the prescribed amount of time. Kits are easily accessible and when done properly can make your smile up to a few shades whiter.

UV Light: This is another means of enhancing the color and brightness of your teeth. Typically, when you employ a UV light, you first brush on the whitening solution and allow the light to rest on that set of teeth for a number of minutes. The solution and the light combination works to enhance your smile and can potentially do so up to a few shades whiter.

For more information about smile makeovers, call Dr. Pliev in Ottawa, ON at 613-235-5348 or visit us online at www.ottawadentistryonkent.com

Dr. Konstantin Pliev proudly serves patients from Ottawa and all surrounding areas.

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Wrapping Up the Summer with a Healthy Snack | Ottawa Dentist

Now that we are wrapping up the warm summer months, we need to begin to swap out our frozen snacks for a warmer one. The kiddies are back to school; you send them with an apple for the teacher. The leaves change from bright, vivid greens to more rust-like, “apple-y” colorations. It going to get chilly so it’s time to break out the cinnamon sticks for our apple cider.

Apples aren’t only a fruit used to sweet talk the teachers or keep away the doctors. They also help keep our smiles strong and bright. Apples are naturally full of vitamins A and C, key to keeping our gums nice and healthy. There is also a small amount of acid in the apple that acts as an astringent on your teeth when you bite into it. Just make sure to keep the peel on the apple. It needs the crunchiness of the skin to help clean your teeth. And that is why they are also known as nature’s toothbrush.

If you feel like snacking but don’t want an apple, you are just bored. An apple is an ideal snack. The fiber makes me fuller than something bad and will have less sugar (and calories) than some typical junk food.

Just because the apple is now our favorite go-to snack, please remember that these sweet fruits do have sugar content, so be sure to brush afterwards to make sure you get rid of the loosened plaque left behind by your apple. If you don’t have a toothbrush handy, do a quick rinse with some water. The more your mouth is rinsed, the less chance that plaque can become re-attached to your teeth.

For more information about healthy snack options, call Dr. Pliev in Ottawa, ON at 613-235-5348 or visit www.ottawadentistryonkent.com.

Dr. Konstantin Pliev proudly serve patients from Ottawa and all surrounding areas.

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Pediatric Dental Care for New Parents | Ottawa Dentist

Many parents believe that the best time to establish good dental hygiene habits is right when their child’s first tooth appears. In actuality, the best time to start taking care of your child’s teeth is the moment that your child is born. Because even without teeth, bacteria can and will build up. To prevent this from happening, the routine is simple – wipe your baby’s gums with a soft damp cloth after every feeding. Once your child’s teeth develop and break through the gums, it’s time to start brushing. Do it twice a day. Use a soft children’s toothbrush and minimal to non-fluoride toothpaste. As they reach preschool-age, feel free to start using fluoride toothpaste. But remember – too much fluoride toothpaste can leave permanent stains on the teeth.

We all know kids love sugar – try to keep their favorites as something special, not something expected. But that’s not all; there are other circumstances, like being born with low birth weight or premature, ongoing treatment for any special health care needs, brown areas and white spots on the teeth and infrequent trips to the dentist can all lead to the development of cavities.

To stop this from happening, start teaching your family good dental hygiene habits. Everyone needs to be involved in order to get the habit to stick. Other family members can pass on cavity-causing bacteria to both children and babies, so every family member has to make an effort to take care of their teeth properly.

When it comes to baby’s first dental visit, most dental practitioners agree that parents should take their children in for an appointment as soon as their first tooth pops out, but no longer than the child’s first birthday.

For more information about pediatric dental care, call Dr. Pliev in Ottawa, ON at 613-235-5348 or visit www.ottawadentistryonkent.com.

Dr. Konstantin Pliev proudly serve patients from Ottawa and all surrounding areas.

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Can Halloween Be Good for Your Dental Health? | Ottawa Dentist

We all know that Halloween is a tough one on the teeth when it comes to all of the candy consumption. But did you know Halloween can actually have some health benefits? You may carve your pumpkin with a crooked grin, but it can work wonders on your own.

One cup of cooked pumpkin has 1.8g of protein, barely any (0.2g) of fat, and 12 g of carbohydrate. You will also get huge chunks of Vitamins A and C, and also Vitamin E, riboflavin, potassium, copper, manganese, thiamin, B6, folate and niacin, along with iron, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc.

But that’s not all – not only is eating pumpkin great for you but snacking on the seeds themselves are is fantastic too! These tasty seeds not only give your system lots of fiber (there’s more than 5g in 1oz of pumpkin seeds), but you also get protein and calcium. So, how does it benefit your smile? Here are just a few:

Zinc. A study that tracked toothpaste usage with 0.5% zinc citrate found participants suffered from less bleeding gums.

Iron. Iron, which is found in pumpkin seeds, keeps your tongue healthy, so snacking will keep your mouth nice and healthy.

Magnesium. In order to take care of your tooth enamel, Magnesium works with calcium to create a hard enamel that resists tooth decay.

Vitamin A. Key to healing, Vitamin A is helpful for damaged gums, and a cup of pumpkin gives you all the Vitamin A you need in a day.

And while we all know this is pumpkin spice season, flavorings and spices don’t have the health benefits of actual pumpkin.

For more information about the benefits of Halloween, call Dr. Pliev in Ottawa, ON at 613-235-5348 or visit www.ottawadentistryonkent.com.

Dr. Konstantin Pliev proudly serve patients from Ottawa and all surrounding areas.

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Straightening Things Out Early | Ottawa Dentist

We all want what’s best for our children, especially when it comes to their health. And having a healthy mouth is how to prevent many health issues from arising, because our mouth is our first line of defense against many of our overall health issues. And as new parents, instilling a proper dental hygiene routine is paramount in order to get our children used to the process of keeping up proper dental hygiene throughout their lives. But what if you could also ensure that orthodontic work won’t be an issue as they loose baby teeth and permanent teeth grow in? Now you can – with the Myobrace® System.

There are four advantages to this pre-orthodontic treatment guaranteed to remedy major habits that children may develop as they grow and these habits can lead to various dental issues, including crooked teeth and jaw issues:

  • Breathe through the nose
  • Correct tongue resting position
  • Swallow correctly
  • Keep the lips together

With the Myobrace® System, you can curtail these bad habits by fixing the issue from the very beginning. We’re talking by the age of three. Yes, this treatment option consists of four intra-oral appliances that need to be worn an hour a day, and while sleeping. This series will benefit a different issue: habit correction, arch development, dental alignment and retention. These appliances will train your child’s mouth to correct poor habits that can not only lead to dental issues, but also sleep issues. And with a proper arch development, permanent teeth will have a clear access to come in straight and without issue.

Being a parent is hard work, why not get a head start on some things, like your child’s dental future?

For more information about the Myobrace® System, call Dr. Pliev in Ottawa, ON at 613-235-5348 or visit www.ottawadentistryonkent.com.

Dr. Konstantin Pliev proudly serve patients from Ottawa and all surrounding areas.

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It Happens in Threes | Ottawa Dentist

We have all heard the phrase “it happens in threes”, and it’s generally never meant for anything nice. We all want to be healthy and safe so that we aren’t considered in the next unfortunate set of three. And one way to ensure that you aren’t involved in the next bad luck trio is to look after your dental health. Because our oral health is very important to our health overall. You may not be aware but according to the Canadian Dental Association, seven out of ten Canadians will develop some form of gum disease in their lifetimes. 70% will have this issue, but only if they are lax on their daily dental duties.

Knowledge is power and this is no different. Gum disease is caused by bacteria found in plaque, the sticky colorless film that forms on your teeth. If this plaque isn’t removed by proper oral hygiene habits, plaque will build up and the bacteria will infect every aspect of your mouth. There are three stages of gum disease and each affect your mouth differently: gingivitis, periodontitis and advanced periodontitis.

Gingivitis. This is the inflammation of your gums and teeth that’s caused by plaque buildup at your gum line. This is the only stage of gum disease that can be reversed, since the bone and connective tissue are not yet affected.

Periodontitis. Once periodontitis occurs, the supporting bone and tissues structures are irreversibly damaged. Your gums will start to form pockets below your gum line, which traps plaque and food.

Advanced Periodontitis. This is the final stage of gum disease, where the tissue structures and supporting bones are destroyed, which can cause you teeth to shift and loosen, affecting your bite.

For more information about gum disease prevention, call Dr. Pliev in Ottawa, ON at 613-235-5348 or visit www.ottawadentistryonkent.com.

Dr. Konstantin Pliev proudly serve patients from Ottawa and all surrounding areas.

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The Changing of the Toothbrush Guard | Ottawa Dentist

We know that having a healthy mouth is important for many reasons. It’s aesthetically pleasing, it prevents bad breath and other dental maladies and because it is our first line of defense, it helps keep our overall health in check. That’s why it’s important to know that while your dentist is the professional at keeping your teeth clean and healthy, most of the work depends on you and your daily habits. The more you work to prevent bacteria from settling in your mouth and causing damage, the better off your dental checkups are every year. Because our dental health starts with brushing, let’s take a look at how to care for our friend the toothbrush…

Bacteria are our mouth’s natural enemy. And the best way to limit the bacteria in your mouth is to brush your teeth. How do we do this? With a toothbrush. But brushing your teeth is not enough. The best way to keep those cavity creeps away is to replace your toothbrush on a regular basis. In fact, dental professionals will recommend changing out your toothbrush every three to four months. If you use an electric toothbrush, throw out the head just as often. And if the bristles become frayed, you’re sick, or you have a weak immune system, throw it out frequently.

Every time you’re tempted to skip brushing and flossing your teeth, remember how many bacteria lurk in your mouth – and that they cause gum disease, and decay, and bad breath. Make sure you’re brushing and flossing as often as possible to eliminate some of those bacteria. Rinsing your mouth with an antibacterial mouthwash before or after brushing can also help reduce plaque-causing bacteria that can lead to gum disease. Happy brushing!

For more information about caring for your toothbrush, call Dr. Pliev in Ottawa, ON at 613-235-5348 or visit www.ottawadentistryonkent.com.

Dr. Konstantin Pliev proudly serve patients from Ottawa and all surrounding areas.