PatientFYI: When the days are long, the weather gets hot, and the kids are out of school, families tend to raid the refrigerator more often – for snacks and cold drinks.  In fact, studies have shown that people develop more tooth decay during the summer months than at any other time of the year.  So it’s even more important to have lots of sugar-free, nutritious foods and beverages on hand, because they’re better for your family’s teeth, as well as being low in calories and easy on the budget. read more…

Tags: Dental Health, Improve Your Smile

PatientFYI: A kiss is not JUST a kiss!!!  Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Dentistry had dental students kiss bacterial culture plates to tell how much bacteria is transferred in a kiss. read more…

Tags: dental, Dental Health, Find a Dentist, Gum Disease, Improve Your Smile, Patient Reviews

PatientFYI: Recent research has shown that most Americans are not doing a simple activity that will keep their smiles looking beautiful, reduce cavities, prevent tooth loss and as many dentist and physicians now believe – significantly reduce the chance of heart disease and strokes.

Even though most of our patients swear they do this activity, according to the American Dental Association, more than 90% of Americans don’t!  That simple activity?  You guessed it – it’s flossing your teeth.  And a quick and strenuous attempt to floss right before your dental visit doesn’t fool us!  But please read on, because there is hope for everyone!!

Flossing is the best way to clean bacteria and debris from the spaces in between your teeth and underneath your gums.  Left in place, that harmful film can cause cavities and gum disease, eating away at the bone that actually holds your teeth in place and causing your teeth to loosen and eventually be lost.  Scarier yet – recent research has linked gum disease to heart disease and strokes.   So don’t throw in the towel (or floss!) yet.

Any activity requires practice.  You couldn’t drive without lessons and a few thousand miles on the road.  You couldn’t type the first time you sat down at a keyboard.  And though flossing is much easier than either of those activities, many people try it a few times and then frustratingly proclaim “I can’t floss!”  Well with a little patience and practice you can!  And some of the better flosses on the market (such as “Glide”) make it much easier than it was in the past.

At Shwedel Family and Cosmetic Dentistry we really want you to keep your teeth the rest of your life and be as healthy as you possibly can.  That definitely involves flossing every single day – and we know you can do it!  Feel free to give us a call at 313-292-5590 and we will arrange for one of our fantastic hygienists, Gaye, Cheryl or Marissa, to give you a free flossing lesson.  Or just ask during your regular cleaning appointments.  No one is a “natural born flosser,” it takes practice.  So there is nothing to be embarrassed about, and your beautiful smile will last a lifetime!

Tags: dental, Dental Health, Diabetes, Gum Disease, heart disease, Improve Your Smile, Patient Reviews

Dr. Guy Mangia: Comprehensive Dental Examination is a service we provide for all new patients and for our adult patients of record every 2 years. Similar to a complete medical examination with your physician, this examination  process is considered the current Standard of Care with the American Dental Association.  During this examination we are able to document and compare the findings that are significant to your oral health.  Being able to compare these findings at a two year interval allows us to detect changes in your dental health that may be subtle to the human eye, resulting in early detection and correction of oral problems.  Of course, we will continue to provide updated examinations at the time of your  periodontal maintenance visit in between your comprehensive dental evaluations.

The Comprehensive Examination and Evaluation consists of six areas of your oral health: read more…

Tags: Cosmetic Dentistry, Cosmetic Dentists, dental, Dental Health, Dental Implants, Dentist Reviews, Find a Cosmetic Dentist, Gum Disease, Improve Your Smile, Teeth Whitening, Veneers, Whiter Teeth

Dr. Shwedel: No longer are fluoride treatments just for children.  New research shows that everyone, regardless of age, can benefit from them.  Fluoride not only helps protect newly erupting teeth from decay, but mature teeth that present their own set of needs.  Such as exposed roots from gum recession or the margins where crowns & teeth meet or even the effects of dry mouth as a result of medication & decreased saliva.  read more…

Tags: Children's Dentistry, Cosmetic Dentistry, Find a Dentist, Parent Reviews of local Dentists

MSNBC.com

When Rachel Sarah took her daughter in for her first dental checkup a few years ago, she got a surprise. Not only did her 24-month-old have two cavities in her baby teeth, the pediatric dentist suggested she might have “caught” them from her mom. read more…

Tags: Children's Dentistry, Find a Children's Dentist, Parent Reviews, Pedodontist

PatientFYI: As with any other part of your child’s body, your child’s mouth needs to be cleaned regularly to keep it healthy, working properly and looking good. Research is now showing that the health of your mouth affects the health of the rest of your body, too. If your child’s mouth is clean and healthy, the rest of his or her body will be better off too.

Oral hygiene needs to start early. This means taking action even before your child gets his or her first tooth. Wipe your child’s tongue, gums and cheeks at least once a day, before bed or nap time, with a clean, damp washcloth wrapped around your finger. You can also use a terrycloth finger cot. This fits over a finger and is made for this purpose. Most drugstores carry them.

It’s best if you can look into your child’s mouth while you clean it. Lay your baby in a bassinette and stand behind his or her head as you use the wipe. As your child grows, sit down and have your child stand or kneel between your legs, facing away from you. Then, your child can tip his or her head back into your lap.

While you are looking in your child’s mouth, keep an eye out for anything that doesn’t appear normal. This could be white or red spots in the mouth, bulges that you can’t identify, or other changes. Ask your child’s dentist about anything you see.

As soon as the first teeth appear, it is especially important to clean along the gums around the teeth. This is where plaque is most likely to cause cavities and inflamed gums. Plaque is a sticky white or yellowish substance that contains bacteria. Wiping is a good way to clean your child’s mouth until the first few teeth begin to show. Then it is best to switch to a soft-bristled, infant-sized toothbrush. Use a very small smear of toothpaste.

Your child’s teeth don’t touch each other when they first come out. There is space between them. But as your child grows, the back teeth will move into position against one another. This can occur as early as age 3 or as late as age 6. When these back teeth start touching each other, it’s time to start flossing your child’s teeth. Flossing is essential because toothbrush bristles cannot reach between the baby teeth. This makes the areas between teeth at high risk for cavities.

Tags: Find a Children's Dentist, Parent Reviews of local Dentists

PatientFYI: I want to discuss, briefly, the relationship between gum disease and both heart disease & diabetes.

Medical research has shown there is unquestionably shown that there is a positive link between gum disease and cancer, heart disease and diabetes. read more…

Tags: Find a Dentist, Gum Disease, heart disease, Medical Health, Oral Cancer

Gingivitis, which may affect more than one-half of the U.S. adult population, is a condition commonly attributed to lapses in simple oral hygiene habits. However, a new study shows that development and reversal of gingivitis at the molecular level is apparently much more complicated than its causes might indicate. read more…

Tags: Find a Dentist, Gingivitis, Oral Hygiene, Patient Reviews

PatientFYI: A dental exam is much more than a cavity-spotting expedition. In addition to decay, dentists look for potentially life-threatening conditions including oral cancer.

According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, 35,000 Americans are diagnosed each year with oral cancer, while 8,000 Americans each year die from it. Without early detection, survival rates significantly worsen. read more…

Tags: Dental Health, dental technology, Dentist Ratings, Find a Dentist, Gum Disease, Parent Reviews of local Dentists, Patient Reviews