Dentist Blog

Of course everyone needs to take good care of their teeth and gums, but it's especially important for pregnant women. This is because developing severe gum disease during pregnancy can increase the production of chemicals that induce labor. However the latest research shows that pregnant women who visit their hygienist in Palatine may help cut the risk of having a premature birth by around 30%.

Regular visits to the hygienist in Palatine should be on everyone's must do list, as it's the only way to have tartar removed from the teeth and near the gum line. Tartar is hardened plaque bacteria, and its presence can lead to gum disease developing as it irritates the delicate gum tissue.

Fluoride is a mineral that is naturally present in some foods and water supplies. It's essential for good oral health in Palatine as it helps to harden tooth enamel, preventing tooth decay and gum disease. Every time you eat or drink something containing sugars or carbohydrates then the bacteria in your mouth will convert these into acid that then attacks the tooth enamel. The result is that your tooth enamel will become softer because it will lose certain minerals, especially calcium and phosphate.

Around half an hour later the pH levels in your mouth will have become far less acidic, allowing your teeth to remineralize to a certain extent. This is where minerals in your saliva, including fluoride, are redeposited back into your tooth enamel, helping it to re-harden. This is the reason our Palatine dental office doesn't recommend brushing your teeth immediately after eating, as this remineralization will be unable to occur, and you're more likely to lose these valuable minerals permanently. The inclusion of fluoride into your diet helps to harden the tooth enamel making it more resistant to acids.

You'll find your dentist in Palatine is extremely keen on preventative dental care. But what exactly is preventative dental care and why is it so important? There's no real mystery, as preventative dental care is all about taking the best possible care of your teeth and gums, and includes such things as brushing and flossing every day, eating healthy foods, and making sure you see your Palatine dentist at regular intervals to help prevent dental diseases. It all makes perfect sense, as preventative dental care has to be far better than neglecting your teeth and leaving treatment until the last minute when the pain becomes unbearable.

A lot of it is just purely common sense, as most people know they should be brushing twice a day, and that they should be flossing once a day. Flossing is essential to help remove plaque from those hard-to-reach surfaces in between the teeth and from just below the gum line. Choosing a healthy diet that is low in carbohydrates and sugars will help ensure levels of plaque bacteria in the mouth are kept reasonably low as there will be less food available for them. Of course this will also help your overall health.

Perhaps you are faced with the prospect of losing one or more teeth, or perhaps this is already happened. This could have occurred due to some type of trauma, or disease, but whatever the reason there's no doubt that losing teeth can be upsetting no matter what your age. This is where our dental office in Palatine can help. Our dentist is an expert at placing dental implants, alleviating the need for bridges, partial dentures and even full dentures.

If you have ever struggled with wearing a denture, and have worried about it falling out in public or coming loose then you'll immediately appreciate the advantages of having a restoration that is firmly locked in position. Imagine the freedom of being able to eat more or less whatever you want, and perhaps even more importantly having the confidence to do whatever you like. Dental implants aren't for everyone, but our dentist in Palatine can offer you a full consultation to assess your suitability.

Very few people actually enjoy flossing, if they are completely honest about it, but all of us know we should be doing it. According to statistics from the American Dental Association around 10% of Americans take the time to floss every day, while 40% floss less frequently. The remaining 50% don’t floss at all. So is it really necessary to complete this task every single day? If you ask your Palatine dentist then the answer will always be yes, and here is why. A recent report by the British Medical Journal found people who don't brush their teeth twice a day were at up to a 70% higher risk of having a stroke or heart attack compared to those people who brush twice daily, and obviously if you're not brushing twice a day then your most unlikely to be taking the time to floss daily.

Luckily most Americans to at least take time to brush both morning and night, as some 80% say they do so twice daily. But even if you're doing this, the contact areas between each tooth account for around a third of the total surface area, so if you fail to floss then you are failing to clean 33% of the total surface area. You might think it's enough to floss just before you come to our dental office in Palatine for a checkup, but believe me we do know if you haven't been flossing regularly. We are certainly not going to tell you off for not flossing, but we do encourage you to do so. Flossing is essential to help prevent tooth decay and gum disease, as it is the most efficient way of removing plaque bacteria and food debris from between the teeth. If you don't floss then the plaque bacteria will harden into calculus, a substance that can only be removed during professional cleaning. In addition any old food is likely to begin to rot quite quickly, and you may find you develop bad breath, not to mention cavities.