Category: Blog

With the kick off to summer upon us, we need to remember that summertime can bring with it extra risks. People are often more active, travelling on vacation, drinking or eating foods that are popular summertime treats. So here are a few tips to help you breeze through the season!

Drink Plenty of Water and Avoid Sugary Drinks

Staying hydrated is vitally important for your overall health year round, but during the hot summer months our bodies can become dehydrated quickly! Be sure to keep those water bottles on hand and drink regularly. Be sure to avoid consuming drinks with high sugar and acidic content such as sports drinks or fruit juices which increase the chance of dental decay and enamel erosion.

Protect Your Lips

When heading outdoors, we have all become so great with applying the sunscreen to protect our bodies and face from the sun’s harmful rays, but we often forget about our lips. The skin on our lips is very thin and vulnerable due to the lack of melanin, protecting our lips with an SPF lip balm is essential! Prolonged exposure to the sun could lead to forms of oral cancer.

Avoid Chewing Ice

With the hot weather, it’s tempting to pop that ice cube into our mouth to cool us down, but chewing ice wreaks havoc on your tooth enamel and dental work It can also cause your teeth to crack or break. You may not feel or see the damage at first, but you’ll feel the pain in your mouth and wallet later. If you have cravings to chew ice, be sure to check with your doctor as that can be a sign of iron deficiency anemia.

Be Cautious of Sporting Injuries

Sporting injuries happen frequently enough, although they tend to be more prevalent during the warm weather months. Lost or cracked teeth when diving into swimming pools or the impact of a ball or bat to the mouth are common accidents that unfortunately happen and there is not much you can to do prevent them. Simply being aware of the potential dangers will perhaps make you think twice when taking part in activities.

It’s good to know that Petaluma Dental Group is available 24 hours a day in case of emergency!

Happy Summer!

Everyone would love to have a brighter smile, but not everyone knows there are other benefit beyond the obvious ones, to having whiter teeth. Not only do whiter teeth help a person feel more confident, but your bright grin can make others feel more instantly attracted and connected to you.

Your smile is the first thing a person notices about you, and if your teeth are yellow and stained they are likely to be turned off. A bright, shiny smile projects good health and a youthful appearance. It can also open you up to more relationship opportunities, and increase your chances of getting hired, or closing a business deal.

Studies have shown that individuals with whiter teeth are more outgoing and engaging.
 When you know your teeth look brighter and healthier you may smile wider and talk more. This could have a lasting social, business, and even financial impact.

With the confidence gained by a brighter smile, you may find yourself working up the nerve to ask for that date or that promotion. Brighter teeth may also give you the motivation to take better care of your overall oral health, avoid behaviors that may stain your teeth, as well as brush and floss more often.

Petaluma Dental Group offers a variety of in-house whitening treatments, including Zoom! Whitening, and our new Endless Whitening Program. Give us a call today to find out more, (707) 762-0067. In under an hour we will have you on your way with increased confidence and a shiny, white smile that will light up any room!

Balance is key. And when it comes to our body’s pH levels, it’s the key to life! With our fast paced lives it’s easy to fall into the habit of grabbing

some fast food, or preparing quick and easy processed foods. But before you do, it’s important to think about not only the horrible ingredients that go into all that stuff, but also what that food is doing to our pH levels.

For the body to be healthy, it needs to maintain a pH balance between 7.35 and 7.45, which is on the alkaline side. Processed and fast foods, or ones that are high in sugar, have harmful acidic levels. This will affect the immune system and make us more susceptible to disease. Petaluma Dental Group asks that you do not eat or drink one hour prior to your appointment so that we can accurately check your pH level at the beginning of your visit.

Even if you have a healthy diet and are not worried about your pH levels, these alkaline foods will help your body for many other reasons and can add to your overall well being.

Top Alkaline Foods Spinach, Kale & Swiss Chard

Leafy green vegetables contain lots of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and are rich in alkaline. They also have the ability to rid the body of free radicals.

Melons

All kinds of melons are a great choice because of their high fiber and water content. It’s a delicious and refreshing fruit that cleanses the colon and detoxifies the entire body.

Lemons

Lemons are acidic in nature, but become alkaline after digestion. They are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and electrolytes and can also aid in cold, cough and flu relief.

Apples

Apples are super digestible and high in fiber. They are also rich in enzymes that are helpful in maintaining the body’s hormonal balance.

Avocado

Avocado contains good fats, which include omega 9 fat. This helps lower bad cholesterol in the body and help keep your heart healthy.

What is a Laser and how is it Used?

A laser is an instrument that produces a very narrow, intense beam of light energy. Lasers are often used in conjunction with other dental instruments for many different purposes from removing or shaping oral tissues, to sealing blood vessels and nerve endings, reducing bleeding and post-op pain and swelling.

Laser Use for Periodontal Disease

Periodontal or gum disease is an infection of the supporting tissues and bone that hold your teeth in place. Gum disease is the major reason for tooth loss after 30 years of age. Almost 80 percent of the adult population is thought to have gum disease to one degree or another.

Bacteria in your mouth can cause an inflammatory reaction which can destroy the fibers that connect teeth to bone and can create a small space, or pocket. A laser is used to selectively remove infected or diseased tissue lining the pockets around your teeth. The power of its focused light destroys otherwise inaccessible bacterial colonies while promoting healing.

Oral Systemic Health

Many studies have been taking place that link serious gum disease or periodontitis to a number of other diseases that affect the body. Studies have shown that your oral health can give warning signs for other diseases or conditions including heart disease, diabetes, stroke, bacterial pneumonia and pregnancy complications.

Treating periodontal disease with the use of lasers can eliminating infection and its accompanying inflammation to help reduce the severity of other disease processes, kill potential periodontal infections before they cause tooth loss, boost your immune system, and improve your overall health!

Calcium is the most common mineral found in the body and is essential for maintaining a healthy body. Not only is it needed to help build strong bones and teeth, but it is also vital for bodily functions like muscle contractions and blood clotting. Almost all the calcium in our bodies is stored in the bones and teeth. While bones feel rock hard, they’re actually living tissue that is constantly changing. If you don’t get enough calcium, the body will “steal” calcium that’s stored in bones and teeth to make sure it has enough to meet the body’s needs.

The recommended daily intake of calcium is 1,000 to 1,300 milligrams per day for people ages 10 and up. Children over the age of one should have 800 mg per day, while babies only require 400-600 mg.

Dairy products have a relatively high concentration of Calcium. One cup of skim milk has about 302 mg of calcium, 8 ounces of yogurt has between 250 and 400 mg, and 1.5 ounces of cheddar cheese has 306 mg. But for those who can’t, or choose not to eat dairy, there are other foods that are high in calcium such as dark green leafy vegetables (kale, spinach, collard greens, and turnips), canned fish (salmon, sardines), soy products, and almonds. You can also look for foods fortified with calcium like orange juice and cereal.

You will also need vitamin D to help absorb the calcium. Vitamin D is obtained from fluid milk, fortified soy and rice beverages, fatty fish such as salmon, and moderate exposure to the sun.

If you choose to take vitamin supplements, it is recommended that you take calcium supplements that includes Vitamin D in two doses of 500 to 650 mg, for a total of 1,000 to 1,300 mg daily. It’s difficult for the body to absorb more than that at one time.

Come in and take your mouth for a test drive with our Oral-B power brush trial program at Petaluma Dental Group. If you are looking to improve your at-home oral care, we can help! After your hygiene visit, you will have the opportunity to try the Oral-B Pro 5000 SmartSeries Electric Toothbrush with Bluetooth Connectivity. This power toothbrush features triple pressure control, micro pulsations to break plaque as well as oscillations and rotations to sweep it away, and a smart guide designed to motivate you to brush for 2 minutes at the appropriate pressure. With the Bluetooth connected to the Oral-B App, you can track your progress over time. You will be able to try out various Oral-B brush heads including the Flossaction, Sensitive Gum Care, Ortho, Deep Sweep, Prowhite, and more, to find the best fit for your needs.

Oral-B has also launched a new breakthrough daily 2-step premium toothpaste that can provide you with a 6x healthier mouth and 6x whiter teeth in one week. You will feel the difference from the first use!

Taking care of your teeth is an important part of your overall health. Petaluma Dental Group along with the Crest and Oral-B Pro-Health line of products is a great step in taking care of YOU!