preventive dentistry

We’ll Keep You Smiling This Summer

June 2, 2016

Welcome to the Really Smile blog!

We are a full-service dental practice based in Carmel, Indiana.

Our office was designed with YOU in mind. To make sure that each patient is comfortable when they get here, we have set up a complimentary refreshment area.

You can then listen to soothing music in our tensing room while you prepare for your appointment. You’ll be pleased to know that this room also comes replete with a massage chair, Tempur-Pedic cushions, blankets and pillows.

Then we will attend to your needs, load you up with education, and then send you on your way. As part of that education, we wanted to make sure you are keeping your oral health top of mind this summer. For today’s blog post, we have compiled some suggestions that will keep you smiling all summer long.

Water Is For Winners

We all know the importance of staying hydrated in the summer heat. But did you know that drinking water can also help keep your breath from turning foul? It helps by allowing you to produce enough saliva to fight off the bad-breath-causing bacteria. Drink up!

Keep Brushing

Our friends at the ADA tell us that you will need to brush every day at least twice regardless of the season. This is your basic defense against disease and decay. Do it like you mean it. And then find the floss!

Flossing Is More Fun Than A Root Canal

You should be flossing every day in order to get food, tartar, plaque, etc. out of the spaces in-between your teeth. This will save you time, expense, and pain down the road.

Rinse Your Mouth

Fluoride mouthwashes can bring added oral health benefits. They are an easy thing to add to your hygiene habits at home. Why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of all they have to offer?

Sugar Is A No-No

We understand that when you are at the pool or on the road a cold soda or sugary treat is delightful. We wouldn’t want to deprive you of life’s simple pleasures. But these choices won’t be good for your smile in the long run because all that sugar will feed the bacteria that hastens cavities and decay.

Make Us Part Of The Plan

Teeth cleanings from our team will eradicate any bacteria, tartar, or plaque that remains even after your best efforts to brush, floss, and rinse at home. What’s more, our thorough exams can alert you to any problems including cavities and oral cancer!

Don’t worry, if you are apprehensive about coming here, we can help you work through your dental anxiety. We now have NuCalm, a drug-free relaxation technology that will allow you to totally relax at the dentist and feel more refreshed at the end of your appointment than when you came in. Doesn’t that sound nice?

Our team is also certified in oral sedation. We offer nitrous oxide, and we can partner with an anesthesiologist to help us relax even the most fearful dental patients.

Learn More, Get Started!

Contact the Really Smile team today to schedule your next preventive dental appointment in Carmel, Indiana. You’ll be glad that you did!

Assess Your Risk For Common Oral Health Problems [Quiz]

April 29, 2016

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Maximize Your Oral Health Routine With These Tips

April 21, 2016

Brushing, flossing, and all that jazz are part of your daily routine. From the moment you wake up until the time you head off to bed you have to consider your oral health. It can be exhausting to keep up good habits, and a lot of us just end up falling into a trap of laziness and bad habits.

Even if you brush twice a day and floss in the evening you might not be getting the most out of your oral hygiene routine. Our Carmel dental team has seen plenty of cases where patients just didn’t know how to really maximize the benefits of brushing and flossing. In some cases they even end up doing damage to their teeth!

We want to help you get the best oral health you can, and all without much extra effort. Here’s a breakdown of your day and what you can do to maximize your oral health for every part of it!

First Thing In The Morning

When you wake up do you brush your teeth right away? Most of us don’t, but we need to get into the habit! We commonly think that brushing is done to get rid of food particles, and so we don’t need to brush until after we eat. That thinking is actually dangerous to your teeth and can lead to enamel damage and cavities.

We brush not to get rid of food particles, but to get rid of the stuff in our mouths that can turn those food particles into tooth-destroying acid. Plaque bacteria builds up in our mouths constantly, and it feeds on the sugars in many of the foods we eat. If you eat before you brush your teeth you’re eating with eight or more hours worth of bacteria in your mouth – more than enough to do some serious damage!

Brushing after you eat doesn’t just give bacteria a chance to damage your teeth, it’s also gives your brush a chance to do so as well! Acid attacks from plaque bacteria cause your teeth to soften enough to the point where you could scrape enamel away by brushing!

Our advice for the best morning habits: brush as soon as you get up and then use mouthwash or water to freshen up after breakfast.

Midday Touchups

Having acceptable breath is important in the working world, especially if you’re talking to clients or customers all day. Nothing’s worse than being in a meeting and stinking up the room because of something you ate during lunch – so you brush after a meal, right?

The same problem that followed eating breakfast follows eating lunch: you shouldn’t brush your teeth! Acid attacks that soften enamel last around 30 minutes, and brushing inside that window risks harming your teeth. So what should you do?

If you feel the need for a midday brushing we suggest doing it before you eat. That will keep the bacteria smell, acid production, and decay potential to a minimum. If you need to freshen your breath after you eat you could use mouthwash or water, or you could do the best thing: chew some gum sweetened with xylitol.

Xylitol is a great sugar substitute that’s actually sweeter and helps your teeth. When you chew xylitol gum you’re coating your teeth with a bacteria-resistant layer that makes it harder for them to stick to your teeth and produce acid. It’s a great way to freshen up and protect your teeth at the same time!

Evening Care

Getting ready for bed should always include brushing, but what about flossing? A lot of us hate to do it and avoid it as much as possible but it should really be part of your daily routine! Your brush simply can’t reach the spots between your teeth, making them some of the most vulnerable to decay and gum disease.

It only takes plaque bacteria about 24 hours to start irritating your gums, which is why you need to floss every night. The gross feeling you get on your teeth throughout the day is the same stuff that’s lurking between your teeth, so why wouldn’t you get rid of every bit that you can?

Don’t Forget Professional Care

Good oral care habits like the kind we described here need to be rounded out with twice yearly cleanings and exams too. There are some spots in your mouth that you simply can’t reach, and those spots need to be cleaned so that they don’t become harmful!

Schedule an exam by calling our Carmel office today at 317-451-4050 or request an appointment online. We hope to see you soon!

Could Preventive Dental Care Save Your Heart?

December 5, 2015

Dentistry and medicine are often placed in different categories: dentists operate in different facilities, dental insurance is separate from health insurance, and we even have a sort of psychological disconnect between the two.

At Really Smile Dentistry we want to break that wall down so that our patients understand the connection between bodily and oral health. Your mouth is no less a part of your body than your fingers, ears, eyes, and skin! In fact, studies show that oral health is closely linked to a variety of health conditions, including cardiovascular conditions!

You Mouth And Your Heart: The Connection

You’ve probably heard of gingivitis and gum disease: after all, those words are on almost every dental product you can buy in today’s world. Gingivitis is the early stage of gum disease and both are serious conditions with potentially devastating effects on oral health.

You’re probably wondering what the connection between gum disease and cardiovascular health is, and it’s actually pretty simple. Gum disease, at its core, is a disease of inflammation. When bacteria gets underneath your gums and spreads out of control your body reacts like it does when fighting any other kind of infection: inflammation.

Unfortunately for your gums inflammation isn’t enough to fight off oral bacteria and your gums become more inflamed and unhealthy as time goes on. Here’s where the link between your gums and heart is: inflammation.

Just like gum disease involves inflammation of the gums, cardiovascular conditions are overwhelmingly caused by inflammation of the heart, veins, and arteries. Multiple studies have found that patients who suffer from gum disease are much more likely to end up with heart conditions as well.

Fighting The Good Fight: Protecting Your Mouth And Heart

While it’s still debated how closely the two are connected, our Indianapolis dental team has a pretty universal opinion on the topic: why wait and see what goes wrong when you can potentially prevent harm with preventive dental care?

Preventing gum disease is often as easy as understanding what causes it. While there are certain things that can predispose you to developing gum disease, like genetics, medications, and illnesses you may have, there’s no reason you have to develop gum disease. It’s almost completely preventable!

There is bacteria in everyone’s mouths: it’s just a fact of life. Some of that bacteria is harmful and some of it is just there. The harmful stuff is what causes cavities and gum disease, which is why it’s so important to have a clean mouth.

Oral bacteria exists as plaque: that sticky white stuff that forms on your teeth. Left alone it can build and build, greatly increasing your chances of oral health complications. The best thing you can do at home is brush your teeth twice a day for at least two minutes and floss in the evening. Make sure to floss between all of your teeth: that’s one of the prime hiding places for oral bacteria!

Another crucial part of avoiding gum disease is regular checkups at our Indianapolis dentist office. By seeing us twice a year for cleanings and exams you can ensure your teeth stay healthy and we catch any problems before they become serious. You don’t want to come in after a long absence to find out you’re going to need a lot of expensive care!

At the early stages of gingivitis we can usually reverse damage and eliminate the infection with a deep cleaning that goes between your gums and teeth. This procedure is routine and generally performed in a single visit. Before you know it you’ll be in great health again!

More severe cases of gum disease can require serious treatments, including gum reconstruction and even tooth replacement. Advanced gum disease generally comes with tooth loss. Don’t let that happen to you when it’s so easily prevented!

Save Your Smile And Your Heart: See Us!

You can prevent gum disease with good home care habits and regular appointments at Really Smile Dentistry. We would love to see you at our Indianapolis office as soon as possible so that we can identify, treat, and prevent the spread of gum disease and the health complications that come with it.

Don’t wait to see what happens to your smile: call us today at 317-451-4050 or request an appointment by filling out our online form. We look forward to seeing you soon!

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