Vancouver Dentist Downtown

Tag: Dental Health

  • Earth Friendly Office

    Earth Friendly Office

    When you’re choosing a new dentist there is so much to consider. Will you be comfortable there? Will they listen to you and honour your choices? Will they work with your insurance provider and make certain you’re using the coverage to your best advantage? But is the dental office also doing all they can to help protect you and our earth?

    As an average adult the first three questions you can reasonably answer for yourself. But how could you know what to look for in an earth-friendly dental office? That’s where we come in!

    What to Look For in an Earth Friendly Dental Office

    1. Digital X-rays – Probably the most important reason to look for Digital X-ray in your dental office is that as a patient you will experience 70% less radiation than conventional film X-rays. If that’s not reason enough, they are also immediately processed and your dentist can diagnose you faster. The archiving of your X-rays and sharing those images with specialists are also much easier and faster in digital form and less paper storage.

    2. Amalgam Separator – Sounds like something from a science fiction story, but the Amalgam Separator is the most important earth friendly device a dental office can employ. When old mercury fillings (AKA silver fillings) are taken out of the patients mouth, the bits of heavy metals like mercury and silver will go straight into our water system if an Amalgam Separator is not employed. The Amalgam Separator pulls all heavy metals from the water and allows only clean water to go into our water system. The heavy metals are then collected and disposed of meticulously using a special service. 

    3. Recycle Paper/plastics – This one is obvious. All offices should have a recycle system in place. Most of us do in our homes. Less paper in our landfills means less in our landfills. 

    4. Digital Files – The old look of paper files lining the walls is pretty out of date. Your dentist should keep everything in a safe digital file where they can send that info easily to a specialist if need be and save trees.

    5. Filtered Water – Your dentist should be using filtered water both when cleaning their utensils and spraying in your mouth. Your mouth often has open sores while your dentist is working, you deserve the cleanest of water to cleanse your mouth. Do not settle for less. Ask your dentist where they get their purified water from? Is it cleaned in house? What system do they use? 

    6. Special Recycle of All Sharp Objects – Sharp objects like needles need to be recycled properly. Besides the fact they are medical waste and could be disposed of that way, it’s better if your dentist is protecting the environment by recycling sharp objects like needles by a special service. 

    These six points are the minimum your dental office should offer to keep you, your family and the earth has healthy as possible. Ask your dentist. Keep them accountable. And most importantly your dental office should be a space where you feel free to ask these questions or any other that will help you feel comfortable during your dental visit. 

  • Unaware of Bad Breath

    Unaware of Bad Breath

    dreamstime_l_33303370You look good. You feel good. But how is your breath? Like an unseen force bad breath can take you down without your knowledge. Sure everyone struggles after a particularly garlicky meal. But what we’re talking about is when your breath has a personality of it’s own. And it’s not the type of personality that wins friends and influences people.

    Garlic can actually be quite the culprit in terminally bad breath. Did you know that the sulphuric compounds within garlic stay on your teeth until they are scraped, brushed or flossed out? It’s true! Worse is when garlic has affected your breath via your lungs. It sounds a little bit of a stretch but it’s true. As your body metabolizes garlic, allyl methyl sulfide (AMS), is absorbed into the blood and then expelled through your lungs distributing the smell of garlic to whomever you are speaking with. AMS can also escape through your pores. This is why garlic breath is so hard to get rid of at times. No matter how much you clean and brush your mouth, the garlic odor will still be in the air you exhale because it comes from the lungs. http://www.breathmd.com/garlic-breath.php

    There are also overall health problems that might be causing your bad breath. Did you know that throat and lung infections may cause bad breath? Also kidney disease, liver disease and diabetes all may cause bad breath. If you have other symptoms that may suggest one of the illnesses suggested above contact your doctor. Tonsilloliths are calcium deposits that collect on the lymph nodes. They are too far down the throat often to be seen but can become painful and cause terrible halitosis. But assuming your bad breath is somewhat common, we asked our hygienists what is the most common cause of bad breathe.

    Sarah from Willow Dental Care Garrison and Keisha from Willow Dental Care Chilliwack agree, a lack of tongue brushing, or scraping causes a build up of bacteria on your tongue. This bacteria can become quite smelly. Best thing is to brush your tongue once a day or scrape it with a tongue scraper every morning.

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    Sarah from Willow Dental Care Garrison

     

    Sarah, also recommends keeping up with your bi annual dental check ups combined with daily dental hygiene care. Tooth decay can also have a smell to the very olfactory sensitive.

    If you are experiencing Acid Reflux, that could be the culprit of your bad breath. An unhealthy lifestyle also can add to bad breath. Not eating enough vegetables in your diet or simply having an overly acidic body can expel not the most enjoyable breath. Being a smoker is an obvious killer of good breath.

    Mouthwash is the usual go to when it comes to bad breath, but it does kill some of the bad bacteria in your mouth. Mostly, it just covers up the problem. As a quick fix, sure!

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    Keisha from Willow Dental Care Chilliwack

    Looking for an on-the-run natural quick fix? May we suggest eating a breath cleanser:

    * Anise seeds will help with your digestion as well as help your breath.
    * Cardamom & fennel seeds are rather strong but can do the job too.
    * Dill, will only mask the odor.
    * Breaking off a small piece of a cinnamon stick and nibbling on it will help kill the bad bacteria and freshen your breath.
    * A single clove will do gang busters at killing the bad bacteria and keeping your breath nice and fresh, but remember you only need one!
    * Obviously parsley or mint sprigs freshen your breath in a natural way.
    * Lemon is wonderfully effective when you want to neutralize garlic breath as well as kill the bacteria that causes bad breath.
    * Green or peppermint tea, any tea that contains polyphenols will help to reduce the sulfur compounds that come from garlic.
    * Finally chewing coffee beans then spitting them out will also cleanse that garlic breath. You’ll have coffee breath, but some people like that.

    Probably one of the best and easiest natural preventions to bad breath is staying properly hydrated. Saliva kills a lot of the bacteria in your mouth that causes bad breath and cavities. So if you’re not drinking enough water, that might be the first thing you’ll want to add to your day. We’ve found there are lots of free water apps you can download onto your phone where you can track your consumption of liquids. Some you can even set a reminder so you drink more water if you are busy.

    But nothing beats having excellent oral health. That’s why we’re here for you! Let’s keep you healthy together! And no one would complain about having fresh breath when wanting to get close to their loved ones!