Diamons

mouthwash

Photography by Dr. Padval

When Should You Brush Your Teeth?

Should you brush your teeth before or after breakfast? It's essential to brush your teeth at least twice a day. At night, you probably know that you should brush right before you go to bed. However, you may be wondering whether you should brush your teeth right when you wake up in the morning or after you eat breakfast. The answer is: You should brush your teeth first thing in the morning as soon as you wake up. The reason is that saliva production [...]

By |2023-06-27T08:00:31-07:00June 27, 2023|Patient Education|

Cleaning Your Tongue

Tongue, Brushing, Scraping, Etc. Cleaning Your tongue to prevent bad breath & improve oral health. One of the best ways to make sure your breath is fresh and clean is to make sure that your tongue is healthy and clean as well. The tongue may seem like a smooth surface, but nothing could be further from the truth. Upon closer examination, you'll see the tongue has many tiny bumps and divots. This textured surface is perfect for bacteria to grow and thrive. That's why [...]

By |2022-06-07T08:00:04-07:00June 7, 2022|Patient Education|

Should You Use Mouthwash?

The Answer is... Maybe! Mouthwash, or mouth rinses, are primarily used to remove food debris after brushing and flossing. They provide a pleasant taste, freshen the breath, and (depending on the active ingredient) can also protect against plaque & bacteria, periodontal disease, and/or cavities. So should everyone use mouthwash? Not exactly. Some people who use it will see only marginal benefits over brushing and flossing alone. Furthermore, repeated use of alcohol-based mouthwash can irritate soft tissue, damage the mucous membrane, and contribute to dry [...]

By |2020-06-23T08:00:15-07:00June 23, 2020|Preventative Dentistry|

Analyzing Bad Breath

Bad breath (or halitosis) happens to all of us from time to time, and nobody likes it. As well as being a social embarrassment, bad breath can also be a warning sign of more serious dental problems. By analyzing the type of bad breath patients complain of, we can help determine its cause. What Causes Bad Breath? External Factors Food - If your breath is especially strong after fragrant meals with as garlic or onions, there's unfortunately not much to be done except to [...]

By |2019-10-01T08:00:08-07:00October 1, 2019|Restorative Dentistry|

Don’t Forget to Clean Your Tongue!

Brushing Your Tongue Helps Freshen Breath With all the mints, mouthwash, chewing gum and other cover-ups available, there are many ways to freshen your breath. But, if you consistently suffer from halitosis, you might be forgetting an easy way to combat odor-causing bacteria... cleaning your tongue! It makes perfect sense if you think about it, the tongue is one of the largest structures in the mouth, and its textured surface provides the perfect environment for bacteria to grow. Furthermore, since this vital organ makes [...]

By |2019-04-23T08:00:52-07:00April 23, 2019|Preventative Dentistry|

Dental Myths, Fabrications, and Falsehoods

Originally, these ideas held because no one really knew how to maintain a great smile over a lifetime. Unfortunately, "popular wisdom" still prevents some people from recognizing how modern dentistry can keep teeth natural, attractive and pain free. Do any of the following notions sound familiar? If so, get ready for a little relief! A woman can expect to lose a tooth for every child The Reality: This myth used to be true in many cases, but thankfully with modern medicine and dentistry, there's [...]

By |2018-05-01T08:00:28-07:00May 1, 2018|Patient Education|

Making Bad Breath Go Away

Where Bad Breath Comes From Most, but not all, bad breath comes from bacterial plaque and food accumulated mainly towards the back of the tongue. The problem is, there are all sorts of not-likely-but-possible other reasons for halitosis: upset stomach, anxiety, inflamed gums, saliva deficiency, infections and removable dentures are among them. What Not To Do Because nobody—but nobody!— wants bad breath, a billion-dollar industry has sprung up hawking a variety of mouthwashes, rinses, drops, pastes and mints to mask halitosis. But there's a huge [...]

By |2017-03-07T00:00:20-08:00March 7, 2017|Restorative Dentistry|