Patient Education Archives | Diamond Dental of Sacramento

The Rubber Dental Dam
The Rubber Dental Dam

Patient Education

The Rubber Dental Dam

Throughout your treatment at our office, we want to keep you comfortable and safe while providing the best possible care. During many of our procedures we use a rubber dam (aka dental dam) to help. The rubber dam is a thin sheet that allows us to isolate the teeth we're treating. By stretching the rubber shield over a U-shaped framework, only the teeth being treated are exposed to the water spray and filling materials (such as silver amalgam bits or resin particles). The rest [...]

By Diamond Dental of Sacramento|July 28, 2026|Patient Education|

Tongue-Thrusting
Tongue-Thrusting

Patient Education

Tongue-Thrusting

Train that Tongue Without therapy, the wrong oral habits, sooner or later, will cause tooth movement, breathing and speech problems You'd think swallowing is easy as falling off a log. But some of us need help retraining muscles that we've been using wrong all along. A "bad" swallow is just the luck of the draw, usually caused by unbalanced facial muscles or enlarged tonsils. When you swallow normally (and we do it about 2,000 times a day), the tip of the tongue is against [...]

By Diamond Dental of Sacramento|June 23, 2026|Patient Education|

The ABC’s of Vitamins
The ABC’s of Vitamins

Patient Education

The ABC’s of Vitamins

Here's our Cast List: Vitamin A; the "B's" (B1, B2, B3, B6, B12); Vitamins C, D, E, K, and P. Some, like Vitamin C, are old friends; others, like Vitamin P (bioflavonoids) are more mysterious. What they have in common: all can be found in one or another food source. And all can be taken as "Vitamin Supplements." Here's where the ABC's of vitamins begin to get fuzzy. Not everyone agrees on the merits of vitamin supplements. And vitamins appear to have a role [...]

By Diamond Dental of Sacramento|June 2, 2026|Patient Education|

Dentistry and the Older Adult
Dentistry and the Older Adult

Patient Education

Dentistry and the Older Adult

With people living longer, we, as dentists, recognize that the dental profession must shoulder a new responsibility for enduring dental care. We all hope we'll live to a ripe old age. At the same time, we want to enjoy the rest of our years and live a quality life. As people age, they become more prone to certain chronic conditions. Old adults may encounter root decay, erosion of the root surfaces, fracturing of fillings and brittle teeth, or gum infection. People with dentures or [...]

By Diamond Dental of Sacramento|May 12, 2026|Patient Education|

Targeting Teenage Risks
Targeting Teenage Risks

Patient Education

Targeting Teenage Risks

Risk-taking is a normal part of teenage development—and often a growth opportunity for parents, too! Heads up to handling some common dental risks of adolescence so you both stay smiling. Wisdom Comes With Age The wisdom teeth, the third molars, are the last to emerge. They appear in the teen years sometimes two, sometimes three or four, or sometimes none at all. In a too-small jaw, the risk is they'll not be able to erupt, and cause pain and swelling from impaction. Or they'll [...]

By Diamond Dental of Sacramento|May 5, 2026|Patient Education|

When it Comes to Toothpaste
When it Comes to Toothpaste

Patient Education

When it Comes to Toothpaste

Choosing the right toothpaste for yourself—or your family—goes beyond the coupon you may have in hand, or bright displays in the marketplace. For your health, you have to think like a dentist. At different times in our lives, dental strategies change, toothpaste requirements change. And product name isn't half as important as the basic components of the paste. Key word: ingredients. Besides fluoride, which every adult should use in one form or another (less for children), consider the options: Say you have sensitive teeth. [...]

By Diamond Dental of Sacramento|April 28, 2026|Patient Education|

When Prescriptions and Dentistry Don’t Mix
When Prescriptions and Dentistry Don’t Mix

Patient Education

When Prescriptions and Dentistry Don’t Mix

Some prescribed drugs and dental surgery may not be a good mix. You might not think that what your MD prescribes—and what your dentist does for your mouth's well-being—are closely related. But both are significant. If you are contemplating upcoming dentistry like a tooth extraction or an implant, it may be helpful to review which prescribed drugs you are taking for other problems. Two red flags, here: prescription drugs for osteoporosis and certain drugs used in association with chemotherapy against cancers. The big word [...]

By Diamond Dental of Sacramento|April 21, 2026|Patient Education|

Dead Toothbrushes
Dead Toothbrushes

Patient Education

Dead Toothbrushes

A really dead toothbrush—one badly worn and frayed, not necessarily just old—is like having no toothbrush at all. In fact, you're probably doing more harm than good if your brush has seen better days. All dead toothbrushes should be given a decent burial. If you have doubts about the life left in your toothbrush, bring it in at your next appointment, and we can assess the damage. We've seen a lot of sorry-looking brushes, but maybe yours will take the prize. Why they should [...]

By Diamond Dental of Sacramento|April 7, 2026|Patient Education|

The War on Germs: Are We Winning? Should we be?
The War on Germs: Are We Winning? Should we be?

Patient Education

The War on Germs: Are We Winning? Should we be?

Homicide: bad word. It means killing another human being. Germicide? For many, good word. It promises to kill what are hated and feared most in this super-sanitary era: germs. Germ is sort of a catchall that refers to any microorganism we can't actually see. That's sort of like referring to every non-human living thing as an animal: elephants, mosquitoes, salmon, vultures. Fact is, there are only a few bad actors in the world of microorganisms, and we pretty much know who they are. Take [...]

By Diamond Dental of Sacramento|March 24, 2026|Patient Education|

Dealing with a Dental Phobia
Dealing with a Dental Phobia

Patient Education

Dealing with a Dental Phobia

The bad thing about dental phobia is that it prevents people from seeking the care they need—when they need it. The good thing about it is that, today, we can treat fear as successfully as we treat tooth decay or crooked teeth. Over six million people experience some degree of anxiety when they visit the dentist. Two million dental patients are just plain scared, so scared that they suffer shaking, confusion, heart palpitations and changes in speech and blood pressure just thinking about dental [...]

By Diamond Dental of Sacramento|March 3, 2026|Patient Education|

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