Preventive Dentistry

The principles of good dental hygiene are the first things we learn about maintaining our healthy smiles. However, as time passes and we grow older, we may not always stick to the routine as closely as we should. As a result, common issues such as tooth decay and gum disease remain significant problems for a majority of adults, despite the fact that these issues are highly preventable. To help patients throughout the North Hollywood community take better care of their smiles and avoid common dental health concerns, we offer a few tips on how to successfully master effective dental hygiene.

Things Your Smile Needs Every Day

• Brushing and flossing – Everyone knows that brushing and flossing their teeth every day is important, but not everyone does so as frequently and effectively as they should. For example, if you don’t brush at least twice and floss at least once every day, without fail, then the plaque that forms on them will calcify into tartar. Once it does, your toothbrush and floss will no longer be able to clean it away.
• Feeding oral bacteria – At any given moment, there are several hundred different types of bacteria living inside of your mouth. Fortunately, the majority of them harmless, but several types are specifically harmful to your teeth and gums. These bacteria metabolize nutrients in your food and beverages, converting them into acids and toxins that lead to conditions such as tooth decay, gum disease, and more. In addition to cleaning your teeth and gums, limit how much damage oral bacteria can do by eating responsibly and brushing or rinsing after every meal.
• Bring your dentist in on the effort – The effort you put into keeping your smile healthy at home will only be effective for so long on their own. To keep your smile healthy for life, you also need help from your dentist and hygienist in the form of routine professional checkups and cleanings. During your visit, we’ll make sure that there are no traces of plaque and tartar on your teeth or gums by thoroughly cleaning them away. Then, we’ll check for signs of any issues that may have already developed and require immediate attention.

Get Better at Keeping Your Smile Healthy

Keeping up with good hygiene is the first (and most important) step in keeping your smile healthy for life. For more information, schedule a consultation by calling Modern Smile in North Hollywood, CA, today at 818-763-9353. We also proudly serve patients who live in Burbank, Toluca Lake, and all surrounding communities.

Your smile and the quest to keep it healthy are both dynamic. What your smile needs and threats that it faces can change from one day to the next. However, for most patients in North Hollywood, the most common of those threats is tooth decay – the condition that causes cavities to form in your teeth. The good news is that, despite being common and potentially hazardous to your smile, cavities don’t have to become a significant threat. With the right dental health care and maintenance, and a good understanding of how cavities develop, you have an excellent chance at protecting your smile from them.

A Constant Struggle

What makes cavities such a common threat is the fact their main cause – oral bacteria – is a natural part of your oral health. Every day, hundreds of bacteria combine with food particles and saliva to form plaque, which clings to your tooth enamel. Certain types of bacteria release acids that weaken this enamel until the bacteria can reach your tooth structure. Once bacteria-induced decay sets in, the hole in your tooth, or cavity, will continue to grow until you treat it.

What You Don’t See at First

When a cavity forms, the discomfort in your tooth can become an obvious symptom of its presence. However, before your tooth starts to hurt severely, there are many other signs that could indicate tooth decay. For example, during your regular dental checkup and cleaning, your dentist can spot signs that your tooth enamel has grown weak or that a small part of your tooth has begun to decay.

How to Conquer Cavities

The best way to conquer cavities is to prevent them with consistently good hygiene and regular preventive dental care. However, if one develops, then the next best thing is to treat it as soon as possible, preferably with a custom-designed tooth-colored filling. Made from composite resin, the filling can be tinted to match your tooth’s appearance while successfully restoring the affected tooth structure and protecting it from bacteria in the future.

Successfully Protect Your Smile from Cavities

Cavities can become a significant threat if they’re ignored long enough, but you can protect your smile from them successfully with good hygiene and diligent dental care. For more information, schedule a consultation by calling Modern Smile in North Hollywood, CA, today at 818-763-9353. We also proudly serve patients who live in Burbank, Toluca Lake, and all surrounding communities.

When it comes to keeping your teeth and smile healthy, some things are obvious. For instance, you have to brush your teeth at least twice and floss at least once every day to keep plaque off of them. You also have to visit your dentist regularly for routine checkups and cleanings to prevent most dental health issues. However, many patients in North Hollywood don’t realize that eating a healthy, well-balanced, and highly nutritious diet is just as important.

Healthy Smile Nutrition

Like every other part of your body, your teeth and gums rely on an adequate supply of nutrition to function properly and fight off disease. These are some of the most important of those nutrients:

• Calcium – Your body uses calcium for a wide variety of things, including facilitating a number of vital biological processes. It’s also vital to maintaining your jawbone’s strength and integrity, as well as the structures and enamel of your teeth. In fact, calcium is the main building block of your tooth enamel, which is your teeth’s first line of defense against harmful oral bacteria.
• Magnesium – Like calcium, magnesium is essential for several hundred different biological and biochemical reactions throughout your body. For example, it’s needed for your nerves and muscles to function properly, including those in your teeth and oral cavity. Because magnesium also helps your body control inflammation better, it’s especially important for protecting your smile against destructive gum disease.
• CoQ10 – Coenzyme Q10, or CoQ10, is one of the most important enzymes to your body’s functions. It allows your body’s cells to pull energy from your food to facilitate processes such as tissue healing. It’s also an antioxidant that helps your body more effectively fight off harmful bacteria that could lead to tooth decay, gum disease, and more.

Learn More About Keeping Your Smile Healthy

There are many aspects to keeping your smile healthy and beautiful for life, and healthy nutrition is just one of them. For more information, schedule a consultation by calling Modern Smile in North Hollywood, CA, today at 818-763-9353. We also proudly serve patients who live in Burbank, Toluca Lake, and all surrounding communities.

Your dentist plays an important role in keeping your smile healthy for life, but the basics of a healthy smile involve what you do at home every day. A consistently good hygiene routine, which means brushing your teeth twice and flossing at least once every day, is the only way to keep harmful plaque from overwhelming your teeth and gums. As such, a good hygiene routine is also one of the most important ways for patients in North Hollywood to prevent serious dental issues that could lead to the need for more extensive treatment options.

The need for fillings or root canal treatment

Cavities, which are caused by tooth decay, are the most common condition to result from excessive plaque and tartar buildup. The harmful oral bacteria found in plaque produce harmful acids that erode tooth enamel, allowing the bacteria to infect the tooth. If this happens, then you’ll need to fix the tooth by filling the cavity or by undergoing root canal treatment, depending on the extent of your tooth decay.

The need for periodontal cleaning and maintenance

Next to tooth decay, gum disease is another common problem resulting from inadequate hygiene practices. While some bacteria attack your teeth, others attack your gums, leading to gingivitis and the progression of gum disease. If you slack in your hygiene routine and gum disease develops, then you’ll need complex periodontal cleaning and maintenance to stop the disease from destroying your gums and jawbone structure.

The need for a custom tooth replacement

The dental conditions that can result from poor hygiene, especially gum disease, can dramatically increase your risks of experiencing tooth loss. If you do lose one or more teeth, then you’ll need a custom-designed replacement to restore your bite’s function and your smile’s appearance.

Improve Your Hygiene to Protect Your Smile Better

Good hygiene is the basis for keeping your smile healthy and beautiful for life. For more information on how to improve your daily hygiene routine schedule a consultation by calling Modern Smile in North Hollywood, CA, today at 818-763-9353. We also proudly serve patients who live in Burbank, Toluca Lake, and all surrounding communities.

At some point, nearly 60% of adults will lose one or more teeth for a number of different reasons. Because it’s so common, many people believe that they’re destined to lose teeth eventually. However, it doesn’t have to. Tooth loss may be a frequent problem, but in most cases, it can be prevented with proper care and maintenance from the dentist. Today, we show patients in North Hollywood, CA, how to boost their chances of preventing tooth loss by improving certain aspects of their dental health and hygiene routines.

Take everyday hygiene seriously

Most people know that they should take their hygiene routine seriously, but not everyone sticks to that routine. Missing a beat can lead to over accumulation of harmful oracteria, which lead to issues such as gum disease (the lead cause of adult tooth loss). Consistently good hygiene helps control this bacteria buildup, and therefore, your risks of losing teeth due to gum disease.

Know what your risks are

Besides oral bacteria and the dental diseases they can cause, other risk factors for tooth loss include improper bite alignment, a tendency to grind your teeth consistently (bruxism), and other conditions that could threaten the integrity of your teeth. Keeping up with regular preventive dental visits will give your dentist the chance to thoroughly assess your specific risks of tooth loss and address them to preserve your smile.

Team up with your dentist

Once you know your risks, you and your dentist can team up to keep them under control and mitigate the threat of tooth loss. For example, if you develop gum disease, then a consistent schedule of periodontal cleaning and maintenance can help you control it before it causes enough damage to lead to tooth loss.

Learn How to Lower Your Risks of Losing Teeth

Tooth loss is common because there are many different factors that contribute to your risks. By understanding these factors, however, you can significantly improve your chances of preventing it. For more information, schedule a consultation by calling Modern Smile in North Hollywood, CA, today at 818-763-9353. We also proudly serve patients who live in Burbank, Toluca Lake, and all surrounding communities.

Tooth decay can impact children of all ages, from toddlers to teens. But what can you do protect their smiles? In today’s blog, we’re discussing the causes of cavities and the preventive treatments we can offer to help kids in Hollywood, CA, enjoy a cavity-free smile!

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We all want to keep our smiles beautiful and healthy, and that means focusing on more than just our teeth. Our gums are essential for maintaining optimal oral health, so keeping them free of periodontal disease is vital. In today’s blog, we’re going to take a look at a widespread and serious oral health issue that impacts the gums of our patients in Hollywood, CA. How do you recognize periodontal disease?

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The bad thing about bad breath is that you probably won’t realize you have it until after everyone else does first. Their reactions can make your condition a potentially endless source of embarrassment, and for many patients, it persists until they seek professional help from their dentists. That’s because, in most cases, chronic bad breath (officially known as halitosis) is just a symptom of something else that needs your attention. Today, we explore a few important facts about chronic bad breath and how you can mitigate its effects to stop it from affecting your daily life.

Things Your Really Should Know

• Chronic bad breath isn’t the same as common bad breath. For example, most people commonly have bad breath when they first wake up in the morning. That’s because oral bacteria that produce foul-smelling chemicals gather more frequently when you sleep and your saliva dries up. However, for some patients, chronic bad breath might just be a similar case to morning breath, but with a bacteria presence so strong that even brushing and flossing can’t eliminate them.
• The good news is that professional dental cleaning should be able to clear up your excessive oral bacteria buildup, and therefore, your chronic case of bad breath. If you stick to a regular schedule of checkups and cleanings, then this should happen naturally. However, the presence of so many oral bacteria also means your risks of things like tooth decay and gum disease are also heightened. When such issues develop, they can also cause or exacerbate your bad breath, and eliminating it will require addressing the issue with more involved treatment.
• No matter what the cause of your chronic bad breath is, your best bet for getting rid of it is to schedule an appointment with your dentist. Even if it isn’t time for your regularly scheduled checkup and cleaning, your dentist will have to diagnose the cause of your bad breath before recommending an appropriate and effective treatment plan.

Find Out How to Get Rid of Bad Breath Permanently

When bad breath persists, it can affect your daily life in several negative ways. Knowing why will help you and your dentist eliminate it so you can go back to being you again. To learn more, schedule a consultation by calling Modern Smile in North Hollywood, CA, today at 818-763-9353. We also proudly serve patients who live in Burbank, Toluca Lake, and all surrounding communities.

Most people realize that the cornerstone of their good dental health lies in how well they practice dental hygiene at home. However, consistency is just as important quality. No matter how effective your brushing and flossing routine is, it will only work if you do it at least twice every day. Because it’s the most important part of your preventive dental routine, your hygiene can also become your smile’s greatest vulnerability. To prevent this from happening, we offer some advice to our North Hollywood, CA, patients on how to improve simple daily hygiene practices.

Watch how you brush and floss

The point of brushing and flossing your teeth is to thoroughly clean them of harmful oral bacteria and food particles, which form plaque and cling to your teeth’s surfaces throughout the day. These substances are the leading causes of tooth decay, gum disease, chronic bad breath, and more. Therefore, it’s important to brush and floss in front a mirror so you can be sure that you don’t miss a spot.

Oral bacteria eat, too

The reason oral bacteria are dangerous is because they metabolize the nutrients that are found in your food and beverages. Every time you eat or drink something, oral bacteria consume it, too. As they do, some of them convert these nutrients (such as sugar) into acids that specifically target your tooth structures and gum tissues. To limit the amount of substances they produce, limit how often you snack throughout the day, and brush your teeth or rinse your mouth with water after each meal or snack.

You need your dentist’s help

Besides keeping your hygiene practices on point at home, you also need your dentist’s help to successfully keep oral bacteria from endangering your smile. For example, plaque can quickly calcify into tartar, and when it does, your toothpaste and water can’t remove it. Instead, your dentist or hygienist will have to clean it off using professional dental equipment.

Learn More About Protecting Your Smile Better

Improving your hygiene improves your chances of preserving your healthy, natural smile without needing more extensive dental treatment later. For more information, schedule a consultation by calling Modern Smile in North Hollywood, CA, today at 818-763-9353. We also proudly serve patients who live in Burbank, Toluca Lake, and all surrounding communities.

If you stick to your dentist’s recommendations, then you should attend a dental checkup and cleaning appointment at least twice a year. However, many patients don’t stick to that schedule as consistently as they should, and in many ways, that’s why common, easily preventable dental issues are so prevalent. For patients throughout the North Hollywood, CA, area, we strongly suggest maintaining your schedule of checkups and cleanings to avoid complications that can arise from such issues.

Why You Need More than Brushing and Flossing

Brushing and flossing your teeth every day serves a very specific purpose – to clean away the harmful bacteria and food particles that make up dental plaque. The microbes in plaque are the main reason why things like tooth decay and gum disease form. As they metabolize nutrients in your food, these bacteria produce harmful acids and toxins that erode your teeth and gum tissues. Yet, even if you brush and floss consistently, you can miss spots of plaque, and before long, those spots will calcify into tartar.

Why Checkups and Cleanings Matter

No matter how often you brush and floss, tartar can’t be removed from your teeth with just toothpaste and water. On the contrary, it has to be professionally cleaned away with the help of your dentist or hygienist. Tartar isn’t always obvious at first, but over time, it can lead to discoloration on your teeth as well as substantially heightened risks of chronic dental health issues.

What Happens if Prevention Is Too Late?

The issues that develop from excessive oral bacteria buildup can be prevented by stopping these bacteria from growing strong enough. However, because no one is perfect in their hygiene and preventive dental care routines, such issues remain a common threat. During your routine preventive visits, we’ll also check to see if you’ve developed tooth decay, gum disease, or any other dental health concern, and recommend appropriate treatment to address it, if necessary.

Schedule Your Next Dental Checkup and Cleaning

Along with good dental hygiene at home, sticking to a regular schedule of checkups and cleanings is also vital to keeping your smile healthy for life. For more information, schedule a consultation by calling Modern Smile in North Hollywood, CA, today at 818-763-9353. We also proudly serve patients who live in Burbank, Toluca Lake, and all surrounding communities.