Why Do Gums Bleed?

Are you noticing red in the sink when you brush your teeth? Before you panic, know that there are several reasons this could be happening and a lot of them can be remedied with proper care, diet, and lifestyle. As the best dentists in the Springfield area, Access Dental and Dentures has the information you need to see if your bleeding gums are more than meets the eye. For a professional diagnosis, schedule an appointment at one of our many offices near you!

Causes

Gingivitis

Gingivitis is a gum disease that is quite common. Its symptoms are inflammation of the gums caused by plaque buildup at the gumline. It causes your gums to appear swollen and red. Because your gums are so tender and inflamed, they easily bleed when subjected to pressure - even pressure as light as a daily tooth brushing.

Aggressive Brushing

If you have a hard-bristled brush or use too much force when brushing your teeth, that could be the cause of your bleeding gums. Take good care of your gums by using a soft-bristled toothbrush and taking care to not wear down your gum line with forceful brushing. Using an electric toothbrush may help this effort since it takes care of a lot of the brushing work for you!

New Flossing Habit

If you recently started flossing after not regularly practicing the habit for some time, it could cause your gums to bleed. If your gums are tender and sensitive, then the force of flossing could aggravate them slightly until they have had time to get more used to the process.

Preventive Tips!

Oral hygiene

Help prevent bleeding gums by practicing good oral hygiene. Keeping your teeth clean and free from plaque allows your gums to avoid painful inflammation and swelling that can lead to bleeding. Help prevent plaque bacteria and tartar buildup by brushing your teeth twice a day, flossing regularly, and using a mouthwash.

Stop smoking

Smoking reduces your body’s ability to mount an immune response to fight off viruses and bacteria. This can mean that the plaque bacteria on your teeth will continue to grow more rapidly than it would in a non-smoker.

Healthy Diet

A balanced, healthy diet is good for your overall health. It can even help promote great oral health and prevent gum bleeding. Increase the amount of vitamin C and K in your diet to help improve your immune system and help your blood clot better. Include these vitamins in your diet with natural foods like oranges, sweet potatoes, red peppers, carrots, and dark leafy greens. Limiting the amount of carbs and sugar in your lifestyle is also very helpful in keeping your teeth healthier. These high-sugar substances feed the plaque bacteria and allow it to grow further and faster. Green tea is also a great addition to your teeth-healthy diet as it contains an antioxidant that helps lower your inflammatory response.

When to Contact Your Dentist

If you have noticed blood in the sink and none of the helpful habits above have helped, it may be time to see your dentist. If it has been 7-10 days, it could be beneficial to have a professional, deep dental cleaning of the plaque and tartar buildup that has been occurring over time. Call Access Dental to schedule yours!

We want to be your dentist because your family deserves a great smile! 

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What the Holidays Could Do to Your Teeth!

Seeing family after a long time apart, sharing delicious meals together, exchanging sentimental gifts... The holidays are a time of joy. You may not even realize what the holidays are doing to your teeth until the damage has already been done. From over-indulging and making less healthy selections to relaxing on important health habits, the holidays can wreak havoc on your oral health. As the best dentists in the Springfield area, Access Dental and Dentures has the tips to help you keep your teeth strong this holiday season. Read on to learn more!

Portion Control

During the holidays, it can be hard to manage your impulse control. After all, how often do you have a full feast of delicious foods and desserts spread out in front of you? Not only do we tend to eat too much during the holidays, but we also tend to eat too often. As you spend time in the kitchen with your family preparing dishes for dinner, you could fall into a bad habit of snacking all day. It's just s taste test, right? Unfortunately, if you are consuming food constantly all day - especially food high in sugar and fat - it is in contact with your teeth for a longer amount of time and can cause more deterioration to your enamel. Try to avoid snacking throughout the day to keep your teeth feeling fresh - not to mention you'll be able to save your appetite for dinner and be able to enjoy the meal sitting around the table with your loved ones instead of already feeling too full.

Menu Items

In addition to eating too much and too often over the holidays, we tend to make worse choices. Instead of eating a lightly seasoned fish filet with steamed veggies, we indulge in gravy-smothered dishes high in carbs, fat, and sugar. It can be easy to make excuses for the holidays, especially when you think ahead to January and promise yourself that your resolutions will make up for the bad choices now. Unfortunately, the bad food choices you make over the holidays can do more than just add pounds. Bacteria feed on sugar, so the more sweets you consume over the holidays, the more the bacteria in your mouth grow. If you choose to indulge this season, try to limit the amount you consume, and ensure you rinse your mouth and brush your teeth after a particularly sugar-rich meal.

Losing Important Habits

With all of the travel families do over the holidays, it can be difficult to maintain healthy habits. When you wake up in your family home, you want to spend your time interacting with loved ones, not flossing! Keep in mind, though, that this simple habit that takes about 5 minutes can help keep you healthier overall. Not flossing and brushing regularly can cause weak spots in your enamel to progress and turn into cavities. Not to mention, if you floss and brush as prescribed, your smile will be brighter and can look better in those holiday photos that you'll look back on for years to come.

See Your Dentist!

Schedule a check-up and cleaning for right after the holidays to ensure your teeth are well cared for and in good condition moving into the new year. We can help identify any issues that may be present in your oral health and create a treatment plan tailored to you. We are the best dentists in the Springfield area, and we are passionate about your oral health. Give Access Dental a call today!

We want to be your dentist because your family deserves a great smile! 

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How to Create and Keep a Habit for a Healthier Lifestyle!

Creating a healthy habit can seem like a daunting task, especially around the holidays. Nevertheless, your oral health is a priority! As the best dentist in the Springfield area, Access Dental and Dentures cares about you and your health. And we have the tips to help you form the healthy habits you deserve this season. Read on to learn more about how to form and keep a habit.

Timing is Everything

Studies have shown that it takes a full 30 days to form a long-lasting habit. During that first month, it is important to perform the habit every day. If you allow yourself “cheat days”, it can make it significantly more difficult to solidify the habit.

If possible, perform the habit at the same time every day to get your mind in a subconscious routine. After a month of regularly performing your new habit - say, flossing - it should come naturally!

Plan for Success

When creating a new habit, start simple. Considering your oral health, start by forming the daily habit of flossing your teeth. Once that has become a natural part of your routine, you can start eliminating sugary drinks and foods to further protect your dental health.

Help remember the habit by giving yourself reminders. Set up alerts on your phone alarm and calendar, or tape notes for yourself in areas you will regularly see them. Visual reminders can be incredibly helpful in keeping you on track.

Replace bad habits with good ones to reduce the temptation of going back to them. Giving up soda and other sugary drinks? Replace that liquid consumption with water. For extra flavor to help prevent boredom, infuse your water with cucumber or lemon and basil. Trade candy for fresh fruit. Berries make a great substitute for that sour candy craving!

Reward each step of the process by keeping track of your new habit with a bullet journal or sticker chart. It may seem juvenile at first, but the feeling you get from regularly rewarding yourself for accomplishing the day’s goal can be a great motivation and reminder to help keep you going strong.

Forgive Yourself

As you set out to start your new habit this season, remember that no one is perfect. If you stumble and drink a bunch of sugary lemonade, or if the day gets away from you and you forget to floss, it’s not the end of the world. Remind yourself why you’re working toward your new healthy habit and get back to killing it the next day. You can do it!

Your Missouri Dentist

At Access Dental and Dentures, we know that forming a new habit can be difficult and sometimes even seem impossible. But we also believe you can do it, and we will be right here to help you along the way. Contact our office near you to set up an appointment and get started on the journey to a healthier you!

We want to be your dentist because your family deserves a great smile! 

1-877-DENTIST

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Fun Dental-Inspired Gifts for the Holiday Season!

The holidays are a great time to show your family you're thinking of them and you care about their health. Many people may not think to get a dental-inspired present, but it could be just the thing for your friend, family member, or Secret Santa recipient this year. Access Dental and Dentures cares about the health of you and your friends and family. Read on for a few of our ideas on some fun dental-inspired gifts this season!

Electric Toothbrush

An electric toothbrush could be the perfect gift this season! Electric brushes help take some of the work out of brushing your teeth. While it's not a labor-intensive activity, the automatic brushing from the electric toothbrush helps keep your teeth clean by ensuring your teeth are getting enough cleaning action. Some electric toothbrushes even have timers letting you know when to switch sides.

A great, affordable electric toothbrush on the market right now is Quip. Quip is not just an electric toothbrush, it is also a subscription service that can help keep your teeth cleaner than a standard disposable brush. The service starts with a Quip brush and brush holder and sends replacement heads in the mail so you never have to think about when to buy a new toothbrush. What a great idea!

Toothbrush Sanitizer

To help keep your gift recipient's toothbrush clean and free from bacteria, you could buy them a toothbrush sanitizer. These handy tools use ultra-violet light to kill bacteria that could otherwise grow in the bristles of the toothbrush. You can find these devices in large models you keep in your home bathroom or in small portable models that are battery-powered.

Dog Flossing Toys

If your Secret Santa is a pet owner, a dog flossing toy could be a great gift! Dogs need dental care to stay healthy, just like we do. If plaque and tartar build up too much on their teeth, it can cause gum disease and possibly a life-threatening, system-wide infection. Realizing this problem, several inventors came up with creative toys to help keep dogs' teeth clean.

These toys are designed with rubber bristles that gently clean dogs' teeth while they simply enjoy playing with the toy. Some of them even have places to add dog-safe toothpaste with flavoring that will make your gift recipient's dog love it even more!

Re-Usable Straws

While this may not seem related to dental care at first glance, using a straw when drinking certain beverages can help protect your teeth from exposure to damaging chemicals. Sugary, acidic, or staining drinks won't be in contact with your teeth as much if you use a straw. As an added bonus, re-usable straws are helpful to the environment by eliminating waste from disposable straws!

Dental Care in the Springfield Area

Access Dental and Dentures is the best dentist in the Springfield Area! We love our patients and love helping keep you healthy and happy. Try some of our favorite dental-inspired gift ideas this year, and let your loved ones know that Access Dental is a great place to take care of your oral health.

We want to be your dentist because your family deserves a great smile! 

1-877-DENTIST

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How These Drink Favorites Could be Harmful to Teeth

Drinking soda, enjoying a juice or coffee in the morning, and sipping a glass of wine with dinner are all habits that can be quite common in our culture. While most people know that soda and alcohol aren't particularly good influences on health, they may not realize how many drink favorites could actually be harming their teeth. At Access Dental and Dentures, we care about your health and want to help keep your pearly whites in good condition. Read on to learn more about the common drinks that could be damaging your teeth, and come visit the best Springfield area dentists for your fall check-up!

Soda

Carbonated drinks already have a pretty bad reputation when it comes to health. Because of their acidic and sugary nature, sodas can be incredibly harmful to your teeth. The acidity in soda can actually be the bigger issue. Both diet and regular sodas can do the same amount of damage to the enamel protecting your teeth. For that reason, it is best to avoid drinking soda.

Juice

Some individuals believe that juice has a lot of health benefits. Some "old wives' tales" say that cranberry juice helps with infections, or that orange juice can help stave off a virus. While the vitamins and minerals may be helpful in some respects, the concentrated acidity and sugar content are not doing your teeth any favors. Because fruit juices are concentrated, they are much more acidic than eating a piece of fruit on its own.

Tea and Coffee

While tea and coffee are both somewhat acidic, they aren't particularly detrimental on their own. Green tea can actually be beneficial for your gums, and black coffee may help prevent cavities. The problem with coffee and tea comes in when you add sugar and creamer. Sweet iced tea has a high sugar content that can be very damaging to the enamel on your teeth. Sugary creamers and artificial flavorings in coffee can also be harmful to the health of your teeth.

Alcohol

Alcoholic beverages can dry out your mouth and cause a lack of sufficient saliva. Saliva is helpful and important in washing away bacteria and preventing tooth decay. If your mouth is too dry, saliva cannot properly do its job. Contrary to popular belief, white wine may actually be worse for your teeth than red wine. While red wine can cause surface stains, white wine is more acidic than red and can cause permanent enamel damage.

Sparkling Water

This being on the list may surprise people! Sparkling water is actually quite acidic and erosive, which could be very bad for your teeth. In fact, the level of acidity in sparkling water matches and sometimes exceeds the acidity in orange juice.

How to Help Minimize Damage

If you do choose to keep these popular drinks as part of your diet, there are a few ways you can try to help limit the damage they do to your teeth.

1. Use a Straw - Drinking through a straw can help minimize the amount of contact the drink has with your teeth, and thereby help reduce potential damage.
2. Don't Sip - If you're drinking something acidic, don't sip on it throughout the day. This lengthens the amount of time your teeth are exposed to harmful materials. 
3. Wait, then Brush - After you have one of these acidic drinks, wait about 30 minutes and then brush your teeth. Brushing immediately could scrub the acidic substances into your teeth, furthering the damage.   
4. Diluting the Drink - For some of these drinks, it could be helpful to dilute them with 50% water. This will reduce the amount of acid and sugar that come in contact with your teeth.  
5. Visit Your Dentist - Regular visits to the dentist's office for checkups can help keep your enamel strong and catch any issues before they get too serious. 

Access Dental is the best Springfield area dentist, and we care about your oral health. We would love to help you take care of your teeth! Call 1-877-DENTIST today to schedule your appointment. 

We want to be your dentist because your family deserves a great smile! 

1-877-DENTIST

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4 Common Dental Hygiene Concerns

Keeping your teeth and mouth clean and healthy is an important habit. In addition to helping increase your confidence with a beautiful smile, proper oral hygiene is good for your overall health. If the health of your teeth is neglected, they can develop issues and even start to decay. Our expert team at Access Dental can help improve your oral health with regular cleanings. Read on to learn about the common issues that could develop without proper care, and call us today to schedule your cleaning appointment to help prevent them!

Plaque

This is one of the first issues that can arise when your teeth aren't properly and regularly cleaned. Plaque is a colorless, sticky bacterial substance that grows on nearly every surface of the teeth. If plaque is allowed to build up, then the acidic biofilm can start to cause tooth decay and gum sensitivity. Thankfully, plaque is fairly manageable with flossing and twice-a-day brushing.

Tartar

Tartar occurs in the mouth when plaque is not regularly removed and it starts to calcify. It becomes a hardened, yellow substance on the teeth and can be damaging to oral health. Additional plaque can build up on the tartar, making the calcifications grow larger over time. Tartar buildup can cause bad breath, receding gums, and inflammation. It's important to regularly brush your teeth to remove plaque and prevent tartar buildup. If tartar does start to accumulate on your teeth, schedule an appointment with your local dentist to have it professionally removed.

Weak Spots

As bacteria and other harmful substances sit on the surface of your teeth, the protective layer of enamel on your teeth starts to erode. This creates a weak spot on the tooth that can quickly become a cavity without proper care. Using toothpaste that contains fluoride can help strengthen these areas and help prevent further issues from developing. The best way to avoid weak spots is by practicing active prevention. Try to avoid sugary drinks, overly acidic foods, and sweets. If you do indulge, make sure to brush your teeth thoroughly to prevent the sugar and acid from sitting on your teeth and causing damage.

Cavities

Cavities occur when tooth decay becomes so advanced that it has eaten through multiple layers of the tooth's structure. Once the enamel layer has eroded and bacteria reach the inner areas of the tooth, a deep cleaning and dental filling is likely. In more advanced cases, a root canal or tooth extraction may be necessary.

Preventative Tooth Care

Healthy teeth can help increase confidence and improve your wellbeing. To help promote your oral health and prevent these common issues, develop regular hygiene habits. Brush your teeth twice a day, floss, and schedule regular visits to the dentist. Access Dental and Dentures has an incredible team. We are the best dentists in the Springfield area, and we care about you and your health.

We want to be your dentist because your family deserves a great smile! 

1-877-DENTIST

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The Art of Brushing Your Teeth

Brushing your teeth may seem like an intuitive activity, but sometimes people miss important steps without even realizing it. As the best dentist in the Springfield area, Access Dental has some great tips to help improve your toothbrushing habits and improve your oral health. Read on to learn more, and call us today to schedule a cleaning appointment for an even brighter smile!

Amount of Toothpaste

Many people don’t realize how little toothpaste you need. Too much toothpaste can cause extra abrasion to your teeth’s enamel, damaging your teeth. It can also leave white spots on the surface of your teeth from too much fluoride – a condition called fluorosis.

The recommended amount of toothpaste to use is merely a pea-sized drop. This amount helps clean off bacteria and buildup without being too aggressive to the surface of your teeth. For kids with developing teeth, the suggested amount is even smaller. Use just a smear or rice-sized amount for small children.

How Long to Brush

Some people brush their teeth absent-mindedly while performing other morning chores and don’t know how long they typically spend brushing. They may even get distracted and need both hands for a task and pause their tooth brushing. What seems like an adequate amount of time could be too short.

Two minutes is the optimal amount of time to brush your teeth. This comes to about 30 seconds for each side (top right, top left, bottom right, and bottom left). To help keep yourself on track, try to avoid performing other parts of your morning routine while brushing your teeth. Get a fun sand timer for your bathroom or choose a two-minute song to start your morning off on the right foot.

Where to Focus

It can be easy to get into a routine of absentmindedly brushing your teeth without realizing you’re regularly missing places. Some people commonly miss the inner sides of their teeth. Plaque can build up on the back of your front incisors as a result of incomplete tooth brushing habits. Remember that every surface of your teeth exposed to food and drink needs regular cleaning – not just the surfaces you see when you smile.

Technique

Did you know that there are several different tooth brushing techniques? Side-to-side, up-to-down, and circular are some of the more common styles. Side-to-side can feel the most natural and easiest, but it’s not always the most effective method. Brushing up-to-down or in a circular motion can help remove plaque and foreign materials rather than simply pushing them around.

Schedule a Cleaning

These tooth brushing techniques can help keep your teeth cleaner and more protected. Be mindful of the amount of toothpaste you use, brush for two uninterrupted minutes, make sure you cover all surfaces of your teeth, and brush the plaque down and away from your gums with a circular or up-to-down technique.

Remember to also schedule regular teeth cleanings with the best Springfield area dentist at Access Dental to remove buildup that your toothbrush can’t get for a healthier, whiter smile!

We want to be your dentist because your family deserves a great smile! 

1-877-DENTIST

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