You water the garden three times a week, you change your car's oil every three months, and you replace the batteries in your smoke detectors once a year. Your teeth need to see your dentist on a regular schedule, too.
While daily oral hygiene habits are essential to good oral health, professional dental cleanings at our office ensure your teeth are treated to a deeper level of cleaning. We recommend for most of our patients to have a checkup at least every six months. In addition to a thorough cleaning and polishing of your teeth, these regular visits help us detect and prevent the onset of tooth decay and periodontal (gum) disease. During your visit, we’ll check the health of your mouth, teeth, gums, cheeks, and tongue. We’ll also check old fillings and restorations, as these can wear away over time from constant chewing, grinding, or clenching.
If you are predisposed to oral diseases, you may need to visit our office more often than every six months. Factors at play in these diseases include age, pregnancy, tobacco use, medical conditions (such as diabetes, dry mouth, or HIV infection), along with how well you take care of your teeth on a daily basis.
Make sure your teeth get the professional attention they deserve – If you’re overdue for your next cleaning, check with our office to schedule an appointment!

Thanks for the question. Your first visit typically includes an x-ray that allows us to view the structure of the jaw, the position of any teeth that have not yet erupted, malformed roots, and tooth decay.

The initial visit also involves getting your medical history. When you share your medical history with us, be sure to provide complete, up-to-date information on your health. Please let us know if you have experienced recent hospitalization or surgery, or if you have recently been ill. Also tell us the names, doses, and frequency of any medications you are taking — whether prescription or over-the-counter products — and the name of your physician. Please also let us know about any changes in your health or medications. This information will us select the most safe and effective method of treatment path for you.

Have any more questions about your first visit? Please give us a call!

Vending machines are a quick way to satisfy hunger. You put in $1.50 and you get back a candy bar, bag of chips or even a soda…but that’s not all! We wanted to remind you that vending machines not only dispense sweet treats and caffeine bursts, but they also dispense cavities!

Every time you chow down on that chocolate bar the bacteria in your mouth have a party feasting on the sugar. The sugar quickly turns into acid; that’s right, ACID!!! The acid sits on your teeth and eats away at the tooth’s natural enamel (the stuff that protects your tooth from decay). When this enamel is eaten away by the acid on your tooth, you get a cavity! Brushing your teeth after eating a sugary treat can help prevent cavities; but before you indulge, remind yourself: “can’t brush? Hold the sugar!”

When choosing a snack, consider these nutritional options that will not only satisfy your hunger and that “sweet tooth,” but won’t cause acid build up resulting in cavities:

• Fresh Fruits (berries, oranges, melon, pears, etc)
• Raw Vegetables (broccoli, celery, carrots, etc)
• Bread
• Pretzels (low salt)
• Milk (low or non-fat)
• Cheese (low or non-fat)
• Nuts and seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc)
• Sliced meat

If you would like more advice about how you can prevent cavities, give us a call!

Did you know February is National Dental Health Month? It's a great time of the year to renew those resolutions about continuing to practice great dental hygiene at home and by visiting Advanced Dental Care of Las Colinas. Today, we thought we'd discuss the importance of preventative oral care. While most people are familiar with traditional heart-saving practices such as eating healthy and exercising regularly, lesser-known are the benefits that great oral hygiene provides to one’s cardiovascular health.

Here are a few tips to help you continue those New Year's resolutions:

*Remember that poor oral hygiene is linked to serious common diseases such as cardiovascular disease, bacterial pneumonia and osteoporosis.

*Brush and floss every day to remove the plaque that can lead to cavities. Flossing daily removes food debris that your toothbrush cannot reach after meals.

*Replace your toothbrush on a regular basis. You should replace your toothbrush every three to four months or after a cold or illness to prevent re-infection. Remember to use a soft toothbrush so you won’t wear off the enamel of your teeth.

*Visit our office regularly. The American Dental Association recommends you visit Advanced Dental Care of Las Colinas every six months for regular checkups and cleanings. Fluoride treatments twice a year will help prevent tooth decay.

Each February, Dr. Jerry Dunn and our team focus on the preventive oral care of our patients. Have you visited our office the past six months? If not, it’s time to give us a call and schedule an appointment!

Our team at Advanced Dental Care of Las Colinas know that as more families turn to bottled water and away from the traditional tap, they may be missing out on one important ingredient that most brands of bottled water fail to include: fluoride!

For more than 60 years, water fluoridation has proved to be a safe and cost-effective way to reduce dental caries. Today, water fluoridation is estimated to reduce tooth decay by 20- to 40 percent in children who have access to fluoridated toothpaste.

Bottled water, however, which remains one of the more popular drinks in the world, may not contain any fluoride, which is known to help prevent and even reverse the early stages of tooth decay. The majority of bottled waters on the market do not contain optimal levels (0.7-1.2 ppm) of fluoride, according to our friends at the American Dental Association, or ADA. Many dental health specialists suspect bottled water’s increased popularity as the culprit behind rising rates of cavities.

Because fluoride helps strengthen teeth, it is an important component of maintaining good oral health. So if bottled water is your water of choice, be sure to check the label to make sure that your brand contains fluoride. As of a 2006 decision, the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, allows bottled water containing .6 to 1.0 milligrams per liter (parts per million) of fluoride to carry a label stating that fluoridated water may reduce the risk of dental cavities or tooth decay. The ADA has backed this decision.

Of course, simply drinking fluoridated water is not a magic ticket to perfect teeth. To keep your pearly whites in tip-top shape, it’s important to brush and floss daily and avoid sugary sweets, in addition to maintaining your fluoride intake and visiting Dr. Jerry Dunn and our team at Advanced Dental Care of Las Colinas regularly.

Even if you brush and floss daily, it is still important to see us at Advanced Dental Care of Las Colinas every 6 months, or as recommended.

Why?

• We can detect and treat tooth and gum problems that you may have never felt or noticed.
• Even thorough daily oral care may not be enough to prevent cavities and oral decay.
• Frequent visits can allow us to treat a problem early to prevent future complications.

If you are overdue for an appointment with us, please give us a call today!

-- Dr. Jerry Dunn & Team

Let’s face it- when was the last time you managed to keep a New Year’s resolution? We at Advanced Dental Care of Las Colinas believe the key to sticking to a goal is picking one that is both reasonable and attainable. If you haven’t yet picked a New Year’s resolution, consider setting one that will improve your oral health!
For example, resolve to brush twice and floss once a day. Good oral hygiene only takes a few minutes a day, and can make a big difference in your oral health and overall health too! For more oral health-themed resolutions for you and your family, check out this article.
We would love to see what you come up with, share with us by commenting on this post or on our Facebook page. Whatever your New Year’s Resolution, we wish you the very best for 2012!

-Happy New Year, from your friends at Advanced Dental Care of Las Colinas

Everyone loves fun facts and dental tips. Fun, fun, fun! Dr. Jerry Dunn and our team at Advanced Dental Care of Las Colinas came across these dental fun facts recently and thought you might enjoy!

• The second most common disease in the United States is cavities. The first is the common cold.
• There are almost 9,000 accidental pockings and piercings with toothpicks per year.
• X-rays may be an effective tool in preventing strokes.
• A child will have 20 baby teeth by the time he or she is 2 years old. Through childhood, kids gradually lose baby teeth and grow 32 permanent teeth, including wisdom teeth.
• According to consumer reports, dentists are among the 5 most trusted professionals in the United States.
• Approximately $2 billion a year is spent on dental products like toothpastes, mouthwashes and dental floss.
• The average American spends about 38 days brushing teeth over his or her lifetime.
• Kids in North America spend half a billion dollars per year on chewing gum.
• Approximately 94 percent of Americans say they brush nightly while only 81 percent say they brush first thing in the morning.
• Grand Rapids, MI was the first American city to fluoridate its water.
• Earliest record of a toothbrush was found in Chinese literature about 1600 AD
• The natural bristles of early toothbrushes were taken from the necks and shoulders of swine, especially pigs living in colder climates like Siberia and China.