Author Archives: Sixth Avenue Dentistry

No matter how good your brushing habits may be, you can’t taking proper care of your teeth if you aren’t taking proper care of your brush. A bad or faulty brush can do a lot more harm than good, so consider the following advice on how to make sure that you’re always sticking a clean and functional brush in your mouth.

First of all, remember to change your brush regularly. The common wisdom is to get a new brush at least every three months. If you see noticeable wear on the bristles, like if they begin to splay out at odd angles, you may need to change it earlier. You should also replace your brush more frequently if you suffer from gum disease, or a similar condition that may cause your brush to become infected with germs.

When you store your brush, stand it upright in a glass or similar vessel so that it can air dry between uses. Make sure that it doesn’t touch the head of any other brush. You might consider periodically dipping your bristles in hot water or an antibacterial mouthwash to clean it, but don’t try to microwave it or put it in your dishwasher. For more advice on toothbrushes, consult Sixth Avenue’s International District dentist.

Do you have a preferred mouthwash? Regularly rinsing with a proper dose of Listerine, Crest Pro-Health, or some other antiseptic wash is a good way to get better visits at our International District dentistry clinic. The bad news is that, if you favor one and only one kind of rinse, you might not be getting the full effect after a while.

This is according to the findings of a study conducted by Clinical Research Associates. Researchers found that the bacteria inside your mouth will gradually develop a resistance to a mouthwash. You can avoid this by switching to an alternate mouthwash every two or three months. Identify a second product that makes use of a different active ingredient than your primary rinse, and rotate periodically.

There is a recent trend in dental care known by the naturopath community as “oil pulling”. Practitioners do away with tooth brushing in favor of vigorously swishing with natural oil for twenty minutes, two times a day. This is supposed to clean your teeth, reduce inflammation, and give you all sorts of other benefits. But is this for real? Before you throw away your own toothbrush, our International District dentistry clinic has a few words of caution.

There is a lot to be skeptical about in regards to oil pulling. Many of the theories that this practice are based upon are downright absurd, and the rest are backed up with studies that are highly suspect. It can be difficult to empirically dismiss the practice, but it does remain clear that it is not an apt substitute for tooth brushing.

Consider the prospect of swishing for twenty minutes, two times a day. Your jaw will probably get tired after minute number two. After all of this work, you’re still not getting the same benefits of two minutes of proper brushing. A toothbrush is the only known way to scrub plaque off of your teeth, and toothpaste plays an important role in reinforcing your tooth enamel with fluoride. With this in mind, think twice before abandoning proven oral hygiene techniques for unproven medical fads.

If you’ve ever had a dentist use amalgam to give you a filling, you may have discovered some minor discoloration on the soft tissues in your mouth. It may come in the form of a blue-gray stain on either your cheek or gums. Our International District dentistry clinic knows stains like this as amalgam tattoos.

An amalgam tattoo occurs when some of the material used in your amalgam filling embeds itself in your tissues, much like the ink of a regular tattoo. These are nothing to worry about for the most part, though some people with more visible tattoos find them to be unsightly. If this is the case, you may be able to have the mark removed with a minor surgical procedure.

Look out for any changes in your amalgam tattoo. If the mark gets bigger or changes color, chances are good that it isn’t an amalgam tattoo after all. This may be a warning sign of oral cancer or other dangerous condition, which you should show to your dentist.