Why Teeth Stains Are No Big Deal

Unlike most other dental issues, all teeth can stain at some point, whether from darkly-pigmented food and beverages or from something more serious, like a dental infection. The good news is that most teeth stains can be addressed with a simple teeth whitening procedure. Using professional-strength bleaching agents, Dr. Smith can brighten your smile in our office, in as little as an hour, or provide you with the tools to improve your smile from the comfort of your own home.

Why All Teeth Can Stain

You’re proud of your smile, so you do all you can to keep it looking as bright and as healthy as possible. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always guarantee that your smile will remain beautiful and blemish-free. A tooth infection, systemic illness, some medications, and habits like smoking or excessive alcohol consumption can dull and stain your teeth in spite of good hygiene. Even the foods and beverages you consume routinely leave their marks on your teeth. Professional teeth whitening can help erase most stubborn surface stains, but understanding the main reasons why food tarnishes your smile can help you prevent some of the most common teeth stains.

How Fast are Fastbraces?

A number of factors contribute to your smile’s good health and function, including how your teeth are situated in relation to each other. Ideally, teeth should grow straight up and down, or vertically, from your jawbone and out through your gums. Orthodontics is a focus of dentistry that involves the study and treatment of teeth that aren’t aligned properly, and orthodontic braces are the conventional method for straightening crooked teeth. Though malocclusion is usually detected and addressed in childhood, while teeth and the jawbone are still growing, it can also affect adults for a number of reasons. To help you straighten your permanent teeth in less time than traditional orthodontics, Dr. Quinn offers Fastbraces®, which utilize revolutionary brackets to reinvent the way braces move teeth.

Is Chewing Gum Good or Bad for Children’s Teeth?

The question has flustered parents, teachers, and children alike for ages—is chewing gum good or bad for a child’s dental health? The habit can undoubtedly be annoying for adults chaperoning groups of gum-chewing children, but whether or not its detrimental to a child’s smile is a complicated question. Some additives, excessive chewing, and a lack of good dental hygiene can make chewing gum a risk, but some types of gum can benefit your child’s natural mouth defenses when chewed in moderation.

How to Choose the Right Toothpaste

Toothpaste has been used in some form or other by civilizations as old as the ancient Egyptians. Primitive toothpaste ingredients were…well, primitive, consisting of charcoal, crushed bones, and/or pulverized sea shells. Thankfully, the tube of paste on your bathroom sink is more evolved, but the principles of effectively cleaning teeth remain largely the same. With so many different choices, each containing a different set of ingredients designed for a specific purpose, choosing the right toothpaste might not be as simple as it sounds.

The Secret to Dental Implants

Dental implants are small prosthetic root devices that are surgically inserted into a jawbone that’s missing teeth. More like natural teeth roots than conventional dental prostheses, dental implants are designed to become a permanent part of your anatomy, providing optimal support for your replacement teeth. By mimicking nature’s own design for your teeth, implants also eliminate the need for dental adhesives, supportive dental crowns (which rest on reshaped healthy teeth), and inconspicuous clasps. An implanted replacement tooth looks, feels, and functions like a healthy, natural tooth, and offers an important array of advantages for your long-term dental health.

What is Dentistry’s Relationship to Sleep?

As the window into your body, so to speak, your mouth and its health can have a serious impact on your overall quality of life. If asked about the relationship between dental health and sleep, some people might think first of a severe toothache that keeps them awake at night. The truth, however, is that certain oral health issues can disturb your sleep in a more profound manner, or damage your teeth by causing you to grind them together when you’re unconscious. Grand Prairie dentist, Dr. Smith, explains a couple of ways in which dental health can help you sleep more soundly and more peacefully.

Cosmetic Improvements for Your Smile!

Your smile generates some of your most dominant expressions, and aside from your eyes, it’s one of the most noticeable characteristics of your overall appearance. Consequently, the desire to improve your confidence might involve improving one or more blemishes that hinder your smile’s cosmetic appeal. Whether your teeth are stained or cracked, or your gum line isn’t as symmetrical as you’d wish, your Grand Prairie cosmetic dentist can expertly resize, reshape, and rejuvenate the less-than-perfect aspects of your smile. If your smile is overwhelmed by cosmetic imperfections, then Dr. Quinn Smith can combine one or more procedures to create a smile makeover plan designed specifically for you.

The Reason Why Teeth Hate Sugar

Have you ever wondered just how sugar leads to one of the most destructive dental issues, cavities? Most of us are familiar with the warnings about how eating too much sugar can rot healthy teeth. Nevertheless, not many people understand the process, or why sugar’s a threat, and common misconceptions can hinder your efforts at effective cavity prevention. As your Grand Prairie dentist, Dr. Quinn Smith warns, the real reason why sugar is a threat to your teeth lies with something that naturally inhabits your mouth—oral bacteria, which convert sugar into something more dangerous.