Millennium Family Dental Blog

The time of year full of holiday cheer is fast upon us. Fall is in full swing, and with Thanksgiving coming soon, there will be lots of great food to go around. One of the best and most popular fall ingredients is pumpkin. There are so many yummy things to make using pumpkin including pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread. Whatever your favorite pumpkin recipe is, or whether you like pumpkin at all, you can’t deny it is a staple of the season both in decorations and in the culinary arts.

Did you know that pumpkin can also be good for your health and specifically for your teeth? At Millennium Family Dental, we love to educate our patients on how to make great choices related to their dental health. We also like to help our patients incorporate fun, tasty foods into their diet that can help their teeth, too. Diet is such an important part of dental and overall health. Pumpkin is great for teeth because it is so nutrient dense, and it also contains many vitamins and minerals. Also, pumpkin is low in calories, so what’s not to love?

What Makes Pumpkin Good For You?

According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, pumpkin is packed with lots of good stuff. 1/2 cup of cooked pumpkin has 40 calories and 1.8g of protein. Along with being low in calories and high in protein, 1/2 cup of pumpkin also contains 3g of fiber. This means eating pumpkin can make you feel full longer.

Pumpkin is also full of vitamins and minerals. 1/2 cup of cooked pumpkin accounts for the full daily intake of Vitamin A and 20% of the daily intake needed for Vitamin C. Also, pumpkin is rich in many other great things including potassium, manganese, copper, and more.

How Does Pumpkin Help Your Teeth?

Since pumpkin has calcium, it can be good for bones and teeth. Also, pumpkin contains magnesium which is great for tooth enamel. It works like calcium, but in some ways even better, to create tooth enamel that will resist decay.

Remember, however, that pumpkin flavoring and spices don’t have the benefits that real pumpkin does. So don’t load up on the pumpkin pie!

If you need some help getting started, here are two recipes that your Meridian family dentist loves to get you started eating pumpkin and getting all the health benefits.

• Pumpkin Bread
• Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

At Millennium Family Dental, we do everything we can to give our patient’s high quality care and help them make the best dental choices. Great dental health starts with daily habits. Going to the dentist for checkups and cleanings is important but there is more to a healthy mouth then that. Regular brushing, flossing, and eating healthy food is essential to keeping up good oral hygiene.

As your Meridian dentist, we want to give you tips and information on how to have the healthiest teeth possible. Plus, we know how important it is for our patient’s to have a beautiful smile that gives them self-confidence. Brushing your teeth regularly leads to whiter teeth and a healthier mouth.

Why Should I Keep My Tongue Clean?

There is more to brushing your teeth than just brushing and flossing twice a day. It is also essential to brush your tongue. This is because a lot of bacteria lives on it and keeping your tongue clean will fight bad breath and also help your oral health.

The tongue is a hotbed of bacteria. Because of the uneven surface, it makes it easy for bacteria to hide and dwell there. To reduce bacteria, you need to scrape it off using a toothbrush or tongue scraper. While your tongue can’t get cavities, it is important to keep it clean and reduce bacteria in your mouth. It is not enough to just rinse your mouth. The bacteria on the tongue tends to stick on the surface and can only be removed by scraping/brushing it off. The bacteria, if left unchecked, can lead to tooth damage. Plus, who wants bad breath? Why not get ahead of that by brushing your tongue twice a day, too?

How Do I Clean It?

It is easy to clean your tongue. All you need to do is brush back and forth, brush it side to side, and then rinse with water. Don’t worry about brushing too hard as you don’t want to break skin or hurt yourself.

Contact Us Today!

Give Millennium Family Dental a call to learn more about dental hygiene habits and how to keep your mouth healthy. Schedule an appointment with us today!

Summertime is here! Maybe you think of watermelon at picnics, baseball games, or backyard barbecues. Or maybe you’re planning an adventure with the family. Perhaps you or your kids are playing on a variety of sports teams. But do you also consider the damage summer activities can do to your teeth? And we’re not talking about sun damage (we’re cosmetic dentists, not dermatologists!). Injuries to the mouth are quite common. They can go with summer adventures and sports, like a ball to the face, a blind jump off the diving board, or a trip-and-fall next to the picnic table. We know you don’t want to wear a mouth guard 24/7, but the absence of mouth guards during sports can cause teeth to get cracked and broken all summer long. Fortunately for teeth all over Meridian, we are here to save the day—and smiles!

How Your Meridian Cosmetic Dentist Can Help

As one of the best family dentist practices in Meridian, we’re here to help your pearly whites stay healthy and happy for all those summer photo ops. When playing sports, remember the difference a mouth guard can make. Sometimes also called mouth protectors, they can help to cushion a blow to the mouth and protect your teeth, gums, and jaw. Your upper teeth are generally farther forward than your lower teeth, so they are at greater risk. They have a bigger chance of breaking, cracking, and getting knocked out. Your lower teeth are usually protected by the top teeth.

Millennium Family Dental specializes in cosmetic dentistry and can help, should an accident happen. Our doctors can repair emergency tooth loss, as well as cosmetic issues, like cracks or misalignment. When these injuries cause pain, chewing problems, speech impairments, or embarrassment, don’t hesitate to let us help! Bridges can fix tooth loss by adhering a pontic (the replacement tooth) between two other teeth using crowns on the adjacent teeth (a “bridge”). For cracked, broken, chipped, or worn down teeth, a crown placed over the visible part of the tooth can make it look healthy again. Many minor injuries and cosmetic mishaps can be easily fixed with veneers, making all your teeth the same shade and size.

From veneers and implants to bridges, crowns, and dentures, we can make sure your pearly whites stay picture perfect so that you always want to smile! If you experience tooth damage, call Millennium Family Dentistry today.

Standing in the toothpaste aisle in the grocery store can be overwhelming. Why are there so many choices and what are the differences between them all? Which one is right for me? Oral hygiene can ward off a host of diseases, so it’s important we choose the one that is best for our mouth. Your dentists at Millennium Family Dental in Meridian can help.

When trying to choose the right toothpaste, it’s hard to know if we should look at the price, or if we should attempt to read the ingredients. Most of us are not chemists and probably don’t know what the ingredients are or what they do. It feels a little like our oral hygiene isn’t quite in our own hands. We want our toothpaste to clean our mouth, but we’ve also got other things to look out for. Depending on the make-up of our mouth and the food and drinks we consume, different toothpastes will be right for different people. Let’s look at some of the important features of toothpaste and the cool things they can do.

Finding the Right Toothpaste

• Sensitive Teeth

  Some teeth are sensitive. The cause can come from worn tooth enamel, tooth decay from acidic drinks, broken teeth that reveal dentin, and loose fillings. To find a toothpaste that helps with sensitivity, look for 5 percent potassium nitrate. It blocks receptors that tell your brain the cold or hot is painful. It also helps to let the toothpaste sit on your teeth for a while (you can spit, but don’t rinse for 20 minutes).

• Gum Disease

  If gum disease is a worry for you, it’s less about the toothpaste and more about how you brush. Plaque that gets stuck near your gums is the cause, so making sure you gently brush everywhere twice a day is the trick.

• Teeth Whitening

  Want whiter teeth? Most regular toothpastes won’t have much of an effect. Instead of having your dentist bleach your teeth, specialized toothpastes that have calcium peroxide and carbamide peroxide which, when mixed, do a pretty good job.

• Organic Toothpaste

  What about organic and natural toothpastes? Are they as effective? Sure, they can be. Just make sure that it is FDA-approved and that it contains a fluoride ingredient.

Contact Millennium Family Dental Today!

For more information and a personalized recommendation, schedule an appointment with one of the best dentists in Meridian and we’ll help you determine the right toothpaste for you.

Dental anxiety is a common condition as nearly 40% of people have some kind of dental anxiety and 15% of people will avoid the dentist at all cost, choosing to suffer with periodontal disease or cavities rather than see the dentist. One woman even claimed that she would rather give birth than go see the dentist. Even if your dental anxiety isn’t that extreme, it can be hard to work up the courage to visit the dentist. Here are some tips to help ease your dental anxiety.

Understand Why You’re Afraid

The first thing to do if you have dental anxiety is to try to figure out where it stems from. Once you pinpoint the cause, you can more easily determine a solution. Common causes of dental anxiety include:

• Fear of loud noises such as a dentist drill
• A traumatic dental visit in the past
• Media portrayals of the dentist
• Fear of losing control
• Parents who also had dental anxiety
• Fear of pain

Talk to the Dental Staff

When you come in for a visit, let our staff know that you experience anxiety. We will do all we can to help you feel comfortable during your visit. It may even be helpful to do a “test visit” where you stop by the office just to chat, rather than have dental work done to help you feel more comfortable with our staff. When you are in the dentist’s chair, ask our staff to explain what they are going to do before they do it, and establish code words or gestures that mean you need to take a break.

Bring a Friend

It is always nice to see a familiar face, and we will allow you to bring a friend to your annual checkup to ease your anxiety. They can sit with you in the waiting room and even come back to the dentist’s chair in most cases.

Listen to Music

If it is the loud noises often associated with dentistry that cause you anxiety, feel free to bring your favorite tunes to help you relax.

Sedation Dentistry

If you’re still anxious, perhaps you can try sedation dentistry in Meridian. This can help even the most anxious patients relax in the dentist’s chair. There are many different levels of sedation dentistry, so talk to Dr. Gerard or Dr. Smith to see what is right for you.

If you’re looking for one of the best dentists in Meridian, you’ve come to the right place. Our staff does everything in our power to help ease your fears and make your dentist visit as pleasant as possible. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact us today!

The benefits of scheduling a regular dental exam extend far beyond oral health. For over a decade, research has shown a link between oral and overall health. In addition to detecting potential problems, regular dentist visits allow you to get up to date on X-rays, receive a full teeth cleaning and polish, as well as discuss your dental concerns with your dentist.

Professional Cleanings

Regular dental exams are like a refreshing deep clean for your mouth. A hygienist will brush, floss, and polish your teeth. Next, they will use a tool called a scaler to remove tartar and plaque around the gum line that your daily dental routine cannot reach. Whenever you eat, the sugars in your food react with the plaque creating an acid that eats away at your teeth. If not removed with regular dental exams, the bacteria in plaque will cause gum disease and tooth decay. These exams also help fend off persistent bad breath.

Detecting Problems

The inflammation created by periodontal disease can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. Scientists continue to study the link between periodontal disease and heart disease emphasizing the interconnectedness of oral and holistic health. Regular dental exams will allow your dentist to catch periodontal disease in its earliest stages and create an effective treatment plan. Nearly 50% of Americans have mild to moderate periodontal disease. This is unsurprising seeing that only two-thirds of Americans visit their dentist annually for an exam and cleaning.

During your visit, your dentist will also check for loose teeth, cavities, recession, and if you need new or more fillings. All of these issues, if left unchecked, can develop into more costly and painful dental problems.

Establishing a Relationship with Your Dental Provider

A regular dental exam will allow you to become familiar and comfortable with the staff and dentists at Millennium Family Dentistry. In the case of a dental emergency or unforeseen problem, your dentist will have a full understanding and familiarity with your dental concerns, financial situation, and oral history. This information will help them proceed quickly and effectively with the best treatment for your issue.

Schedule a Dental Exam

At Millennium Family Dentistry, our mission is to help you achieve and maintain your best and brightest smile. By scheduling a biannual dental exam, you can stay on track toward that goal. Call our dentist office in Meridian, Idaho at (208) 881-9519 to schedule your next dental exam.