3 Ways To Improve Your Dental & General Health

Our teeth are important to our well-being. Of course, we know a smile enlightens our day. Would you agree it is worth it to keep the smile bright by taking good care of your teeth? In our practice, we offer teeth whitening/brightening solutions.

However, have whiter teeth is not the pinnacle of oral health, as many hold it out to be. Having a whiter smile is appealing, but your dental health is much more important. Can you imagine having a car with a dazzling paint job with ragged seats and a filthy interior? The answer should be, no. The same principle applies to our smile. Why have a white smile and have bad breath or health issues? In today’s appearance conscious world, many invest a lot of capital in looking good on the outside. Unfortunately, the lack of care for what is on the inside may get little concern.

More and more research is being shown to the public that good oral health can lead to better overall health. Here, are some ways to examine where giving more attention to your dental care can help your general health.

1. After the Yawning Ends Start Brushing

After you do your morning stretching walk into your bathroom, pick up the toothbrush and dental floss. Some people choose to wait until after breakfast to brush. Whichever you choose brush your teeth in the morning. First, developing a habit of brushing is excellent. Morning brushing helps to eliminate stale morning breath. Additionally, morning brushing helps since this can reduce the number of bacteria before exposing them to food. Thus, the amount of acid production is anticipated to be less, which is always a good thing.

Health Benefit of Morning Brushing

Brushing your teeth in the morning reduces acid on your teeth. Significant acid content in food and drinks which we all take in can do a job on your pearly whites. Acid in foods or liquids can cause irreversible erosion of tooth enamel. The results of the erosion can consist of sensitivity, pain, a greater prospect of tooth decay, and darker teeth, because the layer underneath our white enamel is dark.

2. Watch What You Eat (& Drink)

Some of the things we can do to improve our health are so painfully obvious they often go overlooked. Our staff will tell you that sugar and other sticky carbohydrates, like sugar coated cereals and snack foods, are the preliminary point of tooth decay. Other foods such as bread and raisins can cause problems too. Why? The problem is not just about too much sugar, but that the sugar and refined carbs are the starting point for the streptococcus bacteria inside the mouth. These bacteria live on a biofilm called plaque, and they produce acids. The acids eat away at the exterior layer of teeth. Saliva can only moderately neutralize the acid. If the acid stays on the enamel just 20 minutes, the teeth demineralization process starts.

Also, be careful of the very popular energy drinks. MensHealth.com, reports, “Energy drinks are worse for your teeth than either sports drinks or coffee.

Researchers recently analyzed 13 sports drinks and nine energy drinks. They immersed samples of human tooth enamel in the liquid for 15 minutes, followed by a soak in artificial human saliva for 2 hours. After five days of testing, the scientists found that 3.1 percent of protective enamel eroded in the energy drink samples compared to 1.5 percent in the sport drink group.”

3. Buy Dental Floss and Use It

If you have ever been to the dentist, you have heard the hygienist and dentist beg you to floss your teeth. Brushing your teeth is not enough. A vacuum cleaner today has several attachments to help clean various areas of your home. Your tooth brush is one attachment your dental floss is the nook and cranny attachment.
There are several paybacks to developing the practice of daily flossing. Dental floss can help remove food particles and plaque from the spaces between your teeth. These spaces cannot be reached in an effective manner by your tooth brush. Flossing is better than oral irrigators too. Using dental floss effectively helps prevent gum or periodontal diseases, tooth decay, and bad breath.

Good health to you.

Dr. John E. Robinson, DMD enjoys developing individualized care plans and related tips for his patients to aid in maintaining their overall dental health. Our practice offers the some of the most state-of-the-art advancements in assisting our patients healthy teeth and smile.

The Embry Hills Dental Care family would be pleased to discuss your dental concerns and offer the necessary information to help you and your family make educated decisions regarding your dental health.

Avoid Tooth Decay - With Good Daily Habits

Good dental health starts on the inside. A balanced diet that includes calcium and vitamins A, C, and D will help the teeth develop, from the womb to the time that they are fully formed. Good eating habits will help you maintain healthy teeth, but beware of a diet rich in sugar! It will increase the risk of cavities. Despite repeated warnings linking sugar consumption to tooth decay, the average North American reportedly eats 100 to 130 pounds [50 to 60 kg] of sugar each year! Why does sugar have the potential to harm our teeth?

Tooth decay is caused by two kinds of bacteria—“mutans streptococci and lactobacilli”—that become a part of plaque, a sticky film of bacteria and food debris that forms on the teeth. Plaque bacteria feeds on sugar and converts it into harmful acids that begin decay. Certain types of sugar are more easily turned into acids or are more likely to adhere to the teeth, giving the plaque more time to begin tooth decay. Plaque that is not removed can harden into calculus, or tartar, around the gum line.


Controlling the plaque and especially the mutans streptococci bacteria is essential for preventing the spread of tooth decay. So if you want to preserve your smile, daily oral hygiene is a must. The Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery states: “Combined with flossing, [brushing the teeth] is the single most important thing that you can do to maintain the health and vitality of your teeth and their supporting tissues.” Effective methods of brushing and flossing are illustrated on this and the following page. Your dentist may recommend other tools and techniques that will help you to clean your teeth effectively and thus protect your smile.

Repeated acid attacks cause demineralization, or softening of the tooth’s enamel surface. However, such lesions are being remineralized every day. How? It has been shown that fluorides continue to help prevent decay by helping the remineralization process. Thus, while decay is an infectious process, it is also reversible if certain factors, such as fluorides, are present.

Having your teeth cleaned by a dental professional once or twice a year will aid in keeping your teeth free of plaque. Dental Hygienists have special instruments designed to remove plaque buildup and flush out bacteria under the gums.

If you wish to minimize tooth plaque, good oral hygiene is needed. Brush and floss regularly and visit your dentist for your cleanings. Follow some simple daily steps and plaque, tooth decay and bad breath will no longer be an issue.

Want to find out more about Dental Care In Dunwoody, then visit Dr. John's site on how to choose the best Family Dental Care in Dunwoody for all your dental needs.

6 Good Reasons to Floss Your Teeth

The Embry Hill Dental Care team always insists on the importance of flossing, and recommend doing it twice a day.

Here are 6 very good reasons why you should listen to them:

1. To prevent tooth decay

Dental plaque can cause cavities if it's left between teeth. When mixed with sugar, the bacteria that live in plaque can start the process of tooth decay. This is why it's bad for plaque to be left in your mouth. Brushing alone does not clean in between teeth, only dental floss can remove plaque in those areas.

2. To prevent gum disease

Gingivitis (inflammation of gums) is the first stage of gum disease (periodontal disease). It is caused by an accumulation of plaque around gums and between teeth. Plaque also contains bacteria that are harmful for the gums. Flossing is therefore important to remove all plaque accumulated after a meal.

3. To prevent halitosis

Dental plaque is one of the causes of halitosis, and if it's left between your teeth, it will generate a bad smell in your mouth. This odour comes from the metabolism of the bacteria contained in plaque. Bad breath can also be caused by gum disease and tooth decay which are also primarily caused by plaque.

4. To prevent tartar build-up

Tartar is actually dental plaque that has become hard from the saliva's calcifying action. Good oral hygiene measures, which include brushing and flossing, can slow down the accumulation of tartar, but does not actually remove it. Some people produce tartar more than others. Regular dental cleanings are recommended to remove tartar.

5. To reduce the risk of heart disease

As mentioned earlier, the mouth is an entry point to harmful bacteria that may eventually reach the body organs, including cardiac tissue. Dental plaque, which contains dangerous bacteria, must be therefore eliminated to prevent those micro-organisms to reach the heart through the blood stream and cause heart disease complications.

6. To avoid the complications of diabetes

There is scientific evidence that people who suffer from diabetes can have their condition complicated by gum disease. Diabetics usually have a weaker immune system and take more time to fight inflammations and infections, including the ones that start in the mouth. That's why oral hygiene, which includes daily brushing and flossing, is very important to prevent diseases, or disease complications, such as diabetes


Please call us today and take advantage of our dental specials...on ClearCorrect Clear "Braces"

Dr. John Robinson DMD is a dental professional is the Atlanta area. For more information on Dental Care in Atlanta please visit the link.