CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING your orthodontic treatment! Whether you’ve just had your braces removed or finished your clear aligner therapy, your retainer is now your most important tool for maintaining that beautiful new smile. Let’s review the essential aspects of retainer care and proper use to ensure your results last a lifetime.
SCROLL THROUGH SOCIAL media for five minutes, and you’ll likely encounter someone confidently dispensing dental health tips. From oil pulling to activated charcoal toothpaste, the internet is awash with supposed miracle cures and quick fixes for everything from whitening teeth to preventing cavities. While some of this advice is harmless, much of it ranges from ineffective to downright dangerous. Here’s why you should think twice before following that viral dental trend.
GETTING BRACES IS an exciting step toward a healthier, more confident smile, but it also means learning new oral hygiene habits. While maintaining clean teeth and gums becomes more challenging with orthodontic appliances, mastering these techniques will protect your investment and ensure the best possible treatment outcome.
DENTAL CARE HAS evolved dramatically over the past few decades, yet many people still hold onto outdated beliefs that can actually harm their oral health. Understanding the difference between modern dental science and persistent myths is crucial for maintaining a healthy smile throughout your lifetime.
WHEN YOU FIRST get braces, you may be surprised by all the different parts that make up your new smile-correcting appliance. Every piece of orthodontic hardware is carefully designed to move teeth into better alignment. Understanding what each part does can help you feel more confident and make it easier to care for your braces throughout treatment.
WHEN SUGAR FIRST arrived in England, it was considered an exotic luxury. By the Elizabethan era in the late 1500s, the sugar trade was thriving, and the country’s wealthy elite had embraced this costly import as a symbol of status. Imported primarily from the colonies, sugar was rare, expensive, and often displayed as a sign of wealth and sophistication. Unfortunately, this indulgence came with a hidden cost: a dramatic decline in dental health, particularly among the nobility.
IF YOU OR YOUR child recently got braces, you may have been handed a list of foods to avoid. Sticky candies, hard snacks, popcorn, and chewing gum often top the list. Understandably, this can feel a little frustrating — especially if your favorite treat made the “do not eat” section. But here’s the truth: we don’t ban these foods to hurt you or take away your fun. We do it to protect your treatment, your smile, and your progress.
Let’s take a closer look at why these guidelines exist and how they help you get the best possible results from your orthodontic journey.
SWIMMING IS A FANTASTIC way to stay active and healthy, especially during the warmer months. It promotes cardiovascular fitness, builds endurance, and provides low-impact exercise for people of all ages. But while you may be focused on protecting your skin from the sun or your hair from chlorine, it’s also important to think about your teeth. Believe it or not, regular swimming (especially in pools) can have an impact on your oral health.
WHEN MOST PEOPLE think about the reasons for straightening teeth, appearance and oral health are usually the first things that come to mind. However, orthodontic treatment can also play a critical role in improving speech. Crooked teeth, bite issues, and jaw misalignment can all interfere with the way you pronounce certain words or sounds. For children learning to speak or adults struggling with unclear speech, orthodontic care may offer a solution that improves both confidence and communication.
HAVE YOU EVER wondered how people in the past dealt with something as common as bad breath? In Medieval England, even without the toothbrushes, toothpaste, and dentists we rely on today, people still cared about having fresh breath, but their understanding of dental health and what caused bad breath was quite different from ours.
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