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January is the month of New Year’s Resolutions and Pacific Dental Care wanted to suggest a few goals you can set for yourself that will help set you up for great oral health in the year to come.

Your oral health is inextricably linked to your overall health, too, and gum disease is linked to all sorts of health problems you don’t want to have, conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and more.

Below are a few New Year’s Resolutions to set for the sake of your pearly whites.

1.) Quit Using Tobacco

For those who partake in the occasional smoke to those who smoke daily, quitting cigarettes is a great way to boost your health, both when it comes to your respiratory system, not to mention your teeth and gums. Tobacco, and this goes for both cigarettes and chewing tobacco, will leave behind pesky stains and can also lead to certain types of cancer.

2.) Focus on Your At Home Oral Health Routine

Making sure to brush 5 minutes twice daily and floss at least once a day is paramount to your oral health success. Make sure to brush gently with a soft bristle toothbrush and use circular motions, instead of scrubbing hard back and forth.

3.) Switch from Coffee to Green Tea

Green tea has an adequate amount of caffeine to help you start your day. Drinking coffee excessively will stain your teeth. And, if you drink those sugary designer coffee drinks, they’re horrible for your teeth and can contribute to tooth decay.

4.) Cut Out Sugar

As mentioned in our last suggestion, sugar really does a number on your teeth, whether the sugar content comes from food or from a beverage. Bacteria in the mouth converts sugar into acids that will eat away at enamel and damage your teeth.

5.) Make an Appointment with Pacific Dental Care

Keeping up with your twice annual oral health checkup is one of the best things you can do for your smile. We’ll catch any issues before they become larger, more painful, and more costly problems.

Pacific Dental Care’s office is located in Glendale, CA. We offer our services to Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, and our surrounding communities in greater Los Angeles. Our suite of services includes everything from orthodontics to complete smile makeovers.

We’re in the business of creating amazing smiles and setting our patients up to enjoy great oral health throughout their lives. Dr. Marine Martirosyan will satisfy your dental needs while offering services at a value that fits your schedule and budget. Contact us today to schedule your visit at Pacific Dental Care.

Your teeth were meant to last a lifetime. But sometimes they don’t. When you have lost a permanent tooth to trauma, decay, or disease, it is important to your dental health to replace that tooth.

If a lost tooth is not replaced, you are at risk for developing other complications such as your remaining teeth becoming crowded, tipped over, or even lost altogether. That is why, in addition to the cosmetic benefits of replacing a lost permanent tooth, the functional benefits of dental implants should be part of your consideration when exploring treatment options.

Dental implants function like natural teeth

Dental implants offer you much more than a cosmetic repair to your smile. Instead of replacing just the visible tooth, a dental implant also acts as a replacement for the tooth root. The implant is placed in the jaw bone and acts as an anchor for a replacement tooth or crown that is customized to match your natural teeth. This anchor, usually made of titanium, mimics the feel and function of a natural tooth. Most patients cannot tell a difference between their implant and their other teeth. They can enjoy normal foods and can easily maintain their implant with good brushing and flossing.

Dental implants prevent bone loss

Within our jaw, there is a natural feedback loop between the bone and the teeth it supports. As we chew, our teeth actually stimulate the jawbone to stay healthy and strong. When a natural tooth is lost and not replaced, that feedback loop is lost. The empty space in the jawbone will eventually deteriorate due to the lack of stimulation. This deterioration compromises the strength and volume of the bone itself. Within the first year, patients can experience bone loss up to 25% resulting in a noticeable change to facial appearance.

Dental implants protect your remaining natural teeth

A gap in your smile also affects the surrounding teeth. Eventually, they begin to shift, may start to tip over, and may even fall out. Other treatment options such as a tooth-supported bridge, require that adjacent teeth are grinded down to be fitted with the bridge. This natural tooth structure can never be replaced. Dental implants keep your remaining natural teeth in position and do not require you to sacrifice their structural integrity.

Preventive dentistry means taking care of your teeth, gums, and mouth to the point where you’re able to avoid oral health problems, which are being proven more and more to be linked to overalL health problems.

Don’t believe us? Periodontal disease is linked to all sort of health maladies, conditions like diabetes and heart disease, even increasing your risk of having a stroke.

Preventive dentistry from a dental practice standpoint consists of:

• Cleanings & Exams
• Digital X-Rays
• Sealants
• Fluoride
• Diagnodent Laser
• Prophylaxis

Preventive dentistry from a patient standpoint on a day to day basis looks like:

• Building a great at-home oral health practice (brushing and flossing twice daily)
• Eating a balanced diet
• Staying away from sugar when possible

Preventive Dentistry Benefits

When you practice great dental hygiene, not only are you drastically decreasing your risk of getting cavities, gingivitis, and periodontitis, but you’re also decreasing your risk of running into the following health problems:

• Heart Disease
• Diabetes
• Osteoporosis
• Respiratory Disease
• Stroke
• Cancer

Who Should Consider Preventive Dentistry?

Everyone! From children to senior citizens, preventive dentistry will allow newly developing adult teeth become strong and healthy. Preventive dentistry will also help prevent decay as we age. Sealants and topical fluoride are both available options to help prevent tooth decay. Preventive dentistry is a great way to help you keep your real teeth as you advance in age.