Andrew Dine, DDS Blog

Bad breath simply isn’t very pleasant. It can ruin dates, and turn routine social gatherings into an embarrassing situation.

You may try and avoid these unpleasantness by purchasing a bottle of mouthwash to discreetly use. But what you may not know is that mouthwash does not actually treat many of the causes of bad breath. To be sure, it can act as a mask for bad breath, but it doesn’t treat tooth decay or chronic dry mouth.

In today’s blog post from the office of Andrew Dine, DDS, in Fairfield, OH, we’re both going to explain the root causes of bad breath, and give you tips on freshening your breath without mouthwash.

Sometimes Food Causes Bad Breath

Which foods do you suspect are causing you to have bad breath? For most people, the list begins with garlic and ends with onions. But what you may not realize is that all foods you eat can cause you to have bad breath. That includes everything from bagels to pizza rolls to hamburgers.

As you eat, food clings to teeth as you chew. Even after you swallow a bite of food, microscopic particles of it remain on your teeth and it the crevices of your mouth. All of this food attracts bacteria. Over the long-run, this bacteria can eat away the enamel of your teeth can cause decay. In the short-run, this bacteria can sour your breath.

All the food you eat attracts bacteria. But which foods attract the most bacteria? The answer isn’t surprising, as it’s the same foods which promote tooth decay. Namely, sugared foods. Sugar is not just in your Halloween candy, and it’s just not in your can of soda. High carbohydrate foods, which range from bread to pasta, are also filled with sugar.

But it’s not always easy to avoid the foods you love. One get thing you can do to prevent bad breath is to brush after every meal. If you just can’t get to a toothbrush, even rinsing your mouth out with water can be a big help.

Sometimes Dry Mouth Causes Bad Breath

Having a dry mouth is a sure-fire way to also have bad breath. When your mouth is fully hydrated, it’s full of saliva. This saliva helps remove odor-filled bacteria from your mouth, leaving you at a lower risk for bad breath and tooth decay. Take away this saliva, and you’re left with terrible breath.

If you breath through your mouth during your daily exercise, you may suffer from dry mouth. Regularly breathing out of your mouth for any reason evaporates saliva from your mouth. Smoking cigarettes or using an e-cigarette can also leave your mouth dry, as can taking different medications.

No matter what is causing your dry mouth, there’s one step you should always take to correct it. Drink water. Water is the most effective way to rehydrate your whole body, including your mouth. Water is also useful for rinsing away existing bacteria from your mouth, without leaving the additional bacteria left by sugared drinks.

You may even want to consider drinking tap water. The vast-majority of public supplies of water contain trace amounts of fluoride. Fluoride is an excellent tool for preventing tooth decay and strengthening your teeth.

You can also chew sugar-free gum in between meals to prevent dry mouth. Sugar-free gum helps prevent snacking, and also increases the flow of saliva around your mouth.

Sometimes Tooth Decay and Oral Diseases Cause Bad Breath

Unfortunately, more than just food and dry mouth cause bad breath. If you suffer from bad breath multiple times a month, you should schedule a dental appointment as soon as possible. Tooth decay, gum disease, and oral cancer are all potentially causes of your bad breath.

Tooth decay happens whenever deposits of tartar and plaque buildup on your enamel. These deposits both give off an odor, and dissolve away your enamel. This can leave you with painful cavities, in addition to bad breath.

The only effective way to remove tartar deposits is through a teeth cleaning. Brushing and flossing alone won’t cut it. By getting your teeth cleaned every six months, you can prevent tooth decay and keep your breath smelling fresh.

It’s also important to be screened for oral cancer and gum disease, as these are other potential causes of bad breath. These diseases are easily treatable when detected early, which is why we screen for them during every dental exam.

Get on the road to fresh breath. Click here to schedule an appointment with the office of Andrew Dine, DDS, in Fairfield, OH.

When you look back at old photos of the biggest events of your life, you want to see a look that is confident and happy, but you also want to look good! We hate looking back at photos where our fashion or hair is not at all what we would have liked it to be. We get embarrassed by how we used to look. Don’t let your smile be the source of your discontent when you are looking back at photos from your next big event. Whether it is a wedding, reunion, or big party, make sure you have a stunning smile for all the photos with Sinsational Whitening.

Patients come to us with all sorts of whitening woes. Some patients are in need of a series of whitening treatments, while others just need a touchup. You know what you would like to see for your smile, and it’s important that you let us know, too! We offer Sinsational Whitening in the office for 20 minute sessions, and we can also send you home with an at-home whitening pen to touch up your whitening from home!

Keep Your Smile Bright

Having a white smile begins at home. Even after you have whitening, your teeth are susceptible to stains. Beverages such as soda, tea, coffee, and wine are known for causing stains on your teeth. Whenever possible, drink through a straw or drink these beverages while you eat so that the food can brush leftover liquid from your teeth. Tomato sauce is another source of tooth stains that you can avoid or take precautions while eating.

Do what you can to keep your smile white, but when you are preparing for your big day, give us a call. We’d be happy to help you get the smile of your dreams in the least amount of time! Contact us today to set up an appointment, and let us know what you’d like to see happen for your smile!

Did you make it over the Major League Baseball All-Star game in Cincy? Or at least catch it on television? The game got us think about something; namely that we want our patients to have an All-Star Smile.

Imagine you were at the game, and a player blasted a ball out of the park with a homer. The ball lands in your outstretched glove. Suddenly, all the attention in the stadium turns to you. Thousands in attendance, and millions watching around the world see you on camera.

You can’t help but smile. But how attractive is your smile? Are your teeth white and delightsome? Or are they yellowed and stained? Whether you’re on camera or not, we want you to have teeth that you’re proud to show-off. For that reason, we office Professional Teeth Whitening at the office of Andre Dine, DDS, in Fairfield, OH.

In today’s blog post, we’re going to look at the five worst teeth staining foods and drinks, so you can keep your smiling shining as bright as the lightbulbs at the Great American Ball Park.

Enemies of Your Smile

• Wine

  We love a good glass of wine. For California’s Napa Valley, to European vineyards, and even locally produced wine on Ohio; there’s a wine for every taste and occasion. A glass of wine a day has many positive health benefits; unfortunately it can wreck havoc on your teeth. Red wine is filled with tannins and natural dyes, both of which cling to your teeth and stain them. White wine is slightly less of a problem, as it contains no naturally dark dyes. However, white wine can even pose problems as it makes your teeth more prone to staining by other foods and drinks.

• Tobacco

  Need another reason to quit smoking? Consider the stains left by both cigarette smoking and chewing tobacco. The chemicals in the products weaken and irritate your gums, leaving them prone to infection and disease. In addition, nicotine and the other chemicals can seep through the cigarette filter and leave a disgusting residue on your teeth, staining them almost instantly. This is also true of the nicotine contained in E-Cigarettes and Vaping devices.

• Soda

  Many dentists would cite this as public enemy number one. Artificial dyes in soda can stain your teeth; and the acidity of the soda will break down the enamel of your teeth and leave them vulnerable to decay and stains. Acidity is the principle problem, which means even diet sodas and clear sodas are a threat the whiteness of your teeth. Soda is about as acidic as battery acid, and can be used to remove rust from metal. With that in mind, imagine what it’s doing to your teeth.

• Coffee

  We drink a lot of coffee in our office, a fact of life which is true in workplaces throughout the country. Much like soda, it is quite acidic and quite capable of breaking down the enamel of your teeth. In addition, microscopic particles in the coffee cling to the ridges and grooves of your teeth. This leaves the oh so difficult to remove coffee stains in your teeth.

• Fruit

  This one will be hard for some of our readers to take. It’s easy to dismiss the effects of tobacco and soda, as those things are bad for your health anyways. But fruit? The intense color of most fruits is made up of natural dyes. Much like with red wine, this can cause a tremendous amount of stains. In addition, the sugar in the fruit can weaken your teeth and leave them vulnerable to stains. This does not mean you should avoid eating fruit; it just means you have take more steps to keep your teeth looking white.

Professional Teeth Whitening

If you’re like most people, you won’t be able to avoid all the foods and drinks that can stain your teeth. But that’s no excuse for not having a shining smile. At the office of Dr. Dine, DDS, in Fairfield, OH, we offer the Sinsational Smile teeth whitening system.

This in-office system is much safer, and far more effective, than any teeth whitening products you may find in grocery stores or your local pharmacy. It’s professionally supervised by our top-notch staff, which means you don’t have to risk irritating your gums like with over-the-counter products.

With Sinsational Smiles, we fill a silicon tray with professional strength bleaching gel. After this has been placed on your teeth, we expose your teeth to a special light. This light speeds up the whitening process, leaving your teeth several shades whiter in just one visit. We also send you home with a special touch-up kit, to keep your smile white.

Are you ready for that close-up? Click here to make an appointment at the office of Andrew Dine, DDS, in Fairfield, OH.

As January comes to a close, we hope you haven’t lost your interest in your New Years resolutions! Research shows that over the next few months is when people will either make or break their commitment to maintain a newfound health. When it comes to keeping your mouth healthy, your relationship with our office here in Fairfield, Ohio is very important. Take a look below at some things you can do to make and keep a plan of oral health for 2015.

Plan Ahead

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to go ahead and schedule your dental appointments for the year. When you schedule appointments 6-12 months in advance, you are more likely to maintain those appointments. Don’t worry, we’ll remind you that they are coming! Instead of trying to fit dental appointments into your already busy schedule, you will find that everything else fits around your dental appointments.

Prepare Questions

Before you come into the office for your exam and cleaning, write down any questions you might have for us. Trying to remember questions when you come into a doctor’s office is difficult because there are so many other things going on and questions being asked of you. Write your questions down, and let us know that you would like to talk. We’ll make sure you get your answers before you leave to go back home.

Listen Well

In the moment of a dental appointment, it can be difficult to remember everything. We encourage our patients to listen well, take notes, or ask us for paperwork concerning advice we give. You might also consider bringing along a family member or friend to help you remember all of the new information. The advice we give you in the dental office can make or break your oral health.

Part of making 2015 the year of your smile is to make sure that 2015 is the year you improve your time in the dental office. Use our tips above, and contact us when you have questions. Let us be your link to great oral health care, and you will see an improvement with the way you look and feel. We can’t wait to change your smile very soon!