Tag Archives: teeth whitening

In 1987 President Ronald Reagan declared March to be Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Awareness month. Since then, many efforts have been made to dissolve stereotypes and stigmas surrounding the people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Oral care is important for everyone and there shouldn’t be any compromises made for anyone based upon a ‘disability’ of any kind. We here at Morris Park Dental Associates in the Bronx salute President Reagan in the Bronx, the caretakers and the community. (718) DR.SMILE (718-377-6453) or schedule a dental appointment online today and get the best dental care you can get in the Bronx.

Developmental Disabilities and Dental Care

Some common developmental disabilities include: cerebral palsy, autism, Down syndrome, intellectual disability, fragile X syndrome, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Sometimes these disabilities are apparent during childhood and/or adolescence. Parents or guardians may notice that their children are not progressing as the average child does, and/or is not reaching developmental milestones as they should. These milestones can include those like a baby rolling over by month 7, children talking by the age of one, and walking around that same time. These disorders affect one for a lifetime. They affect the mind, the body, and the skills people use in everyday life such as: problem solving, speech, and motor function. People afflicted with developmental disabilities will most likely need extra assistance to achieve and keep up a state of well-being and adequate health, and oral health is no exception.

A movement toward deinstitutionalization and eradication of social stigma associated with mental, intellectual and developmental disorders has merged people together regardless of age or type of disability. About 80 percent of those with developmental disabilities live in a supervised group or at home with their relatives. They now look to oral care practitioners to assist them in proper oral hygiene.

As with anything, it is best to have an oral care practitioner and a team that is well informed. People who don’t perform in ways that others would, often need a special approach to dental care. Whether the disability is mild to moderate, most all procedures can be performed with the appropriate adaptations made by the practitioner.

What can you do as a Caregiver?

As the parent or caregiver of a person with intellectual or developmental disabilities it would be wise to contact our Bronx dental office beforehand. Let us know what is going on and how we can help as well. With a well-informed dental team and staff, everything will go smoothly! Preparedness is the most important factor in the oral care of a person that requires special adaptations for their health.

In your home, however, the first thing and most basic thing you can do is help your child pick out the right toothbrush. Soft bristles are recommended, along with the appropriate size based on the child’s mouth. Brushing might be uncomfortable initially, so get the accustomed to the sensation by touching the brush to their lips and the insides of their cheeks.

Show them how you brush your teeth, take extra care, and teach them to “open wide” with demonstration. The Autism Speaks Dental Guide advises the guardian of a child with autism to stand behind their child with their [the child] head on their [the guardian” chest, apply a small amount of toothpaste to the bristles of the toothbrush, and brush as if they were brushing their own teeth. They also list these steps in brushing:

Brush the outside, inside, and tops of the bottom back teeth on one side of the mouth five times.
Move up and brush the inside, outside and chewing surfaces of the top teeth five times.
Brush the bottom front teeth outside and inside five times.
Move to the opposite side and brush the bottom teeth outside and inside five times.
Brush the top front teeth inside, outside, and chewing surfaces five times.
Brush the opposite top back teeth inside, outside, and chewing surfaces five times.

And remember, if your child wants to try and do it themselves, (supervise, but) let them!

Call our Morris Park Dentist office and request a dental appointment and consultation for all of your special dentistry needs. From cosmetic dentistry to dental implants and dentures, we can help you! Call (718) DR.SMILE (718-377-6453) today to find out more about Special Needs Dentistry In The Bronx.

You’ve gotten your wedding dress, but while trying it on, you notice that your teeth look yellow in comparison to your beautiful white dress! What’s a bride to do? To get your teeth their whitest on your wedding day, we offer Zoom! Professional Teeth Whitening. In as little as an hour, your teeth will look up to 6 shades whiter!

What is Teeth Whitening?

Your teeth are made up of an outer layer, called enamel, an inner layer, called dentin, and a bundle of nerves underneath that called the pulp. Across the span of your life, many things have accumulated and made stay on the surface of your teeth to form a yellow film: acidic foods, coffee, cigarette smoke, darkly colored sodas, the list goes on and on. As time goes on, these foreign materials enter the second layer of your teeth, the dentin, and causes it to become discolored.

However, the whitening agent found in a teeth whitening product basically enters the second layer of your teeth to sets off an oxidation reaction that breaks apart the staining compounds and leaves your pearly whites looking pearlier. There are two main types of teeth whitening: in-office professional teeth whitening and over the counter teeth whitening methods that you can apply at home.

Teeth Whitening at Home

In-home systems have become popular because they are inexpensive, easy to apply, and can be done in the comfort of one’s own home. There is a good selection of over-the-counter teeth whitening products that can be purchased without the consent or prescription of your oral care practitioner. They include whitening strips, whitening toothpaste, and even whitening gum. Having a mouth tray that fits properly is an important factor for comfort and health. Most over-the-counter products that have mouth trays don’t conform to the user’s mouth as well as an in-office system would. We offer custom bleaching trays made specifically for your mouth, which can be worn with whitening gel.

The problem with At-Home Teeth Whitening is that it must be done consistently every day over the course of several weeks (or even months) to get ideal results. With In-Office Teeth Whitening, you can get the same results in as little as an hour!

Professional Teeth Whitening at your Dentist’s Office

Professional teeth whitening is done in a dental office under the care of a qualified oral care practitioner. This method is the fastest way to brighten your teeth up to ten shades lighter in as little as an hour! The agents used in teeth whitening are considerably stronger than that of in-home teeth whitening strip, but with this method, your gums and the rest of your mouth are much more protected. The best systems for whitening teeth include a buffer in the gel that protects the tooth enamel from damage.

The effects of your treatment should last one or more years, it all depends on how well you take care and manage your teeth. If you follow up with an in-home teeth whitening system, and apply regularly, the effects could last even longer!

Teeth Whitening After Care Instructions

In order to maintain your new white smile, you may want to use take home teeth whitening treatments including bleaching trays, whitening toothpaste or whitening gum. It is important to avoid certain foods or drinks or behaviors which may stain your teeth, especially in the days immediately following your Professional Zoom Teeth Whitening treatment. These include:

Coffee
Dark Colored Tea
Sodas Especially Cola
Some Wines
Smoking
Staining Foods (like Red Berries)

In addition, you can protect your teeth by drinking certain beverages through a straw.

Is Teeth Whitening Right for Me?

It is important to note that teeth whitening treatment will help whiten surface stains but it may not be for everyone. For example, while it will not damage any existing dental restorations in your mouth, the treatment will not whiten any existing crowns (or caps), fillings, veneers, partials, gold, laminates, composite bonding, or other restorations. As a result, if you whiten your teeth your other restorations will appear darker and more noticeable in comparison, especially if you have restorations on your front teeth. Previous dental work would need to be replaced to match the newly whitened teeth, so keep this in mind. In addition, if you have decalcification, or white spots, on your teeth, it may make those white spots even whiter and more noticeable.

Finally, some people experience sensitive teeth after using at-home or in-office whitening treatment. If you already have sensitive teeth, there are some alternative teeth bleaching gels which may result in less sensitivity. In addition, your dentist may recommend using fluoride treatment or Sensodyne toothpaste to minimize any sensitivity from the teeth whitening treatments. Be sure to let your dentist or hygienist know if you have any additional concerns, and they will be happy to answer your questions.

Call us at (718) DR.SMILE (718-377-6453) to schedule an appointment or to have all of your questions answered by one of our professional team members, or click here to request a Zoom Teeth Consultation with us today!

It is getting close to Valentine’s Day in the Bronx and the candy is coming! Sweet and soft caramel, truffles, and red hots are just some of the tasty treats that are coming our way. Let’s talk about how to protect the teeth and help prevent tooth damage during Valentine’s Day in NYC. Don’t forget to call our local convenient Morris Park Dentist office and request a dental appointment as soon as possible. Call (718) DR.SMILE (718-377-6453) today! Right now you can get $50 off ZOOM Teeth Whitening as our Valentine’s Day gift to you!

There are the different textures that have different effects on the teeth. Hard Candies can damage the teeth by chipping them or just giving them an extra dose of sugar. Soft and chewy candies are hard to remove from the teeth and get into the gums, causing further opportunity for tooth decay. Chocolate that is not well made can contain oils as their first ingredient and then the cocoa. These oils are really bad for the tooth enamel and hard to remove. Cupcakes and cookies can also contain chewy oils and lots of sugar. Brownies are another good source for lots of sugar in a chewy form. They stick to teeth and gums long after they have been eaten. It is very important to floss and brush after a day of sweets.

Choosing sweet treats for your family can be difficult. Try finding chocolates and candies made with Xylitol, a sugar substitute that really tastes like sugar without being harmful to the tooth enamel. High-quality chocolates that are 50% or more cocoa are better for the teeth than the cheaper kinds. Buying hard candies for the kids is not good either. There are some healthy Valentine’s Day Snacks, heart shaped cheese and strawberries. There are many Bronx Valentine’s Day alternatives for health treats that still say Valentine’s Day loud and clear.

Hard candies are often made up of mostly sugars and can cause damage to their teeth from the chewing. There are so many sugar substitutes available today in the grocery store. You can use most of them with the common Bronx Valentine’s Day recipes for sweets and pastries. They have the measurements for replacing the sugar on the bags most of the time. You do have to be careful because some chocolate and cookie recipes might not turn out well with the sugar substitutes. The trick is to find the recipes online that are already changed around and adapted for the sugar free substitutes. There are plenty to choose from and most of them taste better, if not the same as, the one’s with sugar.

When it comes to staining, it is not just the candies. The cupcakes and cookies for Valentine’s Day normally contain some strong red food coloring’s or at least pink food coloring that can easily stain the teeth. It is easy to walk by a table at a party or work and grab a nice cookie with red frosting in the shape of a heart, but it could end up ruining the last teeth whitening that you had done. Be careful to clean the teeth really good at night if you end up eating a lot of sweets. Brush your teeth two times if you think they are not clean the first time. Floss really good to get all of those red hot cupcakes out from in between your teeth.

Controlling yourself around candy and cupcakes is hard enough, controlling kids is a whole other issue. If the have a lot of candy and sweets from Valentine’s Day, tell them that they can split it up over the next couple months to have a little after a healthy meal for desert over time so they are not getting hit with a big sugar rush on their teeth. It is hard not to let them go a little nuts on Valentine’s Day, but the leftover candy is what needs to be controlled. Explaining this to children can be simple. The more sweets the body gets, the more it wants, so spreading it out over time can help the body not crave so many sweets.

Splitting up the leftovers is healthy for the rest of the body too. Store their candy in the freezer and thaw out completely as needed, this can help hide it and keep it fresh. This is also something adults can do for themselves.

You can also give kids other things for Valentine’s Day that they need and to show them you care. You can give some stickers, gift cards to their favorite stores and a nice Valentine’s Day card, something they have been wanting that is not costly and wrap it up in red, and maybe a new toothbrush and toothpaste.

The time of day that we eat candy and sweets can really effect our teeth. It is a common no-no that people end up eating a few pieces of candy or a sweet cupcake before bed. This is the worst time to eat sweets. Make sure if you slip, to brush and flush to get all that sugar off the teeth before bedtime. Moderation is also a good thing when it comes to sweets.

Sweet foods that we may get for Valentine’s Day such as, strawberries or oranges, drenched in chocolate. The acidic juices can erode the enamel on the teeth. Brushing at the right times can prevent further damage. Don’t brush right after eating acidic foods and juices. Wait at least thirty minutes to make sure you are not brushing away your enamel. If you eat a whole lot of acidic foods and drink a lot of juices, try enamel strengthening toothpastes designed to help with the enamel protection, but these acidic foods should always be eaten in moderation just like sweets.

Valentine’s Day does not have to be all about the candy. You can make heart shaped healthy foods or even things like heart shapes biscuits and pizza. Here is a link to some heart shaped foods on Pinterest that can give you some ideas on what to make: https://www.pinterest.com/explore/heart-shaped-foods/ . Adults and kids will love some of these ideas. My favorites are the heart shaped pepperoni, the heart shaped eggs, and the heart sandwiches. These little shapes are great way to put some love into your food for Valentine’s Day!

And now through Valentine’s Day, show your teeth some LOVE and get $50 of ZOOM Teeth Whitening. (Offer good until midnight February 14^th 2015. Call our Morris Park Dentist office and request a dental appointment as soon as possible. Call (718) DR.SMILE (718-377-6453) today! Right now you can get $50 off ZOOM Teeth Whitening as our Valentine’s Day gift to you!

Keep Your Smile Bright After Teeth Whitening

Whitening your teeth can provide a youthful and renewed brightness to your smile. However, there are certain precautions that must be taken to maximize the results of your whitening session such as staying away from specific foods for a certain amount of time. Just because your teeth are white again does not mean you are immune to the very things that discolored your teeth initially. Here are some of the recommendations from the Bronx teeth whitening specialists for how to get the most out of your session.

What To Avoid After Teeth Whitening

It is important to wait 48 hours before consuming foods which are capable of staining teeth. As a guideline a patient can use “anything that would stain your clothes” as an idea of what to steer clear of for this time in order to get the best results from their whitening.

Specific Things To Avoid Before

Dark drinks like wine, coffee, cola, tea and juices.
Fruits and vegetable such as blueberries, beets, tomato sauces.
Dark marinades and sauces i.e. jams, soy sauce.
Acidic food such as oranges, grapefruit, lemons, vinegar and pickles. They increase the acidity in your saliva which can damage the teeth which have just been weakened by the chemicals in the whitening solution.
Avoid foods of extreme temperature because your teeth are very sensitive at this point. This sensitivity can last up to 36 hours after your session.

Maintaining Your Smile After Teeth Whitening

To get the most out of your service, follow the aforementioned tips on keeping your teeth white and how to brighten your smile and safely remove stains causes by food and drink without hurting the enamel of your teeth.

If you need a professional teeth whitening in the Bronx, make an appointment online or call Morris Park Dental today at -504-0697.