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Visiting Paraguay last year was a transformative experience for me. Seeing children who had never before had formal dental treatment in their lives, and how their faces were changed in practically minutes just from some basic procedures that we routinely perform, really had an impact on me. It showed me how we at Monarch Dental and at Smile Brands have the opportunity to make a difference in the world.

That’s why I’m so thrilled and honored to be going out on another mission trip this month, this time to Chiang Rai, Thailand. We’ll be bringing a team of dentists and employees, along with crucial dental equipment, and heading to orphanages and nutrition centers to help bring the treatment and care to Thailand that we did to Paraguay.

Stay tuned to the blog for more – I’ll be posting once I get back with images and memorable experiences from the trip.

It’s important to keep sugar consumption to a minimum if you want to avoid developing cavities. But good news for chocolate lovers – your favorite sweet actually has some scientifically proven oral health benefits!

Chocolate comes from cocoa beans, which contain three elements that can be beneficial to your oral health. These three are tannins, flavonoids and polyphenols.

Tannins are the big one for oral health – they prevent the bacteria from going to work on your teeth, thus keeping cavities from forming. The flavonoids and polyphenols produce antioxidants, which can help prevent heart disease and cancer.

Just make sure to opt for high quality dark chocolate over chemical and preservative-filled low grade chocolate. And no matter what, brush your teeth after eating any sweet thing!

If you are one of the nearly 24 million Americans with diabetes, you are almost certainly at increased risk for gum disease and other oral health concerns. That’s why it’s especially important for diabetics to take good care of their teeth and gums.

Your white blood cells help prevent bacterial infections in your mouth; uncontrolled diabetes impairs those blood cells from working properly. In other words, having diabetes weakens your mouth’s natural ability to battle germs and bacteria.

Simultaneously, uncontrolled blood sugar levels can make gum disease worse, which in turn makes it more of a challenge to control your diabetes. Working in tandem, the two conditions of diabetes and gum disease can team up to cause even more serious health problems than each condition on its own.

Controlling your blood glucose levels will help prevent potential problems, as will regular brushing and flossing along with twice yearly visits to your dental professional. Those with diabetes should also be on the lookout for early symptoms of gum disease, such as red, bleeding or sore gums, a constant bad taste in the mouth or gums starting to pull away from the teeth. And make sure to alert your dentist and hygienist if you have recently been diagnosed with diabetes, so they can work with you to keep an eye on your oral health.

We spend on average a third of our lives at work; so needless to say, we eat often while at work. And this means most likely, we eat without brushing our teeth afterwards. But as we all know, food sitting on teeth and in between teeth leads to decay and cavities. So here are a few ideas to help prevent against the less than enjoyable task of getting cavities filled.

1. Bring your toothbrush to work. It may feel dorky to be that person in the employee bathroom standing over the sink with a toothbrush, but it’s not. Brushing your teeth at work does not make you the office geek; it makes you the office star with the brightest teeth and healthiest mouth.

1. Chew Gum. Somewhat counterintuitive, chewing gum can actually be good for your teeth. As long as its sugar free, chewing gum stimulates saliva production and neutralizes acids in the mouth that can cause tooth decay and cavities. So after that soup and sandwich, enjoy chewing your favorite flavor, freshen your breath and protect your teeth!

1. Mouthwash. If you really don’t want to brush at the office but are willing to do a bit more than chewing gum, try mouthwash. Rinsing for even 20-30 seconds will make a difference, and it can be less conspicuous than the full on tooth brushing. Plus it’ll help rid you of that garlic breath you’ve got from eating pesto with garlic bread for lunch!

While we all know how important regular visits to the dentist are, most people don’t actually enjoy them. Aside from being knocked out which isn’t generally recommended for a simple dental appointment, I’ve seen a few ways that my patients have successfully tuned out which clearly makes the appointment go faster and more smoothly.

Rock the iPod. Listening to music has so many valuable uses. It can make us run faster on the treadmill, feel better after a bad incident or dance the night away. No matter what kind of music you like, listening to some of your favorite tunes can take you to a much happier place. So bring that iPod with you, hit play, and dream of a world far away as your dentist cleans and beautifies your pearly whites.

Warm Neck Wrap.  A warm neck wrap that will enhance your relaxation during treatment will also help you tune out the unpleasantness that you may be feeling. It can be soothing, and if the room is cold, it will keep you toasty as well!

Catch Up On Your Favorite Soaps. Some dental offices even have a TV above the chair, so as you’re getting your dental services done, you can find out what soap Susan Lucci is currently on, or find out who killed Marlene on Days of Our Lives.

As parents, we always want to make sure our kids are brushing their teeth often enough and the right way, but did you know it’s just as important for adults to follow proper teeth-brushing guidelines? As we age, the enamel on our teeth starts to deteriorate, and it becomes more and more important to take proper care.

Here are some guidelines that are great for kids, but they’re just as important for the “big kids” too, so follow these tips for healthy, strong teeth!

Brush at least twice a day. If all else fails, make sure to at least brush once in the morning and once at night. Ideally, we would all carry around a toothbrush and toothpaste and brush after everything we eat, but I know most people cringe at the thought of brushing their teeth in the bathroom at work, or even more, in a public restroom.  So if you are the type who wants to brush their teeth at the local Starbucks, be sure to at least do it when you wake up and before bed.

Use a soft bristled brush. For whatever reason, toothbrush companies continue to sell hard-bristled brushes, but I still don’t understand why. They can result in microscopic cuts, scrapes and abrasions on your gums which not only can hurt, they can also get infected which no one wants.

Timing is everything.  I know we are all in a rush a lot of the time, particularly when we’re getting ready in the morning, but one thing that you really shouldn’t give up is time spent brushing your teeth. We suggest spending at least two minutes brushing your teeth every time you do it. It’s easy to feel the rush, but really, will two minutes REALLY make that much of a difference in getting to work on time? Because it sure will make a difference in your teeth health!

When packing lunch for the kids, I know how easy it is to find ourselves relying on pre-packaged items that are full of preservatives and other additives that are not only unhealthy, but negatively impact kids’ teeth as well. But it’s so important to teach them to eat well at a young age. If you can spend a few extra minutes planning ahead, your kids will eat better and you’ll feel better for it.
One of the easiest ways to ensure your kids get a healthy lunch is to pack it the night before. With the chaos and rush of the mornings, it’s so easy to forget or run out of time to pack the kids’ lunches. Then we end up relying on school lunch, which often doesn’t solve the problem of a healthy lunch, or we throw some of those easy, pre-packaged items into their lunchbox. Planning ahead and packing lunches the night before can dramatically increase your kids’ chances of eating well the next day.

And it’s important to remember, while making the main part of the lunch healthy is crucial, we can’t forget the snacks. I’ve listed several snack ideas below so the healthy sandwich doesn’t get pushed out of the way of the Twinkie or Fruit Roll-Up.

1. Cheese sticks are fun to eat and a good source of calcium
2. Whole grain snack crackers add that nice crunch
3. Make a big fruit salad over the weekend and have snacks for the whole week
4. Dried fruit or nuts are easy and still healthy
5. Pack a cold pasta salad, coleslaw or potato salad
6. Baby carrots make a great snack with a small container of vegetable dip

Any other snack ideas you’d like to share? We’re always looking for healthy, fresh ideas!

Check out the new TV Spot and find out why it's so hard out there for teeth!

No one appreciates how easy it is to brush and floss as much as someone who has had braces. There’s no way around it - brushing with braces is an involved process. Wires, rubber bands and various other tooth-flexing appliances can really get in the way when you are trying to clean your teeth. As difficult as it can be, however, daily care is the only way to make sure that the straight smile you have at the end will still be healthy and white.
Here are three ways you can make this process easier:

1. Start by flossing. Many people save flossing for last, but it’s easy to have food particles get caught in you braces during the process. By flossing first, you’ll ensure that these particles are cleaned away when you brush.

1. Next, use your regular brush. Even though there are hard to reach places, your regular toothbrush will get most of the surfaces and help break loose anything between the wires and your teeth.

1. Use your proxabrush (or as one of my young patients calls it, the tiny bottle brush). Despite what many think, the proxabrush is not just for when there is something wedged between braces, it should be used during every brushing.

No matter what you do, properly cleaning your teeth with braces will take a little more time. Just remind yourself that it’s only for a time and that the smile you’ll have at the end will make it all worth it.

It seems the brown paper bag has gone out of style in recent years. We might pack our kids’ lunch, but many adults don’t pack one for themselves. Unfortunately, many end up choosing unhealthy alternatives like fast food burgers and fries.

More than just unhealthy, it’s also a real strain on your wallet. Consider this, if you buy a lunch every workday for an average of $7 per day, it will cost you about $1,700 over the course of the year. And that doesn’t even count holidays and weekends!

Do yourself (and you wallet) a favor; pack a lunch for work. If you’re short on time in the morning, try packing the night before instead. You can find small coolers for a few dollars that easily fit in the fridge so you can just grab it on your way out the door.

One of the easiest ways to plan for lunch is to make a enough dinner at night for leftovers. Why put all that work into cooking healthy for just one meal, right? This is a great option because it requires very little effort; just add a little more to your recipe. When you put away the food after a meal, pack enough for lunch into a separate container and pop it in your lunch box or mini-cooler.

If you have more ideas, share them in the comments below.