This is a good question, which we hear daily. The brand of the toothbrush is not nearly as critical as the type of bristle, the size and shape of the head and how frequently you replace your brush.

We recommend a soft bristled brush with a small head. The soft bristles are most important for the health of your gums. A small head allows you to get around each tooth more completely and is less likely to injure your gums.Daily frequency of brushing and replacement with a new brush are much more important issues than the brand you choose.

We recommend replacing your brush at least once a month.

My employees and I all brush, on average, 5 times a day. We brush first thing in the morning, after each meal and at the end of the day .

If you are not able to do this because of your busy schedule, we recommend brushing twice a day at a bare minimum.

Today there are many more geriatric specialists within the dental industry, for example, a phenomenon that has happened in reaction to the fact that many seniors – and the parents of those younger seniors – are now wanting and needing age-specific dental care or will need it in the years to come. Along with a rise in the number of dentists who are specially trained to work with the health concerns of older patients there has also been an astonishing change in terms of dental treatments and technologies. Now the procedures your dentist does are more effective, they take less time to complete, they cause less discomfort, and they typically cost much less over time because they are so superior to the old-fashioned methods of the past.

If you need a crown placed on a damaged, cracked, or decayed tooth, for instance it can often be done within one single visit to the dentist. It used to take weeks, because it took a long time to develop x-rays, days or weeks to sculpt a new artificial tooth by hand, and then additional appointments in the dentist chair to complete each step in the long process. Now you can get better and more vivid x-rays done in a matter of minutes, they can be evaluated right away, and if you need to have a replacement tooth or crown made many dentists can accomplish that within 2-3 hours right there inside their own office. They use robots, computers, lasers, and other futuristic tools to ensure your comfort and convenience while enhancing your dental health.

Seniors have issues that are specific to their age group, too, like old amalgam fillings that need to be removed and replaced to avoid serious problems like cracked teeth or mercury poisoning. As we age the gums tend to recede, which can lead to an increased risk of periodontal disease. A loss of bone density can mean diminished tooth enamel strength, and thinning of the tooth enamel can mean more care must be taken when polishing the teeth to remove stains and protect from harmful bacteria. Poor oral hygiene can even lead to cardiac problems, so that is yet another concern of older dental patients. But regardless of the issue, there are wonderful remedies and preventive measures that can be employed to ensure that no matter how old you are, your teeth and smile can remain youthful. Ask your dentist about the kinds of oral health concerns that most seniors share, and he or she can explain to you all the various different approaches to enhancing your dental health and keeping your gums and teeth vibrant and healthy for years to come.

Teeth whitening has grown to become big business and the amount of companies offering products and services has grown. It is impossible to review all of these companies in one article but let us discuss the different systems and methods that are on the market. When the teeth have been whitened they look amazing and this can have some really positive effects on your everyday life. People with whiter teeth smile more and this in turn make anyone you meet return the gesture and this can open doors in your love life as well.

The way whitening works is pretty similar and that is because of how the teeth become stained in the first place. The teeth have micro pores which open and close and soak up staining components placed in the mouth over a long period of time. So the good news is the teeth do not change quickly and for most of us can take three, four years or longer to notice a change.

When we age the enamel wears and a combination of accumulative staining will make us recognise our teeth have yellowed in coloured and we need to take action to whiten them. Things like smoking, red wine and coffee and tea are some of the main culprits to worsening the situation.

One of the questions that gets asked a lot is why some people of the same age have such differing colours of the teeth and the answer really is down to three things. Firstly what is the natural colour of the dentin which sits underneath the enamel. This cannot be changed through whitening or dental health. Secondly is down to how absorbent the teeth are to components placed in the mouth and some people are more likely to staining than others. The last reason is that the enamel has differing thickness so someone who has particularly thick teeth are less likely to get staining than someone with thin enamel.

This soaking process needs to last at least twenty to sixty minutes at a time to really make the thing work otherwise no change will happen. Now the stronger the gel the better the result and less time you need to keep the product on the teeth for. For this reason we need to put aside products like mouthwashes and toothpastes because they are not on the surface of the teeth long enough to make a real difference.

Traditional dental plans sometimes allow an individual to choose any dentist to visit. However, if that individual goes to a dentist within the plan’s network, the charges will be a lot cheaper. Dentists maintain contracts with certain dental insurance carriers, so it is best when choosing a carrier to know whether your dentist participates in that plan. Major services are usually covered in these traditional plans, although most not fully. Major services can include dentures and crowns. Many traditional dental plans for individuals will only cover a portion of a major dental procedure. The cost for a traditional plan is much higher than other plans because the reimbursement rates are higher and there is a lot more flexibility when choosing a dentist.

The lowest dental insurance plan for individuals is usually a dental health maintenance organization. In this type of plan, you must visit an in network dentist, there is no choice. A DHMO is most often the most cost effective; however, dentists who actually participate in the plan are usually limited. So your choice for a dentist may not be covered. Most of the individual plans require a deductible of some type. These deductibles are smaller for an individual and increase for family coverage.

Dental insurance plans for individuals sometimes cost a little more per month than plans that one can obtain through an employer; however, they are not usually a lot more. In fact, many individual plan providers offer the individual the ability to pay for their care yearly. Humana Dental offers its customers the ability to pay for their coverage in a lump sum yearly, with a small discount for paying all at once. For a lot of people, this is an attractive option. Getting it out of the way and not having to remember to make the monthly premium payment is terrific.

Some people only need individual coverage for a short time, such as between jobs. There are many plan providers that make it easy for you to customize your own dental plan needs. This way you are not locked into a long term policy that you are paying yourself, if you obtain new employment that offers dental coverage. Other dental plans can have very high deductibles, as high as 10,000 dollars per year, an option that is definitely not for everyone. As one can easily determine, the options for individual coverage are virtually endless.