3 Vital Reasons to Floss Regularly

Dental health General Dentistry

reasons to floss your teeth

Are you an avid flosser? Many of us occasionally skip this necessary habit. Studies show that around 68% of people report flossing at least once a week while 20% say they really never floss. Skipping the daily flossing routine can have devastating consequences on your overall dental health and result in costly dental work in the future. Find out more about 3 major ways flossing helps protect us from gingivitis, cavities and enhances our social lives. 

1. Helps Fight Cavities

Every time we eat, small remnants of food are left behind. It’s common for these tiny bits of food to accumulate in between our teeth without us always being aware. When we floss, it gets rid of all these bits of food and helps reduce the amount of plaque buildup on our teeth.

If we’re not flossing routinely, more and more plaque will form and put us at risk of developing cavities. When plaque begins to cover our teeth, the enamel is slowly worn down and can result in a tiny hole which we call a cavity. The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends flossing at least once per day to prevent this growth of plaque.

2. Prevents Gum Disease

Gum disease is a major dental issue and can leave you with fewer teeth if not properly taken care of in a timely manner. There are four stages to gum disease and first signs usually show up as blood in your gums after flossing or brushing. Anytime we’re flossing and notice this, we can take it as a sign we’re not flossing well enough. The bleeding in our gums creates an accumulation of plaque and tartar along the gumline.

Flossing is a great way to eliminate this plaque from our teeth. With a piece of floss, we can reach areas a toothbrush can’t reach. If we avoid flossing for long bouts, more and more tartar can accumulate and become harder to get rid of, so our gums bleed. Plaque and tartar allow certain bacteria to build up and seep in between our gums, damaging our teeth in the process.

3. Freshens Your Breath

Have you ever wondered why your breath is stale at times? This could be due to a lack of flossing, even if you brush routinely. When you brush your teeth, you eliminate small amounts of saliva, food, and a variety of fluids from your teeth. If you don’t brush frequently, everything sticks to your teeth and results in foul-smelling breath. The same thing can happen when we start reducing the amount of time we spend flossing. Since the food is collecting at a slower rate, we may not notice our breath turning sour. Eventually, this will lead to covering our mouths during conversation.

Conclusion

Even if flossing is the most hard part of your oral health regimen, refusing to floss is not worth the risk. Removing the bacteria in between your teeth regularly is crucial to your dental health and will keep your breath smelling fresh.

Flossing and brushing are the best preventative measures to avoid gum disease. Remember to have twice-yearly professional dental cleanings as well. If you’re not currently flossing, it’s best to start sooner rather than later. Unexpected cavities can be expensive to treat and damaging to your health.

Contact Harris Dental:

480-428-0040

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

4444 N 32 St Ste 208
Phoenix, Arizona
85018

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Harris Dental Provides Quality, Compassionate Dental Care

Dental health General Dentistry

take out silver fillings Scottsdale

Hello, and welcome to our dental blog. My name is Dr. Harris and I want to tell you about Harris Dental.

Meet Our Compassionate Team of Dental Professionals

The first thing to know is that we work hard to keep our patients comfortable. Our team is compassionate and empathetic. For some individuals, the condition of their teeth is a sensitive subject.

We get it. If you have dental dilemmas–whether it’s decay, gum disease or discolored teeth–we want to treat these problems and get you back on track when it comes to a healthy smile.

Relieving Dental Anxiety is Our Specialty

As mentioned, we understand that some men and women are sensitive about the condition of their teeth so they are reluctant to seek care. Other men and women are hesitant to seek care because dental treatment is downright scary for them.

If you fear dental treatment, give us a try. We have helped hundreds of apprehensive patients get through their procedures successfully. Let’s talk about oral conscious sedation options.

We Honor Your Trust

We know you have many choices in Phoenix-area dental practices. If you place your trust in us, we will do all we can to honor that trust. This includes making your wait time as short as possible and your visit as enjoyable as possible. In addition, we will work with you to schedule appointments at your convenience. Furthermore, we believe our skills and experience will ensure successful outcomes.

We Are a Full-Service General and Cosmetic Dental Practice

We provide general and cosmetic dentistry to patients in our Phoenix office. We serve the greater Phoenix area including Queen Creek, Scottsdale, and Mesa. Even if you live a bit further away, we promise you that it’s worth the trip.

Our most popular services are:

dental implants
Invisalign clear braces
sedation dentistry
cosmetic dentistry
CEREC same-day crowns

Interested in Upgrading Your Smile?

Along with healthy teeth, many of our Queen Creek and Scottsdale patients want to know more about popular cosmetic dentistry procedures. These include teeth whitening, veneers, dental implants, gum contouring, and more!

A combination of cosmetic dental treatments can remedy every problem to achieve your brilliant smile!

If you live in the Phoenix area and would like to see what Harris Dental has to offer, give us a call at 480-428-0040 . We are currently accepting new dental patients!

Contact Harris Dental:

480-428-0040

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

4444 N 32 St Ste 208
Phoenix, Arizona
85018

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You Won’t Be Out Cold (Unless You Want To Be!)

General Dentistry Sedation Dentistry

Sedation Dentistry Mesa

Does your heart start pounding at the mere thought of having a cavity filled? Do you get sweaty palms when you drive by a dental practice?

Many men and women who have improved their smile with cosmetic dentistry or underwent extensive restoration care chose to use sedation. Though the terms ‘sleep dentistry’ and ‘oral conscious sedation’ are commonly used interchangeably, they are not identical. Let’s look at the three main types of sedation used in dentistry.

Nitrous Oxide
The first level uses nitrous oxide, or ‘laughing gas’ as it is frequently called. Nitrous oxide has been used in cosmetic dental offices for many years because it is safe and effective. It goes to work at the first inhalation, relaxes the patient during the treatment, but wears off quickly after the mask is pulled off. If you need a little help to get through dental care, but don’t want to be knocked out cold, nitrous may be the best choice.

Oral Conscious Sedation
Oral sedatives don’t start working as quickly as nitrous oxide, but they help most patients achieve a deeper level of tranquility. These medications, however, do not usually result in complete unconsciousness. Thus, oral sedatives and nitrous oxide are used in ‘conscious’ sedation. Two of the most frequent sedatives used by Phoenix dentists are diazepam and triazolam.

IV Sedation
IV sedation uses medications similar to those used in surgery and results in true ‘sleep dentistry.’ Most patients are oblivious to what is going on in their mouth. IV sedation is often used for services such as root canals, wisdom teeth extractions, and multi-procedure smile transformations. (The sedation will wear off shortly after the procedure, so you won’t need a handsome prince’s kiss to wake you up.)

For more specifics about sedation dentistry, adult braces, tooth implants, or porcelain veneers, call Harris Dental at 480-428-0040 .

Contact Harris Dental:

480-428-0040

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

4444 N 32 St Ste 208
Phoenix, Arizona
85018

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I Evaluate Your Teeth – You Evaluate Harris Dental

Dental health Dental Implants General Dentistry

Phoenix Smile Makeovers Hello friends and neighbors in Phoenix!

Welcome to our dentistry blog. This site is for my valued patients and anyone in the Phoenix area who is looking for a local experienced and considerate general and family dentist.

We are taking new patients at Harris Dental.

I invite you to call 480-428-0040 to schedule an evaluation.

I’m not talking about an ordinary dental evaluation, although I will certainly examine your teeth and gums thoroughly and advise you on any necessary preventative or restorative needs.

I invite you to perform your own evaluation of me and my dental practice.

I encourage you to evaluate:

  • My education, experience and dental skill
  • The variety of services we provide at Harris Dental
  • My recommendations about your dental needs
  • Before and after photos of my smile redesign patients
  • My philosophy of preventative dentistry
  • The length of the wait time for your appointment
  • My office atmosphere and the attentiveness of my personable professional dental team
  • All the extras that make your dental visits pleasant and comfortable
  • My ability to explain the vital technical details of procedures and characteristics of restorative materials
  • The many services available at Harris Dental including general dentistry, stunning smile makeovers, and oral sedation

Fair enough? I will evaluate your dental needs and you can examine everything about me and my Phoenix dental practice. I believe that you will like what you find.

We are a full-service dental practice.

At Harris Dental, we provide a full array of dental services. If you don’t make it a point to keep up with the ever-evolving world of dentistry (and who does?), you might not be aware of the procedures that are now available.

There have never been as many effective treatments for tooth decay, missing teeth, misaligned teeth, and bite problems.

Beautiful smiles are our specialty

At Harris Dental, beautiful smiles are our specialty.

We provide dental fillings, porcelain crowns, dental veneers, inlays and onlays, tooth implants and other cosmetic dental procedures for complete smile makeovers.

Again, thanks for visiting our Harris Dental website. Enjoy your day and call us to schedule an appointment.

Contact Harris Dental:

480-428-0040

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

4444 N 32 St Ste 208
Phoenix, Arizona
85018

 

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Smile Makeovers: First Things First

Cosmetic Dentistry Oral Health Perfect smiles

smile design Phoenix

Hello, I’m Dr. Harris of Harris Dental. Thanks for visiting my blog. In today’s post, we will focus on something that happens occasionally when a patient requests cosmetic dentistry from their Phoenix dentist.

Let me set the stage. The patient comes in for a consultation about a smile makeover. We’ll call him Mr. Jones. The dentist listens carefully as he explains the esthetic problems that he wants to remedy. Mr. Jones wants to fix two chipped teeth, get a dental implant for a tooth that is missing altogether, and whiten his whole smile. He describes what he envisions for his smile after undergoing treatment.

The dentist performs an examination of his entire mouth and takes x-rays. The dentist discovers some additional dilemmas. There are three teeth with moderate decay, one tooth with acute decay, gum disease, an old crown with a crack in it, and severe bone recession at the potential dental implant site where the tooth was extracted ten years ago.

The dentist explains that these problems need to be addressed before the smile makeover is performed. Mr. Jones says that the smile makeover is his first priority and plans to deal with the other problems sometime in the future.

How does the dentist advise Mr. Jones? The dentist will probably explain that the lasting success of a cosmetic dental procedure such as porcelain veneers, dental bonding, or tooth whitening is influenced by the condition of the mouth at the time of treatment. There must be a solid, healthy foundation, so to speak, on which to build the smile makeover.

First things first. It makes no sense to attach a veneer to a decayed tooth that may need a root canal. A dental implant may not integrate with the surrounding bone structure if placed at a site where there is bone recession. Tooth whitening will probably not produce favorable results where there is gum disease and exposed tooth roots.

Can Mr. Jones ever have his dream smile? Yes! There are treatments to fix all of the problems mentioned previously. But just like many other things in life, the order of operations is critical.

If you are interested in a smile makeover or simply need a check-up, schedule an appointment by calling 480-428-0040 . I look forward to discussing both your oral health and esthetic concerns.

Contact Harris Dental:

480-428-0040

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

4444 N 32 St Ste 208
Phoenix, Arizona
85018

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