How Can I Reduce Acidity in My Mouth?

Having a healthy pH level in your mouth can lower the risk of poor oral health. Since poor oral health impacts your overall well-being, it’s important to regulate acidity levels in your mouth, visiting your dentist routinely, and embracing good dental habits. So how can you reduce acidity in your mouth?

You can reduce mouth acidity and regain a healthier pH through good dietary choices and dental habits. Surprisingly, even exercise may help reduce acidity in your mouth. Moderate and low-impact exercise has been shown to reduce acid reflux, a common cause of mouth acidity.

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Restore Tooth Enamel with Products? Get the Facts

Enamel is the thin, clear layer of protection on our teeth. As we age, we can lose tooth enamel naturally and weaken it by consuming sugary foods, acidic drinks, and brushing improperly.

Unfortunately, tooth enamel can’t be restored once it’s gone. You can, however, strengthen your tooth enamel. Read on to learn why you can’t restore tooth enamel, but you can repair it using over-the-counter products and regular visits to your dentist.

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Does Vaping Hurt Your Teeth?

E-cigarettes (vapes) continue to be popular among young adults and teens, despite numerous bans on their use in several states outside of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro filed a lawsuit in 2020 against Juul, a popular brand of vape pens and flavor cartridges, alleging it misled consumers about the health risks of vaping. There are also federal lawsuits against Juul and other e-cigarette companies.

We have seen evidence that vaping hurts your teeth. Read on to learn the various ways vaping threatens your oral health. As we often tell our patients, good oral health impacts your overall well-being (conversely, bad oral health may result in illness).

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Do Tongue Piercings Cause Tooth Damage?

Those who decide to get their tongues pierced may not give much thought to how it impacts their dental care.

Unfortunately, they should. Tongue piercings cause tooth damage, receding gums, and other oral care issues. At Susquehanna Dental Arts, we’ve seen firsthand the harm it can cause. That being said, we welcome patients who have tongue piercings to visit our office. Regular checkups can help prevent issues from occurring or worsening.

Let’s look at what’s behind the choice to pierce one’s tongue and some other dental concerns related to having it pierced.

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Can Dental X-rays Help Prevent Mouth Cancer?

Avoiding tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, and sun overexposure are some of the most prominent ways to avoid mouth cancer. However, routine dental exams and yearly dental x-rays may also help prevent mouth cancer.

Dental oral cancer screenings that include x-rays can help detect possible signs of cancer or reveal pre-cancerous changes in your mouth that might otherwise go unseen and untreated.

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How Long Does Teeth Whitening Last?

Few facial features can capture a person’s attention more than a nice, bright smile. One way you can make your smile stand out is to opt for teeth whitening treatments.

There are variables to how long whitening lasts. Teeth whitening can last between 3 months to a few years, depending on the type of teeth whitening treatment you choose and your current oral health.

Before you make any decisions around cosmetic dentistry, there are other considerations regarding teeth whitening. We’ll explore a few of them here, but we encourage you to call our office to schedule a consultation to get individualized attention!

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Is it OK to Visit My Dentist During COVID?

The pandemic has added to the anxiety that some people may already experience when it comes to visiting the dentist. We want you to know that it is OK to visit your dentist during COVID-19. In fact, it could be even more important than ever before.

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Can Good Oral Health Help Prevent COVID?

A healthy mouth encourages a healthy immune system which can reduce your risk of contracting COVID, as well as other viruses. Conversely, poor oral hygiene can encourage dysbiosis (digestive disturbances), which can increase the prevalence of pathogenic oral bacteria and other diseases.

A recent study highlighting the relevant role co-infections play in the mortality of patients with COVID-19 has the dental health community on alert to the role oral bacteria has in facilitating co-infections. We know bad dental health can impact overall health and that bacterial species in our mouths can be better controlled through good oral hygiene.

(Read “Co-infections: potentially lethal and unexplored in COVID-19,” published April 24, 2020, in The Lancet.)

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Pandemic Stress Puts Teeth Grinding in the Spotlight

Recent stress brought on by COVID has brought bruxism or teeth grinding, into the limelight. Dentists nationwide are noticing an uptick in teeth grinding and jaw clenching. Yet teeth grinding has threatened dental health for centuries, long before this pandemic and it can be caused by more latent stressors.

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Is There Natural Dental Care for Babies?

Babies are so precious! And you want to do everything you can to ensure their good health. It’s just as important to choose the most natural approach to dental care as you would when choosing other baby care products. There are natural ways to apply pre-tooth care for babies and a holistic approach to dentistry over his or her lifetime is best.

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