As parents we are always looking for a way to improve our habits with our children and getting them to brush their teeth is a big one! For a little extra motivation for your child, click the link below to get your free printable toothbrush chart. Once your child has completed the chart, bring it in to North Pointe Dental for a great free prize.
Happy brushing!
Happy National Drinking Water Week! We hope that you take this opportunity to increase the amount of water in your daily diet.
From time to time, the media will pick up on the issue of fluoride supplements that are added to city water supplies. Our patients often wonder if fluoridation is something they should be concerned about. We encourage you to be informed about anything you put in your body and know that there are conflicting reports on the benefits of fluoride. Below are some Fluoride Facts that you should know.
What is fluoride?
Fluorine, from which fluoride is derived, is a naturally occurring element that is released into the environment through both water and air.
Why fluoride?
While some amounts of fluoride are naturally present in groundwater, for the past 50 years municipal water supplies have been supplemented because of the realization that fluoride was an effective way to prevent tooth decay and thus cavities. Fluoride works by stopping or even reversing the decay process by preventing the loss of important minerals found in tooth enamel. Fluoridation of community water supplies has been credited with reducing tooth decay by 50%-60% since World War II.
How much fluoride?
Fluoride is measured in parts per million (ppm) in drinking water. In 1974, Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act. This law requires the EPA to monitor drinking water and establish safe levels of supplements and contaminants, assuming consumption of drinking water over a lifetime. The EPA has set the maximum level for fluoride at 4.00 ppm based on the best science available. The EPA has also set a secondary standard on fluoride at 2.0 ppm. Secondary guidelines regulate cosmetic (skin or tooth discoloration) or aesthetic effects (odor, taste, color, etc.) The secondary standards are recommended by the EPA, but not enforced. States can choose to make the secondary set of standards enforceable within their state.
Local law sets the limit of water fluoridation at a minimum of 1.0 ppm not to exceed 1. 5ppm.
Rochester Public Utilities tests drinking water monthly. Each year Rochester Public Utilities releases an annual report on water quality. The entire report for 2010 (the most recent data available) can be found here. Natural groundwater in the Rochester area contains about .23 ppm of fluoride. In the over 2600 water quality tests performed in 2010 across Rochester, fluoride levels were measured between 1.0 ppm to 1.44 ppm with an average of 1.25 ppm.
Is fluoride safe?
Children under the age of 6 can develop white spots on their teeth, called fluorosis, from the overconsumption of fluoride. (This does not mean topical treatment.) While drinking the tap water in Olmsted County should be safe, we recommend that children use fluoride-free toothpaste until they consistently spit into the sink while brushing. If you do notice white spots developing on your young child’s teeth, contact our office and we can help you make adjustments to diet or habit to reduce the effects of fluorosis.
Older children and adults in Rochester should feel confident consuming tap water based on the numbers above combined with using toothpaste fortified with fluoride.
How often?
In addition to drinking tap water and using fortified toothpaste, Dr. Toney recommends a topical fluoride treatment for most patients at least once per year. If, for any reason, you drink bottled water primarily, are on well water or choose beverages besides tap water primarily, please inform Deanna or Dr. Toney at your next appointment. Many of the concerns regarding fluoride pertain only to the ingestion of fluoride and topical applications are still beneficial to your dental health.
Not only is drinking tap water good for your overall health, doing so reduces the amount of water bottles needing to be recycled each year. Those are two great reasons to smile!
Sources:
Dental emergencies often occur when they are least expected. Sometimes they occur at a very inconvenient time such as holidays, evenings or weekends, when you are away from home, on vacation or when your dentist is out of the office. We want to provide you with some information on what to do should you find yourself, a family member or a friend in a dental emergency. Here is a list of what things to do and not to do for various dental emergencies:
Chipped, Broken or Aching Tooth:
DO:
Do NOT:
Broken/Loose Crown or Temporary Crown:
DO:
Do NOT:
Broken Denture or Bridge
DO:
Do NOT:
Bleeding Gums:
DO:
Do NOT:
Chipped, Broken or Loose Baby Tooth:
DO:
Do NOT:
Remember:
Always remember that if you think a dental emergency is in any way life-threatening (from head trauma, swelling that is affecting the airway or severe infection), please call 911 or go to the emergency room right away.
During our regular office hours, you should always call North Pointe Dental for any situation you feel is a dental emergency. Outside of our regular office hours, there is an emergency contact number available for Dr. Toney on the answering machine.
At North Pointe Dental we don’t mind tax day. In fact, we are just a little bit grateful to the IRS. Without them, the dental office might make the absolute top of the “Offices Everyone Hates” list. So, thank you, IRS, for being a little more painful than the dentist!
Truly, we hope your 2012 Tax Day doesn’t cause too much discomfort. If it does, here is a round-up of coupons you can use in Rochester to anesthetize the pain:
Arby’s – Free value curly fry on April 17 only
Bruegger’s – Big Bagel Bundle (a Baker’s Dozen and 2 tubs of Cream Cheese) for $10.40 from April 13 to April 17 by liking their Facebook page. (You should print the coupon from their Facebook page, not here. Image is just to show the details.)
Seattle’s Best Coffee – The Great American Coffee Refund – Get a Free sample of Seattle’s Best Coffee until April 17 by “Liking” Seattle’s Best Coffee’s Facebook Page.
Papa Murphy’s - $5 Tax Day Special
Get a large pepperoni pizza for $5 at Papa Murphy’s on Tax Day when you present this coupon! You can choose the original or thin crust and it’s valid for pepperoni only. Limit 2.
McDonald’s – Buy 1 Big Mac, Get one for a penny
Feel free to leave any additional local “steals or deals” in the comments section!
At North Pointe Dental we are celebrating families this spring. The biggest compliment we can receive from you is when you tell a friend, family or co-worker about our office and your experience here. We need more families like yours to celebrate! Just to add a little fun to this celebration we are giving away a Wii console with Mario Kart bundle. Refer a family or new patient to our office from now to May 15 and you are eligible to win. This is not a drawing. The family that refers the most new patients will win!
Call for details!
