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Peter A. Pate, DDS Dental Blog

January 17, 2011

Why Teeth Discolor (And How to Bring Back the Beauty)

Filed under: Cosmetic Dentistry — Tags: , , , , , , , , — dr_pate @ 1:05 am

Are your teeth yellow, grayish, brownish, or just plain dingy?

In cosmetic dentistry, we use porcelain to create natural-looking restorations, like crowns and veneers. Porcelain looks and acts a lot like natural tooth enamel. Like porcelain, our teeth are porous. If you’ve ever had a white porcelain kitchen sink, you’ve probably watched it stain over time. The dark pigments in coffee, tea, red wine, and many foods such as berries, soak into the porous porcelain and cause discoloration. Unless you use a cleanser with bleach or a very harsh scrubber, like steel wool, the stains are virtually impossible to remove.

I do not recommend you use bleach or steel wool on your teeth! (more…)

January 13, 2011

Go Green… With Your Tea!

Filed under: Fun Dental Facts,Living It Up — Tags: , , , , , , , — dr_pate @ 12:14 am

You’ve probably heard about the health benefits of green tea, but have you heard about the oral health benefits? Green tea is known to destroy Streptococcus mutans, the main type of bacteria that causes plaque, acids, and tooth decay. By killing S. mutans, green tea fights cavities at the source. In addition, green tea makes tooth enamel slick, which inhibits of bacteria from adhering to a tooth’s surface.

Just a few ounces of green tea can yield these amazing oral health benefits. One study showed that Japanese children who drank a cup of green tea after lunch had significantly fewer cavities than their peers.

Green tea even fights the bacteria that invade a tooth’s pulp.   This means that drinking green tea could save you from needing a root canal. Of 24 types of bacteria taken from a tooth’s infected root, 21 strains were inhibited or destroyed by green tea extract. Amazing!

Winter is the perfect time of year to add green tea to your menu because of the overall health benefits. The wonder-beverage has been shown to be useful against allergens, viruses, and inflammation. It’s also known to reduce the signs of aging and reduce the speed of cartilage deterioration. The list of positives goes on and on. Drink four cups of green tea each day, and you could reduce your risk of cancer. Your cholesterol could go down, as well. It’s good for weight loss and increases the body’s rate of calorie burning. Green tea drinkers show higher bone mineral density, and one study showed that in heart attack patients, green tea can reduce the risk of death by 44% over about 4 years. Wow!

This is a perfect gift for friends and loved ones.  Green tea is the gift that keeps on giving.

January 7, 2011

Turn a Few Heads with a Healthy, Beautiful Smile

Filed under: Cosmetic Dentistry,General Dentistry — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — dr_pate @ 2:13 pm

It has been said that a person’s smile is the first thing others notice. I am Dr. Peter Pate and, as a dentist in the Atlanta area, I couldn’t agree more.

It has been proven that people tend to base their first impressions on the quality of your smile. In fact, people who have bright, healthy-looking smiles tend to achieve more in almost all aspects of their lives, especially professionally.

Many of my patients are surprised to hear this. It seems like in our modern day and age, people tend to obsess over their weight, hair color/style, skin tone, clothing, and other aspects of their physical appearance. The truth is, when it comes to first impressions, a beautiful smile says it all!

My team at Dentistry in Buckhead is here to help. Obviously, a healthy, beautiful smile can take you far. The mouth is often referred to as the window to the body because oral health has such a large impact on overall health. A healthy mouth that functions properly helps to ensure the overall health of your body.  Let’s face it, healthy people tend to be happier. Speaking of faces, having a well constructed smile affects more than just your mouth. Your whole face will benefit from a beautiful smile — including your eyes, which are the second thing people notice about a new acquaintance.

I offer a variety of cosmetic dentistry options if you feel that is the best way for you to achieve a sparkling smile. I will be happy to sit down with you at a consultation to discuss your dental goals and possible treatment plans.

Make it your new year’s resolution to achieve a healthy, dazzling smile, and you’ll be unstoppable. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please contact my office at (404) 266-9424.

January 5, 2011

Promises, Promises (New Year’s Resolutions)

Filed under: Living It Up — Tags: , , , , , , — dr_pate @ 10:53 pm

A recent study tells us that most of us make promises to ourselves on New Year’s Day, then promptly break those vows. About 30% of women tend to make and keep their New Year’s resolutions for over 30 days, but most guys ditch their deals in a day or two. I hope we’re all much more diligent with brushing, flossing, checkups, and cleanings!

According to articles from About.com and USA.gov, these are the top resolutions people make in January. See if any of yours made the list!

  • Spend more time with family and friends
  • Get a better education
  • Land a better job
  • Get fit
  • Lose weight
  • Quit smoking
  • Enjoy life more
  • Manage stress
  • Quit drinking
  • Get out of debt
  • Save money
  • Learn something new
  • Take a vacation
  • Help others
  • Reduce, reuse, and recycle
  • Get organized

It sure would be great to see people add “go to the dentist regularly” to this list! Only half of Americans visit the dentist each year, and the most widespread childhood disease is dental caries (cavities). I want to ask you to make a resolution – a promise to yourself – to come in and see me twice this year. The ADA and most dental professionals recommend a minimum of two checkups and cleanings each year. These visits allow us to find problems in the early stage, when treatment is more effective and less invasive. Early treatment of oral cancer, for instance, improves a person’s survival potential by 80%! This is serious stuff, folks.

So instead of making a promise that’s just not practical, make one you can keep. If you live in the Atlanta area, visit Dentistry in Buckhead for six-month checkups and cleanings, and you could keep more than your promise. Ultimately, you could keep your teeth for life!

November 16, 2010

How Pilgrims & Indians Brushed Their Teeth

Filed under: Fun Dental Facts — dr_pate @ 7:30 pm

Thanksgiving is coming up, and it started me thinking… did pilgrims and Indians brush their teeth? Thanks to Google, I found my answer. I think you might find it interesting!

As we mentioned in another blog post, people throughout history have used twigs and hog’s hair toothbrushes to clean their teeth. Pilgrims may have used salt to brush their teeth. While it didn’t taste as good as our minty gel toothpaste, it was quite effective. Indians likely rubbed herb leaves, like sage,  against their teeth. Other tribes used paste made from the cucacua plant to remove debris and plaque from their teeth. Additionally, some foods, like cranberries,  have cavity-fighting powers.

To relieve a toothache, American Indians used the inner bark of butternut trees. They may have also used cloves, terragon, Calendula, and Yarrow root for pain relief.

October 29, 2010

Don’t Neglect Your Tongue!

Filed under: Fun Dental Facts — Tags: , , , , , , , , — dr_pate @ 3:51 pm

What’s the strongest and most flexible muscle in your body?  It’s your tongue!  Your tongue is the only muscle that’s attached only on one end.  It also has a unique print, just like your thumb – and it heals faster than any other body part.  The tongue has 9,000 taste buds and can sense four basic tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.  About 10% of your taste buds, though, are on your cheeks and palette.

Can you curl your tongue in a u-shape? About 15% of people can’t.

Your tongue harbors HALF of the bacteria that live in your mouth.  If you have bad breath, brush your tongue or consider using a tongue scraper to gently remove bacteria and food particles from the surface of the tongue.  It can really help!

And, according to Guinness, this is the most difficult tongue twister:

The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.

National Museum of Dentistry

Filed under: Living It Up — Tags: , , , , , — dr_pate @ 3:37 pm

At the University of Maryland, there’s a museum that everyone can relate to.  It’s the National Museum of Dentistry.  It’s affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution.

Everyone brushes, right? So, it just makes sense that every human should want to visit this amazing museum!

Actually, the website is pretty awesome, and the interactive exhibits are fun for kids and adults. For instance, one lets you become a forensic investigator. And we’ve always heard about George Washington’s dentures. You can actually see them at the National Museum of Dentistry.  You might also like the Evel Knievel toothbrush or Queen Victoria’s dental instruments. Another cool collection, the world’s largest of its kind, is the museum’s dental advertising poster art.  If you like the future more than the past, you’ll enjoy the Operatory of the Future exhibit.

Visit http://www.dental.umaryland.edu/museum/ for more information, and if you DO go to the museum, send us pictures to post on Facebook!

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