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February 1, 2012

Children’s Dental Health in February

Children miss about 51 million hours of school each year due to dental problems and treatments. It’s important to emphasize proper oral care for kids.  This can reduce irritability, behavior problems, and decreased performance during the day resulting from dental pain. The American Dental Association sponsors National Children’s Dental Health Month in February to promote awareness of dental care for kids. This year’s NCDHM features the slogan, “Rock Your Smile,” to help children get an awesome smile, one that rocks!

Children’s Dental Health

To help improve the status of children’s oral care, take a look at some of the unfortunate statistics about current dental dangers.

  • Tooth decay is the second most common childhood illness, following the common cold.
  • Researchers found that about 80 percent of children are already infected with the cavity-causing bacteria, S. mutans, by the time they are two years old.
  • Advertisers spend about $900 million each year on television ads aimed at children under age 12. More than two-thirds of this advertising promotes junk food, which can promote tooth decay. (more…)

January 25, 2012

What’s in Your Mouth?

When you look at the inside of your mouth using a mirror, what do you see? There are many components that help your mouth stay healthy and function properly. Dr. Peter Pate can explain how to keep all the parts of your mouth healthy.

The Visual Parts

When you open your mouth, you can see a number of important features::

  • Teeth: The white part of a tooth is called the crown. The roots of your teeth are located under your gums, and help attach your teeth into your jaw bone. You may notice that your teeth are different shapes and sizes to help with different parts of chewing.
  • Gums: The pinkish tissue that supports your teeth is called your gums. When you look at your mouth, your teeth are attached to your gums. Red, swollen, or bleeding gums are signs of periodontal disease, which can eventually lead to tooth loss.
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January 19, 2012

It’s Easy Being Green!

Unlike Kermit, we think it's easy being green! (Image from muppet.wikia.com)

At Dentistry in Buckhead, we make it a priority to conserve the environment as we care for our patients’ smiles. Atlanta dentist Dr. Peter Pate and his team want to keep Atlanta beautiful while keeping the smiles of you and your family beautiful as well.

Go Green

To do this, we employ a number of green practices, not only in the way we provide dental care for our patients, but also in our front office. Our green practices include:

  • Recycling: You’d be amazed at how much waste a dentist office produces. To do our part and help the environment, we abide by a multi-faceted waste and recycling system. First, we recycle anything and everything that is recyclable by taking it to local recycling centers. Second, we use products produced from recycled materials whenever possible, and this includes some of the products used in your dental care. We’ve found that it’s healthier for you and the environment if we use disposable and recyclable dental tools when available. After your appointment, we discard these tools, creating a cleaner, more sanitary environment for you and less non-decomposable waste for the planet.
  • Chartless: While we’re still in the process of going completely paperless, we are chartless! To maintain this standard, we use an advanced system of digital records and claim filing to reduce paper waste. This system is also more efficient and convenient for you as our patient. With digital files, your records can easily be shared between us and your other medical care providers, as well as with your insurance company for easy filing. (more…)

January 5, 2012

What Do Your Teeth Say About You?

Your smile says a lot about you. It’s a proven fact that people with attractive, healthy smiles are perceived to be friendly and intelligent and are more likely to be promoted at work, earn more money, and have personal and professional success.

Buckhead dentist Dr. Peter Pate knows the importance of a beautiful and healthy smile. Take a look at the dental characteristics below and see if your dental traits match your personality traits.

The Shape of Your Teeth

Your front two top teeth are called the central incisors and serve as the center of your smile. They also indicate age. Younger people tend to have rectangular-shaped central incisors with rounded corners, while the central incisors of older people often become square with square corners as they shorten with age.

The teeth to the immediate left and right of your central incisors are called lateral incisors, and they indicate gender. Women have lateral incisors that are slightly shorter than the central incisors and rounded at the tips. Men, on the other hand, tend to have lateral incisors that are close to the same length as the central incisors and are more square-shaped. (more…)

December 31, 2011

Keep Germs Outside Your Mouth

Many viruses and illnesses can be spread from person to person. Everyone has different bacteria that could infect others, and every time you touch your mouth, you could be exposing yourself to other people’s bacteria. Dr. Pate can reduce the amount of dangerous bacteria in your mouth to help keep you healthy. How do germs travel from the outside environment to inside your mouth?

People

With just one kiss, you swap more than 500 types of bacteria. Tooth decay, cold sores, and other mouth hazards can be transferred through kissing. In addition, with cold and flu season among us, remember that coughs and sneezes can push bacteria through the air, which you can inhale. Sharing dishes, cups, toothbrushes, and other items that come in contact with your mouth will also spread bacteria.

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December 26, 2011

How to Recycle Your Toothbrush

The American Dental Association recommends replacing your toothbrush every three to four months, or sooner if you’re sick or the bristles become frayed. So what do you do with the brush when it can no longer clean your teeth? Dr. Pate suggests disinfecting your brush to prevent contaminating other areas, and trying these tips to make your old toothbrushes useful.

Around The House

Toothbrushes are useful cleaning tools because they can get into crevices that your sponge or rag cannot reach. The brush can clean between the bristles of your hairbrush or between the tongs of your forks. In addition, the long handle makes it easy to reach deep down into bottles or glasses. It’s also convenient to scrub grout and grime from the corners of kitchen and bathroom sinks. You’ve probably eaten while watching TV or using the computer, which leaves your buttons dirty and sticky.  A clean, dry brush can also help remove dust between keys on your remote control or computer keyboard.

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November 30, 2011

Fruit cake: The dreaded holiday dessert

You cannot escape a grocery store during the holiday season without seeing fruit cake. This traditional treat is chock full of nuts and sticky dried fruits and seems unappealing to most. Although the taste alone is enough to turn many away, there are actually some other health reasons to re-gift this bready brick this year.

The truth is, fruit cake can secretly destroy your smile. Many people use candied or dried fruit to bake into their loaves. These fruit pieces can be sticky and sugary, causing tooth decay or even pulling out fillings! In addition, some varieties have hard nuts blended in with the cake. When you accidentally bite down on a nut, it could cause a tooth to chip or crack. If you choose to indulge in this devious delectable, make sure the cake is cooked well enough to soften the ingredients, and chew carefully!

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