Protect Your Teeth With A Mouthguard for Bruxism

Bruxism is also known as grinding. When someone bites down and moves the surface of their upper teeth across the surface of their lower teeth it is called Bruxism, or grinding and it can be very damaging to your smile. While you may be inclined to run to the store and find the cheapest mouthguard you can, getting one from the dentist that is a proper fit is a better and safer idea.

Having a proper fitting mouthguard can ensure that your airway stays open properly when you are sleeping. Having a mouthguard that is too big can cause problems breathing and one that is too small may not prevent you from grinding your teeth.

A proper fitting mouthguard can also ensure that it is giving you the right protection. If you have a mouthguard that doesn’t fit your smile, you may still be grinding different surfaces causing damage that breaks or cracks one of your teeth. It can seem like a great idea to get a cheaper one from any store, but having a proper fitting mouthguard will better in the long run.

For more information on Bruxism and mouthguards, contact Dr. Strutz and her fantastic dental team.

Protect Your Toothbrush

Keeping your toothbrush dry and clean is essential to ensure it is capable of doing its job correctly. Do you know that your toothbrush is one of the most critical tools to keeping your body healthy? Without it so many things can go wrong, including dental decay, periodontal disease and other dental problems that are costly to repair. Here are 4 tips to keeping your toothbrush in great shape.

1. Always keep it away from other hygiene products. If your toothbrush is touching other items in a drawer it is more likely to get bacteria or other germs on it that will stay in the bristles until the next time you brush.
2. Keep it dry. Bacteria grows on the bristles when it is wet. This then can be transferred to your mouth as you are brushing.
3. Change out your toothbrush every six months at least. It is no coincidence that dental appointments for cleanings are two times a year and during this time you get a new toothbrush. Feel free to use it, that is why your dentist gives it to you.
4. Rinse any leftover toothpaste off of your toothbrush. Leftover toothbrush can have other bacteria and items stick to it. Keeping it clean will help prevent other bacteria being left behind when you brush.

Following these 4 tips will help you keep a healthy smile. For more information on healthy dental habits contact Dr. Judy Strutz and her team.

Is Stress Impacting Your Smile?

You may feel the stress of the day in your entire body. Your muscles may be tight, you may feel overly tired, and when you shrug your shoulders all you feel may be tight muscles pulling on everything. There are some other symptoms that you may not notice right away but could be impacting you as well. Have you heard of Bruxism?

Bruxism is grinding of your teeth at night or during the day. When your body is stressed out, this can seep into your nighttime habits causing extreme wear and tear on your jaw, teeth and overall smile.

If you wake in the morning and your jaw is sore, or you have cracked or broken teeth and you didn’t recently get into a competitive sport, we highly recommend that you contact Dr. Judy Strutz and her team in order to see if you are impacted by grinding your teeth at night. Don’t panic if you do however, there are plenty of options that can fix your smile.

For more information on Bruxism contact, Dr. Judy Strutz and her team!

Take A Break From The Hectic Pace Of Life

Do you find yourself running around all summer? Are you shuttling your children from one sport to a lesson of sorts to a play date to a water park to keep them busy and out of the house. You may find in the summertime your pace is more hectic than during the school year. Perhaps now is the time to take a deep breath and schedule a much-needed cosmetic dental appointment that you have been putting off. Climb into the comfortable chair, sit back, relax and let Dr. Judy Strutz and her team take care of you for a while. It can be so easy to get caught up in what everyone needs around us that we forget to take care of ourselves, but your dental health is critical to the health of your entire body and you do not have a better time than now to take care of it.

You may think that sitting in the dentist’s chair is not exactly the relaxing experience that you had in mind, but here are 4 reasons why Dr. Strutz and her team are worth the summer break.

1.     You do not have to look at your phone, answer an email or a text for the entire time of your visit. It’s okay, we give you permission to shut it off, read a book while you wait, or just close your eyes and bask in the quiet.

2.     You get to sit in a comfy chair with quiet. The chairs recline and all you have to do is sit back.. Someone is there for you to just recline you to luxury.

3.     You do not have to talk until the visit is over.

4.     Your smile will feel pampered and better when you leave, giving you an opportunity to share it with the world.

What are you waiting for? Schedule your appointment today and take a break from your daily businesses.

Don’t Leave the Hospital Without Confirmation That Your Baby is Okay

Do you think that there is something wrong when you are breastfeeding your baby? Is there pain and discomfort? Do they latch on incorrectly, seem to be getting too much air, or only for a short amount of time? Is the baby not getting enough milk? Or do things just not feel right? It can be such a difficult and confusing time. There is a whirlwind of emotion after you have had a baby, but if you think there might be something wrong, don’t leave without getting confirmation that your baby does not have a lip or tongue-tie, and if you don’t get the answers you are looking for or something still seems off, contact Dr. Judy Strutz and her team and schedule a consultation for your little one.

There is nothing wrong with making sure you are armed with the information you need about your baby and it is critical that you feel comfortable. Dr. Strutz and her team will answer your questions about tongue-tie, complete an exam, and schedule a laser lip or tongue-tie procedure to release the lip or tongue if it is needed. You can rest assured that you and your baby are in good hands with our team.

For more information about lip or tongue-tie, contact Dr. Strutz and her team today!

Time To Get Motivated!

Have you been waiting for the perfect time to get your dream smile? Have you picked up the phone to call Dr. Judy Strutz’s cosmetic dental team and at the last minute changed your mind? Now that we are in the middle of summer and the end of the year is fast approaching, don’t wait one more minute. Get motivated to get the smile you deserve and start living your life now.

It can be easy to put ourselves on the backburner with so many other things going on, but having a beautiful smile is more than that, it’s about having the healthiest and best smile you can in order to ensure you have opportunities to live the life you want. A smile that is impacted by dental decay, cracked or broken teeth can impact you not only in your personal life, or your career life, but your overall health as well. Having a healthy smile can ensure that your heart and other organs continue to run at optimum levels instead of shutting down due to dental decay.

Completing a cosmetic dental procedure now can help open up other doors for you. Maybe you have been holding yourself back because you don’t like to smile. Dental research shows that employers look at your smile when they are interviewing people for a job. But if you’re too busy hiding your smile, they may miss out on your other amazing qualities. For more information on cosmetic dental procedures, contact Dr. Judy Strutz and her team today.

Why Take Risks With Your Smile

You know all of the good advice that is out there. You may even hear it twice a year when you visit your dentist, but then you go home and go back to the same habits with your smile that you had before visiting the dentist.

For example, do you skip flossing sometimes, or all the time? Do you consume a high carbohydrate breakfast and then rush out of the house only vowing to brush your teeth at the end of the day? Or do you run out to the soccer field and leave your mouth guard on the sidelines? No matter what your decision is with your smile, now is the opportunity for you to change all of that. Here are 3 ways to make positive changes with your smile and change your bad habits into positives in order to decrease the risks with your smile.

Take your bad habit and turn it into the behavior that you want to see. For example, if you want to floss everyday. Instead of saying to yourself, “I always forget to floss,” say “I’m going to remember to floss everyday.” Write this down somewhere that you go in the morning or at night right before you do other things. If you always go into the bathroom first thing in the morning, write this message large and in a location that your eyes will hit the message first.

Next, plan your reward. I know you’re not a little kid anymore but a reward can go along way when you are starting and implementing a new habit. In fact it is critical that you have something to look forward to and while having a healthy smile is a reward you may need something a little more.

Then, plan how long it is going to take you and mark on a calendar each day that you accomplish the goal. This can help you have the visual you need in order to be successful.

Take photos and post them. It is always better when you have friends involved. You may think posting photos of you flossing is gross, so then just put a selfie of your smile after you floss. This way you can see the health of your smile improve and be rewarded for your hard work.

For more information on healthy dental habits contact Dr.Judy Strutz and her team!