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Dr. Archer Shares Helpful Oral Hygiene Tips on Rogers Daytime Television
Toronto dentist Dr. Natalie Archer was interviewed live on Rogers Daytime on the morning of Thursday Feb 7th 2013, in Barrie, Ontario. In a ten minute long interview, the dentist detailed five different ways to maintain proper oral health. These are simple rituals that anyone can easily incorporate into their daily routine and possibly live longer and achieve better overall health because of these five dental exercises.
Dr. Archer describes the mouth as the ‘window to the human body’ as she stresses how important it is to keep your teeth and gums healthy, clear of food, sugars and free of decay. Proper oral hygiene is a very important ingredient in everyone’s overall health.
Rogers Daytime Host Melanie Case did a great interview with the dentist as Dr. Archer described her favourite easy-to-perform and highly effective tactics for maintaining a healthy mouth, teeth and gums.
Live a longer healthier life because of these five simple oral hygiene tips:
Dr Archer shares five simple tips for maintaining oral hygiene,
- RINSE WITH SALTWATER Prepare a salt water solution of two shakes of (sea) salt in a small dixie cup filled with warm water. Rinse your mouth with the mixture in the mornings to quickly and efficiently kill all the bacteria that may be in your mouth.
USE FLOSS PICKS Keep and use the small plastic floss picks after meals. Ritualize a brief cleaning during the day.- USE A BETTER TOOTHBRUSH Use new ergonomically advanced toothbrushes to help reach those hard to clean areas of your mouth. These special tooth brushes can really help caregivers clean the teeth of elderly or those with dexterity and mobility issues.
- PRACTICE THIS TONGUE TRICK Dr Archer shares a tongue trick to relax all the joints in your mouth – press your tongue against the back of your front two teeth.
- EAT FOODS TO INCREASE SALIVA FLOW Snack on natural foods that increase saliva levels in your mouth by stimulating your salivary glands to be more active, naturally. More saliva is critical to better dental hygiene.
Post by Robert Campbell on Feb 12, 2012
Ask Dr. Archer: What To Do When Your Child Knocks A Tooth Out
As a mother, you hear a lot of horror stories of children knocking their teeth out. My first thought is always, ‘thank goodness it wasn’t my child!,’ and then immediately the dentist in me thinks, ‘I hope they knew what to do when it happened!’
Which leads me to this post. Today, I thought I would share with you what to do when your child knocks out one of their teeth.
Of course, when something like this happens, your common sense judgement should be to make sure your child is safe. Once you’ve established that they are OK, and haven’t sustained any other serious injuries, you can then start to follow the guide below.
Step-by-Step Guide of What to Do When Your Child Knocks a Tooth Out:
- Find the tooth
- Do not try to scrub the tooth clean
- Rinse the tooth in milk or the child’s own saliva
- If you and your child are comfortable doing so, place the tooth back into the socket hole, gently
- If you are not comfortable doing this, keep the tooth in milk or in the child’s mouth
- Go to a dentist immediately: The sooner you receive treatment, the better the prognosis
Has your child ever knocked out a tooth? Did you use the milk trick? I’d love to hear your story, if only so that other parents can learn from it.
-Dr. Natalie Archer
Ask Dr. Archer: How Important is Flossing?
How important is flossing, really? I have metal retainers on the backs of my teeth from when I had braces, so flossing is a pain. I hate doing it. I brush my teeth religiously, twice a day, so does the fact I avoid flossing really matter?
Sincerely,
Frustrated
Flossing is very important!
Flossing not only removes those little particles between the teeth that your toothbrush can’t remove, but it keeps your breath fresh and odour free as well. Although you might not enjoy doing it, floss gets down into the spaces between your teeth where your toothbrush can’t reach and removes plaque accumulations. If you don’t floss, those accumulations stay in-between your teeth which can cause cavities and bad breath. Not flossing is not healthy for your teeth, gums or mouth, especially over long term spans.
How to floss correctly is important
It is important to floss once a day. It can take a bit of practice to learn how to do it correctly, but before you know it, you can floss your teeth in a minute. Invest that initial time to learn and have our dental hygienist, Kim or Dr. Archer teach you how to use floss correctly.
If you have a fixed retainer, you may want to try a product called superfloss. It is super-fast and user friendly. Again, we provide generous samples to our patients and encourage you to integrate these little tools and practices into your daily oral regime.
Another great prduct to try is Glide floss for teeth that are really tight together. It does just what is says -glide.
I hope after reading this that the next time you brush your teeth, you take a moment to floss as well and give it the time it deserves.
Happy flossing!
-Dr. Archer
Ask Dr. Archer: What Happens to Our Teeth as We Age?
Aging causes loss of moisture throughout the body, including in our mouth. Less saliva production in the mouth to wash away bacteria makes us more vulnerable to decay, infections, and periodontal or gum disease.
Cosmetic solutions for aging teeth
Even if you have always taken good care of your teeth, you may have noticed that your gums are receding or that your teeth have yellowed or grayed over the years. As we age, our teeth become discoloured, thinner, and more prone to breakage. While these are completely common occurrences, there are cosmetic solutions available to treat aging teeth.
Teeth Whitening
- As we age the outer layer of tooth enamel wears down exposing the underlying layer which is yellower. Food and drink as well as smoking can cause discoloration. There are a number of methods to whiten teeth, both professional and do-it-yourself kits.
- Bleaching teeth is not like colouring your hair where you have to repeat the applications every four to six weeks, however professional bleaching products are significantly stronger in concentration, customized for your tooth shape and arch and thus are more effective and offer the most satisfaction for patients wanting a quick brighter long lasting whiter smile. We’ve had many patients that tried do-it-yourself whitening, but said they were more satisfied with the whitening they received at the dentist.
Teeth Veneers
- Veneers can hide discolouration, small breaks, cracks or crooked teeth. Porcelain veneers are thin shells that are custom fitted to your teeth and permanently attached to them. The procedure is costly, but they are the most natural and longest lasting solution to unattractive teeth. The turnaround time is also very fast and we can usually deliver you veneers within a week.
Teeth Bonding or Dental Bonding
- Teeth Bonding uses a plastic resin to repair the tooth. This procedure is much shorter and less expensive than porcelain veneers.
Potential Complications
In every procedure, complications or side effects can occur. The best thing you can do is to ask questions and inform your dentist of any health problems you may have, even if they don’t seem relevant before having any type of procedure done. We can then inform you with your best options so you are fully informed and understand what we can deliver to you.
-Dr. Archer
Ask Dr. Archer
“Ask Dr. Archer” is a chance for you to email me your dental questions. I’ll be answering as many of your emails as possible, every Wednesday. Consider this Q&A feature as a way to relieve the anxiety and tension that you may experience when thinking about visiting the dentist, or other dental worries.
You can also send me your questions on Twitter using the hastag #AskDrArcher or, if you need more than 140 characters, you can post your questions on our Facebook page.
Here’s our very first round of questions:
Q: I’m petrified of needles. How do you deal with patients like me?
A: You’re not alone if you suffer from this common “needles” worry. Over 20 million people are terrified of needles.
As trivial as needle phobia may seem, this is nothing that I take lightly. Aside from causing major stress and dental anxiety, fear of needles may prevent patients like yourself from seeking the medical and dental care you need.
I believe we all fear needles to some extent — who wants to be poked with sharp pointy things?
As a dentist and one who has completed education in conscious sedation dentistry, intravenous sedation, nitrous oxide dentistry and treated the most fearful in a specialty practice I understand fearful patients and at our office we spend the time it takes to earn your trust and make your visit as positive, effective and pleasant as possible without significant or expensive interventions. When booking your appointment and when we first meet please apprise of this so this can be easily noted in the chart and in this way we can allot extra complimentary time to ensure you obtain the best chairside manner. You may also want to consider speaking with your doctor about anti-anxiety medication. We can review this with you as well.
Knowing the true cause of your fear will make it easier for you to address your phobia and get the dental care you need, though it does take a lot of time, patience and courage to treat any phobia. I have built a practice of families and referrals of loved ones who have been so nervous to obtain any dental care. We have made positive change in the dental visits of many nervous patients one patient at a time. We will take the time necessary to make your experience positive and effective and pleasant and affordable.
Thank you for your submissions so far. Keep the questions coming!
Happy flossing!