You look across the room and notice someone. Your eyes meet. You smile. Suddenly it seems as if light and warmth has filled the room. At our dental office in Asheboro, we know that smiles really are great connectors and communicators, and they also make us more attractive and – bonus! – improve our health. We’d like to share that with you.

Smiling and Attraction

Researchers have discovered that people respond more positively smiling people. Try it for yourself on your way home: Smile and look people in the eye and see how they respond! When you smile, your face relaxes. Frown lines disappear. You may even be perceived as more reliable!

The truth is that much of our communication happens non verbally with the language of the face and the body. Standing straight, making eye contact, and smiling all give the appearance of confidence and health, something most people find endlessly attractive.

Smiling even activates the part of your brain that process sensory rewards. Every time you give or receive a smile, you feel as if you have been rewarded. What could be more attractive than that?

So even if you don’t have a perfect nose, even if you feel you could lose a few pounds, or even if you aren’t as young as you used to be, putting a smile on your face adds instant attraction.

Smiling and Health

Want to feel better fast? Just smile! Research shows that the simple act of smiling, whether you mean it or not, can help release endorphins, those “feel-good” hormones. Serotonin, a chemical that’s a natural stress-reducer, is also increased when you smile.  And of course, relaxed, healthy people always seem more attractive than someone who is uptight, angry, and sick – right?

Too embarrassed of your teeth to smile? Discover all the cosmetic dentistry options available at our dental office in Asheboro. There’s a smile-enhancing solution for everyone, and we’re here to help you get yours. Start smiling and start feeling better. Schedule an appointment today.

Serving patients from Asheboro, Randolph County, and Randleman.

Who doesn’t love kissing? It is a wonderful way to connect and show love to your special someone. Unfortunately, when bad breath is part of the scenario, the fun can just go away. Bad breath affects your confidence and your attractiveness.

Don’t let bad breath stand in the way of a kiss! Follow these simple tips and you will be ready to pucker up in no time!

• Keep it Clean

Dedicate at least two minutes morning and night to brushing your teeth, and another minute or so to flossing. Five or six minutes a day really isn’t much when you consider the benefits to your health – and your smooch. And don’t forget to schedule a professional cleaning at our dental office in Asheboro at least twice a year. It ensures that odor-causing plaque is cleared away and lets us keep an eye on your oral health.

• Brush and Scrape Your Tongue

Your tongue is a rugged terrain. Food particles and bacteria get caught between tastebuds and in cracks, and when they stay there, lead to some interesting odors. It is kind of like a miniature compost pile in your mouth! To most effectively clear it all away, buy yourself a tongue scraper. In the meantime, brush your tongue with your toothbrush.

• Add More Greens to Your Diet

Chlorophyll is nature’s deodorizer. That means the more chlorophyll there is in what you are chewing, the fresher your mouth will be. Leafy greens like chard, kale, collard, mustard, spinach, alfalfa, and sea vegetables are terrific sources. But the best breath fresheners in this category are parsley and basil. Not only do they freshen your breath, they help break down the sulfur compounds found in garlic and onions!

•   Stop Smoking

This one is pretty obvious. Smoking doesn’t just make your mouth smell like an ashtray, it can make all of you smell that way too. Plus it can dry out your mouth, which leads to long-term breath issues, and stain your teeth. Unappealing all the way!

•  Drink More Water

Pure and simple, water is one of your breath’s best friends. It rinses away food particles, moistens your mouth, and clears away bacteria. Plus, staying hydrated is good for your whole body, including your skin!

If you want your breath to be its fresh best for your loved one, give our dental office in Asheboro a call. We are here to keep you smiling – and kissing – all year long!

Serving patients from Asheboro, Randolph County, and Randleman.

Almost every job requires a bit of face-to-face interaction. And your smile is the first thing others notice about you. Unfortunately, this could inadvertently lead to a misconception of who you are and could affect your career. Everyone at our Asheboro dental office would like to talk a bit about the unfortunate truth about what your smile may be saying about you.  

It’s Not All About the Resume

When we apply for a jobs, we’d like to be taken seriously and let our resumes do the talking. However, no matter how good you look on paper, the reality is when you’re brought in for a face-to-face interview, the interviewee subconsciously makes judgements based on how you look. While this sounds incredibly shallow, it’s true.

Your Smile Says A Lot

Research has shown that nearly 75% of Americans trust those with a great smile over someone who wears expensive clothes or drives a luxury car. When we’re talking about a job, trust is one of the top qualities employers look for. Even more, about three quarters of all Americans believe an unattractive smile can negatively affect professional advancement.

What You Can Do

If you’ve been hiding your smile or have been embarrassed by how it looks, your dentist in Asheboro can help. There are tons of options that can transform your grin and boost your confidence, both personally and professionally. Smile enhancing treatments include:

• Tooth whitening to quickly and easily take a dull or discolored smile and make it bright, white, and dazzling.

• Veneers to fix minor imperfections like tooth shape, size, and color.

• Implants to replace a missing tooth or teeth. Since this option replaces the tooth and the roots, it’s a permanent way to get you back to smiling with confidence.

• Tooth-colored fillings designed to custom-match your teeth so they’re virtually undetectable compared to the other option of metal, amalgam fillings.  

No matter what your smile challenges are, there’s an appropriate mix of treatments that’s just right for you.

If you’re ready to take your smile to the next level, schedule an appointment at our dental office in Asheboro. We’ll work with you to determine what treatments are right for you so we’re able to give you the smile you deserve. Don’t put your grin, or your career, on hold. Call us today.

Serving patients from Asheboro, Randolph County, and Randleman.

This time every year, people begin making resolutions to eat better, lose weight, or quit smoking. These resolutions that pop up every year typically mean well, but the truth is, not even half are kept longer than six months. At our Asheboro dental office, we want you to resolve to make small changes for a healthier smile, not just for the next six months, but for the rest of your life.

Resolve to… Brush and floss every day. We mean it. Every. Single. Day. Following an at-home oral health routine of brushing twice a day and flossing once is the best way to get, and keep, your smile healthy. Brush in the morning to rid your mouth of all the bacteria that piled up overnight. Brush before bed to remove the day’s lingering food particles and bacteria. And prior to one of those brushings, sling some floss around your fingers and get in between each and every tooth.

Resolve to… Drink water. And lots of it. Our bodies are about 60% water. We need it to function, yet many people don’t drink nearly enough. Make an effort to drink eight, 8-ounce glasses every day. Not only will it help your overall health, it will help remove bacteria from the mouth that, if left alone, could lead to disease, decay, and cavities.

Resolve to… Kick the habit. Whether it’s smokeless tobacco, cigars, or cigarettes, tobacco is tobacco, and all of it is bad for you. Along with a plethora of whole-health concerns, all forms of tobacco pose threats to your oral health, too. Those who use tobacco are at increased risk for oral cancer, tooth decay, yellowing of teeth, and gum disease.

Resolve to… Keep visits with your dentist in Asheboro.

Regular visits to the dentist are crucial for optimal oral health. Typically recommended every six months, sometimes more, dental check ups are used to monitor your oral health and catch any potential problems early. Most dental diseases can be treated successfully if caught early, so it’s important to never skip a visit.

Resolve to make 2016 the year you put yourself, and your smile, first. Give our dental office in Asheboro a call to schedule your appointment today. We’ll work together to determine the best way to get your smile healthy, bright, and beautiful. Go ahead, you deserve it.

Serving patients in Asheboro, Randolph County, and Randleman.

Everybody is thinking about their New Year’s resolutions – get in shape, read more, take more time with the family – but have you thought about adding your smile to that list? 2016 might be a great year to take better care of your smile: It could improve your health too!

Here are 4 great ways to improve your smile, your health, and your confidence!

• Keep your regularly scheduled dental appointments. Not only do those regular cleanings keep your teeth and gums clean and sparkly, it gives our dental office in Asheboro more opportunities to keep an eye on your oral health. That means we can catch problems earlier for much less expensive repairs and a longer-lasting smile.
• Be vigilant about your oral hygiene routine. Your smile doesn’t only allow you to talk and chew. It is connected to the rest of your body and is a direct link for bacteria from gum disease to enter your bloodstream. Because of this, periodontal (gum) disease has been linked to everything from heart attacks and cancers to low birth weight babies and tooth loss.
• Choose food and drink carefully. Avoid super sugary or acidic foods and drinks like sports drinks, sodas, or candy. Instead, choose foods and beverages that protect and support your enamel instead of eroding it. These include tea (especially green or white tea which won’t stain your teeth as much), coconut water, cheese, chicken or other lean meats, and nuts. Adding crunchy fruits and vegetables like celery, apples, or pears, is a great idea too. These foods stimulate the flow of saliva and lessen the effects of sugars . Plus they can clear away leftover food particles.  
• Consider treating your smile to some cosmetic or other elective dentistry. Many of our patients renew their smiles with porcelain veneers. Dental veneers are one of the best ways to perfect and balance your smile. They can repair chipped, broken, or worn teeth to their original size, beauty, and strength; whiten even the most stained teeth, straighten crooked, gapped, or overlapped teeth; enhance tooth size, shape, color, length, and width; even balance your bite. In other words, porcelain veneers can do almost anything you need to make your smile look absolutely perfect, young, and brilliant.

What could be a better way to begin a new year than with a bright, beautiful, healthy smile that you want to share with the world? Questions? Call our dental office in Asheboro. We’re always glad to help any of our neighbors in Asheboro, Randolph County, and Randleman start the new year with a smile!

You know you need a mouthguard when you play a sport like hockey or football, but when you are sleeping? Really? What in the world is there to protect your teeth from while you are snug in your bed, cushioned everywhere by pillows and blankets?

You need to protect your teeth from yourself!

Many patients at our dental office in Asheboro come to us because their teeth are cracked, chipped, or worn down and they have no idea why. And when we tell them, they have a difficult time understanding how they could have no memory of doing it. They are suffering from bruxism, an unconscious clenching or grinding of the teeth, and their smiles are showing the telltale signs.

Could You Have Bruxism?

The primary symptoms of bruxism are:

• Worn, chipped, broken teeth
• Flattened tooth surfaces
• Exposure of tooth layers and loss of enamel
• Tooth sensitivity
• Jaw pain
• Headache and facial pain
• Earache from jaw muscle tension and contraction
• A scalloped tongue or irregular tongue edges
• Damaged mouth tissue

If you have any of these symptoms, please call our Asheboro dental office right away.

What Causes Tooth Grinding and Clenching?

There are a number of causes of bruxism including:

• Sleep disorders
• Stress, tension, or anxiety
• Misaligned jaw or poor bite alignment
• Acid reflux
• As a result of some diseases such as Parkinson’s disease
• As a side effect of some medications

If bruxism isn’t treated, it can lead to breaking teeth, TMJ disease, and migraines. It can also ruin much of the restorative or cosmetic dentistry you have invested in.

Let Us Help

At our dental office in Asheboro, we can fit you with a custom-made night guard appliance that will reduce the damage to your teeth from grinding or clenching during sleep, reduce any grinding-related symptoms, and protect your dental investments!

We help patients in Asheboro, Randolph County, and Randleman smile more!

Dentures can be an amazing replacement to all or several missing teeth. They can help regain confidence, enhance your lifestyle, and can even restore a more youthful look. But just because they aren’t natural teeth doesn’t mean they don’t need the same level of care. At our dental office in Asheboro, we want our denture patients to get the most out of their dentures, which is where proper care comes into play.

Why Proper Denture Care is Important

Just like caring for your natural teeth, caring for your dentures is important for overall oral health. When not cleaned or cared for properly, your dentures can become ill-fitting and result in serious oral health concerns. Most often, improper denture care leads to a buildup of plaque bacteria along the gum line. Too much of this dangerous bacteria may cause bad breath, cavities, more tooth loss, and even gum disease.

Follow These Tips

Proper denture care is important to fight off dangerous oral diseases and to ensure a proper fit for as long as possible. Follow these tips to extend the life of your dentures.

• Rinse. Rinsing your dentures with warm water after every meal is ideal. Rinsing helps remove any food particles that may be lingering around on your denture causing buildup. If foodstuffs are left there too long, they can start to decompose and lead to smelly breath or other oral health concerns.

• Brush. Just like natural teeth, dentures should be brushed daily. Use a soft-bristled brush or a denture brush with a denture-safe paste to gently clean the dentures, ridding them of extra food particles and bacteria. Just like rinsing, brushing goes a long way in keeping dentures, and breath, fresh.

• Soak. Dentures should be soaked every night in a closed container of denture solution or water. Soaking helps loosen anything that may be hanging around and can even help keep them stain-free.

• Visit. Make sure to keep up with recommended visits to your dentist in Asheboro to ensure your dentures are fitting properly and there are no concerns.

If you have questions about proper care for your dentures, or think they may be a solution for you, give our dental office in Asheboro a call. We’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you may have and ensure you’re on the right track towards optimal oral health.
Welcoming patients from Asheboro, Randolph County, and Randleman.

At our Asheboro dental office, we talk a lot about how important regular visits to us are for a healthy mouth, and even about how we can help boost the appearance of your smile with cosmetic dentistry. But there’s another, more important reason you should visit us at least twice a year.

A Healthy Mouth is Key for a Healthy Body

Oral health can actually mirror overall health. In fact, many whole-body concerns have oral manifestations, and the signs of certain diseases can first show in the mouth, sometimes before there are any other clues that something is wrong. Many of the overall health issues that commonly have oral symptoms are incredibly serious and can include:

• Diabetes
• Leukemia
• Oral Cancer
• Pancreatic Cancer
• Heart Disease

What to Look For

In between appointments, it’s important to keep an eye on your mouth and monitor it for any changes. Some symptoms that should trigger a call to your dentist include:

• Red, swollen, bleeding, or receding gums
• Chronic bad breath
• Ulcers
• Loose teeth
• Pus in the pockets between your teeth and gums

What You Can Do For a Healthier Life

You can help keep your body healthy by keeping your mouth in tip-top shape with a proper at-home hygiene routine of brushing twice a day and flossing at least once, maintaining regular visits to your dentist in Asheboro, and following these tips:

• Eat well-balanced meals
• Limit snacking throughout the day
• Drink plenty of water
• Avoid tobacco and excessive amounts of alcohol

If you’re experiencing any symptoms of a potential problem, contact our Asheboro dental office. We’ll work with you to determine the cause, discuss any potential whole-body concerns, and get you on the path towards a customized treatment plan. We’re here not only to keep your mouth healthy, but your body too.

Serving patients from Asheboro, Randolph County, and Randleman.

Your teeth are at risk all the time–even while you sleep! Here at our Asheboro dental office, we help our patients protect their teeth day and night with treatment and care tips. We believe a little education can go a long way toward keeping your teeth strong and healthy day or night.

Here are two night-time habits, or issues, and the solutions that may save your teeth:

Snoring and Sleep Apnea

Not only is snoring a possible sign of sleep apnea, a potentially deadly disorder that disrupts your sleep, it’s also a common cause of dry mouth.  Everyone needs saliva to keep their mouths healthy. Saliva works to:

• Lubricate the tissues of your mouth
• Cleanse and rinse the oral cavity and teeth, minimizing plaque build-up, washing away trapped food particles, and removing dead cells that can lead to bad breath, infections, and sores.
• Neutralize the acids plaque produces to stop enamel erosion.

If you snore or wonder if you have sleep apnea, please call us or talk to your physician or dentist right away. Sleep apnea won’t just dry your mouth out, it can lead to all kinds of health problems from extreme fatigue to an increased risk for strokes and heart attacks.

Grinding or Bruxism

Stress, certain medications, and dental problems can all cause people to grind and clench their teeth during sleep, a disorder called bruxism. Bruxism seems pretty self explanatory in the fact that it can cause your teeth to break, chip, crack, and even decay because of enamel erosion, but did you know it can also lead to a variety of other problems?

Problems caused by bruxism may include:

• Headaches, especially in the morning
• Toothaches
• Facial pain
• Jaw pain and dysfunction sometimes known as TMJ disorder
• Gum disease
• Facial aging due to shortening of teeth
• Tooth damage

If you or someone you know grinds or clenches their teeth at night, please call our dental office in Asheboro. We’ll work with you to diagnose what’s going on in your mouth and recommend the best solution for you so you can get back to oral health and back to a good night’s sleep.

Welcoming patients from Asheboro, Randolph County, and Randleman.

At our dental office in Asheboro, we’re always sure to stay up to date on technology and advancements in dental care. And our patients are pretty lucky to be living in a time when dentists have access to this kind of training. Did you know that there were no dental schools in the United states until 1840? And that in the middle ages, your “dentist” was just as likely to cut your hair as pull your teeth?

Here’s a quick look back:

Dentistry in the Middle Ages

People in the middle ages might have had healthier teeth than ours. But not because of quality professional care! The reason people actually had good teeth came from a combination of a diet very low in sugar and refined foods and high in calcium, and pretty decent personal oral hygiene. There were all kinds of tooth powders and pastes and even whitening rinses! When it came to routine dental care, things were quite different.

A dental practitioner was most likely a barber surgeon who performed all sorts of procedures including cutting hair, bloodletting, pulling teeth, and performing various surgeries. They may have also dispensed dental advice such as kissing a donkey to relieve a toothache or cleaning your ears to prevent one. Tooth decay was sometime thought to be caused by a toothworm and remedies included this doozie: “Take a candle of sheep’ suet, some eringo seed being mixed therewith, and burn it as near the tooth as possible, some cold water being held under the candle. The worms (destroying the tooth) will drop into the water, in order to escape from the heat of the candle.”

Dentistry in the 19th Century

The dental profession didn’t change much until the early 18th century. Barber surgeons were the norm and they performed the majority of personal and medical care. By the 19th century, though, dentistry began to seem quite modern. European surgeons were experimenting with dental implants; porcelain dentures were becoming more popular; and nitrous oxide, the same laughing gas we sometimes use today, was introduced by Humphry Davy. Dental training even began to become what we know today with education moving from apprenticeships to formal training in colleges and universities. In fact, the first dental college, the Baltimore College of Dentistry, was founded by Chapin Harris and Horace Hayden in 1840.

If you’d like to learn more about dentistry throughout history, or would like to learn more about the history of our Asheboro dental practice, please give us a call. We promise we won’t ask you to kiss any donkeys.

Accepting patients from Asheboro, Randolph County, and Randleman.