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Spinach Teeth: Why Teeth Go Green

March 8th, 2018

WE’VE ALL SEEN IT: that little piece of spinach that gets stuck between the upper front tooth and lateral incisor. Real friends tell friends when they have spinach teeth. Here’s why it happens and what we can do to prevent it.

Spinach contains oxalic acid. This substance, when combined with saliva, produces calcium oxalate crystals that stick to your teeth.

Make Sure You Have The Right Tools

To prevent spinach teeth, drink water vigorously to flush away spinach after eating. If necessary, floss your teeth after eating spinach. If you are a spinach lover, you may want to carry floss in your purse or pocket to avoid that spinach tooth moment, especially if you are on a date or at an important dinner event.

Avoid picking at spinach teeth with a toothpick in public. This can damage your gums and can be impolite. Excuse yourself from the dinner table and visit the rest room to use floss to remove spinach. This is safer, more effective, healthier, and better etiquette.

Overcrowding Helps Spinach Stick

Straightening your front teeth will also help you avoid spinach teeth.

Eliminating crooked front teeth will give spinach fewer nooks and crannies in the dental arch in which it can get stuck. Straight teeth can be accomplished quickly by an orthodontist using either braces, Invisalign, aligners, or spring clip aligners (Inman retainer).

Gorczyca Orthodontics Can Help!

If you have questions about how to avoid spinach teeth with orthodontic treatment, visit us at Gorczyca Orthodontics in Antioch, California for a free orthodontic exam. Call us at (925) 757-9000 or find us at www.clubbraces.com.

There’s no reason for your teeth to go green. Let us help you avoid spinach teeth.

Your smile is our inspiration.

Top image used under CC0 Public Domain license. Image cropped and modified from original.

Braces and the Gift of Oral Health

August 2nd, 2017

AT GORCZYCA ORTHODONTICS, we love giving our patients something extra-special the day they get their braces on, going above and beyond expectations, and creating a patient experience that will not only be memorable, but also amazing.

We love surprising and delighting our patients and giving them the gift of oral health at the same time. This is why we love the OrthoEssentials Bundle from Crest Oral B.

You will, too!

We Have You Covered With The OrthoEssentials Bundle!

When you get your braces on at Gorczyca Orthodontics, you will receive your very own Oral B electric toothbrush, oral rinse, Crest toothpaste, and floss, as well as floss threaders and proxybrushes in what we call the OrthoEssentials Bundle. With it, you will be ready and have everything you need to achieve oral hygiene excellence.

Getting a new toothbrush feels great. It is also a good reminder to throw your old toothbrush away or to change your electric toothbrush head every three months.

OrthoEssentials comes in a convenient carrying case. Kids' packs come with a cute backpack. Children love it and moms are excited about the enthusiasm created for tooth brushing.

Start Your Ortho Treatment On The Right Track!

You will be smiling from the day you get your braces on to the day you get your braces off at Gorczyca Orthodontics. Dr. Gorczyca and team want your smile to be plaque and cavity free. We can all be sure that your hygiene will be excellent throughout your journey to straight teeth with the Crest Oral B OrthoEseentials Bundle.

Visit today to find out what our Crest Oral B OrthoEssentials program is all about. Call us at 925-757-9000 to schedule your free orthodontic evaluation. Find us at www.clubbraces.com in Antioch, California.

Let us give you something extra-special along with straight teeth, the gift of OrthoEssentials and oral health.

Top image by Flickr user Jon Love used under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.
The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

Oral Hygiene Attack of the Jelly Beans

March 25th, 2016

ONE BY ONE, over and over, cute and tasty, fun flavored, multi-colored jelly beans violently attack your teeth and your oral hygiene.

Be Careful: Jelly Beans Can Wreak Havoc On Teeth

Caught in a braces dragnet, jelly beans may sit for hours on your teeth spreading their sugar leading to plaque formation and enamel decalcification. Eaten before bed without brushing, jelly beans are like an oral hygiene nuclear attack.

Chewy, sticky, and hard, jelly beans adhere to your braces and teeth making it difficult for your saliva and tongue to wash them away. Like a sugar invasion, jelly beans set up camp and coat your teeth with their stickiness which can only be removed by brushing and flossing.

Cavity producing bacteria love to eat jelly beans even more than you do! They eat the jelly beans and produce acid which damages your tooth enamel and causes tooth decay. Long term, jelly beans create holes in your teeth called cavities.

Practice Good Oral Hygiene To Protect Your Teeth

Be sure to brush and floss your teeth as soon as possible after eating jelly beans. If you're a jelly bean eater, consider adding a plaque prevention rinse to your oral hygiene regimen. Brush for two minutes twice per day, floss, and visit your dentist and hygienist regularly twice per year for excellent oral hygiene.

Orthodontist Dr. Ann Marie Gorczyca recommends eating jelly beans in moderation and avoiding jelly beans if you have braces. Find us at www.clubbraces.com.

Be sure to drink water and brush and floss as soon as you can after eating jelly beans. Prevent your dental hygiene attack of the jelly beans.

Trick-or-Treating with Braces

October 20th, 2015

TRICK-OR-TREATING is said to have originated from the medieval practice of “mumming,” a Northern European practice of masked persons parading the streets and visiting neighboring houses on feast days. In North America, “guising” was first reported in 1911 in Kingston, Ontario where disguised children visited house-to-house around the neighborhood. The term “trick-or-treat” first appears in 1927 in the Blackie Herald newspaper of Alberta, Canada. The treat soon became known to be an oral health nightmare, candy.

Trick-Or-Treating Provides A Variety Of Treats

Trick-or-treating is a fun activity. Children, with and without braces, will recieve a myriad of Halloween treats. An apple may be given. Some homes may give a fruit or granola bar. Generous relatives may even distribute a coin. Dentists may give a toothbrush. But most homes will be giving out candy.

The question arises “What should I eat on Halloween if I have braces?”

Be Mindful Of Halloween Snacks If You Have Braces

Although apples are a healthy treat, care must be given to cut the apples into small bite size pieces in order to not break off the orthodontic brackets.

Chewy, sticky, hard candy is to be avoided. This includes Starbursts, jawbreakers, Twizzlers, skittles, and gum. Chewy sticky hard candy will not only break your orthodontic brackets but also loosen your orthodontic bands.

Nuts in general are to be avoided. These can be found in not only granola bars that are hard with big nuts but also in some candies such as Almond Joys.

What Treats Can Someone In Braces Eat On Halloween?

Orthodontist, Dr. Ann Marie Gorczyca of Gorczyca Orthodontics in Antioch, California weighs in on her favorite Halloween treats: "I recommend Mounds candy as a choice for kids in braces. These are soft bars of mostly coconut with a soft chocolate covering. Mounds are very unlikely to break orthodontic brackets or loosen bands. My second favorite candy choice for kids in braces is Junior Mints. This candy is soft, small, and easy to eat with braces.

We at Gorczyca Orthodontics give out Halloween toothbrushes to trick-or-treaters. They are orange with black bristles. Now, that's scary!

Soft candies are fine to eat with braces as long as you remember to floss and brush your teeth afterwards. To maintain excellent oral hygiene and remain cavity free, be sure to brush and floss your teeth twice a day, not only on Halloween but every day of the year."

Happy Halloween from all of us at Gorczyca Orthodontics!

www.clubbraces.com

Some Important Tips For Flossing With Braces

October 2nd, 2015

IF YOU HAVE BRACES, you still need to floss. Flossing is important in the prevention of cavities, gingivitis, and periodontal disease—especially while wearing braces.

Tips For Flossing With Braces

To help you floss with braces, here are some helpful tips:

  1. Use enough floss! The amount of floss should be equal to the length from your fingers to you elbow.
  2. Thread floss between your wire and the contact of two teeth with your fingers or use a floss threader.
  3. Wind floss around one finger of one hand and one finger of your other hand.
  4. Waxed floss is less likely to tear. Oral B Glide floss is our favorite.
  5. Help Youngsters Out!

    If you or the little ones in your life who don’t wear braces are having trouble flossing, consider Crest Glide Floss Picks.

    We Want To Help Keep Your Smile Bright

    We at Gorczyca Orthodontics hope that these flossing tips were helpful and keep you excited about flossing and maintaining excellent oral hygiene. If you have questions about your teeth or oral hygiene, visit us at www.clubbraces.com or call us at (925) 757-9000.

    Thanks for flossing and letting us be part of your beautiful smile.

    Top image by Flickr user Alan Light used under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license. Image cropped and modified from original.
More Topics
diplomate american board of orthodontics Edward H. Angle Society of Orthodontists advanced education in orthdontics
member american association of orthodontists seattle study club american dental association california dental association
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