Tips to Keep Your Smile Healthy Until the Dental Office Reopens

If you’re one of our dedicated dental patients who come to see us in our Millersville dental office every six months like clockwork, you know how passionate our dentists are about helping patients keep their smiles healthy with preventive dentistry services. We can’t wait to see you in our dental office for regular preventive dental checkups and teeth cleanings, but to protect our communities during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we are currently limiting dental care to only emergency patients. Read our blog to learn a little more about our response during the COVID-19 pandemic and get some tips to keep your mouth healthy until we see you again.

Maintaining American Dental Association Recommendations During COVID-19

To protect the health and safety of our dentists, dental team members, patients, and communities, we are following the recommendations for dentists from the American Dental Association. These guidelines as well as safety recommendations from our local and state authorities are all being taken into account as we determine how best to serve our patients. Below, we walk through the specific recommendations for dental care that we are currently following during the COVID-19 pandemic:

• Emergency dental patients only are seen at this time
• We are pre-screening emergency patients via phone or video chat to determine need
• We are allowing a minimal number of people in the office
• Patients may be asked to wait in their cars for their own safety
• Before we offer treatment, we will take your temperature
• We will ask that you wash hands and use an antimicrobial mouth rinse before we provide care
• We are sanitizing all surfaces frequently
• We are postponing all elective procedures and preventive dentistry appointments
• We are using personal protective equipment (PPE) sparingly to save the limited supply
• We are communicating regularly with our patients and communities throughout the pandemic

Top 10 Tips for Healthy Smiles During COVID-19 & Beyond

If you have cavity prone teeth, gum disease, or you just want to make sure your first dental visit after the COVID-19 pandemic is good one, you can keep the following tips for healthy smiles in mind:

1. Brush at least 2 minutes – if you’re singing a 20 second song while you wash your hands, repeat it six times when you brush your teeth. It takes at least two minutes to completely remove plaque and stuck on food form all surfaces of teeth.
2. Brush often – we should all brush at least twice a day since it only takes 12 hours for plaque to harden into tartar (calculus) that needs to be removed by your dentist or hygienist. You can also brush about 30 minutes after each meal for even better results.
3. Brush systematically – most people brush randomly, which may mean they miss entire sections of their teeth when they brush. Instead, you should brush systematically to ensure you are brushing each tooth (front, back, and biting surface).
4. Choose the right brush – you may think you need a hard toothbrush to get all the plaque off your teeth, but actually, this may irritate gum tissue and cause unnecessary enamel wear. Instead, use a soft or ultra soft bristled toothbrush and minimally abrasive toothpaste to protect your smile.
5. Learn a new technique – many people learn to brush teeth in big circles or back and forth motions, but actually, you should be using small movements to loosen and remove plaque and debris from teeth. Position the toothbrush at a 45 degree angle toward the gums to ensure you’re remove plaque all the way to the gum line.
6. Floss daily – many people don’t like flossing, and while you may be able to get away with skipping this step from time to time when you know you’ll see us every six months, it’s more important than ever to stay on top of your flossing at this uncertain time. You need to floss at least once every day, but just like brushing, more frequent flossing won’t hurt! Flossing between meals, especially if you eat something that might get trapped between teeth, can be very beneficial.
7. Add mouthwash to your routine – mouth rinses are not necessarily an essential part of daily oral hygiene routines for every patient, but if you’re prone to tooth decay or have gum disease, a mouth rinse can help reduce the numbers of oral bacteria that produce damaging, acidic plaque. Plus, mouthwash helps keep your breath fresh.
8. Tongue scraping – most toothbrushes now have a tongue scraper built in. That bumpy pad on the back of your toothbrush head is meant to be used to clean your tongue. While you’re brushing and flossing, take a few extra seconds to scrape food, bacteria, and plaque from the surfaces of your tongue.
9. Clean your toothbrush – many people improperly store their toothbrushes, which leads to the introduction of bacteria, germs, and mold into their mouth when they brush. After each use, you should thoroughly rinse your toothbrush and store it in an upright position uncovered, so it can completely dry between brushing. Once a week, you can deep clean your toothbrush by allowing it to soak in mouthwash for about 20 minutes. Then, thoroughly rinse and dry as usual. Finally, change your toothbrush every three to four months.
10. Snack cautiously – snacking isn’t great for your whole body health, but it can be very detrimental to your smile. When we eat, oral bacteria processes parts of the meal and produces acidic plaque that attacks and weakens teeth. This acid attack continues for about 30 minutes after we’re done eating. Snacking throughout the day prolongs these acid attacks, weakening tooth enamel, so skipping snacks can help keep your mouth healthier.

Meet the McCarl Dental Group Team

The McCarl name is well known for Millersville, MD families when it comes to keeping smiles healthy and providing friendly, gentle dental care. We have served generations of families here in Millersville, and the McCarl Dental Group team of skilled dentists and smile specialists looks forward to continuing to provide exceptional care for generations to come. Both now and after we’re open again for preventive dental care, the McCarl Dental Group team is here for you. Don’t hesitate to call our knowledgeable dentists and team if you have questions or need help keeping your smile healthy.