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It seems like yesterday. There you were, comforting your baby through sleepless nights, soothing her with a dentist-approved teether, celebrating as that first tiny tooth poked through her gums. And now here she is running to show you that same tooth, wiggly, loose, and almost ready for the Tooth Fairy. Now what?

Be Prepared

Children normally lose that first tooth somewhere around the age of six, but a year or two earlier or later is not uncommon. If you ever took a business class, you might have heard of the inventory method called “First In, First Out.” Baby teeth operate much the same way! The two bottom front teeth, followed by the two upper front teeth, will probably be the first teeth your child loses. Once you notice some wiggling, let your child know what is going on and reassure her that it is a normal part of growing up.

What to Expect with that First Loose Tooth

Normally, baby teeth become loose when the pressure from the permanent tooth below gradually breaks down the roots of the primary tooth. If your child has a loose tooth, encourage him to wiggle, not pull. Typically, gentle wiggling is all that is needed to free a tooth that has lost most of its root and is ready to be replaced. Avoid pulling or forcing the tooth, because that can cause injury to the root area if the baby tooth isn’t ready to come out. Call our Cooper City, FL office if you have any questions about loose teeth. Dr. Gary Yanowitz and our team also have suggestions if the baby teeth don’t become loose on schedule, or if they stubbornly remain in place even after the adult teeth have started to show up. One important note—if your child ever loses a tooth through accident or injury, call us at once. We might need to provide a spacer to give your child’s permanent teeth the proper time and space to come in.

Celebrate this Milestone with Your Child

The arrival of the Tooth Fairy is a familiar way to mark the occasion, and she can leave your child a note, a small gift, even a brand new toothbrush. Or explore other options!

If your child is fascinated by stories and traditions, learn about El Ratón Pérez (Perez the Mouse), a familiar tooth-collector in many Spanish speaking countries, or his French cousin, La Petite Souris (the Little Mouse). In other parts of Europe, Asia and Africa, children throw teeth on the roof, drop them in a glass of water, or hide them in a slipper. This is a great opportunity for you and your child to explore the world!

If your child likes science, look into books that explain the biology of baby and adult teeth in an age-appropriate way. You could print a chart of the primary teeth and take notes on each lost tooth as it makes way for the permanent tooth below. Or track her progress with photos showing the baby tooth, the gap left by the tooth, and the adult tooth as it comes in.

Losing that first tooth is an important moment for your child—and for you. Be prepared to celebrate another milestone together, and always feel free to talk to Dr. Gary Yanowitz if you have any questions about this new stage in your child’s life.

If your idea of camping is a quiet walk through the woods before returning to your rustic hotel, your regular brushing habits will be perfect for your trip. But if you are hiking into the mountains with your tent, backpack, and camp food, Dr. Gary Yanowitz and our team have some suggestions to adapt your dental routine to the great outdoors.

Water

If you wouldn’t drink it, don’t brush with it! Use bottled water if you have brought it, or make sure the local water is safe by using a testing kit. Boiling, filters and purification tablets are all ways to make sure the water tests clean and safe.

Toothpaste

You aren’t the only one in the woods who finds your toothpaste tasty. Bears, raccoons, and other animals are attracted to the scent of your toothpaste, so keep it safe with the same kind of tightly sealed, odor-proof container that you keep your food in. And if you want to discourage unwanted visitors, don’t spit your toothpaste out at your campground! It’s better to go some distance from your site and bury any paste, and best of all to spit used toothpaste into a container that can be tightly closed and removed from the campsite when you head for home. This practice protects you and the environment as well, since toothpaste can be harmful to small animals and plants.

Toothbrush

While there are disposable and camping toothbrushes available, a regular toothbrush will work as well. Normally, air-drying is the healthiest option for drying your toothbrush, but camping is an exception. Just as animals are attracted to toothpaste, they are also attracted to your toothpaste-scented toothbrush. Keep it in a sealed container that is odor-proof.

Floss

There are websites devoted to the many ingenious ways to use dental floss while camping, but we recommend the original use. Don’t forget to floss regularly, keep it in a sealed container, and do be sure to take used floss out of the area with you.

Even though you are roughing it, stick with your home routine as much as possible. If you are unable to brush as usual, rinse your mouth well with clean water and brush when you can. Have a great trip, and just one more thought—maybe go easy on the s’mores. Let us know all about your trip during your next visit to our Cooper City, FL office!

It's easy to be skeptical about X-rays whether we speak of a full-body X-ray or a dental X-ray. Radiation is radiation. It's vital to know all the facts before judging too harshly, though. Dental X-rays can be one of the best preventive tools for your dental health. We offer various treatments at Gary Yanowitz, DDS, but helping you become better informed is one of the best ways to decide what will be best for you.

According to the AmericanDental Association, healthy adults typically receive routine dental X-rays every two to three years. The timeline for children is every one or two years, and one and a half for teens. Children and teens require more X-rays than adults because their teeth are still developing, which makes them more susceptible to cavities.

In general, Dr. Gary Yanowitz will determine how often dental X-rays need to be taken for each individual patient, taking into consideration physical symptoms, clinical findings, and risk for infection. Most dental professionals use Caries Management by Risk Assessment (CAMBRA) to help them determine how often X-rays should be taken, so you can rest assured that we are making an informed decision.

In addition to that, it should be reassuring to know that these days, most dental X-rays are digital, which significantly reduces your exposure to radiation. In fact, you’re likely to pick up more radiation just from being in the sun! Lead aprons and thyroid collars are also tools that Dr. Gary Yanowitz and our team use to keep X-ray exposure to a minimum.

At our office, we believe that diagnosing cavities and other potentially harmful conditions by dental X-ray does you more good than harm. If you have any questions about our X-rays, feel free to give our Cooper City, FL office a call or bring up the subject during your next appointment!

Chewing gum can be a sticky problem. We’re not talking about etiquette, or nutrition, or how to get rid of the darned stuff when you don’t have a trash container handy. No, we’re talking about gum and its effects on dental health. So, let’s take a moment to chew over the benefits and drawbacks of chewing gum.

• First, the Good News about Gum

One of the important benefits of chewing gum is increased saliva production. This might not sound especially appealing, but here’s an important fact: saliva is one of oral health’s unsung heroes.

Saliva helps wash away food particles which feed the bacteria in plaque. It helps neutralize acids in the mouth which can damage tooth enamel. The minerals in saliva actually help rebuild weak spots in our enamel.

And, since sugar-free gum has revolutionized the gum-chewing world, we don’t bathe our teeth in sugar while we chew. This is a major advantage, and it’s why sugar-free gums are the only products which are ADA approved. A possible downside? Some people who chew certain sugar-free gums (especially people who chew a lot of them) can experience digestive problems.

• What about Dental Work?

Yes, gum can be tricky for dentures, crowns, braces, and other dental work, especially with very sticky and chewy products. There are gums out there that claim to be safe for dental work, but finding the right gum can involve some trial and error that you might prefer to avoid. This is a good subject to discuss with Dr. Gary Yanowitz.

If you have a temporary crown protecting a tooth until your permanent crown is ready, avoid gum entirely until your restoration is complete. The pulling effect of sticky, chewy gum can make your temporary crown even more temporary than you were expecting! After your crown’s finished, talk to your dentist about chewing gum again.

• “Chews” Wisely

Chewing means jaw movement and pressure. Hours of chewing means hours of jaw movement and pressure. If your jaws ache after a gum marathon, maybe it’s time to cut back! But, if your jaws ache whenever you chew, that’s a sign that a visit to our Cooper City, FL office is in order.

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a kind of hinge which allows your mouth to open and close and move from side to side—in other words, to talk, eat, drink, yawn, make faces—all those things we do all day long. Recurring jaw pain can be a sign of TMJ (temporomandibular joint) disorder.

Bruxism, or tooth grinding, is another reason to leave gum off your shopping list. When you grind your teeth, you’re putting stress on your teeth and jaws which can lead to cracked and chipped teeth, headaches, and tooth and jaw pain. If you’re working on getting your bruxism under control, you’ll want to avoid chewing gum and other habits which cause jaw clenching.

You and your dentist are the people who know your oral health best. If you suffer from dry mouth and think chewing gum might help with saliva flow, or if you’re worried about your dental work being damaged by gum, or if you have jaw pain when you chew, or if you have any concerns about your oral health, visit Gary Yanowitz, DDS for all the answers to your sticky questions.