Dr. Alan Dilsaver’s Tips for a Healthier Smile

Regular exams and cleanings with Dr. Alan Dilsaver are only a small part of a good oral hygiene routine. Everyday oral care habits also play a vital role in a healthy smile, and if you want to improve your oral health, here are some simple changes you can make.

1.            Brush better. Good technique and proper duration are essential for effective brushing. To maximize your brushing, hold your toothbrush at a 45 degree angle and make sweeping circular motions away from the gums. You should brush for at least two minutes or for the length of a song.

2.            Floss. Dr. Dilsaver has probably already told you how important this is. This is because flossing can actually do a better job of removing harmful plaque than brushing, and it only needs to be done once a day. So why aren’t you doing it already? It’s the key to healthier teeth and fresher breath.

3.            Chew sugarless gum. Sugarless gum is a great way to keep your smile fresh after a meal. Not only will it improve your breath, but chewing gum increases saliva production to help wash away the acids released by the bacteria in plaque. If the gum has xylitol, it even helps reduce decay-causing bacteria.

4.            Replace your toothbrush. How long have you been brushing with your toothbrush? As your toothbrush ages, the bristles will fray and lose their cleaning ability. Extremely frayed bristles can even hurt your gums. Bacteria can also build up in the bristles of toothbrushes, so make sure you are replacing yours ever three to four months.

5.            Switch to tap water. Tap water is treated with fluoride, which is a safe and effective technique for lowering tooth decay across the nation. Plus, it’s basically free.

For more ways to keep your smile healthy, turn to Lehigh Valley Smiles in Easton, PA. To schedule an appointment, call (610) 252-7414. For more information, please visit www.lehighvalleysmiles.net.

Mouth Guards at Lehigh Valley Smiles

If you play contact sports, mouth guards are a necessary piece of equipment. From football, soccer and basketball to hockey, lacrosse, wrestling and even baseball, if you play a sport where contact is possible, you should wear a mouth guard to protect your teeth. Here in Easton, PA, Dr. Alan Dilsaver can provide you with a custom mouth guard to protect your jaw, cheeks, teeth, tongue and lips.

Mouth guards are essential for protecting your teeth and jaw against structural damage and your tongue and lips against lacerations. They have also been known to decrease the risk of concussions during sports.

While you can buy mouth guards in most sporting goods stores, you should be wary of these. They can be ill-fitting and uncomfortable and unlikely to offer you the best level of protection. If you want to protect your mouth during sports, a custom mouth guard from Dr. Dilsaver offers the highest level of protection. Created specifically for you the mouth guard is made with a thin plastic that is hardened after being custom fit to your mouth. Its thinness allows you to breathe easier, which is important when playing team sports.

To ensure that you perform at your best and are protected on the field, rink or court, schedule an appointment at Lehigh Valley Smiles by calling (610) 252-7414. For more information, visit www.lehighvalleysmiles.net. 

Wisdom Teeth Extractions in Easton, PA

Your third and final molars to emerge are your wisdom teeth, which usually come in when you are between 17 and 25 years old. While many people do not experience problems with these new teeth, many others find that theirs must be removed. If your mouth does not have enough room for these molars to come in, a wisdom tooth extraction is necessary, and at our office in Easton, PA, Dr. Alan Dilsaver can determine whether a wisdom tooth extraction is the best course of action for you.

Wisdom teeth are usually removed because they become impacted, which means that the tooth does not have enough room to come in straight through the gums and instead emerges at an angle. This can cause pain, damage to the jaw and a more crooked smile. Additionally, the site of impaction can become a bacterial hotspot since impacted wisdom teeth are hard to clean.

Wisdom teeth extractions can range from removing a single tooth to removing all four teeth at once. Dr. Dilsaver will let you know what he thinks is best for you. For the procedure, he will use either a local anesthetic to numb the area or a general anesthetic to sedate you while the teeth are extracted. The tooth will then be accessed through an incision in the gums and wiggled until it is loose enough to be lifted out. If the tooth is too deeply embedded to be removed this way, it will be broken up into pieces before being removed.

Whether you are already feeling pain due to impacted wisdom teeth or have not yet felt them come in, we can determine if your wisdom teeth will cause problems for you. To schedule an appointment at Lehigh Valley Smiles, call (610) 252-7414. For more information, visit www.lehighvalleysmiles.com.

Teeth Whitening at Lehigh Valley Smiles

Even with diligent brushing, flossing and cleaning, keeping your teeth white is harder than you might think. Despite proper oral care, constant exposure to food and drinks can cause your teeth to become dull and darken over time. Teeth whitening can help restore the color and gleam to your teeth, and at our office in Easton, PA, we provide teeth whitening services that can restore your smile to a bright white state.

Teeth whitening services are becoming more and more popular, and as the demand for whiter teeth increases, patients are realizing that over-the-counter techniques just aren’t as effective as options offered by their dentist. At our office, whitening procedures are becoming one of the most requested services, and Dr. Alan Dilsaver offers an effective way for his patients to meet their goals. The method that we use to whiten patients’ teeth is the take-home tray system. Using gentle, whitening gel applied in trays that are custom made to fit their teeth, patients can whiten their smile four to eight shades in only a couple sessions.

Whitening your teeth is an easy and dramatic way to improve the look of your smile. If you are looking to make your pearly whites white again, schedule an appointment with Lehigh Valley Smiles by calling (610) 252-7414. For more information, visit www.lehighvalleysmiles.net.