How to Prevent Cavities During the Upcoming Holidays It’s candy season, folks, and it all kicks off with Halloween. Late October ushers in the several-month-long stretch of holiday parties at school, at the office, with friends, and with family– and the common thread running through these get togethers? Abounding treats. Halloween is the first of the candy-laden holidays, and every kid you know is soon to have a pillowcase full of sugary confections they will indulge in for weeks to come. First Halloween, followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas. The treats will be in full supply all the way through the New Year, and the near constant intake of sugar can really take its toll on teeth. For this reason, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of how you can prevent cavities and tooth decay from sneaking up on you throughout the holiday season.   1- Prioritize Regular Brushing and Flossing…

Chattanooga Family Dentists Think Sealants Are Key to Low Cost Dental Care The staff at Tedford Family Dentistry in Ooltewah, TN always stresses the importance of taking care of your teeth. Regular brushing and flossing, avoiding sugary food and drinks, and consistent cleanings and dental exams are all crucial in maintaining a healthy mouth. When we slack on these things, the effects can often be painful and extremely costly to rectify. Filling cavities, getting root canals and needing crowns are things we all want to avoid. But in addition to proper cleaning, dental sealants are a great way to help keep tooth decay at bay. Where are the sealants applied? Molars can be rough and craggy, with lots of tight nooks and crannies for food particles and bacteria to hide. This is where sealants come in! You can actually safeguard your child’s molars with these thin, protective coatings that can…

Start ’em early! It’s never too soon to start imparting to your children the importance of good oral hygiene. Experts say as soon as your baby starts getting teeth in, you should begin cleaning them, and here at Tedford Family Dentistry we fully subscribe to this belief. You can start by wiping your baby’s teeth clean with a soft cloth and warm water. When your baby reaches the 18 months mark, you can begin brushing your baby’s teeth with a pea-sized amount of low-fluoride toothpaste. As they grow, they can begin taking more and more ownership of the task, but for a good while, they will need a lot of help and supervision. Establishing these good oral health habits out the gate will help reduce the risk of tooth decay and cavities in baby teeth, of course, but getting into an early routine of regular brushing will also likely carry…

Preventative Dentistry Keep Your Mouth Healthy At Tedford Family Dentistry, we have been helping residents of Ooltewah and the surrounding areas maintain healthy mouths for years. While we offer services that help to fix dental issues once they have already happened, we feel that it is more important for our patients to understand that the benefits of maintaining a preventative dental routine in order to decrease the number of dental issues that can arise during their lifetime. If you don’t take care of your teeth and properly manage your oral health, you may find yourself forking over thousands of dollars in restorative dental care. Did you know that a full mouth reconstruction can cost between $45,000 and $80,000? By practicing preventive dentistry, you can safeguard yourself from these exorbitant dental costs. In today’s blog post, we are going to go over some of the steps that patients can take to…