Importance of Periodontal Health

Paying attention to your dental hygiene and health – especially your gums – may pay you back with more than a gleaming, healthy smile and manageable dental bills. It may keep your heart healthy too. Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS is here to help you maintain healthy gums with routine cleanings because healthy gums aren’t just important for your oral health, they are important to your overall health as well.

When you have healthy gums, your teeth are well supported by the tissue in your gums and your chances for long-term oral health are significantly increased. Because periodontal disease is linked to an increased susceptibility to systemic disease (bacterial pneumonia, diabetes, cardiovascular disease), it is important to prevent it as well as control it. Brushing and flossing your teeth regularly is important and helps remove the thin film of bacteria that builds up on your teeth each day and contributes to tooth decay. If you have trouble maintaining a daily oral hygiene routine, give Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS a call today.

If you are experiencing gum sensitivity, please give us a call to discuss your treatment options. To learn about services we provide at our practice, visit www.bayberrydentalcare.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS in our Tinley Park, IL office, call Bayberry Dental Care at 708-802-8300. 

What Happens During a Dental Cleaning?

No matter how much you diligently brush or floss your teeth at home, harmful bacteria grow in your mouth that can only be removed by a dental professional. These bacteria can cause gum disease and significantly affect your overall health. Here at Bayberry Dental Care, our hygienists will use professional tools to remove plaque, tartar, and bacteria build-up that you are unable to efficiently remove yourself.  

According to the Academy of General Dentistry, it is recommended that a dentist or hygienist perform a dental cleaning every six months. The professional dental cleaning reinforces the home-care oral health regimen of brushing and flossing and gives Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS an opportunity to locate areas in the mouth that may need special attention. During a teeth cleaning, our hygienists will thoroughly clean the area above and below the gum line with scaling tools to rid them of plaque and tartar. Once the surfaces are smooth, polishing is done using a slow speed handpiece with a soft rubber cup that spins on the end. Last but not least, the dentist flosses every crevice between your teeth and may apply fluoride if needed.

If you need your teeth cleaned don’t wait any longer, call us today so we can help you maintain a healthy smile! To learn about services we provide at our practice, visit www.bayberrydentalcare.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS in our Tinley Park, IL office, call Bayberry Dental Care at 708-802-8300. 

Tips for Avoiding Stains While Wearing Braces

While wearing braces, there are a few changes that need to be made to your dental care routine. One of the important but sometimes forgot about reasons is to avoid staining. At Bayberry Dental Care in Tinley Park, we want to remind our patients that good dental care is not just important for healthy teeth. While wearing braces especially, good dental care is important to keep teeth bright and white.

 

Staining while wearing braces can result in uneven staining when the braces come off. Getting your braces off is supposed to be an awesome day! You do not want them taken off only to unveil strange staining marks. Follow this guide to avoid staining while you are wearing braces!

 

Good Dental Hygiene Good dental hygiene is the biggest part of keeping your chompers white. Dental plaque that builds up from food, drinks, and saliva can turn teeth yellow or dark if not removed frequently. That is why it is important to brush multiple times per day. If you brush once in the morning and once at night, consider squeezing in a third brushing in the middle of the day. Brushing after each meal is a good idea to deter stains from sticking around.

 

Extra Supplies Floss threaders and interdental cleaners will help you clean around your brackets and wires. This is especially important to avoid the uneven staining that can be caused by plaque building up around brackets.

 

Dark Foods and Drinks When it comes to dark foods and drinks, they are okay every now and then but try to avoid consuming them frequently. Examples of these foods are tomatoes, cola, coffee, and blueberries. Rinse your mouth out after consuming dark foods and liquids to help avoid staining. In addition, sip dark drinks through a straw to minimize contact with your teeth.

 

Protect your smile so that when the braces come off, you have a beautiful and straight smile! To schedule your next examination and cleaning here at Bayberry Dental Care in Tinley Park, IL, call us at (708) 802-8300. More information about our practice can be found on our website, www.bayberrydentalcare.com. 

Ways to Make Sure You Brush Long Enough

In the constant hustle and bustle of life, brushing your teeth can become quick and thoughtless. Unfortunately, this can lead to missed spots or not enough brushing. At Bayberry Dental Care in Tinley Park, IL, we want our patients to know that two minutes are usually needed for an adequate brushing. Take some of our tips for ensuring you are brushing for long enough!

In order to hit all of the areas in your mouth effectively, you should be spending about two minutes brushing. You will want to brush the chewing surfaces of your teeth, the fronts, the insides, the backs of the back molars, along with your tongue, inner cheeks, and the roof of your mouth. One simple way of keeping track of time is by splitting your teeth into four sections. Brush each section for thirty seconds and then be sure to remember the rest of your mouth!

Music players and phones often have timers or countdowns on them so this makes it easy to make sure you are spending two minutes. Plus, if you use a music player, you can jam out to your favorite tune. It can make for a pretty great morning ritual!

Another way of making sure you are spending enough time is so simple it is right in your toothbrush. There are many electric toothbrushes that come with built-in timers that beep or pause buzzing after two minutes.

Spend enough time brushing your teeth and see results when your dentist tells gives you a clean bill of health! To schedule your next cleaning at Bayberry Dental Care in Tinley Park, IL, call us at (708) 802-8300 or visit our website, www.bayberrydentalcare.com. 

Choosing Toothpaste to Meet Your Needs

When stepping foot into the oral hygiene aisle at the drugstore, our staff at Bayberry Dental Care understands that the selections of toothpaste can be overwhelming. Should you go for tartar control, fluoride, sensitive or whitening toothpaste? When it comes to choosing the toothpaste that is best for you, it’s important to consider your unique oral health needs. The best way to discover what those are is by scheduling an oral exam with Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS. In the meantime, here are some options to consider while browsing:

• Anti-cavity: This type of toothpaste contains fluoride. Fluoride plays an active role in preventing decay, and it actively strengthens tooth enamel.


• Anti-gingivitis: If you spit blood in the sink, this is an early sign of gingivitis, a mild form of gum disease. Anti-gingivitis toothpaste helps reduce oral bacteria and can be very effective at stopping gingivitis in its tracks.


• Desensitizing: If you’ve ever bit into an ice cream cone and felt a sharp pain in your tooth’s nerve, this type of toothpaste will provide relief by blocking the tooth’s pain signal to the nerve.


• Tartar-control: This toothpaste does exact what it says, however, the best way to remove tartar is by scheduling a professional dental cleaning with one of our doctors.


• Whitening: This toothpaste contains chemicals that are able to help maintain the natural color of your teeth.

If you have questions about dental health or oral care, please give us a call. To learn about services we provide at our practice, visit www.bayberrydentalcare.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS in our Tinley Park, IL office, call Bayberry Dental Care at 708-802-8300.

Thank You For Your Testimonials!

Here at Bayberry Dental Care, Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS, and staff appreciate feedback from our customers because it teaches us how to improve as a team. Our staff would not only like to thank Karen B. for her review, but we would like to thank her for being an excellent patient. If you recently experienced exceptional service from our office, please let us know!  

“Dr. Kathleen Falsey and the Bayberry Dental staff have been amazing. They treat their clients in a professional and respectful manner. They make dealing with our dental insurance company easy. Dr. Falsey has always gone above and beyond from regular checkups to emergencies. My family and I have been clients for many years now and we would never think of going anywhere else. It is a wonderful feeling to be treated more like a friend than a patient!”

If you would like to leave a testimonial or are interested in learning more about the services we provide at the practice, visit www.bayberrydentalcare.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS in our Tinley Park office, call 708-802-8300.

Cavity Characteristics

There are two main factors that contribute to cavities. One is bacteria in the mouth and the other is a diet that is high in sugar. It’s no surprise that cavities are common among children, but changes that occur with aging, make cavities an adult problem, too. To prevent cavities from developing you should brush and floss on a daily basis, in addition to scheduling professional cleanings with Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS at Bayberry Dental Care twice a year.

Cavities, or tooth decay, are the destruction of your tooth enamel, the hard, outer layer of your teeth. Tooth decay is heavily influenced by lifestyle, what we eat, how well we take care of our teeth, and the presence of fluoride in our water and toothpaste. Only your dentist can tell for sure if you have one because sometimes cavities cause little to no pain at all. Regardless of how and where they occur, the best way to spot them and treat them before they become serious is by visiting Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS for checkups.

If you are experiencing signs of tooth decay, please give us a call to discuss your treatment options. To learn about services we provide at our practice, visit www.bayberrydentalcare.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Kathleen Falsey, DDS in our Tinley Park, IL office, call Bayberry Dental Care at 708-802-8300.