Category: Holland Dentist

At my Holland dental office, we not only care about your oral health, we care about your whole body. To reach optimal wellness for both, it’s crucial that you’re getting enough vitamins and minerals. While all are important, we wanted to highlight a few that are necessary to keep your mouth healthy.

A is For… Vitamin A

Vitamin A helps support a strong immune system. And that’s important to both overall health and oral health. An adequate amount of vitamin A keeps gum tissue healthy, can quicken the healing process for any sores, and aids in the production of saliva.

Find it in: Carrots, mangos, kale.

B is For… B Vitamins

Good for controlling inflammation, B vitamins may help painful canker sores from popping up and causing a nuisance. Too little of these vitamins can also lead to bad breath.

Find it in: Chicken, fish, spinach.

C is For… Vitamin C

Not enough vitamin C leaves you more exposed to illness as well as loose teeth and even bleeding gums. In fact, people who are vitamin C deficient are at increased risk for developing gum disease.

Find it in: Citrus fruits, sweet potatoes, red peppers.

D is For… You Guessed It, Vitamin D

Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption. Without it, all the benefits of calcium aren’t received. As we know, calcium is crucial for strong, healthy bones, like your jaw. Without it and its sidekick vitamin D, teeth may become loose or weak.

Find it in: Milk, egg yolks, fish.

Most of the time, all the vitamins and minerals you need are obtained through the foods you eat. But sometimes not. Whether a natural deficiency, a diet that’s lacking in certain nutrients, or medical condition, there are absolutely times when a supplement is needed. We encourage you to talk to your physician before starting a vitamin or mineral supplement.

By eating right and ensuring you’re getting enough of the crucial vitamins, you’re on the right track towards a happy, healthy smile. But that doesn’t mean regular dental appointments can be ignored. You should visit the dentist at least twice a year. Is it time for your next checkup? Give my Holland dental office a call and schedule your appointment today!

Serving patients from Holland, Saugatuck, and Zeeland.

It’s the glimmer between strangers meeting eyes across the room. It’s the sparkle that lights up a photograph. It can whisper sweet nothings. It can shout with enthusiasm. It can unite people in moments of warmth and magic. It’s a smile, and it’s the universal communicator of joy and connection. But if your smile is broken, discolored or damaged, it can be a barrier between you and life. Let my Holland dental office help.

How Smiling Makes us Feel

Smiling is more than nonverbal communication. It also triggers an amazing array of physical responses, both in the giver of the smile and the receiver. The key ingredient here is dopamine, that wonderful feel-good neurotransmitter. Because pleasure is such a motivator, anything that releases dopamine can become addicting, says Gary L. Wenk, a Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience & Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics at the Ohio State University and Medical Center. “When we smile…the contractions of the facial muscles slightly distorts the shape of the thin facial bones. This slight distortion in their shape leads to an increase in blood flow into the frontal lobes of the brain and increases in the release of dopamine. As a result, walking around all day with a smile on your face will bias your mood to be happier. Not only will you be happier, but your smile might spontaneously induce the release of dopamine in someone else’s brain.” No wonder smiling makes you more attractive – it causes the same chemical response as coffee or chocolate…or falling in love!

Smiling and Health

Smiling doesn’t just feel good, it makes you healthier too.  Every time you smile, your body produces greater quantities of antibodies and T-cells (or white blood cells), which may give your immune system a big boost. Smiling is also super relaxing, which we all know is good for our health. It releases both endorphins, those “feel-good” hormones, and serotonin, a natural stress-reducer.

If you would like to smile more – for health, relaxation, fun, and attraction – but you feel self-conscious about some aspect of your smile, don’t worry. Just call my Holland dental office. We have a multitude of cosmetic dentistry options that can get you a confident smile. Whether it’s stains, gaps, chips, cracks, or crookedness, we have the solution just for you. Schedule an appointment today and start enjoying all the benefits of smiling.

Welcoming new patients from Holland, Saugatuck, and Zeeland.

Did you know that 32 percent of Americans cite bad breath as the least attractive trait of their co-workers? If people don’t like it in co-workers, they certainly won’t like it in their date! True fact: No one really wants to kiss an unhealthy mouth.

That’s why I’m bringing you four of the most effective ways to freshen your breath, brighten your smile, and make yourself so much more kissable than ever before. Go ahead, you can thank me now.

• Keep up with your oral hygiene routine.

That means no skipping, even if you do feel too tired to floss. You see, when plaque builds up, it can lead to periodontal disease, an infection in your gums. This infection stinks! In fact, periodontal disease is the second most common source of halitosis. The odor is so distinctive, that many dentists can diagnose gum disease from the smell alone! Odor causing bacteria build up under your gum line, coat your tongue, and increase the volatile sulfur compounds that make bad breath worse. So want to have a fresh mouth? Get to cleaning! And don’t forget to brush or scrape your tongue.

• Have a professional cleaning.

See above! A professional cleaning at least twice a year at my Holland dental office is even more effective than home hygiene at getting rid of stinky plaque buildup.

• Watch what you eat.

We’re pretty sure everyone knows to avoid garlic and onions before a big date, but did you know that milk, meat, orange juice, and coffee have also been known as causes for bad breath? Don’t worry though. Just brush and floss after meals, and your breath will clean right up. You can also add foods that keep your breath fresher like parsley, celery, apples, and yogurt – yes yogurt! The probiotics in yogurt help lower the levels of odor-causing sulfur compounds.

• Drink more water.

Water not only rinses away food particles and bacteria, but drinking a sufficient amount of water (six to eight eight ounce glasses every day) also keeps you hydrated and prevents dry mouth. That’s important because dry mouth is one of the leading causes of breath issues. If you have an ongoing issue with dry mouth, talk to your Holland dentist about a saliva substitute to protect your teeth and sweeten your breath.

If you have a big date coming up this Valentine’s Day, please don’t be afraid to call my dental office in Holland. We can help get your breath fresh and your teeth clean and bright. Your date may never want to stop kissing you!  

Accepting new patients from Holland, Saugatuck, and Zeeland.

While we’d love to believe that looks aren’t everything, the truth is, they mean a lot. Especially when it comes to your smile. In fact, research has shown a direct correlation between a pretty smile and a successful career. Unfortunate? Yes. Truthful? Also yes. At my Holland dental office, we’d like to share a few reasons why.

Smart

Your resume is top-notch, your interview skills are slamming, and your smile is… lackluster. Do you land the job or not? According to research conducted by Kelton Research for Invisalign, Americans believe those with straight teeth are 45% more likely to be offered a position over someone with the same resumé but a crooked grin. What’s more, nearly 75% of the population believe having an unattractive smile would keep them from a promotion. We don’t like it, but the research doesn’t lie.

Healthy

A straight, white smile with fresh breath automatically shows those around you that you’re healthy and you care about your appearance. Not only that, but a truly healthy smile can actually make your whole body healthy too, which means less days off work due to sickness and perhaps a bonus in the future.

Trustworthy

It doesn’t matter if you’re a lawyer, doctor, plumber, or electrician, every career requires building and earning trust with others. One of the best ways to succeed at this is with your smile. Around 75% of Americans are more likely to trust those with healthy, beautiful smiles than those who dress professionally or drive fancy cars.

Options to Boost Your Smile

There are a multitude of options available that can help you get the smile of your dreams, and help you land that well-deserved career, too. Some of the ways you can boost the appearance of your smile include:

• Veneers
• Whitening
• Implants
• Tooth-colored fillings

No matter what your smile goals are, we can help you at my Holland dental office. We treat each patient as an individual and will work with you to get you the correct treatment to land that million dollar-looking smile, and just maybe a million dollar career to go with it.

Welcoming patients from Holland, Saugatuck, and Zeeland.

New Year’s resolutions are made each and every time the ball drops in Times Square and we all sing Auld Lang Syne. Resolutions give us hope for a better, more successful, healthier year. But unfortunately nearly half of all resolutions fail within six months. At my dental office in Holland, we want to challenge our patients to make resolutions towards a healthier smile and keep them all year long.  

• Drink more water. Your body and your mouth both need water to function properly, yet many people don’t drink enough. Slug eight, 8-ounces glasses of some H₂0 every day to keep your body in tip-top shape and your mouth moist and capable of ridding away bacteria.

• Quit smoking. Smoking or use of smokeless tobacco is a serious addiction that often takes several attempts at kicking. We think you can do it, both for your overall health, and your smile. Tobacco use increases the chance for oral cancer, gum disease, and yellow teeth. Quitting may be difficult, but we promise it’s worth it.

• Eat fruits and veggies. Eating a well-balanced diet packed with crisp fruits and crunchy veggies can do wonders for your overall health and your teeth. These foods are loaded with super nutrients that fight off bacteria and inflammation to help keep gums healthy.

• Get that smile makeover you’ve always wanted. If your pearly whites are maybe just a bit too dark, your smile a smidge crooked, or you’re missing some teeth, you owe it to yourself to resolve to get the smile of your dreams. There are many cosmetic dentistry options available to fix any concern from whitening to veneers, dental implants to full-mouth makeovers. Bonus: Oftentimes cosmetic dentistry doesn’t just make you feel better about your grin, it has a host of health benefits, too.

• Visit your dentist in Holland. We don’t recommend visits every six month just because we like you (which we promise we do!), but because they are necessary for keeping your smile healthy. At each visit we’ll check for issues and if we find any, we’ll work with you to discuss the best treatment. Many dental problems are fixed successfully if they’re caught early, so don’t put off your dental visits.

If you’re ready to make 2016 the year when you get the healthiest, brightest smile of your dreams, give my Holland dental office a call today. We’ll talk about your smile goals and decide on the best plan for you.

Accepting patients from Holland, Saugatuck, and Zeeland.