If you’re using a manual brush, it should always be a soft bristle toothbrush. I wouldn’t recommend buying a hard bristle one unless you’re planning to use it to clean the grout on your bathroom tiles! Hard bristles are too harsh for teeth and not necessary to do an effective cleaning job.
The proper technique is to move the brush over the teeth in a circular motion. Never use a front to back “sawing” motion.
A typical brushing routine should include brushing at least two to three times a day for two minutes, breaking up the time evenly amongst the different areas of the mouth.
If you’re using a manual toothbrush, we recommend switching to an electric one. They often have two-minute timers built in with a beep to remind you to switch to the next part of your mouth and give a nice uniform amount of pressure. Electric toothbrushes do most of the work and help you resist the urge to scrub too hard.
Concerned that you’re still brushing incorrectly?
Be sure to ask your dentist for tips and a demonstration during your next dental visit.]]>
00LAURA FRANGELLAhttps://drfrangella.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/frangella-logo.pngLAURA FRANGELLA2011-07-27 17:22:002011-07-27 17:22:00Are You Brushing Your Teeth Correctly?
Using an electric toothbrush such as a Sonicare or Oral-B, is hands down the best tool available for your home care regimen.
Most OTC whitening products are adequate and whitening toothpastes in combination with your electric tooth brush and a whitening mouth rinse can increase the amount of time between gel whitening touch-ups.
Avoid home remedies when trying to whiten your teeth. They can do more damage than good. You’re better off buying an OTC product that regulates the ingredients.
When thinking about what can stain your teeth, we like to recommend using the common sense rule. If it can stain your clothes or your skin, odds are it can stain your teeth also. Obviously, you can’t always avoid these types of things, but just try and exercise moderation when eating or drinking these types of things.
Good foods to eat are raw, crunchy vegetables such as celery, apples, oranges, and any fruit that has a clear or almost clear juice and doesn’t have a lot of seeds, nuts, and lots of water. Crunchy water-based foods are better at promoting a clean environment and have less chance of promoting stain than sticky, heavy dark foods.
We have yet to find a good at-home whitening kit that rivals what can be done in the office by certified professionals but if you want to try an OTC home whitening kit, keep in mind that these products only have up to 10% hydrogen peroxide, so for the process to be effective, you need to use the product for an extended period, while avoiding the stain-inducing foods mentioned above in order to achieve any result.
clear removable braces, facial and dental cosmetic surgeries have decreased significantly. With these types of products, gaps have been bridged between invasive surgical procedures and the non-invasive approaches such as teeth whitening and skin care products.
What has brought along this recent non-invasive trend? Is it the recession that caused people to look for less expensive cosmetic approaches? Or is it that people have become more educated about the processes and the potentially negative consequences of surgical procedures?
In my opinion, it’s probably both. Generally with new cosmetic products and techniques, it takes awhile before they become publicly accepted and mainstream. But that has not been the case with the newer products aforementioned. With a vast amount of information readily available to patients and more conscious spending, products such as Juvederm, Botox, and Invisalign have exploded in the market relatively quickly.
Regardless of what brought on this new non-invasive trend, it’s a huge positive for the cosmetic and beauty world. Cosmetic practitioners have new weapons in their arsenal and while surgical procedures are absolutely necessary in certain cases, we now have options for patients where surgery may be too aggressive as an treatment option.]]>
00Andrew Frangellahttps://drfrangella.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/frangella-logo.pngAndrew Frangella2011-07-15 02:49:002011-07-15 02:49:00The New Trend in Beauty
In recent years, many celebrities have gone through smile transformations that have enhanced and improved their looks. Others, have had cosmetic dental procedures that leave us scratching our heads:
Zac Efron reportedly closed the gap between his teeth orthodontically using removable clear braces. It appears he had teeth whitening too. In my opinion, the drastic improvement with such a minimally invasive procedure, puts him at the top of the list of great smile makeovers.
Katherine Heigl subtly enhanced the look of her teeth with invisalign nyc. Thumbs-up for the non-invasive improvement to her teeth which in my opinion, gives her an “A+” in the smile makeover category.
“I got a whole dental overhaul, compliments of Armageddon,” Ben Affleck reports. It appears a full set of veneers with some gum work are behind his new and improved.
I love this “before” picture from what appears to be from the movie “The Outsiders.” Tom Cruise’s smile in the “before” was probably created specifically for the role or maybe it’s just a doctored photo to emphasize the smile change. Either way, Tom Cruise has been through orthodontics to straighten his once crooked teeth. Notice that the midline of his teeth do not match up with the middle of his face. Interesting what the eye does not pick up at first glance.
Catherine Zeta Jones now sports a typical celebrity smile, Hollywood white porcelain veneers from ear to ear. It’s a big difference for someone who had a “normal” smile.
I would suggest a more natural, less invasive approach to enhance the smile such as teeth whitening and removable clear braces instead of porcelain veneers.
Michael Douglas must have gotten jealous of his wife’s perfect smile because his teeth now appear to be more symmetrical and even at the edges. I think the eveness at the edges goes with his age.
Notice any similarities in shape and design compared to his wife’s? Looks like they’re visiting the same dentist!
Celine Dion’s smile transformation is a great example of what a difference a nice smile can make. With what appears to be a “gum lift,” in combination with porcelain veneers, her smile depicts the natural looking improvement most dentists strive for.
George Clooney is the man! He appears to be living the life and has the pefect smile to go along with the lifestlye many men dream about. He’s likely had veneers or caps to lengthen and replace the missing tooth structure that has worn off over the years. It also appears he had a “gum lift” to reduce the amount of gum tissue visible when he smiles.
Veneers and gum surgery are as invasive as it is with cosmetic dental procedures but likely needed in this case. What isn’t necessary, in my opinion, is the blindingly white color that was selected for his smile makeover. A more natural shade selection would have earned this smile makeover an “A+.”
Clearly not happy with the gap between his two front teeth, rapper 50 Cent appears to have had it closed with a set of porcelain veneers. While his smile has drastically improved and the final result is great, in my opinion, he may have been better served with a less invasive way of getting there.
Removeable clear braces to close the gap, teeth whitening to remove the yellow staining, and replacement of the non-matching crown on his front tooth would probably have delivered a similar result non-invasively.
In deep need of a drastic smile improvement, Nicholas Cage got one and now has the picture perfect Hollywood smile we have all come to recognize.
Looks like “Iron” Mike Tyson traded in the gold teeth for a nice set of natural looking ones. If you ask your local commodities broker, a bad trade considering the price of gold these days, but I’m sure most dentists would agree it was about time. I especially like that he preserved the trademark space between his two front teeth.
I would love to have been a fly on the wall to hear the conversation Hilary Duff had with her dentist before deciding to place porcelain veneers on her teeth. From what I understand, she did have some chipping and wear on her teeth but the initial result was way too aggressive a solution. In my opinion, the latest redo of her veneers is more natural looking.
Katie Price’s first set of veneers were okay to start but her latest set are way too short, flat, and chiclet looking. To make matters worse, she has reported extreme sensitivity in her teeth after having them done.
To improve the situation, I would recommend she dial-it-down a notch with the shade of the teeth and have them lengthened to more natural proportions.
What celebrity do you think has a picture-perfect smile?]]>
Last week, Dr. Tina and I attended a Beauty Bash media event hosted by the popular trend website 
