Andrew D. Frangella DDS, FICOI Receives 2011 Fellowship Award from the Academy of General Dentistry
your questions about children’s oral health. Have a question for us? Visit Frangella Dental on Facebook.
When should I schedule my child’s first dental appointment?
As soon as a child’s teeth begin to erupt, they should start seeing a dentist. The goal is to bring your child early so that he/she gets accustomed to the environment and learns what to expect at the office and during a check-up.
It is also important to bring children early so that they can be evaluated for common dental issues such as baby bottle tooth decay and any problems with their bite for early intervention if necessary. 
What can we expect at our child’s first dental appointment? The first visit is all about getting acclimated to the dental office. Even if we only get as far as having the child sit in the chair and allow me to look with a mirror, it’s still considered a successful visit.
If you start your child at the right age and are performing proper home care, usually they will not need anything other than a routine cleaning and exam.
The first dental visit will include a cleaning and dental exam. X-rays typically are not taken until the age of 5 or 6 once the child begins to have eruption of their permanent teeth.
It is important to bring your child in every 6 months. This will help prevent future tooth decay but also hopefully get your child so comfortable with the dentist that they are actually excited to visit for their cleanings.
How can I ease my child’s anxiety of visiting the dentist?
It helps if a parent brings the child to one of their own cleanings prior to the child’s, so that he/she knows what to expect and can see the parent comfortable and at ease.
A parent should never use going to the dentist as a punishment (i.e. “If you don’t brush your teeth you’re going to go to the dentist and they’re going to give you a shot”).
Most importantly, be a good example. Children’s fear of the dentist is often a learned one. If you show you are afraid and anxious, it is likely that they will be afraid and anxious.
How do I choose a dentist that’s right for my child?
When evaluating dentists, you want to find one who regularly treats children. Besides their dental ability, it is equally important to find someone who your child will be comfortable with.
The way your child perceives their dentist and dental visit, often sets the tone for how they feel about the dentist as an adult. Therefore it is very important that you find the right doctor for your child. Often, a parent will find a dentist who they themselves are comfortable with and who also regularly treats children in their practice.]]>
How can I ease my child’s anxiety of visiting the dentist?
It helps if a parent brings the child to one of their own cleanings prior to the child’s, so that he/she knows what to expect and can see the parent comfortable and at ease. A parent should never use going to the dentist as a punishment (i.e. “If you don’t brush your teeth you’re going to go to the dentist and they’re going to give you a shot”). Most importantly, be a good example. Children’s fear of the dentist is often a learned one. If you show you are afraid and anxious, it is likely that they will be afraid and anxious.How do I choose a dentist that’s right for my child?
When evaluating dentists, you want to find one who regularly treats children. Besides their dental ability, it is equally important to find someone who your child will be comfortable with. The way your child perceives their dentist and dental visit, often sets the tone for how they feel about the dentist as an adult. Therefore it is very important that you find the right doctor for your child. Often, a parent will find a dentist who they themselves are comfortable with and who also regularly treats children in their practice.]]> A common question patients ask me is, “Am I at risk for oral cancer and what can I do to prevent it?”
Oral cancer is a form of cancer that occurs in the mouth.
It most frequently presents on the tongue, soft palate (roof of the mouth), floor of the mouth, lips, and the gums.
Although the exact cause of oral cancer is unknown, there are known risk factors such as excessive exposure to the sun, tobacco, and alcohol. There is also research that suggests that some forms of oral cancer may be caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV).
A hallmark of our age is the hands on approach many Americans are taking with their health care. The advent of sites like WebMD have led to more educated and healthier patients. By avoiding known risk factors and being more aware of your general health, your doctors are better able to diagnose and treat health problems earlier.
Tips to decrease your chances of oral cancer and/or catch it early:
- Be observant, if you see something that doesn’t look right in your mouth, get it checked out immediately. Oral cancer is typically painless in the early stages and is normally represented by red, white or discolored lesions, patches or lumps in or around the mouth.
- Avoid common rish factors such as smoking, excessive drinking, and excessive sun exposure.
- See your dentist regularly! Early diagnosis is key for oral cancer treatment. Ideally, you should be seeing your dentist every six months for routine checkups. During your oral cancer screenings, your dentist will check your neck, head, cheeks and oral cavity for any lumps, or irregular tissue changes
- 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.
Last week, Dr. Tina and I attended a Beauty Bash media event hosted by the popular trend website Momtrends at Persona Salon by Krister Atle in Midtown. We had the opportunity to meet a lot of great bloggers that we love reading (The Prissy Mommy Chronicles, Mom-101, Glamamom, The Stroller Ballet, Cheap Chic Nursery, A Mommy in the City, Dim Sum Debutante, New York Chica, NYC Single Mom, Raising Three Savvy Ladies, and many more lovely ladies) as well as fellow sponsors in the beauty care industry (Mama Mio, Damone Roberts, Evy Drew, The Plastic Surgery Center, Lacey Ryan, New York Cake Pops, Simply Naked, LeSportSac, and Bellamy Blue Photography).
It’s always great to get out of the office and meet potential patients and be able to answer whatever dental questions they may have, face-to-face. We also had the floor to address how best to maintain a bright, beautiful smile at home, in between office whitenings.
Here are a few helpful tips that we shared at the event:
- 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.
Photos via High Line Media.]]>
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.]]>
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:
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?]]>
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.
Healthy and natural, can quickly turn towards tacky, ‘Chiclet’ territory though. Remember the ‘Friends’ episode with Ross and his glow in the dark teeth?
So what is the rule of thumb for teeth whitening?
The ideal shade of white really depends on personal preference. However, to retain that natural look, the whiteness of your teeth should not exceed the shade of the whites of your eyes (in most people). This allows you to have a nice bright smile without looking over-whitened.
here are many options for teeth bleaching available. Finding the right method for you that will provide you with a beautiful, natural smile can be a daunting task.
Before beginning any whitening procedure, consult your dentist first, to confirm which method is best for you.
]]> Watch any movie or television show and what do you see?
Perfect, straight, and unbelievably white smiles.
I’m not saying these types of smiles don’t occur naturally…however, often times in the media world you are looking at veneered, whitened, and orthodontically treated smiles. If you’re looking to replicate what you see in the media, here is some useful information on how to get your perfect smile.
There are many different ways to achieve your perfect look but before you start any work, the first step is to have a clear idea of what exactly you want to change. Is your smile too dark? Do you hate the way one of your teeth tilts? Is it the shape of your teeth you want to be different? Or the spaces in between them?
It is important to know where you want to go with your treatment so that you can pick the best type of treatment possible. Many of our patients come in and declare, “I want veneers.” While they think they need veneers, they may only require a non-invasive treatment such as Invisalign or teeth whitening to achieve the desired result. Therefore, it’s best to express your goal to your dentist and be open to different options he/she may suggest to get you there.
Veneers are a great aesthetic tool that can dramatically change a smile. However, veneers are a permanent restoration and require special care to keep them looking pristine. Maintenance should be taken into account before beginning treatment. Click here to learn more about the veneer process.
The decision to have porcelain veneers made is an important one. Veneers can provide a dramatic, beautiful, and realistic change to your smile. Once completed, most veneer restorations require special care and may have to be replaced after a 5-10 year period. In order to retain that look, you should take extra care to protect them from chips and decay.
To learn more about how to protect and maintain a healthy smile click here.]]>
Do you have a function to go to and not enough time for teeth whitening? Here are 4 tips for faking it:
1. Wear red lipstick. 
This is a trick seen often in dental advertisements. You may have noticed, women always have red hued lip color on. The contrast of your lip color and the red shade helps make your teeth appear lighter and brighter. If red’s not your color, then try to avoid wearing lipsticks that have a yellow or orange tone to them because they can give your teeth a yellow hue. Also, avoid pale or frosted shades and matte finishes, as they tend to make teeth look dull.
2. It’s all about the outfit! Try to avoid wearing bright white clothes.If you want to wear white, try picking a white that is off-white, cream or at least a shade lighter than your teeth. It will give the illusion that your teeth are whiter than they are, simply by comparison.
3. To make your teeth really pop, try using bronzer. Tan, golden, and darker skin tones make teeth appear whiter. By using a bronzer, with an appropriate lip color, you can make your smile appear brighter.
4 . And lastly, accessorize, accessorize, accessorize! Try wearing jewelry with a little sparkle to it such as silver, sparkling crystals or rhinestones. Avoid wearing gold which can emphasize yellow tones in teeth.Of course these are only a temporary fixes. For a truly dazzling white smile, speak with your dentist for recommendations on the best way to whiten your teeth.]]>
