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Mouth Matters

Reasons to Love Your Dental Hygienist

We all love those people around us that care for us, you know, your parents, siblings, spouse, and friends. But what about those people that choose to professionally care for you? Registered Dental Hygienists are just those people! Although there are many reasons for you to love your Dental Hygienists, we thought we would focus on a few that may not be as obvious. Don't forget to add your own personal reasons in the comments section....don't be shy to mention your hygienist I know she (or he) would love to know they're thought of! Life-long friend Your Dental Hygienist can easily be added to...

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Why do my gums bleed?

Bleeding gums are no laughing matter and it is not normal. A general rule of thumb is that if your gums are bleeding from things like brushing, flossing or eating then there is infection present. In other words, if your gums are bleeding when you floss or brush your teeth, you have gum disease. Here are some reasons this may be happening 1. You have sub-par oral hygiene resulting in gingivitis. If you fail to brush and floss regularily the plaque and food debris that is left behind  will cause your gums to become red and swollen, the result is gingivitis. Surprisingly, this can happen...

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Your Mouth: A Portal to The Rest of Your Body

You’re told to brush your teeth and to floss regularly, but apart from having sparkly white teeth and not having bad breath, what’s the reason for it? Well, for a start, slacking off on oral hygiene means that the bacteria that are normally kept at bay by toothpaste and floss has the chance to multiply to unhealthy levels, which may lead to oral infections, such as tooth decay and gum disease. The bad news isn't limited to your mouth. There’s lots of research out there that links the bacteria in your mouth to other very serious health conditions. Gum disease increases inflammation in the...

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It’s National Dental Hygienist Week!!

The month of April is Oral Health Month, and this week we celebrate National Dental Hygienist Week. This annual event is sponsored by the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association (CDHA), an organization that represents more than 24,000 dental hygienists across Canada. Check back every day this week for information focusing on the importance of good oral practices, the oral systemic link, and information to help you understand the role your dental hygienist plays. First let’s take a moment to review a very brief history of dental hygiene as a profession. So what exactly is Self-Initiation? And...

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Why Your Dental Hygenist Takes Your Blood Pressure

A simple blood pressure check could reveal a health problem you didn't even know about. It also helps us provide you with better and safer dental hygiene care. For those of you that don’t quite understand how to interpret a blood pressure reading let’s start by defining what the numbers of your blood pressure refer to. • The top number or systolic pressure is the amount of pressure in your arteries during the contraction of your heart muscle. • The bottom number or diastolic pressure is the lowest pressure in an artery in the moments between beats when the heart is resting. Note that blood...

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Colour for a Cause!

National Dental Hygiene Week may not be until the week of April 6th, but the excitement is already palpable! Last years coloring contest, sponsored by the Canadian Dental Hygienist Association was such a huge success that they decided to do it again! Entering is easy, just download the coloring sheet from the link below and color it! Have fun and be creative. Check out last years winners: There are some great prizes to be won, including Toys R Us gift cards and kids oral health prize packs from Sunstar G•U•M. Once your child has completed the coloring...

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Inaugural Gift From The Heart

In case you missed all the hype across all of our social media platforms over the past month, we participated in the Gift From The Heart for the first time this past February 8, 2014. I am so happy to report that the event was a huge success! It felt incredible to give back to the community and do something that I know people will remember for a long time to come. The demand was more than we anticipated, we had 9 bookings of people ranging in ages from 20 - 70. We had 5 people on our waiting list and had to start referring people to the GFTH website to check for other clinics that might have...

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Exercise Your Gums to Help Your Heart

With January behind us and February almost a thing of the past, we are well into the New Year, hopefully you have not already given up on your resolutions. For many of us these resolutions include exercise, eating well, and aiming for an overall healthier lifestyle, but does this include amping up your oral health regime? If not, it should. Healthier mouths lead to healthier bodies. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “oral diseases share common risk factors with the four leading chronic diseases—cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes”. More...

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What is Gift From The Heart?

What is Gift From the Heart? Gift from the heart was founded in 2009 by Bev Woods, an Independent Registered Dental Hygienist in Trenton Ontario. Her idea was simple, to set aside one day a year to give back to the community and to not only offer no cost dental hygiene care, but to bring public awareness to the large number of Ontarian’s unable to afford basic preventive oral health care. Little did she know that Registered Dental Hygienists from across the country would want to join in, and so this event takes place on the Saturday before Valentine’s Day every year with a growing number of...

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Some Things Only a Dental Hygienist Can Do!

Some of us tend to trivialize the importance of taking care of our oral health. Most of us brush our teeth twice a day, some floss, some don’t. The question is, is it really enough? Dental Hygienists are an important part of the health-care system. They are there to help you take good care of your teeth, oral hygiene and oral health.  Your hygienist isn’t only there to do the professional teeth cleaning, but will also examine your oral health and will educate you on the best ways to take care of your oral health at home. Even with a diligent brushing and flossing routine at home, there is...

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Start the School Year Off Bright!!

It’s that time of year again!  Time to trade the swimsuits and flip flops for backpacks and sneakers, while putting together your back-to-school list; don’t forget to include getting your child’s teeth professionally cleaned. There is no doubt that oral hygiene tends to suffer over the summer months so why not start the school year off right by letting us brighten up your child’s smile and teach them tools that can help keep their teeth and gums healthy throughout the year. We understand that the costs of back-to-school shopping can be daunting, that’s why for the next 2 weeks we are...

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No More Wisdom Teeth??

Would you consider “vaccinating” you child against wisdom teeth? New studies are finding a link between those that have had dental local anaesthetic (freezing) between the ages of 2 and 6 and missing wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth generally develop between the tender ages of 2 and 6 and erupt in early adulthood. For children who need fillings during this time of development the space where this tooth is developing often serves as the injection site for freezing. These individuals were 4 times more likely to have missing wisdom teeth. Thus far, the reasoning is that the needle used for the...

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