If you want a strong and healthy smile, then you need to take good care of your teeth and gums at all times. This means you need to keep your smile in mind while you’re at school. Unfortunately, there are bad school habits that can damage your smile and promote dental issues. Our dentist, Dr. Alex Abernathy, recommends avoiding those habits as much as possible. Those habits are:

-Chewing on your nails and other hard objects: We understand that chewing on your nails, pens and pencils is a nervous habit that can help you get through your tests and assignments, but it’s very dangerous for the smile. In fact, it applies unnatural pressure to the teeth and can crack the tooth enamel. It’s best to avoid chewing hard things.

-Not drinking enough water: Water can wash your mouth, so it’s best to sip on it throughout the day. When you drink water, it eliminates the bacteria from the smile and also helps you avoid bad breath, dental issues and dry mouth.

-Not chewing gum: Chewing gum can increase your saliva flow. Your saliva can wash the bacteria and other harmful substances from your teeth and gums. So, make sure to chew sugarless gum after every meal and snack to maintain a top-notch smile.

If you have any questions or if you would like to know more about bad smile habits in Jackson, Mississippi, please contact Lakeland Dental Care at your earliest convenience. Our dental team is here to help you, so call 601-981-8166 today! We look forward to hearing from you.

Choosing to restore your smile is a big decision that can be confusing when it comes to finding the best way to achieve it. There are many ways to restore a lost tooth, and dental bridges is a common and popular choice. Dental bridges are common successful at restoring one or more lost teeth. Our dentist, Dr. Alex Abernathy with Lakeland Dental Care in Jackson, Mississippi, offers dental bridges as a way to restore a lost tooth.

If you have questions about nitrous oxide, then you have come to the right blog. Here, our dentists, Drs. Alex Abernathy and Lisa Richey, are happy to help you find the answers you need. To do so, they would like to answer some commonly asked questions about nitrous oxide in Jackson, Mississippi. Those questions are:

Q: What is nitrous oxide?
A: Nitrous oxide is also known as laughing gas or nitrous. It is a chemical compound that is an oxide of nitrogen. It is a non-flammable gas with a slight metallic taste and smell at room temperature. It is provided through a mask that covers the nose. You must inhale the gas for it to enter your system.

Q: How will nitrous oxide make me feel?
A: Nitrous oxide will generally make you feel light headed, tingly and relaxed. It can help wash dental nerves and anxiety away all while keeping you awake during the appointment.

Q: How long will nitrous oxide last?
A: The effects of nitrous oxide will last as long as you inhale the gas. When you pull the mask away from the nose, you will begin to feel normal once again.

Do you have additional questions that weren’t included in this blog? If so, please contact our dental team at your earliest convenience. All you need to do is reach out to Lakeland Dental Care at 601-981-8166. We are excited to hear from you!

If you are one who finds flossing to be difficult, then our dentists, Drs. Abernathy and Richey, would like to help you. Usually, when someone finds flossing troublesome, they just skip the task altogether. This is very dangerous for the smile and oral health because flossing cleans the crevices of the smile and helps prevent dental issues. So, to help make flossing easier for you, our dentists have some tips. Those tips are:

You’re probably aware of some of the foods that can be bad for your oral health. Have you ever wondered what foods can aid your smile? Our dentist and team are thrilled to give you some pointers on foods to add to your diet to improve your dental health.

Do you tend towards tooth decay and cavities when you see your dentist? The molars in the back of your mouth are particularly vulnerable to decay if you are unable to clean them thoroughly every day to keep out oral debris and bacterial plaque which hardens into tartar.

Endodontics refers to a specialty branch in dentistry that focuses on caring for the tissues in the innermost part of the tooth, otherwise known as the pulp. The most common treatment associated with endodontics is a root canal. For a better understanding of the basic facts on root canals, read on:

If you are looking for a highly effective form of tooth restoration treatment to protect a child’s teeth, look no further than dental sealants. Dental sealants are designed to be placed across teeth as a thin coating to ensure the chewing surfaces will not continue to be suffering from dental erosion and other forms of tooth decay.

Cosmetic imperfections like discolored tooth enamel and chronic dental stains that appear on the teeth in your smile can hamper your self-image. This can prove to be socially embarrassing and could leave you wanting to explore the tooth whitening products available at the retail level.

Have you suffered an oral accident or injury that has left you with an impaired smile? If your tooth enamel has been breached, it is likely that damage to your pulp has occurred. If this is the case, you will require an endodontic treatment to potentially save the tooth. Endodontics is a branch of dentistry specifically designed for caring for the pulp of a tooth for surgical procedures and treatments designed to save damaged and broken teeth.