While the origin of this February 9th holiday is unknown, it’s definitely a holiday we support. Toothaches are painful, and they’re not something we ever want you to experience. That’s why Vintage Dental in Modesto wants all of our patients to see National Toothache Day as an important reminder to maintain your checkups.

We know it may seem odd to dedicate a holiday to toothaches. However, we like to see this as a day to celebrate good dental hygiene. Good dental hygiene, and a toothache free mouth, is easily attainable with a thorough, at home routine as well as regular professional cleanings from our Modesto dental office. In fact, practicing good oral hygiene is the best preventative measure you can take to protect yourself against a toothache. Good Oral Hygiene Practices Include:

• Brushing your teeth at least twice a day.
• Flossing to remove plaque and particles your toothbrush alone can’t reach.
• Avoiding tobacco products.
• Being mindful of what you eat – easy on the sugary and acidic foods!

If you’re suffering a toothache in Modesto, don’t hesitate to call Vintage Dental. We’ll get you in for a visit and take a look at what’s going on in your mouth. Once we determine the cause of the pain, we’ll work with you to fix it and get you smiling again.

When we’re stressed, we may experience a headache, a stomachache, or the sense of irritability. But too much stress can cause a multitude of problems in our bodies and in our mouths. At Vintage Dental in Modesto, we want to help our patients understand how daily stressors might be affecting their oral health.

While we’re all pretty familiar with the health dangers stress can cause put on the body, the effects of stress on the mouth are often not discussed. However, stress and anxiety can cause several serious problems in your mouth including:

•    Canker sores

•    Teeth grinding

•    Periodontal disease

Canker Sores

Stress can increase the risk of getting canker sores, and while they aren’t really dangerous, they can be painful. Canker sores often look like small ulcers with a white or gray base and a red border, and can be found inside the mouth and even in multiples.

Tooth Grinding

Additionally, stress can cause us to clench and grind our teeth, also known as bruxism. The act of grinding your teeth, often subconsciously, can lead to tooth damage and can even result in TMJ (jaw joint) problems.

Periodontal Disease

Research has shown that stress directly affects your immune system. This is especially concerning for your Modesto dentist. When your immune system is compromised, your chance of periodontal disease increases. Additionally, some medication used to battle stress and anxiety can lead to dry mouth. Dry mouth can cause tooth decay and can also increase your risk of gum disease.

Stress and anxiety happens to all of us. What’s important is that you realize how to cope and relieve stress and that you understand how stress can affect your body. If you’re experiencing any of the symptoms we’ve discussed, we encourage you to give Vintage Dental a call today. Together, we’ll talk about your concerns and discuss the best way to get you healthy.

As we celebrate the beginning of a new year, many of us will use this opportunity to make resolutions to lose weight, stop smoking, spend more time with family. Some people even resolve to take care of the smile they’ve been hiding. At Vintage Dental in Modesto, we can help you fulfill your resolution to get the smile of your dreams so you can stop hiding and start smiling.

Time and life itself can take a toll on our smiles. And that’s nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, sometimes genetics, accidents, or simply aging can result in a less than ideal smile. Don’t worry. A lot of the teeth trouble we see can be easily fixed with our Modesto cosmetic dentistry options.

At Vintage Dental, we offer a variety of cosmetic dentistry options to take your smile from hidden to vivid. Whether you need a professional whitening treatment to brighten your smile, veneers to enhance the aesthetics of your teeth, or a complete smile makeover, we’re here to help.

With the New Year upon us, there’s never been a better time to start fresh with a new smile. If you’re ready to reveal your smile in 2014, give Vintage Dental a call today. We’ll discuss your smile goals and work together to determine the best cosmetic dentistry options for you. Don’t wait. A new smile – and a new you – are closer than you think.

Time, food, certain habits, and plenty of other things can cause your smile to transform from bright and white to dull and dingy. You may think it’s a quick, easy fix with a stop at your local drugstore to pick up one of those teeth whitening kits. However, Vintage Dental wants to encourage you to visit your dentist in Modesto before making any decisions on your smile whitening.

A visit to our dental office in Modesto can help determine the best whitening solution for you. We’ll discuss your desires and look into a variety of safe and easy options for your smile. Why’s this an important first step? Well, sometimes over-the-counter whitening treatments can cause more damage and produce a smile that’s not as white as you’d like.

Since many of the whitening options found at your local drugstore or supermarket come with a one-size-fits-all whitening tray or generic-sized strips, it’s really easy for the solution to reach your gums where it can sit for an extended period of time. This can actually lead to gum irritation. Additionally, some ingredients in the store whitening kits can cause tooth sensitivity and may not even allow you to reach your desired white.

By visiting your Modesto dentist before committing to a whitening regimen, we can help determine which whitening treatment is best for you. Whether it’s professional in-office whitening or a custom take-home system, a visit with us can help make your teething whitening experience safe and pain free. If we determine that your teeth are better off without a whitening treatment, we can talk about other options like porcelain veneers or dental bonding.  Either way, a visit with us is sure to get your smile bright, white, and vibrant again!

You’ll often hear us recommend that you visit us every six months, and sometimes more frequently. And it’s not just because we like to see you! All of us at Vintage Dental in Modesto want our patients to understand why keeping up with their scheduled checkups is so important.

Regular hygiene visits and checkups with your Modesto dentist are essential to maintain an overall healthy mouth and to make sure any potential dental problems are caught immediately, before they become difficult to treat and potentially dangerous.

Some dental problems have been linked to other health complications like certain cancers, heart disease, and strokes. This is why we encourage our patients to visit us at least every six months so we can put a stop to any oral dangers that may be present before they can affect the rest of your body. Sometimes, we may recommend more frequent visits to help keep you healthy.

During your recommend recare visits, we will check your teeth for decay and cavities, evaluate your gums for gum disease, and check for oral cancer, among other things. We’ll also remove any tartar or plaque that may have built up and perform a thorough cleaning for a polished, smooth smile.

So what are you waiting for? Schedule your appointment with Vintage Dental today and stop by to see us. We’ll check you for any problems that may be hiding in your mouth and get your teeth clean and feeling fresh. Give our Modesto dental office a call today!

Flossing isn’t just something all of us at the Modesto dental office of Dr. Rick Rodig recommend as an optional part of your oral healthcare routine. In fact, flossing is absolutely crucial for a healthy mouth and healthy gums.

The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends flossing at least once a day for optimal oral health. Flossing allows you to successfully remove the plaque and bacteria between your teeth that your toothbrush alone can’t reach. By flossing every day, plaque doesn’t have a chance to harden into dangerous calculus or tartar.

Flossing Tips From Vintage Dental

• Floss before brushing your teeth

• Glide the floss in between each tooth using a sawing motion

• Angle the floss in a “c” shape around the tooth and slightly below the gumline

• Repeat on the opposite tooth

• Unravel the floss from your fingers, supplying fresh floss for each set of teeth

• Finish up with a proper brushing

By properly flossing every day, you’re not only removing hard-to-reach plaque, you’re also protecting your smile from cavities and gum disease. However, it’s still important to see your dentist in Modesto regularly for checkups and professional cleanings. If you’re due for a checkup, or if you want some more tips on how to get into a healthy flossing routine, call us to schedule an appointment today!

For most people, brushing their teeth is simply something they do. It’s ingrained into their routines. They wake up, brush, go about their day, brush, go to bed. The fact that they’re brushing should be good enough, right? At Vintage Dental in Modesto we don’t think so, and you shouldn’t either.

Brushing your teeth isn’t so much about whether or not you do it — although that is pretty important — it’s more about how you brush.

By correctly brushing your teeth, you’re effectively removing plaque, tartar and bacteria, which protects your pearly whites from cavities, gum disease and a variety of other dental problems. Proper brushing also helps keep your teeth free of dangerous surface abrasions and can aid in keeping your gums healthy.

To correctly brush your teeth, it’s important that you follow some basic rules.

• Brush at least twice a day

• Use a soft-bristled toothbrush

• Aim the bristles at a 45-degree angle

• Use a soft, circular motion instead of a horizontal “scrubbing” technique

• Clean every surface of each tooth, including the front, back and chewing area

• Be sure to brush your tongue each time as well

Practicing optimal brushing techniques is sure to help protect overall oral health. However, it’s still very important to maintain regular visits to your Modesto dentist and get professional cleanings as recommended. If you’re due for a cleaning or checkup, call Vintage Dental to schedule an appointment today!

Choosing a toothpaste for you and your family isn’t as easy as it used to be. With so many options to pick from, how do you know if you’re using the right toothpaste? From fluoride to tartar control, whitening to easing tooth sensitivity, the multitude of options is confusing. But don’t worry, all of us at Vintage Dental in Modesto want to go back to the basics and explain what you should look for.

When choosing a toothpaste for you and your family, you should first narrow your search by looking for products with the American Dental Association (ADA) seal of approval. The ADA seal means that the product is safe and it does what it claims it will do. ADA approved toothpastes have undergone clinical studies by the association and the claims, whether it’s cavity fighting or tartar control, are backed by scientific findings.

Besides looking for the ADA’s approval, the most important component of a toothpaste is the ingredient fluoride. Fluoride has been proven to protect tooth enamel from decay and is crucial to maintain a healthy mouth. In fact, according to the Academy of General Dentistry, brushing with a fluoride toothpaste twice daily can reduce tooth decay by as much as 40%.

In addition to fluoride as a key ingredient to the best toothpastes, flavor is also important. While there are no real clinical benefits to certain flavors over others, it is important to like the flavor of your chosen toothpaste to encourage brushing twice a day.

Whether you choose a cavity fighting, tartar controlling spearmint toothpaste or opt for one that helps with sensitivity, using the right toothpaste is only part of maintaining a healthy mouth.

While using a fluoride infused toothpaste twice a day is a great at-home routine, it’s also very important to keep up with regularly scheduled professional dental cleanings and checkups. The Modesto dental office of Dr. Rick Rodig can help get your smile back to health and keep it that way. If you’re due for a checkup or dental cleaning, give us a call today to schedule your appointment.

At Vintage Dental in Modesto, we always encourage our patients to brush their teeth twice a day for optimal oral health. We also educate our patients on what they should look for in a toothbrush to ensure the best clean possible.

The toothbrush aisle can be an intimidating place. With so many choices, so many colors, and so many brands, we want to make the ins-and-outs of choosing the right toothbrush a bit more simple.

Size & Shape

When visiting your pharmacy or supermarket, start by looking at the size and shape. Your toothbrush should fit comfortably in your hand and feel as natural as holding a pen, and the length of the handle should be long enough to easily reach your back teeth, but not so long that it feels uncomfortable. The size of the head is also important to note. It should be of a size that you can easily fit into your mouth and reach your back teeth with ease and comfort.

Bristles

Angled bristles, straight bristles, hard ones and soft, which is the right kind to use? Actually, the design of the bristles doesn’t matter as much as using the proper brushing technique, so choose a style that’s most comfortable for you. On the other hand, knowing the difference between hard and soft bristles is important. Hard bristles can cause damage to the teeth surfaces and irritation to the gums. When you’re faced with the decision between hard and soft bristles, soft is usually the safest choice.

Manual vs. Powered

According to the American Dental Association, both manual and powered toothbrushes are effective at cleaning your teeth, and the decision between the two is personal preference. Children may find that a powered toothbrush is more fun to use and thus will brush longer, and people who have difficulty using a manual toothbrush may find success with a powered one.

The important thing to remember, whether you decide on a manual or powered toothbrush, is to make sure your choice is comfortable and easy to use and that you use it twice a day. Keeping up with regularly scheduled professional dental cleanings at the Vintage Dental in Modesto is also key to maintaining optimal oral health. If you’re due for a checkup or dental cleaning, give us a call to schedule your appointment today.

We all know that sugary foods are bad for your teeth. But did you know that some sugary foods are worse than others? And that some non-sugary snacks can also be dangerous to your smile? At Vintage Dental in Modesto, we want to educate you on the harmful effects of certain tasty treats to help you protect your smile.

While it’s common knowledge that sugar and sugary foods can cause extensive damage to the mouth, it may surprise some to know that not all sugary foods are equally dangerous. Sticky foods, and particularly sugary sticky foods, are more detrimental to teeth than sugar alone.

The sticky texture of these types of foods, including caramel and taffy, causes them to become stuck on the surfaces and in crevices of teeth. When this happens, sugars linger in the mouth for longer, making teeth more prone to decay.

Foods other than sweets can also be harmful to teeth and oral health. Hard foods like popcorn kernels and ice cubes can cause damage and even lead to broken teeth in Modesto. While teeth are strong and meant to help us chew food, they do have a breaking point. Consistent crunching of ice can lead to little cracks and chips, while snacking on popcorn can lead to other problems in the mouth.

This movie theater favorite is particularly dangerous. Hard, unpopped kernels can hide easily and aren’t detected until it’s too late, which can no doubt lead to broken or chipped teeth. But the husks can also cause issues by getting stuck in the gums and causing irritation.

To help keep smiles healthy, it’s important to see your Modesto dentist regularly for routine cleanings and checkups – especially if you’re an ice cruncher or popcorn popper. If you do happen to catch that pesky hidden kernel with your molar, don’t wait. We’re not only here to help prevent problems, we’re also here to help fix any issues you may have and get you back to smiling. Contact us to schedule your appointment today!