Valentines Day Tips from Weston Florida’s Top Cosmetic Dentist

To most of us Valentines Day means flowers, candy, kissing and maybe even a glass of red wine or two. There’s no doubt your mouth plays a featured role in this holiday. Here are a few tips to make sure you are ready for the big day.

Give Flowers Not Cavities

As a kid you probably heard on the playground that you could get “couties” from kissing. While you may have changed your opinion of kissing as an adult that childhood advice wasn’t entirely wrong.  Kissing can stimulates saliva, which can actually help you to fight cavities. But if your Valentine has poor dental health, you run the risk of getting unwanted germs. If they have bacteria in their mouth that causes them cavities it can spread to you. Make sure your sweetheart is brushing twice daily and that they only give you flowers or candy not cavities this Valentine’s Day.

Take a Breath

Nobody wants bad breath especially when you are getting up close for Valentine’s Day. Bacteria is a big cause of bad breath. Of course regular brushing and flossing is essential for fresh breath but it’s sometimes not enough. After a romantic meal you can always use an ADA approved over the counter mouthwash or sugarless gum to help freshen up.

Whiten Up You Smile

There is nothing less attractive then yellow stained teeth. Valentines’ Day is a good time to think about teeth whitening. Many stains are underneath the enamel and the only effective method to reach them is having a cosmetic dentist apply a special product.

At our office, two systems are used: 

• ZOOM: This technique is a teeth bleaching accomplished in the dentist’s chair. Lips and gums are protected, and the ZOOM gel is applied to the teeth. The procedure involves three applications with a 15-minute wait time between each. Results can be dramatic. 
• Opalescence: This process is very similar except no light is used. The lips and gums are protected then the gel is applied to each tooth. Wait time is 20 minutes between applications rather than 15 but only two applications are required. 

Be Sweet But Not Too Sweet

If you are giving chocolate this year remember, chocolate is good but dark chocolate is even better. Most people love it and it can be cleaned off teeth easier than most other candy. If your are giving sweets offer dark chocolate it has less sugar than milk chocolate.

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

Original source: https://firstwestondentist.com/weston-teeth-whitening-dentist-valentines-day/