Meadowlark Dental Care Blog

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year This time of year is full of sweet treats and baked goods, something we all love. Our teeth, however, may need a little bit of a break from them. If that's the case, here are a few recipes and ideas for healthier  holiday snacks and treats to bring to your next holiday party. Just click on the links to see the recipes on the respective sites. 1.  Christmas Tree Vegetable Trays 2.  Ham & Cheese Christmas Cracker Snack   3.  Black Olive Penguins   4.  Reindeer Snack   5.  Guacamole Christmas Wreath   Enjoy the holidays! ~Cyrus M. Larson, DMD

Happy Halloween! Halloween, a sugarpalooza, is a lot of kids' favorite time of the year! Sugar galore, fun costumes, and more sugar are the hallmark traits of this holiday. With sugar abounding, how can your teeth even stand a chance to stay healthy? Here are a few tricks for the treats to help prevent extra trips to the dentist this season: 1. Avoid sticky or hard candies.  Any candy that is going to stay on your teeth for an extended period of time is the worst type you can have for your teeth. Sticky candies are harder to get off your teeth so all of that sugar gets extra time to feed cavity-causing bacteria. Hard candies can do the same thing if they are sucked on, but also have an additional draw back in that they are the cause of many a broken tooth when attempted to be chewed. If these are your favorite kind of candies, just make sure that you brush right after eating them and never chew hard candies. 2. Don't snack on candy. The more often you snack on s...

Taking good care of your teeth is important. Brushing and flossing are a must, but what if you brush twice a day for two minutes and floss everyday and STILL are getting cavities? If that is the case, it may be time to look at your diet. Start by looking at your sugar intake. The worst kind of sugar (for your teeth) is whatever is going to have consistent exposure to them. Soda and sticky candies are usually the worst because they are typically sipped throughout the day or they stick to your teeth. They are destructive to your tooth's enamel. The enamel of your tooth is important because it is the hard exterior that protects the softer inside of your tooth that surrounds the nerve. When sugars are either left on your teeth or are constantly exposed to your teeth, they weaken your enamel and the sugar combined with bacteria that is found in your mouth start to eat away at your tooth causing decay. Sugar is delicious, and I am just as guilty as the next of having a "...