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Healthy teeth make you happy to share your smile with the world. But there’s more to your smile than its beauty! There’s a lot of hard work going on, too. 

Teeth Are Designed for Efficient Eating

Because humans are omnivores, we can eat both meat and plants. That’s why our teeth have different shapes—they’re meant to help us process different types of food. 

• Incisors, our front teeth, have sharpish edges to help cut through meats and other firm foods when we bite.
• Canines, the pointed teeth, help tear food into bite-size portions.
• Premolars are flat topped teeth with two cusps, raised points which help us grind food.
• Molars are the flat-topped teeth in the rear of the mouth. They have four cusps to grind and crush food into a paste-like consistency. 

So: Incisors and canines bite and tear food into smaller pieces, which molars and premolars then crush and grind into a paste. Bite, tear, crush, grind—why all this food aggression? Because that’s the key to healthy digestion. 

Successful digestion begins with chewing. Chewing:

• Starts the process of breaking food down into digestible particles.
• Increases saliva production. Saliva binds food particles so that we can swallow easily.
• Expands the surface area of food particles, which allows the digestive system to extract nutrients more efficiently. 

When biting causes you pain, it can be hard to chew food. Swallowing becomes difficult when food particles are too large, and digestion becomes uncomfortable.

Bite pain can occur when there’s a deep cavity or an injured tooth, but it can also be caused when the teeth and jaws don’t fit together the way that they should. This misalignment is called a malocclusion, or bad bite. And while a malocclusion often makes eating more difficult, it can have further damaging effects as well.

Teeth Are Designed to Be Good Partners

While eating is probably the first thing that comes to mind when we think about dental duties, our teeth also work in coordination with other parts of our bodies. A malocclusion can interfere with these normally smooth interactions, affecting:

• Tooth and Jaw Health

Biting, chewing, and clenching put hundreds of pounds of pressure on our teeth and jaws. A misaligned bite misapplies this pressure, which can lead to damaged and unevenly worn teeth, tooth grinding, headaches, jaw pain, and other problems. 

• Speech

Our teeth work with our tongues and lips to form many of the phonetic sounds which make up speech. Try saying the word “teeth,” and see how your tongue and teeth work together! Misaligned teeth and jaws can affect speech development in children and pronunciation in children and adults.

• Face Shape

Our teeth and jaws help give shape to our faces. Alignment problems can affect facial symmetry and self-confidence.

You Can Help Your Teeth Work Their Best

Daily brushing and flossing, eating a healthy diet, and regular visits to your dentist for exams and cleanings help your teeth perform their many daily duties. But if bite problems are causing troubles with eating, tooth or jaw pain, difficulty speaking, or self-consciousness, it’s time to team up with your orthodontist. 

And just like your everyday dental care, orthodontic treatment works best with your active participation. 

• Make sure your teeth are their cleanest with careful brushing and flossing. You may need to brush and floss more often while you’re in treatment.
• If you wear braces, eat a braces-friendly diet. 
• Wear aligners, bands, or appliances for the hours recommended each day.
• Keep up with your orthodontic visits to keep your treatment on schedule.

Talk to your orthodontist to learn more about how to help your teeth work their best for you—and be ready to share that beautiful, hard-working smile!

Whether you’re using the latest note-taking app or old-school pen and paper, it’s a good time to start jotting down your resolutions for a healthier, happier New Year. To help the process along, we have some suggestions for traditional tooth-friendly resolutions—and also some ideas which might surprise you!

The Classics

• Brush and Floss Regularly

If you’re brushing for two minutes each time you brush, great work! Often, though, that two-minute window starts to shrink as our brushing routine becomes *too* routine. Try timing yourself while you brush normally. If you’re falling quite a bit short of two minutes, taking just a bit more time will be lots more effective in removing plaque from your teeth. And flossing is essential to remove irritating plaque and bacteria from between teeth and around the gumline.

Typically, dentists recommend brushing twice a day and flossing once daily. If the team at Kubo Orthodontic Group recommends brushing and flossing more often to keep your brackets and wires free from food particles and built-up plaque, be sure to stick to this new schedule for a beautiful, cavity-free smile when your orthodontic treatment is complete.

• Use Fluoride Toothpaste

Fluoride toothpaste doesn’t just help prevent cavities by cleaning away plaque and food particles. It also helps make our enamel stronger. 

Acids created by plaque bacteria and acids in our diet dissolve minerals from tooth enamel, making it softer and more vulnerable to cavities. Fluoride bonds with the minerals in enamel to create an even stronger protective enamel coating. Check with your dentist or the American Dental Association’s website for the best toothpaste choices for healthy, strong enamel.

• See Your Dentist Regularly

Dentists typically recommend a full dental exam and cleaning twice each year. Your dental team will take X-rays as needed, examine your teeth, gums, and general oral health, and screen for oral cancer. A professional cleaning will remove plaque and tartar, which is especially important for gum health and for protecting the enamel near your brackets and wires, where plaque tends to build up.

Being proactive with your dental care means you’ll be sharing your healthy smile all year long—as well as discovering any potential problems before they can develop into major problems!

The Surprises

• Chew (Sugarless) Gum

When you’re not producing enough saliva, you feel the effects of dry mouth, including sore throat, difficulty swallowing, and bad breath. Another side effect? Poorer dental health. 

Saliva helps neutralize the acidic foods we eat, washes away bacteria and food particles, and contains minerals like calcium and phosphorus which remineralize tooth enamel. Chewing sugarless gum encourages saliva production. Check with Dr. Robert Kubo and Dr. James Kubo to see if it’s okay to chew sugar-free gum if you wear braces, and, if you use aligners, be sure to remove them before chewing and brush before putting them on again.

• Don’t Brush Right After Eating

Brushing after a meal is great to remove food particles like sugars and carbs which stick to our teeth—and braces—and which the bacteria in plaque thrive on. But if you’ve been eating or drinking acidic foods, it’s best to wait about an hour before brushing. 

Acids in foods, like acids created by bacteria, weaken tooth enamel. Brushing right away can be abrasive and damage enamel, but if you wait for an hour, the minerals in saliva have a chance to remineralize and restore your enamel strength.

• Toss Your Toothbrush

Not that we mean give up brushing altogether! But your toothbrush bristles start to fray and fan out after several months, meaning that you won’t be getting the full cleaning effects of your great brushing technique. Put a note on your calendar to replace your brush every three to four months for the best in plaque removal.

If you’re already following all these suggestions for protecting your dental health, resolve to keep up the good work! If not, give these easy-to-follow recommendations a try. Protecting your dental health is essential to gift yourself a new year filled with happy, healthy smiles in Fresno, CA.

People have been ushering in the New Year for centuries but it became an official holiday in 1582 when Pope George XIII declared January 1st to be the day on which everyone would celebrate the New Year. At midnight people would yell, holler, and blow horns to scare away the evil spirits of the previous year so the New Year would be joyous and filled with opportunity. Nearly 500 years later, we still greet the New Year by whooping and hollering, but in a celebratory manner instead. Whether you intend to ring in the New Year quietly at home in the Fresno, CA area or have plans to join the countdown at a gala extravaganza, these tips can help you ring out the old and usher in the new with a smile.

Tips for a Happy New Year's Eve Celebration from Kubo Orthodontic Group

• Be Safe. There's no way to predict the behavior of others on New Year's Eve, but you can be responsible for your own behavior to keep yourself safe. If adult beverages will be part of your celebration, plan on spending the night wherever you are or line up a designated driver to bring you home after the party is over.
• Enjoy Family and Friends. Spending time with the important people in your life is what makes the holidays enjoyable. Coordinate your schedules and choose New Year's Eve activities that everyone in the group will enjoy. You don't have to go to a party to ring in the New Year; some people like to go bowling, see a movie, or have a great meal at home.
• Accessorize with a Smile. Whether you dress up or have a quiet dinner with family and friends, one of the best accessories you can add to your attire is a beautiful smile.

New Year's Eve is a time to gather with friends and family, reflect on the year that's coming to an end, and look forward to the new one with anticipation. Enjoy this transitional holiday in a way that's safe, healthy, and fun. After all, counting down until the clock strikes 12 marks the beginning of a full year of opportunity ahead of you. From Dr. Robert Kubo and Dr. James Kubo, have a great new year!.

Braces aren’t just for kids. Many grownups are taking advantage of orthodontic treatment and having their teeth straightened at a later age.

Sometimes, patients include adults who already had braces in the past, but their teeth shifted over time once they stopped wearing their retainers. In other cases, adults who have never had braces are tired of having crooked teeth and ready to invest in a beautiful smile.

Whatever the case may be, if you’re looking to straighten your teeth with braces, Dr. Robert Kubo and Dr. James Kubo would love to help you with this process. Having a dazzling smile can increase your confidence in all areas of your life!

Depending on what you’re willing to spend and how quickly you would like to complete the process, you have various options for getting braces. We all know what traditional metal braces look like. This is a less-expensive route for individuals who have severely crooked or displaced teeth. However, many adults avoid option because the braces are noticeable or distracting in a professional atmosphere.

For people concerned about aesthetics, clear ceramic braces may be a preferable option. This type can still fix extremely crooked teeth or jaw alignment issues. It may be slightly more expensive than traditional metal braces. Patients who choose this treatment route need to be careful not to stain the clear adhesives by drinking too much coffee, red wine, soda, or other beverages that can discolor teeth.

Another great option for adults who don’t want to have visible braces is a clear aligner treatment known as Invisalign®. This popular option differs from traditional braces by featuring a series of clear aligners that are each custom-made for your teeth.

The entire process can take anywhere from three to 18 months to straighten your teeth completely. This may not be the best choice for patients who have an overcrowded mouth or extreme bite issues. Invisalign is often the most expensive option, but it’s great if you’re concerned about your appearance while your teeth are being straightened.

If you’ve been thinking about straightening your teeth with the help of braces, don’t hesitate to contact our Fresno, CA office to set up a consultation. From there, Dr. Robert Kubo and Dr. James Kubo can figure out the best course of treatment, depending on your budget and overall needs.

Adult braces can be a great way to boost your confidence and finally give you the smile you’ve always wanted.