Some Quick National Children's Dental Health Month Activities

As National Children's Dental Health Month is wrapping up, we here at Hamlin Dental Group want to share some fun activities for teaching good dental hygiene to kids that we've found around the web. After all, we've dedicated portions of our careers to investing in engaging ways to instruct children of all ages about their teeth. Hamlin Dental Group recommends regular visits to our office to guarantee whole mouth health and to catch issues before they get worse. We have locations for a dentist in Northridge, Van Nuys, and North Hollywood, so feel free to visit the office closest to you.

Until your visit to a Hamlin dentist in Van Nuys, Northridge, or North Hollywood, here are a few ideas to inspire good dental habits at home (or perhaps suggest to your child's teacher):

• Soak hard boiled eggs in soda for a day and then brush them. This shows how bad cola can be for your teeth and it's fun to see them get white again. This can also be done with other drinks for comparison (we've seen Kool-Aid and lemonade as two other examples).
• Create a "dental describing toothbrush". It's made out of paper and the child writes how their teeth feel after brushing. Think of it as positive reinforcement!
• Floss out Play-Doh from the spaces in Mega Blocks using yarn. Most people already have these things around the house and it's a great way to practice the essentials of flossing.
• Make your own activity! The bottom of a soda bottle can be painted white to look like a tooth and you can make a mouth using egg carton teeth or marshmallows on construction paper. One particular favorite is using dry beans and pink Play-Doh.
• Twice daily brushing chart to hang in the bathroom. This seems to be very popular. Any type of visual reminder that works is great!

For fuller instructions, most of these can be searched on Google! Call Hamlin Dental Group for more information on our services at 888-400-8011.

Join Hamlin Dental Group in the Fight Against Gum Disease

February is not only Children’s Dental Awareness Month; it is also Gum Disease Awareness Month. It might seem like a strange theme for an entire month, but designating  February Gum Disease Awareness Month might seem more practical in light of the fact that gum disease, also known as periodontitis, is the most common disease in the U.S. The disease affects 85% of Americans on some level. Why, you might ask? It boils down to poor dental hygiene, lack of visits to the dentist, and, the fact that there are really no warning signs of early-stage periodontitis. Gum disease is also proven to be linked to the most serious physical conditions, like heart attack, stroke, and cancer.

We are not sharing this information to alarm our patients, but to remind them that it is so important to keep annual appointments with your Hamlin dentist in Van Nuys, Northridge, or North Hollywood. In the case that a patient is already suffering from gum disease, Hamlin Dental Group offers exceptional periodontic services to the client. Treatments for early-stage gum disease are available. In some cases, more serious measures are taken, with the Hamlin periodontist grafting replacement tissue from the roof of the mouth to the gums. 

Our patients can be sure that the Hamlin dentist in Northridge, Van Nuys, or North Hollywood will make the proper recommendations to treat existing gum disease. In the interest of preventing gum disease, schedule a dental exam with your local Hamlin office this month.

National Children's Dental Health Month

February is National Children's Dental Health Month.  As family oriented dentists, Hamlin Dental Group is, of course, dedicated to promoting good oral health and hygiene for the whole family, and children obviously hold a very special place.

At the same time, we all know that when a child goes to visit a dentist in Van Nuys or anywhere else, there can be some very special challenges. The key, we've learned, is to get on off the right foot with the child. That's why we emphasize an approach the emphasizes kindness and empathy with children and, of course, doing our very best to keep them as comfortable as possible.

If we can get little ones to feel like their Hamlin dentist in Northridge or at our other sites throughout the San Fernando Valley is a friend, and not someone to avoid, we can go a long way toward setting them on the good habits that will help preserve their teeth throughout childhood and on into adulthood. That why we make sure all of our superb, highly empathetic dentists know how to work with kids of all ages. After all, the issues that might concern a 7 year-old and a 14 year-old are pretty different, and it's important for dentists to understand that.

Truly, taking care of kids' teeth is one of the very highest priorities at Hamlin Dental Group. If we can give kids the right start in life with the dental health, the chances of them of having a healthy mouth -- and good overall health -- their entire life improves exponentially.