Take the Milk, Leave the Cookies

Hamlin Dentistry wishes all those celebrating Christmas with family and friends a happy and healthy holiday! Here are a few tips to ensure that keeping up on your oral hygiene remains a part of your family’s holiday plans.

1. Remember to brush when traveling! Traveling to a hotel or relative’s house often encourages us to break our normal routines, but it’s important to maintain proper brushing habits even for those few days away.
2. Limit your sugar intake! Just because you and the kids leave out a plate of cookies for Santa doesn’t mean that you have to eat them all. But, as always, the glass of milk can’t hurt when it comes to keeping your teeth and bones strong and healthy. Family dentistry is all about making sure everyone in the family, young and old, is doing the best they can for their teeth. 
3. Don’t crack a tooth on a candy cane! This one speaks for itself. If you are unlucky enough for this to happen, call Hamlin and we can help you get back to a perfect smile in no time!

By paying close attention to your dental health and scheduling regular visits with Hamlin Dental Group, you'll be sure that your family will have bright and shining smiles in Holiday cards for years to come.

A Dentist for Everyone in the Family!

Comprehensive family dentistry requires a team of highly-trained specialists ready to handle the needs of every patient, young and old. For over 15 years, Hamlin Dental Group has been serving the Los Angeles area with general and cosmetic services performed by our experienced and knowledgeable team of dentists and dental assistants. While some dental offices specialize in one thing, making families drive around town to get all of their needs met, Hamlin Dental group has it all.

Whether you visit our child friendly location in Van Nuys, or our luxurious location in North Hollywood, you can be sure that you are getting exactly what you need from a dentist you can trust. Proper oral hygiene is more than just regular brushing, and our dentists can make sure that both kids and adults or doing everything they can for a healthy, happy-looking smile. 

Whether you are looking for a pediatric dentist for the little ones, an orthodontist for teens or adults, or a cosmetic dentist to place veneers or dental implants for mom and dad, Hamlin Dental group offers something for the whole family.

You're Not Too Busy!

Though you probably think you are. Yes, at Hamlin Dental Group we are perfectly aware that the holidays are upon us and people have a lot of running around to do. It's even possible we have a few things to do of our own!

However, if you are, in fact, overdue for a visit with your North Hollywood, Northridge or Van Nuys dentist, please don't try to use holiday hustle and bustle as an excuse to put off an important visit with your dentist, even if it's only for a routine teeth cleaning. The fact of the matter is that, even with thorough brushing and flossing and overall good oral hygiene, every day our teeth accumulate a substance which is technically known as, er, gunk. (Okay, that's not the actual dental term, but most of you aren't dental professionals. We know this.)

This gunk can accumulate and cause a host of conditions which we will technically describe as icky breath, ouchies, and lots of other things that can really put a serious crimp in your day. Since periodontal problems can also be, in the worst cases, very literally as serious as a heart attack, this is something, I think we can all agree, you definitely want to avoid.

So call us and set up an appointment. We're here to help you avoid ouchies, permanently icky breath, and all the rest. 

Don't Go into the Holidays with Grummy Teeth!

The holiday are upon us! With the season in full swing, there’s plenty to love. From Christmas cookies to gift giving to peppermint mochas, embracing the holiday spirit certainly has its perks. Here at the Hamlin Dental Group, our team is excited about the holidays too, and we want to help spread the cheer. When you think about joyous festivities, you probably don’t think about the dentist. Nevertheless, no matter what your background or form of celebration is, our rituals of spending time with one probably all share one thing in common: they make us smile.

Smiling is an important expression of our humanity, but many among us try to mask theirs due to embarrassment from missing or damaged teeth. Our team at Hamlin is dedicated to helping people achieve bright and healthy smiles that they can feel proud of. It might be tempting to put off any dental treatment until the new year, but you should absolutely not wait if you need treatment. Oral hygiene is important, and you can’t fully achieve it without regular visits to the dentist. You’re going to be doing a lot of smiling this season. Make sure it’s a healthy one by taking a visit a top to a top office that practices family dentistry like the Hamlin Dental Group!

Avoid the Dental Grinch!

Thanksgiving and Black Friday have just about past, but the holidays are only just getting started. We love holidays at Hamlin Dental Group, probably more than your typical dentists' office. That's why we think it's just terrible when something gets in the way of holiday fun.

Sadly, your teeth and gums are one of those things that can seriously hamper your seasonal good times if you don't pay them proper attention with good oral hygiene and regular dental visits. Obviously, the often extremely nasty pain of a sudden toothache is a pretty obvious threat to any fun at all while you're experiencing it. A less obvious holiday buzzkill, however, are periodontal problems. Aside from the long-term health issues associated with gum disease (including increased risks of heart problems), halitosis -- the polite medical term for bad breath -- is frequently an issue. The holidays are definitely less fun if everyone runs away the minute they see you approaching the mistletoe!

Of course, the solution to all of these problems is take advantage of the very best family dentistry you can find, and that's obviously what we're all about here at Hamlin Dental Group. Give us a call and we'll do our best to make sure that your holidays are as jolly as they're supposed to be.

More Than Just Teeth and Gums

While many people assume that a dentist’s only job is to make sure your gums are healthy and your teeth are cavity free, there are many other aspects of a regular bi-annual dental check-up that are essential to your oral hygiene.

Your dentist is an expert at identifying and fixing all the common problems that may occur with your teeth and gums, but they can also serve as a comprehensive oral doctor. When performing an examination, a highly-professional dentist will examine your jaw, salivary glands, and your head and neck muscles in an effort to diagnose any potential problems or illnesses. These are things that being even the most diligent brusher will not prevent. We make sure that your bi-annual family dentistry checkups are a very important part of your overall preventative health regiment.

Your oral health is more than just teeth and gums, and the Hamlin Dental Group is proud to offer you and your family the whole package at either our Northridge, Van Nuys, or North Hollywood locations.

Stay Away From Back Alley Dentistry!

Though it may seem overly obvious to say so: letting cheapness be your most important deciding factor for finding dental treatment just isn’t the best way to go. As headlines continue to be dominated by terrible tales of patients who experienced discomfort or misfortune at the hands of shady, unqualified dentists, our experts here at the Hamlin Dental Group can’t help but feel advocate for the better solution: only trust the certified experienced professionals! 

In this story coming out of New York City, up to 4,000 patients were burned by an iffy practice that up and disappeared overnight. Thousands were lift without access to their dental records or an ability to get a refund for money paid upfront for services. While State investigation and the Attorney General have begun the process of helping patients seek compensation, it’s still placed a huge burden and hassle on working class families. 

You should avoid these circumstances at all costs. Do you research, and only trust proven specialists like the ones here at Hamlin for all of your family dentistry needs. Our dedicated team provides a range of services from oral hygiene, to cosmetic dentistry to meet your every demand. Contact us today for the well trusted choice in you community!

Dental Myths

We stumbled over an article -- actually delivering some rather old news -- discussing how the legend that our nation's first president, George Washington, was just that, a legend. Seems he actually had more high class dentures made of ivory and other highly non-wooden products.

At Hamlin Dental Group, we're definitely committed to fostering truthfulness when it comes to all kinds of dental matters, though we admit that separating fact from fiction isn't always easy. Certain things are definitely true: sugary foods really can be very bad for your teeth; twice yearly dental visits really really are essential. Other things are definitely untrue: Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson is very definitely not the Tooth Fairy, for example. He just played the character in a movie. The real Tooth Fairy looks nothing like him!

The truth of other beliefs is less clear. You don't have to be a patriotic North Hollywood dentist to have heard that British teeth are, shall we say, not all that you would expect from one of the world's great nations. On the one hand, we've all seen the jokes aimed at everyone from the UK's royal family to extremely fictional superspy Austin Powers about poor English dental hygiene. However, some argue that it's simply that British celebrities are less concerned with dental uniformity and therefore don't always take advantage of the outstanding cosmetic dentistry that is standard among American celebs. We'll call that one a wash.

Fortunately for our pateints, being straightforward with patients about facts relating to a patient's dental health is a cornerstone of Hamlin's approach to family dentistry with a friendly and personal touch. We're here to give you the facts and let the myths take care of themselves!

Keep Your Fangs Sharp and Healthy with Great Oral Hygiene!

Ghosts. Ghouls. Spooks. Witches. Draculas. Each is a frightening beast that you'll no doubt come across on this most eerie of nights. However, at Hamlin Dental Group, we want you to remember that there's more than creepy spirits going bump in the night to be afraid of during the Halloween season.

November is a busy time of year at our gentle family dentistry facility, and after a night of trick-or-treating, it should be no surprise why. All those chocolates, sweets and sugary candies can lead to seriously scary tooth decay and cavities long after the jack-o-lanterns have been put away in favor of turkeys and stuffing. To make sure your mouth is prepared for next month's holiday feast, we want to remind you to be extra careful to avoid cavities from Halloween candy.

Cavities are permanently damaged areas in the hard surface of your teeth that create tiny holes. If cavities go untreated, they get harder to treat, and can lead to serious long-term issues. So what's a trick-or-treat enthusiast to do? Practice good oral hygiene! Regular visits to our team at Hamlin Dental Group and brushing and flossing daily can go a long way toward protecting your teeth. So enjoy your scary night, and keep hygiene in mind with Hamlin Dental Group.