Your oral health affects how you look, feel about yourself, eat, speak and many other aspects of day to day life and longevity. How healthy your teeth and gums are impacts your wallet, too. Dental neglect translates to complex procedures that cost money. You and your family deserve better. Invest in preventive dentistry with Silver Lake dentist, Dr. Michael E. Michel.
(more…)There are a few questions we dentists get all the time. Some are simple to answer: how often should I floss? Every day. Other questions, though, require a little more thought and explanation. One thing a lot of patients ask about is this: what’s the difference between plaque and tartar? It’s a great question, and knowing the answer can greatly improve your oral health. Today Dr. Michael Michel, your trusted Silver Lake dentist, weighs in on plaque and tartar.
(more…)Congratulations on your pregnancy! If you didn’t know already, having a child is one of the most rewarding experiences you’ll ever have. When you bring a tiny human into this world, your world changes forever. You’re now a parent, and it’s a heavy load of responsibility that you have to carry for the rest of their lives. In order to keep your baby healthy, it’s essential that you come in for a regular dental checkup as you would normally. This gives our dental team a chance to thoroughly inspect your mouth for any problems and clean up anything we see that could be problematic down the road.
We’re calling on all moms-to-be to come in for a dental appointment. Our Silver Lake, KS office wants you to know that even though you’re pregnant, you still need to come in for a regular appointment. There are many changes that occur in your body when you’re carrying a child and some can become detrimental for your oral health. It’s imperative that you’re in great oral and overall health before giving birth. Silver Lake dentist, Dr. Michel, provides excellent dental services for each of our patients and he can treat you, too. Our dental team will provide the gentlest of care.
Did you know that eating right isn’t only important to your general health and wellbeing, it’s also important to your oral health, too? The foods and beverages you choose to consume directly—and we mean directly—affect the health of your teeth and gums. Obviously, your mouth is the point of entry for everything you eat and drink, so it should come as no surprise that your diet affects your oral health. With this in mind, Dr. Michael Michel and his staff in Topeka, KS, would like to offer some advice on how you can eat well and maintain your oral health, too.
What Foods Should You Eat?
Let’s begin by focusing on the foods that are helpful to your teeth and gums. First, dairy products such as cheese, milk and plain yogurt, along with calcium-fortified tofu, leafy greens and almonds, are foods that benefit dental health. These foods are high in calcium, which strengthens teeth just as it does bones. Protein-rich foods such as meat, poultry, fish, milk and eggs are good sources of phosphorus. Both calcium and phosphorus fortify and rebuild tooth enamel.
Even though fresh fruits and vegetables contain some sugars, they balance that out with fiber and water to clean your teeth, making them a healthy diet choice. Fruits and vegetables also stimulate saliva production to rinse decay-causing acids and food particles away from teeth and gums. Plus, many contain vitamin C, which promotes healthy gums, and vitamin A, another nutrient that builds tooth enamel.
What Foods and Drinks Should You Avoid?
The foods and drinks you try to avoid in order to maintain a healthy diet and healthy weight are essentially the same foods you should avoid for the sake of your dental health. Sweet treats—candy (especially hard or sticky candy), cookies, cakes, muffins—all contain sugars that stick to your teeth. The bacteria in your mouth thrive on these sugars and release acids that cause tooth decay. Likewise starchy foods, such as potato chips and crackers, have the same effect.
Sodas, juices, sweetened teas and coffee, some sports drinks, lemonade and limeade literally bathe your teeth in sugar, which causes tooth decay. Choose water instead, and occasionally choose tap water, which is fluoridated.
Call Our Office Today
In conjunction with a healthy diet, regular dental checkups are a must for maintaining oral health. So, schedule an appointment with Dr. Michel in Topeka, KS. We also conveniently serve patients in Emporia, Lawrence and Manhattan and surrounding areas.
Another New Year. Fresh start, clean slate, clean teeth. Yep, your read that correctly. Clean teeth. Why not start the New Year off with a beautiful and healthy smile? With preventive dentistry from Dr. Michael Michel in Topeka, KS, you and your entire family can look forward to a year of your best oral health.
As a family and general dentist, Dr. Michel’s primary concern is preventing oral health problems before you experience even one symptom. With this in mind, and following the recommendation of the American Dental Association, Dr. Michel and his team would like to see you and yours for dental checkups every six months.
At these checkups, we will clean your teeth and remove plaque, check for any signs of gum disease, examine for tooth decay and take x-rays when necessary to find hidden spots of decay. Of course, if decay is found, then Dr. Michel will want to treat as soon as possible with a tooth-colored filling made of composite resin. Left untreated, decay can lead to further tooth damage, the need for root canal therapy or even tooth extraction.
In the case of gum disease, the need for expedient treatment is likewise necessary. Dr. Michel will treat with deep cleaning below the gum line and antibiotics at the site. These will help eliminate the bacteria that causes the infection of gum disease. This bacteria can spread throughout the body and increase your risk of heart disease, pulmonary infections, gastric ulcer re-infection, and other severe health issues. Thus, healthy gums are not only imperative to your oral healthy, but to your overall health, as well.
Schedule an Appointment Today
If you would like to start your New Year with a clean slate and clean teeth, then call the office of Dr. Michael Michel in Topeka, KS. We also offer preventive, restorative and cosmetic dentistry services to patients in Topeka, Emporia, Lawrence, Manhattan, and surrounding areas.
With over 80% of the population living with some form of gum disease, chances are you may be living with it as well and not even be aware of it! Though it may not seem like a big deal, severe stages of gum disease can affect multiple areas of your body, putting you at a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, dementia, tooth loss, bone loss, and much more. Healthy gums and healthy teeth go hand-in-hand, and Dr. Michael Michel stresses the magnitude of periodontal therapy for a healthier you!
It may seem scary, but the good thing is that gum disease is completely reversible if taken care of early. When you come in for your appointment, Dr. Michel will be able to get a comprehensive look at your smile and assess the current state of your gums. He will perform routine scaling and root-planing, that way we are able to remove plaque and tartar as well as the bacteria along your gum line.
There are things you can do to keep that clean feeling lasting even after you leave our office. Brushing and flossing at least twice a day, preferably between meals, is a simple yet effective way of having excellent oral health. Also, be sure to invest in an antibacterial mouthwash. Though brushing and flossing your teeth definitely removes bacteria, the mouthwash is able to reach all the small corners the toothbrush didn’t get.
At Michel Dental, we offer quality dental care for a distinctive smile. Our Topeka dental office serves patients from Emporia, Lawrence, Manhattan, and surrounding areas. Call us today to schedule your appointment.
Fall is on the way and your children are heading back to school for another year of learning. Make sure they’re starting the school year out right by making sure they’ve had their regular dental checkup. At Michel Dental, we recommend that once your child has reached the age of four or five that they should have two dental checkup appointments a year.
Your child’s dental checkup appointment is where we clean their teeth and gums as well as inspecting for any potential problems. This also allows us to make sure their teeth are growing and developing correctly. Brushing and flossing are important parts of home tooth care, and we’ll make sure your children are learning the correct techniques.
While back to school can often be a hectic time of year, it’s still important to make time to care for you and your child’s smile. With proper dental care, your teeth can last you for a lifetime. If it’s been a while since your child’s last dental checkup appointment, please give us a call today to schedule one. Helping your child start off the school year with a beautiful smile is as simple as picking up the phone.
At Michel Dental, we offer quality dental care for a distinctive smile. Our Topeka dental office serves patients from Emporia, Lawrence, Manhattan, and surrounding areas. Call us today to schedule your appointment.
While we can treat your smile once problems arise, at Michel Dental we like to focus on preventative dentistry. Taking the time to care for your smile now can save you lots of hassle and problems in the future. This is as simple as making sure you visit us every six months for your checkup appointment.
The dental checkup is an integral part of preventative dentistry. We’ll thoroughly examine your entire smile, and use an intraoral camera to get a complete picture of the inside of your mouth. This technology allows us to fully examine your smile and be able to clearly see if there’s any potential issues with your teeth. This also allows us to clearly show you what’s going on with your smile so you fully understand any treatments you’re agreeing to.
We can also help you to review proper brushing and flossing techniques, and to address any questions or concerns that you might have. While visiting us twice a year might seem like a hassle, not going would leave your teeth susceptible to disease and decay.
Preventative dentistry plays an important role in your overall dental health. By visiting us regularly to make sure your teeth are clean and healthy, you’re helping to ensure the health of your teeth and giving us the opportunity to catch and correct small issues before they become a smile problem.
At Michel Dental, we offer quality dental care for a distinctive smile. Our Topeka dental office serves patients from Emporia, Lawrence, Manhattan, and surrounding areas. Call us today to schedule your appointment.
At Michel Dental, we want all our Topeka-area patients to have beautiful, healthy smiles. But for some patients, achieving that goal is more difficult than it is for others. That’s why Dr. Michael Michel has made it a priority to offer advanced periodontal care. Through effective, non-surgical gum disease treatment, we can help you reclaim your oral health and support overall health.
Advanced, Non-Surgical Care to Meet Your Needs
To meet the needs of our patients, Dr. Michel uses three effective means of treating gum disease:
Each of these lets us target an aspect of gum disease, resulting improved health for you. Arestin in particular is an effective tool in the fight against periodontal disease.
Arestin is a concentrated antibiotic that Dr. Michel places directly where you need it. It uses microscopic, medicine-filled spheres to deliver treatment over a series of days, making it more effective than just a basic in-office treatment with scaling and root planing.
Are you interested in learning more about periodontal therapy from Michel Dental? Dr. Michel would be happy to answer your questions during a consultation visit. Call us today if you’d like to set up an appointment. Our office serves patients from Topeka, Emporia, Lawrence, Manhattan, and surrounding areas.
Do you catch yourself drifting off at work, even though you’re getting at least eight hours of sleep each night? Do you feel irritable or have trouble concentrating? Has your partner ever complained about your snoring?
All of these could indicate that you have a condition called sleep apnea, which, if left untreated, could increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, and other complications.
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Patients with sleep apnea have trouble breathing while they sleep. And by trouble, we mean that patients actually stop breathing for at least 10 or more seconds.
Sounds serious, doesn’t it?
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