SPRING- A Lovely Reminder of How Beautiful Change Can Truly Be. 

April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month and we are running a fun campaign in our office to raise some money! For each photo that one of our patients takes blowing a bubblegum bubble and posts to one of their social media accounts with our office tagged- we will donate 5$ to Oral Cancer Cause. We would love to raise some good money for a good cause and we need your help! We will be running this campaign for all of April so you have plenty of time to participate. Let’s have some fun and raise some money!

WE’VE ALL HEARD OF the Tooth Fairy, even if the details are a little different from one family to the next. But did you know that the Tooth Fairy is only common in certain countries? Across the world, there are many different ways families celebrate a child losing a tooth!

El Ratoncito Perez And La Petite Souris

In many countries, instead of a tooth fairy, they have a tooth mouse! Spanish-speaking countries such as Spain, Guatemala, and Mexico have their teeth swapped for coins by El Ratoncito Perez (also known as Raton Miguelito). La Petit Souris (Little Mouse) collects the baby teeth of children in France and Switzerland.

Some countries like Argentina also have a tooth mouse, but instead of putting the tooth under a pillow, children place it in a glass of water and wait for a coin to take its place by morning!

Children of other countries that celebrate this mythical mouse believe if they put their tooth under their pillow, the mouse won’t trade it for money or candy, but it will guarantee that the new tooth grows in strong and healthy.

Tooth To The Roof

In countries like Greece, China, Singapore, and Vietnam, children throw their teeth on the roof. Some of these countries believe if the tooth lands straight, the new tooth will grow in straight, but if it lands crooked, the new tooth will grow in crooked! Do you have good enough aim for that tradition?

Native American Traditions

There are many different ways American Indian tribes celebrate losing a tooth. The Cherokee Indian children would run around the house with the tooth and throw it on the roof while saying, “Beaver, put a new tooth in my jaw!” four times.

The children of the Dene Yellowknives, on the other hand, give the lost tooth to their mother or grandmother, who in turn puts the tooth in a tree. Then the family dances around the tree to encourage the tooth to grow in as straight as the trunk!

The Tooth Fairy And Money

The tradition we’re most familiar with, of course, is the Tooth Fairy. In the United States, Denmark, England, and Australia, when a child loses their tooth, they put it under their pillow at night in hopes that the Tooth Fairy will come and replace it with money (or sometimes candy).

If your or your children are bored with the Tooth Fairy and are looking for ways to spice up your family traditions, here are a few neat alternatives you could try instead of just replacing the tooth with money! If you’re really good at video editing and special effects, you might even do something like this:

Have Fun With Loose Teeth Traditions!

Whether it’s a Tooth Fairy, a mouse, or dancing around a tree, losing a tooth is a special occasion anywhere in the world, with many different ways to make it exciting and fun. Does your family have a cool tradition for loose teeth? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below or when your child comes in for their next visit!

Good luck with those baby teeth, and remember: we’re rooting for you!

DID YOU KNOW that November is Diabetes Awareness Month?

THE AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION estimates that 23.1 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes (whether it be type 1, type 2, or gestational). At least another 7 million remain undiagnosed, and that doesn’t include the additional millions who are considered pre-diabetic. But what does diabetes have to do with oral health? Unfortunately, quite a lot.

Diabetes And Gum Disease

Diabetes is a chronic disease that either means the pancreas doesn’t produce insulin (type 1) or that the body doesn’t use it effectively (type 2 and gestational), both of which cause elevated blood glucose. The most serious impact elevated blood glucose has on oral health is that it simultaneously weakens the immune system and provides more food for the bacteria that attack teeth and gums.

This two-pronged attack is why 22% of diabetics also have gum disease, whether in the early stages of inflammation (gingivitis) or in the advanced stages (periodontitis) that threaten the teeth, gums, and supporting bone. The bacteria that causes gum disease can also travel through the bloodstream and make it even harder to regulate blood sugar.

In addition to increasing the risk of gingivitis and periodontitis, uncontrolled diabetes can also lead to a variety of other oral health problems, such as:

• Dry mouth
• Burning mouth syndrome
• Impaired or slower healing
• Increased severity and frequency of infections
• Fungal infections
• Salivary gland enlargement

What You Can Do

Now for the good news: even with diabetes, good oral health is within reach. Even better: keeping your teeth and gums healthy will also make the diabetes easier to manage! Make sure to brush twice a day for two minutes with a soft-bristled brush and fluoride toothpaste, floss daily or use a water flosser or interdental brush, use a non-alcoholic mouthwash, and don’t smoke. Carefully regulating your sugar intake is a major factor as well.

The Dentist’s Role

If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, the standard two dental exams per year may not be enough. To stay on the safe side, we recommend that you increase the number of yearly visits to three or four. It is also crucial for us to know how you and your doctor are working together to get it under control. Likewise, your doctor needs to know how we are working with you to keep your teeth and gums healthy.

We can help you win the fight for your dental health!

Office News 

Check out the winners of this years pumpkin contest! Thank you to all our amazing patients that voted and all the kind compliments we received. What will we come up with next year??

We are so happy that all the road construction around our office is done and to celebrate we are running a promotion on crown and bridge treatment! Starting Monday November 13th thru November 3oth we are offering a 10% discount on any crown and bridge work that is scheduled at select appointment times. Now is a great time to get any work that you have been holding off done because insurance dollars are about to expire as well. Give us a call today to schedule! 

Starting November 20th thru December 10th we will be running a fun office giveaway for tickets to the new Star Wars movie! Check out all the easy ways to enter the contest and follow us on social media @sperbeckdental for all other office updates and contests!

Happy November to all our amazing patients and we hope everyone gets to spends some quality time with their families this Thanksgiving!

MOST OF US find ourselves craving something sweet every once in a while—or perhaps more often than that, especially with all the Halloween candy floating around! Unfortunately, as good as sweet treats taste, they can have a big impact on our dental health.

Sugar And Your Teeth

There are many ways that sugar is bad for our overall health, but it’s also specifically bad for our teeth. Our mouths are diverse microbiomes containing dozens of species of bacteria, both harmful and beneficial, that can reproduce multiple times per day. Sugar may taste good to us, but harmful bacteria love it. They eat the sugar that sticks to our teeth and excrete acid that dissolves tooth enamel, leading to tooth decay.

Brushing twice a day and flossing once a day is usually enough to keep the bacteria populations under control, but your teeth will thank your for avoiding excess sugar. So how can we satisfy a sweet tooth craving without also satisfying the cravings of millions of harmful bacteria? By cooking sugar-free desserts, of course!

Healthier Sweet Options

There are a few ways you can cut down on sugar without cutting down on sweets when you’re cooking. Some of them can be pricey, so your budget might play a role in determining which one you use.

Rebaudioside A

Rebaudioside A is a polyol or sugar alcohol produced by Stevia, a leafy South American plant. The FDA has approved rebaudioside A as a safe food additive, which means we can cook with it. But what makes it better for our teeth than sugar? Well, all those hungry bacteria in our mouths can’t digest sugar alcohols. We get to enjoy the sweet taste, but they don’t! The only downside is that it can leave a bitter aftertaste if you use too much. Since you only need one teaspoon to match the sweetness of a whole cup of sugar, it’s easy to overdo it.

Xylitol and Erythritol

Xylitol and Erythritol are two more sugar alcohols that serve as excellent sweeteners. You may be familiar with xylitol, because that’s what sweetens sugar-free gum. While it’s even better for your teeth than other sugar alcohols–which is why dentists recommend it–it might not be the best to cook with, as it can cause digestive discomfort if you eat too much of it. Erythritol doesn’t have that drawback, but it can be pretty expensive.

Fruit

Fruit is another great sugar substitute. If you’d rather work with ingredients you already know, unsweetened applesauce, bananas, dates, and figs are four great replacements for table sugar that you can use in many recipes. You’ll end up with desserts that are still sweet and moist, but which contain far less sugar, which your teeth will appreciate. Fruits are sweet because they contain fructose, a type of sugar, but you’ll use less sugar overall by using pureed fruit instead of table sugar.

Need some extra inspiration for a sugar-free treat? Check out this sugar-free cheesecake recipe below!

Keep Up With Your Oral Health Basics

Even if you completely cut out all foods that are bad for your teeth out of your diet, it’s still crucial to maintain good oral hygiene. Brush your teeth twice a day, floss once a day, and come see us for a cleaning appointment every six months! Be sure to bring your favorite sugar-free dessert recipes the next time you come!

Your Dental Health Is Our First Priority!

♦ Office Activities ♦

Our annual Pumpkin Contest is going on right now in our office! Anyone who wants to vote can go to our Facebook and cast their vote! One lucky winner will be selected from everyone who comments to win a Starbucks Gift Card. Go check them out today!

As many of you know October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and in support of that we are doing a fun office campaign. Anyone who comes into our office and takes a picture wearing something pink in our photo booth and posts that photo with our office tagged on Facebook or Instagram, we will donate $5. We have lots of fun pink items to take a silly picture with and we really want to raise some money for a great cause! Come in today and snap a fun photo!

HAVE YOU EVER woken up with your mouth feeling like a barren desert? Then you’ve probably experienced dry mouth, although it can be even more severe, making it difficult to speak or even eat. Dry mouth affects a tenth of the population, but why is it such a problem, why does it happen, and what can we do about it?

In The Absence Of Saliva…

Saliva is the mouth’s first line of defense against bacteria, bad breath, and tooth decay. It washes away leftover food particles and neutralizes acids, protecting our teeth and gums. Consequently, when there isn’t enough saliva to perform all of these important tasks, the result is much more serious than just an unpleasant sandpaper feeling.

What Causes Dry Mouth?

Dry mouth has numerous causes, including smoking, drinking, dehydration, and even aging. Sometimes the salivary glands can be damaged by chemotherapy or radiation treatment. But the most common cause is ordinary medication. Over 400 medications include dry mouth on their lists of side effects. If you’ve been suffering medication-related dry mouth, come talk to us about options like switching to different medication or changing the dosage.

Good Habits To Prevent Or Reduce Dry Mouth

For particularly severe dry mouth, artificial saliva could provide relief and protect your teeth from decay, but there are also a few good habits that can minimize the problem.

Nose Breathing

Avoid breathing through your mouth—whether you’re awake or asleep. Even for people with fully functioning salivary glands, mouth breathing is going to result in a much drier mouth than nose breathing. For that—and many other health reasons—it’s important to breathe through your nose whenever possible, including during sleep.

Hydration

Stay hydrated. Your salivary glands can’t produce saliva if you’re not drinking enough water, and even if saliva production is impeded for other reasons, regularly sipping water can help eliminate the dry mouth feeling.

Stimulate Saliva Production

We recommend a variety of different products here at Sperbeck Dental to help battle dry mouth. These Include:

ICE CHIPS

Ice Chips are naturally sweetened with 100% Birchwood Xylitol.

•  Recommended for patients with diabetes because it does NOT impact insulin levels.
• Strengthens teeth
• Reduces new tooth decay
• Reduces cavity-causing bacteria
• Inhibits growth of dental plaque
• Contains ZERO net effective cars
• Pleasant taste with NO aftertaste

These little tins of candies are delicious and come in lots of fun flavors. We sell them in the office for $7.00 a tin and we always have fun new flavors! Check them out and get a sample the next time you are in our office.

BIOTENE

The Biotene products are a great resource for battling dry mouth because they are sold over the counter and they have a range of different products so you can find a product that works best for YOU!

NEUTRASAL

NeutraSal is a prescription rinse that replace natural saliva. This product comes in single- use packets of dissolving powder that you mix in water to create a soothing oral rinse. You can rinse 2 to 1o times a day with this product and can often times be covered through your insurance! Be sure to ask about this product the next time you are in!

SUGAR FREE GUM AND CANDY

Sugar-free gum and candy encourage your salivary glands to up their production, particularly if the flavor is citrus, mint, or cinnamon. (Bonus points: sugar-free gum is also good for your teeth, because it starves the bacteria that feed on sugar!)

Choose Your Mouthwash Carefully

Mouthwash containing alcohol may undo its own positive germ-killing effects by drying out your mouth! Just like drinking alcoholic beverages has a dehydrating effect on the body, swishing alcoholic liquid around will specifically dehydrate the mouth! Make sure you choose a non-alcoholic mouthwash.

Don’t Smoke

As smoking is one of the common causes of dry mouth, not smoking is an obvious solution. The same goes for dry mouth caused by alcohol intake.

We Can Beat Dry Mouth Together!

Dry mouth can pose a serious threat to your oral health, so aside from following these good habits, one of the best things you can do if you experience it is to schedule an appointment with us. We’ll be able to identify the cause and make a plan to put an end to that sandpaper feeling!

We love to fight for your dental health!

EVERYONE WHO’S BEEN TO THE DENTIST is familiar with X-rays. You put on the lead apron, you’re given a rectangular contraption and told “put this between your teeth and bite down,” and then you hear that tinny beep. Have you ever wondered what the different types of dental X-rays are and what they’re for? Let’s take a closer look at three of the most common ones.

The Big Picture: Panoramic X-Rays

Has an X-ray technician ever had you stand on a circular platform and stand still for several seconds while the machine spun around your head? Then you’ve had a panoramic X-ray, which is the most common type of extraoral dental X-ray.

With these, we can see your entire mouth in one image, because the camera travels all the way around your head while taking the picture. These X-rays show incoming adult teeth and wisdom teeth, including any that are impacted, which is how we determine if there’s enough room for these teeth to come in and if they’ll come in on their own. Panoramic X-rays also make it much easier to detect things like tumors, cysts, and abscesses.

Glamour Shots: Bitewing X-Rays

As you might have guessed from the name, bitewing X-rays are the ones where the patient has to bite down on a piece of dental film before the image is taken. Because the dental film is inside your mouth, bitewing X-rays are a type of intraoral X-ray. Usually, there will be one X-ray taken for each of the four quadrants of your mouth.

Bitewing X-rays are taken to give us a clear view of the crevices between your teeth, which are difficult to see with the naked eye. With these images, we can easily check for tooth decay and cavities in those areas.

It’s Time For Your Close-Up: Periapical X-Rays

This intraoral X-ray is the close-up of the dental world. If a specific tooth or area in your mouth is bothering you, we’ll probably take a periapical X-ray to get a clear idea of what’s going on there, but they can also be taken alongside bitewing X-rays even if you aren’t aware of an obvious tooth problem.

For more information on dental X-rays and why they’re so important, watch the video below:

Early Warnings For Healthier Smiles

All types of X-rays are simple, low-risk tools that help us catch dental problems early on, maybe before you’ve even noticed anything! However, in order for us to do that, it’s crucial that you come in for your regular cleanings and dental exams. Is your smile ready for its next close-up?

We’re so happy to have you as part of our Sperbeck Dental family! Check out below our latest giveaway for a chance to win a fun ice cream basket!

PEOPLE ARE COMMONLY CONFUSED about what the exact role of a dental assistant is. What does an assistant take care of vs. a dental hygienist, for example? We want to set the record straight! Our dental assistants are an invaluable part of our team and practice–to be honest, we couldn’t get much done without them!

Dental Assistants Are Specially Trained To Serve You-
Here at Sperbeck Dental our dental assistants Kelsey and Christian are specially trained to serve YOU–our valued patients!

What education/training does a dental assistant have to complete? 

Many assistants start their careers at a technical college learning a specialized dental assisting program. Other assistants are trained on the job and often make the best assistants, because as with most jobs, hands on experience is the best teacher. That is why here at Sperbeck dental both our assistants have a combined total of almost 20 years of hands on, clinical experience. Our assistants pride themselves on providing the best possible dental experience alongside Dr. Sperbeck.

What are the duties of a dental assistant? How do they contribute to your practice and/or what value do they bring to your practice? 

A typical day for one of our assistants consists of assisting Dr. Sperbeck with all of our patients receiving treatment that day. The list of tasks and responsibilities include setting up and breaking down all of the doctors rooms, taking x-rays, taking impressions, and handing all instruments and materials to Dr. Sperbeck during all treatments. We could go on and on about all the different types of skills and knowledge our assistants need to know, and continue to learn as we progress with the continuing education all of us here at Sperbeck Dental participate in! Everyone in our office has a role in making our patient experience as pain- free and as easy as possible, and our assistants play a very large part in that overall experience. We love our assistants all they do on our team!

Our Patients Are Our Priority
Our priority is providing the highest quality of care to our patients. And we couldn’t do it without the amazing dental assistants in our office! Do you have any questions for our assistants? Let us know in the comments below!

As always, thank you for choosing Sperbeck Dental. We love our patients!

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Healthy Snacks for a Healthy Mouth

EVERYONE KNOWS that snack time is one of the best times of the day! Getting a tasty treat in the middle of the workday or grabbing a snack after school can be just the pick-me-up you need to tackle the rest of your day with a smile.

But before you reach for the chips or chocolates, we have a few smile-friendly suggestions! Today we want to share our team’s favorite snacks that protect your teeth and benefit your smile.

Our Smile-Friendly Snack Picks

From Sharon: Laughing cow cheese wedge with crackers or deli meat

From Shannon:celery & hummus

From Rikelle: Chocolate PB2 Milk shake: Mix 1/2 cup ice, 4 TBS Chocolate PB2, 1 Cup 2% Fairlife Milk – blend & enjoy (Click on the picture for Amazon link)

In addition to trying out our favorite snacks, keep these tips in mind when planning snacks that benefit your oral health:

Eat More Of These

Leafy Greens: Dark, leafy greens like kale, spinach, and collard greens have calcium, Vitamin A, Vitamin B2, and magnesium; all essential for healthy teeth and gums.
Cheese, Milk, and Yogurt: Dairy is a delicious source of calcium, which supports strong bones and teeth.
Kiwi, Oranges, And Other Vitamin-C-Rich Foods: Vitamin C boosts your body’s ability to fight infection that causes gum disease.

Eat Less Of These

Soda And Energy Drinks: These acidic, sugary drinks attack and gradually deteriorate your protective tooth enamel.
Sticky Candy, Gummies, And Dried Fruit: These foods stick in your teeth and continue to bathe your teeth in sugar for hours after eating.
Highly Processed Carbs: This includes crackers, white bread, and pastries, which feed decay-causing bacteria in your mouth.

Keep In Touch To Learn More!
Now that we’ve shared our favorite healthy snacks, we want to hear from YOU! If you have any healthy recipes you make make at home, share them on our Facebook page! We’d love to see what kinds of creative snack ideas you’ve come up with.

Thank you for CHEW-sing Sperbeck Dental!

It’s time for our third Annual Smiles for Life Teeth Whitening Charity Drive! What does that mean for you? It means you get professional whitening at a super reduced price all while getting a tax deduction and helping a child in need. Ultradent dental supplies is donating their whitening material and we are donating our time so that 100% of all proceeds will go directly to the children. Half of the monies raised will be donated to Smiles for Life Foundation which funds dental trips for underprivileged children in third world countries and also provides donations to other children’s charities such as St. Judes and The Ronald McDonald House. Click HERE to check out the other charities supported by Smiles for Life Foundation.  The other half of the donations will stay local and will be given to Arizonans for Children who help abused, abandoned and neglected children in foster care.  Since we have started this program we have been able to donate almost $8,000 to children’s charities. We are excited to be able to contribute more to our community and need your help.

How to schedule:

Call our office today at 480-821-1047 and request a Smile for Life whitening appointment. These appointments are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Why Professional Whitening?

Professional whitening provides both safety and effectiveness. Products purchased through a dental office are more customized and are higher strength than what is available at the store. Experts agree, for the most dramatic and long-lasting effects, professional whitening is the way to go. In addition, with this  program you not only get a whiter smile but you help a child as well. We say that’s a win-win for everyone!

How Can You Help?

Even if you can’t get your teeth whitened you can help us spread the word by sharing this post with you friends, family and coworkers by word of mouth or on your Social Media. The more people who participate the more children we can help.  You can also link your Amazon account to the charity and Amazon will donate a portion of your proceeds to the foundation.