Radiation is one of the best known but least understood hazards of the modern day. That is to say, the common people are aware that it’s dangerous, but often understand very little about it. Many people know it’s used often in some of the most cutting edge medical treatments, and the largest weapons. The doctor will irradiate you to save your life, but when an enemy does it you die.

Dentistry is no different from other medical schools, in that radiation plays a part in some of the necessary treatments and diagnostic procedures used on a routine basis. Even here though, radiation is a touchy issue. If done incorrectly, medical x-rays are extremely dangerous.

Well? Does it?

X-ray technology functions by passing x-rays through your body and into what amounts to an x-ray camera. Different parts of your body absorb or deflect different amounts of the radiation, just as different surfaces absorb or reflect different amounts of the visible light spectrum, allowing you to see. The result is an image that details the inside of your body, where a doctor would otherwise have to use invasive surgery to reach. The information they get can save your life!

Unfortunately, exposure to x-ray radiation, even in a medical environment, can cause damage to the DNA. This can result in a variety of illnesses and the formation of tumors. That’s why medical professionals make every effort to minimize exposure to the radiation: x-rays are dangerous!

However, the exposure to radiation people get when x-rayed is worth the mild risks due to the critical information dentists can get from the radiographs. Radiographs are the images doctors get from the xrays, and they let doctors look into otherwise invisible parts of your body. They can view early signs of tooth decay, abscess, broken bones, or even tumors. This gives them the information they need to not only improve people’s dental health, but even save their lives.

The radiation exposure of an xray is hazardous, but not as hazardous as not getting one when you need it and turning a literally blind eye to your oral health.

Of course, companies like Elite Dental Care take every step to ensure your safety. They even use digital x-ray technology that further reduces the radiation exposure to next to nothing. And while any amount of radiation sounds scary, and an x-ray isn’t something you’d want every day, the benefit far outweighs the risks.

So, is it crazy to risk your life with an x-ray to save your life? No! It’s the only sane thing to do!

Every hour, someone dies of oral cancer.

April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month, and we at Elite Dental Care want to do our part. We picked up a brand new VELscope a few months ago, and we’re offering routine oral cancer screenings, normally $70, for only $35 this month. Whether you’re an existing customer, or just live in Lemont or Downers Grove, Illinois, we invite you to stop in for a $35 screening!

That said, we also want to share some need to know information about oral cancer, in the interest of saving lives.

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Everyone wants it. The sparkling smile of strong white teeth. The picture of good health. You probably brush your teeth carefully every night before bed. Maybe you even floss and brush in the morning. That’s excellent.

Some of the secrets of the healthiest smiles around sound like more fiction than fact. Even so, they’re every bit as important to your oral hygiene. You should try…

3. Not brushing your teeth right after meals!

Okay, before getting into this one here’s a warning: If your meal was high in sugar it’s a good idea to brush right afterward.

For normal meals though, it’s best to brush either before the meal or 20 minutes afterward. These both have to do with the effects of pH on the teeth.

When you brush before, you help thin out the bacteria living in the mouth. This lowers the number left living in your mouth during and after the meal, and so weakens their ability to lower the pH in your mouth.

If you attempt to brush directly after the meal though, you’ll be scrubbing the outside of your teeth during a time that the lowered pH has weakened them. You could end up scrubbing away some of the enamel for your trouble!

2. Don’t brush so hard!

When you brush your teeth, you’re attempting to remove the life forms that have built up on them. What you should avoid though is brushing until you harm the life forms you need, like your gums.

When you brush too hard, you can cause your gums to bleed. This is an open wound in a part of your body open to the outside world and constantly swarming with bacteria. You can cause infections and other problems.

1. Don’t brush too long!

Often dentists suggest brushing for about 3 minutes. Surely more is better though, right? Wrong.

Brushing too long can cause unnecessary wear and tear on the enamel of your teeth. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that the enamel is important. Weakening or damaging your enamel can lead to cavities, chipped teeth, or worse.

So there you have it. Follow these tips and you should be on the road to better dental health in no time. Well, as long as you’re still following most of the great advice that dentists hand out all the time.

Have another counter intuitive tip that you think could make a smile even healthier? Let me know in the comments!

Does a visit to the dentist set you on edge? Me too.

I always hated going in to see the dentist when I was younger. One of my biggest problems was the nagging fear that whatever he did was going to hurt. Even if I was just going in for a checkup or teeth cleaning I couldn’t shake the uneasiness.

It may sound silly, but when the time came for him to actually do something more invasive I was so nervous I ended up canceling the appointment a time or two before finally forcing myself to go. Once I was there in the dentist’s chair my hands shook and my heart raced before he even did anything. The anxiety only made the situation worse.

While the staff went to great lengths to keep me calm, they could only do so much. I asked if they could sedate me. Sedation dentistry was made for people like us. Unfortunately for me, they couldn’t.

Not every dental office is licensed to perform sedation dentistry, but those that are can make it a lot easier to get through those harder to stand procedures. They give you a pill about an hour before the procedure, and by the time the procedure starts you’re completely relaxed. It makes the whole experience a lot less scary.

Why do I bring this up? Well as you’ve probably noticed this is the blog for Elite Dental Care. They’re one of only a handful of dental practices in the Chicago area licensed to practice sedative dentistry.

I wanted to take this first post to introduce them, and let you know a bit about what sets them apart from others in the area.

Elite Dental Care serves patients in Lemont, Downers Grove, Bolingbrook, Woodridge, Orland Park, and Western Springs. They’ve got offices located in Lemont and Downers Grove.

The team at Elite Dental Care work hard to make every dental procedure, from preventative to cosmetic work, comfortable and easy to manage. They can even sedate you for the more stressful visits.

Here on the Elite Dental Care blog, we’ll be discussing a variety of dental health related issues, from proper flossing to the chemical makeup of various sedatives. The Elite Dental Care team and I want to keep you informed, and make dental hygiene a little easier and a little more comfortable.

If you’re looking for a dentist in our area, we hope you’ll consider us. Even if you’re not though, we want to help you keep your teeth healthy. Please subscribe for future articles to improve your dental health.

Consider this blog your news resource for information about oral health, dental procedures and technology, and what’s happening at your dentist’s office. We believe communication is key to building great doctor-patient relationships, and this dental blog is intended to keep us in touch with you. The best part is, you can simply bookmark this page in your browser, then visit whenever you like! Stay tuned for regular posts that will keep you informed.

If you need to schedule an appointment or are “interviewing” us as your potential new dental provider, call today! You may also want to review information about us here.