The rising rates of drug addiction in the US are well known. With local news stations taking a hard look at our country’s epidemic, Americans are more aware than ever. All too often we hear heartbreaking stories of loved ones struggling with addiction.  Drug addiction has debilitating effects on families, communities and individuals. As dental professionals, we are trained to look for oral signs of drug abuse. It is a difficult but necessary conversation to have.  Our patient’s overall health is our main concern. If you know someone who is struggling with addiction, please share the Substance Abuse and Mental … Read More

  As dental providers of course we are focused on your oral hygiene, but we also care about your overall health. All too often we see patients who take great care of their bodies, but still have poor oral hygiene, why is this? Most individuals treat their mouths as a separate entity from the rest of their body, not realizing that there is a strong link to many other health issues. This blog will focus on oral hygiene and its correlation to heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the US. … Read More

Improved Oral Health in 2019 As we welcome 2019 many of us have our New Year resolutions fresh in our minds. Year after year “Health” resolutions are at the top of almost everyone’s list for improvement. Most commonly these goals include losing weight, eating a healthier diet and being more physically active. Putting your health at the top of your list is great, but statistics tell us less than 10% of New Year Resolutions are ever met. Below we are sharing some helpful tips to improve your oral health and ultimately your overall health. Here are some goals you can … Read More

We have watched the rain fall, the puddles grow and the ground turn to colors of red and yellow leaves. Vashon can truly be a beautiful place to be during the fall season as long as you can enjoy the rainy weather. For most locals the rain doesn’t slow them down a bit. Our team here wants to share some of our favorite things to do to beat the rainy-day blues. During this time of year our assistant Christina uses the extra time indoors to relax and practice some meditation. Our hygienist Cheryl is turning the rock music up to … Read More

  Many of you may have heard about Xylitol. Xylitol is commonly found in candies and chewing gum as a replacement for sugar. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol sourced from corn or birch trees. It both feels and tastes like sugar, but with less ill effects. Xylitol is non-fermentable, meaning our oral bacteria can’t use it to produce cavity causing acids. It also prohibits bacteria from adhering to cellular tissue.This prevents oral bacteria from flourishing. Xylitol contains about 40% less calories than regular sugar and has little to no effect on insulin and blood sugar levels. These characteristics make Xylitol … Read More

Have you ever had that feeling where your mouth feels dried out? If you you have, you are not alone! This is something called “dry mouth” or clinically called Xerostomia. This condition is also can happen occasionally or persist daily. Xerostomia is actually pretty common because as many as 400 medications list it as a side effect. You can check this list, to see if your medication is one of them. Xerostomia can have consequences that are undesirable on our teeth. A lack of saliva disrupts the pH balance in the oral cavity, making the environment more acidic. The bacteria … Read More

  When most people think of October they think of Halloween but not us! We think about our amazing hygiene team! October is National Dental Hygiene Month and a great month for us to remind all of our patients and community members of how important good oral health is. This also gives us an opportunity to applaud our hygiene team on the great care they provide to our island community. At our office we have two fantastic hygienists who work with our patients to have the best dental experience possible, while also giving them the knowledge to take the best … Read More

As summer comes to an end the swimsuits and water toys go back in storage, and the backpacks and school supplies come out. The alarm rings early in preparation for the first day of school and the start of another year of sports. All the sports that are offered increase the need to stay hydrated. The question is, are your kids getting the hydration they need or are you being deceived?  Many sports drinks are targeted toward kids. Most of these contain high levels of sugar, making them the preference of kids over water. The intake of these beverages can … Read More

Summer is almost over on our beautiful island. The teachers have been posted, the streets are calming and our slow-moving island life returns. This summer some of our staff explored other beautiful locales that we will discuss and also, we want to share with you our favorite summer recipes! We are all very family oriented here at Dental Care of Vashon. Much like winter, many of our staff here has gone to visit family this summer season. This summer our hygienist Wanda went with her husband and two beautiful daughters to Glacier National Park to camp and adventure with her … Read More

  Over the past few months we have introduced a new screening test. The test is a salivary test for Oral HPV. There may be some questions you have and even some reservations. Perhaps you want to know “ why is my dentist collecting this information?” or maybe you’re thinking “ this is none of your business if i have HPV”. We are here to help answer those questions you have and ease any of your concerns. Since this is a new screening protocol we have decided to put together some information, see below. We have all heard about HPV … Read More