We are excited to kick off a new blog series this month! Every other month through 2019 we will be highlighting a different autoimmune disease and the impacts it has on oral health, and vice versa. Autoimmune diseases are boundless diseases that affect many systems of the body. There are multiple different types of autoimmune diseases, though they all share one common factor; that the body begins attacking its own cells wreaking havoc and causing painful and sometimes debilitating symptoms. Over 23.5 million people in the United States alone suffer from at least one autoimmune disease. Women tend to carry … Read More

Did you know that 1 in 3 American adults are missing at least one tooth? That’s 178 million people! Nearly 40 million Americans have no natural teeth at all.Teeth require extraction usually for one of two reasons. Either due to extensive decay or due to bone loss resulting from periodontal disease. Considering nearly half of our adult population struggles with periodontal disease, it is unsurprising to see tooth loss at this level. It used to be that if you were missing teeth your only option for replacement was a full or partial denture or a bridge. Technology has come such … Read More

The New Year is off to a full sprint here at Dental Care of Vashon! With most insurance benefits resetting in January our team has been working harder than ever. Our number one goal is to provide our patients with the highest quality care. With many helpful hands, we make quick work of a busy schedule. From our front desk staff to our assistants, hygienists and doctors, we want to be an inspiration to other dental teams. This year we are focusing on building our team even more. Despite spending 8 hours a day with each other, it can be … Read More

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