Tag Archives: DIY dental care

Cleaning Your Teeth Without Brushing | Indianapolis Dentist

Dental Health, general dentistry, Oral Care, Oral Health, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
porcelain veneers

Keeping your mouth clean may be an easy task to do on a daily, but there are times when your toothbrush may not be readily available. Maybe you’ve forgotten to pack it in your bag, maybe you just need a quick cleaning whilst out and about. Know that there are alternatives to cleaning your mouth in a jam. Just keep in mind, these are suggestions when you’re in a pinch – your daily dental routine needs to include a toothbrush, toothpaste and floss.

Rinse with mouthwash. Keeping a travel-sized bottle of mouthwash handy is a great way to clean your mouth and leave your breath smelling fresh. Remember, if you are using Listerine, dilute with water at a 1:1 ratio.

Use floss. Many dentists say flossing is more important than brushing in tooth decay prevention because it removes bacteria and food. Once complete, rinse and you’re done.

Shower your smile. When you’re in the shower, treat it like a water pick system. The warm water is perfect for rinsing debris. Use your finger to clean individual teeth.

Chewing gum. Chew a piece of sugar-free gum for a minute in order to remove food, plaque and bacteria from teeth. Not only does it clean your teeth, but also produces saliva.

Green tea. Green tea contains polyphenol antioxidant compounds that reduce plaque and fight gum disease. It’s easy – drink the tea or use it as mouthwash for a deeper clean.

Munch on veggies. Fibrous vegetables pull double duty on your smile. Crunchy foods like apples, carrots and celery not only clean your teeth as you chew, but vitamin C and A help build strong teeth.

Visit Dr. Kirtley today and schedule an appointment to maintain a healthy smile.  Call 317-841-1111 or www.smilesbygeorge.com.

Dr. George Kirtley proudly serves Indianapolis and all surrounding areas.

As You Begin Adjusting to Dentures | Indianapolis Dentist

Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Health, general dentistry, General Health, Oral Care, Oral Health, Smile Makeover, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No one likes change – but for some, dentures are an inevitable one. And you are going to need some time to adjust to your new smile. Your mouth will be sore because your gums are still getting used to the dentures, but that pain will begin to subside after a few weeks. Luckily, there are several dental remedies available to help ease the discomfort and pain while your mouth adjusts. The following is a list of pain relievers that can help make this adjustment a whole lot smoother:

Topical gel or cream. One of the quickest ways to relieve gum pain is to apply a topical gel or cream. Millions of teething babies can’t be wrong.

Saltwater rinse. For the easiest way to reduce inflamed gums pain, remove the dentures, mix ½ to 1 tsp. of salt with a glass of warm water and rinse for about 30 seconds.

Aloe vera. If you find your gums feel a bit irritated, rub some aloe vera on the area to soothe them.

Massage. A quick, gentle massage to your gums will also help when in a pinch.

Over-the-counter pain relievers. Everyone has some type of headache relief available. If you find your gums are beginning to give you headaches, try taking some ibuprofen.

Denture adhesive. Loose dentures will begin to move and disturb other areas of your teeth. Try using a denture adhesive to help them stay in place.

One final tip as you adjust to your new smile: taking out your dentures at night will help alleviate some of the pain you experience. But if you think your dentures aren’t the right fit, contact your dentist as soon as possible for an adjustment.

Visit Dr. Kirtley today and schedule an appointment to maintain a healthy smile.  Call 317-841-1111 or www.smilesbygeorge.com.

Dr. George Kirtley proudly serves Indianapolis and all surrounding areas.

Brighten Your Smile at Home | Indianapolis Dentist

Cosmetic Dentistry, general dentistry, General Health, Oral Care, Oral Health, Smile Makeover, Teeth Whitening, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
teeth whitening

The more brilliant your teeth, the better your smile looks. The problem with white teeth really lies in the degree you take your oral hygiene. You can brush & floss every day, but your teeth may not keep its natural sheen. Teeth whitening sessions, but that can get pricey. Over-the-counter versions is another route, but what if there was a way to do it without going the chemical route? Here are six easy ways to DIY your smile back to the pearly white scene you’re used to:

First, there is old reliable – hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Just drop a few drops of hydrogen peroxide into a little bit of baking soda makes a paste. Apply it as you would regular toothpaste.

These next couple take natural to a whole new level – fruit. Grab a couple strawberries, add about a teaspoon of baking soda & rub the paste on your teeth for 5-7 minutes. Or peel a ripe banana and rub a piece along the inside of your teeth for two minutes.

If you have some apple cider vinegar in your pantry, dilute it with some water (3 parts water, 1 part vinegar) and mix it with an all-natural toothpaste, you’ve made yourself a pretty efficient tooth whitening solution. If you have coconut oil, swish it around in your mouth for 20 minutes.

Lastly, there’s activated charcoal. The porous nature of the charcoal turns out that it can also be fantastic at binding to bacteria before it can leave stains on teeth. Mix with a little bit of water, gently apply it to your teeth, leave to set in your mouth for two minutes, then rinse.

Visit Dr. Kirtley today and schedule an appointment to maintain a healthy smile.  Call 317-841-1111 or www.smilesbygeorge.com.

Dr. George Kirtley proudly serves Indianapolis and all surrounding areas.

When Eating Healthy Goes Rogue | Indianapolis Dentist

Bad Breath, Dental Health, general dentistry, General Health, Gum Chewing, Oral Care, Oral Health, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

As we approach our brand-new year, we gear up for loads of life improvements, and many of them focus on our health. But finding the right diet to fit our lifestyle is a tough quest. Not all diets are alike and it’s important to find the right one in order to be effective and keep us on pace to achieving our new year’s goals. But what if your diet is giving you side effects? To be specific, what if your diet was giving you bad breath?

By eliminating all sugar and most carbs, and eating foods high in fat and protein, your body becomes a fat-burning machine. However, by getting your energy from fat and protein rather than carbs, one of the common byproducts is intolerable breath. But why?

The popular ketogenic diet, and most other low carb eating plans all rely on getting your daily calories mostly from fat and protein, and very little from carbohydrates. If you keep your carb intake to less than 30 grams per day, your body eventually enters a metabolic state of ketosis. Instead of breaking down carbohydrates to create glucose for energy, your body instead breaks down stored fat, which release ketones in the body. They are also released in your breath, creating a distinct odor that some keto enthusiasts describe as rotten fruit, or even metallic. 

Unfortunately, that also means ketosis breath can’t be extinguished with the typical handful of mints and swig of mouthwash. Natural remedies to try are drinking extra water, or chewing on fresh mint leaves, cloves, or fennel seeds, or grab a sugar-free gum made with xylitol.

Visit Dr. Kirtley today and schedule an appointment to maintain a healthy smile.  Call 317-841-1111 or www.smilesbygeorge.com.

Dr. George Kirtley proudly serves Indianapolis and all surrounding areas.

Halloween Sweets that Are Harming Your Smile | Indianapolis Dentist

Dental Health, general dentistry, General Health, Halloween Candy, Oral Care, Oral Health, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

As parents, we want to give our children the world, even if that means we have to play ‘bad cop’ once in a while. Halloween is the brink of the holiday season, a season that is filled with delicious treats everywhere we look. And that’s bad news for our smiles if we aren’t careful. The following is a list of a few culprits – the more you avoid them, the better off your smile will be. We aren’t saying don’t celebrate the season, just do it in moderation to avoid issues in the future:

Skittles. Skittles may want you to taste rainbows, but they are also letting you ruin your teeth’s enamel by combining sweet and sour for a pH level of 2.5, levels so high they can cause serious damage to your little one’s teeth. 

Caramel. Not only does the sticky texture stick to your teeth’s surface and loves to get deep into the crevices, but it can also loosen dental fixtures, like braces or fillings, making it especially harmful for those with dental work. 

Gummy Bears. Similar to caramels and other sticky candies, the gelatin used to make the gummy candy gummy, also sticks to the crevices of your teeth, making it difficult to remove.

Jolly Ranchers. Not only are they a hard candy that can damage teeth when bitten but sucking on hard candy isn’t a quick process, and the sugar wastes no time working their way into a tooth.

Halloween is an exciting holiday for the little humans. It is important to impart good habits early, while still allowing the fun to continue. The best way to do that is to make it a family affair. Happy Halloween!

Visit Dr. Kirtley today and schedule an appointment to maintain a healthy smile.  Call 317-841-1111 or www.smilesbygeorge.com.

Dr. George Kirtley proudly serves Indianapolis and all surrounding areas.

DIY Remedies: The All-Natural Edition | Indianapolis Dentist

Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Health, general dentistry, General Health, Oral Care, Oral Health, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , ,

Vector cartoon sick tooth. Decay and destroy tooth.There are lots of dental problems that arise as we progress in life, and they range from minor to serious. Sometimes you don’t have time to make it to the dentist, and sometimes you are just waiting for your appointment. There must be something you can do in the meantime to help remedy a few of the more common problems that may present itself. There are loads of different over-the-counter remedies to counter these issues, but there are also natural remedies you could actually have in your home at this very moment. The following is a list of things you can do at home for a quick fix to various dental issues, listed from minor to major:

Bad breath. No one likes to know they have bad breath. It’s awkward and embarrassing, for everyone involved. Try chewing on fennel seeds or parsley. Fenugreek leaves boiled into a tea can be used as a mouthwash. Grab a handful of leaves and swish the tea around in your mouth twice a day.

Discolored teeth. There are a few things you can do to gradually turn your yellowed teeth to a sparkling white grin. Make a paste with some baking soda and water and brush your teeth with it once a week. Turn some strawberries into a paste and rub it onto your teeth. It may sound strange but the acids in strawberries scrub your teeth in the most delicious way possible. If you are looking for something a bit more exotic, mix mustard oil with holy basil leaves. The paste is fantastic for fading your teeth’s tinge.

Gum infections. If you find that your gums have become inflamed, chances are you will need to take a trip to the dentist. But in the meantime, rinse with warm saline water three times a day. It will keep the area clean and plaque-free. Chewing basil leaves is also known to sooth gums so have some handy if you begin to feel some discomfort. Mustard oil come in handy here too. Mix a little with a pinch of salt to help relieve any mild infection, or loose tooth, you may have.

Toothaches. If your pain has progressed all the way to full-blown toothache, it may feel like nothing will help it. Would you believe it can be fixed by pressing a clove of garlic on the pain? It works. Turmeric powder pressed on a cavity will work wonders on a cavity. Similar to a topical anesthetics we use for cuts, clove oil will do the same anti-bacterial things, but for your mouth.

Dental problems are bound to happen at some point. It’s natural. And as you can see, there are lots of natural ways we can help relieve some of our dental problems. They may not be total solutions, but they will work great until you can get into the dental chair.

For more information on dental emergencies and/or to make an appointment call, Dr. Kirtley at 317-841-1111 or visit his website dentalimplantsinindianapolis.com.

Dr. Kirtley gladly welcomes patients from Indianapolis, Spring Hill, Beech Grove, Wynndale, Speedway, Rocky Ripple, Warren Park and all surrounding areas.