Love where you live.

This past past year my dental practice received an influx of newcomers to Southern California. They all came for different reasons, some wanted to be closer to family or the ocean. Some wanted to frolic in a warmer (but not too warm) climate all year long. And others were leaving behind countries with unscrupulous politics.

The truth is that we have all been challenged to evaluate our priorities against our realities and decide what we can or cannot live without. Pandemic life has definitely happened to all of us and some have decided to let it unfold while living in a place that we actually enjoy.

Newport Beach is a gorgeous, upscale and tranquil coastal city.

And I hope you feel as lucky as I do to call It home.

Chasing The Light

This last quarter of the so familiarly strange 2020, I have seen an uptake on the demand for teeth whitening. Especially, the “give me now” type of white teeth a.k.a. “In Office Teeth Whitening”.

2020 has forced us to wait patiently (or not) in lines at the grocery stores or favorite restaurants, for shelves to be restocked with basic disinfecting supplies, to deal with delayed or dismantled travel plans. We were gifted with plenty of opportunities to frown.

Some people have decided to smile through it all, under the mask, instead of waiting for the show to be over. They wanted a brighter present and I gave it to them. They chased the light and they got it!

Are your Teeth and Jaws under Pressure?

Under Pressure

Covid has caused a lot of stress for all of us.  Do you clench your teeth when you feel stressed?

There are tell-tale signs that this may also be happening to you while you sleep at night:j

• Do your jaw muscles hurt when you wake up in the morning?
• Do you wake up with a head ache?
• Do your teeth ache for no apparent reason?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then you should talk to your dentist because you many have a habit of clenching/grinding your teeth while you sleep (bruxism).

Bruxism is a habit where you grind or clench your teeth over an over again.  This habit can negatively effect your oral health.  It can cause teeth to break or crack and increase the chance of gum problems.  Adults are not the only ones effected.  Studies have found that this can be a problem with children as young as pre-school age.

What causes Bruxism?

Researchers do not know for sure what causes people to clench and grind their teeth.  Some researchers think that it is caused by stress.  Many individuals are not aware that they are even doing this until they have permanent damage to their teeth or jaws.

Some substances like alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine can increase the chances of bruxing during sleep.

What can you do to prevent risk of permanent damage?

• Decreasing or quitting tobacco use
• Limiting the amount of caffeine you injest (if you are stopping by Starbucks more than once per day then this may be a factor)
• Talking to your dentist about getting a custom night guard or day guard that will prevent damage to teeth, gums, or jaw joints.

I hope you found these tips useful as I want to see you maintain that beautiful smile!

Love, Dr. Daniele

Get Your Smile Zoom Ready

With all of the time that we are now spending on camera (Zoom, Webex, Skype, FaceTime, WhatsApp, etc.) our appearance is now representing who we are more than ever.  Many of my clients are amazed at how little effort it takes to improve their overall appearance by just making a few changes to their smile.

Read on because I have some tips to get your smile ready for the next video conference or in-person meeting.

Book a Dental Cleaning

Regular cleanings help maintain and improve the overall oral health and reduce the chance of tooth loss. It also will improve the cosmetic appearance of a smile by removing unsightly stains and hard deposits (tartar).

There are 2 different levels of dental cleaning: (1) regular cleanings that focus on removing deposits above the gums and (2) deep cleanings that focus on removing deposits below the gums which is the culprit for chronic gum disease.

Brushing, Flossing

People who brush and floss after meals will minimize the buildup of plaque, unsightly stains and will  also reduce chances of developing cavities and bad breath.  Overall the more frequently you brush your teeth the better they will look. Don’t forget to brush your tongue or use a tongue scraper at the end.

Teeth Whitening at Home

For those looking for brightening up their smile in the comfort of their home I recommend brushing once a week with a mixture of baking soda a hydrogen peroxide 3%. Mix both ingredients until a creamy consistency is obtained and brush for 3 min with this magical combination. You will see results instantly. For a more powerful whitening, try Opalescence Go 15% strips. This is a client’s favorite here at Coastal Smiles Newport Beach.

I hope you found these useful as I want to see you brighten every room, virtually or not with your dazzling smile!

#LoveYourSmile

Emergency Dentist in Newport Beach

Dental Emergencies

Dr. Daniele Green, DDS at Coastal Smiles Newport Beach is seeing patients with Toothaches and Dental Emergencies during the COVID-19 Pandemic.  Dental emergencies can happen to anyone and they usually involve: broken tooth, swelling, severe acute tooth ache, throbbing, excessive bleeding from an extraction site, dry socket. If you are experiencing any of these, do not hesitate call your our office.

Tooth Aches are for Dentists Not ER Doctors

Please, do not go to an urgent care or ER. Let the medical professionals focus on treating the medically compromised patients. It is the responsibility of all of us to not overwhelm the First Responders.

Emergency General and Cosmetic Dentist On Call

Daniele Green, DDS at Coastal Smiles Newport Beach is available by appointment to help anyone who is healthy (not experiencing symptoms of Covid-19 infection) and is needing emergency dental care.

COVID-19 Precautions Taken

Coastal Smiles Newport Beach offers a large concierge suite that allows for extreme social distancing, staggered appointment schedules to avoid waiting room crowds, routine disinfection of all common areas, use of in-room HEPA Filters for room air filtration, N95 masks for Dentist and Dental assistant and then all typical precautions (e.g. sterilized hand pieces and instruments and medical grade disinfection).

For more information on disinfection protocols followed at Coastal Smiles Newport Beach, please see our COVID-19 Blog.

Please, stay healthy, brush and floss 2-3 times daily and lets help end this pandemic.

Love,

Dr. Daniele Green.

COVID 19 (Coronavirus)

At Coastal Smiles Newport Beach, we are strictly following CDC and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on infection control to prevent the spread of diseases including COVID-19. [CDC Citation 1] [CDC Citation2]

Infection Control – Treating the sick

First of all, we are rescheduling patients who have cold or flu symptoms to a later date (at least 2 weeks later).  This limits the risk of spreading illness in our office.

Infection Control – Social Distancing

The WHO and CDC recommends Social Distancing which is a 6 feet separation from others to avoid unnecessary exposure to COVID-19.

Our office is extremely spacious and is designed with a solid wall between each operatory and large hallways separating the rooms.  Also, our patient flow is designed to cater to 1 to 2 patients at a time so we do not have problems with multiple patients in the same room.   This allows us to easily meet the recommended Social Distancing recommendation of 6 feet between patients since we are now typically treating only one patient at a time.

Infection Control – Disinfection and Sterilization

All operatories are disinfected with a hospital grade cavicide (meeting CDC guidelines) after each patient.  All other common areas are wiped with chlorine bleach and ammonium-chloride based wipes (meeting CDC guidelines) between each patient.

Infection Control – Sterilization

All single-use material is disposed of after every patient.  All reusable tools and handpieces are sterilized in a hospital grade auto-clave that is calibrated to ensure quality performance.

Infection Control – Other prevention

Each of our clinical staff wear highly protective surgical masks during the treatments and disposable gloves which are changed at least 2 times during each treatment.  In February,  we hired an OSHA consultant to visit our office and perform an audit of our entire practice (including disinfection and sterilization control).  We passed our audit with a great review and no observations.

We utilize Medical Grade High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter in our treatment rooms to clean the air in-between patients.

We understand that our patients may have concerns about leaving their house to venture out into the world during this time.  For Dental Emergencies, we encourage you to seek help from a Dental Office like ours instead of going to an ER or Urgent Care clinic where your risks of coming in contact with COVID-19 infected patients is increased.

We also encourage you all to take extra precautions, like watching hands or using hand sanitizer after touching common areas (e.g. door handles and elevator buttons).  Also, to limit shaking hands and hugging friends and to practice the social distancing guidelines of 6 feet between people.

Please remember that illness in the mouth can negatively impact your overall health so do not neglect your oral hygiene or avoiding in-clinic treatment when in pain.

I wish you excellent health and a beautiful smile!

Sincerely,

Dr. Daniele Green, DDS

Coastal Smiles Newport Beach