York Endodontics

WE LOVE LOOKING back at the history of dentistry, and Pierre Fauchard is one of the early revolutionaries of the field. One of the first to describe himself as a surgeon dentist, he figured out that cavities are caused, not by worms, but by sugar, and he recommended cutting back on sugar intake just like we do today. Unlike most other dentists of the early 1700s, Fauchard did more than pull teeth. He filled cavities, cleaned away plaque and tartar, and removed benign tumors... in gum tissue. He also made false teeth and braces! Baby teeth stumped him a little. He wasn’t sure where the roots go when the adult teeth come in (now we know they are broken down on the cellular level). So much of what Fauchard did was new that he had to improvise a lot of the tools he used, making his own out of tools used by watchmakers, barbers, and jewelers. He pioneered the dentist chair and even an early version of the light above it! Fauchard was a steadfast opponent of charlatans in the field of dentistry and a great advocate of techniques to help with patient comfort. Despite humble beginnings, he eventually became recognized as the best dental surgeon in all of France, and his books became the gold standard in dentistry for at least a century after his death. It’s an honor to be following in his footsteps. #oralhealth #history #funfacts

IT’S THAT SIMPLE! Easy changes to your routine like flossing daily, using an alcohol-free mouthwash, or brushing for a full two minutes, twice a day, can really make a difference to your oral health. #oralhealth #goodhabits #healthysmile

WE’RE READY FOR some holiday cheer! Comment below with your favorite thing about the holiday season! #holidays #happyholidays #holidayseason

WE’RE POSTING in remembrance of those who risked or lost their lives on December 7, 1941. #pearlharborday #inremembrance #history

WISHING YOU A season of smiles and fun! Remember, brush and floss plenty throughout the holidays to protect against tooth decay. #holidayseason #endodontics #healthysmile

HALLOWEEN TENDS TO come with a lot of sugar. We don’t want any of our patients getting post-Halloween cavities, so let’s just take a minute and go over the best and worst types of treats for teeth. Anything hard, sticky, or sour is going to be bad for teeth. Hard candy takes a while to dissolve, which means the teeth are exposed to sugar for a long time. Sticky candy is like breakfast in bed for bacteria, adhering to the teeth and pushing the sugar right up against the en...amel and gum tissue. Sour candy contains acid as well as sugar, so it’s doubly bad for teeth. Chocolate is on the good end of the oral health spectrum, and the darker, the better. Chocolate contains flavonoids and polyphenols, compounds that limit oral bacteria, fight bad breath, and slow tooth decay. Dark chocolate has more of these compounds and their benefits are less offset by sugar than in sweeter milk chocolate. The best candy option for teeth, unsurprisingly, is sugar-free gum sweetened with xylitol. Other types of candy that use xylitol aren’t very common (yet), so it might be trickier to find, but xylitol gum is a great sweet treat to aim for when trick-or-treating. Xylitol not only doesn’t feed oral bacteria, it actually hurts it! #healthysmile #halloween #halloweentreats #oralhealth #sugar

IT’S A HOLIDAY song showdown, who will win? Comment below with your favorite out of these two great holiday season songs! #holidaysongs #poll #fun

PUT YOUR TRUST in a specialist! Only about 3% of general dentists specialize in endodontics. For some procedures, an endodontic specialist is the way to go. #endodontics #endodontist #rootcanaltreatment

AN IMPORTANT QUESTION to ask yourself every day is have you brushed today? Comment with a thumbs up emoji if you have! #oralhealth #healthysmile #brushyourteeth

WHEN HALLOWEEN ROLLS AROUND, do you typically choose a costume to scare your friends or make them laugh? #halloween #halloweencostume #halloween2020

STUDIES HAVE SHOWN that handwashing can significantly reduce respiratory infections. Make sure to wash hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds to kill germs and stop the spread of disease. #washyourhands #stopthespread #stayhealthy #nationalhandwashingweek

IT’S SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY and we want to hear about the small businesses in our community that you all recommend! Comment with, or tag, a small business you love in the comments below! #shopsmall #smallbusinesssaturday #supportsmallbusinesses

WE HAVE THE BEST BOSS! We want to wish a Happy Boss’s Day to our boss and all of the other bosses out there. Thanks for being awesome! #bossday #bestboss #thankyou

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We want to let you know that we're grateful for you. #thanksgiving #thanksgiving2020 #blessed

WE OFTEN REMIND our patients of the importance of brushing for two full minutes, twice a day. We stand by that, because doing so, along with daily flossing, is the best way of combating the constant encroachment of plaque. However, technique is important, and so is the toothbrush. We shouldn’t be brushing so hard that the bristles quickly become bent outward or using toothbrushes with stiff bristles. Why? Because over-brushing can damage enamel and even wear away gum tissue ...over time. That’s right, gum recession is a real risk of brushing too hard. Our teeth and gums are not built to stand up to frequent, harsh scouring. We encourage our patients to aim for a Goldilocks approach in their brushing: do still brush two minutes twice a day, but use a soft-bristled toothbrush and don’t use a ton of pressure. It also helps to hold the toothbrush like a pencil and to use gentle circle motions instead of sawing back and forth. #oralhealth #toothbrushtips #brushyourteeth

MANY PEOPLE DON’T KNOW that we also treat patients who’ve received facial trauma. People in these circumstances should give us a call as soon as possible; delaying treatment can complicate a patient’s case. #endodontics #endodontist #saveyourtooth

WE CAN’T STOP thinking about all of the delicious food we love to eat on Thanksgiving. What’s your favorite Thanksgiving side? Comment your answer below! #thanksgiving #thanksgiving2020 #food

WE’RE REMINISCING ON the very first scary movie we ever watched! Do you remember yours? If so, comment it below! #scarymovie #halloween #spookyseason

SEVERAL ANCIENT CULTURES, from ancient Egypt to the Roman Empire, and lasting all the way up to early modern England, blamed cavities and toothaches on a nefarious creature called a tooth worm. Gross! (But, more importantly, false.) We still aren’t sure where this theory came from, but it could be as simple as that they looked at diseased dental pulp and mistakenly thought it was a worm that had bored holes through the tooth. It wasn’t until the early years of the Age of ...Enlightenment that pioneering dentists like Pierre Fauchard debunked the tooth worm theory. Still, they were kind of on the right track. It’s true that tiny organisms cause tooth decay but those organisms are bacteria, not parasitic worms. People didn’t have microscopes to be able to observe bacteria back then, so they gave it their best guess. Points for effort? Even though their theory about the cause was wrong, tooth decay wasn’t a widespread problem historically until sugar (oral bacteria’s favorite food) became a readily available commodity. That’s why we in the modern dental health community recommend cutting back on sugar consumption and limiting it to mealtimes! #toothdecay #history #dentalhistory

IT'S NATIONAL HOMEMADE BREAD Day! What bread recipes have you tried this year? #2020 #homemadebread #yum

IT’S BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH so we’re posting to say that our team supports all those who’ve been affected by breast cancer. We stand with you! #breastcancerawareness #breastcancerawarenessmonth #awareness #putonpink

IT’S NATIONAL DENTAL HYGIENE MONTH, so here’s your reminder that great dental hygiene is one of the best ways to prevent tooth infections! #nationaldentalhygienemonth #dentalhygiene #endodontics

IT’S WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY! We want to make sure we express our gratitude for all that teachers do for their students and communities. #worldteachersday #thankyou #teachers #teacherappreciation

WE FIX FANGS, also known as teeth! #october #endodontics #spookyseason