Columbia Healthy Smiles Blog

Oral cancer is a serious health issue with a predicted 54,000 new cases in the US this year, and a 40% risk of poor prognosis long term. While oral healthcare has progressed, a cure for oral cancer is yet to be found, and late detection makes treatment challenging. Educating yourself on the condition, including its risk factors, warning signs, and prevention tips, can help prevent or detect it early. Keep reading to learn more about oral cancer and its potential risk factors.

As Tax Day draws near, individuals contemplate how to make the most of their refunds. While some may choose to splurge on new purchases, considering an investment in your smile can yield long-term benefits. Enhancing your dental health and appearance can have a transformative effect on your overall look and well-being. Continue reading as we explore four compelling reasons why using your tax refund to improve your smile is a wise and worthwhile choice.

If you’re older, you may have found that the appearance of your teeth has changed pretty significantly over time. When people age, their teeth tend to look a little more yellow, and they may have collected a few cracks or chips over the years.

If you’re interested in getting a more youthful smile, cosmetic dentistry can offer that to you. In fact, there are quite a few cosmetic dental treatments that can take years off of your teeth’s appearance. Here are a few examples.

Spring is finally here, and while you’re enjoying everything the beauty of nature has to offer, that also means there’s no excuse to keep putting off the things that you’ve been procrastinating on all winter.

While you’re in the mood for spring cleaning, you might consider whether your teeth could need the same thing. Most people could stand to do a little bit more for their oral health; here are some things you may want to try.

Getting your child excited about oral health can be pretty difficult. If you’ve been trying to instill good dental hygiene habits into your child, you’re probably well aware that brushing for two minutes at a time and flossing each day can be a serious hurdle for a lot of kids.

Thankfully, there’s a wide variety of products that are readily available and that can get your child to actually enjoy brushing their teeth. Here are a few examples.

February is American Heart Month, which is when dentists and other physicians try and raise awareness about the risks of heart disease.

Cardiovascular disease is all too common, and that’s due in part to the way how certain lifestyle choices increase people’s risk of dealing with it. Most people understand the primary causes of heart disease, but some people may not be aware that gum disease is one of them. If you’re curious about the connection between your oral health and a healthy heart, here’s a little more information about what links the two.

The new year is the perfect time to try to better yourself. There are quite a few ways to do that, and knowing which is best for you can be a little bit difficult. As it turns out, many of these most common new years resolutions also happen to be pretty good for your oral health, as well as benefitting you in other ways.

Here are four of the most common new year’s resolutions, along with what they can do for your teeth.

The new year is a time for new beginnings, and for a lot of people, that means trying a diet that will help them lose weight. Keto is a popular one; this low-carb diet is designed to force your body to enter ketosis, a state where it’s burning fat instead of glucose for energy.

Any time you start a new diet, it’s important to understand not only how it’ll affect your body, but how it’ll affect your teeth. If you’re interested in trying keto, here’s how that can affect your oral health.

One of the reasons that Invisalign aligners are so popular is because of their convenience. They’re removable, meaning you won’t have to deal with any dietary restrictions for the period you’re wearing them. The treatment as a whole will also take less time than traditional braces.

That said, there is quite a bit you’ll have to learn to do for the year or so you’ll be wearing your aligners. Upkeep is important, and managing them well is the best (arguably the only) way to see your desired results. Here are a few things you can do to keep your aligners in top shape.

Holidays are a time to relax and spend time with family. Many people’s favorite part of the holiday season is the food, which is why the last thing you want to do is interrupt dinner by needing to visit an emergency dentist. As it turns out, there are quite a few hazardous foods that can cause you to chip a tooth or lose a filling. If you want to know how to prevent a dental emergency this holiday season, here are a few foods you should use some caution around.