4 More Dental Gifts for Holiday Baskets

Recently we wrote up something to get your creative juices flowing when it comes to stuffing Holiday baskets. And since Holiday baskets are ever prevalent year and year out, we came up with a few more ideas that you could either do alongside the other items or wait to implement next year. Even better, this list has a lot more budget friendly options than our other!

Floss

This is a no brainer, especially with how cheap and small it is. And really, it should serve as a reminder to your kids that flossing is just as important as brushing their teeth. Maybe they will look at it and think “floss, really?” But more often than not, if you show them that flossing is essential and you do it everyday, they may be more inclined to accept it as a useful gift.

Gum

Sugar free gum, more than anything. Gum is the perfect way to help freshen the breath, and chewing gum after a meal can help get rid of leftover food particles off your teeth so that they don’t end up becoming plaque. Since sugar free gum offers all of these benefits without any of the sugar that can cause damage to teeth, it’s the perfect little thing to add to your kid’s Holiday basket in place of other sugary candies.

Candy

What? Candy on a dental Holiday basket stuffer list? While we don’t recommend going for the more popular high-fat, high-sugar variants, candy is still a staple of Holiday baskets and we realize all kids are going to eat some candy from time to time. If you can, opt for dark chocolate and even chocolate-covered things like nuts, yogurt, and dried berries. Heck, give them a few Reese’s eggs -- the peanut butter within is actually quite nutritious.

Cheek retractor game

This isn’t necessarily a dental item so much as it is a game based off a dental item. If you remember those cheek retractors they have at the dentist that allow your mouth to stay open while the dentist is working on your teeth, you’ll know what I’m talking about with this item. The game could serve as a fun family time activity, so it makes the perfect basket stuffer for this Holiday.

Just remember to give your kids some fun items outside of these, too. Holiday is about happiness and love and family, so let your children know you love them by not only gifting a few of these items but other things they may have actually asked for, too.

Everything you need to know about dental x-rays

X-rays, also known as radiographs, are an essential part of any dental care treatment plan. They are diagnostic, but they can also be preventive, by helping a dentist diagnose potential oral care issues in a patient’s mouth before they become a major problem. Intraoral X-rays are the most common type of radiograph taken in dentistry. They give a high level of detail of the tooth, bone and supporting tissues of the mouth. Dentists want to provide the best possible dental care to their patients, but a visual examination doesn't tell them everything they need to know. Thanks to dental X-rays, dentists can accurately diagnose and treat dental problems early before they become more serious and if after examining your mouth and reviewing these images, your dentist finds no cavities or growth issues, you can rest assured he or she has seen the whole picture.

What are dental X-rays?

A full-mouth series of periapical X-rays (about 14 to 21 X-ray films) is most often done during a person's first visit to the dentist. Bitewing X-rays are used during checkups to look for tooth decay. Panoramic X-rays may be used occasionally. Dental X-rays are scheduled when you need them based on your age, risk for disease, and signs of disease. Dental X-rays are pictures of the teeth, bones, and soft tissues around them to help find problems with the teeth, mouth, and jaw. X-ray pictures can show cavities, hidden dental structures (such as wisdom teeth), and bone loss that cannot be seen during a visual examination. Dental X-rays may also be done as follow-up after dental treatments.

How often do I need to get a dental X-ray?

The frequency of getting X-rays of your teeth often depends on your medical and dental history and current condition. Some people may need X-rays as often as every six months; others with no recent dental or gum disease and who visit their dentist regularly may get X-rays only every couple of years. If you are a new patient, your dentist may take X-rays as part of the initial exam and to establish a baseline record from which to compare changes that may occur over time.  X-rays of molars only every two to three years to check for early cavities.  More extensive X-rays may be needed every three to five years to check the health of roots and adjacent bone. Children may need X-rays as often as every year or two because their teeth are changing rapidly.

What can happen if I don’t receive regular dental X-rays?

Dental X-rays help dentists visualize diseases of the teeth and surrounding tissue that cannot be seen with a simple oral exam. Dental x-rays are the road map that the dentist uses to diagnose a variety of oral diseases. Without x-rays conditions such as cavities, gum disease, fractured teeth, root canal infections and even cancer may go undetected. Early detection of oral health problems usually means less invasive and less costly treatment.

How much radiation am I exposed to during a dental X-ray?

Many observational studies have found that exposure to dental X-rays is associated with the risk of development of meningioma. However, these findings are inconsistent. Dental x-rays are one of the lowest radiation dose studies performed. The amount of radiation received from dental radiography is so low that it is highly unlikely that it results in a measurable risk. Dose reconstructions using techniques commonly used during the last decades of the last century show that the exposure to the brain from 4 bitewings is approximately 0.07 mGy, and from a panoramic examination about 0.02 mGy. A full-mouth examination (typically consisting of 12 periapical and 4 bitewing exposures) results in a brain dose of approximately 0.24 mGy.