Upper and Lower Expanders are invaluable tools in correcting certain orthodontic issues, particularly those related to narrow palates and dental crowding. By gently widening the upper and lower jaws, these devices create more space for crowded teeth, allowing them to align properly. This not only enhances the aesthetic appearance of the smile but also promotes better dental health and function.
Breathing is a fundamental process that sustains our life, and the way we breathe can significantly impact our overall health and well-being. While both nasal and mouth breathing are natural, there are compelling reasons why nasal breathing is considered superior. In this blog post, we will explore the numerous benefits of nasal breathing over mouth breathing.
Filtration and Humidification: One …
Dental sealants are a preventative measure used to protect the teeth from decay and cavities. They are a plastic coating that is applied to the grooves and pits of the back teeth, which are the most susceptible to tooth decay. The sealant creates a barrier that prevents bacteria and food particles from getting into these areas, which helps to reduce …
Have you ever wondered why some people have a bright white smile and others don’t? There are many reasons why some easily keep their pearly whites shining bright and others struggle.
Here are some reasons why teeth stain, discolor and darken!
Diseases and Medical Treatments
Examples of medicines that might darken teeth are, …
Do you have a child who loves science? When they’re at the right age, talk to them about a career in dentistry. There are so many great reasons to become a dentist. Dentists make a difference in their community by making sure it is full of happy, healthy smiles. Dentistry is a growing profession and will always be in demand. …
Let’s Talk Baby Teeth vs. Adult Teeth
Just like children are not little adults, primary teeth (also called deciduous or baby teeth) are not just little permanent teeth.
Anatomically, baby teeth are very different from permanent teeth. The enamel layer (outer surface of teeth) is thinner on baby teeth and more susceptible to decay. The enamel of baby teeth is …
February is Children’s Dental Health Month and we’d like to talk about all of the great things you can do to protect your child’s smile.
BRUSHING
Creating good dental habits for your children should start as soon as they wake up. Before breakfast, you should brush your teeth with your …
By: Dr. Kaitlin Haag
It’s January and winter white is on our minds… so let’s talk about white teeth. Having white teeth can make us feel more confident about our smiles. The same is largely true throughout human history. We’d like to start by saying that we do not recommend teeth whitening for kids under age …
The fancy technical name for this is bruxism. If you find yourself clenching your teeth during the day, or grind your teeth, or thrust your jaw forward over and over again, there’s a good chance you have bruxism and you should talk to your dentist. Doing these things …
Here are 5 ways to keep your teeth clean during Halloween!
Let’s Talk Mouth Wash
One of the questions I get on a regular basis is about mouthwash. Should I use mouthwash? Should my child? What age is appropriate? Do mouthwashes help prevent cavities? What kind of mouthwashes should I use? Here’s a breakdown of what I think is important to know.
Age matters! Please don’t use it on children younger …
Keeping Your Gums Healthy
You’ve probably heard of gum disease. It starts out as gingivitis and then can progress to full blown periodontal disease.
Gingivitis is a mild inflammation of the gums that isn’t painful. You may notice that your gums are red and puffy. When you brush, you may notice that your gums are bleeding. They may also bleed …
Let’s Delve into Dental X-rays
A dentist cannot do a full and complete examination of your mouth without x-rays. They are essential for us to be able to diagnose an infection in your tooth or the roots of your teeth, cavities between teeth or under fillings, the growth and development of the teeth and jaws for children and teenagers, and …
Antibiotics and Dentistry
Antibiotics are medicines that fight bacterial infections. They have saved the lives of many people who would have otherwise succumbed to illnesses such as tuberculosis. But they have their limitations too. Antibiotics are not a cure all; they cannot be used to treat viral infections like the common cold or fungal infections like thrush. And not all …
Why Your Baby Needs Teeth and Checkups
Over the years, I’ve had so many parents ask me why they need to take their babies and young children to the dentist and why, if their young child has a cavity, it would need to be fixed if the tooth is just going to fall out. Of course I understand these questions …
What are early childhood caries, or ECC? Well, caries is the medical term for cavities. So it is cavities in young children. Anyone can get a cavity, including young children and babies. Any child under the age of 6 who has a cavity or has had a filling or has lost a tooth has early childhood caries. Cavities are the …
February is Children’s Dental Health Month and we’d like to talk about all of the great things you can do to protect your child’s smile.
BRUSHING
Creating good dental habits for your children should start as soon as they wake up. Before breakfast, you should brush your teeth with your kiddos. When children are learning healthy habits, modeling the behavior …
Dr. Kaitlin Haag
Southwest Nebraska Dental Center
McCook, NE
Whether you’re staying home this year or trick-or-treating, you’ll love these fun activity ideas as either a substitute for trick-or-treating or a fun addition to your October activities.
To start, here is an article from the CDC on staying healthy during the holidays.
We also found …
Let’s Talk About Saliva
By: Dr. Kaitlin Haag
Every person on the planet deals with saliva on a daily basis. If you’re a parent in Nebraska (or anywhere), you probably dealt with a lot of saliva while your little one was teething! There are so many names for it! Spit, drool, slobber, spittle, froth, and probably a lot of other …
Do you have a child who loves science? When they’re at the right age, talk to them about a career in dentistry. There are so many great reasons to become a dentist. Dentists make a difference in their community by making sure it is full of happy, healthy smiles. …
Let’s Talk About Dentistry as an Essential Service
Dr. Kaitlin Haag
Southwest Nebraska Dental Center
McCook, NE
2020 has been a rough year thus far. The COVID-19 pandemic has really shaken everything up. In the early phases of the pandemic in the United States, most dental offices were shut down except for emergency services by their respective state boards because …
Let's Talk Back to School During COVID-19
By: Dr. Kaitlin Haag
Whether your family is heading back to school in person, online, home schooling, or a combination of the three, it’s important that we do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19. We believe that the best way to do this is to keep communication open and full of …
We know, we can’t believe it either! It seems like just yesterday they were off to kindergarten and now they graduated high school! As they start thinking about packing for college in the fall, here are some things you can do in advance to ensure a healthy first year!
NEW LOCATION; SAME QUALITY DENTAL CARE
Exciting News From Southwest Nebraska Dental Center!!
We are excited to announce we're moving to our new location!! We will be seeing patients starting MAY 11th at the new location! Our new address will be 2009 West J street.
We also want to thank all of our patients for being patient and understanding during …
By now you’re aware that it has been recommended (and in some states required) that dental offices limit appointments to emergency procedures until further notice. We realize this can be an inconvenience to our patients, but we also strongly believe this is a necessary measure to help control the spread of the coronavirus and hopefully bring life back to normal.
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International Women’s Day is March 8th and we thought it would be fun to highlight some of the trailblazing women in dentistry who have broken down barriers and fought for equality!
Emeline Roberts Jones was the first woman to practice dentistry in the United States. She was married to a dentist who didn’t think it was acceptable for women to …
Endodontics is the branch of dentistry specializing in the treatment of the dental pulp and tissues surrounding the roots of a tooth. Endodontists are dentists that are “root canal specialists”. Dr. David Meier with Western Nebraska Endodontics is our go-to Endodontist at our office. He is the only Endodontist on Western Nebraska. He practices in North Platte, Scottsbluff and Sidney. …
Respiratory viruses abound in the winter months. The virus that people usually worry about the most is the influenza virus. This year we are also concerned about the Wuhan coronavirus (2019-nCov) outbreak. Our goal is to keep our children and yours smiling, healthy, and safe, so we thought it would be a good idea to go over some tips for …
February is Children’s Dental Health Month, and we’re excited to kick things off with some tips on keeping your family’s smiles healthy.
Creating good dental habits for your children should start as soon as they wake up. Before breakfast, you should brush your teeth with your kiddos. When children are learning good habits, modeling behavior can be beneficial. Let them …
One of the newest and most distressing epidemics among children and adolescents is vaping. So what are electronic cigarettes? Why are e-cigarettes so popular? Why should we as dentists and parents care?
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a health advisory on August 30, 2019 to urge people to avoid e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes are a public health crisis. In 2019, …
Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) is a minimally invasive way to treat cavities and is easily the biggest innovation for pediatric dentistry in the US in decades. It’s been used in other countries in Europe, Japan, Australia, etc., for a long time. The FDA approved it for use in 2014, and it became commercially available in 2015. SDF is a new …
Pregnancy can sure be rough! Your body is changing in all sorts of fun (and not so fun) ways. And your mouth changes too. Pregnancy increases your risks of developing oral diseases like gum disease and cavities because of the physiological, dietary, and hormonal changes that are happening.
Did you know that if you're having problems with your teeth or …
Let’s Talk About Dental Insurance Series
Volume II: Let’s talk dental insurance clause and imitations
By Katie Schutte
Welcome to volume III of our mini blog series about all things dental insurance! Last week we talked about the differences between annual maximum versus deductibles, as well as calendar year versus benefit year. This week we are focusing on the insurance …
Let’s Talk About Dental Insurance Series Volume II:
Let’s talk benefit maximum versus deductible and calendar year versus benefit year
By Katie Schutte
Welcome to volume II of our mini blog series about all things dental insurance! Last week we talked about where insurance policies come from and who you need to talk to if you are unhappy with your …
Let’s Talk About Dental Insurance Series: Volume I
Where do insurance policies come from?
By Katie Schutte
We all know that insurance policies can be tricky to navigate and are always written in hard to understand legal jargon. Dental insurance policies, in particular, can be extremely hard to comprehend and decipher. At Southwest Nebraska Dental Center, we pride ourselves in …
Did you know that fluoride is a naturally occurring substance? Most people associate fluoride with visits to the dentist, tooth paste, and municipal water. But let’s find out more about this inorganic anion! Fluoride is a mineral that occurs naturally in many foods, soil, and water. And of course, you can find plenty at our Dentistry office in McCook, NE.
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A- Always brush & floss twice a day. Lead by example and make oral care a family affair. Use toothpaste with fluoride! Using fluoride is one of the greatest ways you can protect your child’s teeth from decay. Start brushing as soon as your child’s first tooth erupts. Starting at an early age helps create healthy brushing habits. Don’t forget …
When you think of dentists, more than likely you think of the general, or “family dentist”, who provides a comprehensive dental care and the majority of dentists, are general dentists. They provide a wide range of services, from teeth cleanings and fillings to root canals and implants. However, dentists can become specialists in certain fields. It’s important to be aware …
The best thing about being a dentist is helping people. Having a healthy smile is so much more than having perfectly straight and white teeth. Dental health impacts overall health and also impacts mental health and self-esteem. For most people who live in Southwest Nebraska and the rest of the United States, dental care is available and accessible. That is …
Summer fun has begun in Nebraska and it seems like the list of things we try to put on our children to protect them keeps growing and growing. We thought it would be helpful to compile information from reliable sources (linked in each section) on what you need to cover your kids, literally and figuratively.
Bug Spray: The American Academy …
There’s something quite exciting about when that first little baby tooth starts to wiggle! It’s a sign that things are really going to start changing for your little one’s mouth! Kids are getting excited about the tooth fairy and moms are getting teary-eyed because their babies are growing up.
As I get a lot of questions about this topic all …
Let’s Talk About Tongue Ties
with
Dr. Kaitlin Haag of Southwest Nebraska Dental Center in McCook, NE
Having a tongue tie is not just an inconvenience, it can have an impact on newborn health, toddler speech development, and can lead to tooth decay and gum disease in older children and adults.
Luckily, it’s simple to fix and easy to diagnose. …
Let’s Talk About Fillings
It happens to the best of us ... you’ve been told you or your child has a cavity and that a filling is necessary. After recovering from the surprise, you may wonder how we go about doing a filling, especially on a child. We thought it would be helpful to go through the basic steps of …
One of the questions I’m frequently asked is, “When do I need to take my child to the dentist for their first visit?”
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentists (AAPD) recommends that a child be brought to the dentist when their first tooth erupts, or by their first birthday, whatever comes first. If you missed this deadline, please don’t worry. …
Let’s Talk About Children’s Dental Health
February is Children’s Dental Health Month! Because we want the kids of McCook, NE to have the brightest, happiest smiles ever, we thought we’d go over the four important aspects of pediatric dental care.
BRUSHING
Creating good dental habits for your children should start as soon as they wake up. Before breakfast, you should …
Let’s Talk Tooth Whitening
It’s January and winter white is on our minds… so let’s talk about white teeth. Having white teeth can make us feel more confident about our smiles. The same is largely true throughout human history. We’d like to start with saying that we do not recommend teeth whitening for kids under age 14. If your kids …
Let’s Talk Xrays With Dr. Kaitlin Haag
I thought it would be a good time to talk about X-rays! Someof the most frequent questions I get asked in the office are about X-rays. Do I/my kids really need them? Is it safe? So I thought I’d share some of the basics when it comes to dental radiography and some of …
Let’s Talk Staying Healthy with Dr. Kaitlin Haag
Did you know that saliva is one of your body’s defenses against viruses and bacteria? Keeping your mouth healthy helps keep your whole body healthy. Brushing, flossing, staying hydrated, and visiting the best dentist in Nebraska twice a year helps your saliva do its germ fighting job! In addition to keeping your …