Many people reach for sugar-free soda as a healthier alternative to regular soft drinks. While it’s true that these beverages contain less or no sugar, they’re still not great for your dental health. In fact, sugar-free sodas can still damage your teeth in surprising ways.

Acid is the real problem. Most diet sodas contain phosphoric or citric acid, which weakens tooth enamel over time. Without strong enamel, your teeth are more vulnerable to cavities, sensitivity, and discoloration.

Why Sugar-Free Doesn’t Mean Tooth-Friendly

Even without sugar, the acidic pH of diet soda can lead to dental erosion. This erosion is a gradual wearing away of the tooth surface, which cannot be reversed once it happens. And because diet sodas don’t cause pain right away, many people don’t realize the damage until it’s advanced.

Some sugar substitutes may also increase your cravings for sweet things. This can lead to snacking more frequently, which raises your risk of tooth decay. So, while you’re avoiding sugar, your teeth may still be under attack in other ways.

Protecting Your Smile from Soda Damage

If you enjoy soda, try drinking it with a meal rather than sipping throughout the day. Use a straw to reduce contact with your teeth, and rinse your mouth with water after drinking. Most importantly, avoid brushing your teeth immediately after soda, as the acid softens enamel and brushing can wear it down even more.

Regular dental checkups are key to catching early signs of enamel erosion. At Song Dental, we’re here to help you keep your smile healthy—whether you drink soda or not. Contact us to schedule a visit and learn more about protecting your teeth.

If you have a crown, it may occasionally give you problems. This can come from an improper fitting, decay, or simple wear and tear on the cement that holds your crown in place. Most crown problems are reasonably easy to remedy, but you will want to bring them to our Lynnwood dentistry clinic as quickly as you can in order to avoid more severe damage.

Firstly, a lot of people experience some degree of pain or sensitivity. When this happens, you may simply need to brush with a paste designed for sensitive teeth. If you experience pain when you bite down on your crown, the crown may be too high up; your dentist should be able to fix this problem for you.

Sometimes a crown will loosen or fall off. If this happens, a very vulnerable part of your tooth is exposed to decay. Be alert for a loose crown, and tell your dentist immediately if you notice anything askew. Should your crown come out, clean both the crown and the tooth and replace it with temporary dental cement until you can get it to your dentist to be refitted.

Our Lynnwood dental center wants your little ones to get a good start on their teeth, and there are few greater threats to an infant’s oral health than bottle mouth. The good news is that it’s an easy enough condition to avoid, if you’re aware of it, so simply follow these easy guidelines and you’ll save your baby from serious, catastrophic tooth decay.

The term “bottle mouth” comes from the fact that it generally arises from misuse of a bottle. Sometimes babies can fall asleep while drinking from bottles, and this causes the sugary substance within to pool in their mouths and linger for far longer than it should. As the baby sleeps, saliva production drops, so there is very little guarding his or her mouth from rampant decay.

With this in mind, never put your baby to sleep with a bottle of milk, juice, or any other sugary substance. Pacifiers are a good alternative, as is a bottle of regular water. To learn more about proper dental hygiene for infants, you can consult Song’s Lynnwood dental clinic.

Brushing Your Teeth

When you get your routine check-up at our Lynnwood Dentistry, do you find that you’re developing plaque in the same places over and over again? Maybe you’ve even tried to pay more attention to brushing thoroughly, and you still experience the same plaque growth. If this is the case, the answer to your problem may be as simple as rotating your normal brushing routine.

Humans are creatures of habit, and it’s easy to fall into a strict pattern with your tooth brushing. You probably always start brushing in the same area every time you pick up your brush. This means that the same teeth are always getting your best attention, and you’re only getting to the other parts of your teeth after you’ve grown impatient, diluted your toothpaste, and lost focus on your routine.

To avoid doing this, pay attention to where you begin brushing and try to mix it up. Divide your mouth into four quarters, and focus on starting on a different quarter every morning and night. You may be surprised at the improvement you experience!

If you get a cavity, you want to get it fixed by our Lynnwood dentistry clinic as soon as possible. Otherwise, you are at risk of developing a debilitating infection that will cause you a lot of pain and grief. This infection is known as a dental abscess.

Cavities and Dental Abscess

The cause of an abscess is the same bacteria that causes cavities. When the cavity penetrates deep enough, the bacteria begins to flourish in the soft tissues and the bones of your face and neck. It manifests itself as a pain in your mouth, face, jaw, or throat region, and can include any of the following symptoms:

• Redness or swelling in the mouth or face
• Nausea and vomiting
• Fever
• Chills
• Diarrhea
• Tenderness
• Pus drainage
• Difficulty opening your mouth
• Difficulty swallowing

Should you experience these symptoms, it is time to visit our dentist right away.