Preventive Dental Care For Dental Health Month!

All too often, many assume that a dental appointment is not needed because there are no real dental issues going on at the moment. Contrary to popular belief, your dentist is there for more than knocked out teeth and toothaches. The right dentist can help with proper preventive care to help keep your mouth healthy and to help prevent more serious issues from occurring.

Every 6 Months

At the very least, you should be visiting Dr. Travis Coulter or Dr. Elizabeth van den Hoven every 6 months. This allows them to fully inspect your teeth and gums to ensure that there are no issues that you are not aware of yet. When you let conditions with your teeth get out of hand, the resolution can be rather invasive. By keeping your twice yearly appointments, you can keep your mouth healthy and your pain to a minimum.

Why Is A Comprehensive Dental Visit Important?

When you visit our office regularly, it allows us to have a baseline with which to compare your mouth to each time you visit. At your initial New Patient appointment, your Spokane Valley dentists will perform x-rays and other routine procedures to assess what is normal for your individual mouth. On subsequent visits, Drs. Travis Coulter or Liz van den Hoven will be able to determine if anything has drastically changed.

Immediate Assistance

Of course, if you have any issues that require immediate dental assistance, you should not delay in calling our office. Anytime you experience pain, bleeding, a lost permanent tooth, a lost filling, or anything out of the ordinary, you should call us right away.

Happy "Tooth" Thousand Fourteen!

At Coulter Family Dentistry, we're ringing in the New Year in style. We invite you to come by our offices and see the difference that our patients are talking about! From comprehensive family dental care, to complex cosmetic makeovers and sleep apnea therapies, the Spokane Valley dental team at Coulter Family Dentistry offers only the best.

As you pin up your list of New Year's Resolutions, don't forget about your oral care! Is there a procedure you've needed but have been putting off? Or perhaps you've always wanted to fix the space between your front teeth but hadn't gotten around to scheduling a consultation. Many of our patients are surprised to learn how affordable cosmetic dentistry is, and appreciate the financial plans that we offer to help their dental needs and desires fit their budget.

It's not too late to call and schedule your next appointment - we're available to help you! Call us today at (509) 209-8747, or visit our website at www.coulterdentistry.com to learn more!

January is Coulter Family Dentistry's "Get Healthy Month"

New Habits for a New Year!

With the New Year upon us, we know there is pressure to get healthy and fit, and we truly believe in the importance of this. Our office would like to help make that a little easier for you! Please visit our website or Facebook page for a weekly tip on how to get healthy and stay healthy this year!

Tip #1: Reduce/cut out the stress in your life! www.vibrantlife.com 

Tip #2: Get the rest your body needs. www.vibrantlife.com 

Tip #3: Make sure you are getting an adequate amount of exercise each day! www.heart.org 

Tip #4: Maintain a healthy diet. www.helpguide.com 

Tip #5: Maintain regular visits with your primary care doctor. www.bmc.org 

Sip All Day - Get Decay!

Image Courtesy of dentalgentalcare.com

It is well known that sugar can promote obesity, tooth decay, and a wealth of other health issues. but do we realize just how much sugar is in our food and snacks? Here at Coulter Family Dentistry in Spokane Valley, WA we understand that a healthy diet is just as important as regular visits to the dentists or hygienist. Our friends at the Minnesota Dental Association have put together a campaign to teach children and families about the harmful effects of soda drinking.

Here's how you get cavities

• Sugar in pop combines with bacteria in your mouth to form acid.
• Diet or "sugar-free" pop contains its own acid.
• Acid in soft drinks, whether they contain sugar or not, is the primary cause of weakening tooth enamel.
• The acid attacks your teeth. Each acid attack lasts about 20 minutes.
• The acid attack starts over again with every sip.
• Ongoing acid attacks weaken your tooth enamel.
• Bacteria in your mouth cause cavities when tooth enamel is damaged.

How to reduce decay

• Drink soft drinks in moderation.
• Don't sip for extended periods of time. Ongoing sipping prolongs sugar and acid attacks on your teeth.
• Use a straw to keep the sugar away from your teeth.
• After drinking, swish your mouth out with water to dilute the sugar.

To learn more about the research Minnesota Dental Association has completed, visit their website here!

Flouride - Nature's Cavity Fighter!

Healthy Teeth For Life

Many children in Washington suffer from dental pain caused by disease and decay. These children have limited access to preventive dental care, and may not even have access to restorative care (filling teeth, extracting decayed teeth). Dental decay is one of the most often cited reasons for missed days of school, and impacts our community's most vulnerable. For this reason, Dr. Travis Coulter and Dr. Elizabeth van den Hoven at Coulter Family Dentistry in Spokane Valley, WA join the ADA and Washington State Dental Association to support water fluoridation to prevent dental disease.

Fluoride is nature's cavity fighter, occurring naturally in the earth's crust, in combination with other minerals in rocks and soil. Small amounts of fluoride occur naturally in all water sources, and varying amounts of the mineral are found in all foods and beverages. Water fluoridation is the process of adjusting the natural level of fluoride to a concentration sufficient to protect against tooth decay. Flouride minerals bind to enamel to strengthen the structure of the tooth, and this can be key for children as their teeth develop.

Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives

2 minutes - 2 times a day!

In August of 2012, the Ad Council joined with The Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives, a coalition of more than 35 leading dental health organizations, to debut Kids’ Healthy Mouths. Dental decay is the most common chronic childhood disease with more than 16 million kids suffering from untreated tooth decay in the U.S., oral disease is estimated to cause kids to miss 51 million school hours and their parents to lose 25 million work hours annually, and disproportionately affects children from low-income families. At Coulter Family Dentistry in Spokane Valley, WA, we recommend children have their first dental visit by age 1 as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and maintain regular 6 month cleaning appointments for exams. 

Parents and their children can visit 2min2x.org to watch entertaining videos and listen to music, while children are brushing their teeth. Learn more about preventive care and make sure to schedule your next dental appointment with your family dentist at Coulter Family Dentistry. Make oral health part of your New Year’s Resolution!

A Season of Thanksgiving

As we approach Thanksgiving and live in this season of thankfulness, we want to send our thanks and appreciation to our patients and community. Without your patronage and service, we would not exist! Dr. Travis Coulter, Dr. Elizabeth van den Hoven, and the staff at Coulter Family Dentistry in Spokane Valley, WA strive for meeting your individual needs; not seeing people in terms of their teeth, but treating the whole person and helping them on a road to longer living in a healthy way.

We also thank the military personnel that have served in the past for our country and those that are serving now, away from family and friends.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday - to you and yours!

The Staff of Coulter Family Dentistry