First of all, most children get a huge amount of candy for Halloween; some children can come home with pounds of it. Sweets and candy are great treats, but aren’t good for a child’s overall health or tooth health.

What happens when you regularly eat sugary foods is that plaque (a sticky film of bacteria) will produce an acid that attacks the teeth and gums… repeated attacks result in tooth decay from tooth enamel breakdown.

So, what can you do to help avoid tooth problems?

1. Eat a balanced diet. Healthy eating habits and reducing sugary treats are key to a healthy mouth. For excess Halloween candy, consider donating it to an organization or shelter.
2. Practice good dental hygiene, brushing at least twice a day and flossing once a day.
3. Visit your Tempe dentist every six months to prevent dental problems and catch any problems as early as possible.
4. Eat sweets with meals. During a meal your mouth produces more saliva to help wash away food and neutralize plaque acid, which may not happen if you eat the candy as a snack.
5. Drink fluoridated water and consider chewing sugarless gum to help prevent tooth decay. Certain sugarless gums such as Trident or Stride have won the ADA Seal of Acceptance.

If you don’t clean your teeth properly, you may be opening yourself up to tooth decay, gum disease, and possibly tooth loss over time. Properly caring for your teeth, visiting your dentist regularly, and following the five steps above can help you and your family keep your smile healthy and enjoy the Halloween festivities.

Are you looking for a family dentist in Tempe? Call Tempe Dental Care at (480) 730-5000 to make an appointment today!

Ask yourself, do you know what to do in these situations?

• A tooth gets knocked while playing a sport.
• You wake up with a painful toothache and can’t make it to the dentist for hours.
• A tooth gets broken during rough-housing or playtime.

Ask your dentist in Tempe for exact information on what you should do in a dental emergency, but here are some tips to help you if it’s happening now:

1. If you have a toothache and can’t get to the dentist right away, rinse your mouth with warm water and use floss or an interdental cleaner to ensure that nothing is stuck in between your teeth. You can take a painkiller to ease the pain but make plans to see your dentist – a painkiller is not a long term solution. You need to find what is causing your pain and get it fixed.
2. If your tooth has been knocked out, the first thing you need to do is try to find the tooth. If you can find it, hold it by the crown (the bottom part, not the part that goes into your gum) and gently rinse off the dirt. Don’t scrub, or remove any tissue fragments (those are good). If you can, try to reinsert it. If you cannot place the tooth into a glass of milk and contact your dentist immediately: time is a factor.
3. If your tooth was broken, gently rinse your mouth out. Place cold compresses on the area to help reduce swelling. See your doctor quickly to reduce the amount.

And always, keep your dentist in Tempe’s phone number, and all emergency numbers, in an easy to locate place (often on the refrigerator or inside a cabinet). If you have a dental emergency and need to get to a dentist in Tempe NOW, call the friendly dentists at Tempe Dental Care. They offer same day appointments for dental emergencies.

We have a proven track record and the patient testimonials and dental reviews to back it up. We offer a variety of dental services including Tempe, AZ family dentistry, Arizona sedation dentistry, and cosmetic dentistry to ensure that we can provide the best service possible to our patients.

Some of our most recent patients (from this month!) have said:

Outstanding Care
I was very impressed with everything about this office. Everyone one was friendly and I didn’t ever have a feeling that things were rushed. I was comfortable and put as ease every step of the way. The staff was very efficient and the dentist was at hand at frequent interval. I had a sense it was important to everybody that all or any questions I may have had were answered. The procedures themselves were not in the least bit stressful. Again, the professionals took every precaution to make sure no pain was introduced, even cheering me on although in truth they did all the work. I visited a doctor’s office one time (not a dentistry) where after the doctor diagnosed me, then left me in a room alone. I guess he and the staff assumed the patient would understand when everything is over. I didn’t have to worry about this at TDC. The staff explain everything in clear understandable language what was happening and what was going to happen. Finally, the dentist followed up in the evening with a courtesy call. The most important thing I can say is that the office took me in for an emergency and even though it was my first visit, I was treated like I’ve had been going there for years. I can’t say enough and recommend.
Anonymous

Tempe Dental Clinic
If you want excellent care and superior customer service, this is the place to go. I have been there twice now and both visits exceeded my expectation! I’m scared to death of dental work and they have changed my thoughts on dental visits.
Cheryl M.

Awesome Experience
I have been going to Tempe Dental Center for over a year. I hated going to the dentist however, I love Tempe Dental Center. I had to have a tooth extracted today and I was very apprehensive. Dr. Ward is wonderful, he said “it’s over” and all I could say was really, really. After years of fear of the dentist I have finally found a dentist I am NOT afraid of. The office staff is great.
Laura L.

If you’re looking for the “right fit” with your dentist in Tempe AZ, and a dental office that offers gentle, virtually pain-free dentistry, call Tempe Dental Care at (480) 730-5000 to make an appointment or consultation today.

When you have dental anxiety or a fear of the dentist, making the trip twice a year to your dentist can be excruciating and the last thing you want to think about. You may get anxious, fearful, or overwhelmed by just the thought of going to the dentist. Or, you may experience a multitude of physical symptoms such as nausea, light-headedness, or others that your dental anxiety or fear produce. Relax, there’s a solution for you!

Sedation Dentistry, the solution for Dental Anxiety or Fear

Sedation dentistry is a form of dentistry that allows patients who have dental anxiety or a dental phobia to receive the proper dental care in a safe environment where they can be relaxed and anxiety-free. There are two forms of sedation dentistry, oral sedation dentistry and IV sedation dentistry. The dentists at Tempe Dental Care are certified sedation dentists.

How Sedation Dentistry Can Help You

Whether you have a mild anxiety or a severe phobia, sedation dentistry may be just the solution for you. It can help you receive routine dental cleanings without pain and anxiety to help you prevent future problems or it can help you receive multiple procedures at once, painlessly and anxiety-free. Our dentists will meet with you to discuss your options and see if sedation dentistry is a good solution for you.

If you’re interested in sedation dentistry or would like more information, please contact Tempe Dental Care, the certified sedation experts, at (480) 730-5000.

The doctors at Tempe Dental Care are well known for their gentle and virtually painless dentistry. We take pride in our success at eliminating a lot of the pain associated with dentistry. Our goal is to establish lasting relationships with our patients. We will listen to your individual needs and concerns, providing care that is tailored for you.

Tempe Dental Care provides care for your entire family. We provide almost all types of dentistry, some of which are not listed below. The following is just a sample of some of the dental services we can offer you and your loved ones. If you have questions about any specific procedure that is or is not on the list, please contact our office at 480-730-5000.

Our staff is friendly and caring, insuring the most relaxing, comfortable, and welcoming atmosphere. We’ve been serving Phoenix the area for over 25 years, fulfilling the needs of entire families and friends alike. You can be confident that your smile is in good hands.

With our on-site Denture Laboratory, we can accommodate most of our patients’ needs for repair or reline immediately. New dentures can be made in one day. In order to insure your health and safety, we use the latest techniques in sterilization.

Tempe Dental Care is “in-network” with most dental insurance plans and files your insurance claims for you. Please see the list below for just some of the insurance plans we accept. We also accept Vital Savings by Aetna Discount Program. If you don’t see your insurance company listed below, please call us at (480) 730-5000 to see if we work with your insurance and learn about our other financial options. Please see our Financial page for more information.

One of our friendly dentists in Tempe can check your teeth quickly and painlessly to ensure your mouth, teeth, and gums are still nice and healthy and your smile is bright and white. And, if our dentist in Tempe AZ finds any problems, he can recommend the best treatment for you based on your situation, insurance, and budget. So this January make an appointment to get your entire family scheduled for a dental checkup with Tempe Dental Care by calling our friendly office staff at 480.730.5000.

At Tempe Dental Care we like to think that we make it easy to choose us. We have over 50 reviews recommending us as one of the top dentists in Tempe on a variety of sites, not just our own. All of the reviews give us a fantastic rating on our quality and our service. Here are a few links to some of our review sites (Google, Yelp, CitySearch) with some excerpts of our favorite reviews below.

 “Great Dentist Office Tempe Dental Care is hands down the best dental office I’ve been to in the Phoenix metro area. Their front office staff has always been friendly and helpful and the hygienists and doctors are super knowledgeable.” – Anonymous Google User

“The GREATEST dental experience I have ever had!!!… I have never liked going to the dentist! She told me that he does oral and iv sedation, which I had never used, so I was nervous. Him and his staff made me feel so comfortable, relaxed and reassured that I had made the right choice. No pain, no memory of the visit! This is definitely the best dental experience I have ever had and I am going to refer anyone I know to him!! If you don’t like the dentist, this is the place to go!! THANK YOU DR. WARD!” – Anonymous  Google User

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I, like most, dread going to the dentist – for fear of bad news! I’ve been coming to Dr. Ward’s office for over 2 years now, and good or bad, everyone has always been extremely considerate and helpful. They always have my best interest in mind. Thanks to everyone there, I’m on my way to a beautiful and *healthy* smile!” – Anonymous  Google User

“Dr. Ward is like a tooth ninja. He removed my wisdom teeth so skillfully that when he told me he was halfway done, I was aghast. I couldn’t even tell he’d taken one tooth out! And it’s not that he’s just heavy-handed with the Novocaine, either, he’s just very gentle. I’d recommend Dr. Ward to someone who was nervous about going to the dentist both because they’re afraid of pain or they’re nervous because they haven’t seen a dentist in a while. Some of my teeth were in kind of bad shape, but he wasn’t judgmental about it, he just explained what needed to be done and gave me lots of lower cost options. ..[Dr. Ward] called me two days after my wisdom teeth extraction to make sure I was doing okay. That’s… really, really nice. That’s like 1950s doctor nice, like how on old sitcoms doctors are always making house calls but they never do in real life nice.” – Jenny R.

Plus, we take almost every type of insurance, take a look at our Financial page for just a small list of the plans we accept. If you don’t see your dental insurance listed there, don’t worry. We probably accept yours as well, call our office at 480.730.5000 and we’ll be able to give you more information. If you don’t have insurance or yours is one of the few insurance plans that we don’t work with, don’t worry! Our services are affordable and we offer many other types of financing.

You don’t have to wait until 2011 officially starts to start the new year off on the right foot. One of the biggest resolutions is to start eating healthier and to lose weight. Keep in mind, the end goal of both of these resolutions is to give you more confidence, which you can easily have with a healthy smile. And, it’s faster and easier: it just takes a dental exam and cleaning!

Schedule an exam today with Arizona’s favorite dentist at Tempe Dental Care by calling 480.730.5000.

The best and most affordable dental care is prevention. The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends seeing your dentist every six months to keep your teeth, gums, and mouth healthy and to help prevent expensive dental problems.

If you need to get any dental work done, one way you may consider helping pay for that dental work is through your Flex Spending Account. Since you typically have to declare how much you want to set aside for the new year prior to the beginning of the year, visit your dentist in Tempe before the end of 2010.

This may be the perfect time to visit your dentist in Tempe AZ. If you haven’t been to the dentist in a while, you may need more work than a simple cleaning. Or, you may decide that now is the perfect time to get the teeth whitening or cosmetic dentistry that you’ve been considering for a while. Either way, the friendly and knowledgeable Tempe dentists at Tempe Dental Care can help you decide.