Imagine that you sit down for some evening television, and during the course of the evening, you see five commercials regarding dental products. They all claim to be the best. Then remember your last visit to the dental aisle at a local grocery store. The choices are overwhelming and there seems to be no sure answer as to which would be the best choice for your child.

We hear this question a lot at Carolina Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, and we don’t mind when patients who are eager to complete their orthodontic treatment ask us. After all, we know there is no better feeling than getting your braces off!

It’s no secret that New Year’s Eve is one of the most widely celebrated holidays in the world. Drs. Luis Leite and Rick Singh and our team love it too. It’s a fresh start, another year of surviving the crazy world we live in, a time to refocus on the things we want for ourselves, a celebration with those we love … the list goes on.

When most patients ask Drs. Luis Leite and Rick Singh this question, they're thinking strictly about sugar content — cut out the bacteria-feeding sugar that's present in regular soda by opting for a diet soda and it will be better for your teeth. That seems logical, right? Well, there's a bit more to it than that. Let's take a closer look at how any kind of soda can affect your dental health.

The alarm sounds in the morning, you wake up and realize "I forgot to wear my retainer!" If this only happened once, don't panic. Missing one night with a retainer is unlikely to cause significant teeth movement. However, if it has happened often, give our Northeast Columbia office a call to make sure your teeth haven’t shifted position.

At Carolina Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, Drs. Luis Leite and Rick Singh and our staff know that eating with braces can be tricky. You want to avoid damaging the bands, brackets, and wires, since any damage can delay the progress of your treatment. After adjustments, your mouth may also feel sore, which will make eating more of a chore than a pleasure.

After getting your braces, it is important to know how to take care of your teeth in order to ensure that your braces stay intact and do their job so that your teeth are in top-notch condition after you complete your orthodontic treatment. Today, our team at Carolina Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry thought we would provide you with five tips you need to know to ensure you undergo successful treatment at our Northeast Columbia office.

If your child could have it his way, chances are he would eat Lucky Charms for breakfast, a peanut butter and fluff sandwich for lunch, and chicken fingers slathered in ketchup for dinner. Kids will be kids, and maintaining a healthy diet is often the farthest thing from their minds. Do you remember the old saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”? Well, that folksy wisdom can be applied to oral health, too. Think of it like this: an apple a day keeps the dentist at bay. Here are five nutrition tips Drs. Luis Leite and Rick Singh and our team at Carolina Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry wanted to pass along that will give your child a healthy, bright smile.

Here is some surprising yet worthwhile advice you might be hearing for the first time: Brushing after a meal can be incredibly bad for your teeth if you do it after eating certain foods. Enamel is an extremely hard mineral on the exterior of each of your teeth. It’s actually the hardest substance in the human body: It’s even stronger than your bones! Its only weakness is that acids in the food we eat can easily destroy enamel.

A vital step in your oral health routine is flossing. We hope our patients at Carolina Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry maintain good oral hygiene, including daily flossing between each visit to our Northeast Columbia office. A toothbrush is not always enough to get to the hard-to-reach areas of your mouth. When food remains between your teeth, bacteria starts to grow and will break down your enamel. This is where flossing comes in!