A Healthy Smile is a Beautiful Smile with Dr. David Bishop

Regular checkups and dental cleanings are a part of any good oral hygiene routine, and at our office in Silver Spring, MD, we provide dental care services of the highest quality to ensure that our patients’ smiles stay healthy year after year.

Plaque is a soft and sticky film of bacteria that can build up on your teeth despite regular brushing and flossing. Because teeth are constantly bathed in saliva, which contains calcium and other substances to strengthen and protect teeth, tartar or calcium deposits can also build up over time. Dental cleanings work to remove both plaque and tartar from the teeth. If it is not removed and is allowed to accumulate, bacteria will be provided a perfect environment and thrive on the gums and teeth, which can cause cavities, infection and gum disease.

While good for maintaining oral health between dentist visits, at-home brushing and cleaning are not enough to make sure teeth stay clean; regular dental cleanings are required. We will clean and polish your teeth, leaving the surface clean and smooth. The smoother the teeth, the more difficult it is for bacteria to stick to them and the more effective at-home brushing will be.

We recommend checkups and dental cleanings every six months for optimum oral health. To schedule an appointment with Dr. David Bishop or Dr. Dorienne Taylor-Bishop of Bishop & Bishop Dental, call (301) 608-9270. For more information, visit www.bishopdental.com.

Importance of Coming in Regularly for Cleaning

Importance of Coming in Regularly for Cleaning

Although you may not think about going to the dentist until you have a problem, such as a toothache or loose filling, routine checkups are important. Coming in for a checkup and regular cleanings plays a vital role in maintaining good oral health and preventing dental problems.

 

Bishop & Bishop Dental offers a variety of dental services including hygiene. Regular dental cleanings involve removing plaque and tartar from the teeth and gum line. Even if you brush your teeth and floss regularly, you still need a dental cleaning.

 

A professional cleaning involves the use of special tools, which helps remove tartar that brushing can’t. In addition, the hygienist and dentist can detect signs of gum disease early and recommended treatment.

 

Regular cleanings also allow our dentists to follow your dental health and compare your current condition with previous visits. This helps determine if gum disease is progressing.

Current research indicates gum disease may increase your chances of developing health problems, such as heart disease. Maintaining good oral health is not only about having a nice smile and white teeth. Preventing gum disease and keeping your mouth healthy can have an impact on your overall health.

 

For more information on dental hygiene services, or to schedule an appointment, please call Bishop & Bishop Dental at 301-608-9270.

Benefits of Electric Toothbrushes

Benefits of Electric Toothbrushes

Here at Bishop & Bishop Dental, we want to help our patients prevent oral health problems as much as possible so they don’t deal with extensive procedures later on. Dr. David Bishop encourages the use of power toothbrushes, showing the many benefits of electric toothbrushes in terms of dental hygiene and periodontal health our patients can achieve. While brushing manually with a traditional toothbrush twice a day get the teeth and gums clean, electric toothbrushes go even further and have other advantages as well.

 

Our patients benefit in a number of ways by using electric toothbrushes, including:

• Getting cleaner teeth
• Not brushing too hard
• Brushing their teeth for the recommended time
• Brushing thoroughly with dexterity problems
• Being more environmentally friendly

Electric toothbrushes are easy to use and come with multiple attachments for every family member. To use it properly, angle it at a 45-degree angle and place it on the tooth where the gum line is. The bristled gently turn and vibrate, cleaning more plaque in the same amount of time. Many electric toothbrushes contain a timer that lets you know how long you should brush your teeth. By using an electric toothbrush, our patients come to our office less frequently with dental problems.

Contact us at 301-608-9270 for any questions or concerns about the benefits of electric toothbrushes.

Snoring & Snoring Devices

Snoring & Snoring Devices

Bishop & Bishop Dental provides dental care for all types of oral health issues, including snoring and snoring devices. We offer a variety of oral appliances and devices that help our patients stop snoring whether it is related to sleep apnea or due to the tissues in their throat.

 

These devices are custom made to be comfortable and secure while patients sleep, reducing snoring and helping them get better sleep. Dr. David Bishop also provides oral appliances specifically for patients struggling with sleep apnea, which is a common cause of snoring.

 

Snoring and snoring devices available here in our dental practice help position the jaw and tongue while sleeping, increase the tongue’s muscle tone so it is more relaxed during sleep, and stabilize the tongue and jaw.

 

Tongue retaining appliances, CPAP machines for sleep apnea, and mandibular repositioning appliances that keep the lower jaw in a protruded position are just a few of the various appliances available to help with snoring.

 

Please call us at 301-608-9270 to learn more about snoring and snoring devices we provide and how they can help you stop snoring at night.

Implants / Mini Implants

Implants / Mini Implants

If you are missing teeth, you might be experiencing difficulty eating your favorite foods, not to mention the fact that it isn’t aesthetically pleasing. While it can be a pain to have missing teeth, there is a permanent solution in the form of implants. Here at Bishop Dental in Silver Spring, MD we provide regular implants and mini implants. Each implant provides a permanent restoration to replace one or multiple missing teeth.

Our dentist, David Bishop, provides traditional and mini implants. Traditional implants involve placing a titanium post deep into the jaw bone of the missing tooth. Once it has healed, a crown is placed over the post, allowing you to chew as you normally would. The crown is custom-made to fit your smile, so it looks and feels natural. It will be the same basic color, size, and shape of the surrounding teeth.

Mini dental implants are done in a similar way, though they take less time. The post used in mini implants is about half the size and doesn’t go in as far into the bone, so it heals much more quickly. This is done in a single step, as opposed to months. Once the post is in, the crown is placed over it right here in our office.

Either direction you go, your implants provide a permanent answer to your missing teeth problem, but should also be cared far like your other teeth. Always brush and floss the implant twice a day.