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You went through a lot of effort and work to achieve your perfect smile. You wore your Invisalign aligner trays, brushed and flossed diligently, and now your treatment is done! What happens now?

In order to keep your teeth healthy and beautiful, you should keep several practices in play.

Retainers

Although everyone’s needs are different, many patients require a retainer after Invisalign treatment. If a retainer is recommended by Drs. James and Mary Rose Twohig, use it as directed. Not wearing retainers could result in shifting teeth and potentially ruin your results.

It’s also recommended that you avoid hard, crunchy foods for the first few weeks as your teeth adjust. For younger patients, retainers are normally worn until the wisdom teeth come in or are extracted.

Brushing and Flossing

It should come as no surprise that flossing should still be done every day to remove plaque, which can develop into tartar or calculus. The build-up can lead to gingivitis and gum disease.

Your gums may be more sensitive for a week or two after your orthodontic work is completed. A warm saltwater rinse may relieve discomfort.

Because your teeth have been protected by your Invisalign aligners and are now fully exposed, they may be more sensitive the first few weeks after treatment. If that’s the case, we can recommend a sensitive toothpaste to relieve your discomfort. If your teeth are stained, a professional whitening treatment may be considered.

Regular Dental Checkups

Regular dental exams ensure your teeth stay healthy for life. Professional cleanings, X-rays, and cavity treatment can be addressed by staying on top of your routine checkups.

If you have any questions about how to care for your teeth after your Invisalign program, please ask our Albuquerque team. We want you to keep your healthy smile and enjoy the results of your Invisalign treatment.

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month so it’s a perfect time for the team at Twohig Dentistry to review some of the important steps in keeping your child’s smile happy and healthy. Caries, better known as cavities, is the most common disease for children. In the blog below we focus on child nutrition and tips and tricks to help create healthy habits for a lifetime. 

60% of kids have decay by the age of 5 so getting your child into a regular dental care routine is of paramount importance! We have some suggestions that will help. Lay your toddler-aged child down and brush their teeth.  Introduce an app called Chompers into your dental routine and demonstrate to your child while you brush your teeth. Use instructive and fun children’s books as well! 

Dental health looks slightly different at each stage of your child’s development. Children can start seeing a dentist as early as age 1 but all children should be seen by a dentist 6 months after their first tooth appears. For baby teeth, use a baby brush to clean the milk out of your baby’s mouth.  Toddlers should not use bottles or pacifiers and should refrain from putting fingers into their mouths. At this developmental stage, parents should brush their child’s teeth. They cannot do this on their own but know it's ok to let them participate. When your child grows out of the toddler stage start using a 2-minute timer when they brush their teeth. 

We know that children can be a little anxious about visiting the dentist. Children who visit the dentist at a young age will feel more comfortable for future visits.  Dr. Mary Rose Twohig believes in the Tell, Show, Do method to help the kids understand and feel comfortable.

If you have any questions or concerns or want to learn more, Dr. Twohig and the team at Twohig Dentistry are always happy to discuss them with you—any time of year! We can’t wait to see you and your family in our office again soon.

With a new year comes a new opportunity to refocus on all the things you want to accomplish. We know this can seem especially daunting after a long holiday with delicious food and ample time for relaxation, but we’ve got a few tips on how to get you going again! Read on to discover Twohig Dentisty’s secret to accomplishing goals.

It’s quite easy to get back into the swing of things after a nice holiday break. We arrive back at work feeling well-rested and ready to work! When it comes to goals and general tasks, we suggest writing down the things you need to do the next day so that you sleep better! Having an organized list of what you need to tackle makes you better prepared for the challenges ahead. It also helps to share your goals with someone and to set a deadline for each goal.

A common goal that most of our patients share is forming better dental hygiene habits. We recommend finding the best time of day for you to brush and floss. Your dental hygiene routine does not always have to be at the end of the evening. We hope that everyone will stop drinking sugary beverages in the new year as this could greatly help with improving dental health!

In the new year, there’s so much we’d like to do! Exercising and sleeping well are two we hope to get into better habits of. Our staff are all dreaming of more travel in 2020! Dr. Twohig plans to read “Little Women” this year. What do you have planned for 2020?

Thank you to all of our patients who donated to our Meals on Wheels Donation Drive. We collected two overflowing boxes of goods to make their clients’ holidays brighter. We hope that you were able to see some of the Gingerbread Houses at Gingerbread Enchantment. We were able to share three with a few of the assisted living facilities in our area.

We hope to see you in our office soon!

At Twohig Dentistry, we know our patients love a good amount of rest each night in order to be energized for the day and week ahead. After all, without enough sleep, exhaustion during the day is the most immediate consequence.

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that could be an indicator of serious health problems. The most common symptom is loud snoring, but the condition is characterized by breathing that repeatedly starts and stops throughout the night, leaving you feeling tired in the morning. Other serious effects from sleep apnea could be potentially dangerous to your health if left unaddressed, a great reason to visit Drs. James and Mary Rose Twohig.

Besides losing precious hours of sleep, sleep apnea also elevates the risk of heart attack and stroke, and may cause other conditions such as depression, irritability, high blood pressure, memory loss, and sexual dysfunction.

Anyone can develop sleep apnea, but it is more common among middle aged adults who are overweight. Drs. James and Mary Rose Twohig can help you determine the cause and suggest possible treatment.

A common treatment for sleep apnea is an oral device that is designed to help keep the airway open. By bringing the jaw forward, the device opens the airway and discourages snoring. Drs. James and Mary Rose Twohig and our team are experienced in sleep apnea appliances, and can prescribe a fitted device, as well as monitor its success each time you visit.

A continuous positive airway pressure mask, also known as a CPAP, is among the other treatment options you may opt for. A mask is fitted over the mouth and forces oxygen through the throat while you sleep, and the pressure holds the soft tissue and throat muscles open.

If you think you may be suffering from sleep apnea, visit our Albuquerque office. Our team at Twohig Dentistry can help you return to getting a better night’s sleep.