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At Dr. Fairfax & Associates Family Dentistry, we understand that kids are prone to cavities. Many children enjoy sweets and sugary beverages and are not always the most thorough brushers and flossers. Our top Fairfax, VA dentist and hygienist have put together a few tips to help you give your child a good head start for their oral health.

Decrease Your Child’s Sweet Snacking

While you don’t want to eliminate childhood goodies altogether, you do want to decrease your child’s risk for cavities. Daily snacks that contain sugar and sweet and acidic juices should be limited to a few times per month.

Supervise Brushing and Flossing

Most children require assistance when brushing, at ...

Are you an older adult who would like straighter teeth but feel the time for orthodontic treatment has passed you by? Maybe you didn’t have braces as a child, or you did, and your teeth have since relapsed.

Invisalign - A Great Choice at Any Age

Many seniors believe or have been told that moving teeth later in life isn’t possible. But the fact is that, with the right treatment, your teeth can be straightened at any age.

The process works the same way as it does for younger adults; putting pressure on the teeth slowly but surely moves them into the desired position. Whether you want to reposition a few teeth or ...

If you’re a millennial searching for jobs, you face a lot of competition. To be successful, it’s essential that you present your best appearance during interviews and while on the job. Since your smile is one of the first things others notice, you want to be sure it’s making you feel confident and not dragging you down.

Confidence and Smiles

Unfortunately, many in this age group don’t feel confident about either the health or appearance of their smile. Recently, the American Dental Association completed a study to determine how millennials felt about their oral health and the impact it had on their success in business and social relationships. Here are some ...

When was the last time you smiled with confidence? Are you so self-conscious about it that you find yourself withdrawing from social and business interactions with others? Do you feel that it's limiting your chances for success?

These are everyday experiences for those who are embarrassed about the appearance of their teeth. But cosmetic dentistry can resolve all the imperfections that diminish your confidence and leave you with a smile that you can’t wait to share.

Cosmetic Dentistry Options

The good news is that you have lots of cosmetic dentistry options in Fairfax to choose from, many of them conservative and affordable enough to fit in most anyone’s budget:

• Teeth whitening
• Tooth-colored filling
• Cosmetic bonding
• Porcelain ...

Everyone has a different approach to their oral hygiene, but generally speaking, the biggest problem is that most of us don’t do it often enough; in a 2013 survey, the American Dental Association found that only about 57 percent of women brush, and the number drops to 50 percent for men.

Given these statistics, it may come as a shock to you that there’s anyone who would overbrush their teeth. While this may seem like a positive, proactive approach to oral hygiene, there can definitely be too much of a good thing when it comes to brushing frequency. 

The Problem with Overbrushing 

You can maintain excellent oral health by brushing twice and flossing once daily. ...

Is it time for you to buy a new toothbrush? The bristles on the one you’re using now aren’t totally flattened out yet, and you’ve kept it clean by storing it upright with your family’s brushes on the bathroom counter. You’re all good, right?

There are many things wrong with this picture, but millions of people care for their toothbrush in exactly this way. Let’s take these steps apart one by one so we can look at the problem with this approach and then explain the correct way to care for your brush.

Replace Worn Toothbrushes

If your brush looks like someone sat on it, it needs to be replaced. Frayed, worn bristles aren’t ...

Millions of people around the world suffer from dental anxiety. It’s the butterflies you feel in your stomach at the thought of scheduling an appointment and your desire to be anyplace else once you’re in the dental chair.

Some people are so riddled with anxiety that their condition is considered dental phobia. This kind of intense anxiety can be so uncomfortable that many phobic patients choose to forgo treatment altogether.

Let’s take a look at four common fears and how your dentist in Fairfax, VA addresses them:

Fear of Pain

Let’s face it; nobody likes pain. You may have heard “horror stories” from family or friends, or you may have had your own negative experience ...