Your teeth have enemies — bacteria that feed on biofilm, a thin layer of food remnant known as plaque that sticks to your teeth, are one such example. After ingestion, these bacteria produce acid, which can erode your teeth’s protective enamel and lead to tooth decay. Fortunately, you have a weapon against enamel loss already…
Young children are like sponges, soaking up patterns of behavior they will later apply in many circumstances throughout life. In this learning process, they often look to family members for guidance. Some good habits, like saying “please” and “thank you,” can be taught verbally. Others are best learned by example. Developing good habits early will…
It’s a recognized goal of modern dentistry to help you keep your natural teeth clean and disease-free, so you’ll be able to enjoy them for your whole life. But dentists can’t accomplish that goal by ourselves — we need your help! Maintaining good oral hygiene is the best way to ensure that your smile stays…
You may be suffering from an uncomfortable cracking of the skin at the corners of the mouth. This condition is known as perleche (or angular cheilitis). From the French word “lecher” (“to lick”), it derives its name from the tendency of sufferers to lick the affected areas. There are a number of causes for perleche….
Protecting one’s smile is important at any age. This is especially true for people who participate in contact sports or other activities where a trauma to the mouth can occur. While we all tend to believe that we are safe and that injuries “only happen to other people,” we could not be further from the…
Do you snore? You can admit it. Most everyone does, from time to time. But if snoring becomes a frequent and disturbing feature of your nighttime routine, it may be more than just an annoyance. Did you know that excessive snoring — when accompanied by irritability and depression, daytime sleepiness and confusion, and/or several other…
Here’s an interesting tidbit of information on Wheel of Fortune host Vanna White: like many people, she grinds her teeth at night. In a detailed interview with Dear Doctor magazine, Vanna explained how she had to replace a filling in a back tooth several times because of her grinding habit. Eventually, she had her dentist…
Did you know that severe tooth decay is America’s #1 chronic childhood disease? Actress Brady Reiter didn’t know either — until she became the star of the movie Tooth Fairy 2, and then joined forces with the National Children’s Oral Health Foundation: America’s ToothFairy®. “Before, I didn’t even realize what can happen to kids if…
No one wants to hear the word “cancer.” But thanks to advances in detection and treatment, the disease increasingly can be stopped in its earliest stages when it’s most treatable and outcomes are most favorable. Oral cancer accounts for a relatively small 3% of cancers in men and 2% in women, but early detection rates…
Orthodontic treatment (commonly known as braces) can be a lengthy process to re-align your teeth to a more functional and aesthetic position. Once the orthodontic devices are removed, however, the treatment isn’t finished. Wearing a retainer is the final step to ensuring that the re-alignment doesn’t eventually fail. It’s designed to do just what its…
Dr. Art Mirelez and his team provide exceptional cosmetic dentistry, dental implants, sedation dentistry, holistic dentistry, general dentistry and more to patients in the Fresno area, including Clovis, Madera, Sanger, Kerman, Selma, Coarsegold, Oakhurst, Friant, Fowler, Kingsburg and Reedley.
