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Getting braces is a big step toward achieving a confident, healthy smile—and how you care for them matters. At Live & Smile Dental & Orthodontics on Amador Plaza Road in Dublin, CA, we want to make sure you have all the tools and tips you need to keep your treatment on track and your teeth in top shape. Whether you’ve just started your braces journey or you're well into it, here’s your expert guide from your trusted dental and orthodontic office in Dublin, CA. DO : Brush After Every Meal Food can easily get caught in brackets and wires, leading to plaque, bad breath, and even permanent stains. We recommend brushing after every meal using fluoride toothpaste and a soft-bristled toothbrush. Live and Smile can show you the best brushing techniques for braces. DO: Floss Daily Flossing with braces may be tricky, but it’s essential for preventing gum disease and cavities. Use tools like a floss threader or water flosser to get the job done effectively. Our team at Live & Smile Dental & Orthodontics is always happy to demonstrate proper flossing techniques during your visit. DO : Use Orthodontic Wax If brackets or wires are irritating your cheeks or lips, apply a small piece of orthodontic wax to protect the area. It’s a simple trick that can make a big difference in your comfort. DO : Stick to Soft, Braces-Friendly Foods Go for foods like pasta, mashed potatoes, bananas, yogurt, and cooked vegetables. Avoid biting into anything too hard. Your braces—and your teeth—will thank you. DO : Wear a Mouthguard During Sports Playing sports? Don’t forget your mouthguard! It’s essential for protecting your braces and teeth from unexpected impact. Ask our orthodontist, Dr. Yoon about custom-fit options. DON’T : Eat Hard, Crunchy, or Sticky Foods Avoid popcorn, hard candy, nuts, gum, and sticky sweets like caramel. These can bend wires, loosen brackets, and even break parts of your braces. DON’T: Chew on Non-Food Items Chewing on pens, fingernails, or ice can damage your braces and stall your progress. Stay mindful of these habits and protect your investment. DON’T : Skip Appointments Routine check-ups at our office in Dublin are key to keeping your braces treatment on schedule. If you’re searching for an orthodontist in the tri-valley area, our friendly team Live and Smile Dental is here to help you stay on track with consistent care. DON’T : Ignore Damage or Discomfort If a wire is poking or a bracket feels loose, don’t wait—call us at Live and Smile Dental and Orthodontics right away. Prompt fixes prevent bigger issues later and our orthodontist, Dr. Yoon is always happy to fix the wire or rebond any brackets. 😊 Your Smile Is Worth It At Live & Smile Dental & Orthodontics, we’re proud to provide high-quality orthodontic care—including braces and Invisalign—to patients of all ages in Dublin, CA and surrounding communities. Proper care leads to better results, fewer delays, and a healthier smile for life. Have questions about your braces or need to schedule a check-up? Contact Live & Smile Dental & Orthodontics in Dublin, CA, today—we're conveniently located on Amador Plaza Road and always accepting new patients looking for a trusted dentist or orthodontist near you.

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When it comes to keeping your teeth and gums healthy, regular cleanings are crucial. But did you know that modern technology can make those cleanings even more effective? One such breakthrough is Laser Bacterial Reduction (LBR), a fast, painless treatment that can help improve your oral health in ways traditional cleaning methods can't. Let’s dive into what it is and how it works, in simple terms. What is Laser Bacterial Reduction? Laser Bacterial Reduction is a treatment that uses a special laser to reduce the amount of harmful bacteria in your mouth. During a routine cleaning appointment at our office in Dublin, California, one of our dentists Dr. Ryan, Dr. Brodsky, Dr. Naina, Dr, Zoe, or Dr. Leung or our hygienists Sanam, Sandra, Karina, and Armine will use a laser to target and eliminate bacteria lurking in the gums and around the teeth. This procedure is super quick—typically taking less than 5 minutes—and is completely painless. We can add this on to your annual cleanings or deep cleanings done in our office in Dublin, California. What makes LBR so effective is its ability to reduce the bacterial count from billions to just hundreds? Why does this matter? Because bacteria can spread to other parts of your body, including your heart and bloodstream. By reducing bacteria in your mouth, you’re not just improving your oral health—you’re helping to protect your overall health too. Is Laser Bacterial Reduction Right for You? Laser Bacterial Reduction is a great way to boost your oral health, especially if you’re dealing with gum disease or want to ensure your mouth stays as healthy as possible and have a smile makeover! The procedure is fast, effective, and painless—so there’s no reason not to give it a try. By reducing bacteria, it not only improves your smile but can prevent infection and also make a difference to your overall health. If you’re curious about whether laser treatment is right for you, talk to our wonderful dentist Dr Zoe, Dr. Brodsky, Dr. Leung, Dr. Naina Arora, and Dr. Ryan. They can help determine if Laser Bacterial Reduction is a good fit for your dental needs and guide you through the process here at Live and Smile Dental and Orthodontics in Dublin, California. Here's to a cleaner, healthier mouth—and a brighter smile!

As the year wraps up, many of us find ourselves busy with holiday plans, but don’t let your dental health take a back seat! Regular dental cleanings are crucial for maintaining a healthy smile, and now is the perfect time to schedule your dental cleaning appointment with one of our amazing dentists in Dublin, California. Why Are Cleanings Important? Dental cleanings do more than just freshen your breath. They help remove plaque and tartar buildup, reducing your risk of cavities, crowns, extractions, and gum disease. Plus, any of our gentle dental hygienists or dentists, Dr. Zoe Huang, Dr. Ryan, Dr. Brodsky, Dr. Naina, or Dr. Leung, can catch any potential issues early on, saving you time and money in the long run. Maximize Your Benefits If you have dental insurance, you may have benefits that reset at the end of the year. This means you could lose out on coverage if you don’t use it! By scheduling your dental cleaning with one of our dentists in Dublin, you can maximize your benefits before December 31st and can take full advantage of your plan and ensure your oral health is in tip-top shape.

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At Live & Smile, we don’t only care about your oral health, we care about your overall health too! With the holidays right around the corner, there is so much to do. Festivities, family and friends dinners, hangouts, and family trips; it can all get really crazy, so what are you doing to make sure you are in a good place for your health? Taking breaks is the key, but sometimes we need more than just a break, we need a nap. Napping offers a wide variety of benefits for adults such as: Relaxation Reduce fatigue Improvement in mood Increases your alertness Better memory To get the most out of your naps you want to make sure to keep them short because the longer the naps are the more likely you are to feel groggy waking up. Plan your naps out to have the most production out of your day. Napping after 3 pm can cause some interference with your night time routine, so plan accordingly. Giving yourself the space and time to recharge is great for your health in order to bring productivity to your life. Not only is it great for your physical health but your mental health too. Who says naps are just for kids?

You visit your dental office twice a year and a lot of things can happen within that year. It can be hard to keep track of everything that's going on in life so we want to make it easier for you with this simple checklist for your next dental visit.

Sometimes we get aches and pains throughout our body, and that signals something is wrong,so we slow down and fix the issue. For example, if we get a cramp, it's signaling that we are overdoing the strenuous workout and need to rest and hydrate. It is the same with our teeth!

Do you ever feel like your jaw is in pain or sore when you wake up in the morning? It is possible that it comes from teeth grinding throughout the night. Don’t worry though, many people are affected by teeth grinding, let's talk about why and how to fix it!

We talked about a composite filling last time, so let’s discuss another option for fillings, amalgam. The more common term for amalgam fillings are known as the “silver teeth”. Most dental offices no longer provide amalgam fillings as an option due to the material that it was made from, such as a mixture of mercury, silver, copper, tin, and zinc.

After your dental checkup, sometimes a dental treatment plan is presented to you in regards to what your next steps should be to help your smile. Some of those dental recommendations can be about composite fillings. But what is a composite filling?

It is the standard to brush your teeth twice a day, every day. But what is the best tool to utilize for it, electric or manual toothbrush?

You may have seen our post about Give Kids A Smile, but what is it you may ask? The Give Kids A Smile (GKAS) program provides underserved children free oral health care. Each year approximately 6,500 dentists and 30,000 dental team members volunteer at local GKAS events to provide free oral health education, screenings, preventive and restorative treatment to over 300,000 children. GKAS was launched nationally in 2003 and has been going strong ever since.

There are a lot of different ways to whiten your teeth, but most people try to find natural remedies in order to avoid costly procedures and going to the dentist. One of the ways people find that eating strawberries help whiten their teeth. Although it may seem that their teeth are whiter, the illusion of it only lasts for about an hour. The stains don’t actually life from your teeth.

May is Stroke Awareness Month and we want to make sure that everyone is prepared and learn the warning signs of a potential stroke. Here at Live & Smile, we do not only care about your dental health, we care about your overall health as well. The health of your body determines the health of your teeth, gums, and bones.

Let’s learn the different parts of the tooth! We all know that we get one set of adult teeth and that they are these shiny, white, hard surfaces that help us with eating, but what is it underneath?

Most of us get our wisdom teeth removed because we just know that we have to. But why do we remove them? Many times, our wisdom teeth are not given enough proper room to grow in our mouth and can cause long term problems. Wisdom teeth can grow at various angles in the jaw, sometimes not vertically like all our other teeth, but horizontally too.

At Live and Smile, we don’t only care about your dental health, we care about your overall health. Everything you do to your body affects every inch of your wonderful self. Over half of Americans say that they experience stress during the day, and that is not okay in our book. We want you all to take a step back and focus on yourself and see the big picture on what you can do to help boost your health. Here are a few ideas:

We all know that sugar is bad for you, but it’s hard to avoid it when it is everywhere and in everything. It is important to know the different types of sugars to understand the amount of consumption you need and what to avoid.

Love is in the air today because it's that time of year where we shower our loved ones with special treats. Chocolates and special sugary treats are coming off the shelves like wildfire! We know that Valentine’s Day can be a special occasion for most people but it is right up there with Halloween when it comes to sweets. We want to share some tips to help keep your dental health in tip top shape through this holiday.

It’s a brand new year and we want to help with, possibly, one of your new year’s resolutions and that is to see the dentist more often!

As the year is coming to an end, we want to send a ginormous thank you to all of you. A big shout out to all of our wonderful patients and another big shout out to our amazing team of dentists, assistants, hygienists, and front office staff.

We all know that flossing is super important as part of our everyday dental hygiene, but there is an alternative option more suited for people who have braces, arthritis, or even just a hard time getting the back of the mouth.

Thanksgiving is now over, so here comes the Christmas holiday festivities! That clearly means another big feast and all those yummy Christmas treats!

Do you ever wonder why we take your blood pressure? You would think it’s weird because you’re at the dentist and we are treating your mouth, not your body. But, your oral health is always connected to your overall health.

It's that time of year again, Halloween is back and kids are going to be out and about trick or treating! It is always fun to see who gets the most candy or who gets the best candy, but we will take the reins on this to make sure who gets the least amount of cavities.

After most dental treatments, such as braces, you might notice a few white spots that don’t go away. These are usually caused by tooth decay or dental fluorosis (enamel development defect).

We love seeing our patients smile proudly from the great work our Live & Smile team accomplishes. To keep our patients’ smiles looking nice and bright, we recommend an option that you can do right in your own home!

We all enjoy that fresh brewed coffee each morning before starting our day, we sometimes can’t function without it! But have you ever thought about what it does to our teeth over time?

Have you ever had a nice cold drink with the perfect bite size pieces of ice? Those are the best to just chew on with the loud crunch and the best texture. But did you know that it is doing harm to your teeth?

Last time on the blog we talked about how mouthwash can be a great addition to your daily dental routine. A product that we definitely recommend is the OraCare Health Rinse. You may have tried it at your last appointment before starting your cleaning, given to you in a small cup by our lovely Live & Smile staff.

We all floss and brush our teeth daily, but do you use mouthwash? Mouthwash is not a replacement for flossing and brushing, but can be an addition to your daily routine. Mouthwash is a great tool to use for your dental hygiene to get to the areas that are not easily accessible with your toothbrush.

At Live & Smile Dental, we love seeing all of our patients smile confidently. We strive to help with all of the dental needs and repairs to make sure you have a healthy and bright smile. Not only does your smile look amazing after your cleaning appointments, but just smiling in general is good for you too!

What is fluoride? You may know it from your routine dental check up-- that sticky stuff that's lathered onto your teeth at the end of the appointment and you can't rinse it off for at least an hour! What does it even do for your teeth?!

Last time on the blog, we talked about periodontal disease, what it is and how it affects our teeth. Today we are going to talk about what happens to help combat the disease -- deep cleanings and periodontal maintenance.

We all know that drinking water daily is great for our bodies. It has been drilled in our heads that we must drink 8 glasses of water each and every day to stay hydrated and healthy. Have you ever thought about the great benefits that it does for you too?

Here at Live & Smile Dental, we do everything that we can to help your dental journey be better and exceed your expectations; this would include investing in new technology. Technology is constantly changing, so when it comes to our patients’ dental health, we want to create a smooth, comfortable, and positive experience for all restorations and orthodontic treatments.

Perhaps you’ve heard from parents or older relatives what braces used to be like years ago—obvious, uncomfortable, hard to clean, and with inevitable tooth extractions to start off the whole lengthy process.

We all know that we have to brush our teeth at least twice a day, but how often are you flossing your teeth? Every time you brush? Only when you feel something stuck in between? Do you ever wonder, "Why are my gums bleeding?"

We all know that we must brush and floss 2 times a day, but do you know what happens if it is not done regularly or correctly? The gums and bones that support our teeth start to get inflamed and infections can occur. When an infection takes over, it starts to erode the support system around our teeth and causes a lot of bleeding. In its more serious form, called periodontitis, the gums can pull away from the tooth, bone can be lost, and the teeth may loosen or even fall out.

You want to check all the boxes when you consider your child’s dental health. You make sure your child brushes twice daily to avoid cavities. You’ve made a plan for an orthodontic checkup just in case braces are needed. You insist on a mouthguard for dental protection during sports. One thing you might not have considered? Protecting your child from gum disease.

Happily for all of us who like to celebrate with friends and family, there’s no need to be Irish to enjoy St. Patrick’s Day. Every March 17th, many of us take the opportunity to display a bit of Gaelic spirit.

In our continuing efforts to provide the most advanced technology and highest quality care available to our patients at Live & Smile Dental & Orthodontics, we proudly screen our patients for oral cancer. The fact is, every hour of every day in North America, someone dies of oral cancer, which is the sixth most common diagnosed form of the disease. The five-year survival rate is only 50 percent, and oral cancer is one of the few cancers whose survival rate has not improved.

Oral health is an important and often overlooked component of an older person’s general health and well-being. Dr. Zoe Huang, Dr. Zoryana Brodsky, Dr. Stephan Yoon, Dr. Mandy Leung, and Dr. Enejan Hanamova and our team know that for many of our older patients, oral health can become an issue when arthritis or other neurological problems render them unable to brush or floss their teeth as effectively as they once did.

Pregnancy leads to so many changes in your body, so it’s no surprise that your teeth and gums are affected as well! Dental care is very important during these months, so let’s look at some of the concerns you might have about treatments and procedures.

Did you know the actions leading to the beginnings of Valentine's Day were actually centered on the avoidance of war? A Catholic priest named Valentine defied the orders of the Emperor Claudius II and secretly married young men and their brides after the emperor had declared it illegal because only single, young men could be sent to war. Rather than lose potential soldiers to fight his war, Claudius attempted to hoard them by proclaiming marriage illegal.

While you make sure your family is getting the best care possible, with regular dental checkups and cleanings at our Dublin, CA office, there is one family member that might be hiding under the bed when it’s time for tooth care. Periodontal disease is the most common clinical condition affecting adult cats—and it is completely preventable!

We are so excited to be back for another year doing what we love and helping our patients achieve the smile of their dreams. We wanted to kick this year off with some new and exciting updates for the office.

Great question! Tooth movement is your body’s natural response to light pressure applied by braces over a period of time (usually two years). Braces work by using brackets that are glued onto your teeth; these brackets have small slots, and that is where Dr. Zoe Huang, Dr. Zoryana Brodsky, Dr. Stephan Yoon, Dr. Mandy Leung, and Dr. Enejan Hanamova and our team insert orthodontic wires.