Dental Care Center

11/02/2026

It’s the final countdown😝

We are closing in on the end of the year, which means, it’s time for a friendly reminder, to use up your dental insurance benefits!!! 👏🏽

You pay for dental insurance every month so why not use up what you paid for?! 🙌🏽

Come in for your cleaning.
Get that filling done.
Prep for that implant or crown.

You are important and so is your mouth! 🤩🦷🫶🏽

10/31/2026

We all know candy isn’t the greatest for our teeth, but Halloween is upon us. 🎃👻🍭🍬🍫

So what do we do?! 🙆🏽‍♀️🙅🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️

The answer lies within our saliva.

When we eat candy, our saliva pH drops, making our mouth more acidic. This is breaking down our teeth aka stripping the calcium and phosphorus out of our enamel. It takes about 30 minutes for our saliva to return to neutral. Each time you have a piece of candy, it is delaying the neutralization and extending the breakdown of the enamel.

1. Eat a high protein, high fat meal prior to trick or treating. This will help our blood sugar stay stable and will keep us full, minimizing candy intake.
2. Bring water!! Swish the mouth out to help with sugar settling on the teeth and resetting the pH.
3. Pick a snickers over a lollipop. Candy you can chew and swallow right away is better than sucking on a lollipop for 30 minutes.
4. Eat one big sitting of candy right after trick or treating and then put it away. Constantly snacking on the candy is constantly dropping the pH and leaving for a long period of acidity in the mouth.
5. Rinse, wait, brush. Rinse the mouth out with water when you are done eating candy. Wait 30 minutes for mouth to neutralize. Then brush to add minerals back into the teeth.
✨Bonus: extra candy leftover from Halloween can either go to the “great pumpkin” or brought out at dessert time, then put away. Avoid leaving the candy bowl out for constant snacking.

Happy Halloween 🎃 🍬🦷

10/30/2026

Did you know?

The size comparison of gum disease is like an open wound the size of your palm!!!

If you were to add up all the inflamed, ulcerated tissue around the teeth in a mouth with gum disease, and you’d get an open wound roughly the size of your palm!!

No one would ignore that, now would they?! 🤯

That wound leaks bacteria and inflammatory signals into your bloodstream every day, every time you chew or brush.

This is why it is important to know that oral disease IS systemic disease. The healthier your mouth is, the healthier your body will be.

Source: Dr. Mark Burhenne

10/19/2026

Happy Mondayyyyy😜

Meet Kris! She is Dr. Pierce’s assistant and helps the other doctors when needed. Kris has a background in dental assisting in both a general dental practice and in an orthodontic setting. So, you will see her in the Invisalign room too. 🦷

Kris loves pizza, reading and biking. She is a hard worker and is determined to win the day! 🍕🚴‍♀️

Thanks Kris for all you do for us 🩷

10/15/2026

ProSomnus🌬️

We are showcasing our airway dental appliance this week. 🤩

🌬️This dental appliance helps protrude the mandible forward to then open the airway when sleeping. This provides better oxygenation when sleeping, reduces snoring and may eliminate sleep apnea events during sleep.

🌬️This device is mainly used for mild to moderate sleep apnea patients.

Dr. Pierce is trained to evaluate and determine whether this appliance is right for you. 😊👍🏼

Let us know if you have any questions at your next dental appointment. We would love to help improve your overall quality of life with an open airway 🫶🏽

10/13/2026

AANNNDDD…. We are back, with meet the team Mondays!!🤩🤩🤩

Please welcome Travis to the Dental Care Center team!! 👏🏽

Travis is our COO at the Dental Care Center and wears many hats at our office. He keeps things running and keeps us in line😉

Travis loves hanging out with friends and family. When asked if he is a morning person or a night owl, he said neither😅. His favorite quote to live by is “change your thoughts to change your world”. 🙌🏽

Thanks Travis for all you do for us🫶🏽

10/08/2026

Happy Hygiene Month🤩🦷🪥

We want to give a big shoutout to our hygiene team👏🏽

Thank you for all you do for the clinic and for our patients. We appreciate you. You always go the extra mile in educating and caring for our patients.
🫶🏽

10/07/2026

Facts about electric vs. manual toothbrushes🪥
1. Electric toothbrushes remove 21% more plaque than a manual.
2. For reference, when using a manual, average plaque removal is only around 50%.
3. Electric toothbrushes are way easier to use because the motion and speed are already programmed in, the user just has to place it where it needs to go.
4. Manual toothbrushes are actually harder to use because you have to achieve proper dexterity, positioning, angulation, and speed to accurately remove plaque from the teeth.
5. Electric toothbrushes offer an 11% greater reduction in gingivitis compared to a standard toothbrush.

10/06/2026

We are happy to be able to support one another by sending Dr. Pierce to Platte on his day off. 😉 Dr. Pierce will continue to see patients Tuesday-Friday in Mitchell ❤️

We’re excited to welcome Dr. Pierce Smith to Platte Dental! He will begin seeing patients on Mondays in November.

Dr. Smith grew up in Alexandria, SD and graduated from Creighton University School of Dentistry in 2022. He practices a broad scope of general dentistry, with particular interests in airway health, snoring and orthodontics.

Pierce and his wife, Ashley, have two children, and outside the office he enjoys hunting, fishing and golfing.

We’re excited to have another dentist joining the practice and helping us expand appointment availability for our patients.

10/02/2026

What is gum therapy? 😁🪥

🦷When your hygienist recommends gum therapy, it is because the bone support around the teeth is compromised. It is being destroyed by harmful bacteria that must be removed. This type of bacteria, once at the bone level cannot be cured. It must be maintained by performing gum therapy treatment and then followed by 3-4 month gum therapy maintenance cleanings.

🦷Daily home care must be improved and looking at diet, medications, diabetic needs, brushing and flossing technique etc, will all be reviewed by your hygienist to ensure that you are best taken care of.

🦷When we recommend this treatment, we want the best for your gum health and longevity of the teeth. We like early detection to minimize extensive treatment.