{"id":2416,"date":"2026-02-01T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/?p=2416"},"modified":"2026-05-21T21:47:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T21:47:20","slug":"february-2026-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/february-2026-newsletter\/","title":{"rendered":"February 2026 Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hello from your Hygienist! \"Emoji<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Happy February! \"Emoji<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most of us think of pink and red this month\u2014Valentine\u2019s Day, hearts, and love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the dental world, when we see red, we think something different\u2026 \"Emoji<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For our very first hygiene newsletter together, I wanted to create a space where I can share important information with you that we don\u2019t always have enough time to fully discuss during your appointment. As much as I love catching up, an hour can go by fast\u2014and there are so many key things about your oral and overall health that matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

So for this first newsletter, let\u2019s focus on one important topic I see every day: gum inflammation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emoji Red Gums = A Red Flag<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bleeding gums are not normal\u2014even if you\u2019ve always said, \u201cI\u2019ve been a bleeder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ongoing bleeding is a sign of inflammation, and inflammation is not healthy anywhere in the body. That\u2019s why we\u2019re always looking for the root cause, not just cleaning around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emoji Why This Matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chronic gum inflammation and the bacteria below the gumline have been linked to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emoji Cardiovascular (heart) disease<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emoji Pregnancy complications, including low birth weight<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emoji Alzheimer\u2019s and other inflammatory conditions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your mouth truly is the gateway to the rest of your body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emoji Did You Know?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Certain medications can increase inflammation, reduce saliva, or affect gum health\u2014making bleeding and irritation more likely. This is why reviewing health history and medication changes at each visit is so important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emoji Self-Love = Self-Care (Yes, Flossing Counts!)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Think of brushing without flossing like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food falls under your fridge or oven\u2014out of sight, but definitely not gone. Over time, it builds up and causes problems. That hidden space is exactly where plaque and bacteria live when we don\u2019t floss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emoji Brushing cleans what you can see<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emoji Flossing (or a water flosser) cleans what you can\u2019t<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emoji One Last Thing to Remember<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Bleeding gums are often the first sign of inflammation<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Gum disease can exist without pain<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Long-term inflammation in the mouth can affect overall health<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    \"Emoji Why I Care<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    We don\u2019t just clean teeth\u2014we care for the whole mouth and what it can tell us about your health. These newsletters are my way of staying connected, sharing knowledge, and helping you become more aware between visits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Emoji Stay tuned for more monthly hygiene newsletters to come!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    With love,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ali \"Emoji\"Emoji<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Hello from your Hygienist!  Happy February!  Most of us think of pink and red this month\u2014Valentine\u2019s Day, hearts, and love. In the dental world, when we see red, we think something different\u2026  For our very first hygiene newsletter together, I wanted to create a space where I can share important information with you that we don\u2019t always have enough time to fully discuss during your appointment. As much as I love catching up, an hour […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2416"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2443,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2416\/revisions\/2443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}