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Choosing Opal As a Wedding Stone

The wedding band is one of the most important accessories for an engaged couple. It not only symbolizes their commitment, but it also signifies a couple’s tastes in stones and precious metals. Traditionally, marrying couples choose gold or silver bands with diamond insets as their special signifying jewelry. Those who choose to be more bold in their selection might consider an opal wedding band .

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What Color to Choose

Depending on its water content and the way an opal stone is made by a jeweler, it can appear to be many different colors. White and opaque greens are the most common kind of opal stone, and the kind most people are accustomed to seeing in jewelry. However, opal can appear blue, pink, yellow, gray or bright orange. Those that are black are rare and considered precious stones.

How to Take Care Of Your Opal Band

It is easy for couples to maintain their opal bands. First, you should know the hardness of the stone. Solid opals are considered to be soft, but are similar in hardness to glass. Although these varieties tend to be fine in water, they may scratch or crack like glass when they are in conditions that are too dry or that subject them to rapid temperature changes.

Doublets and triplets have multiple layers of opals glued together, so they are not safe in water. If exposed to moisture, the layers could begin separating and the stone itself could change color because it has more water content. The stone tends to turn more grayish or cloudy when this happens. Although experts do not believe a well-made stone will begin to show signs of water exposure if worn during a routine shower, they do warn that constantly exposing the gem to water will begin to change the stone’s appearance. It is probably not a good idea, for example, to wash dishes repeatedly with doublet and triplet stones.

Of course, bleach and other chemical cleaners are not ideal for cleaning solid opal bands. It is best to use mild soap, warm water and a cloth. For tough residue between the stone prongs, a soft head toothbrush will do. Doublets and triplets should never be completely immersed in water. A damp cloth is usually enough to clean them.

Choosing opal as a wedding stone is sure to be a conversation starter. Onlookers will wonder what made a couple choose this stone. It signifies that a couple chose to break tradition and is not afraid to take risks.

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Caring for Your Teeth: What Everyone Needs to Know

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You’ve heard this phrase over and over before: you only get one set of teeth. While dental improvements have made it a lot easier and more affordable to get quality crowns and implants, you don’t want to have to go that route if you can preserve your natural teeth.

However, for many people, going to the dentist is a scary experience. That doesn’t mean that you don’t need to go, but it does mean that you can minimize pain and dental procedures by taking extra good care of your teeth at home.

Whether your 18 or 80, there are a ton of things you can do to preserve your natural teeth. Use these tips to make sure your mouth is healthy.

Floss Often, Brush Too

You know you’re supposed to floss, but do you do it enough? According to many dentists you really should be flossing after every meal. If you can, try taking floss with you to work. Leave it in your desk and grab a string when you need it.

You also know that you’re supposed to be brushing your teeth regularly, but how regularly? Ideally, you want to brush after every meal, but only after about 30 minutes have passed after meal times.

Brushing too early can cause the acid in the foods you ate to work against your enamel. If you can’t brush, rinse with water and chew gum with xylitol.

Eat the Right Foods

Not all foods are bad for your teeth. Some are actually quite good for your dental health and work to actually clean your teeth.

Common cleaning foods include chicken, apples, eggs, cilantro, brown rice, bran and more work to keep teeth healthy.

Visit Your Dentist

Nobody loves going to the dentist, but that doesn’t mean that you can skip visits if you take good care of your teeth at home. What you can do is visit your dentist more often – once every six months, to be exact – so that you don’t need painful root canals and expensive restorative procedures like crowns and implants.

Find a Brooklyn dentist you love and make regular appointments! They’ll even let you know when your next exam is coming up if you let them know you would like a reminder.

It’s worth getting regular exams and cleanings to avoid more serious dental work because you neglected your pearly whites.