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Healthy Mouth to Healthy Body Connection

22 Nov Healthy Mouth Leads to Healthy Body

Good teeth can keep your health bills low. They can do even more–they can help protect you from a whole host of health problems. The following are 5 good reasons why you should take great care of your teeth.

Heart Disease & Stroke
Several studies have established that inflammation and bacteria in the mouth and gums can travel into the bloodstream, leading to thickening of the arteries and increasing the risk of a heart attack. Build up of fatty plaques in the vessels can break off and go to the brain and cause a stroke.

Just brushing once a day instead of two times could increase the risk of heart disease by 70%. This is according to one recent study published in the British Medical Journal which analyzed data from over 11,000 adults. So for a healthy heart keep up a good dental hygiene.

Diabetes
Did you know that preventing gum infections may ward off diabetes? Doctors have long known that Type 2 diabetics have an increased occurrence of periodontal disease. A recent study out of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health that followed 9,296 non-diabetic participants over 20 years found that people who had higher levels of periodontal disease had twice the risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those with low levels or no gum infections.

One theory proposes that serious oral infections can lead to low-grade inflammation throughout your body and that inflammation may destroy your ability to process sugar.

Respiratory Infection
The close connection of your mouth and lungs is very obvious. So it stands to reason that keeping your mouth clean and healthy can also help keep your lungs protected according to a recent study in the Journal of Periodontology. In a pool of 200 participants aged 20 to 60, researchers found that patients suffering from a respiratory illness such as pneumonia, acute bronchitis, an upper respiratory infection, or COPD had poorer periodontal health than those in the control group. The reason for this association likely lies in the bacteria caused by periodontal disease, which forms in the upper throat. From there it can easily be inhaled into the lower respiratory tract and can obstruct breathing or develop into more serious lung-related problems.Healthy Mouth Leads to Healthy Body

Breast Cancer
More and more studies are being conducted that explore different parts of the body. The latest study out of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden suggests that women may be over 11 times more likely to develop breast cancer if they have missing teeth and gum disease. Since this is one of the first studies of its kind, more research needs to be done to back up the results, but so far they seem to be on track with the current findings that poor dental hygiene can directly affect your general health.

Pregnancy Problems
If you’re pregnant or thinking of getting pregnant,  it is more important than ever to stay on top of your oral health. Due to hormonal fluctuations and the increased blood flow throughout your body during pregnancy, you are more likely to notice changes in your teeth and gums. According to the American Academy of Periodontists, about 50% of pregnant women develop gingivitis, a condition that leaves gums inflamed, bleeding, swollen, or tender. Left unchecked it can lead to periodontal disease, a serious infection that could create problems in the delivery room. While research is still being done, several studies suggest there is a direct relationship between infected bacteria in your mouth and premature deliveries, low-birth rate, and preeclampsia. To be safe, be diligent about brushing, flossing, and visiting your dentist, and make sure to alert her to any pain or problems that pop up over the nine months.

As more and more research is done, it is becoming clear that there is a mouth to body connection. Even if some of the studies are inconclusive, it is safer to have a good dental hygiene than take a chance. After all, preventing the disease  is less expensive than dealing with the consequence. So, get your regular dental check-ups, floss regularly and brush twice a day.

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Posture can cause headache and jaw pain

10 Jul
Charlie Chaplin

Charlie’s posture?

We all know that good posture is important. Our parents reminded us every day and now we remind our children. Yet, many people don’t realize how posture affects their oral health. Yes, oral health!

Do you experience frequent headaches or pain in your lower jaw?  Then, check your posture and consult your dentist about temporomandibular (“jaw joint”) disorder (TMD), as recommended by the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD).

So, how is poor posture connected to your jaw joint pain? Improper posture places the spine in a position that causes stress to the jaw joint. When people slouch or hunch over, the lower jaw shifts forward, causing the upper and lower teeth to not fit together properly, and the skull moves back on the spinal column. Go ahead, as a test, try to slouch this one time and you will feel the pressure on your joint.

If you keep doing this movement, you would put stress on your muscles, joints and bones. After a while, this would cause inflammation in your muscles and joints followed by pain, especially, when you open and close your mouth.

Moreover, bad posture often rearranges the position of the facial muscles and will cause the bumps and grooves on the upper and lower teeth. This will then cause your teeth not to fit properly together.

One solution to this problem is an oral appliance that can help align the teeth in a position that will reduce facial pain caused by poor posture. The appliance can also prevent future damage to your teeth.

But a better option is to practice good posture, as recommended by Core Performance, a site dedicated to fitness and overall wellness. Core Performance provides the following tips for sitting and standing straight:

  1. Keep your shoulder blades pulled back and down.
  2. Elevate your chest
  3. Keep your tummy drawn up and in
  4. If you’re standing with perfect posture, your ears should be in line with your shoulders, your hips with your knees, and your knees with your ankles.
  5. If you’re seated, there should be a line between your ears and hips.

If you currently feel any pain or have questions about your jaw joints, feel free to call us.

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Men: Smile Your Way to a Better Job!

3 Jul

According to Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) men are less likely to visit the dentist than their female counterparts. We already knew this. Right?

So, what are the reasons behind the difference? According to the same poll done by AGD, the reasons are:Why Men Don't Go To Dentist?

  • Men don’t see a need to visit the dentist.
  • They are afraid or embarrassed.
  • Men don’t have the time for a dental visit.
  • They do not have a regular dentist to go to.

However, in my private practice the ratio is about 60:40–60% are females and 40% are males. Although the ratio is higher in females, 40% is much more than what it used to be. I believe that men are starting to pay more attention to their oral health. They are noticing the positive effects from a colleague’s improved smile, and then realizing that a great smile has a lot of value in the business world.

It could also be that in the past, most men worked for one or two employers in their lifetime and did not think much about their overall appearance. But things are different now. Due to the economic environment, jobs are more scarce and competition more fierce. Competition is even tougher for middle-aged men who have to go head to head with the younger candidates.

As a dentist, my primary focus is the overall health benefits of seeing a dentist on a regular basis–at least, every 6 months. Cosmetics will be a natural byproduct of a good, healthy oral hygiene. Of course, if patients want to do more with how they look, we can help them too.

If you do not have a regular dentist, we invite you to visit us for your regular checkups. You will see a big improvement in the way you look and feel.

Source: Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) 

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Do Dental X-Rays Cause Brain Tumors?

10 Apr
Digital X-ray

Digital X-Ray Sensors

A study published today in Cancer, a scientific journal of the American Cancer Society, associates yearly or more frequent dental X-rays with an increased risk of developing meningioma, the most commonly diagnosed brain tumor. This type of tumor is usually not malignant.

Meningiomas affect the lining of the brain and the spinal cord. More than 90% are classified as benign, not malignant. But in some cases they can grow to the size of a baseball and disrupt the brain’s functioning, leading to vision problems, headaches, hearing and memory loss, and seizures.

The problem with the study is that people generally do not remember when they had their X-ray taken. Another problem with the study is that it was observational in nature, meaning it showed an association but not cause-and-effect.

In the study, the researchers examined a group of more than 1,400 patients aged 20 to 79 who were treated for the tumors between 2006 and 2011, and compared them to 1,350 similar people who did not develop the tumors. Those with tumors were more than twice as likely as the others to report having more frequent bitewing X-rays and panorex X-rays.The study did not connect having the X-rays to the risk of getting cancer.

So what should a patient do?

The best thing is to talk to your dentist.

Meantime, consider that the amount of radiation in dental X-rays has gone down significantly over the years, thanks to factors such as the improved speed of X-ray film and the advent of digital X-rays. (We use digital X-ray in our office.)

How do dental X-rays compare to other sources of radiation?

The amount of radiation that we are exposed to from dental X-rays is very small compared to our daily exposure from things like, cosmic radiation and naturally-occurring radioactive elements (for example, those producing radon).

The table below compares the estimated exposure to radiation from dental X-ray with other various sources. As indicated below, a millisievert (mSv) is a unit of measure that allows for some comparison between radiation sources that expose the entire body (such as natural background radiation) and those that only expose a portion of the body (such as X-rays).

Source

Estimated Exposure (mSv)
Man Made

Dental X-rays

Bitewing radiographs
Full-mouth series

 0.038
0.150
Medical X-rays

Lower gastrointestinal tract radiography
Upper gastrointestinal tract radiography
Chest radiograph

 4.060
2.440
0.080
Natural

Cosmic (Outer Space) Radiation

Average radiation from outer space In Denver, CO (per year)

 0.510
Earth and Atmospheric Radiation

Average radiation in the U.S. from Natural sources (per year)

 3.000

Source: Adapted from Frederiksen NL. X-Rays: What is the Risk? Texas Dental Journal. 1995;112(2):68-72.

For learn more about brain tumors, including meningiomas, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Article Source: American Dental Association

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Tips for Healthy Baby Teeth

7 Mar

The following are some practical tips for parents to prevent tooth decay in their children:Kids dental check-up starts at age one

  • Take your infant to a dentist before the first birthday for an assessment of cavity risk, even if your child has only a few teeth.
  • In general, brush your children’s teeth  – 2 or younger — with a bit of fluoride toothpaste twice a day. At 2, start to use a pea-size amount of toothpaste.
  • Reduce snacking. Eating any starchy or sugary food causes the pH level in the mouth to drop sharply.  This leaves teeth acidic which is bad for the enamel.  The frequency of exposure to acid (i.e. frequent snacking) is more harmful to the tooth than just the sugar content of food. Generally, it takes about 20 minutes for the mouth to balance the pH level in the mouth, so take a break from snacking.
  • Do not share utensils with a child.  For sure, do not “clean” a pacifier in your mouth, then give it to your infant. Research has shown that parents or caregivers with active tooth decay can pass cavity-causing bacteria via saliva.
  • Brush preschoolers’ teeth for them.  Generally, kids are not in a position to effectively brush their teeth until they are 7 or 9.

If you have any questions on any of the tips mentioned above, feel free to call our office at (818) 241-3155.

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Dental Crisis in America

3 Mar Dental_Visits_US_2011

In the U.S., many people have access to the best oral health care in the world, yet millions are unable to get even the basic dental care they need.

Dental_Visits_US_2011

The issue of lack of access to dental care is extremely serious because untreated oral diseases can lead to not only pain, infection, and tooth loss, but also contribute to an increased risk for serious medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and poor birth outcomes.

A report published on February 29, 2012 by chairman Bernard Sanders, Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions contains more detail on our dental crisis.

The following are the key findings of the “Dental Crisis in America” report:

  • More than 47 million people live in places where it is difficult to access dental care.
  • About 17 million low-income children received no dental care in 2009.
  • One fourth of adults in the U.S. ages 65 and older have lost all of their teeth.
  • Low-income adults are almost twice as likely as higher-income adults to have gone without a dental check up in the previous year.
  • Bad dental health impacts overall health and increases the risk for diabetes, heart disease, and poor birth outcomes.
  • There were over 830,000 visits to emergency rooms across the country for preventable dental conditions in 2009 – a 16% increase since 2006.
  • Almost 60% of kids ages 5 to 17 have cavities – making tooth decay five times more common than asthma among children of this age.
  • Nearly 9,500 new dental providers are needed to meet the country’s current oral health needs.
  • However, there are more dentists retiring each year than there are dental school graduates to replace them.

Click here to read the complete report on the dental crisis.

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19 Dental Habits to Avoid

26 Nov

Chewing on Ice

person chewing ice
It’s natural and sugar free, so you might think ice is harmless. But munching on hard, frozen cubes can chip or even crack your teeth. And if your mindless chomping irritates the soft tissue inside a tooth, regular toothaches may follow. Hot foods and cold foods may trigger quick, sharp jabs of pain or a lingering toothache. Next time you get the urge for ice, chew some sugarless gum instead.

Playing Sports With No Mouth Guard

hockey player smashing into barrier

Whether you play football, hockey, or any other contact sport, don’t get in the game without a mouth guard. This is a piece of molded plastic that protects the upper row of teeth. Without it, your teeth could get chipped or even knocked out when the action gets rough. Self-fitting mouth guards may be purchased at a store, or you can have one custom made by your dentist.

Bedtime Bottles

habits

It’s never too early to protect teeth. Giving a baby a bedtime bottle of juice, milk, or formula, can put new teeth on a path to decay. The baby may become used to falling asleep with the bottle in his or her mouth, bathing the teeth in sugars overnight. It’s best to keep bottles out of the crib.

Tongue Piercings

woman with tongue piercing

Tongue piercings may be trendy, but biting down on the metal stud can crack a tooth. Lip piercings pose a similar risk. And when metal rubs against the gums, it can cause gum damage that may lead to tooth loss. The mouth is also a haven for bacteria, so piercings raise the risk of infections and sores. Bottom line, discuss the health risks with your dentist first.

Grinding Teeth

person grinding teeth

Teeth grinding, or bruxism, can wear teeth down over time. It is most often caused by stress and sleeping habits. This makes it hard to control. Avoiding hard foods during the day can reduce pain and damage from this habit. Wearing a mouth guard at night can prevent grinding while sleeping.

Cough Drops

cough drops

Just because cough drops are sold in the medicine aisle doesn’t mean they’re healthy. Most are loaded with sugar. So after soothing your throat with a lozenge, be sure to brush well. Whether the sugar comes from a cough drop or a hard candy, it reacts with the sticky plaque that coats your teeth. Then bacteria in the plaque convert the sugar into an acid that eats away at tooth enamel. Hello, cavities.

Gummy Candy

gummy bears

All sugary treats promote tooth decay, but some candies are harder to bear. Gummies stick in the teeth, keeping the sugar and resulting acids in contact with your enamel for hours. If your day just isn’t the same without a gummy critter, pop a couple during a meal instead of as a separate snack. More saliva is produced during meals, which helps rinse away candy bits and acids.

Soda

close up of soda bubbles

Candy isn’t the only culprit when it comes to added sugar. Sodas can have up to 11 teaspoons of sugar per serving. To add insult to injury, sodas also contain phosphoric and citric acids, which eat away at tooth enamel. Diet soft drinks let you skip the sugar, but they may have even more acid in the form of the artificial sweeteners.

Opening Stuff With your Teeth

woman opening packet with teeth

Opening bottle caps or plastic packaging with your teeth may be convenient, but this is one habit that makes dentists cringe. Using your teeth as tools can cause them to crack or chip. Instead, keep scissors and bottle openers handy. Bottom line, your teeth should only be used for eating.

Sport Drinks

sports drinks

There’s no doubt a cold sports drink is refreshing after a good workout. But these drinks are usually high in sugar. Like soda or candy, sugary sports drinks create an acid attack on the enamel of your teeth. Drinking them frequently can lead to decay. A better way to stay hydrated at the gym is to chug sugar-free, calorie-free water.

Fruit Juice

orange soda and orange juice

Fruit juice is loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, but unfortunately most juices are also loaded with sugar. Some juices can have as much sugar per serving as soda. For example, there are only 10 more grams of sugar in orange soda than in orange juice. Fruits are naturally sweet, so look for juice that has no added sugar. You can also reduce the sugar content by diluting juice with some water.

Potato Chips

habits

The bacteria in plaque will also break down starchy foods into acid. This acid can attack the teeth for the next 20 minutes — even longer if the food is stuck between the teeth or you snack often. You might want to floss after eating potato chips or other starchy foods that tend to get stuck in the teeth.

Constant Snacking

raw sunflower seeds

Snacking produces less saliva than a meal, leaving food bits in your teeth for hours longer. Avoid snacking too frequently, and stick to snacks that are low in sugar and starch — for example, carrot sticks.

Chewing on Pencils

habits

Do you ever chew on your pencil when concentrating on work or studies? Like crunching on ice, this habit can cause teeth to chip or crack. Sugarless gum is a better option when you feel the need to chew. It will trigger the flow of saliva, which can make teeth stronger and protect against enamel-eating acids.

Drinking Coffee

spilled coffee cup

Coffee’s dark color and acidity can cause yellowing of the teeth over time. Fortunately, it’s one of the easiest stains to treat with various whitening methods. Talk to your dentist if you’re concerned about discoloration of your teeth.

Smoking

dirty cigarette filter

Cigarettes, as well as other tobacco products, can stain teeth and cause them to fall out as a result of gum disease. Tobacco can also cause cancer of the mouth, lips, and tongue. If you were looking for one more reason to quit, think of your smile.

Drinking Red Wine

red wine glass stain

The acids in wine eat away at tooth enamel, creating rough spots that make teeth more vulnerable to staining. Red wine also contains a deep pigment called chromogen and tannins, which help the color stick to the teeth. This combination makes it easy for the wine’s red color to stay with you long after your glass is empty.

Drinking White Wine

glass of white wine

You might think sticking to white wine would spare your teeth. But the acids still weaken the enamel, leaving the teeth porous and vulnerable to staining from other beverages, such as coffee. Swishing with water after drinking or using toothpaste with a mild whitening agent can fight the staining effects of red and white wines.

Binge Eating

ice cream cone

Binge eating often involves excessive amounts of sweets, which can lead to tooth decay. Binging and purging (bulimia nervosa) can do even more damage to your dental health. The strong acids found in vomit can erode teeth, making them brittle and weak. These acids also cause bad breath. Bulimia can lead to a variety of serious health problems, so be sure to talk to your doctor if you have been purging.

Source: © 2011 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Dental Tips – A Short List

12 Jul

Here is a short list of dental-health tips that most patients have either forgotten or never knew:

General Dentistry

Don’t eat ice cubes. It is the season for this refreshing pastime, but it can result in fractured teeth. Many older fillings are made of silver, which doesn’t bond to teeth like the white amalgams and can cause tiny cracks because of the stress of chewing hard items like cubes, candy or unpopped popcorn kernels.

Brush at 45-degree angle. To clean the sulcus (the space between the gumline and the point where gum attaches to the tooth), turn your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle and get the bristles in there. A normal depth for the sulcus is 2-3 millimeters, but if it reaches 7-8 it’s time to start worrying.

Deep pocket cleaning.  To clean in a particularly deep pocket, try tying a single or double knot in your floss to catch any food particles.

Flossing the back teeth. When flossing the back teeth, curve the thread around the tooth and push it underneath the gumline.

When to change your toothbrush. When the outer bristles of your brush start to flare, it’s time to change it.

Rinse until you get to your toothbrush. If you eat a sweet snack and can’t get to your toothbrush for a while, rinse with water to delay the sugar’s activity.

Stop smoking. Smoking is so destructive to teeth and gums that many periodontists won’t even treat these patients because the prognosis for recovery is so poor.

Courtesy of The American Dental Association‘s website: ada.org

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Dental health tips for kids

11 Jul

Kids dental check-up starts at age one

Good dental hygiene leads to healthy adult teeth. Here’s how to help care for your child’s pearly whites:

  • Take your child to a dentist by the child’s first birthday or when the first teeth arrive, whichever comes first.
  • Begin helping your child floss by the time their last two molars come together, which usually happens when children are 2 1/2 to 3 years of age.  The cavities tend to start in between the teeth.
  • Don’t let children brush their own teeth until around the ages of 7 to 9 — or until they’re able to tie their shoes or cut their meat on their plates.
  • Curb thumb-sucking by approximately age 5 to prevent developmental abnormalities.
  • Don’t allow young children to carry around sippy cups containing anything but water.
  • Cut down on sugary snacks between meals.
  • Limit sticky foods such as raisins and fruit roll-ups, which cling to the teeth. Experts note that raisins are very nutritious, but they tend to get wedged in the teeth and stay put. Encourage children to take a sip of water after eating these and other snacks.
  • Take care of your own oral health. Research shows that the bacteria that cause decay can be passed from caregivers to infants and young children. Rinsing with anti-bacterial mouthwashes has been shown to significantly reduce the number of cavity-causing bacteria.
  • Limit the sharing of spoons and bottles between caregivers and children and among children themselves.
  • Let older children chew sugar-free gum. Gum increases the flow of saliva in the mouth and helps neutralize acids on the teeth. Further, studies have suggested that chewing sugar-free gum for 20 minutes after meals can help prevent tooth decay. The ADA recommends gum containing xylitol.(http://www.ada.org/5098.aspx%3FcurrentTab=1).  Xylitol is a naturally occurring sugar substitute, as well as gum that has the ADA seal of approval. (NOTE: Chewing gum is considered a serious choking hazard for young children.)
Courtesy of HealthKey.com

To Parents: Risk of Popular Teething Medications!

12 Jun

On April 7, FDA announced that parents and caregivers should not give OTC gel or liquid benzocaine products, such as Anbesol and Orajel, to children younger than 2 years old unless directed to do so by a physician. Baby Teething

The agency’s action comes in response to nearly two dozen reports of methemoglobinemia, a rare but potentially fatal condition in which the amount of oxygen carried through the bloodstream is greatly reduced, stemming from use of these medications.

As an alternative to the commonly used teething medications, the FDA referred parents to recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, or AAP, that suggest gently rubbing or massaging their teething child’s gums or giving the child a firm rubber teething ring.

It is also suggested that parents and caregivers give teething babies something that is cold but malleable, such as a wet washcloth that has been wrung out, twisted like a rope, and frozen.

If these methods do not work, some pediatricians suggest that parents and caregivers provide a weight-appropriate dose of acetaminophen. However, proper dosages and per-day dosing limits should be maintained because of the risk of liver damage posed by the medication.

Some pediatricians discourage parents from treating their children with certain homeopathic remedies, such as teething tablets that contain belladonna and amber teething necklaces. Belladonna is a poison, and necklaces of any kind pose multiple safety risks with small children.

As for benzocaine, the FDA has said in its safety announcement that children younger than age 2 years should not be given the medication except on the advice of and with supervision by a physician. The agency also cautioned that the topical anesthetic should be used sparingly — no more than four times a day — and only when needed.

The FDA said that methemoglobinemia has been reported with all strengths of benzocaine gels and liquids, including concentrations as low as 7.5 %. The products, which are used to treat canker sores and other irritations of the mouth and gums in addition to teething, have been associated with methemoglobinemia in adults as well as children.

Of the 21 cases reported to the FDA, 10 were considered life-threatening.  Meanwhile, the FDA also has received more than 300 reports of methemoglobinemia associated with the use of benzocaine sprays to numb the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat, including 32 cases that were categorized as life-threatening.  Three deaths have been reported.  The agency issued a separate safety announcement related to those products, which include Hurricaine, Cetacaine, Exactacain and Topex.

The risks associated with methemoglobinemia and benzocaine are not yet included on the labels of any benzocaine products, according to the FDA.

The following is a list of OTC products containing benzocaine*:

Americaine Dent’s Maxi-Strength Toothache Orajel Medicated Toothache
Americaine Hemorrhoidal Dermoplast Antibacterial Orajel Mouth Sore
Anbesol Dermoplast Painrelieving Orajel Multi-Action Cold Sore
Anbesol Baby Detane Orajel PM
Anbesol Cold Sore Therapy Dry Socket Remedy Orajel Ultra Mouth Sore
Anbesol Jr. Exactacain Oticaine
Anbesol Maximum Strength Foille Otocain
Baby Orajel Freez Eez Outgro
Banadyne HDA Toothache Red Cross Canker Sore
Benzocaine Burn Spray Hurricaine Rid-A-Pain Dental Drops
Benzodent Ivy-Rid Skeeter Stik
Boil Ease Maximum Strength Kanka Soft Brush Sting-Kill
Cepacol Sore Throat Lanacane Tanac
Cetacaine Lanacane Maximum Strength Thorets
Chiggerex Mycinettes Topicale Xtra
Chiggertox Navogan Trocaine
Comfort Caine Orabase with Benzocaine Walgreens Oral Anesthetic Paste
Dentapaine Orajel Denture Plus Walgreens Zilactin-B
Dent’s Extra Strength Toothache Orajel Maximum Strength Zilactin Toothache and Gum Pain

*This list is not all-inclusive

Reference: American Academy of Family Practice, FDA

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