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Your Teeth and the “Holiday Candy” Feast

Candy and sweet treats can be harmful to the health of your teethWith the holidays fast approaching it is easy to overdo it with the candies and the sweets. Whether you like to sink your choppers into some candy or sip on a sweetened beverage (with or without alcohol) here are some tips to help defend your teeth against cavities.

  1. If given the choice between candies, choose the ones that are easier to bite into. Hard candies can not only crack healthy teeth, but they can also break crowns and fillings.
  2. Avoid sticky candies. These tend to “stick” to the teeth and the nooks and crannies around the teeth causing more damage to the teeth.
  3. Avoid candies that are both hard and sticky. See the reasons above.
  4. Try to consume your candy or chocolate bar within a reasonable period of time. You want to minimize the total time the sugar is in contact with your teeth.
  5. Drink non-carbonated water afterward. This helps wash away remnants of what you were eating without harming the teeth anymore.
  6. Avoid candies and sweet drink combinations together. Have some tea with your cake instead of a sweetened Frappuccino for example.
  7. Don’t brush your teeth immediately after eating or drinking sweets. The healthy tooth structure has had some of its “good” contents sucked away and damaged by the sweets. Brushing now would harm the remaining tooth structure even faster because you can “brush away” these weakened areas of your teeth. Wait at least 30 minutes before you brush.
  8. Buy some ACT which is sold over the counter and start rinsing daily now. This helps strengthen your teeth against cavities. This is like shoring up your defenses.
  9. For more protection, you can get a prescription strength fluoride toothpaste or rinse.
  10. Floss once a day at night time or for those who work at night before you go to bed.
  11. Brush twice a day, using a soft bristle brush with the correct gentle circular motions pointing the bristles 45 degrees towards your gums. Brush and massage your teeth and gums instead of abrading them.

Cavities can happen despite of your best efforts. But the steps above will help you minimize the risk of developing cavities at a fast rate.

If your teeth become sensitive contact us and we’ll get you in to take a look and see and nip the problem before it becomes a bigger headache.

 

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Energy Drinks and Your Teeth

Energy drinks have been on the market for years. And while they all promise more energy to get done whatever it is you want to get done, they make no remarks about the serious side effects for both your overall health and dental health.

Energy drinks increase rate of enamel destruction
Energy drinks are harmful to the teeth

Medical concerns aside, energy drinks have been shown to be quite destructive to the enamel on the teeth, even worse than the dreaded soda! In a lab experiment where teeth were submerged into different drinks, the rate of enamel loss for energy drinks was more than double compared to other “non-energy” drinks like Gatorade.

People that are chronically low on energy should visit their doctor to rule out other problems affecting their energy level, like “hypo-thyroid” where the thyroid gland is not making enough thyroxin. Also vitamin deficiency or lacking other essential minerals will impact the energy levels negatively. The proper amount of restful sleep is also necessary to the body functioning well. Using energy drinks to combat sleepiness or sleep deprivation often times requires multiple energy drinks which will even cause greater harm.

So what’s there to do if you or a loved one is hooked onto these energy drinks? The best solution is to reduce the use and ultimately stop using the product due to its dental and medical side effects. Diluting the drinks is another recommendation as any dilution reduces the acidity that the teeth are exposed to. Also, rinsing out the mouth with water afterwards is also recommended. However, you don’t want to brush your teeth for at least an hour after consuming energy drinks. This is because brushing teeth that have been exposed to acid immediately afterwards causes more destruction of the enamel.

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Sports – Kids – Sports Mouthguards

Do you have a kid who plays sports? If you answered yes then this is very important. A sports mouthguard is going to save you and your child a lot of pain and agony, not to mention the financial burden over a number of years. We often don’t think of the consequences of the injury until they are affecting us directly. And the entire goal is to minimize the damage and injury.  A bruised lip is easier to treat than a tooth broken in half or knocked out of the mouth, not to mention the emotional stress on everyone.

Sports Mouthguards – Protective Gear

Sports and Kids - Injury Prevention

Common organized youth sports where the use of protective mouthpiece is almost mandatory are football, basketball, and hockey. But some other sports where you may not think of the need for a protective mouthguard include examples like skateboarding, mountain biking, martial arts, and many more.

Accidents happen all the time. It’s best to minimize the damage caused by such accidents by taking precautionary measures. A well-fitting custom-made mouthguard means it will be used more because it’s comfortable. The over-the-counter mouth protective piece is oftentimes bulky and uncomfortable to wear. Sometimes they cause gagging or even make breathing difficult. So even though they are very affordable, they are practically useless in most cases.

Common Dental Sports Injuries

Every year the cost of dental treatment necessitated by sporting accidents is in the millions of dollars. A sports mouthguard could prevent or significantly decrease the damage and trauma to the teeth while playing sports. Here is a list of the common injuries to the face and the mouth and how a mouthguard can help minimize the damage.

Busted Lip – Broken Tooth

Broken teeth hurt animals like this elephant and humans alikeThis is a very common scenario. The kids are playing basketball on the court. One gets accidentally hit by a ball or an arm or hand to the face. If the force of impact is light, usually a bruised lip is the result. But as the force increases, so do the odds of breaking a tooth, having the tooth impale the lip, or even get knocked out of its socket.  These are all relatively painful issues to treat after the accident. A sports mouthguard protects the teeth against breakage and minimizes damage to the soft tissue.

Jaw Pain – Broken Jaw – Jaw Dislocation

Jaw pain, jaw dislocation or even breaking the jaw bone are all consequences of severe trauma to the face from sportsIf the accident causes the lower jaw to smack against the upper jaw then the damage gets worse usually. Sometimes multiple teeth are broken as a result of this trauma.  If the break is deep enough a root canal may be necessary to save the tooth. Cracked teeth are painful to bite on and will also need to be treated. A more forceful impact can even break the jaw A sports mouthguard minimizes these types of damage by cushioning the blow. It’s like having airbags for the mouth.

Custom Mouthguards

Having your child protected with their own custom-made athletic mouthguard is as easy as picking up the phone and contacting us.  We can schedule your child for a quick visit where we take an impression of the teeth. The mouthguard usually takes 1-2 weeks to fabricate. Plus they come in all sorts of cool colors and patterns.

Follow this link to learn more about sports mouthguards. 

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Diabetes and Gum Disease

Diabetes and gum disease go hand in hand
Diabetes and gum disease go hand in hand

When it comes to diabetes, controlling the blood sugar is key. People with diabetes are more susceptible to all sorts of infections and medical problems, like gum disease. People with diabetes are more likely to have gum disease compared to people without diabetes. And what’s worse is that presence of gum disease makes controlling the diabetes harder. It’s like a 2 way street. Gum disease makes diabetes harder to control and diabetes leads to gum disease. We can help stop this vicious cycle by treating the gum disease and making sure it stays away so it doesn’t make matters worse. >Learn more about gum disease.

 

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Toothpaste Types

Toothpastes vary quite a bit in ingredients, flavor and texture.With so many kinds of toothpaste to choose from, where do you start?

What’s important to remember is that the toothpaste needs to be matched to your dental needs. A smoker benefits from “Smoker’s Toothpaste” which has tartar fighting ability. A growing child who loves sweets will want to use a toothpaste containing fluoride.

There are 5 broad categories of toothpaste to choose from.

1. Smoker’s toothpaste: these have tartar fighting ingredients that help remove the stains left on the teeth after smoking.

2. Fluoride toothpaste: these have higher than normal levels of fluoride to aid in keeping teeth healthy and strong and make it less likely for teeth to decay.

3. Sensitive toothpaste: these are intended for older patients. As people age, the gums recede. This exposes the roots of the teeth to the oral cavity. The roots don’t have a layer of enamel on top, so there is moderate sensitivity caused by temperatures and even touch (when brushing).

4. Whitening toothpaste: these kinds of toothpaste are used to keep the teeth white and bright. Some of the newer formulations even contain fluoride to help keep the teeth strong.

5. Natural toothpaste: these are sometimes thought of as healthy, natural alternatives to kinds of toothpaste that contain various chemicals. However, natural toothpastes have not proven to be very effective in keeping the teeth clean.

As a general rule, look for the ADA (American Dental Association) seal of approval on the toothpaste you wish to use. The ADA evaluates the efficacy of toothpaste and approves the ones that are clinically effective.

To learn more about how to take better care of your teeth, contact us for a check-up and cleaning appointment.

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Oil Pulling – Current Facts

oil pulling
Is oil pulling as good as everyone says?

Oil pulling has been touted as a cure-all for everything dental. I think I was reading about all the benefits of oil pulling and it mentioned that oil pulling will even grow money on trees (no just kidding).

Having read thru multiple articles and scouring the scientific data that is available, 2 things have become clear.

The first is that the American Dental Association (Read the ADA article here) doesn’t consider this a valid form of therapy to improve dental health. And much to their credit, I agree with the lack of scientifically proven studies and experiments documenting such benefits. And until there are multiple valid experiments and studies performed, ADA will not change its stance.

The second item noticed was the plethora of people using this technique and reporting amazing results. People swear that their teeth are whiter, gums don’t hurt as much or bleed  and they don’t have bad breath any more.

Oil pulling has been around several thousand years as a form of holistic medicine. The theory is that by swishing a teaspoon of coconut or similar oil in the mouth for 20 minutes at a time, the bad bacteria that is in our mouth get trapped in this oil, which is then spit out.

As a US trained dentist I won’t be recommending oil-pulling to my patients to improve their dental health due to lack of scientifically based evidence. But considering what the people are saying about this technique, I won’t argue with its apparent benefits. Perhaps the best is to use this technique understanding that it is not a cure-for-all diseases, but it can be helpful in the overall scheme to help keep your mouth and teeth healthy.

Platinum Dental, Inc. located in San Marcos California offers the latest technology in dentistry. Visit our website to learn more about Platinum Dental, Inc.

 

 

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Sensitive teeth to cold drinks or ice cream?

san marcos dentist performs white fillings
Cold sensitivity of the teeth can be due to small cavities by the gums.

Teeth Sensitive to Cold

Some people experience moderate even severe sensitivity from cold drinks or foods like ice cream or slushies. What causes this sensitivity and how can it be overcome? These are some of questions we’ll talk about here.

Sensitive Teeth – Common Causes

Cold sensitivity can be due to a number of reasons. If the tooth is chipped or if there is a cracked filling, the tooth can be cold sensitive. When the gums recede (or pull away), teeth oftentimes become cold sensitive.  Foods high in sugar or acidic foods deplete the teeth of their essential minerals and that can lead to cold sensitivity. These are some of the most common causes for this condition.

Your dentist through a dental exam and necessary pictures and X-rays can find the reason behind any tooth or part of your mouth that is cold sensitive.

Treatment – Cold Sensitive Teeth

Once the cause of the cold sensitivity is discovered, treatment can help relieve and reduce the sensitivity. Sometimes the result is apparent soon after treatment. For example, it a cracked filling is the culprit, once it’s repaired there should be no more sensitivity. Sometimes there maybe some time before you notice a major improvement. For example, if years of daily soda use have left the teeth sensitive to cold, daily home fluoride use can help reduce the symptoms slowly over time.

Sensitive Teeth – Our Body’s Defense

At the end of the day we need to listen to our body. When our teeth are sensitive they are telling us something is not right. Ignoring the sensitivity can lead to further more serious conditions. But if the symptoms are resolved quickly then our body’s defense mechanism worked and helped prevent further damage and disease.

If you have teeth that are temperature sensitive or sensitive for any reasons give us a call. If it has been a while since you saw a dentist, we can schedule you for a dental visit to help resolve the problem before it gets out of hand.