Energy Drinks Deliver More Than Just Energy

I think most people know that drinking cola is not good for your teeth. However, most people might be surprised to know that drinking energy drinks, sports drinks, and citric fruit juices can be harmful to teeth. At a recent seminar I attended Dr. Gordon Christensen (founder of the most well-known private dental research institute in the world - CLINICIANS REPORT) talked about energy drinks, sports drinks, fruit juices, etc. and how they affect teeth.

Sipping those energy drinks, sports drink, carbonated beverages, and citric fruit juices bathe the teeth in harmful acids. These acids cause erosion of the teeth, stripping away the enamel, which is the hard, protective layer of the tooth. Unlike decay, erosion from drinking acidic drinks happens to the entire mouth. Erosion causes hypersensitivity, discoloration, and cracks on the teeth. It also causes loss of enamel that cannot be replaced.

A study at the University of Iowa’s College of Dentistry found that energy drinks and sports drinks, such as Gatorade, Powerade, Red Bull, and KMX eroded the enamel more than soda and fruit juices.

I’m not suggesting that you only drink milk, which is good for your teeth, but we want you to be aware of damage that can be caused by certain drinks. To avoid tooth erosion when drinking acidic or carbonated drinks:

• Drink the acidic beverage all at once, instead of sipping it all day
• Use a straw to avoid the teeth from being immersed in liquid
• Rinse mouth with water after drinking acidic beverage instead of brushing.
• Don’t brush for at least 30 minutes after drinking an acidic drink. If brushed too soon after drinking the bristles of the toothbrush may damage the enamel.

Here is a chart from Dr. Christensen showing some of the most harmful drinks. It is enlightening to see how much more enamel is destroyed in 14 days with KMX than with Coca-Cola!

What’s That Gunk On Your Tongue?

A tongue is clean if it is a rosy pink color. A white film on the top of the tongue means there are millions of bacteria living there and excreting. Yep, that’s what I said, excreting. Yuck. By using a tongue scraper those nasty waste products are removed from the surface of the tongue. As a result the person has better function of of taste buds, fresher breath, and a cleaner environment for good dental hygiene. After brushing and flossing the bacteria on the tongue can travel over to the teeth and re-infect the gums if the tongue is not cleaned.

The Fresh Breath Clinic in Toronto did a study and found that most people with bad breath do not necessarily have gum disease. Instead, they found that there was bacteria living at the back of the tongue that produced smelly sulphur. Ordinary tooth bushing does not remove this bacteria, only brushing or scraping the tongue removes those nasty bugs. A drawback to brushing your tongue is that when you are done your moist toothbrush may continue to hold the bacteria, ready to infest your mouth the next time you brush. Unless you are willing to throw out your toothbrush on a continuous basis you might want to learn how to use a "tongue scraper".

Yogis have been scraping their tongues clean for hundreds of years and believe that tongue cleaning activates the salivary glands which aids digestion and revitalizes the throat.

When you have any kind of sinus infections it is even more beneficial to clean the tong. If your nose is blocked by mucous, preventing the passage of air so you need to breathe out your mouth, the bacteria thrive. By regularly scraping the tongue with a tongue cleaner the excess mucous and any minor infection is removed.

To use a tongue scraper stick out your tongue. Take the two ends of the tongue scraper in your hand, and reach the arch of it to the back of the tongue. Gently, scrape forward several times, rinsing the white mucous off the scraper between scrapings. Remember to do this gently or you will find you have a bruised tongue for days. Rinse out the mouth once you are done. Now your mouth should feel clean and your tongue should be rosy pink.

You can buy tongue scrapers at the drug store. A good one is called Oolit. Or you can stop by our office for a complimentary tongue scraper to help you on your way to a nice clean tongue!

Not All Dental Plans Are Created Equal

There are many dental plans available today and they are not all created equal.

There are certain things to know when choosing a dental insurance plan:

Do you have a dentist with whom you are comfortable.   If so it is important that your plan allows you to choose your dentist rather than have the plan choose for you.  Many plans have a network of dentists who are members of the plan.  Is your dentist in the network and if  not, can you use the insurance outside of the network?

Does the plan only permit the cheaper dental treatments. Does the plan allow you and your dentist to choose the best treatment for you regardless of the costs?

Does the plan allow for at least two cleanings and exams per year and at least one series of bitewings xrays?

Is there a waiting period before certain types of procedures are covered?

Are the benefit percentages based on the dentist’s actual fees or on an insurance company fee schedule? 

Are endodontics (root canal treatment), periodontics, (gum treatment) and prosthodontics (crowns, bridges, dentures) covered.  At what percentages are they covered? 

Does the plan cover orthodontic care?

What is the plan maximum payout per year?

What is the deductible per year.  Is the deductible waived for preventive services?

Is a predetermination required before dental treatment is rendered?

When choosing the perfect dental plan, don’t just consider premiums. A plan may be cheap but you may not get your money’s worth. It always pays to read your plan’s fine print – that’s where you will find the restrictions on your plan.

If you see a plan that seems to fit your needs, check out the company’s track record and see if they have a history of good customer service and timely payment.

You can always check with your dental office and see if they have information about any plan you are considering. 

How You Doin’?

  Many of us made New Year’s resolutions last month. Some of us remember what those resolutions were. And some of us are even keeping those resolutions. If you are one who made a resolution to keep yourself healthy or if you should have made a resolution to keep yourself healthy we hope that dentistry is a part of your overall plan.

Here are a few important things to know with regard to dental health:

Cleaning and checkup: Your regular checkup and cleaning will keep your teeth looking their best, find problems when they are more easily treated, and prevent many major dental issues.

Periodontal Disease: Gum disease can lead to a host of other health problems, including tooth loss, bone loss, heart problems, and diabetes. Periodontal disease is treatable so why put yourself at risk for these other problems.

Oral cancer screenings: Oral cancers are highly treatable and curable with EARLY detection. Your dentist is probably the most likely person to notice any unusual symptoms in your mouth or throat, probably long before they become a problem that you might notice yourself.

Problems don't go away or heal on their own: Dental problems are the kind of problems that just don't go away on their own. Rotting teeth with cavities are just going to keep getting worse. Get them taken care of! Some dental treatments sound worse than they are. So many people are afraid when they hear they need root canal therapy, but after the procedure they aren’t sure what they had been so worried about. The hardest part is keeping your mouth open.

Mirror, Mirror

 

When you look in the mirror and smile, what do you see?

Do you see a beautiful smile worthy of the red carpet? Are your teeth clean with no plaque or tartar? Are your gums healthy and pink? Are the teeth uniform, proportional and straight? Are they nice and white? Is your breath fresh and clean smelling? Do you like what you see when you smile? And do you like to smile?

Or are you one who hides their smile behind their hand or tries to keep their lips covering their teeth? Do you have obvious tartar on your teeth? Do you have missing or chipped teeth? Are your gums swollen and red? Are your teeth crowded or crooked? Do you have loose or missing teeth? Are they yellow or discolored? Do you keep your smile to yourself??

Or are you somewhere in between these two?

If you like what you see and are happy to smile, Congratulations!!

If you look in the mirror and wish it was a different smile looking back at you don’t worry. What you need to do now is figure out how you want your smile to look. And make a plan. Before going to your next dental appointment ask yourself this question, “If you could change anything about your smile, what would you change?” Once you have the answer to this you can change your world.

Talk to your dentist about what can be done to meet your smile goals.  A beautiful smile can be yours.

And remember, We Make Your Smile!

Oral Cancer: the basics and what we are doing to protect you from it.

There is one single word that uninhibitedly strikes fear into any person: cancer. The mouth is not immune to this horrific disease. According to the Oral Cancer Foundation there are 34,000 new cases of oral cancer diagnosed each year. It causes 8,000 deaths each year. Of those 34,000 new cases each year, only half will be alive after 5 years.

There are several risk factors for this disease. Historically, oral cancer is related to alcohol and tobacco use, but according to the American Dental Association 25% of oral cancer patients have no known risk factors. Although oral cancer risk increase with age, certain oral cancers are affecting younger generations. This new trend is associated with HPV viral infections.

Oral Cancer death rates are not high because the disease is hard to discover, oral cancer death rates are high because it is routinely discovered late in its development. At the stage the the cancer has possibly metastasized to other locations, usually the lymph nodes in the neck. Furthermore, with time an oral cancer tumor has had time to invade deeper into oral tissues, making treatment more invasive and worsening the prognosis.

Because of these eye opening facts, We are utilizing the state-of-the-art VELscope oral cancer screening system in conjunction with the conventional oral cancer screening each patient receives at their regular dental checkups. This machine can literally see beneath the surface to detect any potentially dangerous areas. The VELscope exam only takes a couple of more minutes after your regular dental checkup. It involves no pain and the cost is very reasonable. We hope our patients appreciate the technology we are utilizing to provide the peace-of-mind you deserve. 

 

Back to School…

  So what did you do this past weekend? I spent the weekend down in Los Angeles attending an implant class at USC. Things are always changing and improving in dentistry so when I saw that USC was offering this class I knew I wanted to get updated on implants.

One of the procedures that was discussed was for a full lower denture that won’t stay put – a big problem with lower dentures – there is a simple implant treatment that will help it stay in place. Two implants are placed in the front part of the jaw that the denture can then snap over. With it snapped in place it stays where it is supposed to stay.

This weekend I was reminded of being back in dental school. For this course I was given a fake jaw and after being instructed in how to do it I placed an implant in the fake jaw. It was very informative to me and I was able to appreciate the precision needed to place the implants.

Late Sunday afternoon we observed an actual implant surgery to stabilize the lower denture. The patient was a 75 year old woman on blood thinners who had a history of having had a stroke. The procedure took 40 minutes and the patient was awake throughout.

Back in the real world I prefer to leave the drilling of the jaw to the oral surgeon or periodontist. They place the implant into the jaw and then I take it from there.

The course was two long days over the weekend but it was a class worth attending.

While staying in downtown Los Angeles I had a chance to go to the Staples Center for the first time and at tend my first professional basketball game. Even though it was just the Clippers I think I can still count it as a professional game. At least they won. Cathy and I had a great time, but who wouldn’t. We paid $10 for tickets on the VIP level! Not too shabby. Got them from StubHub.com. I highly recommend that website if you are looking to buy tickets.

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