Your Teeth Can Last Forever!!!

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Sure!!  No way! Really?  So just think about it. We have jaws full of teeth from Neanderthal Man, and from Cro-Magnon Man, and countless other pre-historic cultures. Perfect teeth with no cavities that are thousands of years old. So ... Why does modern man suffer cavities that destroy teeth in a matter of a few years?  Why, as a children's dentist, do I see teeth totally destroyed, disintegrated, in as little as 2 years?


Are you aware that cavities were not an issue for the average man until about 250 to 300 years ago? Towns and villages didn't need a dentist because average folks didn't get cavities. Interesting?
But wait. There are archeological findings of jewels being used to fill cavities in king's and pharaoh's teeth. Indeed. Pharaohs had cavities and they had a dentist in the royal court. And why?  Because they also had the money to import sugar with their spice. So pharaohs and kings paid the price for their indulgences, both financially and in the discomfort of dental disease and the rudimentary level of dental science. Ouch!

Teeth and Quality of Life

It doesn't take rocket science or super intelligence to figure out that teeth are important to quality of life. Eating some delicious bar-b-cue or a sumptuous crisp mixed green salad requires some stable teeth.  When residents of elder care facilities are polled to rate the value of having back something they have lost since their younger years, having their teeth back invariably is at the top of the list.

Are you aware that 28% of those over 50 years old have no teeth?  Of those who still have teeth, The average number left is 19; that is 11 less than when they were in high school!  Imagine eating with 11 gaps for missing teeth.

Yet Americans continue to make life style choices that put their health at risk. Diabetes rates are skyrocketing in our youth. Diabetes, which was primarily associated with the elderly, accounts for 18% of the tooth loss problem in those over 50. Why is it that people continue to eat simple carbohydrates (sugars) even when they know it is bad for them?

Smoking, can you hear me?

One more reason. We already know that smoking is a primary causative agent in inflammatory disease in the mouth, including periodontal disease, oral cancer and tooth loss. Secondary smoke exposure for young children, what your kids get when you smoke, has now been correlated with hearing loss.

By the way, tooth loss is also correlated with hearing loss. Our teeth are an integral part of our hearing. Take good care of them and they will help your hearing for a lifetime!

If you smoke, don't.  You are handicapping your children.  

How Valuable - Your Teeth?

A sad statistic that 25% of those over 60 have no teeth. Those who still have teeth have an average of 19 teeth; fewer than when they were a toddler. This leads to a significant decrease in eating fruits, vegetables and other nutritious fiber foods. It also leads to increased consumption of high carbohydrate and high fat soft foods. It is not surprising to discover there is a clear independent correlation between tooth loss and chronic heart disease, hypertension, stroke, cancer and other systemic diseases.

The sad reality for me is that the biological foundation for oral health establishes itself by age 3, before most people even consider taking their children to the dentist. One of our bylines in our practice is "The first tooth deserves a dental home." We recommend the first dental visit for a child as soon as the first tooth appears. The primary focus of that visit is a consultation with parents about how to create a healthy mouth free of cavities and gum disease. Creating good oral health is easier, takes less time and is immensely less expensive than fixing the ravages of cavities and gum disease.
And, obviously, from the statistics above it is easy to see it leads to vastly improved quality of life. Even if we ignore the countless uncomfortable and expensive visits to the dentist for treatment of oral disease and just think of over age 60. Are you planning on 20 to 30 years of "baby food" in those glorious retirement years?

Doing the right things for your children early will make huge differences for their long term health and enjoyment of life. The first tooth deserves a dental home.

Flimsy (Disposable) Flossers

Basically I love anything that makes dental flossing easier or more convenient. As I tell the kids in my

practice repeatedly, "The people who don't floss keep me busy doing fillings. I would rather be busy teaching patients how to have healthy beautiful smiles.

The little disposable Flossers are convenient to have around and have been made cute and attractive for kids.  I have come to discover, however that they are too flimsy for the younger kids to be using.  They don't understand the importance of getting that floss down past the tight place between the teeth.  They haven't developed the feel of knowing the floss is doing the right thing. The Flossers are too flimsy and don't get through the most important real tight places the highest risk kids have. They also have to get their fingers in the mouth to get the job done right, which kids are not very coordinated about.

Sealants Prevent Cavities in Kids

Most of my writing focuses on what we can do as parents to improve and safeguard the oral health of our kids and whole family.  However, there are a few things that your dentist can do to prevent cavities.  Sealants are one of them!  The following is information from a recent study done by Delta Dental, one of the largest dental insurers in the country.  They are very interested in whether the money they spend for their client's oral health is effective!

Cavities are almost entirely preventable, and a recent study shows that sealants — especially when combined with professional fluoride treatments — are among the best tools to help children fight tooth decay early in their lives. However, the study also cites sealants recently ranking ninth in children’s dental procedures, suggesting a lack of community awareness about sealant effectiveness.

Perinatal Care Benefits Your Baby's Teeth

Mom’s oral health is clearly related to a healthy pregnancy, healthy delivery and healthy baby.  However, 2/3 of women do not seek dental care during their pregnancy!  Though it is perceived by most that dental care should be avoided during pregnancy, that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

What is real is:

1) Dental care can be administered anytime during the pregnancy without undue risk to the baby.  A thorough examination in the first trimester would reveal what would be recommended to maximize mom’s oral health and the unborn child’s health.  Emergency work can be done immediately to avoid infection developing.  Significant extensive work is done best during the second trimester, after mother’s morning sickness has subsided and before weight gain makes it uncomfortable to sit in the dental chair.

2) Creating good oral health early in the pregnancy will ensure against the need for antibiotics or pain medications that may carry risk for the developing baby.

2 Minutes 2 Times

Brush your child's teeth for 2 minutes, 2 times a day!

As I have told you in previous blogs, doing fillings and crowns on teeth does not improve oral health or dental health. Effective prevention of dental disease requires a little simple education of the patient and the desire to have healthy, cavity free beautiful smiles. With that in mind the California Dental Association and American Academy of Pediatric Dentists and 12 other organizations have started a nationwide educational program designed to help patients improve their own oral health and prevent cavities.


2min2x.org is the website it will originate from and where you can find all the information needed to create oral health for you and your children. It includes great videos to educate, entertain and motivate your children to want and achieve good oral health.  Check it out!

Winning With Smiles - Pediatric Dentistry
Meadow Vista, California 95722

Oral Health - It is Not Just About Cavities

Oral Health.  It is not just about cavities.  Here are two significant briefs from the literature highlighting that oral health has wide reaching implications for your total health.   

Risk for Two Birth Defects Affected by Overall Quality of Pregnant Woman's Diet.  Medical News Today – October 4. The overall quality of a pregnant woman's diet is linked with risk for 2 types of serious birth defects, according to a new study in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. In the study, women who ate better before and during pregnancy gave birth to fewer infants with malformations of the brain and spinal cord, or orofacial clefts, such as cleft lip and cleft palate. “Our study showed for the first time that the overall quality of the diet, and not just a single nutrient, matters in terms of reducing the risk of birth defects," say researchers. The study is also the first to connect diet quality with reduced risk for cleft lip or cleft palate.  

Oral Health of Diabetes Patients Closely Linked to Heart Disease and Cancer Risk.  Medical News Today – October 3.  A new report in the British Dental Journal reveals that many individuals who suffer with diabetes are not aware that their oral health is closely connected to their risk of developing complications. According to the authors, inflammation from gums that are swollen can increase the severity of diabetes, increase deaths from oral cancer, and make cardiovascular disease worse. In addition, diabetes that is longstanding and poorly controlled seems to speed up the development of gum disease. However, a survey of 229 adults visiting a diabetes clinic discovered that the majority were unaware of any connection between dental health and their condition. Only 13% of participants were aware that swollen or tender gums could be affected by the disease, and only 12% knew there might be a connection between the disease and loose teeth.

Good oral health habits as well as good eating habits are just the beginning of living healthy productive lives.  What you put in your mouth and how you care for your teeth will have a definite impact on the quality of your life forever.  It is not just about cavities.

ScottThompson, DDS
Meadow Vista, CA 95722

Sports Drinks - Not What You Might Hope They Are.

Have you checked out the ingredients of your "sports drink?"  Basically you will find:  1) water,  2) sugar of some kind,  3) organic acids (or citrus juices) for the tangy taste, and  4) some electrolytes.

The water is obvious and great.  We need to rehydrate during and after sweaty exercise.  No problem.

Sugar of some kind?  The amount of Calories we burn during exercise is not as much as you might think.  A jogger running for an hour only uses about 400 Calories.  (Just 1 scone at your favorite coffee shop will replace that!)  A marathon runner will run for 3 hard hours before he depletes his easily available glucose energy storage in his muscles.  Sports event players don't need sugar of any kind in their water.  To the contrary, adults and kids alike are consuming hundreds of excess (un-necessary) calories, empty calories (containing no nutrients to help adequately metabolize the calories), with these drinks.

The sipping nature that many people employ drinking these sports drinks is also boosting the sugar loving, cavity causing germs in our mouths.  The bacteria that cause cavities will thrive at high metabolic rates for 40 minutes following a simple sugar exposure.  Assuming 3 meals and 2 snacks, the teeth are under acid attack 4 hours.  The other 20 hours each day the teeth are recovering calcium from the saliva.

People who sip sports drinks from backpacks or before, during and after sports events and celebrations have their teeth under attack a majority of the day with inadequate recovery times to maintain healthy enamel.  Screw cap lids make it possible to sip these beverages all day and for those children who do, the teeth have no opportunity to recover the calcium lost during the constant acid attack of the bacteria.  Their cavity rates begin to soar.

The human condition has evolved over several millennia with water to hydrate us.  In the last couple decades sports drinks have not made us healthier or improved our sports performance.  However, they have:

1)  Done huge damage to our teeth and oral health.

2)  Contributed heavily to an overweight and obese population, especially our kids, that pediatricians and other physicians and health care workers are working desperately to change.

3)  Been a significant contributor to the growing problem of Type II diabetes in our children.

A third and highly “hyped” ingredient is electrolytes.  Electrolyte replacement with these sports drinks is not necessary and inefficient besides.  With a mere 25 cent envelope of Emergen-C I can:  1) replace those electrolytes and more,  2) get a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals as well,  3) get only 25 Calories in the bargain, and  4) gulp it down in short order any time during the day so it is not bathing my teeth for hours.  The real bottom line, however, is that our daily diet gives us adequate electrolytes each day so unless you are an extreme athlete doing strenuous exercise several hours each day, you don’t need to be concerned about electrolytes.  If you are truly concerned about chemical balance, the 3^rd article in this series on sports drinks will address a few additives of real “concern” that are in these sports drinks.

The last primary ingredient in sports drinks is organic acids (citric acid, ascorbic acid, malic acid, etc.)  Next week I'll tell you how to dissolve the enamel off your teeth the easy way with sports drinks.