Arsenic in Apple Juice: What is the risk?

Apple Juice Safe ... but ...

Arsenic in Apple Juice

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed a new "action level" for inorganic arsenic in apple juice of 10 parts per billion, the same level set by the Environmental Protection Agency for drinking water. The FDA tested hundreds of samples of apple juice for arsenic and found the overall level of arsenic is low. Because a small proportion of samples had higher levels of arsenic, the FDA is proposing the new action level. The FDA is not recommending any change in juice consumption and has emphasized that the data show it is safe for children and adults to drink apple juice.

The AAP is reminding parents that it is not necessary to offer children any juice to have a well-balanced, healthy diet. For years, the AAP has recommended limited intake of all sweet beverages, including juice, to reduce the risk of poor nutrition, obesity and childhood cavities. If parents want to include juice in their children’s diet, juice should be limited to 4 to 6 ounces a day for children ages 1 to 6 years, and 8 to 12 ounces a day for children age 7 and older. Children should be encouraged to eat whole fruits to meet their recommended daily fruit intake. 

Photo credit: FDA.gov

Deteriorating Oral Health Over Generations

Think about this. During the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s dentistry witnessed a steady decrease in cavities and improvement in oral health. It is not surprising then that studies done by the CDC every 10 years have shown improved oral health each decade since then for all segments of the population in all specialty areas of dentistry ....... except:

EXCEPT children age 1 to 5. Cavities in children have increased by 30% every 10 years for 30 years now. It started in the 80s. Cavities in children are worse than ever, with 60% of 1st graders already having cavities. Since oral health patterns are established by age 3, it is not hard to realize today's young population will have immense oral health problems in their retirement years including loss of teeth (like my grandfather's generation) and eating lots of over-prepared soft foods (baby food). Hmmmmm. Baby food for retirement....

Help your children have a healthy, disease free and comfortable mouth by establishing good oral health early. Good oral health is immensely less expensive and more comfortable than cavities and gum disease. The first tooth deserves a dental home. Learn from your dentist what it takes and the easy way to create excellent oral health for your children.

P.S.  Are you aware that today's generation of young people will live significantly shorter lives than us due to increasing chronic disease brought on by current lifestyle choices? Those elderly years will also be much less comfortable than ours due to the chronic diseases they will be dealing with!

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.

Ask Your Children's Dentist

When you take your children to the dentist, are you getting what you want? These days the parents are usually thrilled there is sooo much entertainment and distraction for the children to make their dentist visit pleasant. Most parents do not have those pleasant memories. All that is great. I want also to ask you what is your true objective for bringing your child to the dentist? Is that being accomplished too?

In my office for instance: My number one objective is teaching each child how to have a lifetime of cavity free, healthy, beautiful smiles. That starts by teaching the parents how to simply, quickly and effectively prevent cavities before they get started. How to stop them if they have started. How to transition from baby teeth with cavities to adult teeth without cavities (difficult, not impossible). To do this, does your dentist:

1) Start with the parent child team as soon as the child has her/his first tooth? By age 3 the bacterial environment (for high or low risk for cavities) around the teeth has established itself for a lifetime. What parents do those 3 years will influence that environment and the dental health of their children for a lifetime.
2) Teach the parents effective and quick (20 seconds) ways to clean their children's teeth? I find I must include parents with me at chair side for all visits to successfully demonstrate this. What to do and how to coach the team changes as the child grows?
3) Teach how to evaluate your own effectiveness at home so you can verify you are getting the job done well without waiting for that 6 month check-up?
4) Teach how to evaluate how well your child is cleaning her/his mouth so you know when you can allow them to "do the job" and you know how to evaluate periodically to assure they are actually getting the job done?
5) Communicate well with your child so when she/he isn't listening to you, she/he may actually be listening to the dental team?
6) Include educating the parents early and the children later about the outside influences that will damage oral health and how to handle them in the family?

Dentistry for children has certainly become more entertaining than it used to be. That doesn't change the FACT that children's cavity experience is worse than it has ever been and is getting worse by 30% every 10 years for the last 30 years. Start your child on a healthy path early.

Oral Health begins before birth. Oral disease establishes before age 3. For the elderly who have lost their teeth, there is NOTHING in their "I Wish List" that rates higher than having their teeth back. Set the right standard with the first tooth.

The Dentist's New Car! [Teens & Flossing]

The reality is that a vast majority of the cavities I fill, like 90%, started between the patient's teeth.

I talk with my patients a lot about their particular cavity patterns so they can develop efficient ways of stopping those patterns with the least time and effort.

Young teenagers in my office are often thinking about driving, getting their license, what car they are driving, and what care they would like one day to be driving.  So I point out to them that most dentists appreciate nice cars and drive the one they like.  And the patients who don't floss get to make the car payments for the dentist's car.

So I offer the patient some options regarding this.  If they would like to stop getting cavities they can pay me to come to their house every day and floss their teeth for them.  If they do that, I can use the money to buy a really nice car to drive to their house each day. J The second option is to continue only brushing their teeth and I will have the honor of doing their fillings for them and I will enjoy the new car again.  Or ...

The patient could decide to do the daily flossing.  Then they will save the money and one day they will be driving their new car. J

Oh so often, what we have in life revolves around the simple decisions we make each day!

Smoking Reduces Healthy Bacteria & Increases Dental Diseases

Here's yet another reason not to smoke...

We all have large amounts of bacteria in our saliva, most of them good and helpful.  They help to begin the digestion of our food.  Some are helpful in warding off infection by viruses and other bacteria.  Others are not so desirable, like the ones that produce cavities and gum disease.

Studies demonstrate that smokers have fewer of the helpful bacteria, allowing the damaging bacteria to grow in larger numbers.  This increases the disease potential in the mouths of smokers.

Also remember, second hand smoke is just as bad as primary smoking.  Don’t smoke indoors where other non-smokers (like your children) will be forced to breath the second hand smoke.

Cigarettes by Anna Langova

How Long should you brush your teeth?

How Long Should You Brush?


Brush until they are clean. Most people try to brush for 2 minutes twice a day. Time is not the answer.

People who have taught themselves to be effective tooth brushers can get the job done in one minute. If you are brushing the way you have always brushed since a child, some places get clean and some don’t.

More times per day and more minutes per brushing just gets the clean spots cleaner and the not clean spots are still not clean!

Teach yourself to be an effective brusher (see "disclosing bacteria) and get the job done in one minute per day!

 Be sure to ask us to evaluate your effectiveness when you are in the office. Call us at 1-530-878-2357 or visit our web page. www.winningwithsmiles.com


Scott Thompson, DDS