How often should you go to the dentist?

Most dentists are reluctant to stray from recommending a six-month checkup schedule. There is good reason for this, for example: In pediatrics I have witnessed in a child an undetectable cavity progress to a cavity large enough to nearly expose the nerve of the tooth in just six months. Had they elected to return on a one-year checkup schedule the child would have had an abscess and an emergency before the check up was accomplished. Pre-cancerous lesions can show up at a six-month checkup and be treated appropriately. If the check up interval is 12 months, that lesion can be frank cancer with a very different treatment outlook.

The dentist looks at a large number of factors for a patient when determining his approach for care. This includes: history of cavities. Risk level of new cavities. Diet patterns that will affect teeth and other mouth tissues. Existing diseases like diabetes, hypertension and obesity. Current medications which will affect oral conditions. Existing history of typical changes that occur at current check up intervals. Habits and lifestyle patterns like smoking, Drinking, coffee, etc.

Soda and Aggressive Behavior

Soda – not just about bad teeth.

Five-year-olds who drank at least four servings of soda daily had double the risk of aggressive behaviors compared with children who did not drink any soda, according to a study on the website of the Journal of Pediatrics. Researchers noted that regular soda intake also was associated with social withdrawal and attention problems.

Now think about the energy drinks with their high levels of caffeine! In addition to the sugar.

Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons

Dental Health affects School Performance and Self-esteem

A recent nationwide study published in Pediatrics demonstrated a significant correlation
with reductions in school performance and psychosocial well-being. Children with dental problems were more likely to have problems at school and to miss school, and were less likely to do all required homework. Dental problems were associated with shyness, unhappiness, feeling of worthlessness, and reduced friendliness. The effects of dental problems on unhappiness and feeling of worthlessness were largest for adolescents between 15 and 17 years.

Conclusion
Preventing and treating dental problems and improving dental health may benefit child academic achievement and cognitive and psychosocial development.

A reminder to start early.  The first tooth deserves a dental home.  If you are going to prevent tooth decay, you have to start before the decay starts.

Winning With Smiles Children's Dentistry

Don't Toss Toothbrush after Strep Throat

It is commonly recommended that you toss out your toothbrush if you have strep throat and are being treated with antibiotics. The idea was that you don't want to re-infect yourself with the strep after your antibiotics are finished. It turns out the strep is pretty fragile outside the body and dies quickly as the toothbrush dries.

This brings me to what I routinely recommend.  Have as many, or more, toothbrushes as the number of times you brush your teeth daily. Shake out the water after rinsing them and give them a full 24 hours to dry. Rotate through a sequence of your brushes. There are lots of bacteria in your mouth and they thrive in moisture. Allowing your toothbrush to dry will kill most of them.  Though there are not a lot of studies on this subject, it was nice to see this study presented at the Pediatric Academic Society's annual meeting regarding a very important pathological bacteria that dies quickly on a dry toothbrush.

Photo Credit: wikipedia commons

Fluoride -- Count the Ways

Something new!  The American Chemical Society recently published the results of a study showing that fluoride in the environment, like in your saliva because you drink fluoridated water, reduces the stickiness of streptococcus mutans.  Strep mutans is one of the major cavity causing bacteria in our mouths. It's stickiness allows it to stick to teeth and allow other cavity causing bugs to stick to it.  This conglomeration of bacteria, a bio-film, creates and concentrates the acids that dissolve holes in our teeth, cavities. This stickiness reduction becomes one more way fluoride resists cavity formation.

Other ways include reducing the bacteria's ability to create the acids that dissolve teeth. Also as a salt (sodium-fluoride or calcium-fluoride) in solution in your saliva, the fluoride will exchange with the hydroxide in the tooth enamel crystal (hydroxyapatite to fluorapatite) making it about 100x more difficult to dissolve with acid.

Fluoride is ubiquitous in nature, 2 parts per million in sea water and naturally occurring in fresh water in widely varying levels. At 1 part per million in drinking water it is an excellent preventer of cavities. If you live in a non-fluoridated area, the simplest way to maximize your fluoride benefit, without risking too much fluoride is to simply 'spit your toothpaste after brushing and don't rinse afterward.' The lingering bit on your teeth will have a longer time to interact with the enamel of your teeth as well as the germs themselves.

Photo Credit: wikipedia commons

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!