A Bite out of History

People of ancient times believed that the stabbing pain of a toothache was caused by a toothworm, which either had appeared spontaneously or had bored its way into the tooth. If the tooth pain was severe, it meant that the worm was thrashing about, but if the aching stopped, then the worm was resting. Cultures all over the world, many of whom had no contact with each other, held stubbornly to this myth. The folklore of the toothworm persisted from ancient times to the beginning of the eighteenth century.

Folk Cures

• Bee: Honey, a product of bees, was used to coat an infected tooth in the Middle Ages. People smeared their aching teeth with honey and waited all night with tweezers in hand, ready to pluck out the toothworm.

• Donkey: In ancient Greece, donkey’s milk was used as a mouthwash to strengthen the gums and teeth.

• Frog: Besides spitting in a frog’s mouth for toothache relief, these web-footed creatures were applied to a person’s cheek or to the head on the side of the ailing tooth.

• Onion: In the Middle Ages a slice of onion was applied to the ear on the side of the aching tooth.

There's no need for enduring pain if you don't want to.  Since over 90% of dental disease is a cause and effect relationship, you can have a future based on choice instead of chance....IF your dentist takes the time to identify the factors causing problems in your mouth and them eliminates them.  

When Thumb Sucking Becomes a Problem...

Infants have a natural instinct to suck as a way of nourishing and soothing themselves. Often, this leads to the child sucking on their fingers, a blanket, a stuffed animal or their thumb. Usually, this habit is given up by age 4. If it continues, it can be extremely detrimental to the development of their teeth and jaws causing crooked teeth, an incorrect bite, speech problems and/or open-mouth breathing. This habit may result in psychological trauma if it continues into school age when the other children tease them.

What should a parent do? If possible, try to switch them to a properly designed pacifier that fits the shape of the mouth. Pacifiers are less likely to create the same developmental problems [by distributing forces over greater area], are usually discarded by the child at an earlier age and are easier to hide than a thumb. If the thumb sucking is during the day, discuss the problem with them to discourage the habit. Placing a band-aid on their thumb as a reminder may help. Be positive and praise them when they remember. And reward them for their success.

It is more difficult to control thumb sucking when the child is asleep, because the child is unaware of this involuntary action. So, try this habit-breaking technique that is usually successful within two weeks. Before your child goes to bed, wrap a 2-inch wide ace bandage lightly around their fully extended arm [straight]. Start about 3 inches from their armpit and continue down past the elbow. This will not prevent your child from putting their thumb into their mouth. However, as soon as they fall asleep, the tension created by bending the elbow will pull the thumb from their mouth.

If your child is still sucking on their thumb or anything else by the time their permanent teeth erupt [around age 6], please call it to the attention of our office.

The Multivitamin Scam

The April 2010 issue of Reader's Digest has an interesting article in it about the futility of trying to become "healthy" by taking multivitamins. Here are some of the "Myths" that are commonly believed by many:

Myth #1: A multivitamin can make up for a bad diet. There is NO substitute for WHOLE FOODS.

Myth #2: Vitamin C is a cold fighter. Buyer beware!

Myth #3: Vitamin pills can prevent heart disease. You'd be better off eating a whole foods based diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Myth #4: Taking vitamins can protect against cancer. Neuhouser's enormous multivitamin study disproves this idea.

Myth #5: Well...it can't hurt to take them, can it? Vitamins are safe when you get them naturally in whole foods, or from the juice of whole foods.

I believe that beginning in Eden, God gave mankind everything they need to growth and stay healthy in the fruits, vegetables, and grains he provided Adam and Eve. There are thousands of nutrients in whole foods that modern science hasn't figured out yet as far as what their benefit is. But what medical science IS figuring out is that it makes no sense to segregate out a few nutrients and take massive quantities of them while ignoring those we don't understand yet.  

There really is no substitute for whole foods!

A Beautiful Smile Is Precious And Priceless!

Did you know that the shape, shade, length and spacing of your teeth could significantly affect your smile? And our smiles can greatly affect our self-esteem and confidence. Common conditions that impact negatively on your smile include broken, cracked or worn teeth, discolored teeth, missing teeth, crooked teeth, decayed teeth, gaps between your teeth and/or "gummy smiles." The good news is that with modern technology and improved materials, these situations can be dramatically changed to create natural looking and long-lasting beautiful smiles.

Each patient and each specific circumstance must be evaluated on its own merits. Factors such as occlusion [bite], oral habits, available space, health of the gum tissue, severity of the problem and patient expectation must be taken into consideration while planning your Smile makeover.

Depending on the situation, there are a variety of choices that all result in excellent esthetic outcomes. For whiter natural teeth, in-office or at-home bleaching [whitening] techniques are available. Repairing teeth or closing spaces may be accomplished with tooth-colored composite resin bonding, porcelain veneers or porcelain crowns.

These procedures vary in time and cost and have differences in longevity and appearance. If you're not satisfied with your smile or want to learn if you're a good candidate for any of these remarkable techniques, call our office for a cosmetic consultation.

The Great Amalgam Debate

Since just before the start of the Civil War, dentists have been using mercury/amalgam alloys as fillings for cavities.  Amalgam restorations (silver fillings) consist of a combination of the metals silver, tin, copper, and zinc. They also contain mercury (and some of the older amalgam restorations contain considerable amounts of mercury). The fact that amalgam is inexpensive, durable, and easy for the dentist to work with in your mouth makes it the most widely-used restorative material in the world today. However, the mercury content of amalgam has been the subject of debate within the dental community for more than 150 years.  It's a debate that's getting a lot of attention these days.

Medical and dental science has known for centuries that mercury is highly toxic. It's been proven that even just the smallest amount of mercury in a human body can damage cells. While some experts still say that there is no cause for concern over the health-related effects of mercury, a growing group of medical and dental professionals believe that mercury introduced into the human body does, in fact, produce a long list of negative health effects. These negative health effects include neurotoxicity, renal (kidney) dysfunction, birth defects, reduced ability to fight illness and disease, and compromised general health.

What's more, even low-level exposure to mercury has been shown to produce such symptoms as anxiety, fatigue, stress intolerance, headache, and depression. In 1984, the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology was formed to research the safety of amalgam restorations. Today, despite the fact that the US Public Health Service still says that there is no link between amalgams and health problems, a growing number of scientific studies indicate that amalgam mercury indeed can and does pose a health threat to patients.

Your comfort and safety is always our priority. As a result of the ongoing health controversy surrounding the use of mercury in amalgam fillings, our office policy will be to use only ceramic, porcelain, gold, or composite restorations that are stronger, better looking and environmentally friendly, when your restorations are being replaced due to decay, fracture or ill fitting restorations.

Our office has taken steps to minimize your exposure to mercury vapor during removal of old amalgam fillings by using an isolation device called the Isolite, which is designed to surround the tooth with high speed suction and thereby collect all the mercury vapor being released as the old filling is being removed.

For more information, please visit our website at: http://www.sweetwatersmiles.com

Choices

For most people, their teeth are one of many different choices a person makes when deciding what they wish to enjoy.  There are many other options a person can choose to spend their time or money on, such as fancy cell phones, big screen TV’s with surround sound, nice cars, jewelry, or computers...just to name a few.  Were you aware that in the USA one third of adult Americans over 65 have chosen to have NO teeth, and 2/3 have chosen to have 10 teeth or less?  With statistics like that in the wealthiest nation on earth with the most advanced dental care, why do you think this is the case?  While the majority of us have the financial means to make the choices above, it’s true that there is a small indigent population that has to choose sustenance over oral health and therefore doesn’t have much of a choice.   That being said, we also know that 80% of Americans are not indigent....which means a LOT of people are ignoring their oral health.

Is a lack of dental insurance the problem?  There’s no insurance to purchase big screen TV’s, stereo systems, computers, and nice clothes, but yet people find the money to buy these things anyway.  When you take into consideration that a check up costs about the same as what the average lady spends on getting her hair done (even without “hair insurance”), this argument loses even more steam.  In fact, more money is spent annually in the United States on dog food than is spent on dentistry?  Do you think that some people just value other things more than their teeth?

The solution is NOT dental insurance.  Depending on the plan up to sixty cents on the dollar goes to administrate dental insurance and forty cents on the dollar goes to pay for actual dental care.  Insurance companies are not here to help the patient; their primary objective is to provide a return on investment to their shareholders. 

Since about 90% of all dental disease is preventable, the real problems are:

1.  An insufficient amount of value placed on oral health versus other things.
2.  Inadequate home care
3.  Poor diet choices (too many sweet &/or acidic foods, beverages, and snacks,
4.  Infrequent check-ups/preventative care

It’s not just about your saving your teeth and gums

More and more evidence is being found concerning the systemic link between gum disease and the health of your heart.  In fact, gum disease has been linked to heart attacks, strokes, respiratory diseases, diabetes, and pancreatic cancer, just to name a few. 

So what can I do?

Elevate the value you place on your oral health by brushing AND flossing daily, minimize the intake of sodas, energy drinks, & sugary snacks, and most of all, visit your dentist regularly for proper preventative care.  Prevention is not expensive, but neglect can be!

Which toothpaste is best?

I get asked this all the time, so I thought I'd address this in my blog today. The bottom line is that toothpaste provides some benefits, such as fluoride to strengthen the surfaces of your teeth and help prevent decay, but it is the physical removal of the plaque with your toothbrush and floss that really cleans your teeth...not the toothpaste. I think that the general public sees toothpaste in much the same way they do soap....that is, they believe it is necessary to clean their teeth. The reality of it is that no toothpaste is needed at all to get your teeth clean. Toothpaste provides flavoring and foams up (making people think it's cleaning like soap), and it usually has added ingredients that offer "some" benefits such as fluoride, limited whitening abilities, and tartar control....but that's about it. Any brand toothpaste that contains fluoride and the ADA Seal of Approval, to attest that there is evidence of its safety, reliability and effectiveness through clinical trials, is acceptable. It makes no difference if the toothpaste is a gel, paste or powder or which flavoring agent is used.

If you have sensitive teeth, you should avoid whitening toothpastes because they will worsen the sensitivity. In addition, some patients will report inflamed gums that literally peel after using tartar control toothpastes. If you notice peeling gums with any toothpaste discontinue it's use at once and switch to a milder toothpaste with just fluoride in it. Remember...it's mostly just providing flavoring after all....you don't need it to get your teeth clean.