Thursday, December 27, 2012

New Year's Resolution.


2013 is fast approaching!

Have you begun your list of New Year's resolutions? Why not include your dental health as part of your resolutions? Any of the following strategies will go a long way toward giving you a brighter, healthier smile in 2013.

Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables 

Eating well is important for your dental health. Poor nutrition can affect the entire immune system, increasing susceptibility to many common oral disorders, including gum (periodontal) disease. Antioxidants and other nutrients found in fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts improve your body’s ability to fight bacteria and inflammation, helping to protect your teeth and gums. In addition, crisp fruits and raw vegetables like apples, carrots and celery help clean plaque from teeth and freshen breath.


Quit Smoking or Using Other Tobacco Products

Using tobacco can harm your mouth in a number of ways, increasing your risk for tooth discoloration, cavities, gum recession, gum disease and throat, lung and oral cancer. Smokers are about twice as likely to lose their teeth as non-smokers. It’s not just smoking tobacco that has negative effects on your oral health: use of smokeless tobacco can be just as harmful to your oral health. The good news is that the risk of tooth loss decreases after you quit smoking or using smokeless tobacco.

Limit Your Alcohol Intake

You may already know that excessive alcohol intake can have an effect on your overall health, but did you know that it may also affect your oral health? According to the Academy of General Dentistry, those who smoke, eat poorly and consume excessive alcohol also have increased gum recession (periodontal pocketing). Their studies show that smokers who regularly consume alcohol are less likely to brush their teeth on a regular basis and are less concerned about their basic health than nonsmokers.

Brush at Least Twice a Day and Floss at Least Once a Day

Brushing and flossing protect your teeth from decay and gum disease, which is caused by your teeth’s most persistent enemy, plaque – a sticky, colorless, invisible film of harmful bacteria that builds up on your teeth every day. Both brushing and flossing are equally important for good oral health: according to the Academy of General Dentistry, only flossing can remove plaque from between teeth and below the gumline, where decay and gum disease often begins.
Without proper brushing and flossing, you may develop bleeding gums, which may worsen to severely swollen, red, bleeding gums (gingivitis) and, eventually, gum disease. Because diseases of the mouth can affect the rest of your body, it is especially important to maintain good oral health.

See Your Dentist for Regular Checkups

By seeing your dentist at least twice a year, you can help prevent any dental health problems before they cause discomfort or require more comprehensive or expensive treatment. Regular visits allow your dentist to monitor your oral health and recommend a dental health regimen to address areas of concern.
For this new year, resolve to treat your mouth right: improve your diet, quit smoking and improve your oral hygiene habits – your teeth and your body will thank you for it!
Some information courtesy of the Academy of General Dentistry.Information courtesy of http://www.deltadentalins.com/oral_health/new-year.html



Friday, November 9, 2012

Do you drink energy or sports drinks? It could be hurting you more than helping.

 General Dentistry, a clinical journal of the Academy of General Dentistry, did a study recently  finding that the consumption of sports and energy drinks is causing irreversible damage to teeth.  These drinks have high acidity levels that cause erosion of tooth enamel.
"Young adults consume these drinks assuming that they will improve their sports performance and energy levels and that they are "better" for them than soda," says Poonam Jain, BDS, MS, MPH, lead author of the study.  "Most of these patients are shocked to learn that these drinks are essentially bathing their teeth with acid."  Researchers examined the acidity levels in 13 sports drinks and nine energy drinks.  They found that the acidity levels can vary between brands of beverages and flavors of the same brand.  To test the effect of the acidity levels, the researchers immersed samples of human  tooth enamel in each beverage for 15 minutes, followed by immersion in artificial saliva for two hours.  This cycle was repeated four times a day for five days, and the samples were stored in fresh artificial saliva at all other times.
"This type of testing simulates the same exposure that a large proportion of American teens and young adults are subjecting their teeth to on a regular basis when they drink one of these beverages every few hours," says Dr. Jain.
Damage to the teeth was found after only 5 days of testing with both energy and sports drinks.
However the energy drinks caused twice as much damage to the teeth as the sports drinks.
Stay informed....and remember, prevention is the best medicine.