The Best Foods For Your Teeth

The Best Foods For Your Teeth

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The best foods for our teeth, that will help keep our enamel strong and healthy,  are vitamin rich foods. Foods containing calcium, such as yogurt, cheese, almonds and leafy greens. Also, foods that are high is phosphorus, such as meat, eggs and fish. Crunchy foods such as apples, celery and carrots promote saliva production which in turn helps to keep teeth clean and cavity free.

Some of the worst foods for our teeth include, dried fruits and chewy candy. Also on the list, bread and potato chips, their high starch content is dangerous because it immediately turns to sugar. These foods are most detrimental in excess. Moderation is always key.

The Benefits of Dental Splints

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If you grind or clench your teeth, wearing a dental splint while you sleep can protect your teeth and improve your overall health. Dental splints protect your teeth and prevent damage to enamel and existing restorations, which long term, will save you money. Dental splints can also prevent headaches as well as other aches and pains, reduce or eliminate snoring, and also improve your sleep patterns.

Developing a correct daily flossing habit, the how and why

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Flossing is an important part of your oral hygiene routine. In addition to brushing; flossing nightly can reduce gum swelling, bleeding and gingival sensitivity. Though forming a lasting habit is the hardest part!

Why floss?

The short answer? It helps keeps dental visits short, cheap and painless.

The long (ish) answer? Biofilm! (Cue thunder and lightning) Is evil (muahahahaaa!). Biofilm is a bacterial slim layer that adheres to surfaces in the mouth. The gum line, if left undisturbed (mostly while sleeping) is where biofilm concentrates and forms Plaque, which combines with minerals in saliva and hardens into Tartar (responsible for that lovely “scraping” sound). Proper brushing alone will get rid of most biofilm and plaque, though residual bacteria is left between the teeth and gums. Flossing will keep the bacteria count low and mechanically disturb bacterial biofilm between the teeth and in the Sulcus (the gum pocket surrounding the tooth surface) reducing gum swelling and chronic infection.

Please remember there is a proper technique to flossing! See the correct way via demo video below:

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz1DN5R6rnA[/embedyt]

How: One way I urge clients to develop a flossing habit is thought repetition. Start with a measurable and attainable goal (eg. flossing 3x weekly). Once said goal is attained, start adding a day per week until it’s a nightly habit. Easier said than done right? Each person is motivated in different ways. Only you know you best, so do what works!

Hope this helps and happy flossing!

Oral Health in Pregnancy

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During pregnancy we all know the importance of regular prenatal visits, vitamins, healthy eating and exercise but if you are expecting you may want to add trip to your dental professional to your list of things to do.

Did you know that having gum disease can place your baby at risk for preterm birth and low birth weight??

Many women experience pregnancy gingivitis because hormonal changes during pregnancy cause their gums to become inflamed placing them at greater risk of developing gum disease. Things to watch out for include tender and swollen gums, receding gums, bad breath and loose teeth.

To eliminate this risk it is important to practice good oral hygiene habits, visit your dental professional regularly and seek dental care immediately if any problems arise.

Water is important for a healthy mouth

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Having a mouth full of water through out the day is a good habit-adults and children.

After eating a small piece or large piece of candy a mouth full of water helps decrease the acid attack from the sugar. You can swish and spit or swish and drink.

After a drink of milk, juice or pop a person should have a mouth full of water to decrease the acid attack.

Children during the day should have water after eating anything, and a mouth full throughout the day helps as well. After recess and after lunch especially.

A dry mouth is more prone to cavities and gum disease. Water helps rinse off plaque and keeps the plaque from getting to0 sticky.

Lifetime Smiles Dental Hygiene Clinic

Water

Preventing tooth decay in children

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Most of the dental hygienists here at Lifetime Smiles Dental Hygiene Clinic are also “moms”. We care deeply about the oral health of all children.  In this age of doctor Google, there can be a great deal of conflicting healthcare advice easily accessed.

Our goal is to educate parents, caregivers, grandparents and anyone else who will listen, by providing facts. Research in dental health and products to combat tooth decay is ever changing, therefore we are continuously learning.

Sometimes going back to the basics is important. There is one truth that is important to understand, and that is Babies are not born with the bacteria that causes tooth decay, they pick it up from a parent, a caregiver, from someone else.

How does that happen? Shared saliva – licking a fork or spoon and sharing with a baby, testing babies food first, or licking off the pacifier instead of washing it off with water (you know you’ve done that!). You can easily see there are many ways saliva (and germs) can be transferred.  Caregivers with active dental disease and tooth decay are potentially going to be a source of significant bacteria.

A great source of information can be found on the following site-  American Pediatric Dentistry 

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR BABY’S TEETH FROM CAVITIEShttp://www.aapd.org/assets/2/7/Education_-_Caries.pdf

The results are in…decay is on the rise in Calgary

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Is there a dental topic more polarizing than water fluoridation? Supporters adamantly defend this public health initiative and opponents are just as resolute in their position.

On the fence about community water fluoridation?  An internet search on the topic can lead to hours of reading, and information that is all over the map. Adding to public perplexity is the fact that within dental health communities you will find both supporters and opponents, even though the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association and Canadian Dental Association both have position statements supporting community water fluoridation, (1,2) as do a long list of other organizations and groups. (1)

One thing that is clear, regardless of your stance on fluoride, tooth decay rates have increased among children in Calgary since water fluoridation was discontinued in May 2011. This was brought to media attention in 2014, with Registered Dental Hygienist, Denise Kokaram speaking out about significant tooth decay being treated on the Alex Dental Health Bus,

 “more than half of the children who get treated on the bus have tooth decay”, she said. “We see lower self-esteem with these kids, attention spans are affected. Loss of days at school.”(3)

At this same time, Calgary pediatric dentist Dr. Sarah Hulland said

“I’m seeing a lot more children having a lot more cavities. I’m seeing a lot of decay on 19- to 20-month babies, and this is even before they’ve got all the teeth in.

We frequently have to put them to sleep to rehabilitate them. We don’t have enough anaesthetists that actually help us to put them to sleep. We don’t have enough OR time. We don’t have enough manpower to actually do the care that needs to be given.“

What used to be a one-month wait to see a pediatric dentist in Calgary is now at least three months.” (3)

Fast forward to today, and now we have hard data thanks to a recently published study carried out in Alberta. 

Lead author Lindsay McLaren, PhD, from the Cumming School of Medicine and O’Brien Institute for Public Health revealed children in Calgary are experiencing higher rates of tooth decay compared to children of the same age in Edmonton.

Comparing more than 5,000 grade two children in both cities, “there was a worsening in tooth decay in Calgary since the discontinuation of fluoridation in 2011, compared to Edmonton, where water is still fluoridated. In fact, the number of tooth surfaces with decay per child increased by 3.8 surfaces in Calgary during the time frame of the study, compared to only 2.1 in Edmonton. This is a statistically significant difference. The average child has about 20 teeth with four or five surfaces per tooth.”(4)

Dr.Mclaren says, “We first of all looked at trends over time in tooth decay in the two cities and whether there was a difference and after that we systematically went through and explored a number of possible alternative explanations for those differences. Everything pointed pretty consistently to fluoridation cessation being the main reason for the difference.”(4)

You can read the full study here htttp://www.ucalgary.ca/utoday/issue/2016-02-17/study-shows-tooth-decay-worsened-calgary-children-after-fluoride-removal (5)

At Lifetime Smiles Dental Hygiene Clinic, we provide our patients with recommendations based on their individual dental health needs, which may or may not include fluoride treatments. We respect a patient’s decision regarding treatments they consent to, and treatments they decline. 

When demineralization is present, or an individual (child or adult) is a high risk for tooth decay, fluoride and re-mineralizing fluoride alternatives can be recommended. Our philosophy of care is to treat individuals on an individual basis. 

Children should be seen for their first visit with a dental health care provider 6 months after their first tooth erupts, or by age 1 year. Lifetime Smiles Dental Hygiene Clinic offers to see children for this first visit at no charge. It is an important visit, despite the myth that baby teeth are NOT important. Baby teeth are VERY important. Let’s work together to ensure a future of cavity free adults, who do not require dental filling replacement over and over throughout their lives. Tooth decay is preventable. Let’s work together to prevent it.

References

  1. http://www.cdha.ca/CDHA/The_Profession/Resources/links/position_statement_water_fluoridation.aspx
  2.  http://www.cda-adc.ca/en/about/position_statements/fluoride/
  3. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/dental-decay-rampant-in-calgary-children-pediatric-dentist-says-1.2864413
  4. http://www.ucalgary.ca/utoday/issue/2016-02-17/study-shows-tooth-decay-worsened-calgary-children-after-fluoride-removal
  5. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291600-0528 

Post Author: Sally Lloyd BScDH, Registered Dental Hygienist at Lifetime Smiles Dental Hygiene Clinic , Calgary,AB

Don’t Suck Lemons!

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Did you know sucking fresh lemons or limes can have a detrimental impact on tooth enamel? The acidic pH of these citrus fruits can create an acidic oral environment, which allows for minerals to leech out of tooth enamel. A bit of lemon juice diluted in drinking water is not likely going to have the same negative impact. Diluted is the key.

In fact, a study in Brazil showed essential oils of lemon to be beneficial in inhibiting oral microorganisms.

If you like lemon water, drink up. If you are concerned about possible effects of demineralization – talk to your dental hygienist.

 

Reference: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php pid=S180683242014000100217&script=sci_arttext&tlng=pt

http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=dailytip&dbid=40