DO YOU DRINK COFFEE DURING THE DAY

so here i go with one of my first posts of many about prevention.

WHY DO WE GET CAVITIES

when ever we eat or drink any fermentable carbohydrate (this means just about any type of carb) bacteria on our teeth interact with the sugars and create an acid. this acid eats away at the mineral content of first the enamel and then the dentin of the tooth. (the dentin is much softer so it breakdowns much quicker than enamel) our saliva contains minerals to stop the acidic breakdown. we get a cavity when this balance is broken by too much acid production. the acid production usually lasts for 20 minutes, although i just read something that said the acid lbalance is affected for up to 2 hours.

WHAT IS UP WITH COFFEE????

coffee by itself is not a problem as far as cavities are concerned (homeiopathics do not like coffee at all becasue of the caffiene content) it is what you put into the coffee that creates cavities. sugar, milk and cream. all of these have some carbohydrate content to them. the bacteria love this. every drink you take with this loaded coffee means a minimum of 20 minutes of acid attack. if you nurse this type of coffee all day long you can be putting yourself at much higher risk of having cavities. it is no different with tea and any natural sweetened beverage.

WHAT CAN YOU DO???

if you do not want to change how you drink coffee you can consider doubling up on you rhygiene, chewing sugarless gum (to promote salivary flow) and using flouride rinses. there are non sugar sweetners out there including the new one in the yellow package (I am sorry, the name of it excapes me right now). You can actually drink your coffee quicker to limit the exposure time. and if youwant more info post or talk to your dentist.

impacted wisdom teeth

someone asked me a good question about wisdom teeth otherwise known as the third molars or 17 year molars. hers are impacted and her dentist told her not to worry about them unless they touch the other teeth. she asked for my opinion and should she trust her dentist.

let me address the trust issue first. i have always felt that the relationship between a dentist and the patient should be based off of trust and respect. i can not tell anyone how to detemine whether they should trust someone or not. and i am usually a very trusting person. a lot of trust will depend on how you feel inside of your gut i guess, i know that is how it is for me. i do feel strongly that you must trust your health care provider becuase they are the expert that you are putting your health (and trust) in.

about wisdom teeth. my answer will only be my opinion and has to be somewhat limited because i do not have the x-rays or know the mouth involved at all, but here goes.
impacted wisdom teeth generally means that part, if not all, of the wisdom tooth is surrounded by bone. i was taught in dental school that if the patient is young, it is easier to remove impacted wisdom teeth than with older patients (over 30ish).
wisdom teeth (and if anyone can tell me where they got the nickname of wisdom teeth from please do) are not bad teeth that have to be removed. the issue that the dentist made to our lady questionaire is right on the money. if the teeth are impacted and there is no visible problems with the bone around the teeth then they do not have to be removed (unless there are other issues). when the impacted teeth touch the back of the molar (called the second molar) in front of them you can get a communication between the mouth down the backside of the second molar to the impacted wisdom tooth. this can be an avenue of gum disease starting in an area where you would have no way of cleaning and this can jepordize the health of the second molar.

you can also have the wisdom tooth impact the molar in front in such a way that it can contribute to a cavity on the side of the tooth where no one, including the dentist or hygeinist can get to it to clean it or restore it. this can place a healthy second molar at risk for hard to detect cavities that can lead to costly care to save it. ( i have seen this situation many times over the years) .

some of the situations i discussed above also deal with wisdom teeth that are partially erupted into the mouth as well.

there are times where the discussion of extracting wisdom teeth may be based off of value judgements, risks verses benefits and these are individual needs and feel free to talk to your dentist about this.

again, these are just my humble opinions.

What did your floss do this weekend

I belong to a mlm company called wellness international network. The fact that I am a member is not important. the owner of the company, ralph oats, used to ask people what was more important, health or money? and of course everyone would say health. Then he would ask how many of you went to work when you were sick? his point being that most of us value money more that our health. so i ask you

WHY DO YOU WANT TO GIVE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY TO US DENTISTS???????

if you have not read any of my other posts then you know that i feel with all my heart and professional integrity that the best dentistry in the world is no dentistry and that no child born in the united states today should ever have a cavity or gum disease. and it is really not that hard as you will find in the next few days and months and years on this blog site. i am committed to giving you the latest and greatest in preventive dentistry and other areas of dentistry and even prevention. in the future i will be linking with other preventive sites as well so that you will have access to lots of avenues of improving your health.

ABOUT ALL THE MONEY YOU WANT TO GIVE US DENTISTS!!!!!

if you took all the dentistry that i have already had done in my mouth and all the future dentistry that i will need in the future (since i am only 47 years old it is a safe bet that a fair amount will need to be redone at least once if not twice) and you paid fair market value for it i would estimate the cost somewhere about $50,000.00 and i take care of my mouth so you know the work is lasting as long as possible. For a lot of the patients that i see the number could be double if not triple. why give me that money ( iwill take it but i prefer i teach you how to keep it). it is about time and commitment. you do not think you have the time to brush and floss your teeth. got news for you, the simpliest way to help insure that you do not have cavities and gum disease is with a little time spent at home in the morning and in the evening brushing and flossing your teeth.

FORGET ABOUT THE MONEY, THINK ABOUT THE EMOTIONAL PHYSICAL AND TIME COSTS OF SITTING IN A DENTIST'S CHAIR

for a lot of you the thought of going to the dentist can send a shiver up your spine, and for some of you going to the dentist is a necessary evil in life. i can accept that. but a little prevention at home can save you all sorts of bad energy and stress.

SO PLEASE STAY TUNED TO THIS BLOG AS I TEACH AMERICA ABOUT PREVENTION AND KEEPING YOUR MOUTH AS HEALTHY AS POSSIBLE

Prevention

Ok lets get down to some dental talk. There is so much buzz about extreme makeover, as well there should be. but lost in all the glamour and beauty is the basic fact that the vast majority of all dentistry done is to correct problems secondary to bacterial infection.....cavities and gum disease. The good news is that there is a lot of positive stuff going on about preventive dentistry, something that I hold very close to heart. Understand this, no child born in the United States today should ever have a cavity or gum disease. It isn't even that hard to do, just know your options. Does your diet have to be perfect, it helps, but if you do not want the confines of a perfect diet you have other things you can do to help eliminate the bacteria and all the problems associated with them.

If your dentist is just filling your teeth and not helping you understand why you are getting the cavities, and what you can do to prevent them ask him or her to tell you why. if not email me. I will be happy to answer your questions and yes I will be posting more about prevention. It will help me be a better expert on the subject

welcome back

It has been a while since I have posted, but Tony Pierce, of the great busblog, was in and diwscussed my blog again. So I have decided, no more movie script, just stuff about dentistry. If you have any questions let me know and I will answer. I am here to give you my unbiased opinions about dentistry. and remeber, the best dentistry is no dentistry