Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Dental Sealants

A. What are they?
      a. A dental sealant is a thin plastic coating that is bonded into the pits and grooves of a tooth. They are typically applied to the chewing surfaces of the back teeth (premolars and molars) where decay occurs most often. 

B. How long have sealants been around?
     b.) There's nothing new about the use of sealants. Dentists have been placing them since the late 1960's. 

C. Why are they needed?
     c.) Thorough brushing and flossing helps remove food particles and plaque from smooth surfaces of teeth. But toothbrush bristles cannot reach all the way into deep grooves of the teeth to extract food and plaque. Sealants protect these vulnerable areas by "sealing out" plaque and food. 

D. When should sealants be applied?
      d.) Typically children get sealants on their permanent molars and premolars as soon as these teeth come in; before any sign of a cavity has had a chance to form. 

E. Are sealants only for children?
     e.) The likelihood of developing pit and fissure decay begins early in life, so children and teenagers are obvious candidates, but adults can benefit from sealants as well. 

F. Should sealants always be placed?
     f.) Not all teeth require the protection that dental sealants can provide. After an examination, your dentist can let you know what they think is necessary. 

G. How long do dental sealants last?
     g1.) Most dentists would consider any sealant that remained intact for 3 to 5 years to be a success. One study's review of dental literature (Feigal, 1998) estimated a sealant loss rate (including partial loss) on the order of 5 to 10% per year. 
      g2.) They can, however, last much longer than that. 10 years might be considered the upper limit for one, although it's somewhat common that a dentist will see sealants that were placed during childhood still intact on adult patient's teeth. 

H. How are sealants placed? 
      h.) Below is a diagram showing the steps used in the process of sealant placement: 

Sources:
http://www.animated-teeth.com/tooth_sealants/t1_sealing_teeth.htm
http://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/az-topics/s/sealants

Understanding the Effects of Sports and Energy Drinks

YOU ALREADY SUSPECT THAT ENERGY DRINKS contain a lot of sugar, but at least they’re not as bad as soda pop, right? You wouldn’t be alone if you’ve thought that sports drinks, thanks to their supplement arsenal, are good for growing bodies. But the truth is energy and sports drinks can be even worse for your teeth than soft drinks.

A One-Two Punch

Energy and sports drinks launch a twofold attack on your teeth: sugar and acid.Drinks like Gatorade and Powerade have about half the sugar of sodas, but popular energy drinks like Monster or Fuel often have the same amount of sugar as soda (or more). In addition, both sports and energy drinks are loaded with acid—enough to do ten times more damage to tooth enamel than soda.

In a study conducted by the Academy of General Dentistry on tooth enamel and beverages, researchers immersed tooth enamel in a variety of popular sports and energy drinks for 15 minutes and then transferred it to artificial saliva to imitate the effects of consuming energy drinks a couple times a day. Significant enamel damage only took five days.

Today, Half Of Teens Drink One (or more) Sports Drinks Or Energy Drinks Daily

The market for energy drinks has almost tripled in the past few years, targeting teens and young adults. Considering their popularity, it’s important to know about the dangers. .

Four Helpful Tips

Here are some tips & tricks to minimize damage caused by sports and energy drinks:

1. Rinse out your mouth with water or chew some sugar-free gum after having energy drinks. This rebalances the pH level in your mouth to counteract the acid.Don’t brush for a while after drinking—your enamel is still soft and brushing can damage it even more.
2. Drink sports drinks before you get dehydrated, not after. That way, you’ll have the saliva you need to protect your teeth.
3. Drink it all at once Your mouth takes time to recover after each sip, so drinking continuously prevents teeth from regaining their protection.
4. Stick to healthier options when NOT working out. Sports drinks are meant to rehydrate and replenish when you’re working out hard. So, if you’re just “active”, consider alternatives like water or electrolyte drops in water.

Source: 

http://martinandshengdentalblog.com/2012/05/understand-the-effects-of-sports-and-energy-drinks/#body 

The Hard Truth About Hard Candy

Sugar Stash

Placing a piece of hard candy in your mouth means (unless it is sugar-free) that your mouth will be filled with sugar. Lots of it. For a long while. Sounds delicious for you, maybe, but even more delicious for the bacteria in your mouth. While your saliva production is increased (good), so is the sugar level (not good). Putting your teeth and gums in contact with a piece of candy for an extended period of time is a great way to encourage cavities to set up shop in your mouth and the concentrated sugars can easily erode the liner of the mouth and tongue and cause mouth sores. 

Chip Off The Old Block

Hard candy is exactly what its name says it is: hard. You may not have the patience to find out how many licks it takes to get to the center of the Tootsie Pop, and instead find yourself cracking away and chewing hard candy instead of sucking on it. As far as candy names go, Jaw Breakers isn’t too far off.

Your teeth are in danger of being chipped or cracked as your hard-candy impatience grows. Any orthodontic or dental work is in danger of damage for the same reason.

The Usual Suspects

When you have a cold, he might seem like your friend, but watch out for Cough Drop. He might soothe your cough but he’s wreaking havoc on your teeth. Had a full meal with garlic and onions? Peppermint Lozenge sounds like a wise choice, but unless he’s sugar-free, he’s busily making a full meal of your teeth. Remember that the Jolly Rancher, and his many relatives, don’t make your teeth so jolly. The steady delivery of bacteria-feeding sugar from hard candy is incredibly hard on your teeth.

Avoid hard candy if you can, and choose sugar-free if you must have it. Whatever you do, don’t chew and crack it. Hard candy is just too hard on your teeth.


Source: Dr. Aaron Johnson- The Smile Center
 http://thesmilecenter.com/the-hard-truth-about-hard-candy/

Tips For Your Child's First Visit to the Dentist

1. NO Negative Comments:
If you absolutely hate the dentist and have been traumatized for life, now is not the time to start blabbing detailed stories to your kids. Sometimes parents can do more damage than the dentist ever could!

Make sure to avoid sentences like these:

• “If you don’t behave the dentist will give you a shot”
• “The hygienist will poke your gums if you make her mad.”
• “Brush your teeth or I’ll tell the dentist to pull them out.”
• “The dentist enjoys torturing people for fun.”

2. Find a Dentist You Love:
There are too many great dentists and hygienists out there to be stuck with someone you don’t love! Take the time to find someone you and your kids will feel comfortable with.


3. Make the First Visit a Happy One:

The dental hygienist will be more than happy to give your child a ride in the chair and take a peak in their mouth. Often times they’ll let them see and touch all the fun dental gadgets we use too. If not… let me refer you back to #2!

Another way to create a happy visit is to  bring your child with you to one of your appointments. This is a great way to introduce them to what the dentist is all about!

4. Attend a Dental Presentation:
February is National Children's Dental Health Month. This often includes dental health presentations at schools and around the community. Find one to attend, or even get a group together and ask your dental office if they will do one for you. This is a great way to introduce kids to the dentist without them feeling pressured or worrying about getting work done. 


5. Dental Themed Activities: 
This is a great way to get kids excited about the dentist and learn about oral hygiene at the same time!

Here are a couple activities you can try with everyday items found around the house:

Supplies:

1. Large Lego block
2. Play Dough
3. Yarn

• Pack the Play Dough in between the pegs of a large Lego block and have your child wiggle the yarn in a "C" shaped motion in between the pegs until the Play Dough is gone. 
• This provides an easy visual for kids to learn how to floss before they try it in their own mouths.

Supplies:

1. 3 hard-boiled eggs
2. Water
3. Coke 
4. Vinegar 

• Take the eggs and put them each in separate glasses filled with water, coke, & vinegar and then check them in a few days. Compare each egg to the one that was in the water and you will see how the outer shell of the egg is like the enamel of our teeth. The longer the egg (or teeth) is exposed to sugar, or acidic substances, it starts to eat it away. It will cause pitting and softening of the egg shell, similar to what happens to the enamel of our teeth after being exposed to similar acidic substances.
• This will show your child the importance of brushing their teeth and having the dentist check for "sugar bugs."

6. Books and Videos:

There are tons of  great dental books and videos out there. Here are a couple examples: 

 "Geena's Tremendous Tooth Adventure"  

                             and

 “The Tooth Fairy” by Audrey Wood

7. Don't Scar Them For Life:

If they scream bloody murder when you take them to the dentist  maybe wait a few months before bringing them in again. As long as they’re not in pain or having serious dental issues, wait until they can at least sit in the chair and open their mouth by themselves. Forcing them to sit and pry open their mouth just leaves them hating us and probably you too. The more positive experiences they have, the better and easier it gets.

Source: http://oneshetwoshe.com/2014/02/going-to-the-dentist-with-kids.html 

What is Dental Fluorosis and What Treatment Options Do I Have?

Many people think dental fluorosis is a disease, but it’s not; it’s a condition that affects the appearance of your tooth’s enamel, not the function or health of the teeth. These changes may vary from tiny, white, barely noticeable spots to very noticeable staining, discoloration, and brown markings. The spots and stains left by fluorosis are permanent and may darken over time.

Dental fluorosis occurs in children who are hypersensitive to, or exposed to fluoride between 20 and 30 months of age. Only children ages eight years and younger can develop dental fluorosis. Why? That is the period when permanent teeth are still developing under the gums. For kids, fluorosis can cause significant embarrassment and anxiety about the appearance of their teeth. No matter how much they might brush and floss, the fluorosis stains do not go away.

Many well-known sources of fluoride may contribute to overexposure, including:

• Fluoridated mouth rinse, which young children may swallow
• Bottled water which is not tested for fluoride content
• Inappropriate use of fluoride supplements
• Exposure to water that is naturally or unnaturally fluoridated to levels well above the recommended levels

One way to reduce the risk for enamel fluorosis is to teach your children not to swallow topical fluoride products, such as toothpaste that contains fluoride. In fact, kids should use no more than a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste when brushing, and children under the age of two shouldn't use fluoride toothpaste at all.

http://www.southcenterdental.com/blog/page/2/ 

If you already have fluorosis there are a number of treatment options such as crowns, veneers, or composites but the least invasive procedure uses a product called MI Paste. Results vary depending on the individual and severity of the condition but in some cases individuals have seen dramatic results with this method. 

Here are the treatment results from one of our own dental assistants who tried this procedure: 

Before

After 4 Treatments

Painless Parker's Dental Circus

Before local anesthesia could manage the pain, one early 20th century dentist distracted his patients with showgirls and brass bands.

Born in Canada in 1871 Edgar Randolph Parker was perhaps the most eccentric dentist in American history. Parker attended Philadelphia Dental College and two years later graduated with a DDS degree. After graduation Parker set up shop in his hometown of New Brunswick, but there were other dentists nearby and he only had one patient in the first 90 days, this was no way to run a business. While the dental college had taught dignity in dealing with this profession, Edgar soon learned that dignity did not pay the bills. He needed a gimmick. He decided to call himself “Painless Parker.” Other dentists accused him of false advertising and he was told he could no longer call himself “Painless Parker.”  He answered to this issue by legally changing his name from “Edgar” to “Painless.” Believe it or not, this is one of the least controversial things he did.   

Having no luck in his hometown, he decided to become the “P.T. Barnum of dentistry” and moved to the United States. He even hired one of  Barnum’s ex-managers to help him take his practice on the road. He created a traveling medicine show called the Parker Dental Circus.

The first thing he did was to buy a horse and wagon and install a dental chair in the bed of this “travelling office.” Patients would not have to go to him, he would bring his practice to them. Next as a true entertainer, he hired showgirls who would sing and dance to the sounds of a band blasting away. In the middle of this entourage was Painless Parker dressed in his trademark spotless white coat, sporting his grey beaver top hat. Needless to say, this would draw a crowd. The band and showgirls distracted the patient, the noise would silence any painful noise coming from the patient, and of course it promoted his business.  

 Parker promised that he would painlessly extract a rotten tooth for 50 cents. And if the extraction wasn’t painless, he would give the customer $5.00, the equivalent of roughly $115 today. Parker used an aqueous cocaine solution which called “Hydrocaine” or a cup of whiskey to keep the patient as comfortable as possible.

To help advertise his booming business of tooth pulling, a bucket full of teeth he had personally pulled sat by his feet as he lectured to the crowds on the importance of dental hygiene. At one point he claimed to have pulled 357 teeth in one day, which he strung on a necklace.

Naturally like most showman-practitioners his shameless advertising was looked down upon in the medical community. The American Dental Association described him as “a menace to the dignity of the profession.” But despite all his theatrics, Parker was an active supporter of preventative care before it was widely promoted, as well as local anesthesia. He believed in bringing oral education and affordable services to all walks of life.

Sources:

http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2010/07/painless-parker%E2%80%99s-dental-circus/

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/curious-fact-of-the-week-painless-parker

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painless_Parker

TAKE MY WHAT?!?

   

  Taking a blood pressure reading is one of the first things our clinical staff does when a patient comes in for a dental visit. This may seem insignificant but there can be serious consequences if certain dental procedures are done on a patient with high blood pressure. Consequences may include excessive bleeding and increased risk of heart attack or stroke. 

    Normal blood pressure readings for healthy individuals 20 years and older should be 120/80 mmHg. If blood pressure readings are consistently higher than 120/80 it means that individual is most likely suffering from hypertension. According to Heart.org, the website of the American Heart Association, "Untreated high blood pressure damages and scars your arteries." High blood pressure increases the risk of blood clots, organ damage, heart attacks and strokes. High blood pressure also results in increased plaque build-up and weakening of blood vessels. 

    Since most people see their dentist on a more consistent basis than their general physician, dentists can provide valuable information to patients by checking their blood pressure regularly and informing them when the measurements are suggestive of Hypertension. If blood pressure readings are higher than normal, the dentist will likely refer the patient to a physician for further testing before any dental work is done. Even if an individual is taking medication for hypertension, blood pressure should still be monitored. A blood pressure screening at the dentist's office is just too good an opportunity to pass up. It takes only a few minutes and the information is potentially life-saving.