Posted by Meghan Weaver on Thu, Aug 26, 2010 @ 09:52 AM
Nutrition and your oral health are highly intertwined. Good nutrition promotes good oral health by enabling your mouth and its tissues to develop and stay healthy. However, some foods and habits are known to spur on plaque development, leading to a heightened risk of tooth decay and dental disease.
With all of this in mind, we’ve put together several quick facts and nutrition tips to keep your teeth and gums disease and decay free.
Quick Facts and Tips:
- Sugars and cooked starches (fermentable carbohydrates) can make a huge impact on your risk of tooth decay, so avoid consumption of these items in excess
- About 20-40 minutes after you eat, your mouth releases acids. Each of these “acid attacks” increases your risk of tooth decay so it's important to limit the number of between-meal snacks you have (as you’ll limit the number of acid attacks as well).
- Foods such as bread and crackers stay on teeth longer that jelly beans or caramels despite perceived stickiness of the latter two. Look to consume foods that clear the mouth quickly, as they pose less of a threat of tooth decay.
- Baby bottle tooth decay occurs when infants’ or young children’s teeth get severely damaged from prolonged exposure to liquids containing sugars. For this reason, you should avoid letting your child fall asleep with a bottle of formula or juice.
- Make sure you get your Vitamin C. It helps protect your gums from infection and can be found in a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.
- Last but not least, if you do consume sugary or carbohydrate-rich foods, make sure it’s as part of a balanced meal. This helps to increase saliva production and neutralize acid production in the mouth.
Need more tips on nutrition for oral health? Ask your dentist at your next dental checkup.
And, for those who need to find a dentist, Universal Dental Plan can help. Universal Dental Plan is an affordable dental insurance plan alternative in Massachusetts. We connect you with local Boston dentists and providers throughout the state who will be able to answer your questions and point you on a path towards excellent oral health.
Posted by Meghan Weaver on Thu, Jul 22, 2010 @ 11:53 AM
Our smiles are made to last a lifetime and proper dental hygiene has a huge impact on the health of your mouth and body, whether you’re 5 or 85. However, as we get older, we become more susceptible to oral health problems such as periodontal disease, inflammation of the gum tissue, dry mouth syndrome (often caused by medications) and oral thrush just to name a few.
It’s plain to see that taking care of your oral health in your golden years comes with several unique considerations. Here are 5 essential tips for seniors to keep healthy teeth and gums (and ultimately healthy bodies).
#5 Keep consistent with your at home oral health care regiment: This means keep brushing, flossing and rinsing with mouthwash as instructed by your dentist to maintain proper dental hygiene.
If brushing and flossing are difficult for you, consider using an apparatus such as a tongue depressor to lengthen your brush or flossing tool. Also, if you suffer from arthritis or a similar condition, you may want to try inserting the back end of your toothbrush into a standard tennis ball for better maneuverability.
#4 Know the warning signs to prevent harmful conditions: Elders are generally more susceptible to many major oral health problems including gum disease, tooth loss, TMJ, dry mouth syndrome and oral cancer and should be on the lookout for key signs and symptoms. Symptoms to watch out for include, swelling of the gums, teeth sensitivity, loose teeth, jaw soreness, persistent mouth sores and bumps or an unquenchable thirst. If you experience any of these symptoms, call your dentist right away for diagnosis and treatment (if you live in Massachusetts and need help finding affordable dentistry, we can certainly help).
#3 Maintain dental appliances such as dentures and dental bridges properly: Contrary to popular belief, a set of dentures won’t last you 20 plus years. The ADA recommends replacing them every 5-7 years to avoid painful consequences such as mouth sores, oral lesions and difficulty chewing/swallowing/digesting food.
For denture wearers, we’ve put together 4 helpful tips to keep them in excellent shape and maintain oral health.
#2 Talk to your dentist about any medication you’re taking as dry mouth syndrome is a common side effect of many Rx drugs. For dry mouth sufferers, dentists can prescribe an array of solution such as an artificial saliva rinse to keep your mouth moist and wash harmful bacteria away.
#1 Visit your dentist as often as he or she recommends for regular checkups: Even if you wear dentures, it’s still vital to visit your dentist twice-yearly per-ADA recommendation. On top of keeping your mouth in tip top shape, your dentist can alert you of developments in your mouth that point to problems elsewhere in your body or pick up on early signs of improper jaw alignment or poor nutrition which may become problematic down the road.
Want more advice on senior dental care? Universal Dental Plan is out on tour this year with a full presentation on the importance of oral health and hygiene in the golden years. Sign up here to bring our Golden Smiles Tour to your local council on aging or senior center.
Posted by Meghan Weaver on Wed, May 05, 2010 @ 12:59 PM
So, you sit down in your dentist's chair for your checkup and they ask you a couple of questions. "Are you brushing at least twice per-day?" "How about flossing, are you doing that at least once per-day?"
If you're like most people, you just nod your head to both of these questions. After all, floss is just a piece of string, right? However, this little piece of string can have a huge impact on your oral health and the health of your body too. Here's why.
Get your mouth 100 percent clean:
Imagine taking a shower every day but only washing 60% of your body. What do you think will happen to the other 40%? It will never get clean. Also, dirt and grime will build up in those areas over time and people will really start to notice.
Think of your mouth in the same way. Brushing without flossing misses nearly 40% of your tooth surfaces. Bacteria build up in the areas you miss everyday causing tooth decay and gum disease. These conditions left untreated can cause dangerous tooth abscesses or even lead to tooth loss.
Avoid harmful (and even deadly) complications down the road:
When you have excellent oral health, it can make a huge impact on the health of your body. Here are just 3 of the many ways how.
Reduce your risk of heart disease: People with periodontal disease are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease-the number one killer of Americans today. After all, the plaque that gets in your arteries and causes heart attacks is the same plaque that gets on your teeth. You can prevent periodontal disease (which affects 75% of Americans) with healthy brushing and flossing habits among other things.
Keep your blood sugar under control: If you're diabetic then you should be especially vigilant about maintaining healthy flossing habits. That's because bacteria in your mouth makes it much more difficult to control blood sugar levels. So, if you floss every day and keep bacteria out of your mouth, you'll have a much easier time keeping your blood sugar where it needs to be.
Periodontal diseases heightens risk for preterm births: Pregnant women take note, if you have periodontal disease, you are 7 times more likely to have a pre-term birth. That's why maintaining a comprehensive oral health routine while pregnant can go a long way towards your delivery of a healthy baby.
As you've seen from above, gum diseases like gingivitis and periodontitis can cause major health problems. And, great habits like brushing and flossing can go a long way.
Check out this great video on how to floss your teeth from Howcast.com.
Posted by Meghan Weaver on Wed, Apr 21, 2010 @ 09:19 AM
Experts say that healthy smiles lead to healthy bodies. This is not just true for adults but for children too. A proactive and comprehensive oral health regimen can make a world of difference in your child's health, especially when you start it early.
Here are 5 things parents should know about their child's oral health.
1. Baby teeth are just as important as permanent teeth!
That's because strong, healthy baby teeth enable proper speech and help your child get the nutrition he or she needs to grow and flourish. Neglecting your child's baby teeth can lead to early periodontal disease and harm the development of permanent teeth.
2. Dental sealants are the number one way to reduce childhood cavities
Dental sealants are like protective armor for your child's most vulnerable teeth-their molars. Molars have deep crevices which are among the most common places for dental cavities to form. Dental sealants contain a protective solution that fills these deep gaps and keeps cavities away.
3. Pacifiers and thumb-sucking cause damage to permanent teeth
Babies love their pacifiers and many children develop thumb sucking habits, it's only natural right?
However, it can start doing damage to a child's teeth once permanent teeth start to arrive. So, if your child is still sucking his or her thumb or won't part with a favorite pacifier after already having lost a few baby teeth, you should definitely take major steps to wean them off of it.
4. Fluoride flushes out the cavities and strengthens enamel
When your child goes to the dentist, make sure he or she gets a fluoride treatments. It's an essential way to ward off bacteria, and strengthen tooth enamel against decay.
5. The healthy brushing habits your teach your child last a lifetime
Children don't develop the dexterity necessary for proper tooth brushing until they reach age seven. That's why parents of young children should still brush their teeth (even if the child has begun brushing his or her teeth on their own).
Also parents that place a huge emphasis on the importance of brushing teeth at least twice per-day (and brushing them the right way) will help their children develop a very good habit that lasts a lifetime.
Parents should care just as much about their child's teeth as they would their general health because good general health begins in the mouth. By understanding these five main dental health needs for your child, you can ensure they'll keep a healthy smile as they grow up healthy and strong.
