Category: Oral Health

Everyone is excited for the Christmas festivities and possibly preparing to enjoy the string of parties which will ensue.

Aren’t you looking forward to the mince pies, cakes, wine, chocolates and a host of other goodies? Christmas is a truly enjoyable time of the year, but it may not be the friendliest for your teeth.

Constant intake of sugary and starchy food along with fizzy drinks and alcohol can wreak havoc in your mouth and lead to terrible teeth. To help you deal with tooth ache and other dental issues, here are a few tips on what to eat this Christmas season and how to deal with emergency situations.

Eat Teeth Friendly Food

Cheese is an important component of every Christmas feast. While it may be harmful for your diet, you should know that it is good for your oral health because it is rich in Calcium that promotes healthy teeth and also helps to maintain the pH balance in your mouth. This means that when you indulge in all that wine that has acidic effect on your teeth, the cheese balances it out and helps kill the bacteria.

Christmas feast is always accompanied with a lot of vegetables, make the most of it and indulge in huge portions of it. Broccoli and carrots are particularly good for oral health since they contain Vitamin A that helps strengthen the tooth enamel.

Another Christmas food that everyone looks forward to, and is good for the teeth, is turkey. Yes, the humble turkey is packed with proteins and phosphorous. This combines with Vitamin D and Calcium to form strong bones and teeth. By indulging in high amount of proteins you will be able to reduce tooth decay and you will also be able to make your teeth strong and clean.

Avoid these Foods

While it is difficult to avoid all those tasty treats of a Christmas feast, you will have to pull the plug on a few things that are truly harmful for your teeth. Christmas pudding, an integral part of the feast can be quite harmful for the teeth. It contains dried fruits which are high in sugar, and can stick to the teeth.

Fizzy drinks are usually had at every Christmas meal, but why not switch to soda water? Colas are laden with sugar which causes the enamel to erode.

Stick to the Routine

Most people tend to ditch their oral health routine in favor of parties and feasts. Don’t! In fact, you need to be more diligent about your brushing and flossing during this time. All the chocolates, drinks, wine and other sugary foods contribute to rapid tooth decay and eroding of the tooth enamel. Therefore, make sure that you brush and floss twice a day, especially during the Christmas week.

Eat everything in moderation and follow your routine as it is the best way to whiten teeth during the festive season.

Christmas is fast approaching, bringing with it a host of parties and celebrations. A Christmas feast is incomplete without that glass of wine, especially when New Year is right around the corner. While you may enjoy all the hearty food and wine, they may not be the best thing for your teeth. Excessive consumption of wine can severely erode the enamel, leaving your teeth looking yellow and ugly.

There is a popular misconception that white wine is less harmful than red wine. However, according to a study by the New York College of Dentistry, white wine is as harmful as red wine. Both these wines are acidic in nature which erodes the teeth enamel. This causes rough patches and groves on the surface of the teeth, making it more susceptible to stains.

You may not really like the idea of limiting your wine intake during the holiday season, and you don’t have to. Just pay attention to the following tips to maintain the good health of your teeth.

• While you don’t have to completely give up on wines and fizzy drinks during festivities, you will need to limit your intake. Yes, it may not be as much fun, but moderate consumption will help you avoid several unnecessary trips to the dentist.
• While brushing and flossing is extremely important during this time of the year, do not brush immediately after sipping your wine or it may get abraded easily. Give time for the enamel to harden again.
• When you do brush, make sure to use a brush with soft bristle and use a tooth whitening toothpaste.
• While sipping on wine, make sure to also consume cheese as it helps coat the teeth with calcium. This layer of calcium will protect the teeth from the acidity of the wine. Hard cheese is particularly good for this purpose.
• Crudités such as broccoli, cauliflower and celery are a great option to curb the effects of wines. These vegetables can increase salivation which helps to naturally wash away the acids of the wine.

If you’re wondering how to make teeth whiter this holiday season, just follow the above simple tips. You can have a perfect set of pearly whites without having to spend a fortune on dental visits.

If after the party, you feel that your teeth have suffered, make sure to make an appointment with your dentist as soon as possible.

You are probably aware that the health of the mouth is connected with that of the rest of your body. Whatever happens in the mouth affects the body and vice versa.

It is imperative that the person going in for dental treatment let the dentist know his/her medical condition so that he can deal with the oral problem accordingly. Usually, before you go to the dentist’s office all the information is obtained through oral and written questions. The dentist than determines, if any medical condition will affect or delay the dental treatment. He will then choose an appropriate approach for dental treatment.

Before any dental treatment, the dentists prescribe prophylactic antibiotic premedication. It keeps the bacteria in the mouth from spreading to other parts of the body.

As we are aware, the mouth has loads of bacteria. Simple actions of brushing and chewing can transfer bacteria to our bloodstream. Usually the bacteria get destroyed by a healthy immune system. But sometimes during dental procedures, harmful bacteria get into bloodstream and cause trouble. To stop this process, premedication of antibiotic is advised.

The following are some conditions that may have an effect on the course of dental treatment, where premedication are necessary part of treatment.

• Fainting: Fainting is very common in a dentist’s chair! It occurs due to hypotension and various other conditions.
• Diabetes: These patients have low resistance to infections and are susceptible to periodontal disease. They have poor healing response and may have excessive bleeding during dental procedures.
• Hypertension: Increased heartbeats and other symptoms put these patients at high risk for dental procedures
• Heart problems: Cardiovascular Disease, Rheumatic heart disease, Congenital heart defects, Coronary artery disease, Myocardial Infarction,  and Congestive heart failure are some of the diseases of heart where the dentist has to keep a certain arrangements ready during dental treatment
• Kidney diseases: These patients have impaired renal functions resulting in accumulated fluid in the body. They heal poorly and bleed excessively.
• Lung diseases: Asthma, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Bronchitis, Cystic fibrosis, Pneumonia, Tuberculosis, Lung cancer, are some of the major lung conditions where the dentist has to plan the dental visits keeping the particular condition in mind.
• Brain diseases: Meningitis, encephalitis, Epilepsy, Head injuries, brain tumour, and Stroke include some conditions of the brain where the dentist has to make special arrangements for dental procedures.

These are some of the conditions of patients who come for dental treatment where the dentist will have to take extra preparatory steps to ensure that the patient does not suffer damage due to the dental procedure and side effects of actual procedure and medications.

The dental expert involved in the treatment has to consult with the patients’ medical examiner and physicist for the entire history and medication he is taking and plan the dental procedure accordingly. Different conditions demand different treatment and preparation. For example a patient who suffers from seizure has to be seated in such a way that direct light does not fall on his eyes, as this may trigger a seizure.

For an asthma patient, an inhaler, or medication kept ready in case of an asthmatic attack. Patients suffering from blood diseases are advised to go for only emergency dental treatment as their blood loss during treatment can prove to be detrimental.

Foe patients who suffer from infectious diseases, the dental treatment should be postponed if it is not urgent. In non-elective treatment, these patients are usually scheduled to be the last patient of the day.

Above all the medication that patients take for their various ailments can cause a reaction at any time. Therefore it is imperative for the doctor to get all information about the medications of patients and it is equally important for patients to tell their dentist about any medication, even minor, to the dentist. Medicines react in various ways and sometimes counteract and diminish effects desired. Some medicines react and bring on alarming side effects.

Make sure that you tell the dentist of all medical conditions before you start treatment.

Teeth are the hardest structures in our body. For healthy teeth and gums, a good mixture of calcium, vitamin D and phosphorous are important. These nutrients work together to provide strength to young teeth and give adult teeth protection from disease as we grow older.

Calcium, which is a mineral, is the main component of our teeth, which accounts for about 70% of each tooth. Dentin, the hard, bony tissue beneath the enamel, and the enamel, the hard outer layer of each tooth, are composed of mainly calcium in addition to other nutrients.

Importance of calcium

Calcium is needed at all ages, but is very important during formation of teeth which is in the womb!
After the baby is born, the calcium will be consumed in milk and supplementary foods. Kids may develop cavities if enough calcium is not acquired through nutrition.

Calcium is important not only during early age, but throughout our life. We lose bone mass with age which affects our jawline also. The adult teeth are not developing any more but they need to be maintained. They need to be protected against decay and disease.

Vitamin D is necessary

Calcium cannot work alone. It needs Vitamin D to be absorbed in the body. It acts as a catalyst so that the bones in our body absorb calcium easily. In tandem with calcium it helps out teeth grow and become strong.  It also helps keep our gums disease free like gingivitis.

Vitamin D is produced in our skin with the help of ultraviolet light from the sun. Vitamin D can be taken from certain vegetables and fruits and is also available as a supplement.

Phosphorus to help absorb calcium

Phosphorous serves an important function too with calcium and Vitamin D to keep our teeth, gums and jaws strong. Without phosphorous, the calcium in our body goes waste. Phosphorous deficiency leads to chipping and breaking of teeth in children and adults.

Phosphorous is found aplenty in our body. Roughly 85% of it is found in bones and teeth alone. The problem of phosphorous intake in our body is its abundance. The ratio for calcium to phosphorous in our blood is somewhat like 2 ½ -1. When its level increases in our blood due to certain ailments like diabetes, or celiac disease, and because of certain medications, extra phosphorous accumulates in the blood. To balance this situation the body takes more calcium from the bones, making the bones and teeth susceptible to disease.

Keep all nutrients in balance

Keeping in mind the role of calcium, Vitamin D and Phosphorous for healthy bones and teeth, we should try to keep a balance of all these nutrients in our body.

• Calcium deficiency leads to weak bones and teeth. Overdose of calcium also leads to gum disease as extra calcium leads to plaque deposits on teeth.
• Vitamin D deficiency leads to lack of calcium absorption in the bones, leading to weak bones and teeth and gum diseases.Overdose of vitamin D builds up extra calcium levels in the blood leading to nausea constipation, confusion, and kidney stones.
• Phosphorous deficiency leads to weak bones and teeth, joint pain and loss of appetite.Overdose of phosphorous leads to calcium being drawn to blood from bones leading to weak and brittle bones.

The balanced diet for good oral health includes

Calcium: Milk and milk products, dark leafy vegetables, fish and grains.

Vitamin D: Egg yolk, milk, fish

Phosphorous: Eggs, meat, nuts, whole grains dry fruits, garlic.

Oral health is very important to develop healthy teeth and gums and to keep away diseases of the mouth. To keep oral health, one must consume a healthy diet and see the dentist regularly. When you are taking medications or supplements for any ailments, it is important to inform your dentist, so he can advise you to balance your nutrients intake appropriately for good oral health and keep away oral diseases.