Given the fact that baby-boomers are now reaching the age of retirement, understanding senior healthcare is becoming a top priority to many people. Discover your level of expertise in the area of oral health by taking the following true/false test.

True or False Self Assessment

1. All people eventually lose their teeth as they age.
2. Yellow teeth are a sign of gum disease.
3. If you have dentures, you no longer need regular dental check-ups.
4. Periodontal (gum) disease is a big problem that affects 3 out of 4 adults.
5. Electric toothbrushes can be a great option for seniors with arthritis or other debilitating conditions.

Answers

1. False: Your teeth are meant to last your lifetime.
2. False: Yellow teeth typically denote stained teeth from diet, medication, smoking, or growing older. And while they may not appear attractive, older, yellow teeth can in fact be healthy and free of gum disease. However, if your yellow teeth bother you, ask us if teeth whitening could be right for freshening up your smile while making you appear younger.
3. False: For those individuals who wear complete upper and lower dentures, you will always need routine dental exams, typically once a year so that you can be screened for cancer, as well as other oral conditions (i.e. candadiasis), to ensure the you obtain and maintain optimal oral health.
4. True: 75% of all adults over the age of 35 will experience some form of periodontal disease, a condition in which the gums become inflamed and infected. If left untreated, gum disease causes the bone that supports the teeth to deteriorate until the teeth are loosened and/or eventually lost (either they fall out on their own or must be removed). On a positive note, you can prevent gum disease by having good oral hygiene that includes flossing daily and brushing at least twice a day with a proper technique and fluoride toothpaste.
5. True: Under normal conditions, what matters most is not so much the type of toothbrush used (manual, electric or battery powered toothbrush), but rather how you use it. However, if you are unable to use a manual toothbrush effectively for proper brushing, then a power toothbrush may be able to facilitate proper cleaning more easily.

Want To Learn More?

If you feel you missed too many of the above questions, read the Dear Doctor article, “Oral Hygiene Behavior.” Or, contact us today to discuss your questions or to schedule a consultation.

Expectant mothers expect to deal with tooth-related milestones in their child's early years, such as teething and even the eventual shedding of those baby teeth to the Tooth Fairy. But there are many facets of children's oral health that may not be as well known. For example, did you know that using sugary fluids in your baby's bottle too frequently could promote constant acid production in your child's mouth leading to early childhood decay? Did you know that parents and caregivers who have decay transmit the bacteria that cause decay to their children?

Baby or primary teeth serve as guides for permanent teeth and, therefore, their health sets the stage for the health and proper function of their permanent successors. A comprehensive examination during a child's first visit can help uncover any underlying conditions that might be indicative of future problems, like tooth decay that can start as early as the age of six months when their first teeth appear. So the “Age One Visit” is the right time for a first dental visit.

What else do you know or want to know? Take our short quiz to help your child. The answers are listed at the bottom of this article.

The Quiz

1. Mounting evidence suggests that a child's oral health is most closely tied to which relative?
1. Mother
2. Father
3. Brother
4. Sister
2. Parents should bring their children to see a pediatric dentist:
1. Once they turn two?
2. Before they start kindergarten?
3. Preferably before their first birthday?
4. When they start to lose their baby teeth?
3. Tooth decay that occurs in infants and young children is referred to as what?
1. Primary tooth decay
2. Early Childhood Caries
3. Diapers to Decay Disease
4. Pediatric Dental Caries Syndrome
4. To help diminish the likelihood that your baby/infant will develop a cavity, you should:
1. Restrict the amount of sugary fluids your child drinks to mealtimes
2. Maintain proper oral hygiene to reduce harmful bacteria
3. Use fluoride to make the teeth more resistant to acid attack
4. All of the above
5. Infants are most susceptible to tooth decay when:
1. Breast feeding
2. Drinking milk from a bottle during meal times
3. Sucking on a pacifier that has been dipped in jam
4. Sleeping on their sides

The Answers

1) a = mother 2) c = before their first birthday 3) b = early childhood caries 4) d = all of the above 5) c = sucking on a pacifier that has been dipped in jam

Your baby's first visit to the dentist will cover a lot of ground, including diagnosis, prevention, education, and treatment as we help start him or her on the path to long-lasting oral and dental health. Call our office to schedule an appointment now. You can also learn more about pediatric tooth decay by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Age One Dental Visit — Why It's Important For Your Baby.”

A number of factors can lead to dental caries (tooth decay). To find out if you are at high risk, ask yourself these questions.

Is plaque visible in my mouth?
Dental plaque is a whitish film of bacteria that collects on your teeth. If it is clearly visible, it means that there is a lot of it. Among the bacteria in the plaque are those that produce tooth decay, particularly in an acidic environment. (A normal mouth is neutral, measured on the pH scale, midway between the extreme acidic and basic ends of the scale.)

Do I have a dry mouth?
Saliva protects your teeth against decay by neutralizing an acidic environment and adding minerals back to the outer surface of enamel of your teeth, so reduced saliva is a high risk for caries. Many medications can cause dry mouth as a side effect.

Do I eat a lot of snacks, particularly unhealthy ones?
Frequently eating sugars, refined carbohydrates, and acidic foods promotes the growth of decay-producing bacteria. The more frequently you eat, the longer your teeth are bathed in sugars and acids. Acidic foods not only promote bacterial growth, they also directly cause erosion of the tooth's hard surface by softening and dissolving the minerals in the enamel.

Do I wear retainers, orthodontic appliances, bite guards or night guards?
These appliances are recommended for various conditions, but they tend to restrict the flow of saliva over your teeth, cutting down on the benefits of saliva mentioned above.

Do my teeth have deep pits and fissures?
The shape of your teeth is determined by your heredity. If your teeth grew in with deep grooves (fissures) and pits in them, you are at higher risk for bacterial growth and resulting decay.

Do I have conditions that expose my teeth to acids?
If you have bulimia (a psychological condition in which individuals induce vomiting), or GERD (Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease), your teeth may be frequently exposed to stomach acids that can cause severe erosion to your teeth.

Do I already have cavities?
Visible cavities can range from those only visible with laser technology or x-ray examination to those a dentist can see with a naked eye. If you already have small cavities, you are at high risk for developing more.

Do I have white spots on my teeth?
White spots are often the first sign of decay in a tooth's enamel. At this point, the condition is often reversible with fluorides.

Have I had a cavity within the last three years?
Recent cavities point to a high risk of more cavities in the future, unless conditions in your mouth have significantly changed.

If you have any of these indications of high risk, contact us today and ask us for suggestions for changing the conditions in your mouth. You can also learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Tooth Decay.”

Some of the most important lessons parents and caregivers can give their children involve teaching and demonstrating good oral health habits. The following tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are some ideas for helping you keep your children's teeth healthy.

1. Start cleaning teeth early.
   As soon as a child's first tooth erupts (appears), you should clean it daily by using a clean, damp cloth. Once several teeth are in, you should switch to a small, soft-bristled toothbrush. As for using toothpaste containing fluoride, you typically should start using it to brush your child's teeth at around 2 years old. However, there are some situations in which we recommend using toothpaste earlier than age 2. It just depends on your child’s mouth and development.


2. Use the right amount of fluoride toothpaste.
   Many people are aware that using toothpaste containing fluoride is an important tool for fighting tooth decay. But, many are shocked to discover how much should be used and what could happen if too much is used and swallowed. Because children under the age of 6 may tend to swallow all or some portion of toothpaste, you should only use (and teach them to use) a small amount—about the size of a pea. Otherwise, they could be at risk for getting white spots on their permanent teeth years later from having swallowed too much fluoride. This is also a key reason for teaching children how to rinse and spit properly after brushing their teeth.


3. Supervise brushing.
   Because children's abilities and maturity can vary greatly from child to child, you should brush your children's teeth until they have demonstrated the ability to handle the task alone. However, even when you give them the power to self-brush, you need to monitor them closely to ensure they are doing a thorough job, using the correct amount of toothpaste, and not brushing in a way that could damage teeth or gums. Brushing for too long and too hard are bad habits that can be detrimental to teeth and gums.


4. Talk to your child's doctor and with our office.
   Did you know that your first appointment should be at age one? The age one dental visit can be critical in establishing great communication and trust, and preventing early childhood decay. And having a positive rapport with your dentist and physician is important at any age; however, it is vital for parents and caregivers to develop great communication with their healthcare professionals on behalf of their children from the start of life. Not only does it model good habits for them to observe, but it also helps you stay abreast of the oral and general health needs.

Want to learn more?

Contact us today to discuss your questions or to schedule a consultation. You can also learn more by reading the Dear Doctor article, “Oral Hygiene Behavior.”

Because our main goal is to help you maintain optimal oral health, we use the latest proven technologies, techniques, and treatments to ensure we achieve them. One tool, radiographs or x-ray pictures, has been around for a long time with an inordinate amount of scientific research backing up both its safety and value. Here's a brief summary of why.

X-rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation just like natural daylight, except that they can easily penetrate soft bodily tissues, such as skin and muscles, without causing any harm if used properly. And as you may have guessed, we use them to examine what we can't see with the naked eye. For example, they enable us to see inside tooth structure, bones, and joints of the jaws. This ability makes x-rays a critical tool that we rely upon to monitor your oral health.

How often you need x-rays really depends upon your individual health needs and often is different from family member to family member given their age and oral health. During adolescence, we may need to take x-rays more often, so we can closely monitor the development of the teeth and jaw to check for normal growth and abnormalities, which can be corrected with early diagnosis. We may also need to use x-rays to diagnose trauma if you or any family member has experienced injury or disease. This will enable us to ensure the correct treatment is given and, in fact, is working and that there are no other related concerns.

Today's ultra-sensitive technology uses extremely low dosage x-rays and ensures early diagnosis and monitoring of your oral and dental health in safety and with confidence.

Learn more about the safety of x-rays by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “X-ray Frequency And Safety.” If you need to schedule an appointment, contact us today.