Is Chewing Gum Good for the Teeth or No?
Statistic reports show that about 374 trillion sticks of gum are made every year. Many have synthetic materials in them such as resins and waxes, plus edible materials such as sugar and flavor enhancers. Many people think that chewing gum is very similar to candy, and it can be if it’s full of sugar. However, chewing gum can be good for your teeth. Some will even have the American Dental Association’s Seal of Acceptance, which signifies that a product is beneficial for helping patients avoid oral health diseases.
Chewing Gum: How Popular Is It?
Millions of people buy chewing gum each year. Top brands like Trident, Extra, Orbit, Mentos, Eclipse, 5, Stride, Juicy Fruit and Dubble Bubble are ones consumers know and love. How much do people love it? Enough that Trident alone makes about $657.3 million dollars a year on gum sales. That’s only one brand of gum. Orbit and Extra follow closely behind with $551.1 million dollars in sales and $488.7 million.
- Over 374 trillion sticks of gum are made each year.
- On average, a person that chews gum will chew more than 300 pieces of gum each year.
- Some studies show that chewing on gum can help improve your concentration in both visual tasks and auditory memory tasks.
- There is a difference between chewing gum and bubble gum. Bubble gum is a type of chewing gum which is designed to allow chewers the ability to inflate bubbles in the gum. If you struggle with blowing bubbles with your gum, it may only be chewing gum.
Origin of Gum Ingredients
You may be surprised to know that gum isn’t food at all, but plastic. Yes, we said plastic. Merriam Webmaster Dictionary states that your chewing gum is a “sweetened and flavored insoluble plastic material.” It simply has sugars and other materials added to it that you chew out until your gum is stale. The original chewing gum was created in 1848 by John B. Curtis. He was a salesman that made chewing gum out of spruce resin, beeswax and flavorings.
That original chewing gum has evolved quite a bit over the last 150+ years. Most types of gums will be made from synthetic gum-based materials. Some of those bases may be rubber, while others use wax or plastic as their base. Chicle is a natural rubber that is popularly found in chewing gum. This material originally stems from Mesoamerican trees and is harvested just like latex is harvested from trees. When those specific trees are opened up, the chicle can drip out and be collected in small bags. The chicle is then boiled to a specific consistency.
Ingredients In Modern Gum
Your modern chewing gum is made from much more synthetic materials, so much so that it can’t be digested by your body if you swallow it. It will simply go through your digestive system undigested. Some people consider chewing gum to be litter, as it can’t biodegrade once it is made into gum. In the past, more natural materials were used in gum. Now, gum is made commercially on large scales due to how much is sold on a daily and yearly basis.
Your modern stick of chewing gum will likely have a gum base. Sweeteners, softeners and flavorings by individual companies are then added to the gum base. As chicle was used in the past, rubber and plastic are now used in its place. This happened in the 1900s as scientists were able to produce a more cost-effective synthetic gum base. Your softeners in gum will be vegetable oil or glycerin to soften the synthetic base. Without them, your gum would dry up quickly and would be gross.
Sweeteners may vary between gums depending on the manufacturer. Most will consist of sugar, corn syrup, cornstarch and beet juice among non-calorie sweeteners. The flavors and dyes will all be based off of the specific company’s manufacturing. If you check your gum label, you can see which ingredients are sweeteners if they have “itol” added on the end of a word. Some examples include sorbitol, xylitol, aspartame and mannitol.
Modern Chewing Gum
Chewing gum can have ingredients in it such as beeswax, honey, powdered sugar, gum pellets and more. Some ingredients you will recognize, while others you won’t. Ingredients that won’t be good for your teeth or health include:
- Aspartame. This is an artificial sweetener added to most gums. It is fine to sweeten the palate, but studies show it turns into wood alcohol in your body and formaldehyde. One is a poison, while the other is a carcinogen.
- Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT): This is a common preservative in many foods and products such as gum. It is actually banned in many places around the world except for the U.S. this ingredient is linked to health problems such as hyperactivity, toxicity in your organs, liver and kidney damage and more. The more you consume, the higher your risk for problems.
- Calcium Phosphate: This ingredient isn’t bad in everything, but it can be linked to poison if it is created or used the wrong way.
Is Chewing Gum Good for the Teeth?
Chewing gum can be good for your teeth, but it depends on the ingredients. Every gum brand is different, so you must check the labels and make an informed decision. Natural flavorings and sweeteners will always be healthier than synthetic alternatives. Sugar gums can definitely lead to plaque production and tooth decay. Look for the ADA Seal of Acceptance to choose a good brand that can help you avoid cavities.
If you have issues with cavities already, definitely switch to a healthy sugar-free gum. Chewing on gum will never take the place of brushing or flossing your teeth. If you ever have a doubt with you gum, skip all the sugar options and then call our office to find out if your gum is safe for your teeth or not. You can do that by calling Dr. Ania’s office at 303-443-0998!
Posted: December 17, 2018
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Orthodontics Can Benefit Your Oral Health
Many people will never need an orthodontist. However, orthodontic treatment can significantly help reduce problems with tooth decay and gum disease. That’s because crooked teeth are teeth that are harder to clean (leading to oral health diseases) and ones that can break, chip, crack and become injured easily. Find out how cosmetic dentistry options such as orthodontic treatment can completely change a smile!
Do You Need Orthodontic Treatment?
The American Dental Association recommends that all people visit a dentist at least twice a year for comprehensive exams and dental cleanings. Are you keeping up on that recommendation? Studies show that only about 65% of people in the U.S. are visiting the dentist each year, and not everyone is going twice like they should. This may be one reason why tooth decay (known as “cavities”) is such a chronic problem in the U.S. Gum disease is also at an all-time high, affecting more than 64.7 million adults. Recommendations for visiting the dentist are there for people so that they can keep their oral health in check. What about visiting an orthodontist? Do you need one?
Tons of people will never need orthodontic treatment, but millions will. In fact, there are at least 4 million people every single year that have some type of braces on their teeth. You can know if you need to be one of those 4 million by having an orthodontic exam or by speaking to your dentist. The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that every person see an orthodontist for an evaluation around age 7 or 8. This is a time when bite and alignment issues with the teeth and jaws can be found. When we do find patients with misaligned jaws and bites, or crooked teeth, we can work with them to set up an orthodontic treatment plan.
If you have frequent cavities or issues with gingivitis—or the first stage of gum disease—you may need orthodontics. If you notice that you or your child’s teeth are crooked, orthodontics can help. When children start to show signs of speech impediments or problems with biting, chewing or eating, orthodontic treatment can help correct the issues.
Major Oral Health Issues
We mentioned tooth decay and gum disease. Why are they such a problem? Both are diseases that can happen in your mouth and ones that can significantly hinder your quality of life. Tooth decay happens without you even realizing it. Have you ever been to the dentist and you have cavities even though you never noticed anything wrong with your teeth? Many have had this happen. Cavities aren’t always something you can see. When you eat, sugars in your foods and drinks mix with mouth bacteria to create a clear film that is called plaque. Instead of leaving your mouth, it sticks to your teeth, especially along the gum line.
Plaque is acidic and because it’s touching your tooth surface, the acids will try to weaken and break up your tooth minerals. If you don’t brush and floss your teeth enough, it can break apart those minerals on a microscopic level. It can also create small holes and openings in your teeth, which is how you can get decay inside your tooth. Once decay has started, it starts to spread and you can lose large parts of your teeth or your entire tooth if a cavity grows large enough. Your teeth (adult teeth) are meant to be permanent, so it’s a major issue if you let decay grow.
Gum disease happens due to plaque as well. When that acidic plaque sits along the gum line, the acids irritate the gums. This causes them to be red, swollen and inflamed. When brushing and flossing doesn’t happen enough, the gums will take their own measures to get away from plaque. They will start to pull away with gum recession and it can become so severe that the teeth begin to fall out.
How Can Orthodontics Benefit Your Oral Health?
What do these major oral health issues have to do with orthodontics? Orthodontics can significantly reduce your risk for tooth decay and gum disease. This is because straightening the teeth can make them much easier to clean. With crooked teeth, there may be large areas where toothbrush bristles can’t reach, even though food and plaque is caking in those areas. Often, there are issues passing floss through the teeth. This leaves all the spaces between open to decay, and around the gum line.
Crooked teeth are also susceptible to breaking much easier than straight teeth. This is because the actions of biting and chewing place pressure on the teeth. When teeth are crooked, pressure gets placed unevenly on those crooked teeth, ultimately resulting in cracks, chips, fractures and broken teeth. Studies show that orthodontics helps to reduce most oral health issues and speech problems due to crooked teeth. They also show that having your teeth straightened can make you significantly more confident. Those with straighter teeth can benefit from better oral health, a better smile and teeth that they want to show off more often.
Better Your Oral Health Today
If you want to have fewer oral health issues, ask us about how orthodontics can benefit you specifically. If you already have straight teeth but want a more beautiful smile, we can help you with affordable cosmetic dental services such as teeth whitening. For your biannual exams and dental cleanings to see how your oral health is doing, you can call Dr. Ania’s office at 303-443-0998!
Posted: December 14, 2018
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Comparing Teeth-Whitening Products
The holiday season is a great time to get a brighter, whiter smile. Parties, gatherings, Christmas, New Years and more are all times when photos will be taken, and you want to look your best. You can brighter your smile through a great teeth-whitening treatment. But how do you know what teeth whitening products are the best? Which ones will get your smile brighter for longer? What works best if you are short on time? Use these tips to decide between different teeth-whitening products and how they differ from in-office treatments!
Toothpastes: Do They Work?
If you’ve used whitening toothpastes for years with no real difference in your smile, your eyes are not deceiving you. Many toothpastes say that they “whiten”, when it could actually be a play on words. To know if a product actually whitens, you’ll have to check the product ingredients. Most toothpastes “whiten” by simply removing food, plaque and very recent stains from your teeth (like from that day). The act of actually removing that gunk is how toothpastes “whiten”.
Generally, toothpastes will have silica gels or other small abrasives that buff your teeth, making them more shiny. With a real whitening toothpaste, look for hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide in the ingredients. Both of these are bleaching agents that can give a slight whitening to your teeth over time. It’s best to use those toothpastes after you’ve done a whitening treatment of some sort in order to keep up your whiteness. If you want a drastic whitening, you want over-the-counter products or in-office teeth whitening.
Products at the Store
At the store, always remember that you get what you pay for. There are many over-the-counter products that will whiten your teeth. However, you have to do all the work yourself, and these generally cause quite a lot of tooth sensitivity from the bleaching agents. Most major oral health brands will offer teeth-whitening in strips, gels and whitening trays that are one-size-fits-all.
These types of products may not be suitable for your mouth because of that one offered size. Generally, you will apply the whitening gel in a tray to put in your mouth. If the tray is too large, the gel might squish out or you will have to hold your teeth tight together for the duration of whitening. With strips, you peel off the strips from the plastic and place them against your teeth. You will have to try not to move your mouth much, as strips move very easily and will need adjusting over and over if you don’t want uneven whitening.
If the whitening product uses hydrogen peroxide, you get up to 3% of it. If it uses carbamide peroxide, it can get up to 22%. Be careful with any over-the-counter products. There is no protectant for the gums, and any gel or whitening solution that touches them and stays on them can burn the gums. Make sure to clean off any excess from the gums to avoid that burning. Always follow instructions with whitening, as intense tooth sensitivity can happen and last for days. Over-the-counter products can be effective at whitening over several weeks, but they may not whiten evenly, especially if instructions aren’t followed.
Quick In-Office Whitening
Short on time? In-office teeth whitening is your best option for getting a whiter smile when you really don’t have a ton of time. This is the quickest option because only dentists have access to professional whitening products that have a much higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide. Usually that concentration is between 15% and 43%, compared to only 2-3% in over-the-counter products.
In-office whitening often is accompanied by whitening lights, which use a combination of special whitening machines working with materials painted onto your teeth. Using light to help whiten teeth is becoming the new trend with in-office whitening, as it can whiten your teeth for years and it can do it rather quick. When you come in for a dental visit, we go through your teeth whitening options with you and you can decide what option you want and how white you want to go.
When doing whitening treatments with light, you can expect about 30-60 minutes of wait time. We place a gentle plastic appliance in your mouth so that it can stay open, and we protect your teeth and gums from the whitening gels. This will involve both a protective rubber or plastic layer attached to your mouth appliance as well as protective pastes we paint onto exposed gum areas between the teeth. After painting a whitening gel on your teeth, we can then use our dental lights to activate the gels. Your teeth then start to whiten as a reaction between the lights and gels used, making the color several shades lighter. When arc lights are used with our whitening gels, the whitening effect can happen almost immediately.
Permanent Whiteness
What if you simply want white teeth but you don’t want to whiten your teeth every few years? There are more permanent cosmetic solutions to have your beautiful, white smile. If you want a more clean-cut smile that comes with the whitening you want, you can always invest in porcelain veneers. This is a service where we take the tiniest layer off of your natural teeth, replacing them with custom-made porcelain shells. Those shells are perfectly shaped to your teeth and will stay strong and white for as long as you have them. This is a service many celebrities and public figures have to give them the perfect smile.
When it comes to bettering your smile in 2019, you can choose teeth-whitening in-office, porcelain veneers, or one of our other cosmetic options. To see all the services we offer, and to know specifics about our teeth-whitening products, call Dr. Ania’s office today at 303-443-0998!
Posted: December 7, 2018
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Be Thankful for Dental Services
Dental services are very advanced today compared to crude dental methods performed just over 100 years ago. Even services such as orthodontic treatment, mouthguards and more weren’t available in more recent years past. During this holiday season, see just how much dentistry has changed to bless your life!
Dentistry: How Important Is It?
Did you know that every person should be visiting the dentist twice a year? This is a recommendation in the United States given by the American Dental Association. These appointments are so important that most (if not all) insurance types cover them. But why is dentistry so important to you personally?
Studies show that problems with your teeth and gums are the most chronic problems that both American children and adults face. In fact, the National Institutes of Health reports that tooth decay alone is the most “chronic, prevalent” illness that Americans face. Often, this is because many people don’t realize the importance of their dental health, or they don’t realize that there are health problems happening in the mouth.
Tooth decay is the literal decay of your teeth. This happens over time due to plaque, which is a clear, sticky film that attaches to the teeth when you eat and drink. Plaque forms from a mixture of your foods and drinks with mouth bacteria, and it is acidic to your teeth. It wears them away and decays them from the inside out.
Once your teeth have decayed, you can’t get them back. You can only have dental professionals remove the decayed portion and restore what your smile looked like with dental implants and shaping with composite resin. Problems with the teeth will not only damage your smile and appearance, but it can lead to problems with your confidence, your ability to eat and how long you live. In the past, people literally died from toothaches that turned into infections, which stemmed from a simple cavity. Now, that is almost unheard of in the United States, and it’s all because of modern dentistry.
How Has Dentistry Evolved?
In the past, there were not dental services available to people except for ones that were painful and crude. For example, there were orthodontic methods that could get a smile straight centuries ago. However, one of those methods was to forcefully remove the teeth with forceps, reinsert them straight into the socket, and tie them to neighboring teeth while they (hopefully) healed into place. Similar methods were used in dentistry, such as filing the teeth down to a better size and shape, as was practiced by Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.).
Sumerian texts in 5,000 B.C. hold the first dental recordings. Throughout all the centuries following up until the 1700s (A.D.), various methods were concocted to remove cavities that formed or to remove the teeth altogether. For many centuries, surgeons or barbers (skilled in some invasive procedures) were the ones patients went to for tooth removal. Little was done for gums that were diseased, as the technology simply didn’t exist.
For many, cavities that started forming meant that a tooth needed to be pulled. If all your teeth ended up getting cavities, you had to live with diseased, painful teeth or have them all removed. We may also add that modern anesthetics were not invented until 1846, and even that was only nitrous oxide use. That meant every dentistry procedure had to be done with the patient still feeling all the work. Yikes! However, in modern times, patients benefit from sedation dentistry, nitrous oxide (perfected), IV sedation, oral medications, anesthetic shots, modern drills, custom-made teeth, crowns, veneers, teeth whitening and more.
Be Thankful for Your Teeth
Pierre Fauchard was a French surgeon. In 1723, he became known as the “Father of Modern Dentistry” with his publication of “Modern Dentistry”. This was the first dentistry guide that created a comprehensive system to perform proper oral hygiene, avoid dental diseases and treat infections, cavities and more. With the introduction of this book, dentistry started to evolve rapidly.
The first dentist (John Baker, 1760) emigrated to the U.S. Porcelain teeth were invented in 1825, and dental chairs were invented in 1832. The first dental school—Baltimore College of Dental Surgery—began in 1840, where people could then formally train in dentistry. The American Dental Association formed in 1859, and after that time, many advances happened each decade such as composite resin creation, x-ray imaging, porcelain crowns, casting machines, novocain, acrylic bonding resin, etc.
The toothbrushes you use today weren’t even invented until 1938, and fluoride toothpaste didn’t hit the market until 1950. The invention of both of these significantly reduced the amount of cavities people developed in the first place. Most people don’t think about these advances in dental services, even though they significantly affect everyone. If you are reading this right now, you live in a time when access to quality dental work is a possibility for almost everyone in the U.S. That dental work can even be pain-free for the most extensive of dental work patients with severe oral health diseases have.
Give the Gift of a Healthy Smile
There are countless advances that have happened in the field of dentistry over the last 200 years. All of those advances help you to get a beautiful, straight, and white smile free of tooth decay, gum disease and oral health diseases. When you do have an oral problem, the exact problem can be detected and treated rapidly. That is definitely something to be thankful for! If you want to see how our office works and the dental services offered to you, call Dr. Ania’s office today at 303-443-0998!
Posted: November 27, 2018
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Do You Need Dentures?
After age 65, thinning teeth as well as tooth decay and gum disease are more common. Those diseases can lead to tooth loss that becomes chronic without proper care. However, all is not lost if you have lost many of your teeth. You can still work towards great oral health with some changes to your oral hygiene routine and with dental services such as dentures.
Oral Health in the United States
You lose your set of baby teeth while you are young to make way for permanent, adult teeth. The adult teeth are referred to as “permanent” teeth, because that’s what they should be. Great oral hygiene can help you keep your natural teeth for life. However, tooth loss is becoming more a reality for people as lives get busier and oral hygiene is overlooked.
Dental professionals and health organizations stress the importance of brushing and flossing the teeth. This is vital if you actually want to keep your teeth. Sadly, studies show that only 3 in 10 millennials brush their teeth every day. Only 65% of adults see a dentist each year, and that doesn’t mean they’re doing it the recommended 2 times. Many people only brush or floss once a day instead of twice. Examples such as these lead to the high tooth decay and tooth loss statistics in the United States:
- About 92% or more of people have had their teeth decay by the time they reach adulthood.
- Skipping brushing and flossing leads to decayed teeth and gum disease, with the latter affecting more than 64.7 million American adults.
- When gum disease (inflammation of gums due to bacteria and plaque) gets severe, it leads to tooth loss. At least 120 million Americans are missing at least 1 tooth.
- 3.75% of American adults are missing all their teeth. Total tooth loss is referred to as “edentulism”.
- That percentage equals 36 million Americans without teeth.
- The estimated future tooth loss count is 200 million for the U.S., according to the American College of Prosthodontists.
Dentures for Total Tooth Loss
If you lose a tooth due to tooth decay, all is not lost. However, you don’t want that empty space in your mouth, as the opposing tooth could grow longer to fill the space. Other teeth may start to fall out from the lack of tooth support. Consider dental implants (a replacement tooth secured with an implant) to replace teeth that go missing. When total tooth loss happens, consider getting dentures.
Dentures are not only for those who are elderly, but for any patient affected by disease and decay. Dentures are custom-made appliances for patients that want their smile back, plus the ability to talk and eat like normal. Our dentures come in both partials and full sets, which means you can have complete upper or lower jaw dentures that replace your natural teeth. You can also get dentures for half of your jaw, if needed. Opt for dentures when you have enough tooth loss that it would be impractical to have an implant in every single place where a tooth has been lost. You don’t want to do that 28 or so times in your mouth.
Denture Process
Toothlessness makes eating, biting, chewing, and talking incredibly difficult. It can cause a very poor quality of life. Dentures come in two different options for patients and can help increase their quality of life for decades to come. You come in for your dental consultation and we do a full dental examination and dental cleaning. We will treat areas of gum disease and tooth decay as best as we can and take measures to make your gums healthy enough to support dentures.
Mouths significantly affected by gum disease may have gums that are way too mushy to support a dental appliance. This is why you want to continually see a dentist for dental problems to avoid your disease from getting to that stage. Partial dentures can be placed in a separate appointment after molds of your mouth have been taken. These provide artificial teeth secured in artificial gums, which prevent the remaining natural teeth from shifting over time. We attach the partials with clasps that anchor to your neighboring, natural teeth. They can be removed and placed back in the mouth with ease.
With full dentures, we must replace an entire set of your teeth in the upper or lower jaws. These dentures can be removable (ones that you take out each night), or they can be secured in your mouth with metal posts. The type you choose will depend on your needs and your level of health. Your custom molds are fitted to your mouth in a separate appointment. The suction the form-fitting dentures have is what helps hold them fast to the gums in the jaws.
Oral Hygiene Prevents Oral Health Diseases
Did you know that tooth decay is actually considered a disease by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)? The National Institutes of Health describe tooth decay as the most “chronic, prevalent disease” in the United States among both adults and children. This is concerning, as many people don’t even realize that cavities are a big deal. However, once a tooth has decayed, that part of it is lost. Once a tooth decays too much, it has to be removed or it falls out. Millions of Americans live with both tooth decay and gum disease, not realizing that it can make them painfully toothless in the years to come.
Good oral hygiene can prevent those tooth loss problems from happening to you. Brush your teeth at least twice a day, for 2 minutes at a time, covering all tooth surfaces really well. Floss 1-2 times a day, scraping your teeth as you go to remove stuck-on plaque. Use mouthwash to kill mouth bacteria and fluoride to strengthen the teeth. Don’t forget to schedule exams and dental cleanings with a dentist at least twice a year as well. You can do this by calling Dr. Ania’s office at 303-443-0998!
Posted: November 20, 2018
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Benefits of an Oral Hygiene Routine
Do you brush and floss your teeth each day? Studies show that only about ½ of American adults (or less) are practicing basic oral hygiene habits each day. An oral hygiene routine is vital to keeping your teeth from decaying or falling out over time. Use these recommendations and guidelines for your daily oral hygiene routine and see how you benefit you in the long run!
Oral Health and Oral Hygiene
Your oral health and oral hygiene are almost the same thing, and these terms may be used interchangeably. However, there are some differences in the two. Your overall health is how healthy you are, taking your whole body into consideration. Often, many health problems can manifest in the mouth with various signs or symptoms, or they start in the mouth. Health problems related to weight or poor eating will start with you mouth as you intake food and drink. Diabetes can cause problems with circulation and blood vessels in the body, manifesting physical signs of disease in the mouth. Countless conditions affect the health of your mouth—or your oral health.
However, your mouth can also cause health conditions to worsen, as infections that start in the mouth can get into your bloodstream and make health problems worse. Essentially, keeping your oral health in great condition can help your body stay healthy as well. You keep your oral health in check through oral hygiene—or how you care for the mouth. Those oral hygiene steps include brushing and flossing your teeth, keeping your tongue clean, using decay-fighting oral products, and visiting the dentist. All of those steps can help kill germs and bacteria that would make you sick and that would cause disease in your teeth and gums over time.
Why Is Your Oral Hygiene Important?
Gum disease and tooth decay are among the most common chronic conditions in the U.S. The National Institutes of Health report that tooth decay—what you know as “cavities”—is the most chronic disease among American adults and children. More than 92% of people have cavities by the time they are adults, and many have untreated tooth decay they don’t know about.
Cavities are bad because once a part of your tooth decays, you can’t simply reverse it. You have to have a dentist remove the decayed part and fill it with new material. When cavities grow large, they go through the several layers of the teeth to the tooth center. This will cause rapid decay and infection where the nerves and blood vessels lie. When decay reaches this point, it can make you lose your tooth.
Gum disease is also a serious disease that more than 64.7 million American adults. That’s not even including children. When you don’t brush or floss your teeth, sugars in your food will mix with mouth bacteria to make a sticky, acidic film. That film is plaque and it sticks to your teeth, using its acid to break up minerals in your teeth. This decays your teeth and thins them, and the acidic plaque will irritate your gums. Early gum disease is when your gums become swollen and inflamed (with a darker red tint). When oral hygiene habits don’t improve, your gums will become irritated enough that the gums recede, eventually causing mushy gums and tooth loss. Good oral hygiene habits can prevent all of these problems.
Brushing 101
Brushing your teeth is one of the best oral hygiene habits you can have. Patients should buy a toothbrush that fits the size of their mouth. Use soft gum brushes for infants and infant toothbrushes for toddlers. Children will have smaller toothbrushes with smaller heads and adults will have larger toothbrushes with larger heads. Change out these toothbrushes every 3 months or when the bristles become frayed.
To brush, patients should use toothpaste enriched with decay-fighting fluoride. Use a rice-sized amount for infants, a pea-sized amount for children and slightly more for teens and adults. Wet the toothbrush, add toothpaste and brush all tooth surfaces for 2 minutes. Go in all different directions, circles and 45-degree angles. Brush for 2 minutes every time you brush, at least 2 or more times a day, as recommended by the American Dental Association. Brush your infant or child’s teeth until they are old enough to do these themselves, and then monitor that brushing.
Flossing, Mouthwash and Fluoride
Brushing is not complete without flossing your teeth. Floss 1-2 times a day (minimum), using new floss each time. You need about 18 inches of floss that you wind between your pointer or middle finger on each hand. Floss up into your gum line between each tooth and scrape the teeth as you floss to remove extra plaque.
Mouthwash and fluoride products can benefit your oral hygiene routine. Mouthwash can kill bacteria that would cause you decay or disease. It can freshen breath and those with fluoride can help protect your teeth from losing minerals. Fluoride is a naturally-occurring mineral that help provide a barrier for teeth against bacteria. Your teeth loose minerals from acid-containing foods and drinks, but they also gain minerals from foods and drinks. Fluoride will help protect against that demineralization and can make your teeth stronger.
Schedule Your Dental Visits
Another major oral hygiene consideration you want to make is scheduling dental visits. Only a dentist can detect tooth decay with their professional technology. Biannual visits prevent large tooth decay and a dentist can help reverse your gum disease when it starts. They also have treatments for severe decay or disease that has already happened. If you want to avoid oral health diseases that can harm your health and can make your teeth fall out, you definitely want an oral hygiene routine. You’ll not only feel like you have a healthy, fresh mouth, but your smile will be more beautiful and your mouth structures stronger. To see how your oral hygiene and health is doing, call Dr. Ania’s office today at 303-443-0998 for your comprehensive exam!
Posted: November 6, 2018
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Prevent Cavities from Your Halloween Candy
Studies show that trick-or-treaters can consume up to 675 grams of sugar on Halloween. That incredible sugar intake is not surprising, since Halloween is a major candy holiday. However, that candy contains the absolute worst ingredient that causes the teeth to decay: sugar. We want all our patients to have a fun Halloween and to even eat some yummy candy in the process. However, use these tips and recommendations for limiting sugar consumption and avoiding cavities that can happen later on!
Halloween Candy Facts
Halloween is the biggest candy holiday after Easter. Holidays often bring sweet treats and more indulgence in sugar foods. It’s the actual sugar content that is the main factor in raising a child’s risk for tooth decay.
These Halloween candy facts may shock you:
- On average, children and teens that trick-or-treat consume up to 675 grams of sugar on Halloween day alone. That’s about 3 solid cups of sugar in just one day! One cup of sugar is equivalent to 48 teaspoons of sugar.
- However, the recommended daily allowance for added sugars is only 6-9 teaspoons for females and males. Children should only have 6 teaspoons or less in one day, according to the American Heart Association.
- October 28th is the biggest candy-selling day of the year.
- The average family spends about $44 dollars on Halloween candy each year. Across the U.S., about $2.1 billion dollars is spent on Halloween candy.
- The amount of Halloween candy sold equals about 16 of the world’s largest ocean liners (or ships) in how much that candy would weigh.
- The main ingredient in Halloween candy (and candy in general) is sugar, which is directly related to tooth decay.
Why Is Sugar a Problem?
Eating sugar is one of the leading causes of tooth decay and gum disease, which are some of the most prevalent chronic diseases among children and adults. Gum disease affects more than 64.7 million American adults alone, and many more people have tooth decay. These diseases stem from sugar, as sugar decays your teeth. When you eat, sugars in your food combine with mouth bacteria to form plaque, which is a sticky, acidic substance that decays the teeth. The more sugar you eat, the more plaque you make.
You don’t just swallow plaque either. It sits on your teeth because it’s sticky and erodes your tooth enamel because it’s acidic. If it sits on tooth enamel long enough, plaque can break up the minerals in your teeth. That outer tooth enamel becomes weak and you will get cracks and open areas of your teeth. Plaque then gets inside the tooth, causing not only surface decay, but internal decay and infection as well. That decay is known as “cavities”, and cavities can lead to tooth loss. All of that weakening and decay stems straight back to sugar, which is found in almost all Halloween candy and in most foods you can buy from the store.
Preventing Cavities from Halloween Candy
You can significantly reduce your risk for cavities and disease by brushing and flossing your teeth several times a day, and especially after meals. However, not enough people brush and floss during the day—or at all—meaning that millions have cavities. There is a spike in cavities after Halloween in the months following, which is probably due to the high candy consumption. So what can you do?
If you’re a parent, make sure you are monitoring your child’s candy consumption and limiting how much they are eating. Children can be just as happy having a few small pieces of Halloween candy that night instead of 3 cups worth of sugar. It’s fine for children, teens and adults to have some candy on Halloween, as cutting out all sugar consumption can make the desire for sugar that much stronger. That can lead to bingeing on Halloween candy or sweet treats later on.
Some Tips
If your child gets a ton of Halloween candy, you can always use these tips to limit heavy consumption:
- Have a system in place where they earn their candy pieces. An example is that they get a sweet treat if they have read a book for a certain amount of time that day. Another is if they do really well with brushing and flossing during the day, they can have a treat at dinner.
- Do a trade. They can trade in 10 candy pieces for a small toy from a dollar store.
- Divide up the candy they can have each day after Halloween. Each day they can get the small bag with one or more pieces of candy.
- Always take their candy at night to avoid night eating and limit Halloween to be had only at mealtime. This prevents plaque production from all-day snacking.
Healthy Teeth for Fall and More
It’s very possible to enjoy your holiday or Halloween candy all fall and winter while still keeping your teeth healthy. Children don’t have to get child tooth decay and adults don’t have to get cavities either. Simply practice great oral hygiene and limit your sugar consumption! Adults and children alike should brush their teeth at least twice a day, if not after every meal. Both should floss 1-2 times a day. Help your children with brushing and flossing until they can do it for themselves. Then, monitor their brushing and flossing to make sure it’s done correctly.
All patients from infancy and on should be visiting their dentist at least twice a year as well. This is a time when we can spot the signs of cavities and stop them in their tracks. Small cavities are much easier to get rid of than large cavities that lead to tooth loss. If you want more tips for preventing cavities or you need to schedule your family’s dental exams, call Dr. Ania’s office today at 303-443-0998!
Posted: October 25, 2018
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Tips for Taking Care of Baby Teeth
Did you know that you get two sets of teeth throughout your lifetime? The first set comprises the 20 delicate baby teeth that will eventually fall out to make way for the 32 adult teeth. Right from the time a baby gets their first tooth, that tooth needs to be cared for or tooth decay can quickly set in. Whether it’s for a new infant, a toddler, teen or yourself, find out how to properly care for the baby teeth and your own teeth!
The Baby Teeth
An infant will only have 20 baby teeth in their mouth, but an adult will have 32 larger, adult teeth. An infant grows slowly throughout childhood, and their mouth grows with them. The baby teeth can start to come in immediately, or they can take up to the second or third year to start coming in. However, most infants will start to get their baby teeth between 3 and 12 months. The teeth are actually the strongest substance in the body, but because baby teeth are so small, they can still be quite delicate.
Despite their size, the baby teeth will determine much about a person’s adult teeth. Over time, the mouth will grow and around age 7 or 8, the baby teeth will start to fall out. An interesting aspect of this growing and shedding of teeth is that the baby teeth come into the mouth in the same order that they start to fall out. The teeth many even space out before they start to fall out, which is the mouth growing to make room for the adult teeth to drop in. If the baby teeth are not cared for properly, then those delicate baby teeth can decay and fall out too soon, messing up how the adult teeth come into the mouth.
Taking Care of the Baby Teeth
So what can you do? You can take care of the baby teeth as soon as you see the first one come into your child’s mouth. When that first baby tooth pops through the gums, make sure you have a finger gum brush to gently brush that baby tooth. This is especially important after nursing or after an infant takes a bottle, as those milk sugars can decay the baby teeth. Some tips to follow for healthy baby teeth include:
- Never leave a baby bottle with an infant overnight or when they sleep. This may mean the child is sucking all throughout the night, exposing their teeth to decay-causing sugars constantly. This decay happens so easily, that it’s known as “baby-bottle tooth decay”.
- Use an infant brush that fits the size of the mouth. With it, use a tiny amount (rice-sized) of fluoride toothpaste to brush with.
- Wipe an infant’s teeth and gums with a wet cloth after eating to reduce plaque buildup.
- Make sure the teeth are brushed before bedtime, after nursing or bottle-feeding.
- Take infants to dental visits biannually after 1 year.
Dental Visits: When Should They Happen?
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that parents bring their infants in for their first dental visit as early as 1 year of age. The goal is to see an infant within 6 months of them getting their first tooth. That first tooth is usually the start of an infant getting the rest of their baby teeth, which should all be in by age 3. Once that first dental visit is established, it’s important that infants and children continue to go to dental cleanings and exams every 6 months, just like teens and adults.
These dental visits are so important for children to keep their baby teeth healthy, which prevents oral health problems with decay and tooth loss that can affect the adult teeth. If a baby tooth falls out too soon, it can mean that an adult tooth comes in too early and in the wrong place. This can cause other teeth to come in incorrectly and for major oral health issues to arise. When children are seeing a dentist often, the dentist can make sure children keep their baby teeth healthy so their adult smiles can be healthy too.
What Can You Expect?
The first dental visit can be different for every child depending on their age and their needs. Make sure that you take a child to a dentist trained to do pediatric, family or general dentistry. You want someone that has worked with children before. That first dental visit won’t involve a dental cleaning if they are very young infants.
We review all medical history at this first appointment. If a child is visiting for the first time, they start of their new dental record. For infants, we do a very quick examination of their gums and teeth to see how they are developing and how they are coming into the mouth. This is a great time for parents to learn how to properly take care of their infant’s baby teeth and what oral hygiene products they should be using.
Parents can hold infants at this first dental exam and for some of those exams following as we look in their mouths for dental issues. For children with all their baby teeth or most of them, we can assess bite and alignment to see if dental issues will develop, worsen, or will cause speech issues. The dental visit is quick and easy the first few times, yet children benefit by catching tooth decay or bite problems early on. Those problems can be fixed quickly to avoid dental problems in the future. If you want to know more about a child’s first dental visit or how to care for your child’s baby teeth, call Dr. Ania’s office today at 303-443-0998!
Posted: October 18, 2018
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A Healthier Diet Can Lead to Healthy Teeth
Sugar is one of the most widely consumed substance in the world, simply because it is found in most foods in modern times. In the past, sugar rarely found its way into natural or “healthy” foods. Because the amount of sugar you’re eating directly relates to your risk for tooth decay and oral health diseases, you have to be careful about what you are eating. Learn the truth about sugar intake in the U.S., foods that secretly contain it, and how a healthier diet can lead to better health and wellness, but also to beautiful, healthy teeth!
All About Your Teeth
Did you know that your teeth are the strongest substance in your body? Many people think the bones are the strongest. However, the bones are filled with spongy cartilage, blood vessels, stem cells and more. The teeth are about 96% pure mineral content made up of calcium, phosphate, magnesium and other minerals. That is how you can bite into hard foods and how your teeth can last for decades.
You have a set of baby teeth that come in between birth and age 3. As you grow as a child, your baby teeth will space out somewhat and will eventually fall out. This makes way for the adult, permanent teeth to come into the mouth. You will have 20 baby teeth that are hard, but delicate, and 32 permanent teeth that are stronger, tougher and will last you for life (if you care for them). However, your oral hygiene habits and your diet can make your teeth weak, decayed and you can easily lose them.
How Are Teeth Damaged?
Your teeth can become damaged through various ways. Dental injuries can certainly damage your teeth (such as with contact sports), but it’s the small and simple things that do the most damage over time. Your oral hygiene is a major reason your teeth become damaged. Do you brush your teeth? Floss? Use mouthwash to kill germs? These are all oral hygiene habits you should be practicing if you want to avoid tooth decay, gum disease, bad breath and if you want healthy teeth.
When you eat, sugars in your foods and drinks mix with mouth bacteria. That mixture creates a sticky, acidic film we call “plaque”. Instead of getting swallowed, that sticky film coats your teeth, especially along the gum line. Because it is acidic, it will go to work to weaken and demineralize your teeth. When it can break apart the minerals that hold your teeth together, it can decay them, eventually making craters of dead areas called “cavities”. You can’t get those areas back, and decay will continue to happen without swift dental treatment.
Your gums are also affected, as they get irritated by acidic plaque. The gums will react by becoming more red, swollen, and inflamed, and they will bleed easier. Without better dental hygiene or dental help, the gums will recede and your teeth can fall out.
How Do Drinks Affect Your Teeth?
Essentially, you practice a healthy diet for healthy teeth. To have healthy teeth, a good place to start is with your drinks:
- Carbonation: Any carbonated beverage (soda, water, etc.) contains carbonic acid. That is what gives drinks that fizzy pop. Carbonic acid—because it is an acid—will erode away your tooth enamel. It sits on the teeth and works to break up the minerals for about 30 minutes after you’ve finished drinking. Always wait those 30 minutes before brushing or you can brush away even more enamel.
- Citric Acid: Because this too is an acid found in many juices and drinks, it too can have the same effect as carbonation. Limit your lemonade and other citric juices if you want healthy teeth. Citric fruits can also have the same effects as citrus drinks.
- Water Additives: Chose water sweeteners that are dye-free and free of citric acid if you want healthy teeth. Choosing dye-free will mean that your teeth stay whiter for longer. When you drink items that have dyes, those colors slowly seep into cracks into your teeth.
- Milk: Milk is a great drink for your teeth. It has minerals that the teeth can take in and it nourishes your teeth. Regular water is also great and public water contains fluoride, which can strengthen your teeth. Avoid chocolate milk or milk containing high amounts of sugar, which leads to decay.
Foods and Sugars
With foods, you want to avoid all high-sugar foods. The more sugar you eat, the more plaque you make and the more your teeth can decay. Especially avoid sticky foods and treats such as taffy, gummies, dried fruit and caramels, as these stick sugars to your teeth longer. Avoid sucking on suckers or hard candies, which expose the teeth to sugar for a long time. To avoid dental injuries, avoid chewing ice or particularly hard foods. Chop up nuts, hard fruits and hard vegetables before you eat them. Check your food labels to avoid high amounts of added sugars, which decay your teeth. Essentially, you just want to avoid too much sugar in your diet, and you want to brush your teeth after eating those foods so decay and erosion don’t happen.
Healthy Teeth Through Oral Hygiene
The American Dental Association recommends that people brush their teeth at least twice a day, for two minutes at a time. Patients should also be flossing 1-2 times a day, making sure to use new floss to get up into the gum line, scraping teeth with the floss as they move the floss away from the teeth. The ADA also recommends biannual dental visits for comprehensive exams and dental cleanings.
Mouthwash that kills decay-causing bacteria and fluoride treatments that strengthen the teeth are also very good oral hygiene helps. If you want healthy teeth, you must do these small and simple things at home. When you’re doing those things and you still don’t have healthy teeth, you can call Dr. Ania’s office at 303-443-0998 for a free consultation.
Posted: October 11, 2018
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