Gum Disease and Your Overall Health Risks

Gum disease can impact your overall health status. Now add to that idea the fact that 50% of the population has some form of gum disease. The implications cannot be ignored.

The mechanism that links gum disease to the health of the rest of your body is the bacteria that causes gum disease. This bacteria can enter your bloodstream and can cause some serious medical problems.

Like What?

1. A suspected link to pregnancy and premature births.

Please read the 1-22-2010 news report: "Mother's Gum Disease Linked to Infant's Death"

Bacteria from the mother's gums was traced to the placenta. Her baby was full-term, but stillborn. This is only one case, but a direct link was demonstrated. Dentists has long suspected the possibility of premature births and low birth weight to be correlated with gum disease.

2. A suspected link to cardiovascular disease.

In 2009, the American Journal of Cardiology and the Journal of Periodontology acknowledged a strong association between gum disease and heart disease.

This article noted: "those patients with moderate-to-severe periodontitis [gum disease] should be informed that they might be at an increased risk of atherosclerotic CVD [cardiovascular disease]. Cardiologists and family physicians should be sensitive to this and refer CVD patients to their dental care providers for a complete periodontal assessment."

3. A suspected link to diabetes.

While more research is needed, we know that poorly controlled diabetics are more likely to have gum disease than well controlled diabetics or non-diabetics.  We also know that diabetic patients with gum disease have a harder time controlling their blood sugar levels.

So, you see, good oral hygiene, and routing dental checkups and cleanings, can do more for your overall  health than you thought!

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Reasons to Consider Porcelain Veneers

Celebrities and others in the public eye have been improving their appearance for years with porcelain veneers, but it may also be a great option for your smile.

What can porcelain veneers do for you?

• Cosmetically close gaps between your teeth;
• Change the color of your teeth, or cover up discolored teeth;
• Change the shape of your teeth;
• Create the illusion of better tooth alignment;
• Strengthen tooth surfaces that have been weakened by prior cavities and fillings;
• Replace missing tooth enamel that has been damaged or is defective; and
• In some circumstances, repair broken porcelain on existing crown or bridgework.

At your next appointment, ask if porcelain veneers are right for you!

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"Just Take It Out, Doc" - Better Yet, Not So Fast!

Yes, some teeth cannot be saved, no matter what heroic measures are taken to try and save them.

Other teeth can be saved, but the patient wants them removed because of the immediate tooth pain, or perceived financial pain to save them. In the long run, pulling a tooth that can be fixed is a mistake. Period.

Here are some of the things that can happen when one or more teeth are pulled:

• Adjacent teeth or opposing teeth (the ones the extracted tooth once chewed with) will shift;
• The bone that once supported the tooth's root will resorb (melt away) reducing the strength of your jaw;
• As teeth shift, the remaining teeth will meet at odd angles, increasing the wear to those teeth, and increasing the risk of fracture;
• Also, as teeth shift, gaps may appear in areas where the teeth once touched. This allows for more food to be caught between the teeth, and causes the gums be become irritated and inflamed;  
• If many teeth are lost, and consequently much jaw bone is lost, there is a potential increase of jaw fractures; 
• If not many teeth remain, the stability and retention of removable dentures decrease; 
• As teeth are lost, and if they are not replaced, diet and nutrition suffer, as the diet becomes one of  soft foods; and
• The way your face looks will change - sagging of the skin, skin folds around the mouth and wrinkles increase.

Lost teeth can be replaced with many different restorative options. A patient can have a flipper, a Maryland bridge, a traditional bridge, an implant or a denture depending on the number of teeth that are missing, the overall dental and medical health of the patient, the time available for treatment, and the cost of the treatment.

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Thinking About Invisalign?

More and more patients are asking about whether Invisalign is right for them. 
There are many things to like about the treatment method that has, in recent years, 

What's to Like?

• Patients can continue to brush and floss normally because the   traditional orthodontic hardware is not attached to the teeth. This reduces the chances of white spots (weakened enamel) or cavities forming during treatment, not to mention fresher breath;
• Patients can continue to eat normally because the Invisalign aligners are easily removed prior to eating. Gone are the embarrassing moments of food caught around your braces;
• Adult patients can go to work and social events without feeling like they look like a pimply teenager; and
• Patients who had traditional braces in their youth will remember how painful it was when orthodontic wires poked into their lips and cheeks. Not a problem with Inivsalign's aligners!

Please note not all patients are good candidates for Invisalign. Ask your dentist if
Invisalign is a good treatment choice for you!

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Amalgam (Silver) Fillings and Composite (White) Fillings

The tooth to the left has a composite filling and the tooth to the right has an amalgam filling. What is the best restoration for you?

Amalgam restorations are time tested, durable and safe restorations. The American Dental Association, the WHO, and the FDA all have recently released statements and supporting clinical research on the safety of dental amalgam for all non-allergic patients and healthcare workers.

Composites are a newer class of restorations that offer patients esthetics and bonding. This often allows for more conservative tooth reduction during filling placement than for amalgam.


Amalgam fillings are better suited for:

• Teeth that take a heavier chewing burden - i.e. premolars and molars;
  
• Teeth that have the need for a large restoration;
  
• Areas in the mouth where moisture control, during the filling process, is hard to achieve. Amalgam is a more forgiving material is areas where the cavity is below the gumline, or near salivary glands; and
  
• Areas in the mouth where esthetics are not critical.
  

Composite fillings are better suited for:

• Teeth that do not carry a heavy chewing burden - i.e. anterior teeth and first bicuspid teeth;
  
• Teeth that will have small to medium restorations;
  
• Areas in the mouth where it is easy to have good moisture control during the filling process; and
  
• Areas in the mouth where esthetics are critical.
  

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Dental Insurance Explained

Dental insurance can be confusing to everyone. Let's break it down into the basic types of dental insurance.

Traditional Plan:

• Can go to any dentist or dental specialist.
• Has a fixed yearly deductible.
• Has a fixed maximum dollar amount the insurance will pay yearly. Any amount of work beyond this maximum is the responsibility of the patient.
• While the insurance has a yearly maximum, any given procedure is paid at a percentage of the actual charge. 
• Dentist charges full price for dental services.

PPO Plan - In-Network Dentist:

• Must go to only an "in-network" dentist or dental specialist. Usually a large number of dentists are eligible in network providers.
• Has a fixed yearly deductible.
• Has a fixed maximum dollar amount the insurance will pay yearly. Any amount of work beyond this maximum is the responsibility of the patient.
• While the insurance has a yearly maximum, any given procedure is paid at a percentage of the actual charge.
  
• Dentist charges contracted prices for dental services covered by the insurance plan, and charges full price for dental services not covered under the plan.

PPO Plan - Out of Network Dentist:

• Can go to any dentist or dental specialist.
• Has a fixed yearly deductible.
• Has a fixed maximum dollar amount the insurance will pay yearly. Any amount of work beyond this maximum is the responsibility of the patient.
• While the insurance has a yearly maximum, any given procedure is paid at a percentage of the actual charge. This percentage is often, though not always, slightly lower than that paid to an in-network dentist.
  
• Dentist charges full price for dental services.

DMO or HMO:

• Must go to the assigned "in-network" dentist. Only one dental provider is assigned per patient.
• To see a specialist, a patient must first obtain a referral from the assigned in-network primary care dentist.
• No deductible.
• Has no fixed maximum dollar amount the insurance will pay yearly because the insurance does not pay per procedure performed. The patient pays the entire copayment for every dental procedure that is completed. The only payments made to the dentist by the HMO plan are based on a predetermined, fixed, monthly, payment that is based only on the number of patients assigned to the practice by the HMO, and is not in any way related to the actual procedures performed on those patients.
• Dentist charges contracted prices (equivalent to the patient copayment) for dental services covered by the insurance plan, and charges full price for dental services not covered under the plan.

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Keep Your Child's Teeth Healthy By Keeping Your Own Teeth Healthy

Childhood dental caries, or "cavities", is an infectious disease. Read that again, and let it sink in. Childhood caries is an infectious disease. 

Infections are caused by the transfer of bacteria or viruses from one person to the next . In the case of early childhood caries, the bacteria is passed from the child's caregiver, usually the mother, to the child via sharing of utensils, or kissing on the lips.

The window of infectivity is the first two years of life. If the bacteria is passed from caregiver to child in the first two years of the child's life, the child's chances of getting cavities are dramatically increased.

How does this process happen? The bacteria in the mouth break down food, and in the process, produce acids. These acids break down tooth enamel and the caries process begins. The more sweet foods the child eats, the greater the chance of caries formation. Keep in mind that the frequency of sugar consumption is more harmful than the quantity of sugar consumption.

What can be done?

• If you are a child's caregiver, keep your teeth clean and healthy. Fill any existing cavities in your own mouth;
• Do not share used utensils with your child;
• Do not kiss your child on the lips;
• Limit the frequency of sugar consumption for both you and your child;
• Take your child to see the dentist between the ages of 6 months to 1 year;
• Help your child brush their teeth;
• Have the dentist give your child a fluoride treatment every 3-6 months depending on the caries state of your child;
• Examine your child's teeth for caries. You will see white spots or brown spots in areas of active tooth decay; and
• Use tap water as often as possible in order to increase the fluoride exposure to the teeth.

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Help for Your New Year's Resolution to FLOSS MORE!

We know flossing more will help keep our teeth and gums clean and healthy, our breath fresh, and the general level of inflammation in our bodies lower - all good things! The problem for a lot of people is just getting themselves to do it.

At night, before bed, and after your last meal or snack, is the best time to floss. Having said that, what if your routine is to fall asleep in front of the television and then crawl into bed? Think you will stop and floss on the way to your head hitting the pillow? I think not!

So, for those of you who "lack the time" to floss at night before bed, here are some suggestions for finding extra time in your day to floss:

1. Floss after breakfast or lunch;
2. Floss in the car at traffic stops;
3. Floss at commercial breaks on television;
4. Floss at school or work;
5. Floss at the gym; or
6. Floss while surfing the web.

If these hints result in flossing more than once in a day, your bonus will be a dazzling smile in 2010!

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