Having a balanced diet has so many benefits, but one of the most underrated benefits it provides is your oral health. That’s right – your mouth can greatly benefit from eating those leafy greens and whole grains in ways you’d least expect, and understanding what you put in your body matters because when diets are left unmanaged, your mouth suffers a lot long-term. Even when it is more convenient and financially cheaper to eat processed foods and sugary drinks, it hurts your entire body and mouth. It creates a direct impact on your ability to have a longer, healthier life. Here’s what we know about how balanced diets help maintain your oral health and why processed foods harm it instead.
Your mouth is often the window to your health – it can provide various clues to how your body’s been processing nutrients, what you’ve been eating regularly, and what diseases you’ll most likely be more vulnerable to as you get older. Our bodies contain multiple defenses against chronic diseases and harmful bacteria because our bodies are a microcosm of healthy bacteria and hard-working cells ready to tackle anything that may harm our health. When it comes to preventing disease, our mouths are the gateway and are often the entry point for harmful bacteria strains such as the Streptococcus mutans to develop along with the teeth and gums.
Strains like the Streptococcus mutans often harm the respiratory system, the digestive system, and the inflammatory system, creating long-term problems that increase the risk of developing inflammatory diseases such as gum disease, diabetes, and allergies. As bacteria collects in the mouth, poor oral hygiene can often foster these harmful strains to grow, creating plaque and tartar along with the teeth’ enamel and the gum line, leading to heavy inflammation and decay. This exposure to harmful bacteria can lead those strains to become exposed to our bloodstream and potentially weaken our immune system as a result.
Many of the oral diseases people face often result from large intakes of carbohydrates and sugars. Carbohydrates can also be harmful if they’re heavily processed and are overconsumed. Both carbohydrates and sugars contain glucose, which is too much quantity can cause our bodies to store that energy into fat deposits, which predispose us to chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Studies from StatPearls showcase the effects of diet on our oral health and the nutrients we digest from our foods. According to the study, healthy foods increase saliva production and maintain the calcium deposits within our bones, which ultimately reduce the risk of developing dental diseases.
Overall to achieve better oral health, we suggest following these guidelines to achieve a more balanced approach to foods:
By reducing processed foods and maintaining good oral hygiene, you can give your body the foods it needs to prevent chronic disease and have a healthier smile.
Plastic has ultimately dominated the environment, as the world’s manufacturing companies have taken this non-biodegradable material and infiltrated every industry, including the dental industry. Plastic can often be found in our toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, and floss containers due to its low price and easy-to-mold properties, making it one of the most highly used commodities in dentistry. However, if you care about the effects people have on the environment, you are most likely aware that plastic is a huge problem filling up our landfills and polluting our oceans. One of the biggest questions people ask when it comes to sustainability is what they can do to change their impact on the environment. As dentists, we can offer our perspective on the issue and provide ways to reduce that impact while brushing our teeth.
Even while more and more people are becoming more aware of the choices they make, it’s always a good thing to continue exploring new ways of creating sustainability throughout every aspect of your life, including dental care. Maintaining our oral health can come with some challenges, especially for those who struggle to maintain an eco-friendly consciousness from the luxuries of convenience. Still, to us, the minor things matter the most. Here are some of our top tips for keeping your actions sustainable while brushing your teeth:
Use Less Water: This is the most crucial habit you can take part in causing. Eliminating wastewater can allow people to have more access to fresh water and help natural ecosystems sustain their environment. Each person wastes over four gallons of water along while brushing and flossing. Shutting off the water after wetting your toothbrush and only using the water to rinse will reduce water waste significantly.
Toothpaste Tablets: Some companies have taken the initiative to become more sustainable by developing toothpaste tablets to replace tubes. These tablets help reduce plastic waste while also dispensing toothpaste in just the right quantities to allow you to brush your teeth.
Bamboo Toothbrushes: Another product that can be purchased to reduce plastic waste is to choose bamboo toothbrushes. These toothbrushes are fully biodegradable and often come from sustainable sources. The bristles are also BPA-free, leading to less impact on our overall health.
Be Conscientious: Overall, choosing the best products and using less water will make long strides towards sustainability, but one of the essential jobs you can do to improve your sustainability is to continue researching the effects that your choices make on the environment, including the companies you purchase from and how they innovate an Eco-friendly future.
Researchers have been looking into creating more sustainable oral health interventions and encouraging the industry’s growth towards more environmentally friendly models of oral health care for patients. However, for the average person, making long-lasting efforts through gradual changes is one of the best ways you can ultimately improve your oral health and help the environment. Contact your primary dentist to learn more about your impact and schedule an appointment today to keep your teeth healthy.
For coffee enthusiasts, some fantastic news has surfaced. Coffee has always been seen as a proponent for cavity development, and with good reason. Often, because of the acidity and tannins present in coffee, coffee has always been encouraged to be limited throughout the day to protect the tooth’s enamel. However, recent studies have shown that there are also some positive benefits to your teeth when drinking coffee. So, coffee lovers rejoice! Let’s learn about what so great about coffee!
Coffee as a standalone drink has always been known to harm your teeth, not just from the tannins’ acidity but from the heavy amounts of sugar and creamer added to coffee to make it sweeter and easier to drink. Often, when dentists advise against drinking coffee constantly, they’re referring to those added sugars, creams, and tannins that cause discoloration, which weakens the enamel and makes it more prone to cavities. However, new research has occurred to and has given many dentists a wake-up call to this caffeinated drink’s benefits.
Studies from the Journal of Conservative Dentistry observed the effects of roasted coffee on the teeth and have found that due to the extensive tannins present, those tannins also have antibacterial properties that can protect your teeth from certain bacteria. It’s particularly strong against the Streptococcus mutans bacteria strain most commonly found in the collections of bacteria that cause cavities. This means that drinking coffee as a standalone drink (with no sugar or creamer added) can reduce the amount of bacteria within your mouth, making it a formidable opponent against tooth decay.
The study also observed the different types of coffee and observed the degrees at which those antibacterial agents work best. Through observing different varieties of coffee, they found that:
Hence, coffee not only gives an excellent boost to your day but also protects your teeth from cavity development when consumed as a standalone drink. So, what makes coffee so particularly important? Trigonelline is the active substance that contains all those antibacterial properties. Strangely enough, it is also responsible for the flavor and aroma found in coffee.
Even while these positive benefits give relief to coffee lovers, too much coffee can still harm your teeth if you drink too much coffee or add way too much sugar and creamer. If you wish to prevent your oral health from developing cavities, try drinking coffee without sugar and creamer. If you refuse to give up the sweetness from your creamers and sugars, limit your coffee consumption to once a day, and make sure to brush and floss your teeth twice a day to prevent cavities from developing.
Alzheimer’s disease and oral diseases may appear as though they’re linked. Still, when considering the degenerating factors present with both, many researchers have found that Alzheimer’s can heavily contribute to the decline of good oral health. Alzheimer’s disease is often the sixth leading cause of death for seniors due to the traumatic effects it can have on memory, cognitive function, and overall behavior. This disease heavily impacts the quality of life for those 65 and older, and it significantly affects those with previous chronic conditions. As memory becomes harder to maintain, so does good oral health. While preventative measures can be taken on both ends to ensure good health, lacking oral hygiene can heavily influence our bodies, making out symptoms worse that eventually lead to a slow, gradual decline.
Alzheimer’s disease often perpetuates itself through a combination of genetics, poor lifestyle choices, and the effects of aging. Researchers from the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health looked into the link between Alzheimer’s disease and poor oral health. Researchers observed how cognitive function loss and poor memory could influence oral health habits through this clinical study. This study found that the impacts of this neurodegenerative condition can impact the immune system’s ability to protect against diseases, and with poor memory comes a higher risk of developing oral diseases such as gum disease and cavities. With the onset of these diseases comes a cyclical effect on how the immune system responds to the bacteria and causes further detriments to seniors maintaining their oral health and physical health overall.
When combined, these two factors play a heavy role in the health conditions that seniors develop as they get older. Because researchers suggest this link, it’s essential that proper dental examinations and reinforced dental habits can help seniors gain better health and quality of life. But how can dentists provide for patients with Alzheimer’s disease? The best dentists work towards finding the most affordable solutions to accommodate the patient’s needs through multiple factors.
Alzheimer’s disease comes with some inherent challenges that cannot be avoided or ignored while providing health care. For dentists, providing patients and their families the assurance and comfort they need during their services is just one aspect of how dentists work towards providing dental services throughout their communities. These various accommodations can be made to help seniors have a more enjoyable experience:
Alzheimer’s patients should always receive the dental healthcare services they need and help reduce the risks of diseases later on in life, as it is one of the best ways that dentists can help patients achieve better oral care and quality of life.
For many families, cavity prevention can be one of the most proactive choices for their children’s health. Often, sugary foods are the main culprit of cavity development. Luckily, thanks to parents and healthcare professionals’ care and diligence, the percentage of children’s cavities across the United States has been decreasing! Today, only 16% of children between ages 5 and 19 have untreated cavities, according to the CDC. This statistic presents fantastic news for many families and dentists concerned about cavity development within families. However, even while that percentage decreases, our quality of care aims to look at all factors that measure cavities’ development. Cavity development can sometimes be a prevalent problem among families, even when good oral habits are encouraged at home. For some, it isn’t the family, but rather the home, that could be the problem.
Black mold is an unusual culprit, but it’s one that continues to be looked into as many homes across the U.S. are affected by this toxic spore. The consensus surrounding cavities is that cavities are caused by bacteria’s development along with the tooth’s enamel. Because bacteria love moist, warm environments and sugary diets often contribute to bacterial growth; it causes the enamel to wear down and decay to form. But, if you’ve been finding that your children have been keeping up with their oral hygiene, then black mold may also be a potential cause.
To summarize, here are some facts that we know about black mold, according to FEMA:
Even while the association between black mold and cavity development needs more research to reaffirm this occurrence, black mold can still be dangerous to your overall health, not just your oral health. We highly recommend following the FEMA guidelines on ridding your home of mold and scheduling an appointment with your dentist. Our clinic can help assess many of your family’s oral health problems and treat them effectively, and help your family recover from the effects of black mold.
A growing body of evidence has linked people’s current oral health to several chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and strokes. Cancer, particularly oral cancers, has to lead to pain and disability for millions of people worldwide. Oral health continues to be an essential part of staying healthy. Still, with the onset of cavities, tooth loss, and periodontal disease affecting people each day, dentists, medical professionals, and researchers all continue to find better solutions that give access to people in need of health services. Because our mouth helps indicate our general health, exploring the connections between oral health and cancers remains an essential part of keeping people healthy and safe.
For people, periodontal diseases remain one of the most prevalent dental problems people face today, coming on par with cavities and tooth loss. Periodontal disease refers to the gums’ infections. It precedes gingivitis and the early stages of gum disease as a more serious and even life-threatening disease towards people with poor immune systems. Periodontal disease can occur from many factors, such as poor oral hygiene, smoking, hormones, and other factors, but some studies have shown that those who had or previously had periodontal disease have a higher risk of developing oral cancer.
According to studies from the Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology, researchers observed how bacteria often appear within the gum’s pockets, containing viruses such as the Epstein Barr virus, the human papillomavirus, and the cytomegalovirus, which are suspected agents that contribute to oral cancer in later life. Researchers also noticed how chronic inflammation, commonly associated with periodontal disease, is often correlated to the enzymes and cytokines that occur during cancer development. Carcinogenesis, or the initiation of cancer formation, could be a risk factor that occurs from poor oral health. Continuing further research within this potential link may help develop future treatments.
Lowering your risk for oral cancer is the best way to prevent it from occurring, and as dentists, we highly encourage routine care for your teeth and gums. Some of our suggestions that you can do at any point include:
Having healthy teeth long term takes dedication and commitment to having good oral health, and by following these steps above, you can greatly reduce your risks and stay healthy long term.
One question that dentists are frequently called on to answer is whether there’s a way to put an end to cavity concerns once and for all. Maintaining a dental hygiene routine that includes twice a day brushing, flossing, and using mouthwash is certainly an effective deterrent, but stop keeping up with it, and tooth decay can take hold. The goal of dental technology is to completely eliminate tooth decay and other oral health concerns for good. While we aren’t quite there yet, a discovery by a research team headed by Dr. Russel Pesavento may be our first step to ending cavities forever.
Only 8% of all American Adults Make It To Age 64 From Childhood Without a Cavity
To discuss how this new discovery can eliminate cavities, we first have to talk about the way they form, to begin with. Cavities are the result of eroded enamel typically caused by the effects of acid produced by a specific type of bacteria that lives in our oral cavity. Brushing helps to fight these bacteria and eliminate the biofilm, plaque, that they form on our teeth. Failure to brush allows the plaque to accumulate and acid to damage our teeth. Cavity formation occurs in a series of steps, outlined below:
All of these stages are usually the result of the same process, uninhibited plaque, and tartar growth. If not properly addressed, this can result in teeth becoming severely decayed, requiring extraction to correct. It can also be the cause of bone decay in the jaw, and in some rare cases, the infection can spread to the bloodstream resulting in death.
700 species of bacteria, both harmful and helpful, make up the complex ecosystem in our mouth
The logical conclusion to eliminating tooth decay would be the eradication of the responsible bacteria. Unfortunately, this isn’t as simple as just doing a clean sweep of all bacteria in the mouth. All currently available methods of fighting bacteria on this level would eliminate both the healthy and unhealthy bacteria in our mouths, causing more harm than good.
Research performed by Dr. Russel Pesavento and his team has discovered a special substance by the name of ‘cerium oxide nanoparticle solution’ that has demonstrated a unique ability. Studies reveal that this substance is capable of reducing the growth of the bacteria responsible for tooth decay by as much as 40% without also attacking the healthy bacteria. While this isn’t the complete resolution that dental researchers are striving for, it’s a vital step and proof that such a goal is, in fact, achievable. That’s something we can all excitedly look forward to.
Every day we have opportunities to reduce our impact on the environment. From prominent blue recycling bins to products with reduced packaging that’s biodegradable, we’re all trying to make good choices. When it comes to our dental care routine, we often encounter a problem keeping things sustainable. Floss and toothbrushes alike are packaged in plastic, and it’s difficult to find a brand of mouthwash that doesn’t come in a big plastic bottle. With all these non-biodegradable options in front of us, how can we make responsible choices?
3 pounds of hidden waste are created in the production and elimination of each plastic toothbrush
The amount of waste produced just following the recommended ADA (American Dental Association) guidelines for caring for our teeth is simply staggering. While essential to ensuring we have healthy teeth and avoid gum disease, every step just seems to add to the negative impact our oral hygiene will have on the environment. The plastic toothbrush, toothpaste container, floss container, the floss itself, and the bottle our mouthwash comes in all add to the waste. This is without considering the amount of water we use while brushing! Consider the following impacts made on the environment by using traditional products and practices:
Along with the gallons of water wasted, traditional dental hygiene products result in mountains of waste plastic that will take decades, or even centuries, to decay. Clearly, dental care waste is a serious problem.
It takes 80 years for Nylon Floss To Decay Outside Of A Landfill
Research indicates that it might be possible to get better results by brushing your teeth using your finger, tongue, and a little bit of water to clean your teeth and brush after every meal. For those seeking more traditional approaches, environmentally friendly options are available for traditional dental products. Bamboo brushes are a great option that degrades quickly, and floss that’s made from mulberry floss is available in refillable containers. You can reduce your waste further by turning off the water while you brush and using mouthwash in tablet form to care for your teeth.
Biodegradable products don’t have to be less effective, and there are options that have been authorized by the ADA. Look for their seal and speak with your practitioner about your choices for environmentally friendly dental care options so you can be certain that they’re safe and effective.
While teeth that protrude to an unusual degree can be embarrassing for those who have them, there are other concerns related to them that aren’t commonly discussed. Studies have shown that those who have protruding teeth are at greater risk of experiencing dental injuries. Correcting protruding teeth is usually easy to do at the hands of a skilled dentist or orthodontic specialist. The sad truth is that many children don’t receive the orthodontic treatment they need unless they already have their adult teeth. This leaves those with protruding teeth open to severe dental injury and potential complications during the arrival of their adult teeth.
A study was conducted that involved observation of 50,000 children under the age of 10 to determine the effects of protruding teeth on dental injury in children. Those who were under the age of six demonstrated a risk of dental trauma triple that of those with teeth that stuck out less than 3mm. While this data did not include adults, it stands to reason that adults with protruding teeth would exhibit a similar degree of risk of dental injury. Even in young children, it’s important to correct this condition through the use of orthodontic care, even though they still haven’t had their adult teeth arrive. A healthy set of primary teeth will help adult teeth come in straight, strong, and in the right places.
While it’s possible for protruding teeth to be a natural occurrence caused by imperfections in the eruption of the teeth, there is usually an external cause. The most common cause of protruding teeth is pressure applied to the teeth, usually through using a pacifier or sucking a thumb as a child. As the primary teeth come in, they’re pushed out of alignment by this habit, resulting in protruding teeth. Dental trauma can be the cause of protruding teeth, depending on the nature of the damage.
The specific details of correcting protruding teeth depend on the severity of your case and certain other elements of your oral health. The most common treatments include braces, with traditional braces generally being used in children due to the inability for them to be removed or forgotten. For adults, Invisalign clear aligners may be an option and can produce meaningful results that will protect the teeth from injury and produce a beautifully aligned smile.
Do you or a member of your family currently have protruding teeth, and you’re wondering what options are available to correct them? Dr. Maureen Karl helps patients of all ages get corrective treatment for these and other dental conditions. St. Clair Dental operates out of Granbury, TX, and is dedicated to providing affordable and effective dental treatment options for the surrounding community. Ready to take steps to properly align your smile and protect your teeth from damage? Schedule your visit to our offices today and protect your smile for today, tomorrow, and the lifetime to come.
The concept of going to the dentist has been an unappealing prospect in the public mind for generations. There was something about being placed under a blinding light and having an assortment of tools that share characteristics with medieval torture devices set people on edge. In spite of these feelings, dental health has always been an important concern for a full and healthy life. Thankfully ongoing advances made in dental technology have made it possible to improve dental care by reducing discomfort, decreasing treatment time, and increasing the reliability of results.
Advances in dental technology come in many forms, from new ways of caring for your dental hygiene at home to completely revolutionizing how we restore smiles. We’ve learned new truths about oral health that have allowed us to provide better information on caring for it and preventing concerns like periodontal disease. Let’s explore some of these changes and how they’ve improved dental care options.
These represent a small selection of the most prominent advances in dental technology that have led to improved dental care for everyone. Dr. Maureen Karl at St. Clair Dental makes a point of staying abreast of the latest information and technologies so they can continue to provide the highest level of care for patients in Granbury, TX. Call today to schedule an appointment!
