Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
Straight Teeth – A Precious Gift
Straight teeth can be easily attained in our modern world with orthodontics. Orthodontists are specialized dentists who have the ability to move teeth in the jaws and even to realign the bones involved with chewing. The results of their labors are readily evident in beautiful smiles with straight teeth. Big smiles build self-esteem.
Beautiful smiles and straight teeth may be the end result but, during the process of teeth movement, cleaning the teeth is more of a challenge.
Healthy teeth and gums are important for everyone and good brushing and flossing with well-defined patterns of cleaning can be the difference between disease and health. Frequently, good brushers and flossers are best trained while in braces. The brackets, bands, wires, rubber bands, and general hardware make it more difficult to reach and clean all the nooks and crannies. If a patient is able to clean teeth well, while in braces, he/she will probably have developed the proper oral care to do a good job for life.
However, because of the areas created by this orthodontic hardware, which are more difficult to reach with brushes and floss, such effort becomes more even critical. Plaque is bacteria with all the sticky toxins and waste products it produces while residing on one’s teeth and gums. In orthodontic treatment, reaching all the hidden areas while cleaning becomes a seemingly never-ending challenge. Acids, a waste product that may be left on enamel for longer than 24 hours, begin to etch or demineralize (decalcify) teeth producing, if left unchecked, chalky surfaces or decay on teeth.
Proper brushing and flossing cannot be replaced, but…fluoride can be topically applied to the surface of teeth to recalcify or remineralize tooth enamel. Fluoride treatments, with various formulas, can be prescribed by your dentist or orthodontist to make your teeth “super teeth” and drastically more resistant to tooth decay. Again, just as with brushing and flossing – Repetition is the mother of skill – the more you brush and floss, the more proficient you become. Likewise, the more you apply fluoride to the surfaces of your teeth, the more skilled (if enamel can have skill) your teeth become at resisting decay. Voila! – super teeth!
The results of people who have worn braces without proper oral care is readily evident on teeth with chalky or decayed areas at the gum line (below brackets holding orthodontic wires) once braces are removed.
Dentists can, at the non-brushers’ expense, restore these teeth, but isn’t diligent care while in braces a good investment?
Keep brushing and flossing,
Dr. James G. Hood
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Dental Care Associates of Spokane Valley, P.S.
Family and Cosmetic Dentistry Welcomes Patients
from Age 2 to 102!
James G. Hood, D.D.S., M.A.
507 North Sullivan Road, Suite A-1
Spokane Valley, WA 99037-8576 USA
Phone: (509) 928-9100 | Fax: (509) 928-0414
Email: drhood@drhood.com
Please join us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drjameshood
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Autoimmune Diseases and Oral Disease
Autoimmune diseases are the result of the body responding in an inappropriate manner to normal tissues and/or substances present in the body, causing prolonged inflammation followed by tissue destruction. The body is fooled and can’t recognize the difference between healthy tissue and disease. The body, therefore, mounts an immune response (directs antibodies against its own tissues) against itself, as if allergic to itself. The cause of this dysfunctional behavior is unknown, it may be caused by a drug or toxin or bacterial or viral infection or environmental exposure to foreign substances. The result of the body’s inability to recognize the difference between normal tissue and disease results in destruction. As we age, this alone causes our immune system to decline in effectiveness. Autoimmune diseases affect over 24 million Americans and are one of our society’s leading causes of death and disability. Autoimmune diseases are ranked as the number one cause of heart disease, cancer, and all diseases.
A couple of the most common autoimmune diseases are diabetes (Type 1), rheumatoid arthritis, and allergies. Many autoimmune diseases also may have a genetic or traumatic component.
Here is a short additional list of autoimmune diseases and more are being discovered all the time. All of these diseases should have the autoimmune prefix:
| Achalasia | Pancreatitis |
| Addison’s disease | Parkinson’s disease |
| Behcet’s disease | Pemphigus/pemphigoid |
| Celiac disease | Pernicious anemia |
| Crohn’s disease | Polymyositis |
| Chronic Fatigue Syndrome | Reactive arthritis |
| Dermatomyositis | Rheumatic fever |
| Eosinophilic esophagitis | Sarcoidosis |
| Fibromyalgia | Scleroderma |
| Graves disease | Sjögren’s syndrome |
| Guillain–Barre syndrome | Systemic lupus erythematosis |
| Hashimoto’s thyroiditis | Ulcerative colitis |
| Hepatitis | Uveitis |
| IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) | Vitiligo |
| Menier’s disease | Wegener’s granulomatosis |
| Multiple Sclerosis | Wilson’s disease |
| Myasthenia gravis |
Autoimmune Disease Causes: The immune system is also thought to be suppressed by multiple factors, including abuse of:
- alcohol
- caffeine
- tobacco
- sugar (this cannot be over-emphasized)
- drugs
- food (poor diet or contaminated with herbicides, hormones, etc.)
- sleep (lack of)
As well as exposure to environmental pollution, including:
- automobile exhaust
- chemical fertilizers
- cigarette smoke
- heavy metal
- herbicides
- industrial waste
- pesticides
- stress
So, what has autoimmune diseases and oral disease (periodontal disease and tooth decay) have in common? Well, much more than one might think: Plaque and calculus left on teeth cause inflammation, initially gingivitis, followed often by periodontal disease (which we used to refer to as periodontitis). Any time you see –itis on the end of a word, it is screaming inflammation. Remember: it is always means it is inflammation. Chronic inflammation causes destruction of tissue. Periodontal disease causes destruction of all periodontal tissues, gum, bone, and periodontal ligament, causing loss of teeth. Tooth decay causes loss of tooth structure. Since periodontal tissues are all tissues supporting teeth in the mouth, without them – no teeth.
How periodontal disease (inflammation of all periodontal tissues) leads to loss at of oral tissues, including teeth, is a simple model demonstration for what happens to a body with autoimmune diseases.
Anything that a patient can do to minimize or eliminate inflammation will lessen the effects of the disease. A few of the things a patient can do to lessen the effects of many of these diseases are to avoid abuse of/or exposure to the above mentioned factors. Also, as always, eat lots of antioxidants found in fresh fruit and vegetables. Include vitamin C, vitamin E, green tea extract, beta-carotene, grape seed-skin extract, coenzyme Q-10 (coQ10) and selenium in your diet.
Also, talk to your dental and medical professionals on current treatments. Find support groups, ask others with your particular autoimmune disease how they cope.
Good luck…keep brushing and flossing,
Dr. James G. Hood
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Dental Care Associates of Spokane Valley, P.S.
Family and Cosmetic Dentistry Welcomes Patients
from Age 2 to 102!
James G. Hood, D.D.S., M.A.
507 North Sullivan Road, Suite A-1
Spokane Valley, WA 99037-8576 USA
Phone: (509) 928-9100 | Fax: (509) 928-0414
Email: drhood@drhood.com
Websites: www.drhood.com
www.dentalcareassociatesofspokanevalley.com
Blogs: www.drjamesghoodblog.com
www.dentalhealthandnutritionblog.com
www.dentalcareassociatesofspokanevalleyblog.com
www.jamesandkarenhoodfoundationblog.org
www.sjogrensblog.org
Online Store: www.dentalhealthandnutritionstore.com
Dry Mouth? Sjogrens Disesase?
Sjögren’s syndrome is a common autoimmune disorder affecting nearly four million people in the U.S. If you have Sjögren’s syndrome, you may have dry mouth symptoms. Dry mouth (xerostomia) can have multiple sources, for example:
- Lifestyle (smoking, chewing tobacco, mouth breathing)
- Dehydration
- Chemotherapy
- Nerve damage (to head and neck)
- Medications used as, or to treat:
| Acne | Muscle relaxers |
| Allergies | Nausea |
| Anxiety | Obesity |
| Asthma | Pain |
| Colds | Parkinson’s disease |
| Depression | Psychotic disorders |
| Diarrhea | Sedatives |
| Epilepsy | Urinary incontinence |
| Hypertension |
And certain diseases such as:
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Diabetes
- HIV/AIDS
- Hypertension
- Mumps
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Sjögren’s – a disease which I also am affected with
- Stroke
SJÖGREN’S DISEASE
Sjögren’s disease is an autoimmune disease that attacks the exocrine glands of the human body. The most common first symptom of the disease is DRY MOUTH and dry eyes. Because of the gradual onset of the disease, most patients are affected by the disease for five to seven years before a diagnosis of Sjögren’s disease is made.
Your dentist is often the medical professional to first recognize the symptoms of this chronic disease. Your dentist is also a most significant professional to have to support you if you are diagnosed with Sjögren’s or any of the above listed maladies, which result in DRY MOUTH.
People with dry mouth should carry water with them where ever they go, have it readily available at work, in the car, and next to their bed. The simplest solutions to a problem often offer the most immediate benefit.
Dry mouth leaves teeth without the protective enzymes found in saliva, making teeth much more prone to rampant decay. We, as dentists, can fluoridate teeth in various ways, to remineralize teeth and make them more resistant to tooth decay.
Anyone with Sjögren’s disease needs a dentist as part of their support group, to advise and treat the results of this disease. Anyone with dry mouth, for any reason, would benefit with a support dentist.
Always here for your support,
Dr. James G. Hood
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Dental Care Associates of Spokane Valley, P.S.
Family and Cosmetic Dentistry Welcomes Patients
from Age 2 to 102!
James G. Hood, D.D.S., M.A.
507 North Sullivan Road, Suite A-1
Spokane Valley, WA 99037-8576 USA
Phone: (509) 928-9100 | Fax: (509) 928-0414
Email: drhood@drhood.com
Websites: www.drhood.com
www.dentalcareassociatesofspokanevalley.com
Blogs: www.drjamesghoodblog.com
www.dentalhealthandnutritionblog.com
www.dentalcareassociatesofspokanevalleyblog.com
www.jamesandkarenhoodfoundationblog.org
www.sjogrensblog.org
Online Store: www.dentalhealthandnutritionstore.com
Criss-Cross Let’s Floss
Most people would do well to floss more frequently. Brushing should be done twice daily as a minimum. Flossing however, if done well, is sufficient once daily and preferably done before bed or whenever your clean teeth will go the longest before being exposed to food or drink. I would bet that a simple technique will help the average flosser feel better about flossing, I’ll call if Criss-Cross let’s floss.
Before I describe this technique let me review a few flossing basics:
- The best floss is the one you use most frequently.
- It is estimated that 30-40% of the surfaces of teeth are between teeth where only flossing not brushing can reach.
- The closer you hold your hands together when flossing the tighter the floss, and the better the floss removes plaque (bacteria and the waste products it produces).
- The bigger the spaces between teeth the thicker the floss which should be used (embroidery thread (as floss), can be specifically gauged, for individuals with periodontal disease).
- Never floss haphazardly. As with brushing develop a pattern to insure that all tooth surfaces are thoroughly flossed daily.
- Toothpaste when smeared on teeth before flossing can add an abrasive that supplements the action of the floss as well as increasing the exposure of fluoride on the tooth surfaces between teeth.
A few areas of the mouth are difficult to clean and more prone to calculus build-up. To explain why let me first give a marine biology analogy.
Having taught marine biology for two years before attending dental school I had first-hand experience exploring coral reefs. Coral are tiny multi-cellular marine organisms which live in coastal waters and attach to rocks, shells, even sunken boats. During the life of coral they extract calcium from sea water and incorporate the calcium in to their system which remains when they die. Then all their coral relatives live and die on their back and they also incorporate and deposit calcium. After hundreds, even thousands, of coral generations a coral reef remains. The Great Barrier Reef, a large structure of coral skeletons off the east coast of Australia, can even be seen from the surface of the moon. Wow! But I digress.
In a similar fashion, in the human mouth bacteria live on our teeth, certain salivary glands have more calcium salts dissolved in them. These glands have ducts which empty on the teeth in certain areas. The submandibular salivary gland empties under the tongue (you may have gleeked someone with this gland). Single-celled bacteria on the tongue surface of the lower front teeth incorporate the calcium found in the saliva from these salivary glands much like coral in the ocean. Voila! This is the most common area of the mouth for calculus to form. Calculus forms as generations of bacteria die and leave their skeletons of calcium on the teeth. The parotid glands in each cheek empty next to the outside surface of upper molars. This is the second most common area in the mouth for calculus to build up.
Finally, we arrive at our criss-cross, let’s floss technique. When using floss on the lower front teeth, wrap the floss from the front side of one incisor around the tongue side to the back side of the same tooth. With the floss drawn taut around the tooth now one can shoe-shine back and forth with hands in front of the mouth to polish the tongue side of the tooth. Additionally, when you now criss-cross the floss in front of the tooth you may use the hand with the strip of floss on the top to guide the floss down into the gum. Likewise, the hand with the floss below being shoe-shined back up on the tooth until the tongue side and the front of the tooth is polished. As the flosser gets proficient with this criss-cross technique the tongue can be coordinated to keep the floss from popping off the top of the tooth when shoe-shining up on the tooth.
Now with this criss-cross technique one may not remove reefs of calculus, but once your teeth are professionally cleaned this will keep your teeth clean and slick.
Criss-cross, let’s floss.
Thanks for reading and blogging!
Dr. James G. Hood
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Dental Care Associates of Spokane Valley, P.S.
Family and Cosmetic Dentistry Welcomes Patients
from Age 2 to 102!
James G. Hood, D.D.S., M.A.
507 North Sullivan Road, Suite A-1
Spokane Valley, WA 99037-8576 USA
Phone: (509) 928-9100 | Fax: (509) 928-0414
Email: drhood@drhood.com
Websites: www.drhood.com
www.dentalcareassociatesofspokanevalley.com
Blogs: www.drjamesghoodblog.com
www.dentalhealthandnutritionblog.com
www.dentalcareassociatesofspokanevalleyblog.com
www.jamesandkarenhoodfoundationblog.org
www.sjogrensblog.org
Online Store: www.dentalhealthandnutritionstore.com
Toothbrushes and Toothpaste
Toothbrushes:
Frequently, I am asked what is the best toothbrush and toothpaste. As with many things in life, the answer is not so simple. But there are a few guidelines.
Definitely, I would never recommend any hard-bristled or medium-bristled toothbrush, only soft-bristled toothbrushes for human teeth. Hamster cages and boots can be cleaned with hard or medium bristled toothbrushes, but not teeth. Also, the bristles should be rounded on the end, not sharp or ragged. Gums can be lacerated easily with a sharp bristled toothbrush.
SOFT: Soft nylon will prevent teeth and gums from being scratched. Tooth- brushes with the American Dental Association’s Seal of Acceptance (ADA Seal) should be your only reasonable choice for toothbrushes (and tooth- paste) for that matter.
RIGHT SIZE: The size and shape of the brush should also be user appropriate. Children need smaller brush heads and handles. Your brush should feel comfortable in your hand. Smaller brush heads in adults is usually better. Ask your dentist or hygienist if you have a question about your brush or brushing.
MAINTAIN: Replace your worn or frayed brush at least every 3-4 months. Frayed bristles can damage teeth and gums and harbor bacteria.
ELECTRIC: And, if you need (children and handicapped patients) electric toothbrushes work as well as manual brushes. So…if you’ve followed the above guidelines, the best brush is the one you like to use at least twice daily.
The average person brushes for about 37 seconds. However, to do a proper job it takes two to three minutes to sufficiently remove plaque when brushing. A three minute egg timer is a good reminder for children’s brushing. Aim the bristles at a 45o angle to the long axis of the teeth and with gentle circular motions, brush all exposed surfaces.
DEVELOP A BRUSHING PATTERN: Brush in a pattern that covers all the surfaces of all teeth each time you brush. For example, brush from right to left on the outside of upper teeth, then left to right inside surface of upper teeth, then outside right to left lower teeth and then inside left to right lower teeth and then lower biting surfaces left to right and upper biting surface right to left.
TOOTHPASTE: Tooth paste not only polishes teeth, it also helps remove plaque (bacteria and its waste products) from teeth. Daily removal of plaque from teeth helps keep teeth and gums healthy and breath fresh.
AMERICAN MADE: This is one place where the American Dental Association (ADA) seal is particularly important. Never use toothpaste from China.
WHITENING TOOTHPASTES: Teeth whitening toothpastes don’t really work to whiten teeth. They may rid you mouth of stains. However, they often cause sensitivity.
DESENSITIZING TOOTH PASTES: These toothpastes are valuable in blocking irritants from getting to nerve ending. Potassium nitrate (salt peter) is the most effective desensitizing agent in desensitizing toothpastes (potassium nitrate is also used to cure and maintain red color in corned beef).
FLUORIDE TOOTHPASTE: Fluoride is the most significant chemical element which can be easily added to tooth paste to improve dental health. Fluoride remineralizes and strengthens teeth as well as desensitized teeth. Children, especially through teen years, and senior citizens can benefit from fluoride in toothpastes and other forms of topical fluoride, especially in areas (there are still a few) without the benefit of community water fluoridation.
Keep smiling!
Dr. James G. Hood
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Dental Care Associates of Spokane Valley, P.S.
Family and Cosmetic Dentistry Welcomes Patients
from Age 2 to 102!
James G. Hood, D.D.S., M.A.
507 North Sullivan Road, Suite A-1
Spokane Valley, WA 99037-8576 USA
Phone: (509) 928-9100 | Fax: (509) 928-0414
Email: drhood@drhood.com
Websites: www.drhood.com
www.dentalcareassociatesofspokanevalley.com
Blogs: www.drjamesghoodblog.com
www.dentalhealthandnutritionblog.com
www.dentalcareassociatesofspokanevalleyblog.com
www.jamesandkarenhoodfoundationblog.org
www.sjogrensblog.org
Online Store: www.dentalhealthandnutritionstore.com
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