Good Dental Health May Be Associated With Lower Dementia Risk

Elderly people who brush their teeth at least once a day may be at a lower risk of developing dementia, according to a study published online August 2 in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Researchers at the University of California in Irvine and Los Angeles conducted a study and followed up more than 5,000 residents of a retirement community from 1992 to 2010.   Participants’ ages ranged from 52 to 105 years at the start of the study, and their average age was 81 years.

At the beginning of the study, none of the participants had dementia, the authors wrote.   Eighteen years later, they used interviews, medical records and death certificates to determine that 1,145 participants had been diagnosed with dementia.

Of the 78 women who reported that they brushed their teeth less than once a day in 1992, 21 had dementia in 2010, or about one per 3.7 women, the authors wrote.  Among women who brushed at least once per day, about one in every 4.5 had developed dementia.  This translates to a 65% greater chance of developing dementia among those who reported brushing less than once a day, the authors wrote.

According to the researchers, the results for men were less pronounced.  Those who reported brushing less than once per day were only 22% more likely to have dementia in 2010 than were  men who reported brushing at least once a day.  This small effect could have been due to chance, the researchers pointed out.

For information about other dental topics visit www.DrTav.com

How to Prevent Dental Problems Early

If you are tempted to skip dental appointments because you don’t feel pain and can’t see anything wrong, think again.  What you can’t see or feel can cause the most trouble!  These dental problems can be treated, and often reversed, if spotted early.

Here’s What We Can See That You Can’t

• A dental examination can detect deterioration of fillings, crowns, and restorations.
• We may spot root cavities (decay on the roots of your teeth) which are exposed by receding gums.
• Close inspection can reveal periodontal pockets caused by gum disease, and we may even identify the early warning signs of oral cancer.
• We may find new decay under the gumline or hidden under existing fillings – two places you just can’t see!
• Your teeth may have hairline fractures or signs of enamel erosion.
• We can diagnose an impacted wisdom tooth that is ready to make its presence known … although you may not feel it yet.
• We can see if the position of an impacted wisdom tooth can threaten the healthy tooth in front of it.
• The onset of gum disease, called gingivitis in its early phase, often goes undetected by patients.  We can check for any tell-tale signs so that you can take action to prevent its progression toward periodontitis (which is the phase where bone loss begins and can ultimately result in tooth loss).

For information about other dental topics visit www.TavorminaDentistry.com

Take Years Off! Rejuvenate Your Smile

Make no mistake – crowns do rejuvenate smiles.  Although the primary purpose of a dental crown is to protect and strengthen teeth, you’ll love your improved great looks, too!

Crowns are an attractive option for teeth that have been severely damaged or weakened by trauma, root canal treatment, or too much filling.  They can also support bridges that fill gaps and be attached to dental implants to rebuild and enhance your smile.

Crowns have come such a long way from all-metal originals, through porcelain fused to metal, and finally to all-ceramic or porcelain.  Today, replacing outdated crowns is a surefire way to take years off your appearance.

There are benefits to all three crown types.  The benefits of all-metal crowns which are usually made of gold, are crowns that are strong and long-lasting and will not wear down opposing teeth.  They can also be made of less expensive metals or a mix of gold and alloy.

In porcelain fused to metal crowns, porcelain creates a natural look that all-metal crowns of course cannot.  Although the metal limits translucency, it adds strength, which is particularly useful and important at the back of the mouth.  In the front of the mouth the issue of translucency can be handled with the artistry of a talented ceramist.  Such artistry in porcelain results in the illusion of translucency.

The benefits of all-ceramic or all-porcelain crowns is that translucent porcelain with opalescence looks the closest to natural enamel, and there are no tell-tale dark metal margins at the gumline as sometimes occurs with porcelain fused to metal.  These crowns are strong, long-lasting, and youthful looking.

For information about other dental topics visit www.TavorminaDentistry.com

Chew Gum To Prevent Heart Disease

People with gum disease are two to three times more likely to have a heart attack than those without it.  Here’s why – plaque, the sticky bacteria laden film that accumulates on teeth can damage gums and create bone loss.  The lost bone under the gums creates small pockets -spaces between the gum and the tooth where the bone used to be.  These pockets harbor bacteria and the deeper the pocket, the more the bacteria breed and destroy.  This bacteria then enters the bloodstream and causes chronic inflammation that increases the risk for clots and other heart attack risk factors.

When you chew sugarless gum that contains xylitol, a natural sweetener that suppresses mouth bacteria, you are helping to lessen this dangerous chronic inflammation.  Also, be sure to floss every day.  A study in The New England Journal of Medicine found that people who take care of their gums with regular flossing and brushing and regular visits to their dentists have improved function of the arteries.  Their arteries expand and contract more normally.

So when you feel like having something sweet, reach for your xylitol sweetened gum and protect your teeth and your heart at the same time!

For information about other dental topics visit DrTav.com

Options For Denture Sufferers

Sometimes when you are having a difficult time functioning with your dentures, the simplest thing to do is to make a new set of dentures.  If you have a palate that gives you good suction for the upper denture, in most cases a new denture will be a welcome improvement. 

In fewer cases, with lower dentures, we find that making a new lower denture gives you any improvement. If you are already having a hard time chewing and speaking because your denture always moves around, usually, making a new denture under these circumstances just gives you a new denture that moves around.

So what do you do when you’re faced with dentures that you can’t function with, that look and/or feel horrible, and that cause you embarrassment eating out and in other social settings?  There are several approaches using dental implants.  Dental implants are manmade replacements for missing tooth roots and they serve as anchors for attaching dental crowns, dental bridges, and dentures. 

If you prefer having teeth that don’t come out and function most like your natural teeth, you will want to place enough implants to support fixed dental bridges made with crowns.  If you are used to having something removable for replacing your missing teeth, you can put in fewer dental implants to serve as anchors for removable dentures.  These dentures will be totally secure and serve as a stable platform to chew with ease, comfort, and efficiency.  Replacing missing teeth with implants and dental crowns is more of an investment than placing fewer dental implants and functioning with a removable denture that snaps onto the implants.

Depending on your bone structure and the strength of your bite, you may be a candidate for mini dental implants.  The advantage to mini dental implants, if you should be a candidate for them, is that the time of treatment from beginning to end result is much faster than regular dental implants, and the investment is less than for other options available.  For long term success, dental mini implants are not for everyone.  They were originally designed to serve as temporaries for patients having dental implant procedures who wanted teeth that didn’t move while they were waiting for their dental implants to become part of the jaw.  More about dental implants in the future.

Are You Struggling With Your Dentures?

If you’re struggling with your dentures you are not alone.  Many people can adapt and function well with dentures when they have enough bone remaining under the gums.  However, after teeth are lost, the natural process in the body is to resorb, or dissolve, bone.

After teeth are extracted nature reacts like this.  The tooth roots in the bone are no longer there and when they are gone, the body sees no reason to keep that dental bone there, and so, it resorbs it.

When enough bone is resorbed (this happens over time), this means struggles for the denture wearer.  Usually, the longer you have been missing teeth, the less bone there is to support your dentures.

If you wear a maxillary, or upper denture, you probably have managed to function fairly well with your dentures because of suction.  Upper dentures can have very good suction.  It’s like taking two panes of glass and putting water between them- it’s difficult to separate the two pieces.  If enough dental bone is lost the palate flattens, and the flatter the arch of the palate, the less suction there is.  Even with suction, you can struggle and suffer embarrassmemt because if you cough or sneeze or even laugh too hard, the suction seal is broken and your dentures can fall down or out of your mouth.  If you’re lucky, you can catch them with your tongue and push them back up, hopefully before anyone notices!

If you wear a mandibular, or lower denture, you are the exception if you function well with it.  Think about it.  When the teeth are missing there are only muscles surrounding the dental arch.  The lips and cheeks are moving your denture on one side and the tongue is moving your denture on the other side.  There is no stable surface with which you can chew and no advantage of suction- that’s not physically possible.

Let’s explore your options in the next blog. 

For information about other dental topics visit www.tavorminadentistry.com

Protect Teeth From Cavities

If you want to protect your teeth from getting cavities, be careful how you eat any sweets.  Don’t eat one piece of candy or sweets now, and then another piece an hour later and so on.  Why do we say this?

After eating just one piece of candy, your mouth becomes acidic and it can take up to an hour for the mouth’s pH balance to return to normal.  The longer the teeth are exposed to acid, the greater the chance of cavities.  As a matter of fact, the acidity can be caused by any food having sugar in it.  There are foods we consider to be healthy that have sugar in them, like bread, salad dressing, even some vegetables, and any sugar in your mouth starts this acid response.

If you choose to eat sweets, limit your treats to one after-meal serving – the increased production of saliva during and after a meal helps to wash away acidity.  Also, try to brush your teeth or at least rinse your mouth with water after eating sweets.  We teach our patients a technique called “swish and swallow.”  Just swish water in your mouth to dislodge food particles and to reduce acid levels and then swallow.

For information about other dental topics visit DrTav.com