by Dr. Richard J. Walicki | Jun 24, 2013 | Cavities, Cavity, Dentistry, Prevention, Toothache
No matter how you slice it, tooth problems can be a pain. Among these, cracked teeth stand out for their confusing and erratic nature. A cracked tooth can be painful, annoying, and an exercise in frustration for patients and dentists alike. While there can be many factors that contribute to cracked teeth, the bottom line is that if your tooth is cracked the solution is often involved, potentially expensive — and, despite best efforts, tooth loss is still a very real possibility. Clicking on the picture below will take you to a compilation of questions and answers about cracked teeth. It covers a lot of ground, but if you think you may have a cracked tooth, it is worth reading so that you can know what to expect.
by Dr. Richard J. Walicki | Mar 30, 2013 | Cavities, Dentistry, Prevention, Tooth Decay
There are a number of factors that can contribute to the formation of dental cavities. One fundamental that will apply to most everyone concerns the reduction of dental plaque. If you want fewer cavities, reduce your plaque levels.
Dental plaque can be defined as a complex microbial community, with greater than 10 to the 10th power bacteria per milligram. (That’s really a lot of bacteria.) Just to keep things simple, though, the problem is that these bacteria produce acids on your teeth – and the acids dissolve the enamel, leading to tooth decay.
After only a few years of practice, it became obvious to me that most people have difficulty identifying plaque. Even now, I’ll begin a dental exam or cleaning on a person and start removing large areas of plaque. If I casually ask the patient about their cleaning regimen, often I’m told “I brushed just before I came in here!”
Since that much plaque can’t form in an hour, the obvious conclusion is that the patient missed it or simply doesn’t see it. Just to be clear, plaque is the soft, sticky film that occurs on the surface of teeth – not the hard substance your dentist or hygienist has to pick away, which is tartar. Though it is basically mineralized plaque, virtually no amount of tooth brushing and flossing will remove tartar after the fact (dentists call it ‘calculus’). Once formed, calculus needs to be removed at your office visit.
It is useful to know that if you control your plaque well, calculus won’t be much of a problem. So let’s focus on that for a moment. What do you do if you feel you are brushing, but the dentist tells you he still sees plaque? Stain it!
Lately, I have been seeing more commercials advertising products for children that stain their teeth blue after they have rinsed with it. The child then brushes until all of the blue stain has been removed. What the liquid is staining is plaque. I think this is a great way to simplify the process of identifying the problem. Whether you are six or sixty, the principle is the same.
If you want to be certain you have gotten the plaque off, rinse with the stain after each meal and then brush (and floss) until you have removed the discolored areas. Barring other systemic or external contributory factors (such as medications leading to a dry mouth), you and your dentist should see a big improvement in the cleanliness of your mouth, and fewer cavities over time!
by Dr. Richard J. Walicki | Dec 28, 2011 | Cavities, Cavity, Dentistry, Tooth Decay
In a previous article, Foods That Are Bad For Your Teeth, I reviewed three broad categories of foods that can be detrimental to your dental health. These were sugars and sweeteners, low fat foods, and foods that contain white, especially bleached, flour.
With this article I would like to spend some time talking about an area that I feel receives entirely too little attention – whether by patients, or dentists, for that matter. Possibly, this comes about for the simple reason that by the time many patients arrive at the dentist they are looking for resolution of a specific problem. In this sense, the market has conditioned both patients and doctors into focusing upon the end-game.
This has its place and fills a need. Patients who are in pain do not generally want to hear about what they should be eating – they want to handle their pain. Yet, knowing what foods can repair teeth may be a key element in establishing their future long-term dental stability.
In today’s economic climate, health care has undergone many challenges and the consumer has been faced with high medical and dental costs. Consequently, health care is not infrequently reserved for the handling of emergencies. This is actually counter-productive, as emergency dental care is also expensive. Couple this with efforts by the patient to reduce costs, and the “treatment” may be a decision to remove the offending tooth. Later, when the patient starts to regret his choice and seeks tooth replacements, he may find that replacement costs are many times more than had they handled the problem once discovered.
Economics can also influence the quality of the food we consume. In an effort to save money many consumers will also select lowest cost items. These are typically quite profitable for the producer but are usually highly processed and very unprofitable for your health.
So what do you need to know?
Let’s start with this simple concept: If what you eat comes out of a box, a jar, a can, or a plastic wrapper, it has been processed.
Your diet is the single most important thing that you can control to create or maintain a healthy mouth. When you eat too many processed foods – especially those that contain sugars and bleached flour – you create effects that may not be immediately noticed by you. For example, the level of blood sugar can become elevated and with it a person can experience elevated cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone produced by your adrenal gland and is responsible for raising blood sugar. It also affects the flow of parotin (a salivary gland hormone) and, in so doing, can lead to cavities. Cortisol also counteracts insulin which regulates carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body, and it slows down bone formation.
The inability to metabolize fats, in turn, can keep you from benefiting from the healthy foods that can help you to repair your teeth.
So, you see, it is a little like the children’s song “The foot bone’s connected to the ankle bone. And the ankle bone’s connected the leg bone.” The bottom line: what we do – or don’t do – can have unseen and unwanted effects when it comes to our diet and teeth.
Maintaining healthy hormones is very important to your dental health as well as to your general health. The relationship between demineralization and remineralization is balanced when hormones are healthy. When unbalanced, calcium and phosphorus can be pulled out of the blood and create deficiencies in our bones as well as the teeth. It can also create a condition wherein your body becomes excessively acidic. An acid environment is more receptive to the growth of bacteria and fungi. If there is one take-home message that you take out of this article it should be that real food – namely unprocessed food, as nature intended that it be consumed – will not only support your general health, but will also support your teeth.
What foods, then, are good for your teeth?
- Proteins: Eat proteins in order to regulate blood sugar. As mentioned above, blood sugar fluctuations are one of the key reasons that we lose minerals. High quality proteins such as grass fed, or wild game are best. While I realize that this may pose a problem for vegetarians, it doesn’t alter the fact that the most productive stores of minerals, protein, and fats are derived from meats. Vegetarians must rely on eggs and cheese for their protein.
- Foods with phosphorus: Possibly more important than calcium for your teeth, phosphorus can be obtained from milk and cheese. Raw, unpasteurized milk is best. Unless, strictly vegan, vegetarians should have no trouble getting their phosphorus from these sources. Other good sources of phosphorus include organ meats of both land animals and those from the sea. Muscle meats (most common meats consumed, i.e., not from organs such as liver or kidney, for example) are also a good source, as are beans and nuts. Organ meats have more phosphorus than muscle meats. Although present in some grains, the quantities can be insufficient or difficult to absorb, and this may not be the best choice for your teeth.
- Trace minerals are important: In addition to phosphorus, the following deficiencies can also lead to problems with tooth decay – iron, copper, magnesium and manganese. Foods with iron include shellfish and organ meats. Copper is found in liver and mollusks. Smaller amounts exist in mushrooms. Magnesium can be found in fish, nuts, and spinach. Manganese, also important in the regulation of blood sugar, occurs in liver, kidneys (organ meats), mussels, nuts, and pineapple, to name a few sources. Other trace minerals may also play a role, but are too numerous to mention here.
- Healthy fats: These are a great source of energy, but are also important to help maintain hormonal function and balance. Among the healthy fats are olive oil, butter, beef, chicken, pork and duck fat. Avocado and coconut oil are also healthy fats, especially if from organic sources. Vegetable fats do not generally contain the vitamins that help to re-build our teeth.
- Fat soluble vitamins D and A: Simply put, without adequate stores of these two vitamins, we can’t get the calcium and phosphorus into our bones or teeth. People with tooth decay are typically lacking these two vitamins. Seafood is an excellent source of Vitamin D. If you don’t have easy access to seafood, or if you don’t like it, lard, or pork fat, will help. Suet, or beef fat appears to be more effective, however. Another excellent (and relatively simple) way to get Vitamin D is with daily exposure to sunlight. Consuming fermented cod liver oil is still another easy way to get Vitamin D into your diet.
Eating healthy is the single-most effective action you can take to protect your teeth – and your overall health. It is also one thing that you can control. Take the time to learn which foods can provide you with proteins, phosphorus, healthy fats, vitamins D and A, as well as trace minerals, and you will be well on your way to healthier teeth and gums!
by Dr. Richard J. Walicki | Dec 19, 2011 | Cavities, Cavity, Dentistry, Tooth Decay
This is the first of a two-part series that discusses the effect of foods on our teeth. Part One will review those foods considered harmful to the teeth, and Part Two will discuss foods that can actually help to rebuild them.
Generally, more attention is given to the former than the latter. From a viewpoint of prevention, this has its value. Nevertheless, a good understanding of which foods are beneficial to dental health is, in my opinion, of no lesser importance. In actual fact, this understanding may hold the key to not only improving an individual’s dental health, but very possibly their general health as well.
While there are usually several components to any program that leads to improved dental health, of these, it is my opinion that diet is paramount.
Dentists generally spend the bulk of their time discussing the importance of hygiene. I, too, have addressed this topic in several articles. Nevertheless, over time, I have come to see the value of spending a great deal more time with patients reviewing and modifying their diets. Truthfully, this is more challenging – and meets with greater resistance. But it is vitally important.
I don’t think it is important to the exclusion of hygiene, however. Yet, I have come across some opinions that promote diet only. So let’s take another look at this area more broadly, just to put it into perspective.
Hygiene involves care of the entire body. Naturally, that includes the mouth. While good personal hygiene is generally something one should practice for themselves – it is also important to insist others maintain it as well. Consider the following example:
Let’s say you have adopted a diet of fresh organic food and you are now on your way to your local butcher to purchase some fresh meat. You arrive and are greeted by someone who smells as though he hasn’t bathed in a week. His hair is greasy. His hands are dirty and after he unceremoniously coughs into them, he wipes one hand on a dirty shirt. Then he reaches over for your fresh cut of meat and holds it up for inspection.
You would have a right to refuse it. Not because there is anything wrong with grass-fed, hormone free meat. Rather, it would be because the person clearly practices poor hygiene and may infect you – and whoever else they come into contact with. You wouldn’t be wrong to say something about it.
Similarly, good oral hygiene is simply a reflection of the total care of one’s body. This also means getting sufficient rest and exercising regularly.
That having been said, let’s take a quick look at what types of food cause people dental problems.
These can be simplified into three broad categories. As you will see, however, they comprise a very wide array of commonly consumed foods.
- Sugar and Sweeteners. The first category I will mention is the one nearly everyone focuses upon and possibly falls into the category of “common knowledge.” Despite this fact, you might be surprised by the quantities of sugars and sweeteners that are regularly consumed in a typical diet. When the quantity of sugar in the blood rises it upsets the balance of calcium to phosphorus in the blood as well. This has the effect of pulling calcium out of our teeth and bones. Low phosphorus levels likewise affect the mineral content of dentin, which is the layer of tooth structure supporting tooth enamel.
- Low Fat Foods. This includes such items as skimmed or low-fat milk, which many individuals assume helps their teeth if they consume it in sufficient quantities. Unfortunately, this is a fallacy that gets many people in trouble. Milk that is homogenized and pasteurized has been stripped of its nutritive value. Pasteurization kills off the probiotic (good bacteria) quality of raw natural milk. Paradoxically, this can allow pathogenic (bad) bacteria to grow more easily in pasteurized milk. Also, the absence of healthy fat can affect hormonal function which, in turn, may affect mineral levels adversely.
- Bleached (White) Flour. Products that contain white flour can also be damaging to teeth – especially when combined with sugars and in the absence of healthy animal fats. If one stops to consider how many foods are made with white flour, this can create quite a dietary challenge. Furthermore, if not removed after meals, these foods will create a thin sticky layer of what is basically a form of sugar. Because this, in turn, can stick to the teeth for hours – and becomes acidic – it can accelerate that demineralization process that breaks down the outer layer of your teeth, resulting in tooth decay. Also, the bleaching process typically adds chlorine dioxide or benzoyl peroxide to make the flour appear bright white. You don’t need these in your diet.
In the next article, we will cover what foods are good for your teeth. The positive side to this story is that there is good news and you can do something to remineralize or rebuild your teeth; however, knowing how foods come into the picture and which ones are detrimental to your teeth and gums is a critical element for taking control of your dental health.
by Dr. Richard J. Walicki | Dec 5, 2011 | Cavities, Cavity, Cosmetic Dentistry, Dentistry, Periodontal Disease, Tooth Decay, Toothache
Let’s face it: seeing a doctor – any sort of doctor – can be expensive. And dentists are no exception. But if a person’s diet and home care have been lacking, the cost of dental treatment can quickly sky-rocket. One of the problems with dental care has to do with the fact that many patients still suffer from the idea that if they don’t feel anything wrong with their teeth, then all is well.
Unfortunately, when it comes to teeth, most people miss the boat entirely with this concept. The reason is simple: the outer part of the tooth – the enamel – is mostly mineral and has no nerves. That means you can have a cavity and not know it. Several, actually. Most dentists will attest to the fact that many patients are shocked to learn they have any cavities at all.
The trouble is that by the time a cavity actually gets big enough to pose a problem, it’s a PROBLEM. For most people that trouble is spelled P-A-I-N.
It’s really no small wonder that so many individuals associate going to the dentist with toothaches. For those patients, it is the only time they will actually make an appointment. They go because they now know they have a cavity. Pain is a huge motivator. . . .
By the time a tooth hurts, though, the cavity is usually pretty close to the nerve. This means that if there is still enough tooth structure left to work with, the dentist may consider a root canal to remove the source of the pain – in other words – the nerve. Usually, this is not cheap. A root canal on a molar can cost over a thousand dollars when performed by a specialist. Then the patient has to go back to the dentist to have the tooth built up again (because so much tooth structure was lost to decay) and finally, the tooth may even need a crown. Lacking a blood supply and nerve thanks to the root canal, the tooth is now brittle and can break. Since your back teeth get a lot of pressure when you chew, failing to crown it may result in the tooth cracking and all that money you spent on the root canal goes out the window.
In a number of cases, because many people simply fear getting a root canal (not because they actually had one, but because they heard that a friend of a friend had a bad experience, and they never want to go through THAT), they opt to remove the tooth instead.
But now they have to replace the missing tooth or else their teeth will shift around and their bite goes awry. And fixing that new problem typically costs even more!
It can be frustrating.
Many people figure no one will see a missing back tooth, so why not pull it, since that is cheaper? At least they think so – until they notice their front teeth starting to form gaps, and find that food gets stuck all over the place whenever they eat. But then again, what if it’s a front tooth that needs to go?
You possibly think: “Wow, this is a problem, but I still really need to find something cheap.” OK, then. If you live in Philadelphia, you may Google “affordable Philadelphia dentist” or “cheap dentist.” A number of listings for dental implants appear, maybe some for “affordable cosmetic dentistry.” Wow, this isn’t sounding at all affordable!!! Wait! A couple of dental schools come up too. “Hmmm. Do I really want someone in their first year of dental clinic restoring my front tooth? It will be less expensive. But, then again . . . .”
The affordable dentist is someone who will understand your situation and can help you to find a workable solution for your circumstances. Many offices offer low-cost or interest-free programs that help you get the work you need today and then spread payments out over time. In some cases, it may be helpful to set up a lay-away program, especially if you have specific needs for which you have been given an estimate of treatment costs. In this manner you won’t end up spending your money on other less-essential items. Many offices will assess a minor fee to manage this plan, but it is usually quite small.
In the meantime, it is essential to keep yourself out of trouble with good preventive dental practices. Learn what diet has to do with your teeth and which home care habits are best. Remember, when it comes to teeth and gums, “no pain” most definitely does not always mean “no problems”.
