One Out Of 5 Adults Do Not Have Any Teeth-What Can They Do?

There are 35-40 Million Edentulous People in the U.S. (No Teeth in either the top or bottom of your mouth ) What Can Be Done To Help Them?  Dentures are the only options when there is advanced gum disease and very little bone is left  in the mouth.    What about  people  who have a few teeth and are missing others?  One solution is MINI-IMPLANTS- they are fabulous- they hold a shifting and movable denture  or partial and even help maintain the bone around the implant.  When your teeth are removed the bone starts to dissolve in your mouth- this is called resorption.  The longer the teeth are gone the more bone is lost.  Implants save the bone .   The sooner they are put in the better- implants actually become part of the bone- that is called osseo-integratiion.  The only reason we have bone in the mouth is because we have teeth.  That bone forms and shapes the face.  Once the teeth are gone so goes the bone. 2 or 4 mini-implants under a denture can make a super difference.  If you have a partial and all of the teeth are gone in one part of the month   One or two minis will give the partial some thing to hook on to instead of moving whenever the tonque or cheek hits it when you talk or eat. The best part is Minis are a lot more affordable than regular implants - about 1/2 the price!

Can Asthma Cause Cavities??

Asthma per se may not be a risk for cavities.  But the people who have asthma can  have extremely dry mouths due to nebulizers and basic asthma medications witch can cause decreased saliva flow.  If you eat refiined carbohydrates {candy,pop,chips,pretzels, - too numerous to mention} and there are sweeteners in the inhaler medications then dental care on  a very regular basis would be extremely important.

Would You Bathe Your Teeth In Acid???

There is more to worry about than the sugar content and gaining weight when you drink soda or pop.  Many carbonated sodas are nearly as corrosive to the enamel as battery acid!  While non cola drinks are less acidic than cola drinks in general, the potential of cola to erode your teeth is ten times that of natural fruit juice with no sugar added.  The new energy drinks are even worse -- They contain acid which the manufacturer puts in to give it a longer shelf life.  Now they have discovered that diet drinks have more acid in them than the sugar colas.  If you must drink colas or acidic diet or energy drinks, SLAM IT - drink it all at once and try to rinse or brush afterward.  Every time you  take a sip the pH in your mouth goes down- the more acid in the pop the worse it gets.  So if you sip on pop it will keep the pH down and really corrode your teeth.  The good news is that our saliva is hypercalcified so it will return the pH to the normal values within 1/2 hour and recalcify the teeth--if you have normal saliva.  Some people take a lot of medications that cause dry mouth now there are over 1800 medications that can do this- but that will be another blog

Chemo, Cancer and Mouth Sores

Biotene which you  can get at the drugstore is a toothpaste that doesn't contain Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS) and doesn't cause much irritation.  The mouthwash is soothing and and gentle.  The mouth moisturizers might help lubricate the mouth and help with dry mouth.  A low acid, bland diet is also helpful.  Avoiding citrus fruits and juices and anything hot and spicy is recommended.  Soft and pureed foods are easier to get down than foods that require a lot of chewing.  Ensure,Slim- Fast or Boost shakes are easy and they are packed with nutrition and the calories they need.  Your dentist or oncologist can prescribe viscous lidocaine and rinse with it as needed.   If you are doing it before eating this will numb the mouth and palate.  Some need to take anything from Tylenol to Vicodin depending on the pain level an hour before meal time.  Even with a sore mouth try hard to clean the mouth thoroughly -secondary infections can occur and fungal infections or Thrush can happen during chemo.  The flouride tooth paste ProDenX made be Zila  is SLS free.   A mixture of equal parts of liquid Benadryl and Malox is a great rinse for radiation patients.  Be sure to get  fluoride trays made at the dentist so it will help protect the teeth from root caries which are bacteria which will cause a lot of decay quickly- these trays should be used daily with a small amout of prescription fluoride which is 5x stronger than regular toothpase.

Can You See It Or Not?

What do you do when you dentist tells you they see 2 cavities in your teeth?  At our office we can show you what they look like by digital x- rays  and Intra- Oral Cameras.  The camera is an amazing device that is and actual minature video camera that displays a closeup picture of the inside of your mouth.  You can see for yourself what work needs to be done and which teeth are doing fine- Then you become a participant in each dental decision.  You will love how this works.  Digital X-rays are a fabulous newer technique that  gives 90%  less radiation of a  normal X-Ray.  We can make the image look bigger so that you don't have to be a dentist to see the cavity in your teeth. We have a  Digital Panorex which goes around your head and takes an x-ray picture of your whole jaw.  We even have a special type of X-ray that we can take on little kids who can't   bite on the x- ray taker because their mouth is too small - then we can see if they have any flossing cavities in between thier teeth--so Can You See It Or Not --You Can At Dr. McGarry's Office!!

Sweet Tooth's - Do They All Get Cavities-Xylitol Can Reverse Decay

Xylitol can reverse decay- especially if it is small.  Xylitol has been around for a long time It is a 5 carbon sugar alcohol that is made from birch and hardwood trees.   It is  also found in fruit ( yellow plums, strawberries, raspberries,endive and mushrooms)  Xylitol is also produced in the human liver - therefore safe for humans to consume.  For decades it was used primarily for diabetic diets and in 1974 began to be produced in chewing gum. What Does It  Do? Regular sugar  in the mouth create an acidic cavity promoting low pH. Xylitol does not create acid in the mouth.  It can actually help to prevent cavities- it won't replace cleanings and exams but it can help people who are high risk for decay. Sounds too good to be true?  one of the draw backs is gastrointestinal upset- so it is better to get a little over a longer period of time.  It is not recommended more than 5 sticks of gum a day.  The  benefits of Xylitol go beyond helping to reduce cavities- it can reduce the amount of insulin required to maintain blood sugar levels, -  when used as a nasal wash it helped to prevent bacteria from sticking and thus reduced the risk of  infections- it has been shown to help fight ear infections- it is even completely safe for expectant mothers - it has a glycemic index of 7 so it does not raise the blood sugar much and diabetics require little or no insulin due to the little change  in  the glucose.  It is deadly to DOGS so keep them away from it. 

Spit Is It!

WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT ABOUT SPIT?   SALIVA IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT ISN'T MISSED UNTIL IT IS GONE.   IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO THE HEALTH OF  YOUR MOUTH AND YOUR BODY.  SALIVA REMOVES  WASTE PRODUCTS, HELPS THE MOUTH FIGHT DISEASE, AND MAINTAINS LUBICATION FOR SPEAKING, EATING AND CHEWING.    XEROSTOMIA IS LACK OF  OR REDUCED SPIT!  WITHOUT IT WE CAN EASILY GET CAVITIES, SEVERE WEARING OF ENAMEL, MOUTH FUNGUS (CANDIDIASIS) AND BACTERIAL INFECTIONS.   ABOUT A QUARTER OF THE POPULATION IS GOING TO HAVE DRY MOUTH- IT IS CAUSED BY OVER  1800 MEDICATONS AND MORE ARE BEING FOUND EVERY DAY.  COMMON MEDICATONS  ARE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICATIONS, SEDATIVES AND TRANQUILIZERS, ANTIHISTAMINES, MUSCLE RELAXERS, ANTIDEPRESSANTS, DIURETICS, AND MANY MANY MORE.  WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?  KEEPING YOUR MOUTH HEALTHY, CLEAN AND DRINKING LOTS OF WATER IS A GREAT START.   AVOID DIRECT AIR FLOW FROM FANS AND AIR
CONDITIONING.  TOBACCO USE DRIES THE MOUTH AND SMOKERS ARE 7X MORE LIKELY TO HAVE GUM DISEASE.  CAFFIENE DRIES THE MOUTH .  WHAT CAN CAN BE DONE?  CHECK WITH YOUR M.D. TO SEE IF ANY OF THE MEDICATIONS CAN BE CHANGED OR ALTERED IN THE  AMOUNTS.   THERE ARE MANY COMMERCIALY AVAILABLE WETTING AGENTS  FOR THE MOUTH- THERE ARE SPRAYS, RINSES, GELS, LOZENGES, AND SALIVARY SUBSTITUTES -TALK TO YOUR DENTIST!!