Mead Family Dental

warning labels for pop

You've probably seen it in the news. The FDA will require graphic new warning labels on cigarettes starting in September of 2012.  

The labels will be large, covering a large part of the pack of cigarettes. They'll also be pretty gory. You can see all of the new designs at the FDA's website.

Some are pretty sure they'll help reduce smoking. Others are a bit skeptical.

I don't think that these labels are actually meant to educate smokers about the health risks of cigarettes. Everyone knows that cigarettes are horrible for you in many different ways. What the gruesome photos are meant to do is remind you that you're making a poor decision right at the time you're making the decision (when you're going for a cigarette). Will it help? I'm not sure, but I expect the new regulation will trigger a boom in cigarette case sales.

Dentistry's version of "everyone knows it's bad for you but does it anyway" is pop. Or soda for those of you in the northeast. Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sun Drop. All that stuff is a double whammy for teeth. The acid in it causes the pH in your mouth to drop, which makes cavities. The sugar in it causes the bugs in your mouth to create acid, which lowers your mouth's pH, which makes cavities.

Just like cigarettes, there's no redeeming value to pop, except that people like to drink it.

So why not require a label on every soda can that reminds the drinker that they're making a terrible choice each time they choose to have a pop?

I suggest this:

or perhaps...

Admit it. You might put down the Mountain Dew if you saw this.

Questions or comments! Email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com! I'd love to be your Saginaw dentist!

Sorry, but boring dental patients still need to come see us

I previously explained what I mean by a "boring dental patient."  No offense intended.  I think you should be amazing and interesting in all other facets of your life.  Stay dentally boring if you can.  

You tell me I've had a perfect dental history.  Why do I need to keep seeing the dentist?

Your perfect history definitely makes you a low risk for further dental problems.  But if things change we want to be able to catch dental problems really early.  What kind of change am I talking about?

• medical changes:  Let's say you're diagnosed with hypertension.  Your physician puts you on a medication to control your blood pressure.  A major side effect of this and many other medications is a dry mouth.  A dry mouth increases your risk for tooth decay.  As your risk increases we want to make sure we're seeing you as often as ever so if problems occur we can catch them really early.
• dietary changes: I was cavity free before I left for college.  I had cavities by the end of my freshman year.  I drank more pop and sweetened beverages and ate more sugary foods.  It's what college students do.  My diet changed and my risk for tooth decay went up.  
• natural changes due to age:  Whether we want to believe it or not, we're all getting older.  Your natural saliva flow is reduced as you get older.  Older patients are also much more likely to be on multiple medications.  Both of these things increase your risk for tooth decay.

It doesn't make me happy to rain on the parade of someone with perfect teeth.  Your history does mean that you're less likely to have problems.  But we won't know if we don't check!

Whether you have perfect teeth or you're an "interesting case," we'll be here for you!  I want to be your Saginaw dentist.  If you have questions or would like to make an appointment call the office at (989) 799-9133 or email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com.  I always answer my own emails!

This is how you should drink pop...

If you're going to drink pop, here's how you should do it.   

I'm only kidding a little bit here.  Let me explain.

Pop has all kinds of acid in it.  Different pops have higher or lower pH, but all of them have a lot of acid.  Your teeth already have to deal with acid on a regular basis because sugars that you eat can be turned into acid by the tooth bugs that are already there.  Adding a bunch of sugary and acidic soda just makes it that much worse.  

So stick with me here.  Each time you take a sip or a gulp of soda, the acid in it is attacking your teeth. Your saliva takes a certain amount of time to buffer that "acid attack" whether you just sipped or drank a whole can.  

So do the math.  If it takes you an entire afternoon to sip yourself through a can of soda, you are having an almost constant acid attack for hours at a time.  If you drink like the guys above, then you have one acid attack and then your saliva can bring your mouth's pH back to a normal healthy level.  

Yes,you're reading this correctly...this Saginaw dentist is giving you permission to guzzle.  Or better yet, have water instead. 

Questions or comments about this post?  Email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com.  I always answer my own emails!

(Note to reader...do yourself a favor and do not search Youtube for "chugging.")

The boring dental patient

Are you one of those people?

You know the ones.  They've never had a cavity in their life.  They have beautiful straight teeth but have never been further than the dental hygienist's chair.  They've never experienced the drooly feeling of a numb lip or been subjected to their dentist's cheesy jokes (yeah, it's not just me.)

If you are one of those people, then good for you!  No one aspires to be an "interesting case" for their dentist.  Rest assured that this Saginaw dentist loves all kinds of patients...interesting or boring.

So what's the difference between a "boring" patient and an "interesting" patient?  Can patients that have had a lot of dental needs learn something from those that haven't?  Probably.  Let's look a little closer.

pH, your body and your mouth

I recently bought a bottle of water at Walgreen.  The brand was "Iceland Pure Spring Water" and it featured "pH 8.88" prominently on the label.  I read a little further to find:

"...it has one of the naturally lowest mineral contents of any water and a high pH of 8.88.  Icelanders live longer than any other nationality; we believe their secret to long life is their water."

This is an interesting claim.  My research (if you want to call finding a cool chart Wikipedia chart research) shows Iceland coming in 3rd to Japan and Hong Kong.  FYI...the U.S. comes in tied for 36th place with Cuba and Denmark.  So the claim that Icelanders live the longest is in dispute, but what about the pH of their amazing spring water?  Could it account for longevity?  Should I be worried about my pH?

pH is a measurement of acidiy or alkalinity in an aqueous (water based) solution.  A solution that is high in acidity has a low pH and a solution that is more alkaline has a higher pH.  pH is measured on a 14 point scale with 0 being the lowest pH (most acidic) and 14 being the highest pH (most basic or alkaline).  A pH of 7 is considered neutral, neither majority acid or alkaline. This 14 point scale is logarithmic, which means that each number on the scale is 10 times higher or lower than number above it or below it.  For instance, a substance with a pH of 3 is 10 times more acidic than a substance with a pH of 4 and 100 times more acidic than something with a pH of 5.

The pH of the human body is variable depending on the part of the body you're talking about.  The stomach has a pH of about 1...very acidic.  This is useful in breaking down the food into smaller, more digestible pieces.  Lysosomes, the small bags of chemicals found inside cells are used to break down damaged cell parts.  They can have a pH of 4-4.5.  Our blood is at a relatively steady pH of 7.34-7.45. The body keeps the pH of our tissues relatively constant completely separate from our diet.  

Our mouths are a bit of an exception.  The pH can range quite significantly in our mouths due to the presence of acid producing bacteria.  Some of the bacteria in our mouths can turn the carbohydrates that we eat into acid.  I've talked quite a bit about this in previous posts.  This acid can dissolve the surface of the tooth if it reaches a critical pH.  The critical pH, or the pH at which tooth structure begins to dissolve is 6.7 on the root surface of the tooth and 5.2 on the enamel.  Diet, habits and saliva flow have a lot to do with how well an individual defends against pH drops in the mouth.  But these localized oral pH fluctuations are not the same as pH change of the body.  

 You often hear claims that the pH of your body being off or unbalanced are the cause of disease.  Whether these claims are indirect like my water bottle or more direct as in some blogs or books, they need to be looked at critically.  Most of these claims have no basis in science or actual physiology.  Beware of diets or claims that talk about "changing your body pH."  Often they direct you to test your saliva to evaluate your body's pH.  That would be akin to checking the inside of your furnace to evaluate what the temperature of your house is!  Your body has very specific control mechanisms for regulating your pH through the lungs and kidneys.  Your diet makes no difference with regard to your body's pH, except in your mouth!

Some disease states can result in pH changes.  Diabetics can experience diabetic ketoacidosis, which can lower the pH of the blood.  This is a consequence of their inability to use sugar in their bodies. However, in healthy individuals this is not a concern.

So, do I think my Iceland Pure Spring Water at a pH of 8.88 will prolong my life?  Not really.  However, it was cold and delicious and made it so I wasn't so thirsty.   So it did what I was hoping it would!

Do you have comments or questions about this or any of my other posts?  Do you like what you see on my blog?  Leave a comment here on the blog or feel free to email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com.  This Saginaw dentist writes all the posts and answers his own email.  Thanks for taking the time to read!

I really should...

• ...stop eating this way.  Donuts for breakfast, fast food at lunch and extra helpings at dinner are really catching up with me.  The doctor has told me for years that my diet is the reason that my cholesterol is so high and that I'm looking at dealing with type II diabetes as I get older...
• ...exercise more often.  I haven't been active on a regular basis for a long time.  It's embarrassing, but sometimes the stairs make me a little winded!  I used to be on the track team when I was in high school.  It would be a lot easier to lose this weight if I just added 30-40 minutes of walking or picked tennis back up...
• ...quit smoking.  It's not like I don't know it's bad for me.  You can't turn on the TV or listen to the radio without hearing some new study describing the health effects of smoking.  I would love to not worry about my breath or the smell on my clothes anymore, too...
• ...floss every day.  Every time I see my dental hygienist she reminds me that my gums are bleeding for a reason.  I don't like to have to see the dentist for fillings and bleeding gums can't be normal.  Maybe my breath would be better if I took a little better care...

O.K.  Be honest.  Has the little voice in the back of your mind ever said any of these things to you?  Mine has.  Usually when I'm going through the drive thru at Long John Silver's.  Clearly all of these things are important and as a health care professional I recommend that you take each one seriously if it applies to you.  As a person, I'd like to point out that one of those items is quite a bit easier to add to your lifestyle.  If you aren't sure which one, read them again.  If you still aren't sure, remember that I'm a dentist and this blog talks a lot about teeth and dental care.  

Here's the deal.  Get yourself some floss* and put it in the shower.  When you've got the shampoo in your hair, rinse those fingers and pull out a nice long piece.  Take a minute or two and floss those pearly whites.  We've already determined that flossing is gross, but necessary.  Since you're in the shower, you can rinse your mouth and your hands as soon as you're done!  It's a perfect solution, if I do say so myself.  

Then, the next time that little voice in your head bugs you about what you really should do, you can remind it that you've already taken some positive steps!

Now, put down that donut and get to work!

*you can get free floss at our office.  Call to make an appointment at (989) 799-9133 or email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com.  We'd be happy to have you!

On chewing gum

Chewing gum can be good for your teeth.  It also can be bad for your teeth and your jaw joint.  Chewing gum will stimulate saliva, which is the major natural defense your teeth have against cavities.  

There are two rules that I have for chewing gum.  Two and a half, really.  They are simple and they are to be followed.  Failure to follow them may cause this Saginaw dentist to hunt you down, call you silly names and revoke your license to chew.

1. Chew sugarless gum.  Preferably containing Xylitol.  There are so many foods and drinks that have an insane amount of sugar in them and many of these don't have good sugarless options.  There are a ton of really good sugarless gums.  They'll stimulate saliva flow after meals and make your mouth feel fresh but they don't give cavity bugs anything to eat.  Win-win.
2. Chew for 5 minutes or when the flavor is gone, whichever is shorter.  The hard core gum chewers hate this.  Your jaw joints suffer wear and tear like any other joints.  I recommend that you don't overuse them.  I would compare gum chewing all day long with cracking your knuckles.  It's a kind of nervous habit.  My evidence is completely anecdotal, but patients that are heavy gum chewers often have a "jaw pop."  It doesn't necessarily lead to problems or pathology, but it can be annoying.  So don't chew too long.

     2.5. If you have braces or an orthodontic appliance, don't chew gum.

These are the rules.  You know the consequences.  Chew wisely.

 

Questions?  Comments?  Do hard core gum chewers want to send me angry emails?  Email me at: alan@meadfamilydental.com.  I return all of my own email and would be happy to answer questions!

diet pop, obesity and stroke: evaluating medical claims critically

Recent headlines suggest that those who drink diet soda are more likely to have cardiovascular problems, specifically stroke.  Let's review some of the headlines:

"Diet pop can be hard on your heart"

"Want to have a stroke?  Keep drinking diet sodas"

"Diet Drinks Help Waist, But Still Lead to Heart Problems, Stroke"

"Drinking diet pop might increase risk or stroke"

If you don't look any harder you could walk away with the idea that drinking diet soda will lead to strokes.  And if you're anything like me, this will lodge in your mind until the next sensational headline tells you something else that many people do on a regular basis is unhealthy and damaging.

Does drinking diet soda really make you more likely to have a stroke?  A stroke is damage to the brain due to a temporary interruption of the blood supply.  It's very similar to the damage to the heart during a heart attack.  What exactly is it in diet soda that makes it more likely for a stroke to happen?  According to the articles this same risk isn't found in people who drink regular soda.  So are we to assume that it's the artificial sweeteners?  

This is a perfect example of preliminary "science" prevented as fact used as a scare tactic.  Many news sources have gotten honest about the source of this information, but many others have not.  Retractions or good explanations of the methods don't make headlines, but scare tactics do.  

The correlation between diet soda and stroke was made in a poster presentation at the "International Stroke Conference."  Poster presentations are not the same as peer reviewed medical journals and definitely do not carry the weight of medical consensus.  This misinterpretation is not the fault of the scientists presenting the poster so much as the media drawing unsupported conclusions.  Simply stated, the connection presented has not been studied enough to make the statements that a lot of news sources are making.

Most news stories do not bother to mention that correlation isn't the same thing as causation.  There very well could be a correlation between intake of diet soda and stroke, but by no means does that mean drinking diet soda causes strokes.  It's that the individual data points of stroke risk and diet soda intake are often found together.   Perhaps overweight and obese people, who are clearly more likely to have strokes and heart attacks, are more likely to report drinking diet soda because they are attempting to lose weight.  Perhaps there really is some stroke inducing ingredient in diet soda.  The study that is referred to really doesn't make that evident.  There needs to be a lot of research and verification to reach a point where causation of disease can be determined.

The news media and others reporting the "drinking diet soda = greater stroke risk" are jumping the gun.  They're not interested in reality as much as a good story.  A story that might frighten you, but will hopefully be forgotten until the next scary headline.  

Is this ever done in dentistry?  I think it is.  I'll discuss that in another blog soon!

 

By the time it hurts, it's expensive or "why I wish cavities hurt more"

I can see the headline now: "Saginaw dentist wishes cavities hurt more!"  Film at 11.

Let's get this out of the way right away.  I don't want patients to have more pain with their teeth.  It's just that most cavities don't hurt.  Patients hardly ever feel a cavity.  Most of the time a cavity becomes noticeable when food gets caught in it.  By the time it hurts there's probably been irreversible damage to the pulp (nerve and blood vessel deep inside the tooth).  

Another painless dental problem is periodontal disease or "gum disease."  A combination of bacterial toxins and immune system reactions can cause a patient to lose the bone support surrounding their teeth.  Over time this causes a chronic inflammation in the gums and can, over time, cause tooth loss.  It sounds horribly painful when I describe it like that.  But it's actually painless.  

In moderation, pain will cause us to withdraw from a harmful stimulus.  For instance, you yank your hand away from the hot stove.  The pain of a burn, or even a potential burn, causes a quick response which actually helps you avoid more serious injury.  

We don't have that with long term, slow moving dental diseases like tooth decay and gum disease.  And it's kind of too bad.  

More headlines...this one says, "Saginaw dentist thinks it's too bad that gum disease and cavities aren't more painful."

It's just that by the time something is painful we've probably added acute inflammation and often infection into the mix.  This makes treatment more expensive and less predictable.  So if you could feel a cavity earlier, maybe we could fix it when it's cheaper and less expensive to fix.  That's all I'm saying.  Really.

Dentists don't really need much help getting bad press.  So I should probably stop while I'm ahead!

Questions, comments or complaints with this post?  Do you want to make an appointment with Saginaw's premiere blogging dentist? (Me.  I mean me! ;-) )  Call the office at (989) 799-9133 or email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com.  I'd love to hear from you!

 

reason to quit smoking #347: smoking leads to dry mouth

Everyone pretty much knows that smoking is bad for you and if you smoke you should quit.  When people think smoking they think of the 800 lb. gorillas of smoking related disease: cancer (lung, throat, other) and heart disease.  Not to take anything away from theses disease risks, but there's some compelling research linking smoking to low saliva flow and/or dry mouth.

I've written about dry mouth before.  Dry mouth is a major risk factor for tooth decay.  

If you smoke, you know you should quit.  So here's one more reason!

Do you have questions or comments?  Feel free to email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com.  I'm happy to answer them!