Why every 6 months?

A stitch in time saves nine.  

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  

Choose whatever old bit of wisdom you like, but that’s the principal behind the 6 month recall. It’s easy to fool ourselves into thinking that if it doesn't hurt, everything’s okay.  It’s a trap that will leave us disappointed more often than not.  

Usually, if you wait until it hurts or “feels funny”, it can be too late to do small, less invasive procedures.  

My son Roger demonstrates different prevention methods at tee-ball

X-rays are important for the same reason.  They allow me to “see” where I can’t see with my own eyes – in-between the teeth and into the bone surrounding the teeth.  In addition to my physical exam, x-rays allow me to evaluate existing fillings, crowns, and other restorations, bone health, joint health, crowding, spacing, infections, possible cancerous lesions, and even sinus cavities.

This is loads of info I wouldn't have otherwise to try to spot problems BEFORE they are big issues.  The truth is that the 6 month recall is not only essential, but minimum to maintaining the health of your mouth.  In a nutshell, professionally cleaning and examining your teeth at least every 6 months prevents periodontal disease and decay.   

You have sterile instruments, right?

YES!!  With the recent events here in Oklahoma, I thought it would be good to review our infection control methods here at Toothbrusher’s. We use a concept called Universal Precautions.  In short, it kinda means that we assume (even though we know that it isn't true) that every patient has some sort of infectious disease.  This keeps us on our toes with regard to infection control and sterilization.  Let's get into specifics.  

All of our instruments are sterilized after every patient in a steam chamber that is confirmed working by an outside service every month.  Rooms are disinfected with strong, specific cleaners after every patient. We don’t reuse needles or gloves.  It is typical for me to change gloves several times for one patient.  We wash our hands between patients.  We use every precaution to make sure that no surface, instrument, container, or material is cross contaminated between patients. 

I love our sterile office.  Please, please ask me questions about it if you have any.  If you spot anything that looks unclean or possible risk for contamination I want to hear about it.  Really….we really want to hear about it!  Tell anyone of our staff or me personally.  I promise we will either explain what is happening or make it correct immediately!

As always, we are available for questions and appointments at 405 789-6935.

Where do Cavities come from?

This one I get asked a lot.  Usually it comes from a place of frustration than from genuine curiosity.  Regardless, cavities (or caries) are essentially bacterial infections albeit in a specific situation.  There are four contributing factors to decay.  They are as follows (in no particular order):  hygiene, nutrition, time, anatomy.

The first two are the ones you probably already know about.  Brushing your teeth removes bacteria that cause tooth decay (and other mouth problems).  Brushing can’t do it alone because it can’t reach the in-between spaces.  That’s where flossing and mouthwash help too.  Those bacteria that stick to your teeth are powered by carbohydrates (sugars).  That’s the nutrition part.  Avoid sugary drinks and snacks. Simple.  But now let’s discuss the things that you might not think about related to tooth decay.

The anatomy of the tooth itself will drastically affect the bacteria involved.  Some teeth have deep grooves in the top part (occlusal surface) that bacteria can hide in.  if you’re unlucky, some of these grooves are narrower than the bristle of a toothbrush.  That means that you can’t clean them effectively, even when you scrub.  That’s another spot that mouthwash can help.  This is also how sealants can help prevent tooth decay, especially in the molars of children.  Another factor is the state of the enamel of the tooth.  Is there a rough surface?  Then it is much easier for bacteria to adhere and start chiseling away!

The last and most interesting factor, to me, is time.  When you drink a soda, do you sip it over the course of a few hours or do you guzzle it down in seconds?  Surprisingly, the latter is the better method, at least for your teeth.  As you have an acidic or sugary (or both) drink like soda, the pH in your mouth changes to acidic.  Your saliva has to “buffer” that back down to a normal neutral pH.  That takes some time.  Even up to a half an hour sometimes.  That acidic environment is the optimal time for bacteria to work.  They loooove it!  If you sip, your mouth never really recovers that neutral pH.  Advantage: cavities!

Thanks for reading this blog.  As always if you have any questions feel free to ask!  Toothbrusher’s Dental (405) 789-6935.

Wow, Bluetooth Toothbrush?

Yes, it's for real.  At first glance it may seem silly to have a Bluetooth toothbrush, but maybe a little accountability is what we all need to improve our hygiene habits! Check it out below. 

(Source: Beam Brush via GIGAOM)

From heart monitors to cooking thermometers, almost any piece of tech seems to be equipped with Bluetooth and an accompanying smartphone app these days. Now it looks like even the simplest of items can get their own high-tech upgrade, as evidenced by Beam Technologies' upcoming Bluetooth-enabled toothbrush. The Beam Brush will monitor a person's dental hygiene using sensors that sync with an app, which will then track that data and offer incentives to improve their brushing habits.

It may seem odd to equip something as simple as a toothbrush with Bluetooth features, but when the average person spends only 46 seconds out of the dentist-recommended two minutes brushing their teeth, a little technology might go a long way. Sensors in the Beam Brush are activated by contact with the mouth, which syncs with a timer in the app to time how long a user actually spends brushing their teeth. The app will also track this over a period of time, so people can share the results with their dentist and see if they need to improve their habits.

Later versions of the app will detect how long a person scrubs different areas of their mouth as well, and play music while they brush. Beam Technologies is also planning to add some social elements and game-like achievements to reward users for their good dental habits. It should be a useful tool in particular for parents who want to make sure their children are brushing their teeth correctly.

The Beam Brush will hit store shelves in early March, with the base costing US$50 and replacement brush heads costing $3.

(Source: Beam Brush via GIGAOM)

The Bacteria Strike Back?

I’ve always been fascinated with the balance of things.  Like how radar guns are used to detect speeders and then radar detectors (fuzz-busters) were invented.  Like how fungi fight bacteria by making penicillin, and then bacteria become resistant. 

It seems that bacteria have had a secret weapon to accelerate tooth decay.  Fluoride has long been used to fight tooth decay.  The main action is through the binding of fluoride to the enamel of the tooth.  But, researchers found long ago that high levels of fluoride will be toxic to most bacteria.  Recently Yale researchers discovered that bacteria have a weapon against fluoride- the riboswitch.  This process can detect the build-up of fluoride and activate the defenses of bacteria, including those that contribute to tooth decay.

We should have known that these little test tubes of evolution would come up with something!  These riboswitches appear to not be a recent adaption and the mechanism seems only to be triggered for the survival of the organism.  So it probably won’t affect the way dentistry uses fluoride for tooth decay, coating the tooth to prevent the attack from causing damage.  Bacteria could use this pathway in the future to become resistant to the actions of current toothpastes and mouthwashes.  Of course much more research is needed.  Be assured that dentistry will continue to emphasize prevention as the best way to fight disease.

Journal Reference:

Jenny L. Baker, Narasimhan Sudarsan, Zasha Weinberg, Adam Roth, Randy B. Stockbridge, and Ronald R. Breaker.Widespread Genetic Switches and Toxicity Resistance Proteins for Fluoride. Science, 22 December 2011 DOI:10.1126/science.1215063

Why Baby Teeth are Important.

Let’s say you just found out that your young child has a cavity in his or her baby tooth.  You  might think to yourself, let’s just pull it.  Its just gonna come out anyway right?  I would argue that baby teeth are important and should be maintained until it is time for natural exfoliation.  So to that order, I’ve compiled a list of reasons why baby teeth are important. 

First, baby teeth are for chewing.  It sound simple but the first stage of  digestion happens in the mouth.  We break up the food into smaller pieces not only to swallow them easier, but also to help the chemical breakdown of the food into nutrients go smoother and quicker.  

Second, the primary, or baby teeth, are important in speech development.  Placement of the tongue and lips is guided by the teeth.  Try this – say the word “lisp.”  Normal speech patterns dictate that you start with your tongue on the back of your front teeth to make the “L” sound and then move it away to make the “I” and then bring your teeth together to make the “S”.  Finally your lips pull back to your front teeth and end with a percussive “P”.  These moves are much more difficult to make, much less learn, when those reference points aren’t there. 

Third, these teeth are important for appearance and alignment.  I know what your thinking… well, the kid is gonna have missing teeth sometime!  True enough, but I’m talking about the baby teeth acting as guides to the adult teeth as they come in.  If a child’s tooth is missing too early that guidance will be compromised and the tooth behind the missing one falls forward into the missing tooth’s spot causing a domino effect and crowded adult teeth. 

The best situation of course is prevention of decay and disease in the first place, but if a child has decayed teeth we can still save them.  Let’s turn a bad situation into a good one, instead of turning a bad situation into a worse one.  You can like us on facebook, subscribe to this blog or call Toothbrusher’s Dental at 405 789-6935 to reach us.   

Hygienists and Assistants

Dental assistant Laura with dental hygienist Kala

It has come to my attention that many people get dental hygienists and dental assistants confused.  It’s an understandable mistake.  Both perform supportive roles in the office and see patients independently sometimes.  Furthermore in my office, we have more of a team approach and the hygienist and I will sometimes perform the assistants’ duties too.  But dental assistants and hygienists do have different tasks that they perform in the office and also have differing levels of training.

In my office, Cheryl and Laura are the dental assistants. They prepare the room for treatment, get out all the equipment, and sterilize the room.  They will help the dentist with the procedure, passing instruments and mixing materials and such.  They can take x-rays, impressions, polish teeth, and educate patients on everything from insurance co-payments to oral hygiene.

Kala is our dental hygienist.   She has more specialized in the area of oral care and cleaning teeth.  Kala will remove calculus (or tartar), chart dental conditions, administer local anesthesia, and may work autonomously from the dentist. However, different states have different rules on the level of autonomy. 

 

Most dental assistants will receive a diploma or certificate from a vocational school and the program will last from 9 – 12 months.  Dental hygienists receive a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene.  In Oklahoma, a four year degree is required to be licensed to perform the duties of a dental hygienist.