November 30th, 2017
Teeth are a lot of fun to learn about, and understanding teeth can help children enjoy going to the pediatric dentist! Did you know that teeth are composed of four primary layers? Each layer plays a pivotal role in supporting a strong smile and a healthy mouth. Try reading this article with your child, and teaching them about the four fun layers of the teeth!
Enamel
Enamel is the outer most layer of the tooth that protects teeth from the elements that cause cavities. It is the hardest surface in the human body and the first line of defense against cavities. It is the visual surface of the tooth, and usually stops around the gum line. Think of enamel as a barrier that shields your teeth from harm.
Dentin
The layer directly beneath enamel is dentin, which is made up of microscopic tubes!
It is a sensitive layer that surrounds pulp, and plays a pivotal role in communicating sensations from the surface of your teeth to the nerves inside your teeth. Without dentin, our teeth wouldn’t feel the difference between ice cream and hot soup!
Cementum
Cementum is layer between the root of teeth and gums. It is primarily beneath the gum line, and helps anchor teeth to the bones in the jaw. Cementum is really cool because it can actually repair itself! Think of Cementum as the foundation of a home that keeps the house (tooth) grounded and secure.
Pulp
Dental pulp is the living tissue at the core of teeth, and acts as an alarm bell that sends signals sent from the dentin to the brain. Pulp is soft and contains a large network of nerves and blood vessels. It is the most sensitive and important part of teeth, and can be very sensitive if it is ever exposed.
Protect Your Child’s Teeth
If enamel is damaged then the different layers of teeth are exposed to increasing harm. You can help keep your child’s teeth strong and healthy by having them brush twice per day for two minutes at a time. Additionally, they should floss once per day, and try to drink more water – which helps produce saliva and naturally clean teeth.
If your child suffers from tooth sensitivity, or complains of gum pain, then visit our office. Dental cavities are the most prevalent –and preventable – disease that affects children. Visit our office so that we can evaluate your child’s oral health, and outline a plan to help them achieve optimal oral health.
November 9th, 2017
Thanksgiving is here, and with it comes a swath of seasonal treats that are usually enjoyed just once a year. Besides visiting family, Thanksgiving is a time for eating, and eating well. As your family enjoys this time together, keep your eyes out for a few Thanksgiving dishes that can harm your teeth, and turn your relaxing time off into a real tooth-ache.
Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry sauce is a Thanksgiving staple in many households, and seldom appears on dinner tables outside of turkey day. Despite its tart deliciousness, cranberry sauce is packed with sugar and offers little nutritional value at all. In fact, one of the most popular choices for cranberry sauce –canned cranberry sauce – has 121 grams of sugar per can, and no protein or fiber at all. All of that sugar provides nourishment and energy to bad oral bacteria that cause cavities.
As an alternative, try finding a recipe that calls for fresh cranberries, so that you can control the amount of sugar your family consumes this holiday season.
Stuffing
Stuffing is another Thanksgiving classic that can really harm teeth. That’s because most stuffing recipes revolve around bread. Starches like bread provide cavity-causing bacteria the energy they need to chip away at tooth enamel. Additionally, starches can be very sticky and stay on teeth long after a meal has finished, and cause further damage. The high amount of starch sadly makes stuffing unhealthy for teeth. Combined with the fact that stuffing is full of carbohydrates and lacks dense nutritional value, and you begin running out of reasons to eat it.
Try getting your stuffing fix by making a tooth-healthy breadless stuffing that uses beans instead of bread as a base! Beans are full of protein and fiber, which makes it a much healthier replacement for bread in stuffing recipes.
Fruit Cake
A seasonal favorite that appears on tables between Thanksgiving and Christmas, fruitcake sounds like it would be a healthy treat, the word “fruit” is right in the name after all! Unfortunately, fruitcake is full dried fruit, which can really damage teeth. Dried fruit contains much higher levels of sugar than their natural counterparts, and none of the water that helps make fruit so healthy. Dried fruit is also very sticky, and can stay on teeth longer after a meal in done. The sugar and the sticky consistency make fruitcake a no-no for healthy teeth. If you are looking for an alternative, you can make a fresh fruit crumble, which has much less sugar and isn’t nearly as sticky.
Sweet Potato Casserole
Sweet potatoes can be a dental super food that provide valuable vitamins for tooth and gum health, but when prepared improperly, anything can be unhealthy. This is the case for sweet potato casserole, a dish that packs an unhealthy punch to teeth. Most sweet potato casseroles are made to be sweet dishes, rather than savory, and feature a layer of melted marshmallows on top. Because of this, they are loaded with added sugar, which hurts their nutritional value. Marshmallows are particularly bad for teeth, since they are packed with sugar and incredibly sticky – two components that can lead to tooth decay and cavities.
If you really want sweet potato casserole this Thanksgiving, try making a more savory recipe that doesn’t add sugar or marshmallows. Sweet potatoes can be great for oral health, when they’re not drenched in sugar.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving
Whatever you decide to make your family for Thanksgiving dinner, we hope that you have a happy and wonderful holiday. Remind your family to brush twice per day for two minutes per session, and floss once per day to help keep cavities at bay this holiday season.
October 19th, 2017
Halloween is a great time for families to celebrate the fall season, and get to know your community through local festivals and trick-or-treating. But, how long have we been celebrating Halloween, and what does the holiday represent? Below, we’ll tell you about the original traditions associated with this festive holiday.
A Look at Old Ireland
Halloween is over 2000 years old and originates in Celtic Ireland with the Festival of Samhain. The Festival of Samhain celebrates the incoming Celtic New Year, which begins on November 1st. The festival honored deceased ancestors and celebrated the end of the harvest. The ancient Celts believed that the bridge between seasons (between October 31st and November 1st, by their calendars) was also a bridge to the world of the dead, and they used this time to honor their deceased ancestors by holding rituals that celebrated life and death.
Early America
As European and Native American groups began coming together, early forms of Halloween were celebrated as “play parties,” public events held to celebrate the harvest. During play parties, neighbors would gather to tell stories of the dead (ghost stories), dance, sing and get into some good old-fashioned mischief (tricks!).
Modern American Halloween
By the late 1800’s, newspapers and community leaders urged Americans to focus less on tricks and ghosts, and emphasize being neighborly and communal. Because of these efforts, modern Halloween began to break away from the traditions associated with the Festival of Samhain.
Between the 1920’s and 1950’s, trick-or-treating became more popular and was widely encouraged in neighborhoods and classrooms across America. Trick-or-treating was seen as an inexpensive way for the entire town to celebrate the holiday, and engage the community.
Trick – Or – Treat?
Early trick-or-treating was done when poor citizens would beg for food and offer prayers for the ancestors of a charitable passerby. People began passing out “soul cakes” to the beggars, named after the souls for which the beggar would pray. Later, children adopted the practice by going door-to-door and soliciting food, ale and treats in exchange for prayers. The traveling solicitation was called “going a-souling” by participating children.
Wide scale acceptance and practice of trick-or-treating was not a part of the American mainstream until the early 20th century.
Today’s Spooky Celebration
Now, Americans spend just over 6 billion dollars each year on Halloween, making it the second largest commercial holiday in the United States. Additionally, one quarter of all candy sold in the United States is sold at Halloween, and costs about 3 billion dollars.
Have a Happy Halloween!
We would like to wish all of our patients and their families a happy and safe Halloween. If you are passing candy out this year, consider sharing some mouth-healthy treats with your neighborhood children like dark chocolate and sugar free lollipops.
October 19th, 2017
Halloween can be a fantastic time for families to dress up in spooky costumes, and inherit quite a lot of candy! While candy can be really tasty, it is terrible for teeth, and much of it goes uneaten every year. Our dental office is trying to help out by hosting our annual candy buy back campaign, which rewards children with cash for exchanging their candy. Even better is that the majority of the candy will be donated to Operation Gratitude, which gives troops serving abroad a taste of home.
Operation Gratitude annually sends upwards of 200,000 care packages filled with food, entertainment, hygiene, and handmade items, plus personal letters of appreciation to members of our armed forces. It’s an amazing way to say “Thank You” to all who serve, and help them feel more at home while they’re serving.
Each Halloween, we offer our young patients a chance to trade in their hard earned trick-or-treat candy for a little bit of money. For each pound of candy that they donate, we give them 1 dollar in cash. Then, we take the candy and send it to Operation Gratitude to help give our armed service men and women a little slice of home.
Contact our office if you would like to participate in our candy buy back, and support our troops with the help of Operation Gratitude.
