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Hygiene Tips
“You’re chewing gum? I thought you were a dentist!” I hear this joke from time-to-time. I get “caught” with gum fairly often as I chew it several times daily because of the many benefits to your teeth. A lot of people make the assumption that all gum, across the board, is bad for your teeth. Well, don’t worry. If you like chewing gum, you might be doing your mouth a favor!
Many people suffer from chronic dry mouth. Dentists call this xerostomia. If you are one of those that can’t seem to keep your mouth moist, you know that it is quite a nuisance, but you should know that the problems with dry mouth go far beyond an annoying issue. Xerostomia could be damaging your teeth and gums.
Flossing has once again come under fire this week, as a study was released that attempts to prove a link between a certain brand of floss to compounds known as Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). These compounds have been linked to multiple health concerns, but does mean that flossing is bad for you? Let’s investigate.
In a previous blog we covered some of the ways that teeth can become sensitive. The underlying cause for this is what dentists call dentin hypersensitivity. This is a condition in which your dentin, the layer under your enamel, allows insults, especially temperature, to bother the nerve in the center of your tooth.
Did you ever walk into a dentist’s office with the feeling that you’ve got us fooled? You know that we’re going to give you a hard time about flossing your teeth, so this time you flossed for 3 straight days so you’ll be nice and clean and we can’t possibly give you the business…
Did you know there are five distinct stages of tooth decay? And, that in the first stage of decay, you can actually take steps to reverse the progression of the disease? Indeed, it’s true. In the first stage of decay, whether you’re a child or an adult, the application of fluoride via fluoride treatments, your toothpaste and even the local water supply can stop a cavity from penetrating through the enamel and reaching its second stage. Even the saliva in your mouth and the foods you eat help to re-mineralize a tooth in jeopardy. But that’s just the first stage! What about the rest? Understanding how a cavity progresses can assist you in preventing each successive stage from occurring. There’s always a lot going on in that mouth!
Over the last several years the sparkling water market has exploded. Everyone has seen Perrier and Pellegrino. They have been around for decades, but recently there has been an influx of new, flavored carbonated water brands like La Croix and Bubly. Wegmans Food Markets and all of the major beverage brands have even jumped on the bandwagon. If you're like me, you love these drinks (especially the Wegmans Cherry Pomegranate!), but what's the difference between these, plain-old water, and other types of beverages?
