Dentist in Schaumburg

Americans need a serious brush up when it comes to their oral health, according to a new survey from the American Dental Association (ADA). On average, Americans scored a “D” on a series of true or false questions, ranging from “how often to brush” and “what causes cavities.”

“The results of the survey were quite shocking and really show how important it is for people to become more involved in their own oral health,”  said William R. Calnon DDS, ADA president and practicing dentist in Rochester, NY.

According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), nine out of 10 adults ages 20-64 have had cavities in their permanent teeth.  Dental disease is the most chronic disease suffered by children.  According to the NIDCR, nearly half of children ages 2 to 11 years old have had cavities in their baby teeth.

Some highlights from the national ADA survey conducted in May with a nationally representative sample of nearly 1500 adults (with a margin of error of + or – 2.6 points) include:

*90% of respondents mistakenly believe they should brush after every meal when the ADA recommends only twice a day

*65% of respondents mistakenly believe they should only replace their toothbrush twice a year when the ADA recommends every three months (or after being sick i.e. cold, flu, strep throat, etc.)

*81% of respondents mistakenly think that sugar causes cavities when it’s really germs in the mouth that feed on sugar then produce acid which attacks tooth enamel to the point where a cavity forms.

*59% of respondents don’t realize cavity causing germs can be passed from person-to-person. ~Article taken from ITK  Jan/Feb/Mar 2013

Fibromyalgia & Sleep Apnea

Fibromyalgia and abnormal sleep breathing commonly go together.  Sleep apnea is considered a possible cause or contributing factor for FMS and FMS may increase your risk of sleep apnea.

Any sleep disorder can make FMS symptoms worse, so treating sleep disorders is often a big help in managing FMS.  Sleep apnea is one of the more serious sleep disorders because it can lead to life-threatening conditions.

What is Sleep Apnea?

People with sleep apnea frequently stop breathing while asleep.  The need for air can wake them up or bring them out of deep sleep.  It’s not uncommon for this to happen every few minutes, resulting in poor sleep quality.

The most common type of sleep apnea is called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), in which the airway gets blocked at one of several possible sites.  The obstruction can be from excess tissue in the air passage or nasal passages, or a large tongue or tonsils.  When the tissues relax during sleep, they block the airway.  Obesity increases the risk of OSA.

When sleep apnea stops your breathing, your blood oxygen levels drop, your heart beats faster, you get a burst of stress hormones, and your body rouses you to restart breathing.  Some people have no idea this is going on, but some awaken with a gasp.

Sleep apnea carries an increased risk of several other health conditions, some of which are serious and potentially life threatening.  Associated conditions include:

*Stroke

*Heart disease or heart failure

*High blood failure

*Heartburn and reflux

*Diabetes

*Erectile dysfunction

*Depression

*Sudden death

Treatment can help lower your risk of developing these problems.

Why Do Fibromyalgia & Sleep Apnea Go Together?

So far, we don’t know why fibromyalgia and sleep apnea go together.  It’s possible that apnea-caused sleep deprivation contributes to the development of FMS.  It’s also possible that lax cinnective tissues associated with FMS may make airway obstructions more likely.

Diagnosing Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is diagnosed by a polysomnogram, or sleep study.  These are done at a sleep lab, where you’re hooked up to electrodes and monitored throughout the night by a technician.  

Your doctor may refer you for a sleep study if you report symptoms of sleep apnea or other sleep disorders.   Most people with FMS are not given a sleep study, but some doctors and researchers say sleep studies should be done more often to help identify and treat sleep disorders that exacerbate FMS. 

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea and Fibromyalgia

Some symptoms of fibromyalgia and sleep apnea are similar, which can make it harder for you to detect and for your doctor to diagnose.  Shared symptoms include:

*Unrefreshing sleep & excessive daytime sleepiness

*Difficulty concentrating

*Personality Changes

*Depression

*Insomnia

*Episodes of obstructed breathing during sleep

*Loud snoring

*Dry mouth upon waking

*Snorting, gasping or choking

*High blood pressure

If you have FMS and notice symptoms, you should talk to your doctor about the possibility of sleep apnea.

Treating Sleep Apnea-CPAP

The most common treatment for OSA is a machine that provides what’s called Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, or CPAP.  The continuous pressure keeps your airway from becoming obstructed.

Once you’re diagnosed with sleep apnea, the docotr will likely send you to a medical-equipment provider, who will fit you with a CPAP mask to wear while you sleep and give you a custom-programmed CPAP machine.

Not everyone can tolerate CPAP and FMS can make it harder, especially if you have head, face or jaw pain.  CPAP can also make it harder for some people to fall asleep.

If yo ufind it hard to adjust to CPAP, however, talk to your doctor or equipment provider to see if they can help you.  You may also want to consider other treatment options.  Leaving sleep apnea untreated is a poor option, both because of the impact on your FMS and because of the associated serious health risks-remember some of them can kill you.

Treating Sleep Apnea-Other Options

Other sleep apnea treatments include:

*Losing weight-While it’s easier said than done, it can greatly improve the condition.

*Dental Devices-If jaw position is responsible for the obstruction, wearing a dental device to bed can be effective.

*Surgery-This may be the only treatment option for some who can’t tolerate CPAP; however, be sure to take into account that surgery carries serious risks, FMS can slow your recovery rate, and surgery can cause your symptoms to flare up.  Here’s more information on possible sleep apnea surgeries from About.com Sleep Disorders Guide Brandon Peters: Surgery Options for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

(Article taken from medicalnewstoday.com)

Sports drinks hit the wire today with a red light that their level of acidity is increasingly responsible for irreversible damage to teeth, especially amongst adolescents and younger adults, their predominant target market.

The report is published in the May/June 2012 issue of General Dentistry, the peer-reviewed clinical journal of the Academy of General Dentistry.  Lead author Poonam Jain, BDS, MS, MPH confirms the findings:

Young adults consume these drinks assuming that they will improve the sport performance and energy levels and that they are ‘better’ for them than soda…Most of these patients are shocked to learn that these drinks are essentially bathing their teeth with acid.”

The acidity levels are responsible for eroding tooth enamel, the hard, shiny, white outer surface of the teeth.  Once this is compromised, the inner softer dentine can start to decay quite easily, with the tooth cavity making a perfect breeding ground for bacteria.

Researchers looked at acidity levels in 13 different sports drinks and found levels varied greatly between both brands and different flavors of the same brand.  Scientisits immersed samples of tooth enamel in each beverage for 15 minutes and then replaced them in artificial saliva for two hours.  The cycle was repeated four times per day for five days to mimic the equivalent of drinking four smart drinks per day.  At all other times, the teeth were stored in artificial saliva.

After just 5 days, the damage was already evident, with energy drinks causing double the damage of more balanced sports drinks.  Some fifty percent of US teenagers are reported to consume energy drinks and as many as 62 percent consume at least one sports drink per day.  Parents and young adults should be made aware of the downside to the heavily marketed products, say the report.

Pooman continues that:

“Teens regularly come into the office with these types of symptoms, but they don’t know why….We review their diet and snacking habits and then we discuss their consumption of these beverages.  They don’t realize that something as seemingly harmless as a sports or energy drink can do a lot of damage to their teeth.”

The doctor advises her patients to minimize their intake of sports and energy drinks and also consider chewing sugar free gum to promote saliva production, as well as washing the mouth with water, to assist the body in returning the mouth to its natural pH, a little quicker.  Another good point she makes is to wait at least an hour before brushing teeth to avoid rubbing acids directly onto tooth surface.

Although marketers might not want to admit it, natural fruit juices and especially coconut water which has excellent re-hydrating properties, might make a better alternative to smart drinks, which are often loaded with sugar, caffeine and artificial ingredients, and can be costly, not only in purchase price, but also in dentistry bills.

Even if you brush your teeth daily, you may still have dangerous bacteria growing inside your mouth.  Not only could that lead to periodontitis (an advanced form of gum disease that comes with symptoms such as bleeding when you brush and gum pain), but studies also find a link between poor oral hygiene and major health issues.  Here are some ways that missing the mark on oral care could harm your health. (Excerpts originally posted on health.yahoo.net)

1.  It may hurt your heart.

People with gum disease are almost twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery disease compared to those that don’t have periodontitis.  Researchers aren’t exactly sure of why this might be, but one theory is that harmful bacteria from your mouth enters your blood stream and attaches to fatty plaques in your heart’s blood vessels, leading to inflammation and upping your risk of clots that can trigger heart attacks.

2. Your memory may suffer

Some research suggests there may be a tie between poor oral health and an increased risk of dementia.  One study that followed 118 nuns between ages of 75 and 98 found that those with the fewest teeth were most likely to suffer dementia.  Experts think oral bacteria may spread to the brain through cranial nerves that connect to the jaw or through the bloodstream, and may contribute to the type of plaque that’s been linked to Alzheimer’s.

3. It might worsen your body’s control of blood sugar.

People with diabetes are more likely to have periodontal disease than those without diabetes.  While this may be because diabetics are more susceptible to infections, there’s also been research that finds gum disease  could make it harder to control your blood sugar, and that treating it helps improve diabetes symptoms.

4. It may affect your breathing.

Gum disease may increase your risk of getting respiratory infections, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pneumonia, according to the Journal of Periodontology.  The infections might be caused when bacteria from the mouth are inhaled into your lungs, possibly causing your airways to become inflamed.

Expert Teeth-Cleaning Tips

How can you tell if you’re hitting the mark when it comes to good oral care?  “Generally, your teeth and gums should NOT bleed, be painful, or feel rough or sharp to your tongue”, says Pam Atherton, RDH, a dental hygienist for Dr. John Carlile, DDS in Skaneateles, NY.  “Your breath should be fresh for at least a couple of hours after brushin in the morning and after having eaten breakfast.”  One of the easiest ways to prevent gum disease is to clean you teeth properly, so try these tricks for a healthier mouth.

1. Rinse your mouth

If you use mouthwash twice a day, you’ll slash your risk of gum disease by 60%, says Marjorie Jeffcoat, DMD, Professor of Periodontology at the University of Pennsylvanis School of Dental Medicine on Philadelphia.  Ideally you should aim to rinse for about 30 seconds with a mouthwash that has microbial protection to fight plaque and gingivitis, such as Listerine.

2. Floss first

You should floss before you brush your teeth, rather than after, says Jeffcoat.  “That way you’ll be able to brush away any food that was stuck between your teeth to prevent bacteria from growing.”  If you find dental floss hard to hold onto, we recommend trying floss picks, such as Plackers dental flossers, instead.

3. Get the right toohbrush.

Soft or Extra-soft bristles are the best.  “Gum tissue can’t make a callous: therefore, when a person uses a medium or hard-bristled brush, it literally scrathes the tissue away over time, exposes the root surface underneath and leads to possible bone loss,” says Atherton.

4. Brush Smart

To really clean your teeth, aim to brush them for a full two minutes.  Make sure to brush both your tongue and cheeks as well as the chewing surfaces, the cheek-side and tongue-side of the tooth to improve the removal of harmful bacteria in the crevices.  To get children to brush for the full two minutes, sing “Happy Birthday to You” or the “Alphabet Song” twice through at a normal speed for each side of your mouth.  Also be sure to replace your toothbrush after three months or immediately after any sort of throat infection or cold/flu.

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Oral B, Sonicare vs. manual brushing?  Which one is most beneficial to the health of my gum tissue.

A professional tooth cleaning happens in a doctor’s office. When a dental hygienist cleans your teeth they remove soft and hard deposits from your teeth that cause cavities. The main reason for having your teeth cleaned is to prevent or delay the progression of gum diseases.  Getting your teeth cleaned is not the only way to prevent gum diseases — smoking has been implicated in approximately 50% of periodontal disease cases in adults.

The frequency of professional teeth cleaning depends on the health of your teeth and gums, for example healthy children and adults should have their teeth cleaned at least twice a year.   If you’re a smoker or have a tendency to get gum infections you should visit your dentist more often.  It’s a good idea to actually ask your dentist how often you should visit their office.

As for personal dental care this is, of course, the most beneficial thing you can do to your teeth and minimize dentist visits. Most people have been brushing their teeth two or three times a day since childhood. But because teeth brushing is such a daily routine few people actually stop and think about the proper way of doing it.

The cleaning of the teeth and removal of plaque is mainly done by brushing properly along the gum line not by using more toothpaste!  Too much toothpaste actually causes the cleaning to be less effective.  The amount of tooth paste that will cover half of the brush head is good enough.

Here are some excellent tips on how to brush your teeth:

• Try to use a soft or extra soft bristle toothbrush that you should replace about every 3 months or so.
• When you’re brushing your teeth along the gum line, make sure to angle your brush to 45 degree angle so it goes against your teeth and gums, move your toothbrush back and forth in small, round strokes. The correct motion is more like massaging along the gums line rather than vigorous brushing.
• For longer fresh-breath add 2 -3 drops of tea-tree oil to the toothpaste for brushing.
• In order to stop plaque from forming between teeth you should floss your teeth daily.   If you apply some toothpaste on the dental floss it will produce excellent results to clean the spots that are hard to get to.
• Remember to floss and brush the gums of both upper & lower teeth.  Floss against the end-side of the tooth and scale the floss up-and-down the tooth in a C-shape several times.
• Stock handy dental floss in your purse, at your office desk and in your car for use when needed and try to do some flossing when no one is looking.
• The Tongue is a major source of plaque. Scraping or brushing the tongue clean twice daily is essential oral hygiene.