You thought the days of cavities were over when you were a kid. But what happens as we get older? We get cavities again--one of those miracles of aging gracefully.
The problem with cavities in an adult is that they happen in the most inaccessible areas, usually on the exposed root at the gum line. Those cavities are difficult to treat. There is no dentist who enjoys treating those cavities and they tend to recur because the problem that caused the cavities remains.
What’s the problem? When we were young our saliva had a neutral pH. That means the mouth generally wasn’t acidic. Our saliva glands don’t work as well as they used to and many of the medications that are taken for the chronic diseases that we are treated for cause dry mouth. People with dry mouths get a lot of cavities.
Here’s what you can do about it: 1) Talk with your doctor and determine whether you might be able to withdraw from some of those medications.. 2) Reduce the sugar in your diet. Sugar comes in many forms. Processed food has sugar. Candies, cakes, sweets? You know them all. Sugar increases the incidence of decay. 3) Measure the acid level of your mouth. Your dentist may be able to help you with that, or you can go to the drugstore and buy nitrazine test paper. Put a small piece of this acid-detecting paper in your mouth. Once the paper is wet, it will turn a certain color and you can measure the color of the paper against a color chart and determine your pH (acid level).
Here are some new approaches: One is xylitol. Xylitol is a sugar. You can buy it in any health food store. Xylitol has been shown to remineralize decaying tooth structure. The second is a rinse which neutralizes the pH. If you don’t produce enough saliva, you can buy a rinse that does. Your dentist will recommend one to you or your pharmacist will. You are looking for a rinse with a pH of 7.0 or as close to that as possible. A simple home remedy is to use baking soda rinses. Their pH is higher, but will neutralize acids very fast. Take a tablespoon of baking soda, mix it in 8 ounces of water, and just rinse with a mouthful of it and spit out. Most only need do this 3 or 4 times a day. The third is to eat more raw vegetables. The fourth is to use the new calcium phosphate products which assist in the remineralization of enamel. You can look them up on the internet.
With diligence to detail, you can reverse the trend of tooth decay in your own mouth, saving money, discomfort, and tooth loss.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Bad Teeth? Think Hybrid
Bad Teeth? Think Hybrid
Dr. Lee Sheldon
You have a bad tooth. You go to the dentist. Get the filling. Then the tooth hurts. You need a root canal and a crown. That’s okay if it happens once or twice. What happens if you go through this sequence again and again? Are there other answers?
Yes, there is another answer, an answer that doesn’t decay, that has a better success rate than any form of tooth replacement, a dental implant. Along with the implant you’ll need a crown and a post to hold the crown onto the implant. Okay, you say, a dental implant will work, but I’m having this problem again and again and again. I can’t afford a dental implant for every tooth that goes bad. Well, there’s lots of good news here. You don’t have to replace every bad tooth with an implant.
Other people who have bad teeth, rather than continuing to replace them, opt out of the dental system. They wait for the ultimate to happen and then they think that they’ll have to have dentures. Why? Dentures are less expensive, they don’t wear out readily, and it’s the only answer that they know of.
What would happen if you combine the lower cost of denture materials with dental implants? You would have a tooth replacement system called a “hybrid.” You would have a dental implant-supported denture, with all the security of implants supported by bone, and a denture fastened to those implants. It wouldn’t move, wouldn’t cause denture sores. It would be smaller so that the roof of your mouth isn’t covered. You would chew almost the way you did when you had healthy natural teeth. You wouldn’t have to have your dentures removed if you had surgery. You wouldn’t have to think about what you can and cannot order on the menu. And in the event that a tooth broke, it would be a simple repair.
Implant-supported hybrid dentures are nothing new. They’ve been around for over twenty-five years. They’re generally used to replace full arches of missing teeth. Almost everyone who is missing teeth still has enough bone support for a hybrid. And with the modern dental CT-scans, we can often find good implant-supporting bone that we couldn’t see on traditional x-rays. So if you’ve been missing teeth for years, you still qualify for a hybrid. And hybrids are cost-effective, costing roughly half of what a full arch of implant-supported crowns would cost.
Some of the happiest patients we have are patients who found an answer to the continual downward spiral of dental disease. They found hybrids, and are smiling and chewing better than they have in years. If you’ve always thought that there must be an easier answer to the continual path of tooth after tooth after tooth going bad, talk to your dentist about a hybrid.
Dr. Lee Sheldon
You have a bad tooth. You go to the dentist. Get the filling. Then the tooth hurts. You need a root canal and a crown. That’s okay if it happens once or twice. What happens if you go through this sequence again and again? Are there other answers?
Yes, there is another answer, an answer that doesn’t decay, that has a better success rate than any form of tooth replacement, a dental implant. Along with the implant you’ll need a crown and a post to hold the crown onto the implant. Okay, you say, a dental implant will work, but I’m having this problem again and again and again. I can’t afford a dental implant for every tooth that goes bad. Well, there’s lots of good news here. You don’t have to replace every bad tooth with an implant.
Other people who have bad teeth, rather than continuing to replace them, opt out of the dental system. They wait for the ultimate to happen and then they think that they’ll have to have dentures. Why? Dentures are less expensive, they don’t wear out readily, and it’s the only answer that they know of.
What would happen if you combine the lower cost of denture materials with dental implants? You would have a tooth replacement system called a “hybrid.” You would have a dental implant-supported denture, with all the security of implants supported by bone, and a denture fastened to those implants. It wouldn’t move, wouldn’t cause denture sores. It would be smaller so that the roof of your mouth isn’t covered. You would chew almost the way you did when you had healthy natural teeth. You wouldn’t have to have your dentures removed if you had surgery. You wouldn’t have to think about what you can and cannot order on the menu. And in the event that a tooth broke, it would be a simple repair.
Implant-supported hybrid dentures are nothing new. They’ve been around for over twenty-five years. They’re generally used to replace full arches of missing teeth. Almost everyone who is missing teeth still has enough bone support for a hybrid. And with the modern dental CT-scans, we can often find good implant-supporting bone that we couldn’t see on traditional x-rays. So if you’ve been missing teeth for years, you still qualify for a hybrid. And hybrids are cost-effective, costing roughly half of what a full arch of implant-supported crowns would cost.
Some of the happiest patients we have are patients who found an answer to the continual downward spiral of dental disease. They found hybrids, and are smiling and chewing better than they have in years. If you’ve always thought that there must be an easier answer to the continual path of tooth after tooth after tooth going bad, talk to your dentist about a hybrid.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Can’t Wear a CPAP mask? Your dentist may help..
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a chronic condition when it causes disturbances in sleep three or more nights a week. It occurs in males twice as often as in females. As we age, we lose muscle tonus in many areas of the body, including the mouth and throat. And just as you may be a little flabby in your belly, you also become flabby in the muscles controlling your airway. The usual scenario is this: You fall asleep on your back. Your tongue falls back toward your throat. Your soft palate and your pharynx also collapse a bit. You start to snore as the air that you inhale goes through the airway that is now narrowed because of the muscle collapse. What happens if those airway muscles completely collapse? You stop breathing. Of course, you won’t let your body do this for too long, so you wake up just enough to tighten the muscles in your airway and start breathing again.
This process can occur several times per hour. The more you are awakened out of a deep sleep, the more tired you’re likely to be the next day. But is doesn’t stop there. OSA increases the risk for high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, obesity, and diabetes.
The first-line treatment for OSA is CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure), a nasal and/or oral mask connected by hose to a machine that gently blows air into your airway to keep it from collapsing. Despite its effectiveness, many with OSA, particularly in its mild or moderate form, find the CPAP to be a nuisance and don’t use it.
An increasingly popular alternative to CPAP for those who cannot use it is an oral appliance. This device, worn on top of the teeth, opens your jaw and moves it forward, thus opening your airway.
You can try it yourself. Take a deep breath and feel the air going through the airway. Now thrust your lower jaw forward and take another deep breath. Do you feel a difference? You’ve just opened your airway. The oral appliance opens the airway in the same fashion, stopping snoring and alleviating obstructive sleep apnea for many. And for those who don’t like CPAP, it seems to be better accepted.
There are many oral appliances available for OSA. There are simple snoring appliances. There are also adjustable appliances that you or your dentist can adjust to put your jaw in the most ideal position to open your airway. The use of such an appliance may not just make you a less noisy bed partner, it may save you from daytime fatigue as well as reduce your risk of some serious diseases.
Lee N. Sheldon, DMD
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a chronic condition when it causes disturbances in sleep three or more nights a week. It occurs in males twice as often as in females. As we age, we lose muscle tonus in many areas of the body, including the mouth and throat. And just as you may be a little flabby in your belly, you also become flabby in the muscles controlling your airway. The usual scenario is this: You fall asleep on your back. Your tongue falls back toward your throat. Your soft palate and your pharynx also collapse a bit. You start to snore as the air that you inhale goes through the airway that is now narrowed because of the muscle collapse. What happens if those airway muscles completely collapse? You stop breathing. Of course, you won’t let your body do this for too long, so you wake up just enough to tighten the muscles in your airway and start breathing again.
This process can occur several times per hour. The more you are awakened out of a deep sleep, the more tired you’re likely to be the next day. But is doesn’t stop there. OSA increases the risk for high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, obesity, and diabetes.
The first-line treatment for OSA is CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure), a nasal and/or oral mask connected by hose to a machine that gently blows air into your airway to keep it from collapsing. Despite its effectiveness, many with OSA, particularly in its mild or moderate form, find the CPAP to be a nuisance and don’t use it.
An increasingly popular alternative to CPAP for those who cannot use it is an oral appliance. This device, worn on top of the teeth, opens your jaw and moves it forward, thus opening your airway.
You can try it yourself. Take a deep breath and feel the air going through the airway. Now thrust your lower jaw forward and take another deep breath. Do you feel a difference? You’ve just opened your airway. The oral appliance opens the airway in the same fashion, stopping snoring and alleviating obstructive sleep apnea for many. And for those who don’t like CPAP, it seems to be better accepted.
There are many oral appliances available for OSA. There are simple snoring appliances. There are also adjustable appliances that you or your dentist can adjust to put your jaw in the most ideal position to open your airway. The use of such an appliance may not just make you a less noisy bed partner, it may save you from daytime fatigue as well as reduce your risk of some serious diseases.
Lee N. Sheldon, DMD
Monday, March 29, 2010
NUTRITION and Periodontal Disease
NUTRITION and Periodontal Disease
The area that doctors and researchers are studying very carefully is chronic inflammation. In fact, chronic inflammation may very well be the common link to all of the chronic degenerative diseases—arthritis, heart disease, some forms of cancer, and periodontal disease to name just a few. I mention periodontal disease, because as a periodontist, that is what I see on a frequent basis.
Periodontal disease is that disease which causes a loss of the supporting bone for the teeth. Also known as pyorrhea and gum disease, periodontal disease robs the person of his or her teeth, resulting in loss of mouth function, loss of support of the facial tissues, and discomfort in eating.
So why bring this up in this column. The facts are changing in regard to this disease. For years, we have emphasized controlling plaque. You know—Floss your teeth, brush your teeth. “But you showed me how to floss my teeth last time!! “ Well, get even more used to the lecture, because we have even more information that links gum disease to overall disease. Your body’s immune response to plaque in your mouth results in chronic inflammation. That chronic inflammation not only destroys the bone supporting your teeth, it also destroys tissues all over the body. Yes, that’s right, all over the body.
But if you think that’s all, just hang on here a little longer. While plaque is necessary in the start of periodontal disease, there are other factors that will worsen it and worsen the chronic inflammation in the rest of your body. What is that, pray tell? NUTRITION !!! In fact, nutrition can play a positive or a negative role depending on how positively or negatively you eat. You already know what the bad things are, highly processed food, fast food. Have you ever seen what a McDonald’s hamburger looks like 4 years after it’s cooked. I have one. It looks exactly the same as when I bought it, bun included. I’ll show you. How good is that for you?
The American Heart Association recommends 4-5 servings a day of fresh vegetables and 4-5 servings a day of fresh fruits on a 2000 calorie diet. Yes, that means 8-10 servings (a serving is usually a half cup of a dense fruit or vegetable or a full cup of a leafy vegetable) of delicious fruits and vegetables. That will reduce your risk of heart disease, and it will also reduce your risk of other degenerative diseases, including periodontal disease.
“But I take my vitamins,” you say. Sorry. Vitamins don’t cut it. A multivitamin has generously 50-75 nutrients in it. A whole fruit or vegetable—over 12,000 nutrients that have been identified already. Some studies on vitamins A, C, and E were stopped because those people taking the vitamins were doing worse than those who weren’t.
Whole foods is the answer. And there are also whole foods supplements that you may take to help.
So, just before you brush and floss, have an apple, eat some grapes, dip some carrots in peanut butter (unprocessed). Eat the good foods. They may save more than your teeth.
Lee N. Sheldon, DMD
The area that doctors and researchers are studying very carefully is chronic inflammation. In fact, chronic inflammation may very well be the common link to all of the chronic degenerative diseases—arthritis, heart disease, some forms of cancer, and periodontal disease to name just a few. I mention periodontal disease, because as a periodontist, that is what I see on a frequent basis.
Periodontal disease is that disease which causes a loss of the supporting bone for the teeth. Also known as pyorrhea and gum disease, periodontal disease robs the person of his or her teeth, resulting in loss of mouth function, loss of support of the facial tissues, and discomfort in eating.
So why bring this up in this column. The facts are changing in regard to this disease. For years, we have emphasized controlling plaque. You know—Floss your teeth, brush your teeth. “But you showed me how to floss my teeth last time!! “ Well, get even more used to the lecture, because we have even more information that links gum disease to overall disease. Your body’s immune response to plaque in your mouth results in chronic inflammation. That chronic inflammation not only destroys the bone supporting your teeth, it also destroys tissues all over the body. Yes, that’s right, all over the body.
But if you think that’s all, just hang on here a little longer. While plaque is necessary in the start of periodontal disease, there are other factors that will worsen it and worsen the chronic inflammation in the rest of your body. What is that, pray tell? NUTRITION !!! In fact, nutrition can play a positive or a negative role depending on how positively or negatively you eat. You already know what the bad things are, highly processed food, fast food. Have you ever seen what a McDonald’s hamburger looks like 4 years after it’s cooked. I have one. It looks exactly the same as when I bought it, bun included. I’ll show you. How good is that for you?
The American Heart Association recommends 4-5 servings a day of fresh vegetables and 4-5 servings a day of fresh fruits on a 2000 calorie diet. Yes, that means 8-10 servings (a serving is usually a half cup of a dense fruit or vegetable or a full cup of a leafy vegetable) of delicious fruits and vegetables. That will reduce your risk of heart disease, and it will also reduce your risk of other degenerative diseases, including periodontal disease.
“But I take my vitamins,” you say. Sorry. Vitamins don’t cut it. A multivitamin has generously 50-75 nutrients in it. A whole fruit or vegetable—over 12,000 nutrients that have been identified already. Some studies on vitamins A, C, and E were stopped because those people taking the vitamins were doing worse than those who weren’t.
Whole foods is the answer. And there are also whole foods supplements that you may take to help.
So, just before you brush and floss, have an apple, eat some grapes, dip some carrots in peanut butter (unprocessed). Eat the good foods. They may save more than your teeth.
Lee N. Sheldon, DMD
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
What to do about the loose lower denture
Lower dentures are famous for being loose and difficult to retain in the mouth. Lower dentures are where most of the dental adhesives are used. If you have a lower denture that is loose and floppy, that lower denture may be able to be converted to a dental implant supported denture. Very often your existing denture can be used and a new denture does not have to be constructed. By the placement of as few as two implants in the jaw, snaps can be placed on the inside of your denture to allow you to snap your dentures in place. Imagine your denture just being clicked into place. No adhesives, no worry about a denture suddenly moving out of your mouth. Walk in, have the dental implants placed in about a forty minute procedure, wait a month, then readapt your denture to the dental implants in about one hour, and voila! In less than two hours you have a denture that is snapped in place.
Remember, we have a Charitable Giving Campaign, and that is for a donation of $50 to charity Drs. Sheldon and Amir and his staff can tell you whether you are a candidate for this efficient, comfortable, and cost-effective procedure. Procedures can also be done to allow your existing denture to be screwed in to dental implants so that it doesn’t move at all. Such a procedure, with the appropriate planning, could be done all in one day. Dr. Sheldon and Dr. Amir can place the implants and on the very same day your denture can be adapted to the dental implants and literally screwed in place. The dental implants are then allowed to heal in place and about four to six months later you will have a new, permanent, implant-supported prosthesis made.
Remember, we have a Charitable Giving Campaign, and that is for a donation of $50 to charity Drs. Sheldon and Amir and his staff can tell you whether you are a candidate for this efficient, comfortable, and cost-effective procedure. Procedures can also be done to allow your existing denture to be screwed in to dental implants so that it doesn’t move at all. Such a procedure, with the appropriate planning, could be done all in one day. Dr. Sheldon and Dr. Amir can place the implants and on the very same day your denture can be adapted to the dental implants and literally screwed in place. The dental implants are then allowed to heal in place and about four to six months later you will have a new, permanent, implant-supported prosthesis made.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Osstell Radiofrequency Analysis Device
We now have the Osstell Radiofrequency Analysis Device, a device which accurately tells us when your implants are ready for restoration. The Osstell Radiofrequency Analysis Device determines by sonic waves when your dental implant is firmly attached to the bone. It looks like an iPod. By placing a wand close to your dental implant, the Osstell sends out radiofrequency waves to the implant. The implant, itself, then vibrates very much like a tuning fork. The amount of vibration of the dental implant then is measured by the Osstell device and a numerical readout instantly shows up on the machine. The numbers on the readout accurately determine when your implant is ready for restoration. This will greatly speed up restoration, as within a matter of moments, we will know how firmly embedded your implant is to the bone. The Osstell technology, combined with our new Cone-Beam CT scan, brings the latest in technology to our office to improve predictability for you.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Please Pardon Our Dust!
In anticipation of Dr. Jamie Amir’s arrival on July 6th, and the arrival of our new dental Con-Beam CT scan, our office is undergoing rejuvenation. Here are all of the things that are going to occur over the next few months.
• One additional treatment room.
• One additional consultation room.
• A room for our new Cone-Beam CT scan.
• Complete dental laboratory
• Ostell radiofrequency analysis unit to predict the suitability of your bone for dental implants.
• Installation of BTI platelet derived growth factor system
New staff are being trained now to implement all these changes. The same old faces will be here, and there will new smiling faces to improve our delivery of the best dental implant and periodontal services that we can provide.
• One additional treatment room.
• One additional consultation room.
• A room for our new Cone-Beam CT scan.
• Complete dental laboratory
• Ostell radiofrequency analysis unit to predict the suitability of your bone for dental implants.
• Installation of BTI platelet derived growth factor system
New staff are being trained now to implement all these changes. The same old faces will be here, and there will new smiling faces to improve our delivery of the best dental implant and periodontal services that we can provide.
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