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Sealants: One of the Childhood Secrets TV Designer Nate Berkus Credits for His Beautiful Smile

January 13, 2012 by DentalCMO

As a successful author, interior design guru (with 127 makeovers in eight years on The Oprah Winfrey Show), and host of his own television program, The Nate Berkus Show, Nate Berkus understands the important role a beautiful smile plays in one’s life and career. In a recent interview with Dear Doctor magazine, Nate discussed his oral health history. Berkus credits his all natural smile — no cosmetic dentistry here — to the treatments he received as a child from his dentist. “I’m grateful for having been given fluoride treatments and sealants as a child.” He then added that, “healthy habits should start at a young age.”

Dental sealants are important because they help protect developing young teeth until the enamel has matured. Without dental sealants, the newly erupted immature enamel of teeth is more permeable, meaning that the acids produced by bacteria in the mouth can damage these teeth more easily. This makes the teeth less resistant and thus more susceptible to tooth decay.

Regardless of how much your children brush their teeth, the reality is that toothbrush bristles cannot reach down to clean out the crevices found in the deep grooves (“pits and fissures”) of teeth. And if not removed, the bacteria found in these grooves produce decay-causing acids as a byproduct of metabolizing sugar. However, when sealants are used in combination with fluoride, good hygiene and nutrition (including lower sugar consumption), the odds of having tooth decay is dramatically reduced.

We refer to dental sealants as “pit and fissure” sealants because they protect the grooves found in the top of back teeth and the back of front teeth. Sealants also may reduce the need for subsequent treatments as your child grows older — just as it did for Nate Berkus. For these reasons, sealants are definitely something that all parents and caregivers should consider for their young children.

To learn more about dental sealants, contact us today to schedule an appointment so that we can conduct a thorough examination, discuss any questions you have as well as what treatment options will be best for you or your child. Or to learn more about sealants now, you can continue reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Sealants for Children.” And to read the entire interview with Nate Berkus, please see the Dear Doctor magazine article “Nate Berkus.”

The Scare That Made Iron Chef Cat Cora Believe in Mouthguards

January 3, 2012 by DentalCMO

Cat Cora, philanthropist, author, chef, restaurateur and the first female chef on the Food Network’s hit series Iron Chef America is a dynamo driven by a desire to change people’s lives for the better. And she is no different when it comes to tackling her most challenging role: caring for the needs of her four active young sons. This includes monitoring the food they eat, their oral hygiene habits and protecting their teeth from injuries.

During an interview with Dear Doctor magazine, Cat describes a backyard accident in which one of her boys, Zoran, was accidentally knocked in the mouth by another child while jumping on the family’s trampoline. While her son was not seriously injured, it did cause her to take proactive steps to avoid future injuries. She had her dentist make a custom-fitted mouthguard to protect his newly erupted adult teeth. He now wears the mouthguard while on the trampoline and when playing soccer.

If you and/or your children routinely participate in contact sports — boxing, football, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, water polo, rugby and basketball, for example — or other forms of vigorous physical activity, you too should consider getting a professionally made mouthguard. A properly fitted mouthguard can help prevent injuries to the jaws, lips and teeth. And unlike those cumbersome “boil and bite” mouthguards you can purchase at a drugstore, the ones we make will stay in place, making it easier for you to breathe and talk.

If you are still not convinced, consider these facts: According to the American Dental Association, an athlete is 60 times more likely to suffer harm to the teeth when not wearing a mouthguard. And the US Centers for Disease Control reports that sports-related dental injuries account for more than 600,000 visits to the emergency room each year. Furthermore, people who do not have a knocked out tooth properly reserved or replanted may face a lifetime cost of $10,000 to $20,000 per tooth, according to the National Youth Sports Foundation for Safety.

To learn more about mouthguards, continue reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Mouthguards.” Or if you are interested in obtaining a mouthguard for yourself and/or your child, contact us today to schedule an appointment. And to read the entire interview with Cat Cora, please see the article “Cat Cora.”

Getting the Best Possible Results with Full Dentures

December 25, 2011 by DentalCMO

Even with all the medical know-how we possess at the dawn of the 21st century, complete tooth loss is still a big problem. In this country, more than a quarter of all adults between ages 65 and 74 have lost all of their teeth. For these individuals, removable full dentures are often still used as an affordable and effective way to replace missing teeth.

Success with dentures originates from a collaboration among dentist, laboratory technician, and, of course, the denture-wearer. Creating false teeth that look natural is as much an art as it is a science. We take a number of steps to make sure you will get the best results. These include:

Positioning the teeth. Using facial landmarks and photographs of how you used to look before your teeth were lost helps us determine where to place each tooth and how the upper and lower teeth should line up in relation to each other. For example, we will consider what size the teeth should be; how close to the lip they should be; and how much space should exist between the upper and lower teeth when they are at rest.
Simulating natural gums. If you are someone with a “high lip dynamic” (a lot of gum shows when you smile), it is particularly important to simulate real gum tissue in a set of full dentures. Fortunately, there are many colors and textures available to create a realistic effect. Again, photographs can be helpful in achieving this.
Balancing the bite. We must make sure that your upper and lower dentures come together in a way that facilitates normal biting, chewing, and speech.

As a denture wearer, you will need to visit our office regularly to make sure the gum tissue and bone upon which your dentures rest stay healthy. It’s common to see a gradual loss of bone in people who wear dentures at a rate that varies from person to person. This bone loss can affect the fit of your dentures and lead to other health problems, which we can address if we are monitoring you on an ongoing basis.

If you have any questions about dentures, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Removable Full Dentures.”

TV’s Nate Berkus Discusses Dental Sealants, Fluoride Treatments and Flossing

December 18, 2011 by DentalCMO

Nate Berkus, author, interior designer and host of his own television program, The Nate Berkus Show, is a consummate professional who has always focused on “helping others love the way they live,” as he puts it. Berkus is known as one of America’s most beloved go-to-guys for inspiration on the latest design trends. And then there is his captivating smile.

In an exclusive interview with Dear Doctor magazine, Berkus discusses his trademark smile. Unlike most people in Hollywood, his smile is totally natural — he never wore braces or had any cosmetic work. However, Berkus does give credit to his childhood dentist for the preventative healthcare he received as a young boy. Berkus states, “I’m grateful for having been given fluoride treatments and sealants as a child. Healthy habits should start at a young age.”

As for his oral hygiene routine today, Berkus says he brushes his teeth at least two times a day, and sometimes three times a day. Berkus is also an avid “flosser” and follows the important flossing advice he learned from his dentist: “Floss the ones you want to keep.”

In addition to his design expertise, Berkus is right on the mark with his opinions on oral hygiene. In fact, he inspired our office to put together the following list of facts and oral health tips:

The first step in improving your oral health is to learn good oral hygiene behavior. Simply put, to maintain optimal oral health, you must brush and floss properly so that you thoroughly remove the dental plaque.
The second step is a thorough evaluation system. We are a key part of this step. During your next office visit, we can conduct a thorough examination, review your brushing and flossing techniques, examine the health of your tongue and discuss any questions you have. We can also clean your teeth and ensure that you leave our offices confident with your new oral hygiene routine. And if you don’t have an appointment, contact us today to schedule one.

To learn more about improving your oral hygiene, you can continue reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Oral Hygiene Behavior – Dental Health For Life.” And to read the entire interview with Nate Berkus, please see the article “Nate Berkus.”

Supermodel Christie Brinkley has a one-in-a-million smile, but she is just one of millions who have benefited from today’s preferred tooth-replacement technique: the dental implant. In a wide-ranging interview, Brinkley told Dear Doctor magazine about a helicopter accident she suffered while back-country skiing.

“I fractured two molars in the back of my mouth and I had to get two dental implants,” Brinkley told the magazine. “I am grateful for the dental implant technology that feels and looks so natural.”

You might think it serves little purpose to replace a missing back tooth that was barely visible in your smile to begin with — especially if you don’t spend a lot of time posing for magazine covers. But this is actually not the case. Your molars are extremely important for chewing and even for maintaining a more youthful appearance.

Dentists generally agree that losing posterior (back) teeth can have many consequences for the remaining teeth and their surrounding structures, i.e., bone and gums. If back teeth are missing, the front teeth end up bearing more stress than they were built for. And there are certain things that happen when any tooth is lost, whether front or back, that can affect function and appearance.

For one thing, when a tooth is lost the adjacent teeth tend to drift into the empty space or tip towards it. This can adversely affect your bite. Too much shifting can render a tooth basically useless and also leave it more vulnerable to gum disease.

Another complication is the loss of tooth-supporting bone that inevitably occurs when teeth are lost. When a tooth comes out, the bone under it actually begins to melt away. Since back teeth support the vertical dimension of the face, their loss can cause what’s known as “bite collapse” — a reduction in facial height that becomes increasingly noticeable over time and can make you look older.

A dental implant can prevent all of these things, while providing you with a replacement that looks and feels just like the tooth you lost.

If you are interested in learning more about implants, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. If you would like to read Dear Doctor’s entire interview with Christie Brinkley, please see “The Secret Behind Christie Brinkley’s Supermodel Smile.” Dear Doctor magazine also has more on “Replacing Back Teeth.”

Answers

1. False. You should never boil dentures.
2. False. You should not wear your dentures 24/7.
3. True.
4. True, as this prevents your dentures from warping.
5. False. Even though you may not have teeth, you need to visit our office at least once a year for a thorough examination and to ensure your dentures are fitting and functioning properly.
6. False. You should never use a firm toothbrush OR any type of abrasive cleanser to clean your dentures.
7. True. This is unfortunate, but a fact nonetheless.
8. True.
9. False, you should only use a denture cleanser outside of the mouth.
10. False. Sodium hypochlorite bleach is an excellent cleanser; however, you should never soak your dentures in this solution for periods that exceed 10 minutes.

To learn more tips, continue reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Top Ten Tips For Denture Care & Maintenance.” Or you can contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss your questions.

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