Healthy Gums - Healthy Heart!

That’s right! According to recent studies, research shows that serious diseases such as heart disease, strokes, diabetes & even premature, low birth weight babies can all be caused by or made worse by poor oral health!


So, I guess your wondering how? I know I was! Often people relate plaque bacteria, poor brushing & sugar is related to holes in the teeth, its often forgotten & not known that the plaque bacteria can have harmful effects on gum tissue & the rest of the body.

Gum disease is severe inflammation of the gum caused by plaque bacteria being left on the tooth surface long enough to irritate it. The bacteria is then able to get into the blood stream where it produces a sticky protein which can stick together in blood vessels, making it a higher risk that blood clots to form- which in time can lead to a heart attack. The effect the plaque bacteria has on the blood vessels can also prevent blood flow to the brain, causing a stroke!

People who suffer from diabetes, are far more likely to suffer with gum disease than those without the condition. This is due to diabetics slower response to infections making them more prone to being more sensitive to the plaque bacteria. New research has found that if you do have gum disease then you are more likely to develop diabetes too! So it seems like a vicious circle!

Anyway, you get the picture- keep your gums healthy & you are at lower risk of developing a serious illness! The body it an amazing thing & before I started my career in the dental industry, I would never of imagined that the way I look after my mouth would have such an all round effect on everything else! It certainly opened my eyes to how important regular visits to the dentist & hygienist are, teamed with a thorough oral hygiene routine!

Amber

A few slants on crooked teeth

Don't Mess with Mother Nature!

It would seem that crooked teeth are a product of modern man. If one was to study all the skulls dated 250 years ago or older, you would be hard pressed to find one case in a thousand of crowded teeth. It would also be hard to find decay and evidence of periodontal disease.

What might have caused the human race to suddenly develop crooked teeth ? One of the following three hypotheses that might explain how this happened.

Theory number one suggests that the Industrial Revolution which began in Britain around 1750 could be responsible . The concept is that the air was fouled by the output of the refineries and this poor quality air led to constriction of the airways which in turn led to misshapen jaws and crooked teeth. This theory could partially be evidenced by industrial countries displaying a greater percentage of crowded teeth than non industrialized companies. But there is probably more to it.

What might go along with the industrial revolution’s negative impact on the smile is theory number two ..... processing of food especially sugar. A dentist with a camera named Weston Price took photos of populations that fed on their indigenous foods on many continents in the 1930’s . He returned later to take pictures of the next generation feeding on processed foods such as white flour and refined sugar. His pictures show an evolution of decay and crooked teeth showing up in the next generation.

The last theory of what causes crooked teeth is particularly reflective of the idea that one should not mess with Mother Nature.

"Dummies" or "Pacifiers" have been around since ancient times. However, the baby bottle got its’ start in France around the mid 1700s. As it has proven impossible to mimic the human breast, the bottle nipples have produced a different type of swallow to express milk from bottles. Babies must use a suction action to get milk from a bottle. The baby must make a negative pressure to pull milk from the bottle. This is the opposite from the baby on a human breast. Natural breastfeeding requires the baby’s tongue to roll in the roof of the mouth and express milk from the mother. There is no real suction action in natural breastfeeding.

The baby on the bottle can carry this suction action of swallowing into his adult life. This bad type of swallow leads to narrowing the upper arch, narrowing of the airway, and crowded teeth. In addition, children with pacifiers and bottles are more likely to have otitis media (ear aches) malocclusions (bad bites), and less attractive faces.

So the old expression about messing with Mother Nature comes to light as we look at the cause of crooked teeth.

Ruth

Sunday Times article - ‘Natural’ food has more sugar than Coca-Cola

One of the nice things, for me,  about a Bank Holiday Weekend (apart from the wall to wall sunshine we had this weekend!) is the time to read the Sunday paper. An article in the Sunday Times caught my eye this week about supermarket food containing more sugar than Coca-cola:

"SOME bestselling supermarket meals and snacks contain more sugar than a can of Coca-Cola, despite being described as savoury and “natural”.


Ready meals, sauces, soups, high-fibre cereals and low-fat yogurts were found to have sugar levels described under NHS guidelines as “high”.

Some have a sugar content of up to 20%, with one Tesco chicken sauce containing 95.4g, equivalent to 22 teaspoons of sugar, in each jar, compared with 35g or just over eight spoonfuls in a regular can of Coca-Cola.

Food experts say an unwanted by-product of the drive to reduce fat and salt has been the use of extra sugar to improve flavour. They are calling on the industry to combat the problem."

Although this may not be news to people in the dental industry, it is still a worry that the message is still not as wide-spead in the public domain as we would like. Often when we're trying to eat healthily, we are consuming more sugar than is good for our health and good for our dental health.

This article went on to describe how cereals such as All Bran and Uncle Bens "cook in" sauces contained more sugar per 100g than Coca-cola.

It was suggested that the sugar content in food should be highlighted with red labels if the content was high - I think this is a good idea as there are so many foods containing "hidden sugars" (yogurts, soups, sauces) that attention should be drawn to their presence.

Our quest for a healthy diet could mean we are eating less saturated fat and salt - but the flavour has to come from somewhere - and this often means the sugar content is bumped up!

Until these suggested "red labels" are introduced, please do check the food labels for sugar content - but please remember, it won't just be labelled as "SUGAR" in the ingredients list - it will be cleverly "hidden" as one of the following:

■Brown Rice Syrup


■Agave Nectar

■Barley Malt

■Barley Malt Syrup

■Beet Sugar

■Brown Sugar

■Buttered syrup

■Cane Juice

■Cane juice crystals

■Cane Sugar

■Caramel

■Carob syrup

■Castor sugar

■Coconut Sugar

■Confectioner’s sugar

■Corn sweetener

■Corn Syrup

■Corn Syrup Solids

■Date Sugar

■Dehydrated Cane Juice

■Demerara Sugar

■Dextran

■Dextrin

■Dextrose

■Diastatic Malt

■Diatase

■Ethyl maltol

■Evaporated Cane Juice

■Fructose

■Fruit Juice

■Fruit Juice Concentrate

■Galactose

■Glucose

■Glucose Solids

■Golden sugar

■Golden syrup

■Grape sugar

■High Fructose Corn Syrup

■Honey

■Icing sugar

■Invert Sugar

■Jaggery

■Lactose

■Malt Syrup

■Maltodextrin

■Maltose

■Maple Syrup

■Molasses

■Monk Fruit / Luo Han Guo

■Muscovado Sugar

■Palm Sugar

■Panela

■Panocha

■Rapadura

■Raw Cane Sugar

■Raw sugar

■Refiner’s syrup

■Rice Bran Syrup

■Rice syrup

■Saccharose

■Sorbitol

■Sorghum

■Sorghum Syrup

■Sucanat

■Sucrose

■Sugar

■Syrup

■Treacle

■Turbinado Sugar

■Xylose

■Yellow sugar

Feeling overwhelmed!!!!! I think that is often the intention - confuse the consumer!!!! However, if you're like me, and enjoy a game of "hide & seek", until those red food labels are mandatory by food manufacturers, check those food labels carefully and try to avoid those unnecessary sugars.

Diane

A few good things to do with floss?

When you visit Maureen or myself for your hygiene visit, I expect at one point or another we have told you about the importance of flossing or using bottle brushes to clean away the sticky bacterial plaque from in between your teeth!

But here are a few more ideas of what you can use that floss for…

• To help with the washing: for when we get terrible weather tie the floss between two chairs and hang light weight items like socks over the floss to dry
• For a day out: since the summer is coming (eventually) when you head off to the seaside take your floss, some bait and one of the nets that you put the clothes washing tablets in and head out crabbing.
• For the garden: uses floss to tie up your climbing plants to the bean poles and trellises
• For the Kitchen: If your stuffing a joint of meat you can use unwaxed unflavoured dental floss to tie the joint.
• For a saving a life: by using the floss to clean in between your teeth, you help to remove the sticky bacterial plaque that can cause gum disease. We know that having gum disease can increase the risk of other health problems such as heart disease, strokes and diabetes!

Rachael

Healthy Snack for Healthy Teeth - Advice for Busy Mums from Absolute Dental

As a busy mum with two young children I sometime struggle to create the perfect diet for my girls on a day to day basis. Although I ensure mealtimes are healthy, I sometimes look back on the day and realise how many sugary foods they have actually eaten in between meals! Chocolate buttons from nanny, an ice cream on a day out, a biscuit as a treat whilst watching their favourite film. Without realising it, it is very easy to consume a huge amount of sugar which as we all know is not good for our teeth. Making a few changes can make a huge difference to your child's health. Make snacks fruit or raw vegetables such as apples, crunchy carrot sticks or cucumber. These are great for your teeth as extra chewing creates more saliva and help keep tooth surfaces clean. Choose low fat yogurts as these contain phosphates which actually help remineralize teeth. This means that the outer surface of the tooth becomes stronger and more resistant to tooth decay. Avoid sticky, chewy foods such as raisins, cookies, granola bars and sweets as these stick to the tooth surfaces. The longer that food is in contact with the tooth surface, the higher the risk of tooth decay in these teeth. Keep drinks to water throughout the day and if your children insist on juice then allow them to have it at mealtimes only to limit the amount of acid attacks on the teeth. Eat some cheese!! This is perfect to have after a pudding. It's one of the best foods for healthy teeth. Its low in sugar and high in calcium and contains casein which is particularly useful for strengthening tooth enamel. If your children are having a treat then make sure they eat it all at once instead of making it last throughout the day, otherwise the sugar will provide constant fuel to feed bacteria which will lead to plaque developing and tooth decay!! A healthy diet, along with excellent brushing and visiting us every 6 months should mean a perfect healthy mouth for our children. Something all us parents want! At Absolute Dental, we encourage healthy eating habits and have a "Healthy Snacks" information sheet for children and parents - please ask if you would like one of these when we next see you! Sophie

Changes in Health & Safety Legislation for Dental Practices

Every dental practice in the land has to adhere to strict rules (quite rightly) on health and safety to ensure that everyone who steps foot inside the practice; patients, visitors, staff, cleaners, waste collectors are free from the dangers that the dental environment could hold.

One of the more recent documents is the Health Technical Memorandum 01-05 (this has had many versions since its conception, and 01-05 relates to its current carnation). This document was once again updated at the end of March 2013.

The main focus of this document is to ensure that the decontamination procedures in practices are robust enough to prevent cross infection between patients.

For many practices this has meant fundamental changes to their practices in both the physical layout of the practice and the work practices of their teams. Because of this, often the mere mention of HTM01-05 strikes either fear or frustration into the dental team.

Here at Absolute Dental, we have always strived to meant the "Best Practice" guidelines set out in HTM01-05. The safety of the patients and the team here at Absolute are paramount. Despite the most recent changes HTM01-05, our working practices have had to change very little, as we are already meeting and exceeding current requirements.

We are very proud of our working policies here, and our Health & Safety Policy is available for anyone to download via our website. This is regularly reviewed and updated by our clinical leads and regular training on Cross Infection Control is carried out with the team here at Absolute.

Our obligation to provide a safe environment is taken very seriously, if you would like to know any more about our working policies, please feel free to download a copy from our website, or ask any team member for more details.

A patient close to my heart!

This blog by our dental therapist Rachael, shows how dental treatment not only works to improve your smile, but also your overall health, well-being and confidence.
Before Treatment:

I have recently booked my dearly beloved in to see Bill Beare, poor Simon probably regrets the day he smiled at me! We’ve been together 8 years.

He is about to have some lovely dentures made by Absolute Dentals restorative specialist Bill Beare as he is a difficult case, even though he is only 40 he hasn’t had any molar teeth for many years and is finding it tricky to eat and isn’t keen on smiling and his confidence is low, he started his own business in December 2011 and finds it embarrassing speaking to new customers.

Simon is now in Bills capable hands to be looked after and get the smile he deserves!

Rachael Mounce

After Treatment

"I would like to Thank everyone at Absolute, for the excellent care and treatment I've received. A big Thank You to Bill Beare, and to lovely Amber for my nice cup of coffee!"

Simon Mounce