Dental Erosion - why 4 a day is better than 5 a day!!

The government has been promoting their 5 a day campaign to encourage us to have 5 a day of healthy portions of fruit/vegetables. This is a great idea for our general health particularly to help lower the incidence of heart disease and cancers, but one area of dental concern to us has been the widespread increase in consumption of fruit smoothies, to help gain some of these 5 a day portions. Our concern at Absolute is due to the erosive properties of fruit and particularly with certain fruits having a greater acidity than others, and greater capacity to cause reduction in the hardness of the tooth surface and also the reduction in the surface depth of teeth.

What erosion might feel like.

 

Some patients complain of an increase in sensitivity or pain.

 

What erosion might look like.

 

Teeth can take on a very smooth appearance particularly when loss of enamel occurs on palatal surfaces. The tooth can appear shorter in height and on some molar teeth, pits can appear on the biting surfaces of the cusps of the teeth.

 

Management

 

This includes an initial investigation into the cause of erosion and we often ask our patients at Absolute to complete a diet sheet which patients complete with all the drinks and snacks they have over a period of time e.g. a week and the times of day as well. This allows us to evaluate where acidic drinks/foods are being consumed.

 

The new threats to your teeth.............................................Smoothies and thickies!!!

 

Legally there is no legal definition of a fruit smoothie but it is well accepted in the soft drinks industry that fruit smoothies are made only from pure fruit blended with 100% pure fruit juice (not from concentrate) with no added ingredients e.g. sugar, dairy sweeteners or water. They were thought to have originated in Brazil as a by-product of juicing fruit and first appeared in the UK in 1994 and have steadily increased their share of the soft drinks market. Thickies however, are a variation of smoothies and they contain dairy products and are particularly good for general health as they are classed as probiotics and provide a very good aid to digestion. This is due to the lactobacillus acidophillus they contain. The dental concern with these is more likely linked to some of the other ingredients, e.g. honey which could have the potential for caries as opposed to erosion. The share of the market for smoothies is huge with an increase from 6 million litres in 2001 to 34 million litres in 2006 and this is projected to treble in the next 5 years. This is just the shop bought smoothies.......................................

 

One recent study into the erosive capacity of smoothies carried out comparing 5 smoothies, 1 thickie, water and orange juice revealed that apart from the water and the thickie, all of the drinks brought about reductions in the surface hardness of teeth but those which were classed as significant were cranberry, blueberry and cherry fruit smoothie. When they looked at the loss of the depth of the tooth surface, kiwi, apple and lime smoothie produced the greatest loss of the depth of the tooth.

 

The tooth surface can only withstand 4 acid attacks a day before damage occurs and it takes at least 45 minutes for the mouth to produce enough saliva to neutralise the acid in the mouth, and for patients whose saliva contains less bicarbonate of soda, or who's saliva flow is reduced, this may take much longer.

 

Whats being done to help?

 

Where children are concerned, the World Health Organisation have developed nutritional educational guidelines for schools and in some who have adopted these, a maximum of fruit juice is limited to 200ml at lunchtimes.

 

What can we do as individuals?

 

Ask the team at Absolute!!!!

 

• Avoid holding acidic foods and drinks in your mouth or sipping drinks over long periods.
• Check the foods and drinks you consume and perhaps try a diet sheet for a week and see if you can recognise where you could change your diet to limit the number of times you have acids.
• Brush your teeth gently but thoroughly with a soft or medium toothbrush and avoid rinsing after brushing.
• Use a good fluoride mouthwash after mealtimes.
• Wait until at least 45 minutes after consuming acid rich drinks or foods before brushing teeth.
• Use a specialised low abraision toothpaste.

 Maureen

Short Term Orthodontics at Absolute Dental

The use of short term orthodontics (such as Six Month Smiles and then Inman Aligner) are being used more and more to given adults the straighter smile and subsequent confidence in their smile they so often looking for.

This week’s blog looks at a success story here at Absolute.

Our patient came to see us in June last year really worries at the amount her teeth had moved since her childhood orthodontics. Treatment was started in mid July 2012 and our patient was advised to wear her appliance for 16 hours per day.

By the time we saw our patient again in September she was already delighted with the changes in her smile, and by October the upper teeth were completed and looking lovely. At this stage we made a retainer for the patient to ensure she can now maintain her smile forever.

Between November 2012 and March 2013 we completed the same treatment on the lower teeth and we saw our patient in June 2013 to review things and to say we were all completely delighted is an understatement.

The before and after photographs below speak for themselves.

 

The most important part of this success story is that we are now carrying out the same treatment for the patients mum, just showing that you are never too old to make changes that allow you to smile confidently and feel better about yourself.

 

To see what some of our other patients though about their Inman Aligner Treatment, please click here.

 

Call us on 01548 852165 for more information on any of the Short Term Orthodontic options offered here at Absolute Dental or to book your consultation - in just six months, you too could have straighter teeth

Pass it On - National Transplant Week 8-14th July 2013

Did you know that only 31% of us in the UK have joined the organ donor register - yet more than 10,000 of us need a transplant.  So who's giving them?

The answer is not enough people.  The serious lack of donations mean 1000 per year are dying needlessly.   So the purpose of the week is to draw awareness to the problem and make a change.

Kidney transplants are most common, as well as hearts, livers and other organs.  Donated corneas also give people a new way of looking at the world!

So how does it work?  Donors are matched according to blood and tissue type.   People from the same ethnic group are likely to be a closer match - although people from different ethnic groups usually match just as well.
When you register and get your donor card you can choose which organs you want to donate - but not who they're donated to.

The long-term organ transplant benefits are invaluable.   Not only does it give someone a second chance, transplants are less expensive than having to to keep paying for medication that would ultmiately only be a temporary solution.

When someone dies, it's really hard to accept that they're gone.   But knowing that a part of their loved one will help someone else will be a huge help for the person grieving.

Hearts, kidneys livers and corneas are all vital organs needed by people to survive and go on to enjoy their lives.

The idea of this week is simply to raise awareness of this subject, however, if you would like to join the organ donor register click here now.

Four cups of coffee a day keeps mouth cancer at bay

It is our responsibility to share with our patients all the facts and worrying figures about mouth cancer.


There has been some recent developments in America about reducing the risk, a suggestion that will suit many of us coffee drinkers

Drinking four cups of coffee can halve the risk of dying from throat and mouth cancer, according to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Lead author Janet Hildebrand and her colleagues from the American Cancer Society (ACS) used data from 968,432 men and women for the study. The researchers found that the participants who reported drinking more than four cups of caffeinated coffee a day had a 49 per cent lower risk of death from throat and mouth cancer compared to those who don't drink coffee at all.

However, Hildebrand warns that this evidence is not solid enough to actively encourage people to go out and drink coffee.

Emma

About face! Facial Aesthetic Treatments at Absolute Dental.

What if botox changed not only the way you looked but also your feelings?


The history of botox.

The therapeutic effects of botulinium neurotoxin were originally discovered back in the 1950s and originally used to treat problems such as cross eyes and muscle spasm and in the 1980s patients reported that treatments also had an effect on general lines and wrinkles and from this, modern facial aesthetic techniques were developed. Botox has now been used for over 20 years and successfully treated millions of patients worldwide.

We know that it physically enhances the natural beauty of the skin by eliminating fine lines and wrinkles, restoring younger, healthier, more vital looking skin – but what about the emotional benefits?

The brain registers what your face is doing- its like an emotional thermometer. If you’re laughing the brain will think, oh, lets decrease the stress hormones. With negative feedback such as frowning, it will think more pessimistically. Gravity can make us look progressively cross or miserable – the corners of the mouth move down, the jowl droops, the eyelids look heavy. After good treatment people react to you differently, because they pick up on the subtle clues which tell our brains whether someone is happy or sad, young or old.

Facial rejuvenation can have an even more positive effect between the ears than on the outside!

Good news for the rest of the family too!

Some people have very active frowns and one patient in the USA who had botox for a hyperactive frown found that after treatment her husband no longer thought she was cross with him, thus ending their marital friction!!!!!!

At Absolute Dental we offer a programme of anti-ageing treatments to rejuvenate facial appearance. Call us on 01548 852165 for more information, or to book a consultation.

Maureen

Mens Health Week 2013 - DIY MOT

Here are a few DIY tests you can carry out at home; you need absolutely no medical knowledge whatsoever and little more equipment than a tape measure. These simple test could identify a health issue that needs thorough investigation - so, don't bury your head in the sand, ask yourself these questions:

1.Are you breathless? Difficulty catching your breath or losing balance while dressing are signs of being unfit. This can lead to injury and put added pressure on the heart. Get exercising and stub out those cigarettes.

2.Do you have pains in his chest or legs? Check your pulse rate. If it's racing or irregular or you get dizzy when standing up quickly, then your heart may be under strain.

3.Are you consuming large amounts of saturated fats? A mixed diet containing fruit and veg and foods with omega-3 oils (such as fatty fish) can help to reduce heart disease risk.

4.Are you thirsty all the time? Check to see if there is a history of diabetes in your family.

5.Do you have unusual-looking moles? Look for changes in size and colour. Ask your partner to look in areas you can't see easily, like your back.

6.Are you waking up in the night? If you can't sleep, lack concentration and are snappy, it could be depression.

7.Do you have erection problems? Impotence can be due to a physical problem - such as diabetes or hypertension - or emotional problem. One in ten men suffers from impotence. But 75 per cent of erectile dysfunction is due to a physical not emotional problem. If you have an erection when sleeping, the problem is probably emotional not physical. See your GP.

8.Are you getting a gut? Weight usually goes on the midriff first and this is a risk factor in heart disease. The rounder a man is around the tum, the greater the possibility of heart disease and diabetes.

9.Have you lumps in your testicles? Women can spot the problem first, often during sex. You don't need to conduct medical examinations during lovemaking but you may notice differences while having a feel. Squeeze them gently. Look out for a hard lump on the front or side of a testicle, swelling or enlargement, an increase in firmness and any difference between one and the other.

10.Does you always need to pee? Frequent urination, having to rush to the loo or even not being able to go at all, can indicate a prostate problem. If you often need the loo several times during the night, see your GP.

Mens Health Forum

Absolutely Safe

Within the last few weeks the whole Absolute Dental Team carried out their basic life support and CPR training; this is an annual event which ensures that the Team’s skills and knowledge are up to date with current guidelines.


It is a really important date in everyone’s diary as we review our protocols and systems in the event that one of our patients should become unwell whilst under our care.

Dot, an advanced life support nurse, has been running our annual course for many years; she takes us through various scenarios and we have the opportunity to re-familiarise ourselves with situations which may arise and how best to manage them.

On the day, each Team member needs to demonstrate that they are able to give quality CPR and work together efficiently in an emergency.

Also we are taught how to use a defibrillator and recognise signs of medical emergencies such as heart attacks, severe allergic reactions and other medical emergencies.

We also reviewed the contents of our emergency kits, from medicines to oxygen cylinder, their uses and mode of administration.

As always this was an excellent training session, it is always great to be able to review our knowledge on such a very important subject.

As much as we hope we will never have to use these skills, the Team are always very keen to ensure that they are prepared for any situations and are able to keep the Absolute patients safe.

A very valuable training session.

Melanie