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Chocolate is Good for Oral Health – True or False?

Most of us were taught when we were kids that sweets like chocolate will rot your teeth. While this may remain true for some types of our favorite sweet snack, that doesn’t mean we have to take it off the menu all together. In fact, recent studies have found that dark chocolate, containing high percentages of cocoa, may actually be beneficial to your dental health. Dr. David Case at Family Dental Health wants Portland residents to know the facts so they can satisfy their sweet-tooth safely.

How does it work?

Dark chocolate is known to contain high levels of antioxidants, which work with our bodies to fight bacteria and disease. Dark chocolate can contain up to four times the amount of antioxidants found in green tea! High levels of antioxidants found in saliva have been proven to help fight periodontal, or gum disease, and slow tooth decay.

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How Baby Teeth Help Mouths Grow Up Right

Every Portland parent remembers seeing their baby’s first teeth emerge, watching the rest pop up, and finally cheering as their child loses their first baby tooth, all in the blink of an eye! In fact, baby teeth come and go so quickly that some people are led believe they don’t have an impact on a child’s dental health later in life. Dr. David Case wants you to know that that couldn’t be further from the truth! At Family Dental Health, we are committed to giving our community access to reliable information on dental care, so here are the facts about why baby teeth matter. Feel free to give us a call with any questions.

A Guide to Baby Teeth

Baby teeth, also known as deciduous, primary, milk, or lacteal teeth, are a set of 20 teeth that will be in your child’s mouth for most of their childhood. Although baby teeth usually emerge at around 6 months, they begin forming in the womb as early as 16 weeks. By age 3, all Portland children should have all 20 of their baby teeth. By age 13, all their permanent teeth (except for wisdom teeth) will have come in.

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Relief from Dry, Chapped, & Cracked Lips

We’re no strangers to extreme temperatures and dry weather in Portland, and our lips are proof. Most of us experience chapped lips at some point during the year and it’s not uncommon to see lips that suffer from annoying, painful cracks. Here at Family Dental Health we are very much attuned the oral health needs of Portland, so here are a few tips from Dr. David Case about how to keep your lips healthy, kissable, and free to eat and drink whatever you crave!

Do You Have Chapped or Cracked Lips?

If you have dry lips that are chapped, peeling, and/or cracked, you probably already know about it. However, here are some telltale signs:

1. Sensitive or painful lips
2. Smiling hurts
3. You lick your lips often
4. Your lips show clear signs of peeling or cracking
5. You bleed from the corners of your mouth
6. You have open sores or marks on your lips

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Dentists Are Doctors, Too!

There are many kinds of doctors – Doctors of English, Doctors of Philosophy, Doctors of Medicine, Dr. Pepper… (wink).

Of course, when we use the term doctor, we most often mean a physician or doctor of medicine. But did you know that dentists are doctors, too? Every doctor has a specialty, and a dentist’s specialty is oral health.

Dr. David Case, your Portland dentist explains how dentistry is a specific branch of medicine, and what it all means for the link between oral health and overall wellness.

Dentists Are Doctors

Dentists are every bit as trained and educated as physicians. They have the same general education in science as physicians before they get clinical training in dentistry. This background education helps dentists look at you, the whole package, when taking care of your teeth.

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If You’re Avoiding the Dentist

We’ve all got our reasons. Money. Time. The fear of pain. Juggling insurance. Facing one more reminder that we really should be flossing more. Any of these might cause us to avoid and put off regular visits to the dentist.

Has it been so long since your last dental appointment that you’re not even sure how to find a dentist you can trust? Or perhaps you know and love your dentist but you dread the idea of trying to catch up on life with the hygienist while your mouth is being propped open by a tiny plastic jack. (Yes, we think about that too!)

Portland dentist, Dr. David Case, and our staff are happy to help you prioritize your dental health, which is why we go to great lengths to remove any barrier that might keep you from stepping through our doors.

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How to Clean Teeth Like a Dentist

Oral hygiene is the foundation of good dental health. Brushing and flossing regularly is the best way to keep your Portland smile healthy and clean. Consider this your personal tutorial on the art of dental hygiene, instructed by Dr. David Case and the expert hygienists at Family Dental Health. If you have any questions or would like to test your skills in person, feel free to give us a call!

Toothbrush, Toothpaste, Floss, and Mouthwash

Before we get to talking technique, we need to make sure you have the right tools for the job. You’re going to need a toothbrush, fluoride toothpaste, and floss. Pick whatever floss is most comfortable for you and any toothpaste that you like, provided it has fluoride. Mouthwash is not required, but some Portland folks really like the extra oral health boost you get from a good swish and gargle.

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Wondering How To Get White Teeth? 5 Common Brushing Mistakes

We all learned how to brush our teeth when we were about 3 or 4, so you’d think we have it mastered by now. Right? Unfortunately, probably not.

We all make mistakes sometimes. And that’s okay! All that matters is that you’re dedicated to having the healthiest mouth possible. These five tips for how to get white teeth are just to help you take the best care of your mouth between your visits to our Portland office.

The biggest thing to remember is that any brushing is better than no brushing, so don’t be discouraged if you are making some mistakes. If you still have questions, try checking out our Oral Hygiene page, or always feel free to contact Dr. David Case today!

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Ice Cravings – A Sign of Something Worse?

We all know someone who asks for extra ice just so they can chew on it. And we’ve probably all heard that chewing ice is not healthy for your teeth. So what’s the truth? Is it best to put a stop to ice chewing? Absolutely, and for more reasons than most people are aware of. Dr. David Case wants all Portland residents to know why chewing ice is a bad habit, so please read on for the facts!

Why should I stop chewing ice?

Ice is hard. So hard, in fact, that pitting it against your teeth regularly will most certainly result in damage to your enamel. If you have pagophagia (the fancy name for ice cravings), it’s likely that Dr. David Case will need to perform enamel restoration treatments, which are pricey and can be quite uncomfortable.

However, that is not the most pressing reason to be aware of an ice chewing habit. Recent research indicates that pagophagia may actually be a sign of anemia (a lack of iron in the blood), which can lead to serious health complications, if left untreated. Scientists aren’t sure exactly why the link exists, but they suspect it may be due to the oral inflammation caused by anemia. Such inflammation could conceivably spark an urge to seek relief in the form of ice.

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5 Reasons to Treat Your Gum Disease

You might not even know it, but you probably have gum disease. 3 out of 4 people do! But, the good news is that it is easily treatable, especially when caught in its early stages. Family Dental Health can help you get a happy, healthy mouth with simple treatments such as frequent cleanings and antibiotics.

You might ask: if you don’t even know you have gum disease then why should you treat it? Dr. David Case hopes this post helps clear up how serious periodontal (gum) disease can be, and gives you at least five good reasons to come in for a gum disease consultation. Call our Portland office today to make your appointment! 

1. Get more energy – Periodontal disease is an infection of your gums by the bacteria in your mouth. And like any infection, your immune system will try to fight it. You know how when you get a cold you just want to sleep all day? Your body feels the same way when it’s fighting gum disease. Who knows, treat your gum disease and you might find yourself wanting to run a marathon!

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Sleep Apnea in Children

You may think being exhausted simply comes with the territory of being a parent (and it does), but there may also be a serious medical condition causing your child to wake up often throughout the night – sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is most commonly found in adults, but can also, in rare cases affect children. Dr. David Case, dentist at Family Dental Health in Portland cares about treating your little ones. Read below to learn more about how dentists can diagnose and treat sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea & Its Effects

Sleep apnea occurs when breathing becomes shallow or pauses completely while you’re asleep. It can be caused by your tongue or tonsils being too large and blocking your airway, the collapse of soft tissues in the back of the throat, or by your brain not sending the proper signals to keep breathing while you sleep.

Sleep apnea causes a lot of problems for children, the most obvious being restless sleep. Other problems can include failure to thrive, slower developmental milestones, excessive sleepiness in daytime, and attention or behavioral problems – all due to a lack of quality sleep. Sleep apnea is most common in children between two and eight years old.

About 2-4% of children have sleep apnea, but it is harder to diagnose in children than in adults. One major difference between sleep apnea in children and adults is that children with sleep apnea, unlike adults, often are not overweight. Since children spend half of their time asleep (a parent can dream), healthy sleep is hugely important for their health and development.

Physical Signs of Sleep Apnea:

• Loud, frequent snoring
• Frequent night waking
• Mouth breathing
• Enlarged tonsils
• Excessive sweating at night
• Headache in the morning

Dentistry for Sleep Apnea

Among all primary care doctors, dentists are the most likely to see clues your child might have sleep apnea. A dentist is a trained professional who spends a lot of time looking at your mouth. And by looking in your mouth, they can tell a lot about your overall health and how your body is functioning. Routine dental visits play an important role in preventing many health problems.

By the looks of your child’s mouth, gums, teeth, and throat, a dentist can easily tell if your child might have sleep apnea. Children with teeth, even as young as one-year-old, should regularly visit the dentist.

Dentists are experts in helping your entire mouth, face, and neck work together to be as healthy as possible. This goes for everything from good nutrition to good sleep. If your dentist believes your child may have sleep apnea, they will work with other doctors to confirm and treat the diagnosis.

In many cases, your dentist will be able to offer an oral appliance, or mouthpiece, as a non-surgical solution. While weight is rarely an issue for children with sleep apnea, in some cases, weight-loss will be recommended. Treating allergies may also improve your child’s breathing while he/she sleeps. In some serious cases, surgery will be recommended.

If you think your child may have sleep apnea, or if you’d like to learn more about caring for your child’s dental and oral health, call your Portland dentist, Dr. David Case today to make an appointment at Family Dental Health.

Sources

• http://www.dentaleconomics.com/articles/print/volume-103/issue-6/features/childhood-sleep-apnea.html
• http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3304178/
• http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sleepapnea
• http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/sleep/a/sleep_apnea.htm
• https://www.fpwr.org/is-a-sleep-study-on-your-to-do-list/