A Resolution to Smile About

The many family gatherings and holiday parties are not only trying times for your waistline, but can also be quite tough on your teeth. Billions of candy canes are eaten each holiday season and each person puts away an estimated 12 pounds of premium chocolates.

But it’s not just the food.

Americans, on average, drink enough for every person to have 7 bottles of liquor, 12 bottles of wine and 230 cans of beer. All capped off with a customary glass of champagne on New Year’s Eve.

If you don't bother to make good decisions about what you are eating and drinking, or to properly clean your pearly whites afterward, you could end up with tooth decay, gum disease and possible tooth loss.

With this in mind, I want to share a couple of oral health tips that will help keep your smile intact this holiday season and into the next:

1. If you choose to drink wine, choose red over white. While many people think red wine is worse because of its staining power, white wine contains more sugar which is actually more harmful for your teeth in the long run. Regardless of which wine you choose to drink, you should always rinse your mouth out with water before you brush your teeth.

2. If you choose to drink spirits or liquor the opposite is true. You should actually choose the lighter or clear liquids to avoid higher sugar contents. However if you are mixing a clear alcohol with a sugary juice or other drink then you still aren’t doing yourself any favors. As with the wine, you should rinse your mouth out with water after you drink and before you brush your teeth.

3. You should always consume candy in moderation – sugar free if possible. But if you are choosing between a candy cane and a piece of chocolate, go with the piece of chocolate. Sticky candies are less likely to wash out from between your teeth with saliva and therefore get more time in contact with your teeth. This is also true for fruit cake.

4. No matter how exhausted you may be from hosting your family or attending your fifth holiday party in a row, always remember to brush your teeth before you go to bed. If all the acid from the food you ate gets 8 hours to fester in your mouth it can do a whole lot of damage that could have been prevented with 2 minutes, a toothbrush, and some floss.

Good dental habits throughout the holidays – and year round – will help make for a happier New Year. As you make plans for 2011 I hope you all will resolve to be better to your teeth because that’s something we can all smile about.

-Dr. Linda Vidone, Associate Dental Director for DentaQuest

Risky Business

I graduated from dental school 30 years ago and enjoyed many years of private practice. Working on the benefits side of dentistry as I do now has also been rewarding in many of the same ways. My son graduated from dental school this past summer and during his four years, I joined the faculty at Tufts and lectured about the business side of dentistry.

Although I have done some volunteer dentistry since leaving private practice, I hadn’t had a personal patient encounter in several years. That was before I was introduced to a young man (26 years old) a couple of months ago. He was wearing his army fatigues, even though he was now a civilian. My son is an Army dentist, so I started up a conversation.

This young man was suffering from multiple abscessed teeth from some poor decisions that he had made since high school. When I say suffering, I mean the kind of suffering that had caused him to try to pull out his own tooth with pliers. A few years ago, his teeth were fine. But following some drug abuse and lack of home care, his 26-year old mouth was in serious trouble. I connected him with program that would give him some care, but this young man was unable to keep the appointments because his employer would not give him the time off. A colleague in our office who maintains a dental practice one day a week offered to help this young man and opened her office for him on a Saturday.

Now I would like to make two points about this experience. First, returning to clinical dentistry is like riding a bicycle and we were able to help this young man over two Saturdays. The second point is I was struck by the sense of invincibility in young people—they believe they can take chances and nothing will hurt them. I was alarmed and saddened to see how devastating their decisions can be, even a few years later.

Not taking care of your teeth is risky business. Whether it is the overuse of sports drinks or sugary sodas, prescription drug misuse, lack of oral hygiene, playing sports without a mouth guard, or driving without a seat belt, the speed of dental decay and its lasting devastation can change a young person’s life forever. Maintaining good oral health takes very little effort. Don’t ignore it!

Kids think that dentures are only for grandparents. In this case, they belong to a 26 year young man.


Doyle Williams, DDS

Bionic teeth

Losing a tooth in adulthood isn't exciting as it was when we were young. In fact, adult tooth loss has serious consequences--like difficulty chewing food or not wanting to smile at school or work. Missing teeth can also weaken the overall structure of your mouth.

In the next few years, there may be a "bionic" option for replacing lost teeth: re-growing them. We have seen the technology work in animals and we hope it will be available for commercial use in the next decade.

Scientists have discovered stem cells in baby teeth and that may put our friend the tooth fairy out of a job. In animals, scientists have used scaffolding to re-grow teeth. Work on the human genome has identified a gene that may actually re-grow a duplicate tooth in your own mouth. This technology is still maybe years away from being realized, yet there is reason to believe that stem cells from baby teeth will eventually be used to grow your own teeth for replacement. Instead of putting teeth under the pillow, parents may be sending their children’s teeth to stem cell banks for cryogenic storage.

A viable option for a lost tooth today is the dental implant. (Incidentally, November is Dental Implant Month). These replacements not only act and feel like natural teeth, but they also offer solid, non-mobile support. It may take three to six months for your new implant to feel fully functional in your own mouth following an extraction of a tooth, but dental implants restore proper chewing functions, allowing you to be able to enjoy foods you love.

Read more about tissue regeneration for teeth at http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-05/new-technique-uses-bodys-stem-cells-regenerate-teeth

Oral Health at the Grocery Store

Time Magazine’s Healthland blog, reporting on a study in the Journal of Consumer Research, explained that paying for food at the grocery store with cash instead of with a credit/debit card leads to more careful spending and healthier food choices.

In Massachusetts, doctors at three health centers are writing prescriptions for fresh fruits and vegetables. They are giving coupons equal to around $1 a day for each member of a patient’s family to buy and eat fresh produce from local farmers’ markets.

What does this have to do with oral health? The mouth is the gateway to the body and the starting point for good health – oral and otherwise. What we buy and eat matters in maintaining healthy mouths and nourishing healthy bodies—for our young and not so young.

Researchers in the Journal of Consumer Research study followed the grocery shopping habits of 1,000 households over six months. People who used debit or credit cards (1) tended to make more impulsive food choices and (2) the impulsive purchases were more often than not unhealthy items like cookies, cakes, and chips and candy. [Beware: acidic and sugary drinks, cookies and chips are the exactly the kind of food items that encourage the growth of cavity-forming bacteria in the mouth.]

Physicians in Massachusetts community health centers are trying to reverse the fast food dynamic, particularly in lower income inner city patients. They are using produce by prescription to steer families away from low cost/low nutrition and often impulse items to healthier, yet slightly costlier fresh fruits and vegetables. The physicians are watching these patients to see whether the food adjustment affects eating patterns and other health indicators like weight, body mass index, and of course, fewer cavities and healthier mouths.

Shop thoughtfully. Minimize sugars and starches, fats and empty calories. Remember that what you buy and eat matters in maintaining your healthy mouth and your healthy body. Healthy food choices are the starting point in reversing the national trend to obesity in children and adults and laying the groundwork for healthier generations of Americans.

Read more:

Healthland blog http://healthland.time.com/2010/10/21/study-paying-cash-not-credit-leads-to-healthier-food-choices/#ixzz136CUzqUe

Health Affairs: http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/short/hlthaff.28.5.w822

DentaQuest Oral Health Center Named “Adult Preventive Practice of the Year” by the ADA

The DentaQuest Institute is pleased to announce that the DentaQuest Oral Health Center (OHC), an affiliated dental office in Westborough, MA, has been selected by the American Dental Association as the Adult Preventive Care Practice of the Year. DentaQuest Oral Health Center Dental Director, Dr. Peter Blanchard and Clinical Director, Dr. Joy-Ann Deane accepted the award at the 2010 ADA annual session in Orlando, Florida.

The Adult Preventive Care Practice of the Year Award recognizes a dental office which has demonstrated excellence and innovation through the combination of practical, preventive oral health care and ongoing patient education. Dental offices from all 50 states applied for the distinction.

The DentaQuest Oral Health Center is a multi-specialty group practice, offering routine care and cleanings, general dental care, dentistry for children, and state-of-the-art orthodontic and endodontic care. What puts the DentaQuest Oral Health Center at the leading edge is its focus on risk-based treatment. By identifying the risk factors unique to each patient, the center helps prevent and manage dental disease. In addition to providing the highest-quality oral health care, the DentaQuest Oral Health Center also strives to help patients understand and make the best decisions about their own oral health.

Science is helping us understand the nature of dental disease, especially the two main ones, tooth decay and gum disease. Because both are bacterial infections, we have the ability to treat them and achieve better oral health. The solution doesn’t always have to be “drill and fill.” By identifying and treating the disease in its early stages, the DentaQuest Oral Health Center’s staff is able to help the tooth “heal” and make it more resistant to future decay.

It is this mission to deliver cost-effective, appropriate dental care using scientific, evidence-based technologies and treatments that are tailored to the dental needs of each patient that caught the attention of the American Dental Association’s evaluation panel. And, it is the reason why other dental practices are turning to the DentaQuest Oral Health Center to learn about this new model of practice.

We are delighted to be working with a number of dental practices nationally, providing technical assistance to help their dental care providers implement proven prevention and disease management protocols.

Guest Post by Mark Doherty, DMD, Executive Director of the DentaQuest Institute.

Take the Candy, Leave the Cavities

Halloween is just around the corner and children across the country are counting down the days until they can knock on doors and load up on their candy supply. But when it comes to trick or treat, it turns out that the treats can actually be the biggest tricks of all.

While any candy should be consumed in moderation at any time of the year – sugar free if possible – there are other factors to be aware of so that the Halloween holiday doesn’t have lingering effects.

Halloween is a time for children to enjoy, but you don’t want them to be paying for it in dental pain down the road. Moderation is the key and parents are the gatekeepers. Parents should help their kids fight cavities by moderating the amount of candy they consume and lowering the amount of time sugar stays in contact with their teeth.

Sugar is a known, major cause of tooth decay and cavities. Even after the candy bars are devoured and your child’s themed bucket or bag has been emptied, sugar and plaque lurk in the crevices of your child’s teeth and cause cavities. If not removed by careful brushing, bacteria in the mouth will feed on the sugars and turn it into acid. This acid then attacks tooth enamel and causes tooth decay, i.e. cavities.

As a parent, it is important to make sure you have a clear understanding of what is okay to stay in the candy bucket and what should be tossed. Making sure that you have a chance to inspect your children’s Halloween loot before they dive in is extremely important.

Hard candies, like lollipops, can cause chipped teeth, choking, and the promotion of tooth decay, since they sit in the mouth for a long period of time. Look for Halloween treats that can be eaten quickly, like miniature candy bars. Sticky candies are also a red flag for oral health issues. When you get home from trick-or-treating, discard sticky candies like sugared fruit snacks, caramels, popcorn balls. It is hard for saliva to wash away these sticky sugars and they stay in the crevices of the teeth for long periods of time.

It is better for children to eat a serving of candy in one sitting rather than over time. Chomping on candy after school until dinner time will increase the amount of time sugar comes in contact with teeth. Instead, encourage your child to eat a small amount in one sitting followed by a glass of water and thorough tooth brushing. Once your child has eaten the goodies, make sure that your children use an age-appropriate fluoridated mouthwash every evening to strengthen their teeth and rebuild the enamel which helps prevent cavities.

Watching the amount of sugar we consume is good advice at Halloween and year-round for young and old alike. Regularly practice and encourage good oral health habits with your children, including brushing at least twice a day, flossing and visiting your dentist every six months to ensure the sugary villains don’t stick around on your children’s, or your teeth long after Halloween is over.

-- Dr. Doyle Williams

Questions About Mouth Rinse Products

There has been some buzz this week about the FDA’s warnings about false claims that certain mouth rinse products can reduce plaque, promote gum health, and prevent gum disease. While these mouth rinse products do contain sodium fluoride, an active ingredient that is effective in preventing cavities, it has not been proven to remove plaque or prevent gum disease.

As with losing weight, there are many easy fixes but we all know it’s the basics—regular exercise and proper diet—that really work. The same goes for taking care of your mouth -- total oral health care does not consist of only using mouth rinses that “do it all.”

Total oral care is brushing, flossing and rinsing – IN THAT ORDER.

Most people understand the importance of brushing, but total care is more than brushing alone. Total oral care also includes flossing AND rinsing. Rinses can be water, mouthrinse, fluoride rinse, and even chlorhexidine, if your oral care provider recommends it. Each option is more effective than the previous one -- but only after proper brushing and flossing. And from start to finish, the full routine takes just 3 minutes.

Do your mouth a favor – make total oral health care part of your daily routine.