The Tooth Fairy

The tooth fairy is paying an all-time high for your kids' chompers.  According to a survey by Delta Dental, the tooth fairy is paying an average of $4.66 per tooth; that's up almost 75% from 2015!  In some houses, though, the fairy leaves toothpaste and toothbrushes under the pillow because adult teeth are for keeps, after all, and are priceless!

Is Sugar a Drug?

This is an excellent question and comparison that is discussed in a new book, The Case Against Sugar, by Gary Taubes.  Full discloser: I have not read the book (though it is now on my To Read list), but learned about it in an excerpt printed in The Guardian. While taking a stance on whether to classify sugar as a drug is a bit out of my scope, I can confidently say that the consumption of foods high in refined sugars can make your teeth more prone to cavities, so be sure to limit your intake of them.  And, as always, don't forget to brush and floss!

Happy New Year! #2017

Happy 2017!  It's a new year and a common time to be a new you.  In fact, a recent Marist poll shows that the number one resolution for 2017 is to be a better person.  Losing weight and exercising more, eating better, improving health, and spending less are most people's top goals this year.

We at Fifty-Seven 57 Dental want to help you achieve your New Year's Resolutions!  A healthier you includes a healthy mouth, so be sure to keep your teeth pearly white this year by going to your routine dental exams and cleanings.

Eating well can help keep your teeth healthy, too.  Cutting down on sugary foods and drinks is important for dental health and overall health.  Leafy greens are not only low in calories, but can be good sources of calcium, which helps strengthen teeth, and folic acid, which may help prevent gum disease.  You can find a nice summary of waist and tooth friendly foods here.

Ensuring routine care of your teeth may also help save money.  Generally speaking, preventing problems or addressing them when they first are known is typically easier (and less costly) than waiting until they become bigger concerns.  I tell this story to my patients all the time: when I was in high school (or maybe college ... it was a long time ago!), the door handle to my mother's Honda got stuck to the point where we would have to jimmy it in a particular series of directions to get it to open.  When my father learned of the cost, he said he'd wait to fix it.  A few months later, the door would not open at all, and with three daughters to taxi around, it became a somewhat emergent situation.  Not only did my parents need to pay the amount to fix the door and door handle that they were originally quoted, but the mechanics had to take the door off, too, requiring extra time and labor costs!  In the same way that it's easier to fix a door handle than to take off the entire door to fix the handle, it's easier (and less annoying, less visits, etc., etc.) to have a cleaning/fluoride treatment/filling than a root canal!

I can't help too much with the exercising more resolution, unless you want to walk to our practice!  Or maybe take a walk through nearby Central Park afterwards.  Other than that, you may want to check out this article, which may hold the key to explaining why some people love and other people detest exercise.  (Spoiler alert: blame or thank your parents!  There's a good chance this is an innate love or hate that is influenced by variation in your dopamine receptors.)

Are Your Teeth Naughty or Nice?

With the holidays upon us, I wanted to take some time to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and help you decide which holiday treats are mouth healthy and which are not.   A recent online article listed some foods to avoid, and I would like to reiterate and add my own opinions to the list.

Alcohol can dry your mouth, so be sure to also drink some water in between sips of eggnog.

 Perhaps no candy is more synonymous with the holidays than candy canes!  Refreshing and delicious, the candy cane is also hard and tacky, so not only might it break a tooth, but the candy will stick in the grooves of your teeth, too.  Even if you don’t crunch down on this peppermint treat, you can also damage your teeth by bathing them in a sugary solution should you enjoy the candy cane by sucking on it.  This is true of all hard candies.

Starchy foods can be deceptively damaging.  Not only can foods like chips and jelly donuts stick in the grooves of your teeth, but they can easily lodge between your teeth, so be sure to brush AND floss after a holiday party.

Desserts are best enjoyed after meals when salivary flow is increased and is more likely to wash away food particles and can help neutralize sugars and acids.

Enjoy what you want, but do it in moderation.

If you would like to foster healthy tooth habits with a young one during the holidays, you can download Hermey the Elf’s Healthy Teeth Checklist here!

Common Dental Problems

A recent Huffington Post article discussed six common dental problems that we face as we get older.  The good news is that we are all living longer!  The bad news is that we only get one set of teeth, and they age with us.  But more good news: many issues that plague aging dentition can be corrected or prevented.  If you are afflicted with any of these common dental problems, call or email us and we would love to help you out!

Love and Politics

This has nothing to do with teeth, but I found this Washington Post article, written this past summer, interesting and topical, with Election Day coming soon!  No matter your party affiliation, don't forget to vote!

Healthy Halloween Habits

It’s Halloween!  Or, as I like to call it, Job Security Day.  It is estimated that we eat almost 3.5 pounds of candy on Halloween; that’s a lot of sugar!  I love sugar (many of my patients know that I love a frozen Snickers), but it has the potential to damage your teeth.  Below are a few things you and your family can do to enjoy the Halloween bounty and stay mouth healthy.

• Eat more chocolate!  Hard candies prolong the amount of time the sugar stays in your mouth.  As it mixes with saliva, it is almost bathing your teeth in sugar.  Sticky and gummy candies increase risk of cavities by sticking to your teeth for a long time.  Sticky candies are also more difficult to wash away from the tooth surface.  Sour candies might be the worst type, though, as the added citric acid weakens tooth enamel.  However, chocolate is more easily washed away, so think of this as another benefit of eating chocolate (well, at least as compared to other candies).

• Eat Halloween candy with or shortly after main meals.  More saliva is produced when eating, so the increased salivary flow can help wash away the sugary treats.

• Limit your intake.  Like almost everything else, sugary foods are best enjoyed in moderation.

• Drink water after eating Halloween candy.  If you can’t easily get to a toothbrush and toothpaste, drinking water after eating can help wash away food particles.  It helps clean your mouth AND has no calories!

• Brush and floss your teeth.  Obviously, it is still important to brush and floss.

Of course, you can always ask me any questions you have about how your diet can affect your teeth.  And if you want, check out the American Dental Association’s tips on having a mouth-healthy Halloween.  Have a good Halloween and stay safe.  And don’t forget to brush and floss!