Posts Tagged ‘gentle dentist’

Are you “zinc-ing” too much?

Zinc, an essential mineral for our body, plays a role in mineral balance, immunity and cell growth. It occurs naturally in foods such as beef, eggs and yogurt, but it may also be found in denture adhesives. According to Dr. von Fraunhofer, MSc, PhD, co-author an article published in the current issue of General Dentistry, overusing denture adhesives can lead to “toxic levels of zinc, with adverse neurologic effects.”  How do you know if you are using too much?  You should apply only a thin film or a series of dots to the denture, according to the manufacturer’s directions, and one tube should last 1-2 months.

 Regarding denture adhesives, More Is Not Better…

If you are using larger amounts of denture adhesive, trying to keep an ill-fitting denture in place, it is time to see your dentist. Denture-wearers should continue to see their dentist every six months, for an oral examination and assessment of the fit of their denture.  The tissues of your mouth shrink over time, leading to gaps and loose dentures. Adjustments can be made in many cases, so that your denture can still fit without irritation or embarassing slips. In general, a new denture is required every five or six years.

Over-consumption of zinc, whether from denture adhesive, mineral zinc supplements or other sources, can cause irritation of your gums and nausea.  It is difficult to produce high zinc levels in your body from your diet alone. High zinc levels can lead to numbness or tingling in your hands and feet, disturbances of taste, and muscle cramps. Zinc and copper, another essential mineral, are in balance.  If your zinc levels go up, your copper levels go down. High levels of zinc can cause secondary copper deficiency. Disturbances in copper levels can produce nerve damage and and anemia (low blood count).

If you are using both zinc supplements and denture adhesives, discuss this with your doctor or nutritionist. We advise our patients to use denture adhesive sparingly, in accordance with the manufacturers’ directions, and to see us regularly for a thorough oral examination.

If you are seeking gentle, quality dental care, and you are in the greater Philadelphia, Delaware County, Wilmington Delaware or Media PA area, please visit Media PA dentist or call Dr. Bodak’s office at (610) 565-2868.  I care about your oral health.

Dr. Bodak, your Media PA dentist

Dental anxiety affects almost half of us…

Fear  of going to the dentist is so common that many of us avoid dental exams for years. And then a small cavity becomes an abscessed tooth,  or advanced periodontal gum disease takes over.  When we finally do make that dental appointment, the problem has usually become painful and expensive. 

 Why do we wait? For many of us, it is fear of the dental needle, the numbing injection into our mouth.  We may have had one painful novocaine injection  20 years ago, but that memory is still vividly alive, as if it happened just yesterday. This suffering is now needless, thanks to a new technological advance in pain control.

For those patients whose oral health has been compromised by fear of a painful dental needle, there is GREAT NEWS!  A new device is now available to make oral anesthesia comfortable and painless.  The Dental Vibe is a hand held device I use for all my patients in my Media PA dental office. It is cordless, about the size of your electic toothbrush.   And like your electric toothbrush, it is comfortable and completely PAINLESS.

How does it work?  The Dental Vibe emits a series of vibrations to the tissues of your mouth.  You remain awake,  but instantly your brain can process only the vibration. The pain pathways of your nervous system cannot handle vibration and painful signals at the same time and the vibration get there first.  In our Media PA dental office, our patients report only a pleasant, mild buzzing feeling.   At that moment, the local anesthetic can be injected without any awareness, taste or discomfort from the injection. Then your dental work can begin in comfort.

You no longer need to fear your dental visit…

If the thought of the dental needle has always been too much for you, your worries are over. At our Media PA dental office, we offer pain-free injection comfort technology to every patient, along with the highest quality restorative dentisty at affordable prices.  Many of our patients have put off needed dental work, some for years, but they are now restoring their oral health. After their first Dental Vibe injection, they all say “Why did I wait so long? I worried for nothing!”

So if dental anxiety has plagued you… 

Don’t wait and worry any longer.  Ask whether your dentist uses the latest in comfort injection systems or find one who does. If you are seeking gentle, quality dental care, and you are in the greater Philadelphia, Delaware County, Wilmington Delaware or Media PA area, please visit Media PA dentist or call Dr. Bodak’s office at (610) 565-2868. The Dental Vibe comfort injection sytem is one of the many techniques we use to ensure your comfort, which is our first priority.  

I care about your oral health.

Dr. Bodak, Media PA dentist

So what does that have to do with a dental blog? Plenty. It is all about form, fit and function. While we all love the looks of a great smile, your teeth have an important function; they are designed to bite and chew your food for a lifetime of proper digestion.  Just as tap shoes do not transform an elephant into a tap dancer, a mouth full of malpositioned teeth, ill-fitting crowns or loose dentures will not produce an effective bite, which dentists call occlusion.  Your teeth, ligaments, nerves, muscles and bone, all working together, control occlusion. Your teeth must be in alignment to withstand the normal pressures of chewing food. 

Inch for inch, your jaw muscles are among the most powerful in the human body.  Normal chewing places about 70 lbs/sq inch of pressure on the back teeth, and clenching your teeth can increase that force to 150-300 lbs/sq inch.  Bruxism is teeth grinding, often during sleep.  The forces in bruxism during sleep have been measured at over 1000 lbs/sq inch of force, enough to crush the front end of a car.  If normal pressure is applied evenly to your teeth, the force is comfortable.  But if you have occlusal problems and all that pressure is applied to just a few spots, the teeth, ligaments and nerves can signal pain.  Over time, the tooth absorbing this punishment can fracture. 

You may have an unstable bite (malocclusion) due to missing teeth or periodontal disease, or if your teeth are worn down or out of place.  Ill-fitting crowns or bridges can also disturb your bite.  That powerful force, misdirected due to an incorrect bite, can cause pain and damage to your remaining teeth.  The upper and lower teeth should fit together well, without causing your TMJ (temporomandibular joint) to become unstable.  TMJ dysfunction can lead to pain in your jaw or face, as well as headaches and other complaints.

 If you have an unstable on ineffective bite, bruxism, misaligned teeth or TMJ pain, see your dentist and request a bite analysis. A small adjustment may be all that is needed to correct the situation and prevent problems later. A custom night dental guard can help with bruxism, and other types of dental treatment can improve occlusion. And while we can’t guarantee that a visit to our office will give you a new superpower like tap dancing, we can relieve pain, restore occlusion and allow you to chew your food comfortably again.

We have long known that there is a link between diabetes and gum disease, but which comes first?  Can controlling periodontal disease help reduce the risk of diabetes? The answer: Possibly YES!

Normal healthyy gum tissue is pink, not red. Healthy gums do not bleed during usual dental care.  Gingivitis, or inflamed gums, is caused by bacteria in plaque. In this mild form, it is curable. But if left untreated, periodontal (gum) disease can develop where gaps form between the teeth and gums. These gaps trap bacteria, which multiply rapidly in the mouth, and further destroy the bone holding the teeth in place. In the most serious cases, the bone dissolves and the teeth cannot be saved.

 Pre-diabetes is a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. The American Diabetes Association estimates that there are nearly 60 million Americans have pre-diabetes. Many of these people will develop Type 2 diabetes within 10 years.  Periodontal diseases of the gums and bony tissues of the mouth may allow pre-diabetes to progress. The gaps or pockets between the teeth and gums become infected, releasing natural toxins called cytokines. Cytokines may play a role in damaging the pancreas and disturbing sugar metabolism.  

Scientists from Denmark and the Unites States have observed in animals and humans that periodontal diseases can disturb the glucose (sugar) regulation of a non-diabetic who has pre-diabetic characteristics, thus contributing to the progression of Type 2 diabetes.

According to Dr. Preston D. Miller, Jr., President of the American Academy of Periodontology, “These findings underscore the importance of taking good care of your teeth and gums: it may be a simple way to prevent diabetes, or to prevent the progression of diabetes.”