How Apples are Good for Your Teeth

People have been asserting that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” since the 19 th century. While it may not necessarily be true that those who eat apples never have to see a doctor, apples certainly have great health benefits for our bodies! Did you know they can even be good for our teeth? Let’s take a look at what the research says …

It’s widely thought that chewing a crisp, fresh apple can help brush away plaque on our teeth. We’re not too sure on this one, as some studies show a higher plaque content on teeth after eating an apple. At the same time, there is evidence to suggest some polyphenols in apples can lower the ability of cavity-causing bacteria to adhere to teeth. Further, some studies have shown that the antioxidants in apples can help prevent periodontal disease.

Apples even contain a (very) small amount of fluoride. This is worth noting, as fluoride is so important in helping prevent cavities.

Lastly, the act of chewing an apple stimulates saliva production. Saliva helps wash away food debris and bacteria. Remember, though, apples contain sugar and acid so it’s best not to go overboard with them. You can even swish with water after eating one to wash away some of the sugar left behind.

As the science continues to look into how apples affect our teeth, one thing we know is true: regular dental visits, along with daily tooth brushing and flossing, is your best defense against tooth decay!

Tips for Saving On Your Kids' Dental Expenses

Saving money when it comes to dental care is about preparation. Knowing what to plan for, knowing what to look out for, and when and how much to spend on recommended care. To lend a helping hand, we thought we’d lay out a few simple ways for you to stay on top of your game when it comes to keeping your kids in good health, and your hard-earned money where it belongs – in your pocket!

1. Remind Them to Wear Their Retainer: Ask any adult who has worn braces which piece of orthodontic advice they WISH they had adhered to, and overwhelmingly they’ll say they wish they wore their retainer more often. Without question, ensuring your kids wear their retainer as often as their orthodontist suggests, and in every suggested situation, is the key to avoiding an early return to shifting teeth. And while some shifting is natural as kids grow into adulthood, for those who don’t wear their retainer, that shift might come much, much sooner than desired – sometimes while they’re still in their teens. That could mean a return to some form of orthodontic appliance, another round of braces, and quite likely, if they’re still under your purse strings, another big bill.
   
2. Teach Them Proper Brushing Technique: Most kids, and most adults for that matter, still have no idea how to brush properly. And that’s a problem, because all that back’n’forth rapid-fire brushing is wearing away precious tooth enamel. Long-term, this sort of habit can lead to premature deterioration of tooth enamel, resulting in expenses to repair those teeth with bonding. Even worse: gum grafting procedures. Teach them to go soft, and in small circles. If necessary, repeat the instruction while with the dentist … and often. Ask us any of us for a customized brushing instruction for your family - ask Dr.Nijjar, Dr.Ruchi, Anisha, Asha, Gurmit or Pam anytime!
3. Promote Foods That are Good for Their Teeth: Certain kinds of foods help protect and remineralize teeth. And what’s best isn’t always what you’d think. Take cheese for example … who would have thought all that mac’n’cheese served a purpose? Good food keeps away decay, which keeps away fillings, which keeps more money in your pocket.
4. Visit the Doc: It bears mentioning that maintaining regular visits to the dentist is important. Why? Because life gets away from us and sometimes we forget. Or, when kids are young, we just think it’s not that necessary. By the time that first tooth comes in, though, they should already be visiting the dentist, and by the time they’re seven, a quick consult with the orthodontist is usually in order as well. Regular visits always help to catch small problems before they become major ones. 
5. Keep Pushing the Water: We all know kids love their energy drinks. Their teeth, on the other hand, can’t stand them, and decay and enamel wear tend to be the eventual result. So, put a wedge between decay and costly repair by ensuring your kids are drinking a lot of what mother nature has gifted us with: water. Water. Water. Water. It should be a mantra … 
6. Shop for a Mouthguard: The American Dental Association has said that 200,000 oral injuries to the mouth could be prevented each year simply by wearing a sports mouthguard. The cost of a custom guard is infinitesimal compared to the cost involved in repairing and or replacing several teeth. Get one today if you have a child who participates in sports. We can make you a customized mouthguad. This can’t be stressed enough. 
7. Stop the Comparison Game: Kids love to compare. Johnny has this, Sally has that. And, when kids start to notice their appearance, the game gets kicked up a notch. But remember when you were a kid? Before whitening agents were in seemingly every toothpaste, and when kids were actually proud of the space between their teeth? Not everything needs to be “fixed” right away. There is a time for these treatments if they’re so desired, and they’re best only when you and your family decide they are. Not when Johnny and Sally say they are. So, save your money. Remember, it’s okay to be a kid. There’s plenty of time to grow up and be “perfect” later in life. 
8. Use Your Flexible Spending Account: Many parents waste away the money in flexible spending accounts. Don’t do that. Here’s how to prepare so you don’t lose your hard-earned money.
9. Stay Educated: Good dentists are interested in creating a base of educated patients. That’s why they send out newsletters (like this one)! So be sure to read up on what’s being sent to you – it’ll help you keep abreast of concerns you need to be on the lookout for, or methods you can share with your kids to help them keep their teeth in great shape. The content here is always evolving, and designed to help you stay on top of your kids’ health and budget.

This list could really be book-length, but these are some of the biggies. Follow them, and you’ll win twice-over: good health and good finances.

Energy Drinks and Your Child’s Teeth. Should You Worry?

The hard clack of cleats echo about as your “little” sports hero rushes to get out of the house … soon to be late for practice. Armed with all they’ll need for a day in the sun, their equipment bag is packed and slung awkwardly over one shoulder, bursting at the seams with untold numbers of pads and dirty gear. And after making a final beeline through the kitchen to raid your refrigerator of a 64oz bottle or two of rainbow-colored sustenance, they’re off for what will no doubt be another grueling practice session. You’re proud of your kids – they’re growing up. And yet you wonder as you stare at the door that just shut behind them. Are those techni-colored drinks they’re drinking every day hurting them?

The truth, unfortunately, is yes. While they may keep your children energized and awake for the next few hours, the bad news is, they’re secretly eating away at their teeth - and fast. 

Why Are Energy Drinks Such a Threat to Teeth?

The crux of the problem is the double-whammy that comes from an exceedingly high sugar content and citric acid pH that can be as low as 2.9. Now, we understand pH can be a tricky thing to understand, so to help put that number in perspective, a bit, consider this: battery acid has a pH of 0.0 (so, a lower number means a higher acid content). Stomach acid (which we can imagine as being quite acidic, at least!) has a pH that fluctuates between 1.0 and 3.0.  A lemon, in contrast, comes in at around 2.0, a grapefruit at 3.0, and tomato juice at 4.0. 

The real distinction though is in knowing that with each increase in numerical value, the acid intensity increases 10-fold. So, in the example above, a lemon ends up being 10 times more acidic than a grapefruit, and 100 times more acidic than tomato juice - a sensation you can certainly taste if you bite into one!  In contrast, milk and water have a pH of 7.0, so, it's easy to see the difference in the numbers - they're huge.

The Science

What all this means to your child’s teeth is the real question, though, and precisely what researchers at Southern Illinois University set out to discover in 2012.  The results, which surprised even the research team, showed considerable damage to tooth enamel after only five days of steady consumption. Five days. 

To determine the effect of these drinks on our teeth, the research team looked at 22 popular sports and energy drinks, and exposed artificial tooth enamel to the beverages for 15 minutes at a time, four times daily. This schedule was chosen because it mirrors the consumption habits of many users who drink these beverages every few hours - a particularly common habit among those who consume sports drinks, particularly when your kids are involved in sports.  After each 15-minute exposure, the enamel was then placed into an artificial saliva solution for two hours to mimic what would happen once consumption stopped.  After only five days on this schedule, the enamel showed a 1.5% loss with sports drinks, and a shocking 3% loss with energy drinks.

The Critics

While critics in the beverage industry suggest the time used to expose the enamel to the drinks may have been excessive, it's widely known that snacking, as well as regular sipping of any beverage other than water, creates acidic activity in the mouth that promotes tooth decay. Of course, adults also need to be careful, and if you’re the weekend warrior type, or are pulling shifts and consuming these beverages throughout the day, the time of exposure might actually not be long enough.  The sweet spot is in the middle-ground, and that's basically the advice we're going to offer today.

There is no doubt that these beverages are not good for our teeth. They're also not good for our stomach, and esophagus if one is prone to acid reflux.

The Middle Ground -- It's about being Informed

We're not asking you to force your kids to give up their sports beverages and energy drinks. However, it is wise to know the risks, and to understand how you can help your kids combat some of their side-effects. Here are two quick tips that will help if they can't shake the habit:

• Have them keep water nearby so they sip on it to dilute the acid covering their teeth. This also increases saliva production to help protect tooth enamel.
• Suggest that they don't brush immediately after consuming such beverages.  Why? Because in the thirty minutes to an hour after consumption, tooth enamel will be slightly softer, and brushing in this window of time literally ends up spreading the acid around to other parts of the teeth. Not good.  If brushing is desired, save it for an hour or so after.

Lastly, here is the breakdown of most caustic to least caustic drinks as found by the researchers.

Sports Drinks:

• Filtered Ionozed Alkaline H2O – pH: 10.0
• Water – pH: 7.o
• Odwalla Carrot juice – pH: 6.2
• Odwalla Vanilla Monster – pH: 5.8
• Unflavored Pedialyte – pH: 5.4
• Vita coco – pH: 5.2
• Aquafina,Dasani, Smart water – pH: 4.0
• GU2O – pH: 4.29
• Powerade – pH: 3.89
• Accelerade – pH: 3.86
• Gatorade Endurance – pH:  3.22
• Monster – pH:  2.7

Energy Drinks:

• Red Bull – pH: 3.3
• AMP Energy – pH: 2.7
• Monster Energy – pH: 2.7
• Full Throttle  - pH: 1.45
• Rock Star – pH: 1.5

P.S. Don’t forget the mouthguard!

The Perfect Road Map For Your Child’s Oral Health

On July 3^rd, 1806, two years into their journey to chart the uncharted west of America, pioneer explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark reached a challenge of epic proportion – the Rocky Mountains. What next, they wondered? Without a map, they were forced to do what explorers do – explore, and hope for the best. So, that got us thinking. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a handy map you could use to chart your own dental health? With that in mind, and in honor of our “Dog Days of Summer” explorers, we at Dr. Nijjar & Dr. Ruchi's office wanted to share with you a few mile markers you can use to stay on top of your child’s health today, next year, and for years to come!
 

6 to 24 months
 

When you’re a new parent, life is a whirlwind, and the dental care of your newborn may not be top of mind when you look in their mouths and see no teeth! Here are some things to keep in mind: 

Schedule a visit: As soon as that first tooth comes in, you’ll want to give us a call at 510-794-7058 to schedule a visit and set up a periodic exam schedule. Also, be aware the ADA recommends fluoridated toothpaste now for all children under the age of three. Don’t wait!

Ask us about:

• Home hygiene basics: Things like, tips and tricks on brushing and other care. There’s nothing better than having our hygienists give brushing tutorials – they’re experts!
• Preventative dentistry: The possible need for fluoride supplements
• Dietary strategies: Achieving a balanced diet early in life for good oral health later
• Feeding practice awareness: Bottle, breastfeeding, and no-spill training cups
• Non-nutritive oral habits: Thumb sucking, pacifiers

2 to 12 years old
 

Ah, the little ones are growing up. Teeth are coming in at all sorts of crazy angles, and you’re going crazy from the rise in obligations. Here’s a quick list of what to consider during this time frame:

• Preventative dentistry: Pit and fissure sealants can do wonders for keeping your child’s dental bills down, and their teeth in their head until they’re ready to fall out naturally. Ask us about them. They’re affordable AND useful. And, super-fast, you’ll be in and out in no time.
• Orthodontic Consultation: Visiting an orthodontist for an early consultation is best done around your child’s seventh birthday. With today’s technology, early intervention can reduce the cost and duration of braces when your child gets older. 

The Teen Years
 

The years “everything” happens! As children start to come into their own, new habits and desires begin to unfold as well. You’ll have to address every imaginable concern during these years, from piercings, to calls for whitening, braces, and the need to refer yourself away from your pediatric dentist and to a general dentist for continuing oral care. So, speak with us about: 

• Cosmetic Dentistry: What solutions are advisable now, and what things should be avoided.
• Teen social pressures: Smoking, alcohol, intraoral/perioral piercings and the like. Believe it or not, we can help a lot with this. We might be able to arrange for that person to help when your teen comes in so they can address these concerns with an intermediary they trust. Give us a call at 510-794-7058 to see how we can help!
• Orthodontics: Options for minimizing appearance and health problems later in life.
• Home hygiene tips: Brushing, flossing, choosing the right mouthwash.
• Craniofacial injury prevention: With your children’s possible participation in sports, you’ll want to get them a mouthguard. Hands down it’ll be one of your best investments in a healthy mouth. And we make great ones at Dr. Nijjar & Dr. Ruchi's office!

Staying on top of your child’s oral health isn’t as hard as you think, and if you keep this schedule handy, you’ll be ahead of most of your neighbor's kids when it comes to a healthy mouth and body. Come to think of it … why not share it with them as well? They’ll thank you for the help.

Saving Space for Permanent Teeth with a Space Maintainer

If your little one's teeth have begun to fall out, and their permanent replacements appear to be lagging far behind, you may wish to consider a space maintainer to minimize future orthodontic work. Believe it or not, the absence of your child's teeth might seem cute now, but those tiny little gaps can cause deep gouges in your pocketbook as you watch them fill up with teeth that don't belong there. Space maintainers are simple to use, kids get along fine with them, and they have become the de-facto standard for protecting the cosmetic and functional aspects of your growing child's mouth.
 

Why Your Child Might Need a Space Maintainer

When a child's tooth is lost early due to trauma, tooth decay, or nature's insistence that it drop out before its permanent replacement is due, a space maintainer can be used to hold back the natural inclination of teeth to move forward. Without preventing this movement, teeth that should be in the rear of our mouths end up along the sides, and take up precious real estate destined for another tenant. The result is overcrowding, and in some cases impacted teeth. In the end, it's always easier to save the space now, then create it later.
 

How They Work

Space maintainers are very similar in purpose and design to an adult "bridge," but instead of placing artificial teeth over the gap, the space is kept open to accommodate its future resident. At our office, we make most space maintainers out of metal, (sometimes both metal and plastic), and custom-mold them to the shape of your child's mouth. In most cases, the maintainer is made up of a metal band attached to a rectangular-shaped wire that butts up against the tooth across the gap. This acts to temporarily preserve the space where the baby tooth once was, so its replacement can erupt without obstruction. To some, the final product looks like an old Radio Flyer® snow sled, or a shoe horn you might use to maintain the shape of unworn shoes.

Does My Child Need One?

It's important to note that dental space maintainers are not required for all childhood tooth loss, and that we’re not going to suggest you create a decade worth of space maintainers as each tooth falls out of your child's mouth. Our bodies are quite effective at saving space for the loss of our front teeth as well as our incisors - it's the teeth along the sides of our mouths that tend to cause the majority of complications. Of course, each mouth is different, so be sure to discuss with us the best course of action for you and your child. If your child has recently lost a tooth, or several teeth, and it’ll be awhile before they’re scheduled to see Dr.Nijjar & Dr.Ruchi, give us a call at 510-794-7058 to see if you should come in a little earlier.

Using a space maintainer is an affordable and effective way to ensure your child's teeth come in where they are supposed to, and when they're ready. It can have a positive effect on your wallet, reduce the amount of time your child needs to wear braces, and control the cosmetic appearance of your child's teeth and mouth.  

Fluoridated water isn't just for kids

If you are an adult who thinks that the cavity-fighting benefits of fluoridated water are limited to children, think again, because recent research points to the fact that adults also reap benefits. Studies show that, after adjusting for socioeconomic factors and variables in oral health care (frequency of brushing, etc.), people aged 15 years and older who spent at least three-quarters of their lives in communities with fluoridated water had 10 to 30 percent fewer cavities than people who spent less than one-quarter of their lives in such areas. If you are an adult who drinks lots of bottled water and has doubts as to whether you are getting enough fluoride, consult with your  dentist. 

It is pretty cool to see how fluoride works. Check out this infographic!

School has started, and so have sports!

Did you know you can decrease your child's chances of being injured with one simple step? Wearing a mouthguard has been proven to reduce the chance of injury.

They key is ensuring your child has the right mouthguard. The best guard is custom made for your child by your dentist.

Check out Dr. Ruchi's quote about mouthguards on colgate.com

Ask Dr.Nijjar and Dr. Ruchi about the right mouthguard today.