Diet and Tooth Decay

Regardless of whether you have your natural teeth or artificial ones, you’ll want to protect them from erosion. Although teeth can lose enamel due to mechanical wear, it is more common for them to decay as a result of acid exposure. What a person eats and drinks has a major impact on the integrity of their teeth, so we want to make sure our patients understand how to eat for a healthy mouth.

Food and drink commonly contain acid as well as sugar, which feeds oral bacteria. The longer bacteria have to feed on sugar, the more acid they’ll produce. Citric juices, such as orange juice and tomato juice, are high in both acid and sugar, as is soda. Citric acid is also a frequent flavoring in sour candy and energy gels, making these products even more dangerous to the teeth than sweet candy and energy bars. Alcohol, red meat, and garlic and onions can also cause acid reflux, which means that stomach acid is able to enter the mouth and cause further damage to enamel and the gums.

A person with natural teeth will suffer sensitivity as their enamel decays, and tooth sensitivity should be taken seriously in patients of every age. But if a person has prosthetic teeth, they may not notice their crowns being damaged. Patients can prevent tooth decay by removing food debris quickly after eating. Besides regular brushing and flossing, they should drink plenty of water and chew sugar-free gum. They may also want to sip sugary or acidic drinks through straws and avoid eating large meals before lying down.

Drs. Denise VeyVoda and Robert G. West operate The Oyster Bay Family Dentists at 123 South Street, Oyster Bay, New York, 11771. To schedule an appointment, call 516-922-5730 or visit Oyster Bay Dentists and fill out a contact sheet.

 

Causes of Bad Breath

Bad breath isn’t always caused by something as benign as eating pungent food. We at the Oyster Bay Family Dentists have restored a lot of teeth, and we know that a lot of health problems can reveal themselves through a foul odor. To help our patients protect themselves, we wanted to discuss some of the causes of halitosis and what can be done about them.

The most common cause of halitosis is odor from bacterial build-up. Bacteria eat the food debris that gets trapped between teeth, and if they are allowed to fester enough, the acid they produce may damage gum tissue. But bacteria also commonly live on the tongue, where they may have another food source in the form of nasal drip when the patient is sick. This is why we encourage patients to brush their tongues and use a scraper on them every day.

Certain conditions increase a patient’s risk of oral bacterial build-up. Dry mouth makes it harder to swallow food debris and changes the mouth’s pH level to make it more hospitable to pathogens. Diabetes causes saliva to contain more sugar, which could fuel bacteria. Onions and garlic, besides being acid reflux triggers, contain chemicals that pass from the bloodstream into the lungs and cause bad breath to originate there. We recommend that patients suffering from dry mouth use artificial throat moisturizers. Patients should also remember that chewing sugar-free gum, besides masking halitosis, can also stimulate new saliva production and remove food debris.

Drs. Denise VeyVoda and Robert G. West operate The Oyster Bay Family Dentists at 123 South Street, Oyster Bay, New York, 11771. To schedule an appointment, call 516-922-5730 or visit Oyster Bay Dentists and fill out a contact sheet.

 

Tooth Decay during the Holidays

Between candy canes, eggnog, and Christmas cookies, sweet treats abound at the end of the year. We’ve provided a lot of people with replacement teeth at the Oyster Bay Family Dentists, and would hate to see anybody have another outbreak of gingivitis due to tooth decay. But we want our patients to enjoy the holiday fun, too, so we thought we’d offer some suggestions for teeth-friendly winter socializing.

The longer the teeth are exposed to sugar, the more time bacteria will have to eat it and produce acid. Bacteria are able to consume simple sugars quickly, but they can also metabolize starch. Bits of food debris lodged in between teeth and dental cusps are obviously a potential source of decay, but so is the residue left by sugary drinks. Hard candy is also a tooth decay hazard because it remains in contact with the teeth for a long time and tends to deplete the mouth’s saliva, which is needed to rinse away food debris and maintain the mouth’s pH level.

People produce the most saliva while eating large meals, but socializing sometimes prevents us from avoiding snacks and drinks. Often, it is still acceptable to chew sugar-free gum (as long as it is spat out discreetly). This will dislodge some food and stimulate saliva production. Another option is to alternate sips of water with sips of other drinks to prevent dry mouth and give the teeth a wash. We can also try to favor sugar-free candy and remember to bring floss with us to use when convenient.

Drs. Denise VeyVoda and Robert G. West operate The Oyster Bay Family Dentists at 123 South Street, Oyster Bay, New York, 11771. To schedule an appointment, call 516-922-5730 or visit Oyster Bay Dentists and fill out a contact sheet.

 

Acid Reflux and Tooth Sensitivity

As skilled prosthodontists, Dr. VeyVoda and Dr. West supply patients in the Oyster Bay area with replacement partial and full teeth. But as dentists who care deeply about their patients, they also want people to know how to avoid tooth damage in the first place. One source of enamel erosion which people often have less awareness of is acid reflux.

Acid reflux occurs when the sphincter that keeps hydrochloric acid in the stomach opens during swallowing. If this occurs at least twice a week, the patient is said to have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Acid reflux is commonly (but misleadingly) called heartburn because of the painful cysts it creates in the esophagus, but tooth enamel isn’t strong enough to withstand hydrochloric acid, either. People with GERD commonly suffer from pitted, discolored, sensitive teeth, particularly in their upper palate. If erosion reaches an advanced state, the patient could be at a higher risk for dental infections and find that their teeth back teeth’s grinding surfaces have lost their function.

Badly damaged teeth can be replaced with a number of methods, including partial and full crowns. But patients can prevent damage by reducing their intake of foods that are high in acid, chocolate, caffeine, and alcohol, and by maintaining better posture.

Drs. Denise VeyVoda and Robert G. West operate The Oyster Bay Family Dentists at 123 South Street, Oyster Bay, New York, 11771. To schedule an appointment, call 516-922-5730 or visit OysterBayDentists.com and fill out a contact sheet.