Your Family Dentist Can Prevent and Treat Children’s Tooth Decay

As a family dentist, we focus on preventative oral health care and work to keep our patients cavity free.  With kids, this is particularly important because a toothache is difficult to deal with, and no child wants to undergo a major dental procedure.  By protecting and strengthening teeth, we can prevent many oral infections so that children can live pain-free.

There are several ways to protect your children from getting tooth decay but first it is important to note that it can happen at any time.  Many parents make the mistake of thinking that babies and toddlers are not susceptible to tooth decay.  In reality, it is incredibly common for young ones to develop cavities.  When they do, it is commonly referred to as baby bottle tooth decay because the biggest risk factor is letting children take a bottle to bed with milk or juice in it.  As the sugar from the drinks sits on the teeth, it can lead to infection.

We recommend that parents start to take care of their kids' teeth before they ever start coming in.  With babies, you can use a washrag to wipe away sugar from the gums and as they get older, brushing and flossing should be a normal routine in both the morning and evening.  Whenever you brush your teeth – brush theirs.  This is an essential step in preventing tooth decay and as a family dentist we must stress the importance of creating a good oral health routine when your kids are young.

Other than brushing and flossing, make sure to feed your children a healthy diet that contains crunchy fruits and vegetables, nuts, dairy, lean protein and green leafy vegetables in order to strengthen their teeth.  Additionally, regular trips to the dentist are important for keeping teeth cavity free.  We can remove the plaque and bacteria that you can’t get to at home.  We can also apply a fluoride treatment that has been known to prevent cavities.

If, during one of these dental exams, we identify signs of tooth decay, we will let you know and discuss a treatment plan.  Depending on how old they are, we will make a recommendation to treat it immediately or wait a few months. At our office, Dr. Rado practices gentle and kind dentistry and can provide treatment in a way that is not scary or intimidating for children.  She can even provide various forms of pain relief or sedation.  This can be incredibly important when working with children since they have a difficult time sitting still and any discomfort would only make it worst.

After years of experience as a family dentist, Dr. Rado is an expert at providing dental care and treating children in a way that gets the job done while keeping them comfortable.  If your child is complaining of a toothache, call and schedule your appointment so that we can examine them right away and set a course for treatment. 

A Dentist Review of Boston University’s Study on Gum Health and Coffee

As a local dentist office, we pay attention to research studies that can shed light into additional ways our patients can stay in good oral health.  We focus on preventative oral health care and sometimes by changing a routine slightly; the risk of an oral infection can be reduced.  Recently, we read an interesting report published by Boston University.

In this particular study, 1,000 men were observed for 30 years.  This was a long and ongoing study to determine how coffee impacts the health of teeth and gums.  Researchers found that men who drank one or more cups of coffee a day had less bone loss in their teeth than others within the group.  Bone loss is a common symptom of gum disease and can eventually lead to teeth falling out.  Interestingly, they found a direct link between drinking coffee and better long-term oral health.  Given the duration of the study, the findings are significant.  Additionally, they did not find any oral health consequences to being a heavy coffee drinker.

As a dentist, we understand that caffeine can have benefits to the gums and the body overall, when used in moderation.  The report was published by Raul Garcia, D.M.D., who came to the conclusion that the anti-inflammatory agents in coffee were likely responsible for the improved gum health.  Basically, if you drink coffee, you have less of a risk of your gums swelling.  Swollen gums can be uncomfortable and lead to further complications like bleeding.  Both diabetics and pregnant women are naturally at an increased risk of swollen gums since they tend to suffer from reduced blood flow overall.  Drinking a cup of coffee may have additional benefits for people with these risk factors, though only men were studied.

The results of the test may apply to other types of drinks with caffeine such as tea.  Caffeinated green tea may be a better option simply because it won’t stain your teeth as much as coffee will.  As a dentist, it is important for us to point out that coffee does stain teeth so if you drink a lot of it – you may need our teeth whitening services in order to brighten your teeth and remove yellow stains.  Fortunately, this is an easy procedure so if you want the benefits of coffee without the stains – you can.

Coffee is not a solve-all for gum disease so make sure to still practice good oral hygiene at home.  This includes brushing and flossing throughout the day to remove sugar, bacteria and plaque.  You should also drink a lot of water because coffee can make you dehydrated, and hydration is important for the health of your body and for producing the saliva that is necessary for a healthy mouth.   We also recommend that everyone have their teeth cleaned at least twice a year.  This allows us to remove bacteria and plaque that weren’t removed with at-home care.  As with most things in life, balance is important.  Adding a cup of coffee to an existing healthy routine, can be good for your gums and help your teeth to stay healthy for years to come.