Keep your Teeth for a Lifetime.....Prevent Gum Disease

It comes as a surprise to many people that the main cause of tooth loss in adults is not tooth decay, but gum disease (periodontitis), and of these, 10 to 20% can be classified as severe cases.

Periodontal disease can strike at any time. It damages the gums and the supporting bones of the teeth. The symptoms can involve swollen bleeding gums but sometimes there are no symptoms at all. In these cases, periodontitis can only be diagnosed by a dental examination, which is one reason why we stress how important it is for you to visit us regularly.

We're happy to work with you to detect and treat gum disease and show you how to prevent it. Prevention is the best way to have a healthy, natural smile for a lifetime and you'll even save on dental bills!

When You Can't Brush After Every Meal

Even with today's growing trend toward home offices and businesses, most of us still work away from home and eat one or two meals while we're gone.

While we all know we should brush after every meal, this is not practical for many of us when we're at work. So here's an alternative: floss and chew instead. Flossing is fast, easy, discreet and doesn't require a sink. As for chewing, a stick of sugarless gum will stimulate the flow of saliva which will help clear away food debris as well as neutralizing harmful acids.

Snack Attack!

We all know by now that sweet, sticky snacks are bad for our teeth. But how about bananas? As reported in Prevention magazine (October 1995), researchers tested some popular snack foods to find out which ones were most likely to cause cavities. They came up with some surprising results.

In the table below, various snacks are ranked according to how bad they are for your teeth. Anything over .5 is moderately cavity-causing:

• Gelatin dessert .4
• Corn chips .4
• Peanuts .4
• Yogurt .4
• Pretzels .5
• Potato chips .6
• Saltines .6
• Bananas 1.1
• Dried Fruit and nut mix .6

• Milk chocolate .8
• Graham crackers .8
• Bread .9
• Sugar 1.0
• Granola cereal 1.0
• French fries 1.1
• Cup cakes 1.2
• Doughnuts .7