Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Your child's baby teeth are important. Children need strong, healthy teeth to chew their food, speak and have a good-looking smile. Baby teeth also keep a space in the jaw for the adult teeth. If a baby tooth is lost too early, the teeth beside it may drift into the empty space. When it's time for the adult teeth to come in, there may not be enough room. This can make the teeth crooked or crowded. Starting infants off with good oral care can help protect their teeth for decades to come.
Your child’s baby teeth are at risk for decay as soon as they first appear-which is typically around age six months. Tooth decay in infants and toddlers is often referred to as Baby Bottle Tooth Decay or Early Childhood Caries (cavities). It most often occurs in the upper front teeth, but other teeth may also be affected. In some unfortunate cases, infants and toddlers have experienced decay so severe that the teeth cannot be repaired and need to be removed. The good news is that decay is preventable.

Mild Dental Decay

Moderate Dental Decay

Severe Dental Decay

Tooth decay is a disease that begins with cavity-causing bacteria being passed from the mother (or primary caregiver) who has these bacteria in their mouth to the infant. These bacteria are passed through the saliva. When the mother puts the baby’s feeding spoon in her mouth, or cleans a pacifier in her mouth, the bacteria are passed to the baby.
Tooth decay can occur when the baby is put to bed with a bottle, or when a bottle is used as a pacifier for a fussy baby. The sugary liquids pool around the teeth while the child sleeps. Bacteria in the mouth use these sugars as food. They then produce acids that attack the teeth. Each time your child drinks these liquids, acids attack for 20 minutes or longer. After multiple attacks, the teeth can decay.
The good news is that tooth decay is almost completely preventable. You can help prevent tooth decay for your child by following the tips below:

• Lower the risk of the baby’s infection with decay-causing bacteria. This can be done by not sharing saliva with the baby through common use of feeding spoons or licking pacifiers and giving them to babies.
• After each feeding, wipe the baby’s gums with a clean, damp gauze pad or washcloth. This will remove plaque and bits of food that can harm erupting teeth. When your child’s teeth begin to erupt, brush them gently with a child’s size toothbrush and water. (Consult with your child’s dentist or physician if you are considering using fluoride toothpaste before age two.)
• When your child can be counted on to spit and not swallow toothpaste (usually not before age two), begin brushing the teeth with a pea-sized amount of toothpaste. The American Dental Association recommends fluoride toothpaste; ask your dentist about your child’s fluoride needs.
• Brush your child’s teeth until he or she is at least six years old.
• Place only formula, milk or breast milk in bottles. Avoid filling the bottle with liquids such as sugar water, juice or soft drinks.
• Infants should finish their bedtime and naptime bottles before going to bed.
• If your child uses a pacifier, provide one that is clean — don’t dip it in sugar or honey, or put it in your mouth before giving it to the child.
• Encourage children to drink from a cup by their first birthday and discourage frequent or prolonged use of a training (Sippy) cup.
• Encourage healthy eating habits that include a diet with plenty of vegetables, fruit and whole grains. Serve nutritious snacks and limit sweets to mealtimes.

When your child’s first tooth appears, talk to your dentist about scheduling the first dental visit. Treat the first dental visit as you would a well-baby checkup with the child’s physician. It’s beneficial for the first dental visit to occur within six months after the first tooth appears, but no later than your child’s first birthday. Although this may seem early, starting early is the key to a lifetime of good dental health.

Dental Fun Facts

Dental Fun Facts

Did you know that Americans cite bad breath as the least attractive trait a co-worker can have? Be more popular around the water cooler and brush after lunch.

Cap the paste but not the brush. Covering the brush can trap moisture and encourage bacteria growth. Yeah, we know. Gross, huh?

The average women smiles about 62 times a day, while the average man smiles only 8 times. Women are also more likely to brush their teeth and visit the dentist regularly. Think there might be a connection here?

MacGyver claims dental floss works well as a cake cutter, makeshift clothesline, replacement fishing line, picture hangers and much more. Our favorite use for it? Cleaning your teeth.

Dental floss has played a role in many attempted prison breaks, used as everything from a rope to a chainsaw. None have been successful. We suggest flossing with it.

Bottled water doesn’t contain the tooth-decay fighting fluoride, which is added to most municipal water supplies. Ditch the bottle and drink from the tap.

Saliva helps you eat by breaking apart food particles and cleaning your mouth afterwards. The average person produces 10,000 gallons of saliva over their lifetime (no data as to how much winds up as spitballs).

Sports, accidents and fights are the leading cause of tooth loss in people under the age of 35. Play it safe and wear a mouth guard.

Each day, the average person spends 8.5 hours sleeping, 1 hour eating, 7.2 minutes volunteering and only 50 seconds brushing their teeth. Set your alarm 2 minutes earlier and squeeze in some extra brush time. Dentists recommend 2-3 minutes.

Americans spend $100 billion per year on hair care products – and only $2 billion a year on dental care products. What good is great hair without a great smile?

The next time you want to play hooky, head to the dentist for a cleaning instead. Last year alone, adults missed over 164 million hours of work – and children missed over 51 million hours of school for dental related problems.

If flossing properly, the average person should use 122 yards of floss per year. Twenty-eight percent of people claim to floss daily, but annual sales data shows only an average of 18 yards of floss are sold per person. We think someone’s fibbing.

Spearmint Sparkle. Peppermint Breeze. Eggshell Shine? The next time your dental hygienist asks you to pick a flavor, consider this – the ancient Romans used a mixture of bones, eggshells and oyster shells and honey to clean their teeth! We recommend you stick with the paste.

Let’s all scrub together now! The average toothbrush has around 2500 bristles grouped into about 40 tufts.

Contrary to popular belief, George Washington’s famous dentures weren’t made from wood. His four pairs of custom chompers were crafted from gold, ivory, lead and a mixture of human, donkey and hippopotamus teeth (take care of yours and you won’t have to think about it!).

Oral Cancer

Oral caner can literally wipe the smile off your face..

 

Approximately 37,000 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed in the U.S. each year. More than 8,000 people die from oral cancer each year in the U.S. Oral cancer represents about 4 percent of all cancers and 2.2 percent of all cancer deaths in the U.S. The average five-year survival rate of patients with oral cancer is about 50 percent. This is primarily due to late detection of the disease. Early detection and prevention is the key to fighting this deadly disease.

Tobacco products, heavy use of alcohol and particularly the combined use of both, have been implicated as the main causes of oral cancer. A typical high-risk profile for oral cancer is male, over age 40, who uses tobacco and/or heavy alcohol. However, the male-female ratio has dropped from 6 to 1 in 1950 to about 2 to 1 at present. About 95 percent of all oral cancers occur in persons over 40 years of age. The average age at the time of diagnosis is about 60. For preventive purposes, it is significant that oral cancer is largely a "lifestyle" disease, meaning the majority of cases are related to tobacco and alcohol use. This usage can be affected by proper education, counseling and treatment.

Oral cancer is the largest group of those cancers which fall into the head and neck cancer category. Common names for it include such things as mouth cancer, tongue cancer, tonsil cancer, and throat cancer. Approximately 40,000 people in the US will be newly diagnosed with oral cancer in 201

While some think this is a rare cancer, mouth cancer will be newly diagnosed in about 100 new individuals each day in the US alone, and a person dies from oral cancer every hour of every day.

Oral cancer is particularly dangerous because in its early stages it may not be noticed by the patient, as it can frequently prosper without producing pain or symptoms they might readily recognize. There are several types of oral cancers, but around 90% are squamous cell carcinomas. It is estimated that approximately $3.2 billion is spent in the United States each year on treatment of head and neck cancers.

The demographics of those who develop this cancer have been consistent for some time. While historically the majority of people are over the age of 40 at the time of discovery, it is now occurring more frequently in those under this age. Exact causes for those affected at a younger age are now becoming clearer in peer reviewed research, revealing a viral etiology (cause), the human papilloma virus number 16. There are also links to young men and women who use conventional "smokeless" chewing or spit tobacco.

It is also now confirmed that in a younger age group, including those who have never used any tobacco products, have a cause which is HPV16 viral based. The human papilloma virus, particularly version 16, has now been shown to be sexually transmitted between partners, and is conclusively implicated in the increasing incidence of young non-smoking oral cancer patients. This is the same virus that is the causative agent, along with other versions of the virus, in more than 90% of all cervical cancers. It is the foundation's belief, based on recent revelations in peer reviewed published data in the last few years, that in people under the age of 50, HPV16 may even be replacing tobacco as the primary causative agent in the initiation of the disease process. 

Tobacco and alcohol are essentially chemical factors, but they can also be considered lifestyle factors, since we have some control over them. Besides these, there are physical factors such as exposure to ultraviolet radiation. This is a causative agent in cancers of the lip, as well as other skin cancers. Cancer of the lip is one oral cancer whose numbers have declined in the last few decades. This is likely due to the increased awareness of the damaging effects of prolonged exposure to sunlight, and the use of sunscreens for protection. Another physical factor is exposure to x-rays. Radiographs regularly taken during examinations, and at the dental office, are safe. Biological factors include viruses and fungi, which have been found in association with oral cancers. The human papilloma virus, particularly HPV16, has been definitively implicated in oral cancers, particularly those that occur in the back of the mouth. HPV is a common, sexually transmitted virus, which infects about 40 million Americans today.

One of the real dangers of this cancer is that in its early stages, it can go unnoticed. It can be painless, and little in the way of physical changes may be obvious. The good news is however, that your dentist or doctor can, in many cases, see or feel the precursor tissue changes or the actual cancer while it is still very small, or in its earliest stages. It may appear as a white or red patch of tissue in the mouth, or a small indurated ulcer which looks like a common canker sore. Because there are so many benign tissue changes that occur normally in your mouth, and some things as simple as a bite on the inside of your cheek may mimic the look of a dangerous tissue change, it is important to have any sore or discolored area of your mouth, which does not heal within 14 days, looked at by a professional. Other symptoms included: a lump or mass which can be felt inside the mouth or neck, pain or difficulty in swallowing, speaking, or chewing, any wart like masses, hoarseness which lasts for a long time, or any numbness in the oral/facial region. Unilateral persistent ear ache can also be a warning sign. . If your dentist or doctor decides that an area is suspicious, the only way to know for sure if it is something dangerous is to do a biopsy of the area. This is not painful, is inexpensive, and takes little time. It is important to have a firm diagnosis as early as possible.

Laser Dentistry

For years people have associated going to the dentist with having their teeth drilled. However, drills are now becoming a thing of the past. We are proud to offer laser dentistry, which uses cutting edge technology to provide more comfortable, precise, and efficient dental care. The Waterlase® is used for a variety of procedures, including:

• Cavity detection
• Fillings
• Crown lengthening
• Gingival (gum) resculpting
• Root canals

How does it work?

The Waterlase® is completely different from traditional drills. There is no pressure, no heat, and no vibration – just the laser and a delicate spray of atomized water. The Waterlase® uses hydrokinetic technology to accurately and comfortably remove hard and soft tissue, without affecting the surrounding teeth. Amazingly, it also sterilizes as it goes, which reduces the risk of infection.

Laser dentistry is one of the least invasive tools your dentist can use to provide quality dental care. Since the Waterlase® is so precise, your dentist may use a magnifying glass or even a microscope while working. Unlike standard drills that can leave tiny fractures in healthy teeth, the Waterlase® is able to specifically target problem areas while maintaining the integrity of the tooth structure.

What are the benefits?

Laser dentistry has a number of benefits, but one of the most important is patient comfort. No one likes to get shots, or have sore gums and teeth. Since most patients do not need anesthesia, there are no painful shots or numb lips afterward. Patients are able to come in and have their work done immediately, and don't have to wait hours just to eat! The absence of pressure and heat creates a much more comfortable experience for the patient, and the laser's precision minimizes damage to surrounding tissue. The Waterlase® actually aids in the clotting of exposed blood vessels, which means less bleeding and less post-operative swelling. This also reduces overall healing time, as well as the need for pain medication.

Another advantage of the Waterlase® is its versatility. It is utilized for a wide range of hard and soft tissue procedures, from fillings to gum sculpting. When used to treat cavities, the Waterlase® helps create durable fillings by enhancing the bond strength of tooth-colored restorations. In addition, its sterilization capability kills bacteria located within a cavity.

The Waterlase® is also used to promote gingival health by reducing periodontal pockets. Before, this usually required gum surgery; with laser dentistry, there is no need for painful stitches or sutures.Other patients feel they have a “gummy” smile or that their teeth look too short. Laser dentistry allows your dentist to reshape the gums with little trauma to this sensitive area of the mouth. The end result is teeth that appear longer, making your smile more attractive.

It is clear that laser dentistry has become the ideal choice for patients – 97% of people who have had Waterlase® treatment would recommend it to their friends and family! Do you live in or around Madison? Call us today to schedule an appointment and find out more about laser dentistry.