Yogurt & gum disease

It’s a bird; it’s a plane; it’s… yogurt! It appears that plain, simple yogurt may be the newest superhero in our ongoing battle against gum disease. Researchers at Kyushu University in Japan studied nearly a thousand subjects between the ages of 40 and 79, and found that those with higher intakes of lactic acid foods like yogurt exhibited significantly fewer signs of periodontal (gum) disease. The study concluded that regularly eating yogurt may help keep your gums and teeth healthy.

Gum disease is an infection that occurs in the gums, deep tissues and bones that support your teeth. Without treatment, gum disease can lead to tooth loss. The American Academy of Periodontology cites gum disease as the primary cause of tooth loss in adults age 35 and over.

The best way to fend off gum disease is to follow the same measures you take to avoid cavities:

• Brush your teeth twice daily with fluoride toothpaste
• Floss every day between each tooth and behind your molars
• Have your teeth professionally cleaned on a regular schedule
• Avoid smoking and tobacco use
• Maintain a healthy diet (and perhaps add some yogurt!)

It’s very important to be aware of the symptoms of gum disease, since it can often occur without pain or discomfort to signal its presence. Keep a lookout for:

• Gums that appear red or swollen
• Gums that feel tender
• Gums that bleed easily (during brushing or flossing)
• Gums that recede or pull away from the teeth
• Persistent bad breath
• Loose teeth
• Any change in the way teeth come together in the biting position
• Any change in the way partial dentures fit

If you suspect you may suffer from gum disease, make an appointment immediately. We can diagnose the problem and advise you about treatment.

The Doctor's Corner

Every fall in Ohio, the deciduous trees shed their leaves until the branches are bare. When that happens, we know that winter is on its way. Like trees that shed leaves, children shed all twenty of their deciduous teeth between the ages of 7 and 14 and when that happens, young “adulthood” is on its way. Unlike the trees that shed every leaf, children often have deciduous or “baby” teeth that do not shed. They become retained for unknown reasons and thus the permanent teeth that follow have to work around them and often erupt in a poor position. Sometimes these permanent teeth become blocked and impacted or in a position that will never allow eruption.

The shedding, or “exfoliation” of teeth begins at around 7 years of age. That is why orthodontists would like to see all children at age 7; to make sure the baby teeth are getting loose and the permanent teeth have room to erupt. A digital panoramic x-ray is usually taken at age 7 or 8 to see if all the permanent teeth are present and forming properly. The upper and lower front teeth erupt between 7 and 9 and often the orthodontist has to direct the dentist to remove baby teeth to allow proper eruption of the permanent teeth that follow. In some cases, the baby teeth fail to get loose and if they are not removed, the poor eruption can cause a front cross-bite which is damaging to the newly erupting lower permanent front teeth.

The baby canine teeth should be loose or exfoliated around the ages of 10 to 12. When these teeth fail to get loose or fall out, the permanent canine teeth often grow sideways in the bone and become impacted. If this happens, it requires an oral surgery procedure and an extra year of braces just to get this tooth back down into the proper position. Obviously, the expense is much greater as well as the difficulty of the treatment.

Although some late bloomers still have baby teeth at age 14, many early bloomers have lost all their baby teeth at nine! So waiting until 12 or 14 to be checked for proper tooth loss may be way too late! Also, you should never see two teeth in the same spot. If a permanent tooth is erupting and the baby tooth is still there, call your orthodontist or dentist and have the baby tooth removed.

It would be nice if children were like trees and exfoliated teeth like leaves but since they are not, make sure your child is evaluated for proper baby tooth loss at age seven and every 6 months after that.

Drs. Bernard and Eimer 21ST Annual Scholarship Award!

Once again Drs. Bernard and Eimer’s office is offering (3) $1,000 Scholarships to seniors in our practice from ALL schools!

21st Century Orthodontics

We currently speak to elementary schools during February for “Children’s’ Dental Health Month”. We are now offering to do presentations for middle schools or any other organizations such as PTO’s, Women’s Clubs, Civic Groups and Parent Associations.

In our standard Dental Health presentation we demonstrate proper tooth brushing and flossing, the importance of sterilization, advances in technology with x-rays, and present healthy food choices.

The presentation will be approximately 45 minutes. We also have other programs on orthodontics for adults and advances in orthodontics. Our programs can be scheduled at any time of the year not just February. If you are interested in scheduling this informative health program or any other program please contact Terri @ 330-494-4310.

Surprising Facts About Smiling

Happy New Year!

Seeing a child’s smile creates as much pleasure as 2,000 chocolate bars—or $25,000 in cash. That was the surprising finding of a British study conducted by Hewlett Packard, using an electromagnetic brain scan machine and heart-rate monitor to measure “the mood-boosting value” of various stimuli. The study also found that seeing a loved one’s smile was worth about 600 chocolate treats or 8,500 Pounds Sterling ($13,175), while a friend’s grin was valued at $225, or 200 chocolate bars. In a subsequent survey, 1,000 British adults ranked smiling as more likely to give a short-term high than sex, candy, or shopping (in that order).

Smile often—and the people around you will literally feel like a million bucks. And here are more ways it pays off to supersize your grin: Research suggests that the size of your smile may predict how successful you’ll be at love and work, how inspiring you’ll be to others, and even how long you’ll live. To learn more, I talked to Ron Gutman, author of Smile: The Astonishing Powers of a Simple Act (TED Books, 2011). Here’s a look at some of the intriguing research from around the world that he’s compiled.

Babies are born smiling.

3-D ultrasound imaging has captured vivid pictures in which developing babies are smiling in the womb, says Gutman, the CEO of Healthtap, Palo Alto, California-based healthcare social networking company. “Even before birth, babies seem to be practicing this uniquely human expression.” Initially babies smile in their sleep, but by three months of age, they learn they can inspire smiles in others through a deliberate smile—launching one of the first childhood games: the “smile exchange,” as the American Academy of Pediatrics terms this milestone in infant development.

We can detect a smile from more than 300 feet away.

That’s more than twice the distance at which we can distinguish other facial expressions. It’s thought that this ability evolved so we could quickly tell friend from foe and react accordingly. Studies at both the Institute of Cognitive Science, in France, and the University of Manchester, in the UK, separately report that a smile can even make us feel that a complete stranger looks familiar.