Posts Tagged: Teeth

[caption id="attachment_1324" align="aligncenter" width="400"]via deathsplaining.wordpress.com image via deathsplaining.wordpress.com[/caption] How Does Coffee Stain Teeth? Although the enamel of your teeth is the hardest substance in the human body, it is not flat and smooth. On the contrary, your tooth enamel contains microscopic pits and ridges that can hold particles of food and drink. Pigments from dark-colored drinks such as coffee, tea, and soda can become embedded in those cracks and ridges and, if the proper steps are not taken, can cause permanent, yellowing stains on your teeth. Does Coffee Stain Teeth Less If You Add Cream? While it may seem that lighter-colored coffee would stain less, the same pigments and acids are present in coffee with cream as black coffee; thus, adding any sort of whitener to your coffee will not prevent your teeth from becoming stained, unless you put significantly less coffee in your cup to make room for the cream. How Can One Prevent "Coffee Smile"? Giving up coffee, tea, or other tooth-staining beverages is the best way to prevent the staining caused by those drinks, but for most people, this is not an acceptable solution. Rather than abstaining, try to consume your coffee at specific break times, rather than sipping constantly throughout the day. After finishing your coffee, you can then rinse your mouth out with water or brush your teeth to remove the potentially yellowing pigments from your teeth. Using a whitening toothpaste and brushing regularly is a good way to maintain whiter teeth at home. In addition, visiting your dentist's office for regular cleanings can remove many of the surface stains on your teeth, giving you a whiter smile, no matter how many cups of coffee you need to make it through the day. resource: Colgate
As part of our effort to stay healthy from head to toe, we wanted to take some time this month to talk about heart and dental health. A few months ago, we shared two unconventional ways to commit to total body heath. Instead of spitting out statics from the latest studies, here is how and why taking care of your teeth help keep your heart healthy. How does taking care of your teeth affect your heart health? Understanding the connection between heart and dental health isn’t complicated. Most people know if you don’t take proper care of your teeth, diseases such as tooth decay and gingivitis develops. Also, you probably know that if you don’t regularly floss, your gums can become sore bleeding can result. Studies have shown the bacteria you’ve built up from poor dental habits can make its way into your blood stream. Traveling through the rest of your body, the bacteria can provoke inflammation or cause clogged arteries. Over time, these issues can develop into more serious problems. Why does it matter? Over time, the issues caused by bacteria in your blood stream can contribute to heart disease or other heart related issues. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the U.S. According to the American Heart Association, an estimated 2,600 people in the U.S. die of heart disease every day. That's an average of one death every 34 seconds. In short… By not taking care of your teeth and gums, you’re ultimately opening yourself up for the potential to be diagnosed with heart disease or other heart related issues if dental bacteria enters the blood stream. It is evident from research that the two are directly related. How do you prevent this from happening? While regular dental exams and cleanings are necessary to remove bacteria, plaque and tartar and detect early signs of gum disease, you can play a major role in preventing bacteria build up: • Brush for two to three minutes twice a day with fluoridated toothpaste. Be sure to brush along the gumline without using too much force. • Floss daily to remove plaque from places your toothbrush can’t reach. • Use a mouth rinse to reduce plaque up to 20 percent. • Eat a healthy diet, low in refined sugars, to provide essential nutrients (vitamins A and C, in particular). • Avoid cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. At Downtown Dental, we want you to have more than a nice smile; we want you to live a healthy, vibrant life. That’s why we’re committed to total body health. Join us in staying healthy from head to toe and taking care of the most important part of your body: your heart.
Health & Smiles If you're like us, you're shocked at how quickly the middle of January arrived. It seems like just yesterday we were counting down the last seconds of 2012 and ringing in the New Year. Now, Target it already selling swimsuits in stores! Weren't we also just deciding our New Year's goals? While you may have made several resolutions for various areas of your life, we think it's safe to say that one of those areas is probably related to your health. In fact, the most common resolution Americans made in 2013 was to eat healthy and exercise regularly.

We care about more than just your teeth.

Our staff's commitment to educating and advocating our patients to their best advantage doesn't stop with your pearly whites. We believe committing to total body health will help our families, patients, neighbors, and, frankly, the city of Nashville live fuller, richer lives!

But, before you hit the play button on Physical by Olivia Newton-John, let us share two other ways you can commit to total body health in addition to hitting the gym this year from our area of expertise: your teeth.

Maintaining a clean mouth can keep your body healthy. There are several studies showing good teeth do more than keep dental bills low - they can help protect you from a whole host of health problems.

Clean teeth can help prevent heart disease.

This study published in the British Medical Journal analyzed data from over 11,000 adults. It determined that participants who reported brushing their teeth less frequently had a 70% increased risk of heart disease versus those who brushed twice daily.

Clean teeth can keep your lungs healthy.

Could proper dental hygiene help you to breath better? Possibly so. Another study published in the Journal of Periodontology uncovered a suspected link between periodontal disease and pulmonary disease (such as pneumonia and acute bronchitis).

As you continue to achieve your 2013 healthy goals, don't forget that your teeth can play an important role in your overall health throughout the year.

Stay tuned over the next several months as we partner with our patients and downtown Nashville to help them commit to making 2013 the healthiest year yet.