Dental Health
Physical Health and Exercise
How Can Nutrition Affect my Mouth?
Many of the foods that help our bodies build strong muscles and bones also help build strong, healthy teeth and gums.
- Dairy products provide calcium and vitamin D for strengthening teeth and bones.
- Bread and cereal supply B vitamins for growth and iron for healthy blood. This contributes to healthy gum tissue.
- Fruits and vegetables containing vitamin C are essential to maintaining healthy gums.
- Lean meat, fish, poultry and beans provide iron and protein for overall good health. Magnesium and zinc keep the immune system strong to help keep teeth strong teeth.
If your diet lacks certain nutrients, the tissues in your mouth can have a harder time resisting infection. This can contribute to periodontal disease; a major cause of tooth loss in adults. Many researchers believe that this disease progresses faster and could be more severe in people with poor diets. Periodontal disease during pregnancy not only hurts your teeth, it can also have harmful affects on the pregnancy.
When we eat foods that are high in sugar, the bacteria in our mouth eats the sugar and produces an acid. This acid corrodes our teeth for 20 minutes or more which leads to tooth decay.
What Can I Do?
- Maintain a balanced healthy diet.
- Drink a lot of water to keep your mouth moist. This washes away food and makes plaque less acidic.
- Brush and floss your teeth, especially after eating sticky foods such as raisins, fruit snacks, or candy.
- Limit the number of in-between meal snacks. Choose nutritious snacks that are low in sugar.
- Chew sugar-free gum that contains xylitol.
Dental Care During Pregnancy
We all have bacteria in our mouth. Even healthy mouths contain bacteria that can cause cavities. These bacteria, however, are not very dangerous to the rest of our body. Bacteria found in periodontal disease, however, are a lot more dangerous. This bacterium can enter our bloodstream and lead to problems that can affect our overall health in a number of ways.
Research has recently found that having periodontal disease can affect a woman’s pregnancy. Some of these bacteria can raise the level of prostaglandin in the body. Prostaglandin is a biological fluid in the body that, when it rises, causes the uterus to contract. This fluid can trigger labor. Periodontal disease has been linked to preterm and low birth weight infants.
Periodontal disease may be responsible for as many as 18% of the 250,000 premature babies that are born weighing less than 5.5 pounds each year in U.S. If periodontal disease could be prevented, premature births might be reduced by about 44,500 each year. This would save almost $1 billion in neonatal intensive care.
What Can I Do?
Rising levels of hormones in a pregnant woman’s body make gum tissue more sensitive to plaque. A pregnant woman is more likely to develop gum disease, called pregnancy gingivitis. This makes it important that she follows good oral health practices:
- Regular brushing
- Regular flossing
- Visit a dental hygienist for regular cleanings. The second trimester is the best time for these cleanings, because it is safest for the mother and baby.
Dental Sealants
What are Sealants?
Dental sealants are a thin, plastic coating that is professionally applied to the teeth. They fill in the pits and grooves of our teeth. Sealants help prevent decay by keeping food and bacteria from sticking to the chewing surfaces of our teeth.
Which Teeth are Suitable for Sealants?
Our permanent molars benefit the most from dental sealants. These teeth have the most pits and grooves on their chewing surface. Food and debris stick more easily to these teeth. Most decay in children occurs on molars. Dental sealants act as a barrier, protecting enamel from acid produced by bacteria. At 6 years of age your child’s first permanent molars begin to come in. Second molars appear at around age 12. It is best to apply sealants shortly after these teeth erupt. This will help protect them before they have a chance to start decaying. If sealants are applied routinely, along with the appropriate use of fluoride, most decay in children can be prevented. One sealant application can last as long as 5 to 10 years.
How are Sealants Applied?
Applying sealants is a very simple process that can be done by a dentist or dental hygienist and takes only a few minutes. It does not require the drilling or removing of any tooth structure.
- First, the tooth is cleaned.
- Next, a special liquid that prepares the enamel to hold the sealant in place is applied.
- Finally, the white sealant material is painted onto the tooth and a special light is used to harden it.
Xylitol
Xylitol is a natural occurring sweetener found in many fruits and vegetables. Scientists have been able to reproduce it. It is used as an alternative to sugar. The bacteria in your mouth cannot digest it and cannot make the acid that leads to tooth decay. Studies have shown that a daily intake of xylitol helps patients at high risk for tooth decay. It slows down the growth of the bacteria S. mutans, which is the main bacteria associated with dental cavities.
Xylitol can be found in some chewing gum, gum drops, and hard candy. It is also used in throat lozenges, cough syrup, children’s chewable multivitamins, toothpaste, and mouthwash. In the United States, xylitol is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as safe.
Links to Other Dental Resources
Links About Nutrition and Your Oral Health
Diet and Oral Health
American Dental Association
http://www.ada.org/public/topics/diet.asp
Nourish Your Smile With a Well-balanced Diet
American Academy of Periodontology
http://www.perio.org/consumer/nutrition-benefits.htmU.S. Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/depress.htm
Nutrition and Oral Health Guidelines for Pregnant Women, Infants, and Children
PubMed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12515420&dopt=Citation
Oral Health Nutrition
American Dental Hygiene Association
http://www.adha.org/oralhealth/nutrition.htm
National Mental Health Information Center
http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/ken98-0045/default.asp
Links About Dental Care During Pregnancy
Periodontal Disease and Pregnancy
Journal of Dental Research
http://jdr.iadrjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/81/1/58Journal of Periodontology
http://www.joponline.org/doi/abs/10.1902/jop.2002.73.8.911
Links About Dental Sealants
Dental Sealants
American Dental Association
http://www.ada.org/public/topics/sealants_faq.asp
Links About Xylitol
Xylitol Reduces Risk of Cavities
Medical News Today
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=63238
