Dental Hygiene - Frisco TX Dentist Blog

Iodine Mouthwash Could Lower Bad Cholesterol?

May 15, 2013 by The Frisco Dentist Leave a Comment

Image courtesy of the BDC

Could lowering your bad cholesterol (LDL count) be as simple as rinsing your mouth with a mouthwash? According to the Biomedical Development Corporation (BDC), a clinical trial of their new iodine mouthwash lowered LDL cholesterol levels of users compared to the placebo group.

“We didn’t expect to see any difference in LDL cholesterol,” said Dr. Charles Gauntt, the study’s principal researcher. “We expected to see improvements in oral health, and we did. But we also monitored a number of biological markers for inflammation. The results showed the oral rinse had no adverse effects and users exhibited lower levels of LDL, or what many people know as bad cholesterol. This definitely merits further study.”

Currently, a longer clinical trial is underway to see how the mouthwash affects patients diagnosed with gingivitis over a six-month time period. This trial will also continue to track LDL levels as part of an additional study for these unexpected effects.

BDC’s mouthwash is to be used once a day for 30 seconds. The active ingredient of the formula is based on iodine. The National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements has found iodine to have a number of significant roles in the human body, from boosting the immune system to improving thyroid function. It is currently believed that roughly 40% of the world is at risk for iodine deficiency. Iodine also plays a key role in inactivating viruses, bacteria, and fungi.

Since people with gum disease are almost twice as likely to have coronary artery disease, Dr. Gauntt wanted to help develop an oral product that could effectively fight the battle on both fronts. He believes that additional research could provide more evidence that a healthy mouth, free of gum disease, is crucial for a healthy cardiovascular system. Even though his current product needs further study, he believes that this new mouthwash could play an important role in fighting both oral and cardiovascular disease simultaneously.

The BDC hopes that this new mouthwash will be available soon. You can find more information about it on the iClean website.

Filed Under: Dental Advances, Dental Health, Dental Hygiene Tagged With: mouthwash

How damaging are soft drinks to your teeth, really?

February 13, 2013 by The Frisco Dentist 1 Comment

Courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Still aren’t sure about how unhealthy soft drinks can be on your teeth? Do you still consume several soft drinks a day? Do you hide behind the notion that you only consume “diet” soft drinks?

Of course we’re going to recommend that you cut out all soft drinks from your diet altogether, even “diet” soft drinks, since the “diet” only removes sugar and not the even more harmful carbonic acid. However, we are realistic, and we only ask that you cut down your soft drink intake each day to preferably only one or two a day.

If you don’t think you can, or you really aren’t sure how bad soft drinks can be on your teeth, let us share a recent horror story from Adelaide, Australia.

William Kennewell is a 25-year-old man from Adelaide who recently had to have all of his teeth removed due to his soft drink addiction. Granted, Mr. Kennewell was (and most likely still is) extremely addicted to soft drinks. He reported that he drank six to eight liters of soft drinks (approximately 1.4 to 2 gallons) a day. That’s over 20 12-ounce bottles of soft drinks each day.[..Read More]

Filed Under: Dental Health, Dental Hygiene

Study finds link between hormone levels and gingivitis risk in pregnancy

January 23, 2013 by The Frisco Dentist 2 Comments

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There has always been a link between pregnancy and an increased risk in developing gingivitis. Typically, this link is attributed to the fact that most pregnant women do not eat healthy foods or even a variety of foods, especially during their first trimester when they struggle to find anything they can keep down. On the same token, many pregnant women vomit more than usual due to the increased hormone levels in the first trimester that throws a monkey wrench in their ability to regulate their sugar levels. Increased vomiting introduces stomach acid to your teeth and gums more often, thereby eroding enamel and healthy gum tissue. Just ask any woman who has had a child how delightful the first trimester can be on your ability to eat. Poor diet and frequent vomiting constitute a recipe for increasing the risk for gum disease like gingivitis. It’s just yet another joy pregnant women have to be aware of.

However, new research has found another link as to why pregnant women are more likely to develop gingivitis than when not pregnant–the increased hormone levels.[..Read More]

Filed Under: Dental Health, Dental Hygiene

Why are my teeth discolored?

January 9, 2013 by The Frisco Dentist Leave a Comment

Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

We all want that perfectly white smile, but unfortunately, as we age, our teeth lose that bright luster we had as children. However, sometimes our teeth become markedly discolored, which is usually embarrassing and can lead to covering up or hiding your smile.

The most common cause of tooth discoloration is injury, such as falling or accidentally biting down on something far harder than typical food. When this happens, you most often know it immediately and can see the discoloration happen over a matter of hours.

There are other causes of tooth discoloration, and many can be easily solved by changing your lifestyle habits or scheduling a teeth whitening procedure with your dentist. For example, consuming dark foods and beverages consistently will stain your teeth. These include coffee, tea, red wine, dark chocolate, dark sodas, red berries, and blueberries, just to name a few. Smoking or chewing tobacco will also discolor your teeth, and often it’s worse than consuming dark foods.

Insufficient dental hygiene practices can also cause teeth discoloration. Not brushing and flossing often enough or properly can cause plaque build-up on the tooth’s surface, where it can harden and bond to the teeth over time. Now your teeth are not only discolored, but they’re also at risk for decay and cavities.

Are you taking any antibiotics? Some antibiotics can discolor your teeth (even your mouth!), and it should be listed as one of the medication’s side effects. The effect is often worse for children under eight years old.

How can I fix my tooth discoloration?

If your tooth discoloration is caused by any of the non-trauma factors, then it’s often relatively simple to correct it. For starters, cut down on the amount of dark foods and beverages, and of course, quit smoking or chewing tobacco. If you don’t brush your teeth twice a day and floss once a day, start doing so.

Need to drastically improve the color of your teeth? Contact your dentist for a teeth whitening appointment. An in-office teeth whitening procedure is safe, takes relatively little time, and the results are almost instantaneous.

Filed Under: Dental Health, Dental Hygiene, Teeth Whitening Tagged With: teeth discoloration

Nigeria Plans to Break Toothbrushing World Record

October 3, 2012 by The Frisco Dentist 1 Comment

Photo courtesy of blinknow.org

As a fun method to motivate Nigerians to brush their teeth and improve their dental health, the Lagos State Government announced a plan to break the Guinness World Record for the most people brushing their teeth simultaneously. Their plan is to recruit roughly 300,000 students from schools across the city of Lagos to brush their teeth all together.

“It is a school-based oral health intervention program that will culminate in a world record attempt for the number of people brushing their teeth simultaneously at multiple locations,” Dr. Yewande Adeshina, Special Adviser to the Governor of Public Health, announced during a world press conference just last week.

Breaking the record is part of the government’s overall plan to promote better dental care among Lagosians, especially children and adults, as well as the government’s new preventative dental care program that will be implemented in the city of Lagos’ primary health care centers.

The event will take place on December 5th, 2012. The Ministry of Education is currently rounding up students from 300 schools in Lagos, and all fo these students will band together in Lagos to brush their teeth for one minute.

“The world record toothbrushing challenge is an opportunity for oral health to be brought to the forefront for Lagos State and Nigeria,” said Dr. Lola Agbaje, chair of the state chapter of the Nigerian Dental Association. Adeshina also further commented that they want to use this event as a way to get out vital health information to Lagos and Nigeria about the importance of good dental hygiene.

The current record is 177,003 people brushing their teeth together at 380 locations across India, which was organized by Colgate-Palmolive and the Indian Dental Association on October 9, 2007. If they are able to successfully assemble students from these 300 schools to participate, they will handily smash the world record.

What an incredibly fun way to promote dental health! Hopefully this demonstration will catch the attention of more countries than just Nigeria, and perhaps other cities will have their own group-toothbrushing events.

Filed Under: Dental Hygiene