Frisco TX Dentist Blog | Robert A. Neal, DDS

Office Workers at Higher Risk for Poor Dental Health

April 4, 2013 by The Frisco Dentist 1 Comment

The average office worker wakes up rather early, rushes to the office, eats at his or her desk, and often works over 8 hours a day. As such, they rarely eat the typical three meals-a-day regimen other people adhere to and society has thrust upon us. While most nutritionists and health nuts agree that eating several small meals or snacks throughout the day is healthier for people, especially when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight, many dentists find that office workers who snack all day are at a higher risk for poor dental health.

Dentists have found that people who snack during the day are at a higher risk, because constant snacking prevents the mouth from naturally stabilizing its pH levels, and constant snacking exposes the teeth to acids from foods more often than those who only eat three meals a day.

Not to mention, it’s highly unlikely office workers are taking the time to brush their teeth and floss in between snacks. In fact, in this survey, more than 20% of the office workers examined admitted that they skip brushing their teeth regularly as part of their early morning rush routine to get to work. And if they do brush regularly, 88% of those surveyed brush their teeth for less than the recommended two minutes.[..Read More]

Filed Under: Dental Health

Study Confirms Positive Effects of Fluoridated Water

March 20, 2013 by The Frisco Dentist Leave a Comment

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The potential negative effects of fluoridated water have been a concern of both medical professionals and the public since it was introduced nearly 50 years ago. While many self-proclaimed health nuts will gladly tell anyone and everyone how awful fluoridated water is for your teeth, the research has continually shown otherwise. Most recently, a team of Australia researchers has found new evidence of the benefits of fluoridated water in that it does indeed prevent dental cavities.

The researchers, from the Australian Research Center for Population Oral Health at the University of Adelaide’s School of Dentistry, gathered data from a random sample of over two thousand Australians born before 1960 and 1500 Australians born between 1960 and 1990. Since most water fluoridation was implemented in the 1960s, the team wanted to examine long term effects of fluoridated water.

The center’s director, Professor Kaye Roberts-Thomson, said that although it is known that fluoridated water can prevent tooth decay in children, this study is the first study that has shown how beneficial the fluoridation can be for even adults. The team found that adults who drank fluoridated water for over 75% of their life had 30% less tooth decay than those who only consumed it for less than 25% of their lives.[..Read More]

Filed Under: Dental Health Tagged With: flouridated water

Coffee and Tea May Lower Oral Cancer Risk?

March 13, 2013 by The Frisco Dentist 1 Comment

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We’ve covered the health benefits of tea a few times, but this is the first time a research study has ever found an association between health benefits of tea and oral cancer prevention. What’s more surprising is that the study actually included coffee, which dentists usually discourage consumption of due to the fact that it stains teeth.

The research study was conducted in France, where they studied whether consumption of certain beverages could be associated with the incidence of oral cancer. What they found was that the prevalence of oral cancer was markedly lower among study participants who were regular consumers of tea or coffee. As a result, they believe that drinking tea and coffee could decrease the risk of oral cancer through their antioxidant components that are essential to the repair of cellular damage.

The researchers examined the relationship between consuming the beverages and the risk of oral cancer by conducting interviews and administering written surveys to over 4,000 participants in France. Over six hundred of the participants were already diagnosed with oral cancer.

They found an inverse relationship between oral cancer and consumption of tea or coffee, tea in particular. [..Read More]

Filed Under: Dental Health Tagged With: oral cancer, tea and dental health

New Drill-Free Technique for Cavities in Children

March 6, 2013 by The Frisco Dentist Leave a Comment

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Dr. Norma Hall, a Scottish dentist, developed a new technique for fixing cavities in young children that doesn’t require a drill, using a local anesthetic, or placing a dental filling. The technique, aptly called the Hall technique, involves capping a baby tooth with a stainless-steel crown to seal the decay. The crown then remains on the afflicting tooth until it naturally falls out with the arrival of the permanent tooth. According to recent research, the process is 20 minutes faster than the traditional filling and has a higher success rate.

More importantly, recent research on the technique has found that this drill-free technique can reduce dentist anxiety in young children. Dr. Lyndie Foster Page and Dr. Dorothy Boyd trained ten dentists to use the Hall technique, and then studied its effects on dentist anxiety in about 200 young children versus conventional methods. One hundred of the children had the Hall technique, and approximately 90 children had a traditional filling. The children were aged between 5 and 8.

They found that the children who received the Hall technique reported less dental anxiety than the children who received fillings. Nearly 90% of the children with the Hall technique reported that they enjoyed their dental visit, whereas only 52% of the children who received a filling said the same.[..Read More]

Filed Under: Dental Health, Dental Procedures, Pediatric Dentistry Tagged With: cavities, fillings

Obesity Conclusively Linked to Gum Disease

February 21, 2013 by The Frisco Dentist Leave a Comment

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It’s been suggested for awhile now that there is a link between obesity and gum disease. There are already links between diabetes and gum disease, and of course there are links between obesity and diabetes, so one would think that conclusively means there is a link between obesity and gum disease. However, there has been no actual evidence to link gum disease to obesity until now.

Researchers from Case Western Reserve University have found the link between obesity and gum disease by the underlying inflammatory processes found in both conditions.

“Obese individuals’ bodies relentlessly produce cytokines, proteins with inflammatory properties. These cytokines may directly injure the gum tissue or reduce blood flow to the gum tissue, thus promoting the development of gum disease,” explained Dr. Charlene Krejci, the study’s lead author and associate professor at the university.[..Read More]