Friday, July 3, 2015

Fourth of July and Summer Dental Tips



On July 4, 1776 one of the most, if not THE most, important document the world has ever seen was adopted by the Second Continental Congress.  By the end of summer, it was signed by fifty six men.  The first to sign was John Hancock, the youngest was Edward Rutledge and the oldest was Benjamin Franklin.

Over 200 years later, we still celebrate the courage of those fifty-six brave men and the Fourth of July has become the pinnacle of summer.  They most likely were not thinking that hamburgers, hot dogs and pool parties would be the end result, but would be proud to see the number of stars on the flag with 13 alternating white and red stripes that would blanket the country on this day. 

The world is a different place.  Our dentures look different than the ones George Washington sported as seen below.  Note that they are not actually made of wood, but ivory, teeth from other people and a number of other things we would not want in our mouth.



There are a number of dental safety steps we all can take to help keep our teeth safe from damage this July 4 and the rest of summer.


The pool is the area we see the most amount of trauma to teeth.  Kids don’t listen when we say not to run on the wet concrete.  Teenagers think it is great fun to launch their bodies from a trampoline to the pool.  Frat boys can one up that and go from the roof or balcony into the water.  Things don’t always go as planned.  Whether it is a fall on the edge of the pool, hitting the bottom of the pool or even just swimming into the side because the chlorine was burning their eyes, teeth can get knocked loose or broken very easily. 

Here are some tips from the Academy of General Dentistry:

Follow these simple first aid steps for a tooth that has been either knocked loose or knocked out:

If a tooth is knocked loose, gently push the tooth back into its original position, bite down so the tooth does not move and call your dentist or visit the emergency room.
For an avulsed (knocked out) tooth, pick up the tooth by the crown, not by the root – handling the root (the part of the tooth below the gum) may damage the cells necessary for bone reattachment. If the tooth cannot be replaced in its socket on site, do not let the tooth dry out. Place it in a container with a lid and use milk or saliva. Visit the dentist as soon as possible – the longer the tooth is out of the mouth, the less likely the tooth will be able to be saved.
Swimming frequently in a pool can lead to increased staining and tartar buildup due to all the chemicals that keep our pools from looking like the local pond.  Make sure you’re keeping up on your regular cleanings to keep gingivitis at bay.

Recent studies have shown girls are more likely to receive concussions playing team sports growing up but are rarely evaluated for them.  Mouth guards have been shown to help prevent heavy impact to the skull in addition to protecting the teeth, but typically we only see football players and people participating in martial arts or boxing to wear them.  There are a lot of organized sports and most of them have at least some physical contact or a ball or puck.  Even if it’s not required, we strongly recommend having a mouth guard made if you or your child is active in sports.

The next two summer recommendations are not that obvious but can have serious complications to your oral health.   First, stay hydrated with water.  Sports drinks are very erosive to the teeth and are as bad as soda or lemonade at attacking our precious enamel.  Once we get dehydrated, we also get dry mouth (xerostomia) and without saliva to rinse our teeth the sugars that are in about everything we eat don’t get naturally cleansed and sit there for the bacteria to eat up and spray out their acid on our teeth.  Second, wear lip balm with some SPF protection.  You lips get roasted out there and typically don’t get the same sunscreen protection we lather on our arms and legs.  Skin cancer is much more common on the lips than it needs to be.  Protect yourself and your loved ones.

Make sure you have fun celebrating the greatest nation of Earth.  Do so safely and I hope some of these tips help keep your mouth a little safer. 

God Bless the United States of America.