Month: February 2022

A recent article from ScienceDaily jumped out at me as I was scrolling and looking for my next blog post topic. The article titled “Evidence grows for vaping’s role in gum disease” caught my attention due to how much I can relate to this topic. This connects to me because vaping and e-cigarettes are highly intertwined with the college culture. Students are constantly spending loads of money on Juul pods, vape juice, and other vapes chasing their next head buzz. At parties, the Juul is being passed around from begging one person to another begging person for that one hit. Now there are studies by New York University that theorize these e-cigarettes and vapes could lead to gum disease.

What is Gum Disease?

Gum disease is when the gums start to recede lower and lower toward the bone. This can lead to inflammation of the gums, bleeding or the gums, and tooth loss among other things.

Study

Of course, we know that cigarettes ruin our gums, so it would only make sense that a vape would also have a negative effect on one’s gum health. The study was conducted by two professors at the NYU dental school and ran for a year. There were 84 test subjects divided into three groups; cigarette smokers, e-cigarette smokers, and non-smokers. The patients would go in to be observed every 6 months. It was found that e-cigarette smokers had much worse gum health than smokers and non-smokers. The results were found in the plaque taken from the dental exam. The “oral biome” of the mouth was much different from the non-smokers and cigarette smokers. There were bacterium related to gum disease that were found in the biome of the e-cigarette smoker. For anyone who chews tobacco, or smokes both cigarettes and e-cigarettes, stop while you still can. There are levels of gum disease, with the photo showing the worst of it. This disease is painful and also expensive if you need teeth removed or dentures created to fill the place of the old tooth.

Here is a link talking more about gum disease if you’re interested

https://www.sweettoothdent.com/services/periodontal-disease/types-of-periodontal-disease/

In this week’s article, I will talk about the importance of primary or “baby” teeth. By the age of 3 these teeth come in and are usually all gone and replaced by “adult teeth” by the age of 13. Most parents and kids don’t take care of these teeth because they know they’re going to fall out. Dr. Dale Mayfield says regarding baby teeth “by age 4 more than 25% of children have at least one cavity, and by age 5 about 60% have experienced some tooth decay. What parents don’t know is that there are negative effects in the future.

Why we need healthy “baby teeth”

• Create space for permanent teeth
• Allow for proper speech development
• Develop good habits for future hygiene

What happens if these teeth aren’t taken care of

If a tooth is damaged and decayed, it may have to be removed completely. If this were to happen and a spacer wasn’t placed, then the surrounding teeth would drift along the gums and cause the “adult” or permanent teeth to grow in at odd angles, or incorrect places in general. Missing teeth can also affect articulation, teeth are used to pronounce the “T” sound, being one of the most prominent sounds developed using teeth. It is important as parents that you monitor your children’s teeth by helping them brush, talking with their dentist, and encouraging them to maintain good oral hygiene by brushing and flossing twice a day.

Here are a few links that relate to this week’s post

https://www.dentistrytoday.com/benevis-highlights-the-importance-of-caring-for-primary-teeth/

https://www.acadianapediatricdentistry.com/the-importance-of-baby-teeth

https://yourdentalhealthresource.com/the-role-of-baby-teeth-in-your-childs-speech-development/#:~:text=The%20teeth%20work%20together%20with%20the%20tongue%20and,more%20difficult%20for%20children%20to%20properly%20pronounce%20words.

Social Media’s Impact on Your Business

Social media gives dentists a way to have community-wide outreach with the press of a button. Posting about their services, staff, and new technology can give prospective patients the ability to have a look inside the office before visiting. Not only this, but the page could promote new products, specials and oral hygiene for current patients to indulge in on a daily basis. For example; a dentist could post a daily fun fact or piece of advice for their followers/friends to keep them involved. Replying to comments and messages lets your patients know that you care about them and builds a stronger relationship. Adding all of these things together will make for an informational, engaging social media page for your business. This will help you bring in new clientele and bond with the current client pool you already have.

Attached below is a link to an article by Forbes on how to grow your social media

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnrampton/2014/09/29/25-ways-to-grow-your-social-media-presence/?sh=29352adb62fb