Baby bottle decay

    There are many things to be said about children.  They bring joy, enrichment, and many responsibilities in the parents' life.  I have a two and a half year old at home.  Because of him my priorities in life changed, and I just can’t wait to get home and see him, to play with him. I enjoy all the words he says I don't understand, and the sound of barefoot running around the house.  

      In the same token, a small child means sleepless nights when the little one has cramps, or when he just wants to cry, and nothing seems to sooth him.  It is very easy to give him a bottle of milk or juice, and just let him calm down while drinking the milk.  But here lies the danger of opening a big can of worms for problems in the future.  The prolonged contact between the milk (or juice) and the teeth will soften the enamel. This will lead to an explosion of cavities on almost all of the teeth.  I saw many times little children,  with rotten baby teeth,  and while it is true that baby teeth will change with permanent teeth in the future,  once the cavities start it is very difficult to control the destructive process. In addition to all the unpleasant aspects of decayed teeth, this will also lead to very unhappy memories of their first visits to the dentist, with long lasting effects. There are no parents who don't love their children, or who don't want the best for them.  So when you are tired, and just want little Johnny to sleep peacefully for at least one hour, please don't give him a bottle with milk in his crib.  Give him water instead, and you will ensure that Johnny will have a great smile when he grows up, and also he will enjoy going to the dentist, because the only treatment he will have will be a pleasant cleaning,  and a toy from the toy box. 
         Until next time have a great day and a wonderful smile.

A small change

   Little facts can have huge implications in one’s life.  Fourteen years ago my wife came home with a piece of paper.  It was an application for a Green Card in the United States.  I didn't have any intentions of immigrating to the States at the time. However, because all of her friends were filling out the application, and because at the time everybody was applying for the Green Card, we did it as well. Usually each year there are 55000 Green Cards allowed by the State Department and between 10 and 14 million applications worldwide. I can't say that I am a very lucky guy,  I never won the lottery,  and I don't have any rich relatives to make me rich by their demise,  so I promptly forgot about the application. There was a big surprise when, after 6 months or so, I received a letter home informing me that I was selected as a Green Card recipient. The rest is quite history, as we came here, and my life changed radically.  

   In dentistry as well, there are small changes which can lead to big consequences. Some times I am doing an exam on a patient, and I discover either an explosion of decay, or several cavities on locations where there shouldn't be decay.  I go over the usual culprits – home oral hygiene, diet, etc, and sometimes things just don't add up.  So I need to think outside the box, i.e. mouth, and I start looking for causes far from the mouth. One of the possible causes is GERD, the four letter word standing for Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease, which in summary means that the content of the stomach can go back in the esophagus, and from there in the mouth.  It is also known as heartburn. The problem is that the stomach content is very acidic, and in time will erode the teeth’s enamel, leading to a big number of cavities.  A bigger problem is the fact that the same gastric content will erode the esophagus walls leading to ulcerations which can develop into cancer.  The condition can be treated most of the time by the primary care physician with various medications.  So it is important to discuss with your doctor if you have heartburn. However, for 10-15 percent of the population GERD doesn't announce itself with the unpleasant heartburn, and can be found just by the dentist during your regular visits.  Left untreated, a small condition can have a huge impact in your life, and its quality. Remember how a small action did lead to a huge (beneficial) change in my life.  Take a small step (see your dentist), and enjoy a happy life ever after :) 

Don't wait until it hurts!

     Last month I went back to Romania for a number of meetings with my colleagues. For most of the people in the world Romania is associated with Count Dracula (not such a malefic character until 1897 when Bram Stoker wrote his novel), however there are many other places to see and people to know. 

      Being my birth country there is always a lot of anticipation when I land in Bucharest. The first thing which makes a big impression is the driving. It is just crazy :) I cannot understand how come the nice lady, who just spent 2 hours drinking coffee on a terrace, can become a monster when she gets behind the wheel, because she wants to be on the other side of the town in less than 2 minutes :) It becomes crazier when you approach a turnabout. The rules are fluid, everybody seems to have the right of way, and there are moments when it seems like you have to close your eyes, push the gas pedal, and hope for the best. This is an approach which may work, but when it is not, the consequences are not pretty. 

      Unfortunately, I sometimes see the same approach when people are thinking about dentistry. I have been told several times by people who just found out I am a dentist (casual acquaintances,outside the office), that they haven’t see a dentist in 10+ years because nothing hurt them. The truth in dentistry is that, when it gets painful, the treatment is usually very involved and expensive. What about the gums? The health of the gums is extremely important for the health of the body. Bad gums lead to infection, and the infection can travel all around the body. This is extremely important for the people who have diabetes. So, in order to have a healthy body one should have a healthy mouth. This is why we recommend having a dental exam at least once a year, and a tooth and gum cleaning AT LEAST once every six months. And if you have a healthy smile you will end up with a beautiful smile as well.