Alcohol Consumption and Your Teeth

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One Tequila, Two Tequilas, Three Tequilas... Cavity
Although pure alcohol won't damage your teeth, the sugar content in most alcoholic drinks, including beer, can really damage your enamel. Some beverages, such as sweet wines or mixed drinks involving sodas or citrus juices, can be even worse, adding a high acidity to the equation.

Since it would be a damper to eliminate tasty beverages and fun Friday nights from your life just to avoid a couple extra cavities, there are a few things you can do to help lessen the partying damage to your teeth.

First and foremost, as part of your individual dental plan it is important to brush and floss your teeth before going to bed, no matter what you did during the day. If you find that you often forget to do this after your night out, leave your toothbrush on your pillow before hitting the town. That little reminder will help you spend the minute or two before passing out for the evening.

Furthermore, chewing sugarless gum between drinks or on the way home, as well as swishing some water around your mouth, will help increase saliva flow, rinse away sugars, and decrease the latent acid content of your mouth, further decreasing the total damage done to your teeth.

Wisdom Teeth Are Indeed Wise

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Wisdom Teeth A Source For Stem Cells?
Researchers in Japan have successfully made stem cells from wisdom teeth, creating an alternative source of pluripotent cells for researching and treating disease and avoiding the ethical problems surrounding embryonic stem cell research.

Scientists at Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, which is funded by the government, said they used wisdom teeth that had been frozen for three years after being removed from a 10 year old girl. Lead investigator of the project, Hajime Ogushi, told AFP news agency that their work was significant for two reasons. First, it avoids the ethical problem of using embryonic stem cells, and besides, wisdom teeth are usually thrown away, and second, it is easy to stock wisdom teeth.

In this latest project, Ogushi and colleagues extracted cells from the donated wisdom teeth, inserted three of the genes used by Yamanaka's team, and cultured the cells for just over a month in the lab. When they tested the cells they found them to be stem cells, Ogushi told AFP.

One application would be to use the cells to treat inherited bone disease, but Ogushi explained it will take at least 5 years of development and trials before the idea even gets into the clinical setting.

As to harvesting stem cells from wisdom teeth, Ogushi said there would be no problem with supply, since extraction of wisdom teeth is quite a common dental procedure. Having such a plentiful source of donors means scientists could produce stem cells with a range of genetic codes, increasing the chance that a patient's immune system will not reject the transplanted tissue or organ.

Another application could be that people who have their wisdom teeth out could arrange for them to be stored for future use as a source of stem cells already tailored to their own genetic code.

Editors Note: Assuming that what scientists predict will come true (i.e. that one day we'll be able to use stem cells to regrow human body parts), I look forward to the day when people will be able to say with a straight face that, "Getting a new arm is like pulling teeth".

Flossing Makes You Live Longer!

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Regular flossing, long considered an essential part of daily oral care regimen, has been found to have a positive effect on your life expectancy, increasing it by up to 6 years.

The primary benefit of flossing is that plaque is removed from the sides of your teeth and gum line, resulting in fewer cavities and preventing you from developing gum disease.

A recent study published in the Journal of Periodontology (JOP), the official publication of the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) demonstrates that including flossing as part of one's routine oral care can actually help reduce the amount of gum disease-causing bacteria found in the mouth, therefore contributing to healthy teeth and gums.

Flossing Increases Lifespan
Flossing regularly will help you live a longer, healthier life. For instance, if you have gum disease, you are 1.5 to 2 times more likely to die from a fatal heart attack and 3 times more likely to suffer from a stroke than someone with healthy gums.

Gum disease can be particularly dangerous to the elderly. Infected gums can contain pneumonia bacteria that can be transferred into the lungs. Furthermore, if bacteria from periodontal disease, a more serious form of gum disease, enters the blood stream, people with artificial joints or heart valves are more likely to suffer from a serious infection.

If you would like to learn more about how heart disease is linked to gum disease, please visit my web page about this connection.

Dental Detour

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Excuse me for the sharp left turn this week but instead of writing about dental health issues (which can be a little dry and tough to swallow), I thought I'd inject a little bit of humor into my blog. Being from New Jersey, I thought it would be fun to share with my readers some shared experiences I have with fellow New Jerseyans. You don't have to be from the Garden State to appreciate what follows... but it helps.

You Know You're From NOO JOISEY If...

• 1. You or someone you know have been injured at Action Park.
• 2. You don't think of citrus when people mention "The Oranges".
• 3. You know that it's called Great Adventure, not Six Flags.
• 4. You've ordered a hard roll with butter for breakfast.
• 5. You've known the way to Seaside Heights since you were seven.
• 6. You've eaten at a diner when you were stoned or drunk, at 3 a.m.
• 7. You remember that the "Two Guys" were from Harrison.
• 8. You know that the state isn't one big oil refinery.
• 9. At least three people in your family still love Bruce Springsteen and you know what town Jon Bon Jovi is from.
• 10. You know what a "jug handle" is.
• 11. You know that a WaWa is a convenience store.
• 12. You know that the state isn't all farmland.
• 13. You know that there are no "beaches" in New Jersey - there's "The Shore", and you know that the road to the shore is "The Parkway", not the "Garden State Highway".
• 14. You know that "Piney" isn't referring to a tree.
• 15. Even your school cafeteria made good Italian subs. And you call it a "Sub" not a "submarine sandwich" or worse yet, a "hoagie" or a "hero".
• 16. You remember the song from the Palisades Park commercials.
• 17. You know how to properly negotiate a Circle.
• 18. You knew that the last question had to do with driving.
• 19. You know that this is the only "New..." state that doesn't require "New" to identify it (I.E. Mexico, York, Hampshire don't work, does it?)
• 20. You only go to New York City for day trips, and you only call it "The City".
• 21. You know that a "White Castle" is the name of BOTH a fast food chain AND a fast food sandwich.
• 22. You consider a corned beef sandwich with lettuce and mayo a sacrilege.
• 23. In the 80's, you wore your hair REALLY high.
• 24. You don't think the "What exit are you from New Jersey?" joke is very funny.
• 25. You know that the first "strip shopping center" in the country is Route 17.
• 26. You know that people from 609 area code are "a little different".
• 27. You know that no respectable New Jerseyan goes to Princeton - that's for out-of-staters.
• 28. Whenever there is a Jets-Giants game, it usually causes at least one fight at your school or local bar.
• 29. You live within 20 minutes of at least three different malls.
• 30. You can see the Manhattan skyline from some part of your town.
• 31. You refer to all highways and interstates by their numbers.
• 32. Every year, you had a least one kid in your class named Tony.
• 33. You know where every "clip" shown in the Sopranos opening credits is located.
• 34. You've gotten on the wrong highway trying to get out of the Willowbrook Mall.
• 35. You've been to at least one mall in Paramus.
• 36. You know that people from North Jersey go to Seaside Heights, and people from South Jersey go to Wildwood. It can't be the other way around.
• 37. You were not raised in New Jersey. You were raised in either North Jersey, Central Jersey or South Jersey.
• 38. You don't consider Camden to actually be part of the state.
• 39. You remember shopping in Korvette's, Rickel's, Channel, Bamburger's and Orbach's.
• 40. You've eaten a Boardwalk cheese steak with vinegar fries.
• 41. You start planning for Memorial Day weekend in February.
• 42. You've never pumped your own gas.

Friends of "My Dental Complaint"

• New Jersey Graphic Design Services
• Reproductions of Tiffany Style Lamps
• Casa Mason Real Estate: Staten Island, NY
• Pompeian Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Recipes
• Executive Search For Hospitality Industry

Fight Plaque With... Gummy Bears?

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The tooth-protecting sugar substitute xylitol has been incorporated into gummy bears to produce a sweet snack that may prevent dental problems. Research published in the open access journal BMC Oral Health describes how giving children four of the xylitol bears three times a day during school hours results in a decrease in the Plaque bacteria that cause tooth decay.

Xylitol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol that is frequently used as a sweetener. It has been shown to reduce levels of the harmful mutans streptococci (MS) bacteria that are known to cause tooth decay. While xylitol chewing gums are available, they are not considered to be suitable for younger children. This research was led by Kiet A. Ly from the University of Washington. He says, "For xylitol to be successfully used in oral health promotion programmes amongst primary-school children, an effective means of delivering xylitol must be identified. Gummy bears would seem to be more ideal than chewing gum."

The children in the study were given four bears three times a day, containing different concentrations of xylitol. The results show that after six weeks of gummy bear snacking, the levels of harmful MS bacteria in the children's plaque was significantly reduced. According to Ly "Based on our findings, it is feasible to develop a clinical trial of a gummy-based caries prevention programme. Such a study is now being carried out in the East Cleveland primary school district (Ohio, USA).

"Tooth decay is one of the most common diseases in the world. The distribution of Xylitol gummy bears in the school setting may help to reduce the burden of this foremost chronic childhood disease in both the United States, Europe and the rest of the developed world.