Month: February 2016

Kissing can be beneficial for your oral health, and even your overall health. Endorphins are released when we kiss and and that is good for every single part of our bodies. It burns calories, exercises our facial muscles, and releases tension. Kissing can even boost your immune system.

As far as your oral health goes, kissing can allow us to exchange healthy bacteria that are good for our mouths. It also leads to an increase in saliva flow, nature’s oral protectant. Saliva washes your mouth, rinses away food particles, and contains mineral ions that can repair your teeth! But kissing can also be hazardous.

The Concerns

The saliva that protects your teeth also acts as a superhighway for all kinds of bacteria and viruses, including the bacteria that lead to tooth decay and gum disease.  Because some saliva is usually exchanged during kissing, these bacteria travel back and forth from mouth to mouth setting up new colonies and releasing acids that eat away at your tooth enamel.

The Precautions

We don’t mean to scare you out of smooching your loved one, because kissing does have benefits. However, there are some precautions you can take to protect your health.

• Practice safe kissing

Know at least a little something about your kissing partner’s oral health. If he or she has bad breath, it could be a sign of gum disease – and remember, gum disease is contagious.

• Keep up on your oral hygiene

Make sure bacteria doesn’t have a chance to colonize by brushing frequently – at least twice a day for at least two minutes. Brushing after meals is good too, just don’t over brush or brush too hard. It can damage your gums and erode your enamel. Keeping your regularly scheduled cleanings and checkups at my Lewisburg dental office is very important too.

• Eat, drink, and be merry

Drink plenty of water to keep your mouth rinsed,moist, and to increase saliva production. Also try chewing Xylitol gum and sucking Xylitol mints. Xylitol prevents bacteria from sticking to your teeth and creates a neutral pH level in your mouth.

If you have someone you have been thinking of smooching, call us and schedule a cleaning at my dental office in Lewisburg.
I’m always accepting new patients from Lewisburg, Selinsgrove, and Williamsport.

By now, I’m fairly certain that most of the patients at my Lewisburg dental office have heard about the connection between the health of your gums and the health of your heart. So what’s new? One of the most recent – also one of the largest – studies so far in this field indicates that poor oral health could be an even more important predictor of a cardiovascular episode than traditional risk factors.

What does that mean to you?

It means that it is even more important than ever to keep up with your check ups and cleanings with your dentist in Lewisburg. Preventing oral infection is so much better than treating it. Once the infection starts, the health risks begin as well.

Does Gum Disease Affect More Than My Heart?

The truth is that gum disease can affect much more than your heart. Because the bacteria that causes gum disease goes from your gums directly into your bloodstream, your body will react with inflammation and this inflammation can cause huge problems in the rest of your body. For example:

• Periodontal disease wreaks havoc on blood sugar levels, resulting in a significant role in our country’s diabetic crisis.  If you have diabetes and your gums bleed, your chances of dying early can increase 400 to 700 percent.  
• Pregnancy complications are an astounding three times more likely for women with gum disease.   
• More than 30,000 Americans are expected to lose their lives to pancreatic cancer this year, and, according to a Harvard study, periodontal disease has been strongly linked to this deadly and fast spreading cancer.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, and just a few of the many reasons we take your check-ups and cleanings so seriously.

How Can You Minimize Your Risk?

Besides maintaining regular visits to my dental office in Lewisburg, there are other ways you can decrease your chance of gum disease and the overall health concerns associated with it.

• Brush your teeth twice a day, everyday, for a minimum of two minutes each time.
• Floss once daily.
• Avoid tobacco products.
• If you do notice any signs of possible gum disease like bleeding or swollen gums, schedule an appointment as soon as possible.

Accepting new patients from Lewisburg, Selinsgrove, and Williamsport.