Halloween Candy–Tricks to Save Your Teeth

Every Halloween our kids collect loads of candy and eat as much as they can before going to bed.  Dr. Sherri Worth has some tips to “save the teeth” from the sugary candy that surrounds Halloween.  First, have a good dinner before the big night so that you and your kids will have nutrients to start of the evening of sugary treats.  Make sre that the kids (and yourselves) are drinking plenty of water.  If you can influence your kids to rinse out intermittently with water to “flush the sugar bugs away,”  it will help to keep the sugar from resting in the grooves of your teeth.  Brush your teeth and your children;s teeth well before going to bed.  PLEASE!  Do not take the sugary candy to your room or to bed with you.

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The Peri-Oral Facelift

The less is more theory is what everyone is focusing on when it comes to reversing or slowing down the aging process.  The economy has crashed and people are a little more concerned about spending discretionary income on facelifts, cosmetic dentistry and expensive procedures.  Getting your teeth done is usually not “just cosmetic dentistry”  because our teeth naturally age, crack, and just plain wear out making “fixing your teeth” much more justifiable.   Smile transformations can be a bit easier because this procedure is not just esthetic in nature but preventive and healthy, especially when your teeth are cracked and broken.   Restoring your teeth back to a youthful look can change your entire face so dramatically that you may not need a facelift.  Pairing a smile makeover with lip injections or enhancement can create a youthful and healthy look without the more dramatic procedure of  “the facelift.”  Dr Sherri Worth, cosmetic and reconstructive dentist, often refers to this smile and lip makeover combination as the “perioral dental facelift.”   Meaning fixing your smile and enhancing or making your lips youthful can replace or prolong a facelift.  If a painting is housed in an old saggy frame–the beauty of the picture will be masked by the appearance of the unattractive frame.  Consequently, when we enhance our smile with teeth bleaching or porcelain veneers and our lips are thin and wrinkled, it detracts from the beauty of the teeth.  This treatment combination can potentially take years of one’s appearance without any major surgical operation.   Lips age differently than almost any skin surface in our bodies because they develop lines above the lip and below from aging and functioning (ie:  drinking, straws, smiling.)  The lips themselves loose volume as we age and become thin and often unsightly.  Enhancing the lips has a two-fold effect–you plump volume back into the lips themselves and you smooth/fill out the lines around the lips with the increase in volume.  The combination of a smile transformation with porcelain veneers, crowns, or whitening and lip enhancement can make you look 10 to 15 years younger.

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Anti-Depressants–The Miracle Drugs that can Ruin your Teeth

As we all spread ourselves too thin and the stress takes over our lives, we often come to a point where we need to balance our emotions.  Our chemical makeup in our brain can predispose us to depression, making daily life stresses unbearable.  The new generation “wonder drugs” can stabilize our emotional state and help us to survive and cope in our surroundings.  But……..there are “side effects.!”  They cause dry mouth and rampant tooth decay side effects that many people are unaware can occur.  Current studies indicate that depression, stress, and mood disorders currently effect the largest  percent of the population they ever have– the use of anti-depressents has greatly increased over the last 5-10 years.  When talking with Dr. Sherri Worth, celebrity esthetic and reconstructive dentist in Los Angeles, she informed us that the amount of tooth decay from antidepressants and mood stabilizing drugs has skyrocketed in the past 5-7 years.  Dr. Worth states that many of her patients have been “saved” by the new lower-level antidepressants.  Even the celebrities are speaking out about their battles with depression–such as Jim Carey, Rosie O’Donnel, and Ellen DeGeneres.    Worth states,  “these drugs have an important role in our lifestyles today, and have changed peoples lives for the better.  For example, I have patients who could not leave the house and were unable to function, but with the new drugs, they can continue with work and family life in a happy and normal manner.”  The problem according to Dr. Worth is the side effects of tooth decay and the fact that patients are unaware of these potential problems prior to taking the drugs.  These patient will come into see Dr. Worth for routine check ups and cleanings only to find extensive amounts of tooth decay.  According to Worth, ” most patients, when faced with this issue of tooth decay, would rather continue taking their meds and deal with the crowns and fillings that come along with the drug side effects.”  Even the patients who need their mouths dentally reconstructed and loose teeth from this decay do not want to stop taking anti-depressants.  The Mayo Clinic has a good checklist (see below) but Dr. Worth also recommends fluoride application in trays or at the dentist bi-weekly.

Dry mouth

Dry mouth is a common side effect of many antidepressants.

Coping strategies

Sip water regularly.
Suck on ice chips.
Chew sugarless gum.
Suck on sugarless hard candy.
Breathe through your nose, not your mouth.
Brush your teeth twice a day and see your dentist regularly. Having a dry mouth can increase your risk of getting cavities.
Talk to your doctor about using a moisturizing mouth spray.

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