50 Ways to Lose Your Enamel
Aloha! Happy Spring everyone and a huge congrats on coming out the tail end of another NW Montana winter. You are all survivors am I right? I feel like the rest of the country thinks our winters are worse than they actually are. I imagine that Montana is the default comparable..."it could be colder, we could be in Montana right now." It's not that bad for me, especially if I can get some powder therapy every so often.
However, I came to a realization about powder days that I wish I had never thought of. So, Smile Montana has three physical locations. The OG office in Columbia Falls, the Smile Montana Urgent Dental Center in Kalispell, and Smile Montana Whitefish. So, all my business shop owners reading this can say it with me: What do we have to do on most powder days? All together now..."we have to remove the snow from our parking lots and sidewalks." And unless we get up really early and do it ourselves, we get the opportunity to pay someone to do it for us.
And with 3 locations it can get spendy. Oh the irony, the "Dentist" complaining that something is expensive.
Anyways, I'm not complaining, and there is not an easier bill to pay than the bill to my snow removal guys, it's just that sometimes when I'm up on Big Mountain enjoying new fresh snow I have to have the following conversation in my head, "This is awesome, but is it $250 awesome?" And the answer to that question is always...YES!! Life's short. Say YES to life, and YES to fun, and YES to adventure, and YES to SMILING HUGE, and YES to paying someone to do the crappy stuff you suck at...like plowing snow or fixing teeth (I know a guy). Huge shout out to my snow removal dudes BTW.
We're over it right? It's almost summer now. We don't even remember winter. It's time to get focused. Make a plan. It's gonna go fast. Maximize. Be efficient. Be with your loved ones. Go to bed exhausted. Obviously be safe and smart about it but get a little sunburnt you know.
If you've been following along (shout out to my die-hards) you know that today will be the 5th installment in my dumb-down-dentistry project. My effort to put in layman's terms what we're doing and why it is important. I've covered X-rays (it took 3 magazines) and last issue we discussed the types of dental cleanings and the different gum and bone conditions/diseases that they cure/prevent/reduce etc. Now, we are going to discuss the teeth themselves, the VIP's if you will, and the conditions and diseases (layman's term for pathologies) we are looking to cure/ prevent/reduce.
Let's start off with all the different ways we can lose tooth structure. Specifically enamel, the hardest and strongest human tissue.
1. Erosion (Acid)
This is far and away the most common cause of tooth enamel breakdown. We can say that a sugary diet causes cavities, but what directly causes cavities is acid. Just like gasoline provides the needed energy for a car's mechanical components to drive, sugar is easily digested by bacteria with acid being the byproduct.
Other sources of enamel eroding acid are dietary acids found in a variety of beverages (carbonated drinks/coffee) and foods (citrus fruits), and stomach acids which can travel to the mouth in certain physical (G.E.R.D.) and psychological (bulimia) conditions.
2. Abrasion
Tooth abrasion is where your teeth start to lose enamel due to some sort of outside mechanical action; in other words, your teeth are physically worn down by an external force. This can be from someone's diet where the actual food is removing enamel. It can be from a habit such as biting fingernails or fishing line.
However, the most common source of tooth abrasion is from your toothbrush (Oh, the BETRAYAL!!). Typically, from using a stiff- bristled brush and too much pressure. Too aggressive you know? Get yourself a super soft toothbrush and just be mellow when brushing. If you are doing it morning and night there is nothing on there that is going to be hard to remove, and a regular visit to your dental hygienist will address the inevitable barnacles that latch on.
3. Attrition
Attrition is a special type of abrasion where enamel loss is caused by contact with your other teeth. Most commonly known as grinding of the teeth or as we dental professionals call it: Bruxism. Bruxism being the cause with Attrition being the effect. The most common treatment for this condition is placing the patient in an occlusal splint (aka nightguard) during the night, when most bruxism occurs.
4. Trauma
Trauma is biting on something hard and breaking your back molar. Trauma is getting punched in the mouth and breaking your front tooth in half. While the above conditions take months to years to occur this one happens in the blink of an eye. Again, not much we can do to prevent tooth trauma unless you want to walk around in a mouthguard 24/7. No one is going to realistically do that. However, if you participate in high contact activities such as hockey or motocross you are smart to wear one.
As dentists we are looking for signs and indicators of the above conditions every time we do an examination of someone's oral health. If we can take measures early on to cure and/ or prevent and/or reduce, the patient can avoid dental pain, dental procedures, and dental bills. The old cliche, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure. So, give us a visit like maybe every 6 months.
Have an awesome summer y'all. I can feel the energy already and it's barely May. It's an awakening. I'll see you out there. Shoot me a SMILE wontcha!
Read 50 Ways to Lose Your Enamel by Dr. John F. Miller, DDS, in 406 Woman magazine.