Part 4: A Gummy Situation

Dealing with Periodontal Disease ( gum infection) has come a long way too.  We now know it takes bacteria 24 hours to organize into harmful plaque.  If we disrupt that colonizing process at least once a daily with effective home care, tooth or gum infection can't occur.  What determines "effective" depends on the individual situation.  In healthy mouths, flossing and brushing (manual or electric) is usually enough.  You don't even need toothpaste.  We often recomment dry brushing so you aren't tied to the bathroom.  Pick out a half hour TV program and brush your teeth and gums while you watch.

Patients with bleeding gums and/or pockets need more attention.  Water irrigation, antibiotic therapy, and professional cleaning are saving may formerally condemmed teeth.  Referal to a Periodontist may be necessary in more advanced cases.  Just remember, chronic bleeding in your mouth is a sign of infection that needs attention.  You wouldn't put up with it on your face, don't put up with it in your mouth!

Thanks to pioneers like Dr. Bob Barkley from Macomb, IL., the era of Preventive Dentistry took hold.  Thankfully, he was the first lecturer I heard after dental school.  He was giving his first lecture to another dental society and it changed the way I practiced for the rest of my career.  Over the years we became good friends and led me to eventually becoming the President of the Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Preventive Dentistry that he started.  Unfortunately his leadership was cut short by an airplane accident.  The above link by Dr. Bob Frazier is a good read about one of the few original thinkers I have had the privledge to know!  Next time - what nutrition ( the Substrate circle) has to do with all of this.

Part3: What's New Pussycat?

Where has recent advances in dental research led us?  Let's look at what we are doing with the Host (teeth) circle.  A lot of our efforts are directed to making the teeth more resistant to the acid attack of  plaque (organized bugs).  Think of plaque as millions and millions of little bugs going potty all over your teeth, that ought to motivate you in your home care!  They eat the sugar you take into your mouth, digest it and then excrete acid - remember Glycolysis - sugar in, citric acid out?

Well, let's make the teeth more resistant to the acid attacks.  Let's put sealants in the grooves of the teeth where the bugs tend to hide and cause cavities.   Or,how about killing those bugs.  Research has discovered a natural product that not only tastes good, is good for you, but also kills those bad cavity bugs-xylitol.  It comes in bulk for cooking, chewing gum, breath mints, etc.  One of the latest innovations is a milk derivative  ACP to restore  enamel that has been damaged by acid attack.  Next time- let's not forget those gums.  Old dental joke - " Your teeth are fine Mrs. Jones, but your gums have to come out".

Diagram of Three Circles

As a follow up to the request for a diagram of the three circles mentioned in my first article, here is a link showing what Keyes's Circles look like.  Label one circle Host (teeth), another Substrate (sugar) and the third Bacteria (bugs).  Where they overlap in the middle (red) is Dental Disease.  It takes all three for the disease process to occur; one or two isn't enough.  These circles can also be used for other disease processes and areas where research is being done. Hope this helps.

Part 2: Circle the Wagons

Dentistry over the years has attacked the problem from all three circles.  Historically, we first extracted problem teeth and eventually gave the patient dentures.  Not a very good solution (think George Washington).  Once we figured out bugs were the problem we worked on getting rid of them with flossing and brushing.  A better answer, but still needed work.  Then we learned that the bugs needed refined carbohydrates (sugar) to make the acid that causes the problems.  That's when we started nutritional counseling and advertising the evils of too much sugar in our diets - more on this later.

More recently we have helped the teeth be more resistant to decay by applying fluoride to them. We also found the optimal amount needed to help forming teeth  be stronger and worked to get laws passed to put it in the drinking water.  That made a dramatic change that I saw personally in the late 60's. It's rare to see a child now with rampant decay.  Now we are using fluoride varnish to paint on the teeth.  It is a lot more effective than the old solutions we used to use.  Next time- recent advances!

Part 1: Every Thing You Always Wanted To Know About Dentistry

Hi and welcome to our blog!  Since I'm taking more time off now, Kevin and the team nominated and elected me to do a series of articles for our blog.  Coming from a long line of teachers, it didn't take much persuading.  I will endeavor to keep them interesting, informative and relatively short.  Hopefully they will stimulate thought and feedback which we will do our best to answer here or at your next visit.

 The Basics

Let's start with some basic information on which all future articles is based.  This is the science part of the "art and science of dentistry".  What causes dental disease?  Three things working together are necessary to cause the most wide spread ailment to mankind - Dental disease.  Dr. Paul Keyes explains it in Keyes's Circles.  Envision three circles that over lap each other at only one edge.  That over lap is dental disease.  One circle is Bacteria - bugs.  Another is Substrate - food. and the third is Host - teeth.  All three have to be present for dental disease to occur..  No teeth - no disease (cavities or gum).  No food (sugar) - bugs starve.  No bugs - healthy mouth!  Control or eliminate any circle and the disease goes away.  Next time,  what we (you and me ) can do with each circle!

Coming soon Dr. Curt Floyd's Blog

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