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Thanksgiving is here, and with it comes a swath of seasonal treats that are usually enjoyed just once a year. Besides visiting family, Thanksgiving is a time for eating, and eating well. As your family enjoys this time together, keep your eyes out for a few Thanksgiving dishes that can harm your teeth, and turn your relaxing time off into a real tooth-ache.

Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce is a Thanksgiving staple in many households, and seldom appears on dinner tables outside of turkey day. Despite its tart deliciousness, cranberry sauce is packed with sugar and offers little nutritional value at all. In fact, one of the most popular choices for cranberry sauce –canned cranberry sauce – has 121 grams of sugar per can, and no protein or fiber at all. All of that sugar provides nourishment and energy to bad oral bacteria that cause cavities.

As an alternative, try finding a recipe that calls for fresh cranberries, so that you can control the amount of sugar your family consumes this holiday season.

Stuffing

Stuffing is another Thanksgiving classic that can really harm teeth. That’s because most stuffing recipes revolve around bread. Starches like bread provide cavity-causing bacteria the energy they need to chip away at tooth enamel. Additionally, starches can be very sticky and stay on teeth long after a meal has finished, and cause further damage. The high amount of starch sadly makes stuffing unhealthy for teeth. Combined with the fact that stuffing is full of carbohydrates and lacks dense nutritional value, and you begin running out of reasons to eat it.

Try getting your stuffing fix by making a tooth-healthy breadless stuffing that uses beans instead of bread as a base! Beans are full of protein and fiber, which makes it a much healthier replacement for bread in stuffing recipes.

Fruit Cake

A seasonal favorite that appears on tables between Thanksgiving and Christmas, fruitcake sounds like it would be a healthy treat, the word “fruit” is right in the name after all! Unfortunately, fruitcake is full dried fruit, which can really damage teeth. Dried fruit contains much higher levels of sugar than their natural counterparts, and none of the water that helps make fruit so healthy. Dried fruit is also very sticky, and can stay on teeth longer after a meal in done. The sugar and the sticky consistency make fruitcake a no-no for healthy teeth. If you are looking for an alternative, you can make a fresh fruit crumble, which has much less sugar and isn’t nearly as sticky.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet potatoes can be a dental super food that provide valuable vitamins for tooth and gum health, but when prepared improperly, anything can be unhealthy. This is the case for sweet potato casserole, a dish that packs an unhealthy punch to teeth. Most sweet potato casseroles are made to be sweet dishes, rather than savory, and feature a layer of melted marshmallows on top. Because of this, they are loaded with added sugar, which hurts their nutritional value. Marshmallows are particularly bad for teeth, since they are packed with sugar and incredibly sticky – two components that can lead to tooth decay and cavities.

If you really want sweet potato casserole this Thanksgiving, try making a more savory recipe that doesn’t add sugar or marshmallows. Sweet potatoes can be great for oral health, when they’re not drenched in sugar.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving

Whatever you decide to make your family for Thanksgiving dinner, we hope that you have a happy and wonderful holiday. Remind your family to brush twice per day for two minutes per session, and floss once per day to help keep cavities at bay this holiday season.

Has your child ever come to you with bleeding gums? If so, there are a number causes that could be the culprit, but the one to watch out for is gum disease. Below, we discuss some common causes of bleeding gums, and when it’s time for your child to visit the dentist.

New Toothbrush

A new toothbrush with firm bristles can sometimes cause gums bleed. If you just bought your child a new toothbrush, check the bristles to see how firm they are, or look on the package to see what types of bristles it has. You should always buy toothbrushes with soft bristles, which clean as well as firm bristles, and are much easier on gums and teeth. Additionally, make sure your child isn’t brushing their teeth with too much pressure, which can also cause bleeding and damage sensitive gums.

Medications

Certain medications can cause gums to become inflamed and extra sensitive, which can make them more susceptible to bleeding. If your child has just started a new regiment of medications, then they might be the culprit. Make sure they stick to their medication routine, but have them be gentler when they brush so that they don’t irritate their sensitive gums.

New Flossing Routine

If your child has just started flossing, then they will most likely experience some minor bleeding. This is because deep crevices in the gums are incredibly sensitive and are easily agitated when someone begins a new flossing routine. Bleeding gums caused by flossing usually subsides in about a week. Visit our office If your child is experiencing bleeding gums for more than one week after beginning flossing, since this may indicate a more serious problem that requires treatment.

Gum Disease

If your child has gums that bleed easily, or that are red, swollen and tender, then they may have gum disease. Gum disease can be caused by a number of factors, but it is most commonly associated with poor oral hygiene. Also called periodontal disease, gum disease is also caused by excessive plaque buildup. The best to keep gum disease away from your child is a good oral health routine. Make sure that they are brushing twice daily for two minutes at a time and that they floss once per day.

Visit Our Office

If your child has bleeding gums that last more than one week then visit our office so that we can prescribe a proper treatment plan. Gums that bleed for more than a week often indicate some form of gum disease that needs to be treated by a pediatric dentist. Visit our office today to help your child get healthier gums, and a smile that they’re proud to share.

Did you know that just over 25% of candy purchased in America each year is bought at Halloween? For children, Halloween is all about dressing up with their friends, and bagging as much candy as they can get. But, how are those sweets affecting your child’s teeth? Today, we’ll look at some of the best – and worst – Halloween candy for teeth.

The Bad

Hard Candy

Hard candy is very popular, and comes in nearly every flavor and size imaginable. But, be vigilant when letting your child eat hard candy, because it can crack their teeth. Hard candy also tends to stick around longer than other candy, which exposes teeth to sugar for longer. Extended contact with sugar can lead to more cavities because sugar provides bad bacteria with the energy it needs to destroy enamel.

Sticky Candy

Like hard candy, sticky candy can get stuck in tooth crevices and stay around long after it’s been swallowed. Sticky candy is difficult to remove from teeth, and gives cavity-causing bacteria more time to eat away enamel.

Sour Candy

Sour candy can leave teeth susceptible to cavities more so than any other candy. This is because sour candy contains a high amount of acid. In fact, the elevated acid content is what makes it so sour. The acidity can eat away the enamel of teeth, and leave them vulnerable to cavities.

The Good

Dark Chocolate

Chocolate is a better sweet option this Halloween, since it washes away easier than other candy, and is less destructive to enamel. But, dark chocolate is the best type of chocolate for oral health because it contains less sugar than milk chocolate and can actually help keep cavities away! That’s because it contains a flavanoid called epicatechin. Epicatechin has shown to slow tooth decay and also reduces cholesterol, blood clots and clogged arteries.

Dark chocolate also contains polyphenols, which are naturally occurring chemicals that limit bad oral that attacks your teeth. The polyphenols in dark chocolate also reduce bad breath!

Candy Bars with Nuts

Regular candy bars aren’t the best things for your teeth, and depending upon their ingredients, can be very sticky and damaging to teeth. This is why you should look for candy bars that have a lot of nuts in them: the nuts break up the sticky consistency, and leave sugar on teeth for far less time than candy bars without nuts. We like the KIND Bar with Almonds and Macadamia nuts as a tooth-friendly sweet treat. Just remember to have our kids brush their teeth after consuming them, because debris can get left in their mouth afterwards.

Gum Sweetened with Xylitol

Gum sweetened with Xylitol is a great treat to give away at Halloween, and can actually help young trick-or-treaters clean their teeth. Xylitol sweetened gum is sugarless, and stimulates saliva production which naturally cleans teeth of debris and leftover sugar.

Remember to Brush Twice Daily

It’s important that your children brush their teeth twice per day for two minutes at a time if you want to keep cavities away. This is especially important when consuming foods that contain high amounts of sugar. So, as your child hauls in bag of candy this Halloween, be sure that they thoroughly brush and floss after eating candy to keep their enamel strong and their mouth healthy.

Schedule an appointment with our office ff your child begins experiencing tooth pain this Halloween. We will thoroughly evaluate the state of their oral health, and provide a treatment plan that works for them. Have a happy and safe Halloween, and don’t forget to brush!

Did you know that dental floss used to be made of silk thread? Or, that toothbrushes used to be made of bone and horse hair? Oral health care has a long and weird history that stretches back to ancient cultures and includes numerous ingredients and tools that have helped carve the path for modern dentistry. Today, we look at the origins of toothpaste and how it has evolved into the product we know today.

5000 – 3000 BC Ancient Egypt

As with many other tools, toothpaste originates in ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptians (particularly the pharaohs and wealthy) valued cleanliness and oral health and began experimenting with the first iteration of toothpaste. Their version of toothpaste consisted of rock salt, dried iris flowers, pepper and mint crushed into a fine paste with a bit of water. Some mixtures even included the ashes of ox hooves and burnt egg shells! This mixture led to bleeding gums, but it was surprisingly effective at cleaning teeth, even when compared to what was used just 100 years ago.

Greece and Rome

Around the same time as the Egyptians, Greek and Roman leaders were using the Egyptian mixture, but began experimenting with their own toothpaste. They added more abrasives to their mixture to increase the cleaning power, the most popular of which were crushed bones and oyster shells. The Romans added charcoal to help freshen their breath.

Around 500 BC, ancient China and India used a similar mixture, but added more flavoring ingredients like ginseng, herbal mints and salts.

1700’s gets Toasty

The ancient power cultures had pretty much perfected their form of toothpaste, and it remained popular and used by many upper class people for a long time. And then, toast was introduced. Used toast was ground into a fine powder and used to scrub teeth. While there is no clear origin of using toast as toothpaste, it was a very affordable option for a lot of people.

1824 – Let’s add Some Bubbles

In 1824, a dentist named Dr. Peabody decided to add soap to the ground up toast mixture to enhance the cleaning power. A few decades passed, and then toothpaste makers began adding chalk to their mixtures to create the creamy consistency that we’re familiar with today.

1873 – Mass Production

Colgate began producing toothpaste on a wide scale in 1873, and distributed their toothpaste in jars. In 1892, Dr. Washington Sheffield put toothpaste in a collapsible tube, like the ones used today. That same year, Colgate began distributing toothpaste in tubes similar to the ones we see today.

1914 Welcomes Fluoride

In 1914, it was discovered that fluoride significantly decreased dental cavities.  That same year, it was added into toothpastes to achieve better cleaning results. Soap was eventually phased out in favor of fluoride and sodium lauryl sulphate in the 1940’s.

1987 Edible Toothpaste

To help keep astronauts’ (yes, astronauts) teeth clean while in space, NASA invented an edible toothpaste that could be swallowed after brushing. Edible toothpaste was then repurposed for young children to use, because it did not present a risk if it was ingested.

1989 Shines Brighter

In 1989, Rembrandt marketed the first whitening toothpaste that would “whiten and brighten your smile.” Other toothpaste producers quickly followed suit and now whitening toothpaste is one of the most popular types available.

Toothpaste Today

We’ve come a long way from crushed oysters and ginseng mixtures. Now, there are countless types of toothpastes that have a variety of acute end-goals, and still clean your teeth. Navigating the toothpaste market can be a bit difficult, but we’re here to help. Schedule an appointment in our office to discuss the type of toothpaste that will work best for your child, and what would work best for our entire family.