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Sugar consumption can significantly impact your overall health, but especially your oral health. When we eat sugar, the naturally occurring bacteria in our mouth break the sugars down into acids. These acids in turn attack our enamel, or the hard outer layer of our teeth, breaking it down over time. As the enamel erodes, cavities start to form. Each time we sip a sugary drink or pop a piece of sugary candy, the acid attack starts over, and we continue to break down the enamel on our teeth.

Hidden sugars are prevalent in many foods. Things you don't even expect like ketchup (and other sauces), juices, bread and other baked goods, dairy products, salad dressings and more. There are also foods you may think of as "healthy" that hide a lot of sugars such as flavored kombucha drinks, green smoothies, nut butters, and protein bars. Some people think that you need to drink a case of soda a day or eat tons of candy to see the negative effects on your teeth, but this isn't always true. Even one can of soda a day can damage your teeth.

The truth is that any amount of sugar can contribute to tooth decay. Which leads us to question, how do you know you are experiencing tooth decay?

Well, some good indicators of decay in a tooth include but are not limited to:

• Dark spots on teeth
• Broken areas of teeth
• Sensitivity to sweets, hot, or cold
• Pain in the tooth to pressure or chewing
• Throbbing pain in the tooth

However, when a cavity is small, it is usually non-symptomatic. This makes it even more important to see your dentist regularly so they can detect cavities early with x-rays and other instruments designed to find decay early so it can be treated while small.

The way that your teeth begin to decay starts with your sugar intake habits. As sugar converts to acid in the body, the acid washes over our teeth and slowly erodes the hard protective layer of enamel on the outside. The dentin underneath the enamel is not nearly as hard and much more susceptible to decay. Once the acid has worn away enough enamel to reach the dentin, decay starts on that softer layer. Once decay has started, there is no turning it around.

The best thing that you can do to start lowering your sugar intake is to learn to read labels so that you can decide which foods are best for your personal situation. Eat as many whole foods as possible. And drink more water!

Healthier alternatives to sugary snacks include whole, raw fruits, which contain less harmful forms of sugar, and water, the best choice for hydration. While it's unrealistic to completely avoid sugar, being mindful about consumption and rinsing or brushing teeth after sugary treats can mitigate some damage.

Parents can encourage children to consume less sugar by modeling healthy eating habits and maintaining consistent oral care routines at home. Being a role model in terms of diet and oral hygiene sets a positive example for children.

Ultimately, no one has a perfect diet or oral care routine, but striving to do the "right" thing more often than the "wrong" is a good approach. Pairing a "want" with a "need" can also help maintain balance, such as allowing yourself a treat like ice cream only after a full week of consistent flossing.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that increases the risk for many serious health problems, including severe gum disease. November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and it’s a great time for us at Elite Smiles Dental to remind our patients that the way you care for your teeth at home doesn’t just affect your oral health; keeping your mouth healthy is vital to your overall health, too.

Diabetes is the result of a deficiency, or lack of the hormone insulin to properly transport glucose (blood sugar) to the cells throughout the body. According to the American Diabetes Association, the most common types of diabetes are Type One (90-95 percent of cases), Type Two (five percent), and gestational or pregnancy diabetes. Women who have had gestational diabetes have a 35 to 60 percent chance of developing diabetes, mostly Type Two, in the ten to 20 years following their pregnancy.

In the past decade, researchers have found links between periodontal (gum) disease and diabetes. Not only are people with diabetes more vulnerable to gum disease, but diabetes may also have the potential to affect blood glucose control, as well as contribute to the advancement of diabetes.

Nearly 26 million Americans currently live with the disease, with an additional 79 million in the pre-diabetes stage. There is some good news we want you to know, however; you can protect your gums and teeth from the effects of diabetes by visiting our Appleton, WI office for an exam. Patients who are living with diabetes may require more often visits to ensure their dental health remains in tip-top shape. Many insurance plans provide expanded benefits for diabetic patients, and Dr. Dale Scharine and Dr. Mark Pflum can tell you how often you need to come in for an appointment.

For more information on how we can help, please do not hesitate to give us a call at our Appleton, WI office.

All Hallows' Eve, more commonly known as Halloween, is a yearly event celebrated on October 31, and one that is anticipated by the young and young at heart all over the world. Some scholars claim that Halloween originated from Celtic festivals that honored the dead or that celebrated the harvest, while others doubt that there's any connection at all to Samhain (a Gaelic harvest festival.) Regardless of its origin, our team at the Dentist office of Dr. Dale Scharine and Dr. Mark Pflum hopes that Halloween is fun and enjoyed by all of our awesome patients!

Trick or treat?

In North America, Halloween is predominantly celebrated by children who dress up in costumes, which range from scary to cute, who then go around the neighborhood knocking on doors asking "trick or treat", and they are given candy in return. Trick-or-treating is a time honored tradition, and though many parents groan at the pounds and pounds of candy collected by youngsters and fear for the health of their teeth, there are a few things you can do to help their teeth stay in great shape until the candy is gone:

• Limit the amount of candy they can consume each day
• Have them brush their teeth after eating candy
• Avoid hard, chewy candies as they can stick in hard to brush places
• Keep candy out of sight to reduce temptation
• Don't buy candy too far in advance to limit pre-Halloween consumption
• Help or encourage your children to floss

Halloween Fun

Halloween isn't just about gorging on candy; there are other events associated with this festive day including carving jack-o'-lanterns, painting pumpkins, decorating sugar cookies, bobbing for apples, going to haunted houses, or just curling up on the couch with a bowl full of popcorn and watching some classic, scary movies.

Halloween Around the World

Some countries, like Australia, frown upon Halloween, claiming it is an American event and not based in Australian culture, while others like Italy have embraced the fun and celebrate much as Canadians and Americans do. Mexicans have been celebrating this fun day since around 1960, and it marks the beginning of the Day of the Dead festival. Some countries in Europe have come late to the party, but since the 1990s, countries like Sweden, Norway, and Germany have started celebrating Halloween as well, and finding children in costumes or having ghosts hanging in windows has become commonplace.

Halloween is about fun; stepping outside our normal lives and donning a costume or gathering with friends to knock on doors and ask for candy is as much a part of our culture as hot dogs and barbecue on Labor Day. Have a safe and happy Halloween from the team at Elite Smiles Dental!

When you’re pregnant, you expect physical changes. That’s part of the excitement of the journey! What isn’t expected—and not nearly as exciting—is when your familiar smile seems to be changing as well.

If you’ve noticed that your teeth feel loose, or that your regular tooth alignment has shifted, you might be experiencing one of the unexpected, but quite common, side effects of pregnancy—tooth mobility.

How is this “wiggle room” possible? After all, you’re making sure that you’re eating a diet rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals, including calcium, vitamin D, and all the other nutrients which keep teeth and gums healthy. You’re brushing and flossing regularly to prevent cavities and gum disease. You haven’t changed your healthy dental habits, so why are you seeing different results?

The answer lies in the hormonal changes which occur with pregnancy. Your body has significantly increased production of hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and relaxin. One of the benefits of these higher hormonal levels is their relaxing effect on your ligaments and joints. Relaxed ligaments and joints help make pregnancy and childbirth easier.

But you can’t target hormones just where they’ll be most useful. An increase in hormones affects the ligaments and joints throughout your body. And while this explanation might seem unrelated to loose teeth, it is, in fact, the “root” of the matter.

A complex support system holds our teeth securely in their sockets. Instead of being rigidly fused to the jaw, each tooth root is surrounded by a periodontal ligament within the socket. This ligament is largely made of flexible connective tissue, and attaches to both the root of the tooth and the bone tissue of the jaw, holding the tooth in place. Its flexibility helps cushion your tooth from pressure and impact, and allows the tooth movement which makes orthodontic work possible.

The hormones which relax ligaments and joints throughout the body have that same relaxing effect on the flexible ligaments and joints in the mouth. So it’s not uncommon to find that your teeth feel a bit looser, or that your customary tooth alignment has shifted, or that you’re experiencing discomfort in your jaw joint, especially if you grind or clench your teeth.

Fortunately, while loose teeth are alarming, it’s most often only a temporary condition. Your teeth and ligaments should return to their normal, stable status after your baby is born. But because dental health can impact on your pregnancy, see us if you notice any changes in your smile. We want to rule out any other causes of tooth mobility, including gum disease, tooth abscesses, or other serious conditions.

Other proactive prenatal tips to keep your smile its healthiest?

• Call us when you learn about your pregnancy. We can offer suggestions for caring for yourself and your dental health during this exciting time.
• Keep up with your dental hygiene. Brushing and flossing are more important than ever to keep your gums healthy.
• And, because your gums might be more prone to gingivitis now, extra cleanings as needed can keep plaque buildup from forming.
• Don’t forget your regular appointments at our Appleton, WI dental office for exams and cleanings. We want to help prevent any small problems from becoming larger ones.

Pregnancy is a time of many physical changes. Dr. Dale Scharine and Dr. Mark Pflum will work with you to ensure that one thing which remains constant is your beautiful, healthy smile!