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Outside activities? You slather your kids with sunscreen. Biking? You don’t let your child leave the house without a helmet. Youth sports? You provide mouthguards and padding and headgear and all the other tools designed to keep your child safe. Protecting your child is a fundamental part of parenthood, and you take your job seriously.

Protecting your child’s dental health is fundamental, too! Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease in children, and children’s premolars and molars are far more vulnerable to decay than any of their other teeth. You can help protect your child’s molars and premolars with a simple and effective treatment—dental sealants.

• How Do Sealants Work?

The bacteria in plaque use food particles to create acids. These acids erode the minerals in tooth enamel, creating weak spots that become cavities over time. Molars and premolars are especially vulnerable to cavities because of their uneven chewing surfaces. The dips and grooves on top of the teeth—technically known as “pits and fissures”—collect food particles and bacteria, and can be difficult for children to clean completely when brushing. That’s why cavities are so common in newly erupted molars.

Dental sealants protect your child’s molars and premolars by creating a barrier that covers and smooths out the chewing surface of the tooth, preventing bacteria and food particles from getting stuck inside those uneven pits and fissures.

• What Kind of Sealants Are Available?

The two most common dental sealants are composite resin coatings and glass ionomer sealants.

With resin sealants, after each tooth is cleaned and dried, an etching solution will be brushed onto the top surface of the molar. This etching slightly roughens the surface so that the sealant will stick to the tooth more effectively. A thin coat of the sealant is then painted on and hardened under a special curing light.

Glass ionomer sealants use a flexible paste that bonds to the tooth and hardens within minutes. While they generally don’t last as long as resin sealants, they are designed to absorb and release fluoride for extra cavity-fighting protection.

• Do Sealants Work?

They certainly do! According to the Centers for Disease Control, sealants can prevent 80% of the cavities in molars and premolars, which is where 90% of children’s cavities appear. Dental sealants can last from three to five years, or even longer. Drs. Keith Hinnant, Peter Klein, Philip Brantly will check the condition of any sealants at each dental exam, and let you know if it’s time for a reapplication.

• When’s the Best Time to Get Sealants?

Tooth enamel gets harder as we get older, so children’s newly erupted teeth are more at risk for cavities. First adult molars usually arrive when a child is six to seven years old, and second adult molars come in around the age of 12. The first and second premolars can erupt between the ages of ten to 12. As soon as the first permanent molars begin to erupt, it’s a good time to talk to Drs. Keith Hinnant, Peter Klein, Philip Brantly about the best time to apply sealants.

And what about baby teeth? Even though baby teeth are meant to be replaced, they shouldn’t be lost to tooth decay before they are ready to fall out. Primary teeth help young children learn to speak and eat properly and hold the place for adult teeth so these permanent teeth come in where they should. Baby teeth have thinner enamel, and so cavities can progress more quickly. Drs. Keith Hinnant, Peter Klein, Philip Brantly can let you know if sealant protection for your child’s baby molars is indicated.

Applying sealants at our Goldsboro office is a safe, simple, cost-effective, and painless process. Dental sealants are one more tool you can use to make protecting your child’s dental health a little easier and a lot more effective. That gets a well-deserved parents’ seal of approval!

On the last Wednesday in September, we celebrate “Women’s Health and Fitness Day.” Because your oral health plays such a large role in your general health and well-being, let’s look at a few of the ways you can treat yourself with the care you need and deserve at different stages of your life.

Puberty 

Puberty begins around the ages of 8 to 13, and typically lasts from 2-5 years. During this time, our bodies begin to produce the hormones estrogen and progesterone, which affect not just the reproductive organs, but our brains, hearts, skin, hair, bones, and more. These hormones can also affect our oral health.

• Gingivitis

Hormonal fluctuations make gum tissue more sensitive to irritants like plaque and bacteria. You might find that your gums are swollen, tender, red, or bleed easily. 

What you can do:

Keeping up with your dental hygiene is the best defense against gingivitis. Even if your gums feel a bit tender, it’s important to keep up with your brushing and flossing because proactive dental hygiene can reverse gingivitis before the condition becomes more serious. If symptoms persist, a visit to the dentist is in order.

Menstruation

• Menstruation gingivitis

Elevated hormone levels can also cause gingivitis during the menstrual cycle, usually beginning a few days before the start of your period and ending soon after your period begins. Some women also experience canker sores and swollen salivary glands during this window.

What you can do:

Be mindful of any oral changes during your menstrual cycle. Pay special attention to dental hygiene, and, if you develop canker sores, talk to your dentist or doctor about the best way to care for yourself while they heal.

Pregnancy

Pregnancy brings about many physical changes, including potential changes in your oral health.

• Pregnancy Gingivitis

Pregnancy hormones cause an increase in the blood supply to your gums while at the same time making them more vulnerable to irritation from bacteria and plaque. You may find that your gums are redder, more swollen, and more likely to bleed when brushing. 

• Loose Teeth

During pregnancy, increased hormone production helps relax and loosen ligaments and joints in preparation for birth. Teeth are held in place by ligaments, and you might be alarmed to discover your teeth are looser as well. Typically, this situation resolves when the baby is born.

• Pregnancy Granulomas

Some pregnant women may also experience pregnancy granulomas. These dark red swellings are benign tumors which appear along the gumline. These generally shrink on their own, but, if a granuloma is causing you pain or discomfort, your dentist can remove it surgically.

What you can do:

Let your dental team at Hinnant Family Dentistry know right away when you learn that you’re pregnant. You’ll get helpful advice about brushing and flossing techniques, pregnancy-related oral conditions to look out for, when to schedule dental treatment and cleanings, a tooth-healthy diet, and more.

Menopause and Later Years

As we age, there’s an increased risk of oral health issues.

• Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis causes loss of density in the bones—including the bones and bone tissue which hold our teeth in place. Studies indicate that women with osteoporosis suffer significantly higher tooth loss than women who don’t have the disease.

• Dry Mouth

Saliva helps protect the teeth from cavities by washing away bacteria and food particles and by neutralizing acids in the mouth. Reduced estrogen production, medications, and medical conditions such as diabetes can all cause dry mouth. 

• Gum Disease

About 2/3 of older Americans have gum disease, which is one of the leading causes of tooth loss in adults. Lower hormone levels have been linked to increases in periodontal diseases.

• Oral Cancer

Oral cancer is more common as we age, and, while men are affected almost three times as often as women, we should be aware of the common symptoms of oral cancer, including a sore in the mouth which doesn’t heal, a lump or thickening in the mouth, red or white patches on the tongue, gums, and other oral tissues, loose teeth, or persistent earaches or discomfort when eating or swallowing.

What you can do:

Visit your dentist and doctor for preventative care and whenever you are concerned about your oral health! Whether it’s helping you prevent osteoporosis and dry mouth or discovering dental and medical conditions early, when they are more likely to be treated successfully, regular visits to your dentist and doctor can help ensure that you have years of happy smiles ahead. 

Missed the date this year? No worries! Women’s Health and Fitness Day is one day in September, but every day in the calendar is a good day to think about your oral health. Partner with Drs. Keith Hinnant, Peter Klein, Philip Brantly and your doctor to help make your healthy smile something to celebrate all year long! Make an appointment with Hinnant Family Dentistry in Goldsboro today!

Whether it’s a dull and throbbing ache or a sharp pain, toothaches can come in many different forms. Chances are you’ve had the discomforting experience once or twice in your life. It’s the type of experience that nobody wants to have, because a toothache can be as annoying as fingernails scratching a chalkboard.

What’s a good way to describe a toothache? Let’s see … your mouth feels as if it’s being besieged by one of those Loony Tunes-style jackhammers. As fate would have it, toothaches always seem to occur over the weekend or after-office hours, leaving you to suffer and forcing you to cancel your reservation at that high-end restaurant you’ve been anticipating all week.

Not so fast!

While you’re probably going to want to skip the rib-eye steak, there are numerous tried-and-true home remedies you can use to ease the pain until you can make an appointment with our office. Here’s a look at four ways to soothe a toothache.

1. Don’t underestimate the power of salt water. Rinsing your mouth with warm salt water will both soothe your toothache and disinfect your mouth. However, make sure the water is warm; cold water can further exacerbate a sensitive tooth. Follow up the saltwater rinse by swishing your mouth with hydrogen peroxide.
2. Clove oil, eucalyptus oil, peppermint oil, and vanilla extract are proven to be comforting elixirs. Dip a cotton swab in one of these mixtures and apply it to your tooth and gums. These substances, which you may even have in your kitchen cupboards, are known to have pain-relieving qualities. For the best results, repeat the application throughout the day.
3. Eating yogurt is good for toothaches and mouth pain. Yogurt is filled with healthy bacteria that combat pain. Afterward, place a cold compress on your jaw.
4. Try flossing. Your toothache might be throbbing and severe, but there’s always a chance the pain is caused by a piece of food awkwardly lodged in your teeth.

We hope that helps! Give Hinnant Family Dentistry a call to learn more!

Some languages have many different words for love. Some have many different words for snow. One language even has different words for a tasty layered sandwich. Is that a hoagie or a hero you’re having? A sub? Grinder? Po’boy?

“Sugar,” though, is a single word which has taken on many meanings, from casual endearment to monosaccharide molecule. Today, we’re examining scientific definitions, with a short and sweet look at the science of sugar.

Chemistry

First, let’s get basic—all the way down to the molecular level.

Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are the three essential macronutrients which keep our bodies running. Sugars are molecules made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms, and all carbohydrates are made of these sugar molecules, from single unit structures to very complicated chains.

Sugars called monosaccharides are the most basic of the carbohydrates. “Monosaccharide” comes from the Greek words for “single” and “sugar,” and monosaccharides are the sugars we mean when we talk about “simple sugars.” Why are they simple? Because a monosaccharide is a single molecule which can’t be broken down into smaller carbohydrates.

While there are several types of monosaccharides, the three major simple sugars are:

• Fructose—the sugar we get from fruit.
• Galactose—the sugar found in milk.
• Glucose—the sugar our bodies use the most. It’s found in plants, and also produced when our bodies break down other carbs. Fun fact—this is the only sugar essential for brain cell function.

When two monosaccharide molecules join together, they form a disaccharide (not surprisingly, from the Greek for “two sugars”). Again, there are quite a few disaccharides, but we tend to concentrate on three in our diets:

• Lactose (glucose + galactose)—found only in milk and dairy products.
• Maltose (glucose + glucose)—the sugar chiefly produced by grains.
• Sucrose (glucose + fructose)—produced in plants. These plants include sugar cane and sugar beets, from which we get our refined table sugars.

The reason sugar molecules are so important is because of how our bodies use them.

Biology

Our bodies use the glucose in carbs for energy. As foods break down, first through digestion and then in the cells, the chemical bonds which hold glucose molecules together break as well. This action releases energy, and this energy fuels all our bodily functions.

But even though we need carbohydrates to keep our bodies going, and even though sugars are the easiest carbs to use for energy, there’s a reason no one recommends a diet filled with extra sugar.

Our bodies get all the sugar they need from the natural sugar in the foods we eat. Natural sugars are found in fruits, dairy products, even some vegetables and grains. Along with that sugar come vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and/or protein.

Extra sugars added during baking or mixing or processing for flavor and sweetness provide none of these nutrients. These sugars are known as “added sugars,” and have more serious consequences than just empty calories.

Once we have the sugars we require, there’s no need for more. Extra sugars are stored in liver, muscle, and fat cells for later use. When we eat too much sugar, this carefully balanced system is upset, with negative effects for, among other things, weight, blood sugar, insulin levels—and our dental health.

Nutrition and Dental Health

You know that a sugar-filled diet often means a cavity-filled checkup. Why? Because it’s not just our bodies that break down sugar for fuel.

The oral bacteria in plaque also need sugars for food, which they use to make acids. An acidic environment in the mouth weakens and dissolves the minerals which keep tooth enamel strong. And these weak spots are vulnerable to decay. A steady diet of sugar-filled foods means that your enamel is constantly under acid attack.

Cutting down on added sugars is one of the easiest and best ways to cut down on added cavities. Reading recipes, checking out labels, learning to recognize added sugars—this is nutritional research which has sweet results.

How to recognize added sugars? Here’s where language gives us plenty of words to fill our linguistic sugar bowl. Whether the ingredients are called agave nectar, honey, molasses, syrups, treacle, or table sugar, they’re really just sugar. More specifically, they’re all sugars made up of glucose and fructose, with at best a trace amount of vitamins and minerals—and usually not even a trace!

To make our lives easier, labels on food packaging now let us know exactly how much of the sugar in any product is “added sugar.” You expect to find a high percentage of sugar on dessert labels, but you might be surprised to read how much sugar is added to foods like energy drinks, sports drinks, flavored yogurts, cereals, spaghetti sauce, and many more of the items in your grocery cart. Spend an extra minute examining the label, and save yourself many empty calories.

Monosaccharides, disaccharides, glucose, fructose, maltose, agave syrup, treacle, and on and on—so many words for so many kinds of sugar. When it comes to dental health, let Drs. Keith Hinnant, Peter Klein, Philip Brantly have the last word on sugar science. During your next visit to our Goldsboro office, talk to us about reducing unnecessary sugars in your diet for a future filled with the sweetest of healthy smiles.