Wellness hints for our pearly whites

Thanks to today’s Saturday edition of the LA Times for this reminder about dental wellness steps.

Most of us have/had 32 bones in our mouths – otherwise called our teeth.  And… I acknowledge a reported fact those most adults have dental cavities for any number of reasons: heredity, lack of fluoride, sugar, hygiene….

As I age, I truly try to focus on proper care and prudent practices for my remaining 28 “pearly white” bones in a boca grande.

After my: 4 wisdom teeth extractions, red wine, years of nocturnal grindings, and gold crowns (which modestly increased my bodily net worth), plus one lower-jaw root canal procedure; my twenty-eight teeth are damaged goods which will need to last me (hopefully) for many moons.

• Do I chew ice? Nope.
• Do I like lemon and lime peels (and their fruit juices) for health reasons (in spite of possible weakening of teeth)? Yes, my conviction is to judiciously use those citric peels for anti-cancer, vitamin potency and anti-inflammatory merits.
• Do noble grapes (particularly the red variants) affect the color of my chompers?  Yup.
  • With this acknowledged, it is worth mentioning that “IT DEPENDS.”               Red Wine (in moderation) can be good for us to relax AND for us to ingest HEALTHY polyphenols / flavonoids.  Yet our dentyne can be stained by those noble grapes unless we stay after remedial treatments. One more grapey paradox – red wine may help prevent cavities?!
• Should I rinse my mouth after eating?  You betcha.
• Should I floss and brush regularly?  Of course.
• Do I get regular fluoride treatments when I visit my dentist for periodontal cleanings?  YES!

And… I don’t bite my nails or use my teeth to open “tough to open” plastic packets. Duh.

Do I water pik and stimulate my gums *in idle time?  I try to often – although my fellow road warriors may wonder what I’ve got in my mouth.

• note: That’s a GUM gingival stimulator (by trade name) pictured.  It works for me.

Gingivitis is a long yucchy, bodily term, in a different way than SARCOPENIA, which we definitely should tackle for the rest of our vital lives – yes?

Can chewing sugarless gum after meals help keep my chompers clean? Perhaps.

Are over-the-counter “bleaching” kits with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) effective?  Maybe.

I’ve been told by dental hygienists that these pricey (both OTC or Dentists’) hydrogen peroxide treatments DO NOT weaken our chompers. That is up to you to experiment, if desired and if you can foot the bill. The professional treatments are much more potent than OTC versions of whitening kits.

Another LA Times health article suggests that nightly tooth brushing can also good for our guts… “the best way to use this information to help your body is to keep your mouth clean, just in case some inflammatory food makes its way onto your plate.”

• Inflammation – bad.
• Anti-inflammatory foods and drinks – good (mostly). 

Take care of your ~ 32 dental bones and try to keep ’em pearly white.

Off to water-pik…

df