Macomb County Dentist Answers Patient’s Questions
Question: I found an article titled “How Your Dentist can Save Your Life” in the December issue of Reader’s Digest that describes the overall role that play in the bodies health. Could you comment on the article.
Answer: This was a very interesting article. In fact, I put a link on the welcome page of our web site www.TheGentleDentist.com in case you can’t get a hard copy. It basically tells of a man who let a toothache go too long and he needed to be hospitalized and came very close to death. This article confirms what we have known in the dental profession a long time ago—your teeth and gum health directly affects your overall health and your overall health affects your oral health. They are connected together to the point where we can screen for diseases such as diabetes, anemia’s, high blood pressure, autoimmune diseases and cancer. There are also direct correlations between heart disease, diabetes, premature babies and periodontal (gum) diseases.
Question: I read the article on dry, burning mouth syndrome a few issues ago and finally felt like I was not alone. Are there any foods that I should stay away from to help with burning mouth?
Answer: In addition to what I said there are food additives, preservatives such as cinimetaldehyde found in fast breakfast foods such as Pop Tarts, Sorbic acids in creams, cinnamon, Nicotinic acids in tooth pastes, menthol & peppermint flavorings. My recommendation is to isolate the cause by stopping consumption of the most acidic, preservative based foods one by one until you know the cause. When you do this hopefully you can eliminate the cause. I can only use two toothpastes, Crest for Kids or Colgate for Kids and no more pop tarts.
Macomb County Dentist Answers Patient’s Questions
Dr. Antolak practices dentistry in Macomb County, Michigan. To make an appointment, call 586-254-3500