Everyday Habits That Damage Your Teeth

A recent article in the WebMD Magazine reviewed the damaging effects that certain habits may have on your teeth. Most people do not give much thought to the negative impact that certain foods or beverages can have on their pearly whites. According to the article, 25% of U.S. adults over the age of 65 have lost all their teeth.  Here is how to not lose your teeth!

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Sugar and Teeth

We should now all know that sugar is the No. 1 enemy of your teeth, and the longer it stays in your mouth, the worse it is. Sugar is consumed by acid-producing bacteria in your mouth. The acids eat away at tooth enamel. Avoid foods like jelly candies, which stick in your teeth longer than other foods and bathe them in sugar. Dried fruit such as raisins are no better. Reach for fresh fruit instead.

 

Beverages and Teeth

Soda is just plain bad for teeth, sugar-free or not since you are creating an acidic environment in your mouth. Your teeth do not like acid!  Club soda is harmful, too, also because of its acidity, and so are juices with added sugar.

Alcohol, even just a glass of wine, is also acidic and can erode the teeth. In addition, alcohol dries out your mouth, reducing saliva production. Saliva has a protective function which lowers the risk of decay caused by bacterial acids. Always rinse your mouth with water between drinks to lower the risk of acid attacks.

Other Risks to Teeth

If you use your teeth to snap off bottle caps, remove clothing tags, or open plastic bags, stop immediately. Smokers should also consider how the habit affects oral health. Nicotine yellows teeth and can also cause oral cancer. Chewing tobacco is even worse because the tobacco and associated carcinogens come into direct contact with the gums and soft tissues and stay there for a long time.

Also, ask your doctor or pharmacist if your medicines might cause dry mouth. According to the American Dental Association, more than 500 medications -- from pain relievers to antihistamines -- can do so. Dry mouth inhibits saliva production and increases your risk of cavities.

If you play contact sports, pick up a mouth guard at a sports store or have your dentist make you a custom one for maximum protection and comfort. You don't even have to be awake to damage your teeth. Approximately 8% of Americans grind or clench their teeth, especially at night. If this is you, make an appointment with your dentist right away.


Reference: Georgie Binks, WebMD the Magazine - Feature

 

Adopt-A-Family Program

It's that time of year again! RiteBite Orthodontics is very excited to participate in the Adopt-A-Family program in affiliation with Family & Children's Services for the 3rd year in a row. We are so proud to give back to families in the surrounding communites that are experiencing financial hardship. Family and Children's Services does a fantastic job of organizing this program and matching our business with larger families that we can give back to during the 

Christmas season.

This program couldn't come at a better time each year. We are matched with our family at the beginning of November and the gifts are due at Family and Children's Services at the beginning of December. It is such a great way for our staff to get into the Christmas spirit by working together to provide the best Christmas we can for a family in need. We work together to budget a certain amount for each child, and try to make it so that each child has a similar amount of presents (big and small) to open on Christmas morning. We all agree that Christmas is mostly for the kids and we try to make it really special for them. On the families' wish lists, we have noticed that parents often don't put anything down for themselves, because they too just want the best for their kids, so Dr. Luis usually takes care of the parents with a generous grocery gift card so that they can have the best Christmas dinner possible. The past three years, our adopted family summaries have been as follows:

2012 – Family of 6 (2 parents, 4 children aged: 8, 5, 3, 0 - newborn)

2011 – Family of 5 (2 parents, 3 children aged: 8, 4, 2 years)

2010 – Family of 5 (2 parents, 3 children aged: 10, 4, 2 years)

We look forward to spoiling our adopted family this year once again! If you would like more information on this great program, please visit:

http://www.facswaterloo.org/

Happy Holidays from your friends at

RiteBite Orthodontics

Invisalign Orthodontic Summit 2012

Viva Las Vegas! This weekend, team awesome attended the very prestigious Invisalign Orthodontic summit in Las Vegas, Nevada. Having been invited to this conference is an extreme honour. Dr. Luis and the team will be with the best Invisalign doctors and teams in the world learning about the latest advances and techniques used with Invisalign. Our goal is to continue to be the leading Invisalign provider in the Waterloo region and continue proving that every patient is a candidate for Invisalign! 


At the summit, Invisalign introduced SmartTrack^™, a highly elastic aligner material that delivers gentle, more constant force to improve control of tooth movements with aligner treatment. This new aligner material could be one of the best advances that Invisalign has launched in the last few years. It has been compared to the introduction of Nickel Titanium wires which revolutionized the world of braces by providing gentle, more constant force delivery. Dr. Luis indicated that "these are exciting times for Invisaglin and Invisalign providers".