Saving Your Teeth and Maybe... Your Heart!
Dr. Sabrina Mickel, D.D.S.	As a dentist, I am often asked by my patients, "Dr. why am I getting cavities? I am too old for cavities." The reality is that we are never too old to get cavities. It may sound simple and you may have heard it a million times before, but SUGAR causes cavities. It does not matter where the sugar comes from. If it touches your teeth, it can cause tiny bacteria to start eating away at your precious tooth enamel. Be it candy, Kool-Aid, gum, doughnuts, cake, cookies, pop, cough drops or cereal- if it contains sugar, it can cause a cavity.
Many of my patients do a beautiful job of brushing and flossing in the morning, at bedtime and after meals, however, all day long they sip on pop, coffee(with sugar), mints or gum. This sugar stays on the teeth until the next brushing and flossing all the while allowing for the breakdown of the tooth enamel. As African-Americans, we love our Kool-Aid and punch. It's a staple in many of our homes and not considered a threat to our teeth. Do yourself a favor and recognize Kool-Aid and ANYTHING containing SUGAR as a threat to your beautiful, pearly white teeth! And of course, this message applies to children as well! Another threat to the health of our teeth is smoking . Smoking causes bad breath and recent dental studies show that people who smoke have gum disease. In other words, if YOU smoke- YOU have gum disease. Gum disease (Periodontitis) is a bacterial infection of the bone and gums that support the teeth. Many African-Americans call this disease "pyorrhea" which is not an accepted medical term. Periodontitis is the number one cause of tooth loss. Many of today's denture wearers can attribute their situation to the damaging effects of previous gum disease. This can cause a heart attack! Read Page 2 of 2 Tell your friends about this page!

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