I love artists.

Creative people are amazing and I love the imagination that goes into their work. Recently, a friend emailed me the Web site of a woman who creates faux flower designs with dental floss. The stitch work was intricate and detailed and, of course, my first thought was “I wish more people would use dental floss to, you know, floss their teeth.”

Now, I have some patients who are almost militant flossers, but that can be a problem too. A few of them have come in complaining of bleeding gums, and can’t seem to explain why. They declare how they brush twice a day and floss daily, but they’re gums still bleed regularly. They assume that they have the most aggressive form of gingivitis on the planet. In fact, all they have is a bad flossing technique. It’s good to floss, but you have to remember that dental floss should be used GENTLY to remove food particles from between teeth. If you use dental floss as vigorously as your toothbrush, chances are you’ll actually wind up harming your gums.

So, I thought I’d provide a guide to demonstrate exactly how to floss your teeth correctly. The American Dental Hygienists’ Association explains the key elements of proper flossing technique in four simple steps:

1. Wind: Wind 18 inches of floss around middle fingers of each hand. Pinch floss between thumbs and index fingers, leaving a one- to two-inch length in between. Use thumbs to direct floss between upper teeth.
2. Guide: Keep a one- to two-inch length of floss taut between fingers. Use index fingers to guide floss between contacts of the lower teeth.
3. Glide: Gently guide floss between the teeth by using a zig-zag motion. DO NOT SNAP FLOSS BETWEEN YOUR TEETH. Contour floss around the side of the tooth.
4. Slide: Slide floss up and down against the tooth surface and under the gum line. Floss each tooth thoroughly with a clean section of floss.

This technique applies to any type of floss: waxed, unwaxed, spongy floss or dental tape. It doesn’t matter whether you start with your upper or lower teeth, or whether you start in the front or the back. Just make sure that you floss all your teeth, including the back side of the very last tooth on the left, right, top and bottom of your mouth. And don’t forget to floss under the gum line and along the sides of teeth that border any spaces where teeth are missing — food particles can become trapped in these spaces too.

If you use a hand-held flosser, the flossing technique is similar. Hold the flosser handle firmly and point the flossing tip at an angle facing the area you want to floss first (either top teeth or bottom teeth). Guide the floss gently between two teeth, and be sure to avoid snapping or popping the floss. Use the same zigzag motion that you would use with standard floss. Bend the floss around each tooth and slide it under the gum line and along each tooth surface.

Poor flossing technique can result in complications, and it’s important to be thorough yet gentle, especially when flossing with an electric flosser. Be sure you understand how to use it. If you want to know more, always ask your dentist or hygienist for advice.

The Internet is an interesting place, and a great way to learn and grow and, yes, even market a dental practice. The trick is to know the difference between reality and Internet rumors.

Take Mikey, for instance. Mikey is the kid in the old 1970s Life Cereal commercial that depicted him as his household’s chief food curmudgeon. The gist of the ad was that if the finicky Mikey would eat Life Cereal, then it had to be good. Of course, if you read the Internet stories about Mikey, he died after eating a candy called Pop Rocks some time in the 1980s. In fact, Mikey — also known as Michael Gilchrist — is alive and well and working as a radio station advertising account manager in New York City. I’m not sure if he ever ate Pop Rocks (I prefer chocolate, myself), but if he did, they certainly didn’t kill him.

As a dentist, I have my own “Mikey” problem regarding dental x-rays. The Internet is rife with stories and articles that have claimed that the simple “bitewing” style x-rays — that are used as fundamental diagnostics tools in just about every dentist’s office around the country — are to blame for a wide variety of ailments. According to the Internet, they can cause everything from mild headaches to bad luck and just about everything in between.

While most of these stories would be amusing for their imagination, they can cause problems for real people, because some folks actually choose to stay away from the dentist out of fear of the dental x-ray.

So, please allow me to set the record straight on dental x-rays.

Dental X-rays don’t cause headaches. They can’t cause nausea or vomiting, or otherwise make you ill. Today’s dental X-rays also don’t cause cancer, nor do they have any link whatsoever to any cases, nor is there any clinical research to indicate otherwise.

Now, I do understand how some of these exaggerations got started. Not too long ago, there was a clinical study on benign tumors that reportedly linked the style of dental X-rays performed about 30 years ago as a risk factor for those tumors. Now, some people think that constitutes a dangerous link, but in all medical matters, details matter.

The specific details in this case about the level of radiation used back then, compared to today. About 30 years ago, there was no such thing as digital imaging. We barely had digital clocks. Dental X-ray machines emitted a unit measure of 22 pulses to get an impression on the film. Today, digital imaging systems, like the ones we use at our practice, emit .1 impulses, 220 times less radiation than 30 years ago. What that means is you would have to get 220 dental X-rays today to equal the radiation of a single dental X-ray 30 years ago.

To put it in more perspective, you’d have to get dental X-ray from today’s low-output devices twice a year for more than 100 years to equal the amount of radiation of a single X-ray from 30 years ago.

So, when you actually examine the specifics, it’s clear that there is no legitimate reason to believe that dental X-rays do anything more than provide dentists like me key information about the health of your teeth.

On a side note, if he’s still eating Life Cereal, I think Mikey should probably come in for a check-up soon. There is a lot of sugar in that stuff.

One of the first things the automobile industry did as a way to enable everyone to own a car was create financing options. Even back when cars only cost $1,000, car dealers knew that most people didn’t have $1,000 cash sitting in the bank. Enter the magic of financing, which enables most working Americans to own a car to get them to and from work, and more.

Now, as necessary as cars have become to most people, except for some in Manhattan who don’t need anything more than a subway pass, I think most people would be hard-pressed to say that they need their car more than they need their teeth. A car will get you to the restaurant, but unless the blue plate special is a can of Ensure, getting there without a working set of teeth makes the whole trip an exercise in futility.

Now, to us dentists, we consider teeth standard factory equipment that comes with our bodies. But what happens when that equipment fails or is in need of repair? Sometimes, we find ourselves in the same position as when we want to buy a car — without the option of financing, it’s not possible.

What many people don’t realize is that dental industry has taken a cue from our counterparts in Detroit and many of us — including my practice — offer financing options for some of the more expensive dental work our patients need. I took this step a while ago because I realized that many people live with daily pain primarily because they don’t feel they can afford the kind of dental work that could make their mouth healthy again. They don’t have to feel that way, anymore.

Unfortunately, one spin-off of the auto industry — the auto mechanic — has us poorly-trained when we are faced with the situation of needing more than just a routine filling. We’ve all had the experience of taking the family roadster into the mechanic for an oil change only to have the mechanic look under the hood, shake his head sadly, and inform us that our framistat is shot and that he needs to install a new Glockinschpeil valve. We walk in with a coupon for a $29 oil change, and walk out $400 lighter in the wallet.

Sometimes when I have patients who receive similar news regarding their teeth, they’ll punish me, the dentist, for the crimes of their mechanic. Let me be clear that I take my patients’ dental health very seriously, and the idea that a dentist would recommend unnecessary work is repugnant to me. It’s not only unethical, but it’s a violation of the oath we take when we are granted our license to practice. Still, some people will choose not to have the work done because they can “live with it,” but I know their real worry is cost.

Financing can help alleviate those worries, with some procedures costing as little as $100 per month. That’s a value proposition that anyone who suffers from dental pain or missing teeth should consider. Is it worth a small monthly payment to get my smile back, or to end the daily pain that occurs at every mealtime?

I can’t answer that question for you. All I can do is provide the care you need in a manner that you can afford. Think about it and then give me a call. If you’ve been putting off your dental health for a while, come in for a consultation and let’s see if we can’t work out something that’s good for you and your budget.

As a dentist, I sometimes feel like the guy from the roadside service motor club. People don’t like having to call me, but they are very happy to see me when they are having an emergency.

And that describes a lot of what has happened over the last few decades with the relationship between dentists and their patients. Believe me, I have no illusions about how my profession is perceived by my patients. It’s not like people bound out of bed with joy thinking, “Oh boy, I get to go to the dentist today!” In fact, most people will put off coming to visit me, like I’m the black sheep of the family they only visit out of obligation on birthdays and holidays. That’s okay. I get that.

And it’s not just about the stereotypical fear many have of sitting in the dentist’s chair. I realize it’s about economics, as well. When dental insurance was created sometime back in the 1960s, most companies afforded patients and their families $1,000 / person during the course of the year to visit the dentist, get check-ups, cleanings, fillings and whatever other work they needed done. Back then, that $1,000 window was plenty to take care of their whole family’s dental needs.

In the 50 or so years since then, do you know how much that figure has increased, with the rate of inflation over the decades? Not a dime. With most companies, families are still afforded that same $1,000, which doesn’t really do the same job it used to back when Leave it to Beaver was still on the air.

The chilling effect of that phenomenon is that I see fewer patients for regular checkups and cleanings, but more patients who essentially wait until they have a problem or are in pain before they call to make the appointment. Of course, this makes their treatment more costly than if they had come in for regular checkups and cleanings. This is the crux of the crisis that many people are feeling today with their dental care, and it’s a little sad to me, because it doesn’t have to be that way.

Now, I’m not one of those dentists who, when faced with one of my prodigal patients, wags the finger in their face and tries to shame them into coming in more often. I know some dentists will do that, but that’s not me. When someone comes in with a severe toothache after not seeing my for a year or so, the last thing they need is a lecture. They want help, and that’s what I signed up to provide when I went to school to become a dentist.

Instead, what I want to tell people is this: if you have been avoiding coming to see me, despite the fact I am a charming and witty guy, it’s okay. It’s possible to do a reboot on your dental care.

In point of fact, I typically recommend only one checkup every six months, as most people don’t need more than that. If you’ve been driving by my office while running errands and thinking, “I really need to get a check-up, but I’m afraid what he’ll find,” don’t be afraid. I’m not like the auto mechanic who tries to upsell you to a full tune-up when all you need is an oil change. My only concern is setting you back on a course that enables you to have a healthy dental profile and to stay healthy for the long term. My ideal regimen for an adult who at least brushes and flosses regularly is this:

• One checkup every six months.
• One cleaning every six months, as necessary (some people don’t need more than one per year).
• An at-home fluoride regimen, which I can provide for you to take with you.

That’s it. It doesn’t have to cost you a molar and an incisor (a little dental humor — see what you’re missing when you stay away?) to get started, and as long as you have basic, healthy habits at home, you can enjoy a good dental health profile for a long time to come. Of course, I can also help with additional cosmetic dental work if you want a better smile, or a clinical whitening if you want to spruce up for your cousin’s wedding or a big job interview.

Either way, I’m here to help you and your family, the same way my father did when he started this practice. Whether you can make it for regular checkups or wait until you absolutely need to see me, I’ll still be here for you.

Smiles all around,

Dr. Joseph P.Trovato

While Christmas means gifts and Thanksgiving means turkey, Easter usually means chocolate.

Chocolate bunnies, chocolate eggs, chocolate chicks — with a side order of those addictive marshmallow peeps — all packed in baskets the size of horse troughs. I’m not immune to them, either. I love chocolate, and I’m not one of those dentists who’s afraid of letting that be known. I eat candy, probably more than I should. Heck, I’m a dentist, not a robot! The only difference is that, as a dentist, I know how to do it so that I don’t expose my own teeth to the decay usually associated with sugary foods.

The fact is, there is one basic rule that will help save your children — and the rest of the adult-aged chocoholics — from the dangers of eating candy during the holidays. What’s more, most people have never heard it.

When you eat candy, or any thing else that contains sugar, the bacteria on your teeth will produce acid which breaks down the tooth. The saliva in your own mouth will nuetralize this acid and remineralize the teeth very well on its own — as long as you let it. If you eat chocolate, it takes your body about 20 minutes to eliminate the acids that cause tooth decay. It then takes the saliva about 3 hours to repair the damage done during the acid attack. In other words, you could literally eat all the candy you wanted in the span of an hour, and after three hours, your mouth will repair itself. Of course, you’ll still need an Alka Seltzer for the belly ache, but you won’t be significantly more at risk for cavities than you were before you ate the candy.

Instead, most people like to think that if they eat a little bit of candy here and there throughout the day, they’ll be at a lesser risk of cavities, and nothing could be further from the truth. If you eat just one or two bites of chocolate every couple of hours, your mouth would not have sufficient time to eliminate all the harmful acids, or repair itself, so you would actually be keeping all those decay-producing substances floating in your mouth all day long.

Of course, some parents will let their children eat candy during the holiday, and then insist they brush their teeth immediately afterward. The problem is, most children don’t brush that thoroughly — and even if they did — they still would not eliminate all the sugars from their teeth. You need to give yourself the full three hours to let your saliva do its job. Remember, it’s the frequency of eating carbohydrates, not the quantity that causes decay. Sticky snacks will also stay on the teeth longer and may violate the 3 hour rule as well.

So, if you want your family to avoid cavities as they surround themselves with chocolate bunnies (I like the hollow ones), do what I do. Follow the three-hour rule and you can enjoy all the chocolate you want without worrying about tooth decay. But you might have to start thinking about the treadmill.

Dr. Joseph P. Trovato, DMD

Using state of the art mechanics and computer aided case design, you can have the smile you always wanted!   Financing Available…

In my 20 years of orthodonic experience, the major concern/complaint patients have had is the lenght of time the braces have to be worn.  Better than 90% of all ortho cases can be completed from 9 – 14 months and without extractions.  Call us for more information at (201) 991-0177 or visit our website….

Call and schedule your appointment for an Orthodontic Consultation.. mention this Blog and the consultation is FREE.