An Eating Disorder May Show Itself in The Mouth

By Dr Lawitts

April 19, 2021

Category: Oral Health

Tags: oral health

Although dental care is our primary focus, we dentists are also on the lookout for other health problems that may manifest in the mouth. That's why we're sometimes the first to suspect a patient may have an eating disorder.

Eating disorders are abnormal dietary patterns that can arise from mental or emotional issues, the most common being anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Each has different behaviors: Anorexics abnormally restrict their food intake (“self-starvation”), while bulimics typically eat heavily and then induce vomiting (“binge and purge”).

Although bulimics are more likely to binge and purge, anorexics may also induce vomiting. That practice in particular can leave a clue for dentists. While vomiting, powerful stomach acid enters the mouth, which can then soften and erode tooth enamel.

It's the pattern of erosion a dentist may notice more than the erosion itself that may indicate an eating disorder. A person while vomiting normally places their tongue against the back of the lower teeth, which somewhat shields them from acid. The more exposed upper teeth will thus tend to show more erosion than the bottom teeth.

A dentist may also notice other signs of an eating disorder. Enlarged salivary glands or a reddened throat and tongue could indicate the use of fingers or objects to induce vomiting. Lack of oral hygiene can be a sign of anorexia, while signs of over-aggressive brushing or flossing may hint of bulimia.

For the sake of the person's overall well-being, the eating disorder should be addressed through professional counseling and therapy. An excellent starting point is the website nationaleatingdisorders.org, sponsored by the National Eating Disorders Association.

The therapy process can be lengthy, so patients should also take steps to protect their teeth in the interim. One important measure is to rinse out the mouth following purging with a little baking soda mixed with water. This will help neutralize oral acid and reduces the risk of erosion. Proper brushing and flossing and regular dental visits can also help prevent dental disease.

An eating disorder can be traumatic for both patients and their families, and can take time to overcome. Even so, patients can reduce its effect on their dental health.

If you would like more information on eating disorders and dental care, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Bulimia, Anorexia & Oral Health.”

0 Comment(s) Permalink

Experience Again the Smile of Your Youth Through Teeth Whitening

By Dr Lawitts

April 14, 2021

Category: Dental Procedures

Tags: teeth whitening

ExperienceAgaintheSmileofYourYouthThroughTeethWhitening

Picture yourself with a beautiful smile…what do you see? Besides straight and uniform teeth framed by the gums, you should also see one other thing indicative of a great smile—your teeth an attractive shade of translucent white.

But as you age your teeth can begin to dull as the enamel loses its translucency and the underlying dentin thickens and yellows. You no longer have the bright smile you once had in younger days.

But if the discoloration is mainly on the outer enamel, teeth whitening could be your answer for regaining your youthful smile. This is a procedure in which we apply a solution containing a bleaching agent (usually hydrogen peroxide) to your teeth. Aided by heat or light to activate it, the solution can temporarily whiten the enamel.

Teeth whitening isn't an exclusive treatment provided by a dentist—there are a number of retail products that enable you to bleach your teeth at home. But there are distinct advantages to having your teeth professionally whitened.

For one, we can control the level of brightness by adjusting the strength of the bleaching solution. This allows you to achieve the kind of look you want—from a more natural and subtler shade to a more dazzling color often called “Hollywood White.”

Any external teeth whitening application will fade with time, regardless of whether they're professional or DIY. But a dental office whitening may last longer due to our stronger solutions and curing techniques. And, by caring for your whitening (by avoiding tobacco and food items that stain teeth) and obtaining occasional touch-ups in our office, the shine could last for a few years.

Again, this particular whitening technique only works with outer staining and yellowing. If your discoloration originates from inside the teeth, you'll need a more invasive method. And your teeth should be reasonably healthy before undergoing whitening.

All in all, though, teeth whitening is an easy and affordable way to brighten your smile. It could help you take years off your appearance.

If you would like more information on teeth whitening, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Teeth Whitening: Brighter, Lighter, Whiter….”

0 Comment(s) Permalink

Gum Disease Can Be Stopped but You Could Be in For a Long Fight

By Dr Lawitts

April 09, 2021

Category: Oral Health

Tags: gum disease

GumDiseaseCanBeStoppedbutYouCouldBeinForaLongFight

It often begins without you realizing it—spreading ever deeper into the gums and damaging tissue attachments, teeth and supporting bone in its way. In the end, it could cause you to lose your teeth.

This is periodontal (gum) disease, a bacterial infection caused by dental plaque, a thin biofilm that accumulates on tooth surfaces. It in turn triggers chronic inflammation, which can cause the gum attachments to teeth to weaken. Detaching gum ligaments may then produce diseased voids—periodontal pockets—that can widen the gap between the teeth and the gums down to the roots.

There is one primary treatment objective for gum disease: uncover and remove any and all plaque and tartar (hardened plaque). If the infection has advanced no further than surface gum tissues, it may simply be a matter of removing plaque at or just below the gum line with hand instruments called scalers or ultrasonic equipment.

The disease, however, is often discovered in more advanced stages: The initial signs of swollen, reddened or bleeding gums might have been ignored or simply didn't appear. Even so, the objective of plaque and tartar removal remains the same, albeit the procedures may be more invasive.

For example, we may need to surgically access areas deep below the gum line. This involves a procedure called flap surgery, which creates an opening in the gum tissues resembling the flap of an envelope. Once the root or bone is exposed, we can then remove any plaque and/or tartar deposits and perform other actions to boost healing.

Antibiotics or other antibacterial substances might also be needed for stopping an infection in advanced stages. Some like the antibiotic tetracycline can be applied topically to the affected areas to directly stop inflammation and infection; others like mouthrinses with chlorhexidine might be used to fight bacteria for an extended period.

Although effective, treatment for advanced gum disease may need to continue indefinitely. The better approach is to focus on preventing a gum infection through daily brushing and flossing and regular dental cleanings. And at the first sign of problems with your teeth and gums, see us as soon as possible—the earlier in the disease progression that we can begin treatment, the better the outcome.

If you would like more information on preventing and treating gum disease, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Treating Difficult Areas of Periodontal Disease.”

0 Comment(s) Permalink

Your Dental Records Keep Your Oral Care Consistent Throughout Life's Changes

By Dr Lawitts

April 04, 2021

Category: Oral Health

Tags: x-rays

YourDentalRecordsKeepYourOralCareConsistentThroughoutLifesChanges

Imagine that the IRS wants to audit you, but the dog ate your receipts. Or you hit a $50 million Lotto jackpot, but your ticket went through the wash. Or maybe you're about to see your new dentist, but you don't have your past dental records.

Humdrum as they may seem, records are important—so much so that they have their own month. That's right: April is Records and Information Management Month. Though perhaps not as exciting as National Poetry Month, this is still a good time to consider how records keep your life and health on track—especially regarding your mouth.

Your dental records contain information on all your office visits, imaging (yep, all those x-rays), diagnoses and treatments. Just like other healthcare records, they're privacy-protected under The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Your dental records may also contain information about other aspects of your overall health that could impact your long-term dental care. With all that information, dental records are important to your ongoing care, and should be available wherever you receive treatment—even if you change to a new dentist.

Which can happen? Your long-time dentist may retire—or maybe you move to another state. You may just decide you'd be happier with another dentist. But regardless of why your provider changes, your dental needs don't.

Without your records, your new dentist starts your care virtually from scratch, having to generate a new patient history and perform additional x-rays or examinations. And they won't have the benefit of nuances available to a dentist who may have treated you for a long time. But with your dental records in hand, they can often pick up where your other dentist left off without missing a beat.

It's in your oral health's best interest, then, to ensure your dental records transfer from your former dentist to your new one. Legally, these records are the property of the dentist, but you're entitled to a copy or to have them transmitted directly to another provider. You may, however, have to pay for any supplies and labor involved with printing, copying or mailing the records.

Do you feel awkward asking your former dentist to send your records to a new one? Not a problem—ask your new dentist to request them for you. Even if you have an unpaid balance, your former dentist is legally required to comply with the transfer.

When it comes to your oral health, “What is past is prologue.” The dental care you receive today and tomorrow depends on the care you received yesterday. Your dental records help make sure it's a seamless progression.

If you would like more information about the importance of dental records, please contact us or schedule a consultation.

0 Comment(s) Permalink

A New Dental Pain Management Approach Reduces the Need for Narcotics

By Dr Lawitts

March 30, 2021

Category: Oral Health

Tags: oral health

ANewDentalPainManagementApproachReducestheNeedforNarcotics

Narcotics have long played an important role in easing severe pain caused by disease, trauma or treatment. Healthcare professionals, including dentists, continue to prescribe them as a matter of course.

But narcotics are also addictive and can be dangerous if abused. Although addictions often arise from using illegal drugs like heroin, they can begin with prescriptive narcotics like morphine or oxycodone that were initially used by patients for legitimate reasons.

As a result, many healthcare providers are looking for alternatives to narcotics and new protocols for pain management. This has led to an emerging approach among dentists to use non-addictive non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as their first choice for pain management, reserving narcotics for more acute situations.

Routinely used by the public to reduce mild to moderate pain, NSAIDs like acetaminophen, ibuprofen or aspirin have also been found to be effective for managing pain after many dental procedures or minor surgeries. NSAIDs also have fewer side effects than narcotics, and most can be obtained without a prescription.

Dentists have also found that alternating ibuprofen and acetaminophen can greatly increase the pain relief effect. As such, they can be used for many more after-care situations for which narcotics would have been previously prescribed. Using combined usage, dentists can further limit the use of narcotics to only the most severe pain situations.

Research from the early 2010s backs up this new approach. A study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) concluded that patients receiving this combined ibuprofen/acetaminophen usage fared better than those only receiving either one individually. The method could also match the relief power of narcotics in after care for a wide range of procedures.

The NSAID approach is growing in popularity, but it hasn't yet displaced the first-line use of narcotics by dental professionals. The hesitancy to adopt the newer approach is fueled as much by patients, who worry it won't be as adequate as narcotics to manage their pain after dental work, as with dentists.

But as more patients experience effective results after dental work with NSAIDs alone, the new approach should gain even more momentum. And in the end, it promises to be a safer way to manage pain.

If you would like more information on dental pain management, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Are Opioids (Narcotics) the Best Way to Manage Dental Pain?”

0 Comment(s) Permalink

Find Us

My Blog

Archive:

Tags

Categories:

Dentist Blog

An Eating Disorder May Show Itself in The Mouth

Experience Again the Smile of Your Youth Through Teeth Whitening

Gum Disease Can Be Stopped but You Could Be in For a Long Fight

Your Dental Records Keep Your Oral Care Consistent Throughout Life's Changes

A New Dental Pain Management Approach Reduces the Need for Narcotics

Meet the Doctor

Dr. Karen Lawitts

Contact Us

	Dr. Karen Lawitts
	Dr. Lawitts was born and raised in Syracuse, NY. She received her Bachelor of Science and D.D.S degree from Northwestern University in Chicago.

Read more about Dr. Karen Lawitts