Oral Healthcare To Last A Lifetime

By Dottie Evans

“Whatever you do, take care of your teeth!”

That was the message Dr Mark Renzi of Dental Associates, 11 Church Hill Road, delivered in his hour-long talk to a group of senior citizens at the Newtown Senior Center on Thursday, September 25. But those particular heartfelt words were not actually spoken by Dr Renzi.

Rather, they came from Bea Piskura, a member of the audience passing on the wisdom of a person close to her.

“My husband had a couple sets of false teeth.  He would always tell me I was lucky to have my own teeth, and I’d better take care of them,” Mrs Piskura said.

She added that even with cavities or other problems, “your own teeth are always the best.”

To accomplish the primary goal of keeping teeth healthy, Dr Renzi advised practicing good oral hygiene and scheduling a dental cleaning at least every six months.

“These are the two most important things you can do, and you are never too young or too old to begin,” Dr Renzi said.

Healthy Habits Make The Difference

The following recommendations were made in addition to twice-daily brushing and biannual visits to the dentist’s office. Besides making a substantial difference in the health of teeth and gums, they may also contribute to overall physical wellness.

Floss: “This is something you can do once a day that will do more to remove tartar and food particles than any amount of brushing.  That’s because flossing is the best way to get in between the teeth down near the gums, where bacteria can become established,” Dr Renzi said.

Avoid prolonged contact of sugar, coffee, or tea on the surface of the teeth: Hard candies, even breath mints, have a lot of sugar and sugar contributes to decay. In addition, sipping coffee, tea, sodas, or red wine can be detrimental and can cause staining.

Protect the gums, use a soft toothbrush: What Dr Renzi did not advise was vigorous, sideways brushing with a hard bristle brush down near the gum line.  A better technique is to brush down from above, and up from below.

“Otherwise, you will wear away the enamel and expose the roots of the tooth, which can lead to gum disease.”

He explained that the phrase “getting long in the tooth,” applies to a person who has suffered gum disease to the extent that more of the root is exposed. This happens more frequently to elderly patients, he added.

“By probing along the gum line, the hygienist is measuring the health of the gums, looking for pockets and signs of gum disease or bone loss,” he said. Tartar builds up between the teeth and the gums, and it must be removed regularly so the gum remains firmly attached to the tooth.

 Senior Center Director Marilyn Place contributed some last words on the subject of hard-bristled toothbrushes.

“Use them for cleaning the grout between your bathroom tiles. Not for your teeth,” Ms Place suggested.

Gum disease and infections surrounding the teeth can actually lead to heart problems, Dr Renzi said, because bacteria from a low-grade infection may eventually move through the circulatory system to the heart valves or muscle wall.

If gums have deteriorated, however, there is some possibility of reversing the process.

“Deep cleaning can help grow gum back,” he said.

Whitening or Straightening

When teeth become yellowed through age or through staining from coffee or tea, there are ways to bleach them, “although current techniques work better with teeth that have a yellowish color, rather than grayish or reddish,” Dr Renzi said.

White strips of a bleaching material are available over the counter, “or you can accomplish the same result in an hour and a half at the dentist’s office, which is a quicker option. It sort of jumpstarts the process,” he noted.

At the dentist’s office, a patient is fitted for bleaching trays, which are little covers that go over the teeth and hold a bleaching gel against them. The gel is concentrated peroxide.

“You take them home and apply them at night for about two weeks,” he added.

“But insurance does not cover whitening, since it is considered a cosmetic procedure.”

If a patient is looking to straighten teeth by wearing braces, Dr Renzi said this is an excellent option at any age. Again, insurance may not cover the procedure.

“As long as the teeth are in good shape, braces are always an option. They’ve got clear or transparent sets now that you can hardly see. Within about nine months you’ll notice the difference, and you’ll love the way your teeth look.”

Dentures And Dry Mouth

If, for a number of reasons, there has been the loss of a tooth or teeth, the next best option is installation of a partial or full set of dentures. These may be anchored to the healthy teeth with metal or clear clasps, and some may even be anchored without the use of clasps.

One senior in the audience remarked that she never wore her bottom dentures because they always felt like they were going to come out –– that they were unstable.

This is a common problem, Dr Renzi said, that can be helped by the use of implants made from titanium. The implants are like little posts that are put into the jawbone to provide a sturdy point of attachment for the dentures. The dentures, themselves, may be attached by clips or they may be fixed in place.

“Implants work well, giving the dentures something to hang on to.”

Replacing one’s own teeth with dentures is a last resort, he noted, and they take some getting used to. Some individuals have more difficulty with the fit than others, especially if there are normal bony protrusions in the roof of the mouth, known as tori.

“If there are tori, we’ll make the dentures fit around them,” Dr Renzi said.

There may also be a reluctance about wearing dentures after they have been provided, Dr Renzi said.

“To offset this, the patient is given plenty of time in the office to get used to taking dentures in and out.”

The problem of dry mouth was another issue Dr Renzi addressed, since many older patients had complained of this uncomfortable condition where not enough saliva was being produced.

“The first step for a patient complaining of dry mouth is to check the medications. There are approximately 300 prescriptions that can produce dry mouth as a side effect.

“It is important to treat this condition because dry mouth problems hinder the natural removal of plaque and tartar and this can lead to more cavities,” Dr Renzi said.

“Chewing gum helps, but be sure it’s sugarless. There are also mouthwashes that can alleviate the condition.”