It’s possible to develop tooth decay even when you take great care of your teeth. Brushing and flossing may not be enough to keep your teeth healthy, depending on your diet. Cavities, discoloration, and decay are still possible when certain foods feature in your daily intake. Keep an eye out for foods that will damage your enamel and cause the very issues you’ve been trying to avoid.

What causes enamel damage?

Tooth enamel is the hard outer layer of your teeth that is made of various minerals. Tooth decay results when the acids in your food react with the minerals in your enamel. Strongly pigmented foods may also cause unsightly discoloration on the surface of your teeth. Avoid wreaking havoc on your beautiful smile by identifying the foods that can harm your enamel.

Acid

Acidic food is your teeth’s worst nightmare! This is the greatest cause of enamel damage, even if you brush and floss regularly. To avoid damaging your teeth, make sure you can determine whether a food is acidic or not.

The pH levels are a way to determine acidity on a one-to-seven scale. This defines the relative acidity or alkalinity of a food or substance. Foods with high pH levels are not as likely to harm your enamel.

It’s wise to avoid or minimize foods that are high in acids. Highly acidic food can include fruits such as lemons, grapefruit, strawberries, grapes, and apples. Moderately acid foods may surprise you; they include tomatoes, maple syrup, pickles, and honey.

Not surprisingly, eggs and dairy products such as milk and cheese contain the least amount of acid. Red wine and coffee can also discolor your enamel if they’re drunk in excessive amounts.

What can I do to prevent enamel damage?

There are plenty of ways to avoid discoloration and decay of your enamel. The best thing to do is limit the amount of high-acid foods, including sugary juices and soda, in your diet.

Another way is to brush and floss regularly, an hour after each meal. If you can’t make time to brush, an easy solution is to swish your mouth with water or mouthwash to rinse away any leftover acidic particles.

Damaged tooth enamel may be common, but is avoidable when you know which foods to stay away from and the steps to take after you do eat highly acidic foods. Take our advice and you’ll be sure to slow down any future discoloration and decay that happens in your mouth.

For more advice on protecting your enamel, give our Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts a call to learn more!

At Convivial Dental, we prefer our patients to practice good oral hygiene between office visits. Part of that process includes flossing, which Drs. Cartsos and Zavras will tell you, is the process of cleaning between the teeth to remove food and debris from the areas that are hard to reach with a toothbrush. When food is allowed to remain between the teeth, it provides a breeding ground for bacteria, which can cause periodontal disease.

Should you floss before or after brushing?

You can floss either before or after brushing, according to your own preference. By flossing first, you can brush away dislodged food debris afterward. On the other hand, brushing first allows you to loosen plaque between the teeth, making it easier to floss more effectively.

Whichever you choose, the most important goal is to floss thoroughly. That means using a fresh strand of dental floss each day, and carefully pulling it back and forth between all of the teeth. Do not skip flossing because your teeth look or feel clean.

When to Floss

Unlike brushing, you need only floss between your teeth once per day. Although you may choose to do it in the morning or afternoon, many prefer to floss at night to prevent food and debris from remaining in the crevices of the teeth overnight. This could prevent the build-up of plaque too, which is a cause of tooth decay.

Help with Flossing

If you have questions about your flossing technique or what type of floss is best for your teeth, contact our office. Our staff will be more than happy to assist you in perfecting your home hygiene regimen. In most cases, you can choose between interdental cleaning picks or flexible floss strands to perform your daily flossing routine. If you have permanent oral appliances or restorations, be sure to follow the flossing instructions provided to you, and contact our Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts office with any questions.

Orthodontists and dentists use advanced procedures to treat and save teeth. But sometimes, a tooth just can’t be saved and needs to be extracted. Sometimes it’s due to extensive decay, or infection, or serious injury. Or sometimes, to create a healthy bite, an extraction is necessary during orthodontic treatment.

When does an orthodontist recommend an extraction? Conditions which call for extraction include:

• Incoming Wisdom Teeth

Not many people have enough space in their mouths for four wisdom teeth! And when there’s no room to erupt properly, wisdom teeth can become decayed or infected, push your other teeth out of place, and damage the roots of nearby molars. Extracting wisdom teeth protects your teeth and your bite alignment.

Usually, orthodontic treatment takes place before the wisdom teeth begin to erupt. But if yours start to make an appearance during treatment, your orthodontist and dentist will work together to schedule extraction without interfering too much with your orthodontic treatment plan.

• Tooth and Jaw Structure

Drs. Cartsos and Zavras and the team at Convivial Dental carefully plan your treatment based on examinations, X-rays, and/or 3D imaging. The goal is to align your teeth and jaws for an attractive smile and a healthy, functional bite. When overcrowding is severe, or if there is a serious malocclusion (bite problem), or if a particular tooth is unusually large or misshapen, your orthodontist might recommend an extraction.

Sometimes more room can be made for teeth with appliances such as palatal expanders or, in other cases, with the help of oral surgery. Extractions are only recommended when they are absolutely necessary.

• Baby Teeth Which Aren’t Coming Out 

Baby teeth normally fall out in a predictable pattern. Front teeth first, canines and molars last. Baby teeth have small roots, and these roots begin to break down when the adult teeth underneath put pressure on them as they start to erupt. As the root gets smaller and smaller, the baby tooth gets looser and looser—until it falls out. 

Sometimes, though, the roots of primary teeth don’t break down, and the baby teeth stay right where they are. This means that the permanent teeth have to erupt someplace else—usually behind those baby teeth. This creates a double row of teeth, and your permanent teeth can become crooked or overlap as they try to fit in. Extracting stubborn baby teeth allows your adult teeth to come in just where they’re supposed to. Because of their small roots, extracting primary teeth is usually simple and straightforward, and can be done in your dentist’s office. 

• Too Many Teeth

Most of us have 32 adult teeth, including wisdom teeth. It’s rare, but sometimes an extra, or supernumerary, tooth develops. Your jaw is most probably not equipped to accommodate any extras, so, in this case, the extra tooth or teeth are removed to give the rest of the teeth the space they need to avoid overlapping or crowding.

When your orthodontist recommends an extraction, it’s because it’s important for your dental health. Drs. Cartsos and Zavras will refer you to a dentist or a specialist like a periodontist or oral surgeon, who will: 

• discuss the extraction procedure with you, including sedation options
• numb the area 
• gently loosen and then extract the tooth
• provide options for pain management after the procedure
• give you detailed instructions for aftercare
• work with your orthodontist to keep your treatment on schedule

Extraction is never your first choice, or your orthodontist’s! But when an extraction is necessary for tooth and bite alignment, everyone at Convivial Dental in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts will coordinate a treatment plan to create your best—and healthiest—smile.

Snoring, Grinding, Speech Challenges, or Thumb Sucking Habits

At Convivial Dental in Chestnut Hill, we care about the tiniest of smiles and the tiniest of muscles, because we know that they can have a big impact on your child’s health and confidence for years to come. We want to make sure that your child starts off on the road to great oral health from an early age. And while cleanings are important, we offer a much more comprehensive approach to growing mouths. One area where we excel is myofunctional therapy. Read on to understand the signs to look for and how our orthodontist, Dr. Vicky Cartsos can help. 

Early signs your child's developing smile may benefit from myofunctional and speech therapy:

• Mouth breathing, especially at night
• Snoring or noisy breathing while sleeping
• Difficulty chewing or swallowing
• Tongue thrust - it’s what it sounds like: tongue pushing against your child’s front teeth when they are swallowing or speaking
• Thumb Sucking or prolonged pacifier use
• Speech delays or unclear verbal communication
• Teeth Grinding/Bruxism

If any of these sound like you’re kiddo, it’s worth stopping by for an examination. Early detection and treatment can help your child in a myriad of ways, guiding your child’s facial muscles and tongue position to influence jaw growth, tooth alignment, and airway development. 

Myofunctional therapy can include a collaborative effort between an orthodontist, ENT, speech-language pathologist and pediatric dentist for a team based approach. If, upon consultation, it seems like your child could benefit from this type of therapy, Dr. Vicky Cartsos will work on a unique treatment plan for your child. It may include early interceptive orthodontic treatment, muscle and /or tongue exercises, or habit breaking appliances. As with everything at Convivial Dental, the utmost care and highest level of professionalism will be at your child’s fingertips.

Why Convivial Dental? Why Dr. Cartsos? 

Dr. Cartsos is a co-founding member of the Tufts Medical Center Craniofacial-Cleft Lip & Palate Team (Hospital Affiliate). Her passion and mission there has been to contribute her orthodontic expertise to this multidisciplinary team to address complex cases. She often works in conjunction with Pediatric ENT specialists, Plastic Surgeons, Oral Surgeons, Pediatric Dentists, Geneticists, Speech pathologists, Audiologists and Nutrition specialists to provide total rehabilitation of the face, teeth and jaws. While your kiddo likely doesn’t need the full resources of the Tufts team behind them, Dr. Cartsos’ expertise there lends her the ability to help more children smile their healthiest, happiest and brightest. 

If your child is exhibiting any of the above signs, we encourage you to schedule a complimentary consultation with us. We provide the highest level of care and our reviews speak for themselves. Whether you’re looking for extensive care or just curious if this article relates to your child, we’d love to see you! Making smiles makes our day. 

Call us today at 617-735-0800 or click below to schedule a free consultation - we can start virtually or in person - your choice!