When meeting someone for the first time, the way you look is even more important than what you say. Sociolinguist Albert Mehrabian found in his comprehensive research on communication that 7 percent of a verbal message comes from the words used; 38 percent comes from the vocal tone, pacing, and inflection; and 55 percent is transmitted by the speaker’s appearance and body language. Your smile is one of the first features people notice about you in the business world, as well as in personal encounters.

A new smile can make you look better and younger, boost your self-confidence and self-esteem, as well as increase your communication ability, your sex appeal, and impact on your personal and professional relationships. And getting that smile isn’t as complicated as you might imagine. Many people can have a dramatic change in their smile with just a few visits to the dentist. So many options are available today that there is no reason why you need to suffer the injustice of a poor job or a failed relationship just because you don’t have an attractive smile.

In the Chair

Prevention also includes making and keeping the often-dreaded dental appointment. See the dentist twice a year, or as often as necessary. If you are avoiding the dentist due to fear and or loathing, there are some strategies to make it a little easier to deal with.

It is best to schedule dental appointments, about an hour and a half after breakfast so that the appointment does not interfere with regular meal times. Test your BGs before you go to the dentist and test them while you are at the dentist’s office. Make sure to stick to your regular insulin and/or oral medication schedule to avoid BG problems. It is also important to discuss your diabetes with your dental team.

Taking Precautions

The dental team needs to know if their patients take oral agents or insulin because that means special precautions must be taken.  Dentists caring for patients with diabetes should have a calibrated glucose meter, glucose tablets or fruit juice, and a glucagons kit available.

They should also be familiar with the common signs of hypoglycemia such as loss of coordination, blurry vision, palpitations, rapid heart rate, sweating and shaking. They must also know if a patient with diabetes has hypoglycemic unawareness, a condition in which they experience few if any signs and symptoms of low blood sugars.

A common situation leading to hypoglycemia at the dental office is a patient skipping breakfast before an appointment but taking the regular amount of insulin.

Severe hyperglycemia may occur as well, but less frequently. Acetone breath and dehydration dry mucous membranes and changes in mental status are signs that blood glucose is too high and dental procedures should be postponed.

Be Aware

The relationship between diabetes and periodontal disease is well established. Preventive oral health care, including professional cleanings at the dental office, is important if you are to control the progression of periodontal disease and other oral health problems.

The key thing to remember is that diabetes can cause additional problems so those with diabetes need to take additional care to keep their teeth and gums healthy.

What if checking for breast cancer, ovarian cancer, even pancreatic cancer was as easy as swabbing your mouth or spitting in a cup?

That kind of screening isn’t too far off, and would likely happen in your dentist’s office.

Right now a visit to the dentist already includes a check for oral cancer. But because your mouth, your saliva to be more exact, holds so many clues to your health, in the future the dentist may be where you’re screened for a whole list of illnesses. Just like HIV and hepatitis can be found in our saliva, ovarian, breast, pancreatic, even lung and neck cancers leave clues too.

The saliva tests which are already under development would be a huge advance in preventive care because they’d be relatively inexpensive and easy. And because we visit our dentists more frequently than our medical doctors, saliva tests done during a regular cleaning, might find more cancers in their earliest stages.

The UCLA School of Dentistry is already in the process of creating saliva tests for pancreatic, lung, breast and ovarian cancer. Johns Hopkins researchers are right now studying swish and spit tests for head and neck cancers.

FDA approval is expected to come within the next five years.

Obviously, while information about the medical problems associated with smoking – such as lung disease, cancer, heart disease and low-birth-weight infants – is widely available, many smokers seem to have tuned out.

If you are a smoker who is concerned about the effects smoking can have on your health, congratulations! By accessing information about the negative impacts of tobacco use, you are taking the first step toward quitting.

The American Academy of Periodontology wants you to understand yet another good reason to quit: Tobacco use is harmful to oral health.

Recent studies have shown that tobacco use may be one of the most significant risk factors in the development and progression of periodontal disease. In addition, following periodontal treatment or any type of oral surgery, the chemicals in tobacco can slow down the healing process and make the treatment results less predictable.

How does smoking increase your risk for periodontal disease? As a smoker, you are more likely than nonsmokers to have the following problems:

• Calculus – plaque that hardens on your teeth and can only be removed during a professional cleaning
• Deep pockets between your teeth and gums
• Loss of the bone and tissue that support your teeth

If the calculus is not removed during a professional cleaning, and it remains below your gum line, the bacteria in the calculus can destroy your gum tissue and cause your gums to pull away from your teeth. When this happens, periodontal pockets form and fill with disease-causing bacteria.

If left untreated, periodontal disease will progress. The pockets between your teeth and gums can grow deeper, allowing in more bacteria that destroy tissue and supporting bone. As a result, the gums may shrink away from the teeth making them look longer. Without treatment, your teeth may become loose, painful and even fall out.

Save Your Smile

Research shows that smokers loose more teeth than nonsmokers do. In fact, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 20 percent of people over age 65 who have never smoked are toothless, while a whopping 41.3 percent of daily smokers over age 65 are toothless.

In addition, research shows that current smokers don’t heal as well after periodontal treatment as former smokers or nonsmokers. But these effects are reversible if the smokers kick the habit before beginning treatment.

Not Just Cigarettes

Other tobacco products are also harmful to your periodontal health. Smokeless tobacco also can cause gums to recede and increase the chance of losing the bone and fibers that hold your teeth in place.

Other Oral Problems

Researches also have found that the following problems occur more often in people who use tobacco products:

• Oral cancer
• Bad breath
• Stained teeth
• Tooth loss
• Bone loss
• Loss of taste
• Less success with periodontal treatment
• Less success with dental implants
• Gum recession
• Mouth sores
• Facial wrinkling

Copyright: The American Academy of Periodontology, 2007

BBC reports: Smoking causes 50% of gum disease in the U.S.

Smoking may be responsible for more than half of the cases of gum disease among adults in the US, say researchers.

The study found that current smokers are about four times more likely than people who have never smoked to have advanced periodontal (gum) disease.

However, 11 years after quitting, former smokers were no more likely than non-smokers to suffer from bad gums.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed US government health data on 13,650 people aged 18 and older who had their own teeth.

Lead researcher Dr Scott Tomar said: “Cigarette smoking may well be the major preventable risk factor for periodontal disease.”

“The good news is that quitting seems to gradually erase the harmful effects of tobacco use on periodontal health.”

The researchers also found that the odds of developing gum disease were increased still further by heavy smoking.

Dose effect

Smokers who smoked less than half a pack per day were almost three times more likely than nonsmokers to have periodontitis.

But those who smoked more than a pack and a half per day had almost six times the risk.

Jack Caton, president of the American Academy of Periodontology, said: “Every day periodontists see the destruction smoking causes in the mouths of their patients.”

“I hope the staggering statistics from this study will compel even more dental care providers to get involved in tobacco cessation efforts.”

Smoking reduces the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the gums.

This damages the healing process, and makes smokers’ gums more susceptible to infection.

In addition to being a major cause of tooth loss, periodontal disease has been linked to increased risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, respiratory disease and premature babies.

Chief Executive John Hunt said: “This is very useful research showing just how bad smoking can be for your gums. If you want to keep your teeth, don’t smoke.”

The research is published in the Journal of Periodontology.

Dentists who use lower-priced, and potentially deadly, crowns and dentures from China may be putting their patients at risk. The dental restorations are sometimes made in unlicensed laboratories and might contain dangerous levels of lead, dental experts have warned.

In the U.S., four cases of lead poisoning have been linked to Chinese dental restorations. An independent laboratory test showed that a few porcelain crowns contained over 200 times acceptable levels of the toxic metal.

Fears over the lead content of crowns, veneers, bridges and dentures became reality when a 73-year- old woman in Ohio became ill after having a crown made in China placed in her mouth.

In other tests on Chinese porcelain restorations, it was revealed that some had high levels of lead. That forced the U.S. National Association of Dental Laboratories to issue a warning to dental patients across the U.S..

Restorations made in China now make up 5% of the dental restoration market, compared with less than 1% just three years ago.

There have been concerns about other products made in the country, which is widely regarded as an emerging economic powerhouse.

Please be reassured, our dental practice will never expose our patients to any potentially harmful risk just to save a few dollars.

To get a date with Mister or Miss Right, 84 percent of adults perceive having an attractive smile as important, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive. This poll of 1,000 American adults between the ages of 18 and 50 years found that more than one-third would not be likely to set up their best friend on a blind date with someone with bad teeth. One-third would not be likely to kiss someone with bad teeth. An overwhelming majority–85 percent–considers a person’s smile to be very or somewhat important when meeting someone for the first time. Almost 9 out 10 Americans polled said they thought people with good teeth are more attractive. Among many factors, this poll explored the importance of smiles in the social arena, as well as dating and marriage.

Fortunately, improving a smile is now more accessible than ever because cosmetic dentistry is available to just about everyone. Even the subtlest change in your smile can make a dramatic difference in the way you look and feel about yourself, and the way others perceive you. Talk to your cosmetic dentist and ask about white fillings, teeth whitening, dental bonding, dental crowns and dental veneers. Then sit back in your chair and wait for your new life to begin.