Are you looking for gift ideas for the health conscious friend or athletic family member on your list? We put together a list of some of our favorite healthy gift ideas.

 
Gifts for Healthy Teeth
Obviously, as a dentist, the first couple items I am recommending help maintain healthy teeth.

Philips Sonicare Toothbrush

Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser

 

Cyclist Gift Ideas
As an avid cyclist, I also want to include a couple gift ideas for the cyclist on your list.

Bar Mitts – These help break the wind and chill when riding outdoors in the winter.

Bicycle Computer – Measures speed, distance and other variables.

Bicycle Light – Keep the cyclist in your life safer when riding at night.

 

Gift Ideas for Runners/Walkers

Garmin GPS Sports Watch – Keeps track of distance, calories burned, heart rate and pace.

Apple iPod Shuffle or Nano

My wife discovered the Justin Bieber singing toothbrush last week. The toothbrush plays a Justin Bieber song for two minutes which is the amount of time that is typically recommended for brushing your teeth. Each brush has two buttons, one for the morning brushing and one for a bedtime brushing. The Justin Beiber toothbrush can be purchased at Walgreens or online.

I like the idea of having a two minute timer to remind children to keep brushing their teeth. Often, children will brush for just a few seconds which isn’t enough to hit every surface of every tooth. If your child is not a fan of the Biebs, or if you don’t want to buy a singing toothbrush, a simple watch or oven timer set to two minutes could help remind your child to keep brushing long enough.

photo credit: flash.pro
Parents frequently ask me when their young child should first see the dentist. The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends that children be seen shortly after their first tooth erupts and no later than their first birthday. As any parent knows, many babies and toddlers are not ready to cooperate with a full dental exam at this young age.

Our O’Fallon dental office may perform visual exams on children who are very young while the child sits comfortably in the parent’s lap. In the first couple years, the mouth is so small and the teeth are so few that a quick visual exam may be able to tell us what we need to know without having to perform a full exam with tools. At this age, we find it most helpful to have a discussion with the parents on proper dental care for young teeth and how to avoid any major problems, like baby bottle tooth decay.

In our office we try to keep these first few dental appointments calm and fun so that the child can associate the dentist with a positive experience. We don’t force young children to cooperate in ways that make them fearful because dentistry is often associated with anxiety anyway. I have treated many adult patients who still have dental anxiety due to unpleasant childhood experiences at the dentist.

As a team, parents and the dental office can work together to make going to the dentist an enjoyable and fear free experience for their children.

Brand new to our office is a state-of-the-art digital x-ray system which provides multiple patient benefits.  Although our office has used digital x-rays for over six years, I recently decided to upgrade the system in all our patient rooms.  While all digital radiographs in the dental setting emit next to negligible radiation, this new system is so precise that it allows us to reduce the exposure time even more.  Radiation from digital x-rays is said to be similar to that emitted from natural sunlight.  In addition, the cone beam technology that we use in our office focuses the x-ray directly on the teeth and thereby controls any scatter.  In the past, I have had my system tested by radiation examiners and it was found to emit “almost no radiation.”  Now, therefore, it would be only marginally inaccurate for us to presume our new system to produce radiation on the order of “less than zero!”

While the reduced exposure time is notably important to my patients, even more important to me as a dentist is the increased diagnostic ability these new x-rays afford me.  Though my former system seemed more than acceptable to me in terms of clinical precision, the enhanced clarity of the new x-rays has surprised and delighted me.  We are thus able to detect decay at an earlier stage, and thereby treat cavities more conservatively when they are smaller.  This in turn leads to less drilling, less time in the dental chair and less money out of pocket for the patient.  We are also able to “watch” cavities which we call “incipient” and perhaps decide never to fill them if they do not progress.  This phenomenon only pertains to cavities in between teeth, where the decay can sometimes be arrested by regular dental flossing and fluoride rinse application.

Along with the new x-ray sensors has come a software upgrade loaded with doctor and patient benefits.  This intriguing new technology allows the dentist to enhance images and magnify areas of concern for the patient to see clearly what the doctor is prescribing and why.  It even permits me to outline decay using a colored circle on the image.  It is important for me that my patients understand the need for treatment and the ways in which we propose to improve their dental condition.  I am excited and proud to offer this new technology in my dental practice and hope that my patients will continue to realize my commitment to quality care in the most conservative manner possible!

photo credit: mukais

According to Arm & Hammer, today is “Brush Your Teeth at Work Day.”  Admittedly, as the producers of toothpaste, Arm & Hammer has a vested interest in promoting this day, but it does bring up a good reminder of the importance of dental care throughout your day.  Keeping a toothbrush and toothpaste handy at work allows you to brush away the smell of onions from your lunchtime sandwich or the spinach stuck between your teeth.

However, a more important need is to remove food particles, particularly from sticky carbohydrates like bread, which can sit on your teeth for hours creating cavity-causing bacteria.  If you don’t have a toothbrush handy, try to swish water around in your mouth to loosen up these food particles after lunch.  Chewing sugarless gum may help to remove these particles as well.

Do you have a toothbrush at work?  Do you wish your coworkers did?

Dental Insurance

Most dental insurance benefit plans operate on a calendar year.  If you do not use your benefits during a particular year, they do not carry over to the next year.   To take advantage of your 2010 dental insurance benefits, call today to schedule a dental appointment.  As the year draws to a close, most schedules begin to fill up so take care of your dental and overall health before the holiday rush begins.

FSA Plans

If your employer provides a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), you may only have until the end of the year to take advantage of the funds you have contributed to your account.  Most FSA plans have a “use it or lose it” policy, meaning that the funds you have not used by the end of the year (or whatever date your employer has set up) will no longer be available to you.  These unused funds are forfeited to the company when not used by the contributing employee.  If you have money still available in your FSA account, take the opportunity to use those funds before you lose them by scheduling any necessary dental or medical appointments now. 

Care Credit

Care Credit is the leading third party financing option for medical, veterinary and dental needs.  Care Credit provides zero interest and low interest plans to pay for health care needs.  Care Credit has no pre-payment or up-front fees.  Our O’Fallon dental office is a Care Credit provider.  Ask us about Care Credit to help finance your dental health needs.

HALLOWEEN CANDY BUY BACK EVENT

When: Tuesday, November 2nd from

3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Where: Dr. Edward Logan’s Dental Office

9016 Phoenix Pkwy

O’Fallon, MO 63368

What: $1 per pound of new, unopened candy

Limit of five pounds per child and child must be present to collect.

Why: In an effort to support our troops and protect children from tooth decay, we are buying back extra Halloween candy.  Children can enjoy their favorite treats and choose some items to keep.  Then, on November 2nd, they can trade in their extra candy for money and giveaways.  Children will have a chance to decorate a card to be sent along with their candy.  The candy will be donated, along with toothbrushes, to Operation Gratitude, an organization that provides care packages to United States’ military personnel.

We will also be collecting new or gently used coats, gloves and scarves to be donated to local charities.  For more information, call 636-561-5445.

         As the average lifespan of our nation’s population is increasing, so too is the need for maintaining proper oral health care.  The goal, of course, is to retain our teeth for all of these extended years.  Though aging can have some negative effects on our teeth, I am encouraged to report that many of my elderly clientele are even more diligent and knowledgeable in the area of oral hygiene than some of their younger cohorts.  While dentures are still available, their prevalence in the dental office is significantly reduced from years in the past.

            It is important for the aging population to pay attention to certain scenarios that may present in the oral environment with age.  The saying, “He’s a bit long in the tooth,” originates from the fact that gum recession over time tends to expose more and more of the root surfaces of one’s teeth.  Often associated with this root exposure is increased sensitivity to cold and hot liquids and air brought in through the mouth.  A simple solution to this problem is to have your dentist bond a desensitizing agent to the tooth or to place a filling on the exposed surface.  These treatments are incredibly effective at eliminating tooth sensitivity both painlessly and immediately.  Patients are thus free to enjoy ice cream, coffee and cold beverages that same day.

            Exposed roots are also more predisposed to cavities, or “root caries” as we call them.  This is because the tooth structure below the gum line consists of a softer mineral than the more resistant enamel on the outer portion of a tooth.  Routine cleanings and check-ups, sometimes with even greater regularity than the typical six-month recall, can serve to head off at the pass any cavities that may otherwise run amuck.

            Decreased salivary flow can result with age as well.  Our saliva contains a buffer against the acids that result when foods breakdown in our mouths.  The absence of this saliva leaves our teeth more susceptible to tooth decay.   Certain medications can interfere with normal salivary production as well.   A dentist may elect to counteract this decreased salivary flow with other medications.  The best defense against the harmful effects of low salivary flow is the same as that for most age-related dental challenges: immaculate oral hygiene and regular visits to the dentist!

            I am often reminded of a lecture I attended in dental school in which the instructor offered, “If you put a tooth in a glass of soda, the tooth will be gone in three weeks!”  Though I have never attempted this experiment, it sounds like a nice science project for a young child.  The earlier kids learn about the harmful effects of soda, pop, Coke or whatever it is called in your area of the country, the less likely they might be to subject their teeth to overexposure to these beverages.

            Despite the popular thinking that sugar is the enemy in soda, the key ingredient responsible for the majority of tooth destruction is the acid in these drinks.  This fact supports the line of reasoning that diet soft drinks can be just as harmful to the oral environment as sugar-laden beverages.  The introduction of energy drinks to the market and the overwhelming number of teens enjoying them have led to the increased incidence of decay in this demographic. 

            Adults would be wise to follow the same advice and limit the intake of these beverages.  Diligent oral hygiene practice and rinsing with water after drinking soda or energy drinks can help to reduce potential damage to tooth structure.  As always, be sure to maintain regular dental check-ups for diagnosis and cleaning.  These things all assist in the relegation of the dental drill to the mouths of other people, a principle desired by the overwhelming majority of my patient population!

                People often ask me, “How long will these fillings last, Doc?”  While there is no right answer to this question, there are a number of factors that influence a filling’s longevity.  The most important predictor of the lifespan of a filling is the degree of tooth structure missing that is being replaced.  The larger the filling, the greater the likelihood that a crown will be necessary at some point in the future.  In fact, dental health professionals often refer to large fillings as “baby crowns.”  Though patients often hope any dental problem can be solved with a filling, it frequently makes more sense to simply crown the tooth requiring a large filling in the first place.

                The particular material used to fill the tooth plays a role in the equation as well.  Though dental amalgam, or silver fillings, has been used for over 200 years and is still backed by the American Dental Association, I have not placed an amalgam filling in over a decade.  This material is currently banned in many European countries and the packaging in which it comes outlines various health risks that may be associated with the mercury it contains.  My concern about dental amalgam is more related to the cracks that it tends to place in teeth.  When mercury expands and contracts with thermal changes, similar to what happens with a thermometer, craze lines and cracks can develop in teeth.  The larger the filling and the more stress a patient puts on the teeth, the higher incidence of cracked tooth syndrome we see.  This syndrome necessitates a crown and at times root canal therapy, and is characterized by biting pain and cold sensitivity.

                Another factor contributing to a filling’s longevity is the dentist’s ability to meticulously apply the attention to detail necessary when placing the fillings.  Varying materials demand different protocol which must be followed precisely in order to extend the lifespan of a filling. The tooth-colored materials are particularly technique sensitive.

                An obvious contributor to early breakdown of any dental restoration is poor oral hygiene and heavy forces placed on these restorations, mainly in the form of clenching or grinding.  Though the majority of adults grind their teeth at night, most people are completely unaware of it.  It is very obvious to a dentist when a patient grinds, however.  A night guard made at the dentist can be a highly effective, inexpensive and conservative solution to this problem.  Ask the dentist if a night guard is right for you and help extend the life of your dental work.