Why Your Dental Health Is a Big Deal

Amanda Newman (00:00):

Can flossing make you live longer? How do changes in hormones impact your dental health? What dental problems are women more likely to have? All that and more on this episode of The Healthiest You. Just like you shouldn’t skip breakfast, you shouldn’t skip brushing your teeth and flossing. Your teeth and gum health are a significant part of your overall health. We are focusing on women’s health and wellness on The Healthiest You podcast. Whether you’re on your way to work or enjoying a cup of coffee, take this time to focus on your health. Here to talk about how your dental health affects you is Dr. Deborah Campbell, dentist and chair of dental medicine with Lehigh Valley Health Network [LVHN]. Dr. Campbell, welcome to the show.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (00:46):

Thank you so much for having me here today.

Amanda Newman (00:48):

It’s great to have you. So starting off with the basics, what does good dental hygiene look like daily? Brush twice, floss once a day?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (00:56):

Absolutely, Amanda. You want to brush in the morning when you first wake up and then you want to brush again before you go to bed. That’s at the minimum. And flossing, we definitely recommend at least once a day.

Amanda Newman (01:06):

Now when it comes to toothbrushes, which is better: a manual toothbrush or an electric one?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (01:12):

So us dentists definitely recommend an electric toothbrush over a manual toothbrush. If you’re going to use a manual toothbrush, we definitely recommend a soft-bristle toothbrush. Any medium- or hard-bristle toothbrush will actually do damage to your teeth because most people brush way too hard. An electric toothbrush has its pros because most studies have shown that it reduces plaque more than a manual toothbrush does, but it can be more expensive. The brush heads themselves need to be changed out, usually with the season or if you get sick. But overall, the effectiveness is much better.

Amanda Newman (01:44):

Which one do you use?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (01:46):

Ah, I use the Oral-B toothbrush.

Amanda Newman (01:49):

OK, is that an electric one?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (01:51):

What’s that?

Amanda Newman (01:51):

So an electric one?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (01:52):

I use an electric toothbrush.

Amanda Newman (01:53):

Me too. It’s important to remember to plug it in though because sometimes that happens where you forget.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (01:59):

Yes, yes, definitely. I use an electric toothbrush.

Amanda Newman (02:02):

Always plug it in everyone. All right, now let’s talk about toothpaste. There’s so many different types to choose from. There’s baking soda. There’s fluoride. Whitening toothpaste. How do I know which one is right for my teeth?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (02:15):

So first and foremost, you definitely want to look for the ADA seal of approval on a toothpaste, so the American Dental Association. You want to see that on your toothpaste. Second of all, you do want to choose a toothpaste that has fluoride in it. So Crest and Colgate are your most popular brands that you see on the market. They market different types of whitening, sensitivity, that kind of thing, but you definitely want to look for those two items.

Amanda Newman (02:38):

OK, so ADA, and then what was the second one?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (02:40):

Fluoride.

Amanda Newman (02:41):

Fluoride. All right. So I guess that’s the best choice then probably for protecting my enamel, or would you look at something for sensitivity?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (02:49):

Yeah, so it just depends. Some people have more sensitivity in their teeth than others.

Amanda Newman (02:53):

OK.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (02:54):

And so if that’s the case then, again, any Colgate, Oral-B, Crest toothpaste will have different ingredients in it.

Amanda Newman (03:02):

Now, a tube of toothpaste or toothpaste tablets? Is one better than the other? Because I know there’s a lot of things out there on social media with people wanting to be more eco-friendly, get the cute little container with the tablets. Does it really matter?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (03:18):

So while tablets can be more eco-friendly, at this point, they are not approved by the American Dental Association just yet. So at the end of the day, it’s still a tube of toothpaste that we recommend.

Amanda Newman (03:30):

All right, good thing I keep that in my little to-go bag. I have not went ahead and got the little tablets yet. But it is enticing though because when you see them, you’re like, “Oh. Well, that’s a nice option. Eco-friendly,” but stick with the tube of toothpaste.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (03:43):

There is no fluoride in toothpaste tablets either.

Amanda Newman (03:47):

And we need that fluoride.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (03:47):

Need that fluoride.

Amanda Newman (03:48):

That’s really important. OK. Now, how about water flossing versus traditional floss?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (03:55):

So we prefer traditional flossing because you can get down deep into the pockets a little bit better, and it definitely cleans the teeth better, but there are definitely instances where a water flosser would be very effective. Somebody that’s in orthodontics, full braces, can’t get in there so easily to floss because of the brackets and the wires that are present, and somebody that had more difficulty with dexterity of their hands and they’re not able to hold floss.

Amanda Newman (04:19):

Now, does flossing every day actually make you live longer? Because I’ve heard this, but I want to know from you.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (04:28):

So yes it does. Absolutely. You should floss every day. Brushing is not enough. You can’t get in between your teeth and you can’t get down below underneath the pockets. You want to take care of your teeth and your gums. And we now know, more than ever, that the bacteria that live in your mouth that cause gum disease can and are found in your bloodstream and can affect other organ systems in your body, such as your heart. There’s linkages to diabetes, premature birth. There’s a lot of reasons why flossing can make you live longer.

Amanda Newman (04:59):

So don’t skip flossing ever.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (05:02):

Tell that to everyone on the planet.

Amanda Newman (05:05):

Because you’re going to live longer, folks. Floss. Do you have any tips for making it a habit? Because I feel like sometimes, we just go about our daily life and by the end of the night, sometimes we just don’t feel like doing it. What’s a good way to make it a habit?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (05:20):

So first of all, if you’re not in the habit of flossing, you can floss first. So everybody has great intentions after they visit their dentist and they get yelled at that they’re going to start flossing more, but it’s hard to get into that habit. So if you floss first, you’re still going to always brush your teeth, so that’s one little tip. And the other tip is to put your floss on top of your toothpaste just as a reminder that you should do it after you brush.

Amanda Newman (05:43):

Those are great tips. I’m going to try that, flossing before I brush. Are there any chemicals hiding in my dental floss that I should be concerned about? A lot of people, they’re embracing this nontoxic approach to life when it comes to beauty products and household cleaners. But what about what’s lurking in our floss?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (06:03):

So there is some research going on about PFAS, which is a chemical that is found in floss. PFAS are known as your forever chemical. They’re found in many, many household products and they help hold the molecules together in waterproof items. So there was a study done in 2019 that said that the people that use floss that had PFA in it had a higher bloodstream level of that chemical in their body. The ADA, American Dental Association, did review that study and at this time said that there’s insufficient evidence to say that we can’t use that floss. So there are PFA-free floss out there if you choose to use them, but still, most of the standard and mainstream flosses do have it in them.

Amanda Newman (06:48):

Now, is there a way to easily go about as a consumer when you’re out shopping to identify, “Is this PFA-free floss?”

Deborah Campbell, DMD (06:55):

So it’s not easily advertised on the packaging, but certainly any Google search. Amazon is a popular place where you can find those products. Cocofloss, Reach, and Dr. Tung’s are all examples of floss that don’t have PFA chemical in them.

Amanda Newman (07:08):

OK. Are there ingredients to look for and avoid when choosing a mouthwash?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (07:14):

Yes, absolutely. So mouthwash in general is a great adjunctive to good oral hygiene. So brushing, flossing and then you can use a mouthwash one to two times a day to rinse out your mouth. What it does is it reduces the bacterial count in your mouth. So you want to find a mouthwash that has antimicrobial agents in it, and what you want to avoid is a mouthwash that has alcohol in it. Mouthwash that has alcohol, it can change the microbiome of your mouth, the bacteria in your mouth, and it can interact with cells in a way that we think could be causing cancer.

Amanda Newman (07:49):

Oh, wow. That’s scary. OK, avoid the alcohol-based mouthwashes for sure. Because those can also cause bad breath as well, correct?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (07:58):

The alcohol-based mouthwashes?

Amanda Newman (07:58):

Yeah.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (07:59):

They can.

Amanda Newman (07:59):

And dry mouth, things like that?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (08:01):

Just because of the way they interact? Yes.

Amanda Newman (08:03):

Oh, don’t get that, folks. Is brushing your teeth with toothpaste, flossing and mouthwash really enough, or do I need to consider going out and buying this fancy device that people are talking about? It’s blowing up on the internet, that it uses air and powder and water and all of these things to kill the bacteria in your mouth. Do I really need that or can I just stick with my toothbrush, my floss and my mouthwash?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (08:29):

So for the majority of the population, just brushing twice a day, flossing, using your mouthwash is enough. There are people that are definitely at more high risk for dental decay and/or gum disease that need more adjunct procedures, more frequent visits to the dentist, more brushing, more rinsing with water. But you don’t need all that fancy stuff that’s on the market right now.

Amanda Newman (08:51):

Good to know. I was hoping that would be the answer. We don’t need the fancy device. Now, as a frequent coffee drinker, I often worry about those stains that can get left behind, but I’m not giving up my favorite drink. I love to start my morning with a cup of coffee.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (09:05):

Absolutely. You, me and everybody else. Sixty-four percent of Americans drink coffee every day. So things like coffee, tea and juices, some acidic things like that, they all contain tannins. And tannins are what causes the stain on your teeth. So how do you avoid that? So first of all, you should not actually have coffee first thing in the morning when you wake up. You should eat something first. And when you eat something first, it gets your saliva going and the saliva helps to wash away things in your mouth that are not good for you. So eat before drinking coffee. The second thing you can do is you can just rinse your mouth out with water after you have your cup of coffee. So rinsing your mouth with water just helps kind of wash away some of the staining. You can brush your teeth. And then the other thing that you can do if you want to, although I don’t know people will want to do this, but you can drink coffee through a straw. And drinking it through a straw ...

Amanda Newman (09:56):

Oh, no.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (09:56):

I know it’s not cool, but drinking it through a straw does limit the amount of contact that the coffee has on your teeth, and so then that’s limiting the amount of staining.

Amanda Newman (10:05):

Ah, interesting. I was wondering about that straw trick because I had a colleague who always would drink her coffee with a straw and I was just like, “Oh, I wouldn’t do that.” I feel like it just kind of takes away that coffee experience with the frothed milk and enjoying it.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (10:19):

Absolutely. I don’t drink it with a straw, but yes you could.

Amanda Newman (10:23):

OK, we don’t have to do the straw, but we could just do the eating before you drink the coffee, rinsing your mouth out, things like that. So those are really helpful tips. Thank you. And if all else fails, we can turn to teeth whitening.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (10:38):

Yes, yes.

Amanda Newman (10:39):

So are teeth whitening strips helpful or harmful to your teeth?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (10:44):

So there’s a lot of different products on the market out there right now for whitening. It’s very trendy and everybody wants whiter teeth. By the way, Amanda, your teeth are gorgeous. They’re very white.

Amanda Newman (10:54):

Thank you.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (10:56):

So teeth whitening strips have their pros and cons. So they’re relatively inexpensive to, say, a professional whitening treatment at a dental office, but you have to be a little bit careful, all right? You have to put them on your teeth and it can cause irritation in the gums. So if that occurs, or if you get teeth sensitivity, you might not want to use teeth whitening strips. Conversely, professional whitening is where you have molds taken of your teeth, impressions done at a dental office, and they make you a set of custom whitening trays. The difference between that and then what you would find over-the-counter is that we create a spacer between the whitening tray and your teeth so that the whitening gel has a little bit of a well to sit in so it doesn’t extrude out over into the gum tissue, thereby causing irritation.

Amanda Newman (11:47):

I’ve had that done. So at my dentist’s office, I had the custom trays made and I love them. And I just use them in moderation when my teeth are looking a little like I want them to be brighter and whiter.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (11:57):

The really nice thing about professional whitening trays is that you have them and then every few months, you just pop them in for about 20 minutes and it kind of can re-whiten or refresh in your teeth versus the whitening strips. I mean, they are disposable and you have to throw them out after each use.

Amanda Newman (12:11):

Now, what about these nontoxic whitening strips? So there’s some on the market that have coconut oil, lemon oil. There are some popular ones on Amazon. Are they a good idea or are those a little too harsh on the teeth, would you say?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (12:25):

So for whitening strips, I mean, you really want your carbamide peroxide or your hydrogen peroxide product.

Amanda Newman (12:32):

OK.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (12:32):

There’s not evidence really out there that says that things like coconut oil is going to whiten your teeth.

Amanda Newman (12:37):

They make it sound so enticing, all those influencers when they’re chatting about it. What about over-the-counter UV lights and whitening pens? Are those a good idea? Do they work?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (12:50):

So UV lights, the way that they work is that they excite the molecules in the whitening gel, in your hydrogen peroxide or your carbamide peroxide, and it can make the whitening work a little bit quicker when you’re using it. The problem is that when you purchase a UV light over the internet, you don’t know how strong it is. You also don’t know how strong the whitening or bleach product you’re getting, and so too much UV light can actually cause damage to your teeth and gums. And so best off, if you’re going to use a UV light whitening product, do it in a dental office.

Amanda Newman (13:23):

There’s also a purple tooth serum for whitening, and I have a feeling that this is probably going to be a no-no, but Kim Kardashian says it’s great.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (13:31):

Yeah, so super trendy with your TikTok crowd, right? So Kim Kardashian, yeah, she has a product called V34 Colour Corrector Serum and it’s like a purple shampoo for your teeth. It is fine to use as an adjunct product after you use traditional brushing. It has natural ingredients in it and it certainly doesn’t do any harm, but it is definitely not a replacement for traditional toothpaste.

Amanda Newman (13:55):

Interesting. OK. Well, I have the purple shampoo for my hair, and obviously you probably use purple shampoo, so maybe I’ll give it a try. I’ve also heard of using charcoal powder as a more natural way to teeth whitening, but there’s mixed opinions out there. Some people say it’s great. Some people say it’s pretty abrasive.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (14:14):

Absolutely. Charcoal powder is not recommended for brushing your teeth with. It is abrasive and it can cause damage to your enamel.

Amanda Newman (14:20):

OK, avoid.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (14:21):

Avoid.

Amanda Newman (14:23):

Oh, OK. Having bad breath really stinks, whether you’re the person that has it or you’re talking with someone and you just want to kindly offer them a breath mint or a piece of gum. Let’s talk about it so we can all have fresh-smelling breath.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (14:41):

So halitosis is the technical term for bad breath. Bad breath is caused by bacteria in your mouth, so we’ll talk about bacteria. So there are over 700 types of bacteria that can live in your mouth ...

Amanda Newman (14:55):

Over 700?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (14:57):

Mm-hmm.

Amanda Newman (14:57):

Oh, my.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (14:58):

And for most people, most people have at least 300 or more types of bacteria at any given time in your mouth. There are bacteria that cause cavities and there are special bacteria that cause gum disease. So if you are predisposed or have certain bacteria in your mouth, it’s going to make you more prone to having bad breath. Then there are other factors that can contribute or make it worse. So poor oral hygiene. So if you don’t brush and floss and visit your dentist regularly, you’re going to build up more plaque on your teeth and more bacteria on your teeth and it’s going to cause more bad breath.

(15:29):

Then there are some other external factors as well. So people that are prone to dry mouth, or xerostomia, they don’t have a lot of saliva in their mouth and they can’t wash away the bad bacteria, and so they are more prone to bad breath as well. People that have acid reflux, where it’s coming back up into their mouth, they are also prone to having more bad breath. More frequent visits to the dentist can help with that. Good home care and good oral hygiene can help with that.

Amanda Newman (15:58):

So it all goes back to brushing twice a day, flossing and of course keeping up with those regular visits at your dentist’s office.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (16:06):

Absolutely.

Amanda Newman (16:07):

So we’ve talked about the essentials, brushing, flossing, mouthwash, but what about tongue scraping? Should that be part of my routine too?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (16:16):

Yeah, absolutely. Some people just, in general, build up more of a coating on their tongue than other people do. And so taking a toothbrush or a tongue scraper and just one or two swipes every day reduces the amount of plaque and buildup on your tongue and can also help avoiding halitosis, bad breath.

Amanda Newman (16:33):

Yes. We don’t want that. All right. Sounds like I need to add to cart and get one of those little tongue scrapers to add to my little routine in the evening. Now, what about oil pulling? Does it make a difference for your teeth?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (16:48):

Oil pulling is an ancient Indian folk remedy that claims to improve oral health by reducing the amount of harmful bacteria that’s in your mouth. It dissolves in the oil. So if you’re going to oil pull, it’s 15 to 20 minutes of just swashing around oil, and it’s typically coconut oil that’s used for it. It’s not currently ADA recommended to oil pull. It’s not a replacement for good oral hygiene, but it’s certainly an option if you’d like to try.

Amanda Newman (17:19):

OK. Clenching your jaw and teeth grinding I know is a problem for a lot of people. So can we talk about what causes this?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (17:29):

So for a really long time, a lot of the prevailing theories about teeth grinding were psychosocial factors, No. 1. So we say, “Oh, I’m clenching and grinding my teeth. I’m really stressed out.” There was something called peripheral factors, where if your bite or your occlusion was off, people would grind their teeth kind of subconsciously to correct that. And then the third theory was that it was something that was centrally mediated throughout the body, that it’s something coming from the brain. So the prevailing theory now is that it’s actually something that’s centrally mediated, that’s something that we can’t necessarily control, and there’s a lot of really good recent research out there trying to figure out ways to combat that and why it’s occurring.

(18:09):

One of the reasons that they have figured out that teeth grinding does occur while sleeping is due to sleep-disordered breathing disorders. People that have sleep apneas, when they stop breathing during the nighttime, their brain is sending signals to their body to wake up so they’re moving their jaw muscles around and clenching and grinding their teeth to make more room for the airway. Restricted airway can cause sleep apnea, and so that’s one of the reasons why we’re starting to see that.

Amanda Newman (18:38):

So would you recommend getting an over-the-counter night guard if this is something you struggle with, or maybe even looking at getting a custom one?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (18:46):

So if you are grinding your teeth and you’re having symptoms, symptoms with grinding your teeth, when you grind your teeth, you put 700 times more force on your teeth and jaws than you do when you chew your food. So grinding your teeth can be pretty traumatic. It can cause fracturing in your teeth. It also can cause TMJ, or temporomandibular disorders, where you have pain in the TMJ, the joint in the disc or the muscle surrounding that. And so having an over-the-counter guard where you dip something and you boil it and you put it in and then mold it, it’s not really an effective way to really help prevent that so we definitely recommend having a custom night guard made. If you have just a grinding issue. Most people have molds taken in a dental office and they can have a hard or acrylic splint or night guard fabricated that they wear. It’s usually on the upper jaw and it will help protect the teeth while you’re sleeping.

(19:45):

If there is a concern that a sleep-disordered breathing issue, sleep apnea, might be a component or involved, first and foremost, we do recommend a sleep study and we would refer you to a pulmonologist at LVHN. And then if you do have a sleep apnea, CPAP is an option, but another option would be something called MAD, or mandibular advancement device, which is an appliance that you wear while you’re sleeping. It’s for the upper and lower jaw and they’re connected, and it kind of holds your bottom jaw in a more forward posture position to open up your airway. So you actually can’t grind your teeth with it and it’s helping to open up your airway and prevent the apneas from occurring while you’re asleep.

Amanda Newman (20:25):

Wow. Our dental health is connected to a lot.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (20:30):

It is. And now, more than ever, we know that teeth are not separate from the rest of the body.

Amanda Newman (20:35):

Yeah.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (20:36):

There’s so much going on in the mouth that is connected.

Amanda Newman (20:39):

That is amazing. So does wearing a night guard actually lead to more bacteria buildup? Is that something you have to be concerned about?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (20:47):

So it can if you’re sleeping with your mouth open because of the night guard. Some people have difficulty with a night guard because they feel bulky in the mouth. So what you definitely want to do when you wake up in the morning, first thing, you take out your night guard. You want to rinse it off with some water, then you want to brush it. And you don’t want to brush with toothpaste. You want to brush with a dish soap because toothpaste can be abrasive. Then you want to let it completely dry, and then you want to store it in the case. You also want to be mindful to clean and wash the case that you store your night guard in because that can also have bacteria buildup in it. And finally, you want to keep that night guard away from any animals that you have in the house because animals love to eat them and chew them up.

Amanda Newman (21:32):

Yeah, that would be bad. Then you have to go and get it replaced and that’s extra cost right there. All right. So what about chewing gum, good or bad for your teeth?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (21:43):

Chewing gum is great.

Amanda Newman (21:44):

Oh.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (21:44):

As long as you are chewing a sugar-free gum.

Amanda Newman (21:48):

Sugar-free, OK.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (21:50):

Sugar gum, your Bubblicious, your Big League Chew, which all the baseball players like to chew, they’re loaded with sugar. And sugar constantly sitting on your teeth for an extended period of time is very damaging to your teeth. So sugar-free gum, though, is great because it stimulates your saliva, and the saliva is basically what’s helping to wash away the acids and things in your mouth that can cause dental decay.

Amanda Newman (22:14):

So I imagine that probably leads to cavities if you do end up chewing the sugary Bubblicious, all of those things.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (22:23):

It absolutely can lead to cavities.

Amanda Newman (22:26):

Oh. And I feel like this is a perfect opportunity to ask. Is it true that women get more cavities than men?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (22:34):

So it is true.

Amanda Newman (22:35):

Oh.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (22:37):

So a great study just came out of the University of Oregon in the anthropology department and they looked at, historically, the trends of men versus women. And basically, what it boils down to is between menstrual cycles, pregnancy and menopause, women are more likely to develop dental decay than men.

Amanda Newman (22:57):

That’s such a bummer. All the more reason to be super particular about my night routine, morning routine, and my whole regimen when it comes to teeth.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (23:06):

Absolutely.

Amanda Newman (23:07):

And chewing the sugar-free gum, not the sugar-loaded stuff. Now we know that teeth are an indicator of health, as you were mentioning, so what can our oral health tell us about a woman’s overall health?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (23:21):

Absolutely. So there’s many conditions where we see linkages between periodontal disease and overall health: cardiac disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, a lot of inflammatory conditions. Those women are much more likely to have periodontal disease. And so it is super important that we have a healthy mouth because any unhealthy mouth, such as periodontal disease,  can cause inflammation in the mouth, which can translate to inflammation in the body.

Amanda Newman (23:49):

Do hormone changes that occur throughout a woman’s life impact our teeth and our gums?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (23:54):

Absolutely. So estrogens and progesterones, they can cause an increase in inflammation in the mouth, so absolutely. Women that are pregnant, there’s a lot of hormone changes going on in the body. Forty percent of women, pregnant women, can develop gingivitis over the course of their pregnancy. Some of that is related to the fact that if you have nausea in early pregnancy, it’s difficult to brush and floss, so we do recommend using a bland toothpaste and rinsing your mouth out with water. And then the hormone changes with pregnancy can cause a lot more inflammation.

Amanda Newman (24:31):

So oral health can really impact both the mom and also the health of the baby as well.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (24:35):

Absolutely, and there’s also studies that show that women that have significant periodontal disease are more likely to have premature birth.

Amanda Newman (24:42):

Oh my goodness. OK. Got to take care of our teeth, ladies. How about the menstrual cycle? So you had mentioned about that gum swelling. And I, myself, sometimes around the time of the month, I noticed my gums are a little more sensitive. So how does the menstrual cycle impact your teeth?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (25:03):

Yeah, so it’s all hormone related. It’s progesterone. There’s an increase of that during your menstrual cycle and that can cause more swelling in the mouth, as well around the gums, and so it’s common to see that. The thing to remember to do, and it’s something that people think to do the opposite, which is people say, “Oh, I flossed my teeth and my gums bled.” I said, “So what did you do next?” “Well, I stopped flossing.” And that’s a misnomer.

Amanda Newman (25:30):

Guilty, because I do that. My gums bleed sometimes. Even when I go to my dentist’s office, sometimes when the hygienist is working on my teeth, they bleed and it’s uncomfortable.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (25:42):

Yes. So bleeding is an indication that there’s inflammation present and the only way to combat inflammation is to keep cleaning those areas. So if your gums are heavily bleeding while you’re flossing, every day, you got to keep flossing them every day. Otherwise, it will just continue a vicious cycle. Gingivitis is inflammation in the gums, but periodontal disease is when that inflammation in the gums translates to the bone around your teeth, and then you can get bone loss. Bone loss is what periodontal disease is. And once you lose bone around your teeth, you can’t get it back.

Amanda Newman (26:17):

All right. No pain, no gain, keep on flossing.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (26:21):

And speaking of no pain, no gain, it’s a really good point to mention because periodontal disease is the silent killer. It doesn’t hurt. You don’t even know it’s there. Cavities, when cavities get really bad, your teeth hurt.

Amanda Newman (26:35):

Yeah.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (26:35):

They get sensitive. You can get an infection. But with gum disease, you really don’t feel gum disease. You don’t know it’s present. So a good thing to look for again is flossing. If there’s bleeding with flossing, if there’s swelling or inflammation, if your gums are red, it can indicate that there’s some issue.

Amanda Newman (26:52):

Wow, silent killer. Just like heart disease. That’s scary.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (26:55):

Correct. And the bacteria that cause gum disease, when there’s a lot of bleeding, they will go into your bloodstream and then they show up right around the arteries around your heart.

Amanda Newman (27:07):

Now in talking with all these different things that can happen to your teeth and pregnancy, there’s also a lot of pregnancy cravings that can happen. So what are some things that we have to be mindful of if we’re in that phase of life, as it relates to our oral health?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (27:22):

Absolutely. And women, typically in their third trimester, will have high sugar cravings. They want those quick, energy-boosting things, but they also are high in sugar. And so obviously, high-in-sugar-content foods put people more at risk for getting cavities.

Amanda Newman (27:38):

All right. I already crave those though.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (27:39):

Who does not?

Amanda Newman (27:39):

I want chocolate all the time.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (27:39):

So that’s a great point to bring up, right? Because considering sugary foods, there is a smart way to have sugary foods. So things like chocolate, not super sticky. But things like Airheads and caramels and Sour Patch Kids and all those things, they go in, you chew them, and they just live in the nooks and crannies of your teeth. And they sit there and then the bacteria eat the sugar, then they produce enzymes, and then acid, and then they just rot your teeth.

Amanda Newman (28:16):

Yeah, I was never allowed to eat any of those so I can’t say I’m interested in the Airheads or anything, but I do like gummies, my healthy organic gummies. But I should probably brush my teeth after eating those too.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (28:27):

Yeah. So gummies are great source of vitamins, but super better if they’re sugar free.

Amanda Newman (28:32):

OK. All right. I got to keep looking for the sugar-free label.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (28:35):

Absolutely. Another misnomer is really it’s not just high-sugary foods that cause dental decay. A lot of the things that we drink cause dental decay, and there became this thing called Sipping Cup Phenomenon. So when they built all the 7-Elevens and all the Wawas and you can get your giant 64-ounce drink, and then you take it with you to work and you sip on it all day, we say the slogan, “Sip all day, get decay.” So again, if you’re going to ...

Amanda Newman (29:07):

“Sip all day, you’re going to get decay.”

Deborah Campbell, DMD (29:12):

“Not good for you; it’s going to make you blue.” You’re going to spend a lot of time at the dental office for sure.

Amanda Newman (29:17):

Oh, no.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (29:17):

Yeah, so your sodas, your Mountain Dews, your Pepsis, your Cokes, even your sports drinks that athletes love to drink, like your Gatorades.

Amanda Newman (29:29):

Yeah, for those electrolytes.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (29:30):

They are loaded with sugar.

Amanda Newman (29:31):

Oh. And food coloring too.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (29:34):

And food coloring, food dyes.

Amanda Newman (29:36):

Not good for the teeth. Going back to talking about dental health and how it impacts women throughout all these different phases in their life, how does it impact those who are going through menopause?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (29:50):

Yeah, so a lot of changes occur during menopause, including a change in hormones. Estrogen levels drop and that can increase a woman’s risk for getting gum disease and dental decay. Additionally, salivary flow changes when you age. Women, in general, have less salivary flow than men do. And saliva, again, it’s the guardian of your mouth. It helps to wash away the acids and things like that. So when that salivary flow decreases, then it can protect your teeth as well.

Amanda Newman (30:19):

Such great information because, I mean, there’s so many different things that we, as women, walk through. And you just mentioned a lot of different things that I think are so helpful for all our listeners because we’re speaking to so many different people from all different ages of women, so thank you for sharing all of that. Really appreciate it.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (30:36):

Of course.

Amanda Newman (30:37):

So to wrap things up for today, what are your best tips for maintaining a healthy, beautiful smile?

Deborah Campbell, DMD (30:45):

Absolutely. So I love that TikTok is trending with the skinification. You hear the teenagers say, “I want to do skin care. Skin care.” But now, it’s becoming trendy for dental care too. And although there are a lot of great products on the market, some of them are just more trendy than they are effective. It’s great that we’re having these conversations. We want to talk about dental care and oral health because it affects so much about the rest of the body. So first and foremost, you want to visit your dentist twice a year at the minimum. Visiting your dentist and getting your teeth cleaned reduces the bacterial count in your mouth, which as we know, we talked about all the bacteria and all the damaging things bacteria can do. And it allows us to check for things like cavities, gum disease, sleep-disordered breathing, grinding, bruxism of your teeth. So having that educational piece is really helpful.

(31:37):

Brushing twice a day with an ADA-approved toothpaste with fluoride in it, flossing once a day, using a mouthwash if you choose to. Being really mindful of certain medications that you can take because a lot of medications cause dry mouth as a side effect. And again, as we know, if you have too much dry mouth, it’s not washing away the acids in your mouth, putting you at more risk for gum disease and cavities. And then being mindful of the sugary things, the Sipping Cup Phenomenon we just talked about. Again, sugar is fine in small doses and over a short period of time, but having sugary foods over a long period of time really can do damage to the teeth.

Amanda Newman (32:17):

Wow. So many excellent tips. Thank you so much, Dr. Campbell. It was great having you here today.

Deborah Campbell, DMD (32:22):

Thank you for having me.

Amanda Newman (32:24):

To learn more health tips, visit LVHN.org/healthyyou. Remember to subscribe or follow The Healthiest You wherever you get your podcasts, so you never miss an episode. And remember: Be safe, be smart and be the healthiest you.