BABY TEETH - are they really important?

So many people for so many years have believed that "Baby Teeth" are not that important. After all they're just going to fall out anyway. But these teeth have very important functions. They allow a child to properly chew their food for proper nutrition and physical development, they contribute to the development of proper speech ... many of the sounds we make rely on the placement of the tongue or lips into contact with the teeth, they are affected by and can affect the development of proper airway space for breathing, and they serve as guides for the proper spacing of the permanent teeth. If these teeth become decayed and aren't repaired in a timely manner, the adjacent teeth can drift and shift position and we can lose much of the room being reserved for the permanent teeth as they come into position. WHEN SHOULD THE FIRST DENTAL VISIT OCCUR? It is now recommended that a child's first dental visit be within six months of the eruption of the first baby tooth, or by their first birthday. This would be a non-threatening examination done to allow the dentist a chance to identify any potential problems before they develop, to expose the child to the dental office atmosphere, and very importantly to explain proper tooth/mouth care to parents and answer any questions they might have. HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THESE PRECIOUS PEARLY WHITES: Very early on, get your child in the habit of having you clean their mouth. Even before the teeth appear you can wipe their gums with guaze or a damp cloth. Once the first tooth shows up, start using an infant tooth brush with very soft bristles to clean the teeth at least once, ideally twice each day. If you use tooth paste at this stage, use one that does not contain fluoride at least until 3 years old. Teach your child to rinse and spit the toothpaste out after they are done. When the teeth that are present start to touch each other, it is a good idea to start to floss the teeth daily as well. Most children do not have the dexterity to do a good job and therefore I recommend that parents brush and floss their children's teeth at least once a day. I brushed and flossed my kid's teeth every night until they were about 8 years old. It was not always easy, but I believe it helped them develop good oral care habits. WHAT ABOUT FOOD? A well-balanced diet is the best recommendation for developing teeth. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, protein, vitamins, minerals ... Use caution around sweets, especially sticky foods like dried fruit, chewy candies, sweet sticky rolls and buns. Sticky foods take longer to clear from the mouth and stay in contact with the teeth longer and are therefore more dangerous to healthy teeth. Keep snack frequency to a minimum (not often and frequent) and be careful at bedtimes for infants and babies. Juice, even watered down juice, and milk contain sugars. It is best if you are putting your babies down in their cribs with a bottle at night that you get them used to drinking water. HOW OFTEN SHOULD MY CHILD SEE THE DENTIST? I recommend that a young person start by visiting the dental office somewhere between every 6 months and every 9 months. It is good to have your dentist keep an eye on the developing dentition and be sure to prevent and treat dental problems while they are small and unlikely to impact the developing permanent teeth. With proper care your child can grow up with a positive mental attitude about their teeth, the dental office, and the dentist. This can help them have a healthy and happy life. Yours for better health, Dr. Marty Frankel Smiles by Design 3030 - 3080 Yonge Street Toronto, Ontario M4N 1T7 416-770-8526

Forward Head Posture ...

Something that most people would not think about in relation to their dentist and the things a dentist thinks about is posture ... body alignment, but as someone who treats people with headaches, jaw joint problems, sleep breathing disorders, this is something that I find to be of utmost importance. FORWARD HEAD POSTURE: When I look at photos of people who lived a few generations ago, I see people who had very good posture. Today most of us work at jobs where we sit all day, look at computer screens for a good portion of the day, and one of the most common scenes that I see is people looking at small hand held screens (smartphones, tablets) and reading emails, or sending text messages. If you observe the posture of someone "texting" you will see what some call "texting neck", forward head posture, or "turtle neck". The effect of these scenarios on posture is that our head ends up postured ahead of our body. When the body is aligned, and a person is standing or sitting straight, the ears, shoulders, hips and knees line up (when looking at someone from the side). For every inch that the head is forward of the shoulders, it is as if we added 10 pounds of weight to the head. This puts tremendous strain on the muscles of the neck and back leading to pain in both those sites. This stress and strain and pain can put the body in a "stress" mode leading to the release of cortisol and putting us in a state of "fight or flight". This can lead to hormonal imbalances in the body. Forward head posture has also been shown to lead to a decrease in the strength of the muscles involved in breathing which can reduce lung capacity. By straining the neck musculature it can also contribute to Sleep Apnea and snoring which I have talked about in previous posts. What does this have to do with dentistry? "Forward head posture" is actually "Forward neck posture" with a "backward head posture". This has the effect of pulling the lower jaw backward and altering the "bite" over time. This can lead to TMJ disorders, headaches, ear pain, ringing in the ears, and a host of other symptoms which I have also talked about in previous blog posts. HOW CAN ONE CORRECT THIS? There are specialized excercises that one can do to help improve this condition. These involve strengthening the back, the core musculature, the neck. It may also require that the bite be stabilized with a dental orthotic which creates an optimal relationship between the lower jaw, the base of the skull, and the neck and spine. The postural compensations and deviations from normal alignment that result in forward head posture can over time lead to deterioration of the body and our overall physiology. It may feel normal and not very obtrusive when we are young, but as we get older, our bodies are less able to adapt to the strains and stresses placed on it and things can start to break down. Joint pain, muscle pain, degenerating discs in the spine, ... these are just a few of the conditions that can result from poor body alignment. A chiropractor friend of mine gave a great analogy the other day. Imagine you have new tires put on your car, but the tires are not balanced. The car will drive and it will feel OK at first. Over time there will be wear on the tires and additional stress places on the bearing and axles. This could lead to premature wearing out of the parts of the car. If the wheels were balanced to begin with and maintained, I think we could agree that the car would perform much more effectively for a much longer time with fewer problems. If you suffer from back pain, sleep disorders, TMJ pain, respiratory distress such as Asthma, Emphysema, neck pain, headaches ... I encourage you to look into getting a postural assessment at your chiropractor, osteopath, or personal trainer and start taking steps to correct your overall body alignment. Yours for better health, Dr. Marty Frankel - Smiles by Design 3080 Yonge Street, suite 3030 Toronto, Ontario M4N 3N1 416-770-8526

GINGIVITIS - what is it?

Translated into English, GINGIVITIS means gum (Gingiva) inflammation (itis). What is the significance of this, why does it happen, how do we take care of it. According to Webster's Dictionary, INFLAMMATION is a "local response to cellular injury that is marked by capillary dilatation, leukocytic infiltration, redness, heat, and pain and that serves as a mechanism initiating the elimination of noxious agents and of damaged tissue". So what does this mean? Our bodies in their innate wisdom become inflamed as a response to injury, or local irritants, in order to get rid of whatever is causing the injury or irritation, so that it (our body) can heal and become healthy again. We get an increase in blood flow to the area (which is why it gets red), heat in the area, and it also becomes painful, and often swollen. One thing that we know about inflammation in the body is that inflammation somewhere equals inflammation everywhere. WHAT IS GINGIVITIS? Gingivitis is gum inflammation. It is one of the early forms of gum disease and is most often caused by a build up of bacteria on the tooth surface near the gum line. Our mouths are full of bacteria, probably one of the "dirtiest" places in our body. Over the course of approximately 24 hours some of that bacteria will stick to the tooth surface and start to irritate the gumline. This sticky bacteria is called dental plaque. If we don't remove it or disrupt it on a daily basis it can stay there and start the process which becomes known as GINGIVITIS. Our gums get red, swollen, sometimes sore, and they tend to bleed easily when touched, brushed, or flossed. Gingivitis can be mild, moderate, or severe depending on how much a person neglects to remove the plaque. GINGIVITIS can also lead to BAD BREATH. Did you know that GINGIVITIS is completely reversible? That means with the proper care, you can get rid of it and keep it away. HOW DO WE TAKE CARE OF GINGIVITIS? Because the bacteria that cause GINGIVITIS are present in our mouths all the time we can never totally eliminate the risk of developing it without some effort. There is no magic cure. I often think of the manangement of gum disease much like the management of Diabetes. If a person with Diabetes takes their insulin or medication every day as prescribed, watches their diet, excercises regularly, they can live a normal healthy life. If that same person does not take care of theses things, their Diabetes will get worse. Diabetics must take personal responsibility for the success of their treatment. Similarly with GINGIVITIS, there are things that we can do in the dental office to help maintain healthy gums, but perhaps of even greater importance is the personal homecare routine that a person must develop to help maintain their gums in a healthy state with no inflammation. Dedication to good homecare on a consistent daily basis is essential. Studies done over the last 15 years show a very strong connection between inflammation in the body and other medical diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, repiratory illnesses, low birth weight babies, and even cancer. This is why we as dental professionals "NAG" our patients to floss and brush daily. The key is DAILY. I have had patients come to my office and tell me how they floss religiously every other day. These people never quite get on top of the inflammatory process because on the "off" day they are allowing the plaque bacteria to do some damage. On the other end of the spectrum, some people come in and tell me that they floss 4 or 5 times a day. ... Every time they snack, drink, sneeze, speak, ... they are flossing. I don't discourage this, but it is really not necessary to floss that often. I hope that I have helped to clarify the condition called GINGIVITIS, and created some understanding as to its importance. Dr. Marty Frankel - Smiles by Design 3030 - 3080 Yonge St. Toronto, Ontario M4N 3N1 416-770-8526

Am I getting on your nerves?

In my last post I spoke about the fact that most people are somewhat nervous or anxious about a visit to the dentist. I have been giving this topic more thought since then, and I feel it would be worth mentioning a bit more about this. "Fear of the Unknown" In most cases the fear is of unknown issues ... Will this hurt? ... How long will this take? ... What if I can't stand it? ... How will I get out if I can't take it? ... What will it feel like after the appointment? Will it hurt then? How much will it cost? Will I have to come back? etc. What I have found is that when things are explained in a calm way, my patients tend to relax. hmmm .... that sounds pretty simple doesn't it? The other day I had a new patient in my office for an initial examination. I schedule at least one hour for that type of appointment, maybe even an hour and a half. At about the 45 minute mark, I could sense that the patient was getting fidgety and somewhat anxious. I asked if she was in a hurry, if she had to be out at a certain time. She said no, but she was concerned that the time we spent talking would increase my fee and she would have to pay more for the appointment. I explained that there was no extra charge on that appointment for my time, but that it was important to me to get to know my patients and start the process of building a relationship of trust and rapport. In this way, I feel that I can be more effective in treating her, and in helping my patients decide on the best course of treatment for them. She relaxed and we had a great meeting. I hope that she and all my patients will feel relaxed, comfortable, and open to discussing the various options that exist for their treatment. In the treatment room, I have found that when I explain to my patients what I am doing as I perform work in their mouths, and tell them what to expect in terms of sound, vibration, possible discomfort, they are much more relaxed and tolerate the procedure much better. I think as a whole, dentists have done a pretty good job of creating an environment in their offices to help people feel at ease. In all health care settings, and in particular in the dental office, relationship building, trust, and rapport are of the utmost importance. I believe that we are not just like machines with parts that occasionally wear out and need repair or replacement to stay healthy. We are much more than just a body ... yes we have body, but we also have a mind, feelings, spirits. To achieve complete healing and health the whole person must be treated. This to me is what "holistic" health care is all about. Until next time I wish you excellent health and excellent relationships with your health care providers. Dr. Marty Frankel - Smiles by Design 3030 -3080 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3N1 416-770-8526

IS ANYONE NERVOUS ABOUT DENTAL VISITS?

NERVOUS? Do you know anyone who is nervous about visiting the dentist? Just about everyone that I know has some degree of anxiety when it comes to sitting in the dental chair. I remember a patient many years ago who had moved to Toronto from Israel. He had served his duty in the Israeli army and he said that he could stand unafraid with someone pointing a rifle at him, but somehow when he sat in the dental chair his nerves always got the better of him. Sometimes the tougher a person is, the more nervous they are about being in the vulnerable position of sitting in that chair. WHY ARE WE SO NERVOUS ABOUT DENTAL WORK? The first and most obvious answer is that it can be very painful. ... but does it have to be? These days dental work should be delivered rather painlessly on a routine basis. Injections can be given without pain when a good technique is used. There are also numerous hi-tech devices that claim to help deliver painless injections. When the tooth and mouth are well "frozen" there should be absolutely no pain. There are solutions that are not yet available in Canada, but will be soon, that buffer the anesthetic solution and help deliver a smoother pain free injection that is less uncomfortable when it reverses. I am very excited for its arrival to our country in the near future. The second aspect is "fear of the unknown". We have this idea in our minds that dentistry causes pain and we are anticipating that it will hurt. I remember giving a very nervous patient an injection one time and when I told her that I was done, she turned to me and asked, "That's it? You don't use needles any more?" ... I told her that she had just received "the dreaded needle". That was the ultimate compliment! Third: The mouth is a very personal and intimate area. We eat, talk, kiss, communicate, taste. We humans have a natural space that we like to keep around us. When someone invades that space we feel uncomfortable and very vulnerable. When we dentists enter someone's mouth we are invading that space. Fear and discomfort are the result. WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT THIS? I have been using a neuroscience system for the last few years called NuCalm. NuCalm is a patented system that resets the autonomic nervous system to help transform our state from the "fight or flight" of high stress, to the relaxed, peaceful feeling of an experienced meditator. If involves the use of a natural calming supplement, a device that aids in the absorption of that supplement into our brain, specially engineered beautiful music listened to on special headphones, and eye coverings to eliminate sensory/visual stimulation. It helps people tolerate dental procedures with ease, and feel wonderful by the end of the procedure. NuCalm has found use in helping people with Stage IV cancer who are under tremendous stress, and it is used by many professional athletes to help them reverse the adrenaline rush of a big game. They experience better rest and recovery and improved mental focus. If you are interested in experiencing the feeling of NuCalm let us know next time you are in the office. Those are just a few tools we have to make you feel comfortable in a dental office. We know that many people would rather be just about anywhere else, but it is our Mission to help people relax in a dental chair and actually enjoy their experience. Yours for better health, Dr. Marty Frankel 3030-3080 Yonge Street, Toronto M4N 3N1, 416-770-8526 ... www.drmartyfrankel.com

THE JAWS AND BEDWETTING

In my last post I mentioned a very interesting book by Dr. David C. Page called YOUR Jaws YOUR Life. We have spoken many times about the relationship of jaw position to our upper airway and its relationship to sleep disordered breathing. Dr. Page also devotes at least a chapter of his book to this topic. Another interesting fact is the relationship of jaw position to bed-wetting, also known as nocturnal enuresis. The cause of this remains somewhat of a mystery for modern medicine. He states that "normal bladder control should occur by age 3-4. It is considered medically abnormal when a child over age 5 chronically wets the bed. From 15 to 20% of all 5 year-olds and 10% of all 6-10 year-olds chronically wet the bed. ...." Bed-wetting can be very devastating psychologically. It is embarrassing, upsetting, humiliating, for the child and for family members. In spite of this it has been given very low priority by the medical community. WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT THIS? "Current medical treatment approaches ... include drugs, bed-is-wet alarms, psychotherapy, electro-physiology, and surgery." The alarm seems to be the most effective method to the date of his writing the book. "Drugs ... may be the least effective." Because the true cause of bed-wetting is not fully known, it is difficult to arrive at an effective targeted treatment. Interestingly dental treatment can be effective in reducing or stopping chronic bed-wetting. HOW CAN DENTISTRY IMPROVE OR STOP BED-WETTING? In the 1990's it was found that children who had palatal expansion performed by dentists and orthodontists using palatal expansion appliances showed great improvement in the condition. It seems that research shows a lack of oxygen due to obstruction of the upper airway can lead to bed-wetting. Reversing the airway blockage with oral devices turns the children from mouth-breathers to nose breathers. Tonsil removal also opens airways and improves bed-wetting. Study results showed that dental treatment of this sort to be about 80% effective in reducing or stopping bed-wetting within a few months. It seems that the earlier this treatment starts, the more effective it can be. There are so many ways that a healthy properly formed oral space can have a positive impact on the well-being of the body. It is my mission to help people understand these connections and work together to improve their health and vitality. Yours for Beautiful Smiles and More Health, Dr. Marty Frankel, 3030-3080 Yonge St., Toronto Ontario, M4N 3N1, 416-770-8526

YOUR Jaws .... YOUR Life In his book Your Jaws Your Life, Dr. David C. Page tells us about how vitally important correct jaw position is to our overall health. I have talked about this in previous blog posts but mostly in regard to TMD (temporomandibular disorders) or OSA (obstructive sleep apnea), however he takes this one step further and discusses the importance of the jaws to teeth, heart disease, facial form and development, high blood pressure, and snoring to name a few. Never before have we known more about the connection between the mouth and the rest of the body than at this time, and the body of knowledge keeps growing. This has been termed "medical dentistry" and I find this to be fascinating and of vital importance to health and fitness. HOW HEALTHY DO YOU WANT TO BE? This may seem at first to be an odd question. One might think that everyone would say "why of course I want to be very healthy!". I have found that everything in life has a price. This can be a financial price, or a time commitment price, or even a price of self-discipline or effort that is required to achieve the desired result. Not everyone is willing to pay the price to have what it is they want. Some examples of this could be: 1) Some people want great physical assets - large muscular arms, washboard abs, great posture, ... the question is, are they willing to do what it takes? Hours in the gym, eating a great clean, healthy diet, plenty of quality sleep, etc. 2) Some people want beautiful teeth - white, straight, functional, pain-free, beautiful, free of cavities, absence of gum disease ... are they willing to do what it takes? Daily flossing, eating sweets in moderation not excess, daily tooth brushing especially at night before bed, regular visits to the dentist for maintenance ... etc. Some are willing, some are not. On some dental history forms there is a question: "On a scale of 1 to 10 how important are you teeth to you?."" Because we have separated the importance of our teeth to our life and body that question doesn't sound that crazy. But, what if I asked "How important are your eyes to you?". I think everyone would agree that virtually 100% of people would respond by saying that is a crazy question ... of course our eyes are of upmost importance to us! No one would willingly live without eye sight. I would like to propose that our teeth, gums, and jaws, are of vital importance to our health, well-being, and quality of life and should be valued and cared for. A friend of mine who was diagnosed with high cholesterol and given a prescription for Lipitor by his physician said to me once "It's great! I can still eat ice cream, cake, and all the things I like and my cholesterol is in line." What is the price to pay? Compromised health? Complications of long term use of medication? Yes, cholesterol might measure fine, but what is the additional toll of eating the wrong foods? For me, the effort to avoid the medication would spur me to choose foods with care, increase exercise, and develop good health habits that would help me live with as much vibrant health as I could muster. THE ANSWER: No one can really answer the question above for you, but I believe that if people would take the time to really think about what they want, more people would seek excellent health, and do the "healthy" thing. If you want more information about how to create health for your mouth and body, we are only a phone call or a click away. Yours for better health, Dr. Marty Frankel, 3030 - 3080 Yonge Street, Toronto Ontario, M4N 3N1 ...416-770-8526, www.drmartyfrankel.com

NOSE BREATHING CONTINUED

AND THE RABBIT HOLE GETS DEEPER Just 2 days ago I returned from a fascinating course which highlighted even further the miraculous and infinite connections between the mouth and the rest of the body. The lecturer spoke about TMJ problems and how this is so intimately connected to our body alignment and breathing. He told of a connection that took him about 10 years to figure out. It seems that in medicine and dentistry we focus on the part of the body that the patient reports to be a source of discomfort. In chronic pain states this can often be misleading. Say for example, that you have a pain in your foot. In order to walk comfortably, you would probably avoid putting pressure on that foot and lean more heavily on the opposite foot. This in turn puts more weight on the leg of the normal foot and this pressure is accomodated for by the rest of the body. You might be able to imagine that after walking a mile in this condition, you might develop a pain in your neck from bearing up an unbalanced posture. This position that the body assumes is called a postural compensation and this is very common when a person is suffering from a chronic injury. MY AHA MOMENT! The connection that I referred to in the above paragraph was that after resolving his patient's TMJ issue, he found that the patient had a residual issue in the sacral area (low back). This always baffled him, and he found that this was a rather common occurrence. After seeing this pattern in many patients over an approximately 10 year period he had a flash of insight that he should look more closely at the patient's breathing pattern. The patient had a nasal obstruction. ... difficulty breathing (airway blockage or resistance) can cause us to move our head forward to decrease the resistance. This not only leads to jaw malpositioning, but creates a strain that extends all the way down the spine, in this case to the sacrum. After alleviating the obstructed nose with nasal spray, the patient's head straightened up and the sacral issue was amazingly resolved. I thought that was so cool! I am continually amazed and awed by the connections that exist in our bodies and how all of our parts coordinate resulting in our abilities to live and perform on a daily basis. So I leave you today with the following thought ... When our bodies are healthy and functioning well, we can live happily, pain free, and full of energy. My goal and Mission in life is to "Change people's Live" for the better by helping to relieve and resolve long-standing pain issues that perhaps they have resigned themselves to endure, thinking that there is not solution in sight. Until the next time I wish you a Happy Canada Day and a peaceful relaxing summer. Dr. Marty Frankel - Smiles by Design 416-770-8526 3030 - 3080 Yonge St., Toronto, M4N 3N1

I want to wish everyone who reads this blog a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR. May 2016 be a year filled with Peace, Love, Happiness, and much Success. I hope that we can all make a difference in this world ... help more people, show more kindness, show more awareness, and may 2016 be the year that all the fighting and hatred in our world turns around to make way for Peace, safety, and security. OPEN FOR BUSINESS!!! On the dental front I would like to let everyone know that my new office is up and running, and filled with light and good feelings. The address is 3080 Yonge Street, suite 3030, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3N1. The main phone number is 416-770-8526, emergency cell phone number after hours is 416-400-2785, and you can reach us by email at drmartyfrankel@rogers.com AIRWAY IS KING: I have been studying about the dental management of Sleep Breathing Disorders for the last 5 years or so. It is interesting that most of us have never really thought about how intimately connected the mouth is to the upper airway. There are only 2 ways of moving air in and out of the body, and those are the nose or the mouth. I am currently reading an excellent book titled The Oxygen Advantage. In this book the importance of nose breathing is highlighted. The following is a list of many reasons that NOSE BREATHING is so beneficial: 1) More oxygen uptake - 2) Nose breathing warms and humidifies the air that enters our body 3) The nose filters germs and bacteria from the air we breathe 4) Nose breathing improves the benefits we receive from the excercise we do 5) The nose is a reservoir for Nitric Oxide ... this is a gas that is essential for the maintenance of good health In previous blog posts I have discussed the benefit of nasal breathing to the proper development of the oral cavity and the face in general. The above 5 reasons are just a few of the many benefits to breathing through the nose. Dental development can have a huge impact on our ability to breathe through our nose, and our ability to breathe through our nose can have a huge impact on the proper development of our oral cavity. Just one more thought ... we can live without food for at least a few weeks, we can live without water for a few days, BUT we can only live without air for a few minutes. Breathing and its effect on our health is of extreme importance to all of us. I wish you all a wonderful 2016. Dr. Marty Frankel