Oral conditions are often closely linked to stress

April 19, 2015April 1, 2016Posted in UncategorizedTagged arkansas, better teeth, braces, dental, dr. burris, health, jonesville, less stress, oral, oral health, stress, teethLeave a comment

Less Stress, Better Teeth

Let’s not forget teeth during National Stress Awareness Month, which comes around every April. Stress is most often associated with conditions like heart attacks, insomnia, and ulcers, but stress can also cause damage to your oral health.

Several oral conditions are often closely linked to stress. Outbreaks of common mouth sores, such as canker sores and fever blisters (cold sores), are thought to be the result of stress, at least in part. Stress may also lead to behaviors that can in turn cause dental problems such as eating sugary foods, failing to brush or floss properly, or chewing on pens, fingernails or other items that will damage your teeth or your braces.

Stress can also cause people to grind their teeth, either during the day or while they are asleep. This condition, which is known as bruxism, is one of the most significant dental conditions that stress can bring on. If left untreated, bruxism can lead to a range of problems, including damage to your teeth and orthodontic work, as well as pain throughout your head, neck, jaws, and ears.

If you believe your oral health is being adversely affected by stress, you should schedule an appointment with your dentist or orthodontist. They might suggest mouth guards, recommend over-the-counter remedies, or prescribe more targeted forms of treatment. Dr. Burris in Jonesville, AR is one of the most well-respected orthodontist in the area. Call him today for a consultation.

And if you think that stress might be having a negative effect on your overall health and well- being, you don’t have to live life all tense and wound up. There are lots of ways to alleviate stress in your daily life:

Go for a walk
Meditate or do yoga
Do any form of regular exercise
Take a few deep breaths whenever you feel tense
Slow down your life and figure out what you can cut out of your schedule
Structure your cell phone usage so you’re not always connected
Hang out with friends and family

There are countless other suggestions too. Just find ways to relax that work for you!

Dental Hygiene History

April 3, 2015April 1, 2016Posted in UncategorizedTagged brush, clean, dental, dental hygiene, dental hygiene school, floss, Fones and Newman, health, mouth, toothbrushLeave a comment

The First Doctor to Preach Dental Hygiene

Everyone today cleans their teeth (or at least knows that they should). We do it at home with a daily regimen of brushing, flossing and rinsing, and then we supplement home care with periodic professional dental cleanings. But the idea that it’s important to clean your teeth is a fairly new one in the annals of history. The very concept of modern dental hygiene is only around 100 years old and was launched into being by a Connecticut dentist named Alfred Civilion Fones.

Dentists in the early 20^th century were primarily occupied with pulling out rotten teeth. They didn’t concern themselves much with preventing teeth from becoming rotten to begin with. Furthermore, at the time it was still a recent discovery that bacteria have something to do with tooth decay. But Fones knew from his experience and insight that cleaning teeth of plaque, bits of food, and other matter would be instrumental in preventing decay, in making gums healthier, and in allowing his patients to keep their teeth.

He recruited and trained his cousin, a woman named Irene Newman, to work in his office where she cleaned patients’ teeth and scraped plaque. Essentially, she was the first dental hygienist. The idea actually was pretty outlandish at the time, that people would go to the dentist for preventative cleanings, but it was hard to argue with Dr. Fones’ excellent outcomes. The idea of dental hygiene began to catch on, so in 1913 Fones opened the first school of dental hygiene ever, located in his town of Bridgeport, Connecticut. He’s the one who also coined the very term “dental hygiene.”

Almost three dozen women enrolled in the school’s first year. After finishing two years later, the graduating class went out in the world and cleaned teeth at dental offices and in public schools. Soon enough, the practice of dental hygiene developed official standards. Laws were passed to regulate the field, and Newman became the president of the first dental hygiene association in 1917.

The dental hygiene school closed, however, because Fones preferred to spend his time traveling to preach the gospel of dental hygiene instead of focusing on a small set of students. He spoke at dental schools with his data as support to convince others in his profession of the preventative benefits of clean, well-maintained teeth. Other dental hygiene schools opened, and the one Fones first founded eventually re-opened as well.

Fones and Newman thought public outreach to be an important aspect of their work. They encouraged hygienists to go into schools and communities to clean teeth professionally and to teach people how do to it at home. So this evening when you’re brushing your teeth, remember that this habit that is ingrained in your daily routine might not even be part of your life if it weren’t for the efforts of a doctor and his cousin 100 years ago.

Dental Implements

February 26, 2015April 1, 2016Posted in UncategorizedTagged ancestors, arkansas, clean, dental, floss, health, jonesville, orthodontist, teeth, toothbrush, toothpasteLeave a comment

Tired of Your Toothbrush? Try a Twig.

These days, you have multiple products to choose from to clean your teeth and maintain good oral health. Do you want the bristles of your toothbrush soft, medium, or hard? And is your toothbrush electric or manual? What types of toothpaste, mouthwash, and dental floss do you prefer?

Having all of these options may seem unnecessary or even a bit silly, but it’s something to be thankful for. Our ancestors, who were without these modern-day conveniences, did their best to keep their mouths healthy using items that would be considered quite strange today.

Take toothbrushes, for instance. Throughout history, many cultures—including ancient Babylonians, Egyptians, and Chinese—used twigs or sticks to clean their teeth. Often, one end of the twig would be frayed into loose strands similar to the bristles on a toothbrush. The other end might be sharpened into a point at the end, not unlike a toothpick. Such “chewing sticks” are still used in many places around the world and are often taken from trees whose material is known (or believed) to have tooth-protecting properties. In some predominately Muslim parts of the world, this stick is known as a miswak and is taken from an arak tree. In Africa, this species of tree (salvador persica) is known as a “toothbrush tree.” Think how hard that would have been if our ancestors would have had braces!

Dental floss also looks a lot different than it once did. There’s speculation among some historians that prehistoric man may have used a type of floss (possibly made from horse hair) for between-teeth cleaning, but nothing conclusive about that has been found. The invention and popularization of modern dental floss is credited to an early 19^th century dentist, Dr. Levi Spear Parmly. Dr. Parmly, who lived and practiced in New Orleans, advocated for the use of waxed silk for flossing teeth in his book, A Practical Guide to the Management of Teeth. Though this idea took a while to catch on, by the end of the 19^th century many prominent companies of the time—Johnson & Johnson among them—were marketing, packaging, and selling their own varieties of dental floss. The silk used during that time was later replaced by the nylon floss we see today.

Contemporary forms of toothpaste and mouthwash are especially different from what they once were. The ancient Egyptians mixed up their own versions of toothpaste using items as varied as rock salt, spices, honey, herbs, dried flowers, and even goose fat! Toothpastes made just a few hundred years ago utilized burnt bread and soap as key ingredients. A version of mouthwash popular in ancient Greece included olive juice, milk, and vinegar. Elsewhere, rinsing with tortoise blood was done as a way to counteract toothaches.

Many of these methods for maintaining dental health seem laughable to us now, but for many cultures it was all they knew. Modern dentistry has come a long way since then, with technologies and products based on science rather than lore. Maintaining a proper teeth-cleaning routine is certainly a lot more convenient, effective, and tastier than it used to be.

If you are looking to keep your teeth healthy and maintain that beautiful smile. Visit Dr. Burris in Jonesville, AR for an orthodontic consultation.

National Children’s Dental Health Month

February 7, 2015April 1, 2016Posted in UncategorizedTagged arkansas, children, health, jonesville ar, orthodontists, teethLeave a comment

Defeat Dreaded Monster Mouth

The Plaqster has the dreaded monster mouth, but Flossy, Buck McGrinn, Den and General Smiley in Jonesboro, AR know what to do to solve Plaqster’s problem. The American Dental Association (ADA) has created these characters to celebrate National Children’s Dental Health Month, which occurs every February to promote good oral health.

It takes work to defeat monster mouth, but McGrinn and Smiley, who like to display their smiles, always remember the code “2min2X” when they brush their teeth for two minutes in the morning and evening, and, like Flossy, floss them once a day. Den wears braces so he is especially careful to take care of his teeth. They are often hungry during the day and need their snacks, but they choose food with little or no sugar, so they won’t get cavities. Instead of lemonade, Coke, or fruit juice, they drink water, milk or sugar-free drinks. Instead of sticky foods (like potato chips and chewy candy) or hard candies and breath mints, they eat cheese, yogurt or fresh fruit.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that the number one chronic disease in early childhood is cavities. Cavities are five times more common in early childhood than hay fever. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that more than 40 percent of children have tooth decay by the time they reach kindergarten. The road to oral health therefore begins in infancy when parents should follow these guidelines to prevent tooth decay:

Wipe the baby’s gums with a soft washcloth after feeding.
Fill baby bottles with water for naptime or bedtime. Avoid giving your baby juice and other sugary liquids.
Do not dip a pacifier in anything sweet. Also, break the pacifier habit by age 4 to avoid problems with tooth spacing.
Encourage your child to drink from a sippy cup by age one.
Parents should use a soft-bristle toothbrush twice a day on their infant’s baby teeth and should schedule their child’s first dental appointment around the time of his or her first birthday.

Concerns about teeth decay continue, of course, into the school years. The National Education Association (NEA) says that reports show that students miss 51 million hours of school every year because of oral health problems. And children who have experienced recent oral pain are four times more likely than their peers who have had no mouth pain to have lower grade point averages.

In addition to maintaining healthy diets, children need to learn how to take care of their teeth. Parents should follow these recommended steps:

When you know your children understand not to swallow toothpaste, brush their teeth with a kid’s fluoride toothpaste twice daily.
Take your children to the drugstore to choose their own toothbrushes.
Brush your teeth when they are brushing theirs to encourage their efforts.
Begin flossing their teeth when two teeth touch. Feel free to use floss holders and teach them how to use them.

National Children’s Dental Health Month offers a great opportunity for parents to augment their children’s understanding of the importance of oral health with stories and games. Word games, activity sheets, and other goodies (in English and Spanish) can be downloaded from this link on the American Dental Association’s website. You’ll find more good stuff on this page of the National Education Association web sit