healthy living

As a child growing up in Taiwan, Angela Chao didn’t like to brush her teeth. Oral hygiene in her community was not a big priority, and her parents “had more challenges to face than my stubborn hatred for the spicy mint of toothpaste.”

The result, of course, is that Chao developed many cavities as a middle schooler. A fear of doctors made her hesitant to visit the dentist, though she eventually did get fillings. But several years later, after moving to the United States, those fillings failed and her teeth began breaking apart.

Still wary of the dentist, “it wasn’t until the pain stopped me from eating and smiling and caused me to avoid social interaction that I decided to do something,” she said.

Chao went to Gentle Dental Associates in Ann Arbor for a consultation and was advised to get a dental implant. Skeptical at first, she did her own research on implants and other options for replacing missing teeth, then talked with other people who had gotten implants.

She decided to go through with the procedure.

“I told myself that if I don't do it now, then when?” said Chao, now in her 50s. “Getting an implant was an easy choice for me over other options.”

Chao is like 170 million other adults in America who are missing teeth. Half of adults age 20-64 are missing at least one permanent tooth, according to the latest national survey data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

While a majority of people age 20-39 still have a full set of teeth, only one of every three people age 40-64 do. The primary causes of tooth loss include cavities and periodontal disease, which both stem from poor oral hygiene and lack of consistent dental care.

A missing tooth can cause several problems.

“If a tooth is missing, then chewing becomes less efficient and the neighboring teeth alongside the space may be subject to over-function and eventual fracture,” said Dr. Debby Hwang, a periodontist at Gentle Dental Associates. “An absent front tooth also may hinder cosmetics and speech.

“Replacing a tooth can protect the remaining teeth, allow for normal eating and digestion, restore any speaking deficits and contribute to psychological health.”

There are three options for replacing a missing tooth:

• A removable denture is a cost-effective choice, but it needs to be taken out every night and is relatively fragile, so it might not provide full chewing function. Chao preferred to have a permanent replacement instead of something removable.
• A fixed bridge fuses a fake tooth to adjacent teeth and is not removable. The neighboring teeth get crowns that are fused to a fake tooth in the middle. Chao wanted to avoid cutting into her healthy, natural teeth to support a bridge.
• A dental implant involves a titanium anchor that’s placed into the bone where the tooth is missing. The jaw bone grows around the anchor, which is then capped with a crown several months later. It’s like having your own tooth back.

An implant is typically a long-term solution that, unlike the other options, does not rely on neighboring teeth for support and cannot decay, Hwang said. Plus, many people are surprised by the lack of discomfort they experienced during and after the procedure.

A dental implant is the most-costly option to replace a missing tooth, at least initially. But because it doesn’t decay or break it often can be the most cost-effective solution over the long term. If something breaks in a bridge, for example, you have to replace all three teeth. It’s also more likely to get cavities with a bridge because you can’t floss in between those teeth.

Because a dental implant is fixed into the jaw, it can be a “high-value, high-return choice,” Hwang said.

Chao was able to afford dental implants because her family had put aside money to pay for health care costs. If you have a Health Savings Account through your employer, that can be a great way to cover the cost.

Many employers also allow people to put money into a flexible spending account (FSA) for health care, and that “use-it-or-lose-it” money has to be spent by the end of the year or it’s gone. If you have an FSA, that can be a good way to pay for implants before the end of 2018 — or a good place to put money in 2019 to pay for implants next year.

The reward of being able to smile and laugh and eat with ease again has been well worth the cost to Chao.

“I don’t have to worry about my smile anymore,” she said. “Chewing food is becoming easier and my posture and my facial features are slowing coming back in balance since I had my implants done. I am very happy!”

Dreading the dentist ranks right up there with being scared of snakes and afraid of heights as the biggest fears of Americans. Now, a new study finds that fear of the dentist has a clear, negative impact of people’s oral health.

One of every eight people has dental phobia, and they are more likely to have decayed or missing teeth, the study concludes. People scared of the dentist also tend to have more negative feelings like sadness, tiredness and lethargy, lead author Dr. Ellie Heidari said.

“This phobia can have a major impact on a person’s quality of life,” she said. “An action as simple as smiling will be avoided due to embarrassment of their poor teeth.”

While extreme dental anxiety is relatively rare, as many as 80 percent of Americans are at least a little afraid of going to the dentist. Unfortunately, that fear hinders people’s oral health because they put off regular teeth cleanings. Nearly a quarter of people who suffer from some level of dental anxiety do not get regular dental treatment, and upwards of 10 percent avoid going to the dentist entirely.

That’s a problem because “regular dental attendance is central for maintenance of oral health as well as avoiding dental pain,” Heidari said.

So what can be done about dental anxiety? First, let’s look at some of the causes. People worry about going to the dentist for any number of reasons: maybe they had a painful experience in the past, or maybe they’re scared by the sadistic, drill-happy dentist stereotype portrayed in movies. For some people the cost of dental care can give them pause, and for others it might be embarrassment about the health of their teeth.

“Another one is fear of the unknown,” said Dr. Neha Kuthiala, DDS, a dentist at Gentle Dental Associates, an Ann Arbor practice that offers free consultations. “It’s a situation where you’re asked to sit with your mouth open and you can hear things and feel things but you have no idea what is being done to you.

“Dental work is not something people want to have done. It’s just one of those things.”

But whether you want to get dental work or not, going to the dentist is vital for your oral health. And there’s no reason a trip to the dentist can’t be pleasant. In fact, here are three ways to make seeing a dentist a smooth, stress-free experience:

*Get preventative care before it’s too late — It’s better to fill a cavity than to wait and have to remove the tooth later. “The thing with avoiding the dentist or waiting until you have pain is that a lot of times by that point you need something that costs more than preventative care would have,” Kuthiala said. “Coming in for a preventative cleaning tends to save you in the long run.”

*Commit to consistent home care — You may not have to floss every single day (although that’s not a bad idea), but you should do it more than once a month. The better you follow the advice of your dentist and hygienist, the better results you’ll have when you go in for a checkup. “A lot of people are feeling very judged on their oral hygiene and any existing cavities or anything that might be diagnosed at the dental office,” Kuthiala said. “As long as patients are doing their part at home and cleaning to their best of their ability, that’s all they can do.”

*Talk with your dentist about your anxiety — Share what you’re worried about. At the same time, a good dentist will take time to talk with anxious patients before looking into their mouths. “If we know the reason for anxiety, a lot of the time we can work with the patient to alleviate that,” Kuthiala said.

The dentist can have a big impact on your level of anxiety simply by treating patients as people rather than procedures. That can include keeping patients up to speed on the progress of a procedure and talking about what they’re doing each step of the way, or giving patients control by allowing them to stop a procedure any time they feel uncomfortable.

In addition, scheduling patients with the same hygienist and dentist every visit is a proven way to ease anxiety. Also, distractions like office music or a TV in the operating room can take people’s minds off their fear.

Of course, providing nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, can be a good option for some anxious patients, too.

“We’re all aware of how people don’t like to come to the dentist,” Kuthiala said. “We try our best to treat them with a gentle touch.

“There’s much more to that person than just whatever it is that you’re working on (in their mouth). We want to treat patients as the person, not just the tooth.”

With 2012 over, we thought we would ask you, our patients: what was memorable about 2012 for you, and what are you looking forward to in 2013? Do you have a new year’s resolution or any exciting plans for the coming year?

Here are the top resolutions for 2013, and some great free iOS and Android apps to help you achieve your 2013 resolutions!

Eat Healthier:

Fooducate

iOS Download  |  Android Download

Lose weight, eat real food, and get healthy. Fooducate grades your groceries, explains what's really inside each product, and offers healthier alternatives. We've got the largest database of UPCs - over 200,000 unique products and growing.

Work out / Exercise More:

NPT BOOM

iOS Download  |  Android Download

Nike BOOM syncs your music to your dynamic training workouts, with the world’s most elite athletes and coaches motivating you along the way. Choose your type of workout, length of training, best workout music and favorite Nike athletes—then get to work.

Become More Organized:

Wunderlist

iOS Download  |  Android Download

Wunderlist 2 is the easiest way to manage and share your daily to-do lists. Whether you’re planning an overseas adventure, sharing a shopping list with a loved one, or simply keeping track of your daily to-dos, Wunderlist is here to help you get things done.

Gain More Control of Finances:

Mint.com App

iOS Download  |  Android Download

Mint.com allows you to track, budget and manage your money all in one place, so you can see where you’re spending and where you can save. Open an account, add your bank, credit, loan and retirement accounts and Mint will automatically pull in and categorize your transactions. It’s safe, secure and easy to keep your personal finances organized.

Expand Social Circle:

SupperKing

iOS Download  |  Android Download

If you're trying to expand your friend circle in 2013, or maybe just plan more exciting activities with your current friends, apps like Sonar and Highlight can connect you to new people. A new iOS app called SupperKing is like Airbnb for at-home meals. You can charge strangers cash to enjoy a meal at your place with you -- an idea that not everyone is game for. But the app is also great for organizing dinner parties with your friends.

We want to wish all our patients, friends, family and all our colleagues a happy and healthy New Year!

Sources: Mashable, PolicyMic