BLUEMOUNTAINEAGLE.COM / 15
THE ABC’s
OF 2021 DENTAL HEALTH
Airway, Breathing,
Coronavirus
By Virginia McMillan
For the Blue Mountain Eagle
Let’s begin 2021 by bring-
ing dental health into our over-
all health focus. The mouth and
the body are not separate sys-
tems. Attention to the basics
and dental-medical coopera-
tion will give you the best daily
routine.
Cavities develop when the
outer surface of the tooth is dis-
solved away by acid erosion,
allowing bacteria and waste
products into the tooth. When
bacteria go into the tooth pulp
or gum tissue, the infection
becomes systemic (abscess)
and can become hospital-se-
vere (sepsis). Keep your teeth
clean between meals and snacks
(brushing and flossing) to avoid
cavities.
Regular dental exams are
the best way to avoid expen-
sive treatments or related med-
ical (ER) visits. Finding small
problems and fixing them early
helps you save money and learn
the techniques that can avoid
that problem in the future. Your
periodic visits let us identify
periodontal dis-
ease flareups
and oral cancer
tissue changes,
keeping them
treatable.
Dry mouth
Virginia
from
mouth
McMillan, DDS breathing
or
from medica-
tion side effects can accelerate
dental decay rates and be very
discouraging. See your dentist
to evaluate options for adult dry
mouth relief.
Children’s decay problems
can be soft tissue related (it’s
not just “baby bottle decay” any
more). Tongue-ties and lip-tied
tissue will limit the ability of
the tongue to reach and cleanse
teeth during/after eating. This
food film that develops is called
plaque, and it gives bacteria a
safe place to metabolize (digest)
the carbohydrates and produce
acids — causing cavities. The
lip-tie prevents easy lifting of
the lip to make room for a tooth-
brush (or wet washcloth-finger)
to wipe food away. The result?
Cavities develop. Toothbrush-
ing when it hurts to pull up the
lip causes battles at home and
frustrations for both child and
adult. Dentists today can pro-
vide release of these ties in coor-
dination with speech therapists
and muscle exercises before and
after treatment.
Coronavirus has sharpened
dentistry’s focus on environ-
mental health protection for
the patient. Dentistry’s decades
where employees have been
gloved, masked, shielded and
gowned/jacketed during treat-
ment visits fits this season well.
But a lot goes on behind the
scenes! We now focus on the
patient environment and experi-
ence: Improved air quality with
multiple-filtered air exchanges
within the room, lowered aero-
sol treatment methods, pre-pro-
cedural oral rinses to lower
the oral bacterial population
and UV-C light to cleanse the
air (with or without ozone)
between patients.
Airway and Breathing:
What? In 2017 the American
Dental Association’s “Sleep
Related Breathing Disorders
(SRBD)” recognized the seri-
ousness of medical conditions
caused by anatomic airway col-
lapse and altered respiratory
control mechanisms.
Our dental office is well
positioned to identify patients
at greater risk for SRBD, and to
collaborate with sleep-specialty
physicians who diagnose the
condition. Together we review
treatment options and evaluate
changes over time.
Oral appliance therapy
(OAT) can often provide relief
for the patient: Improved energy
and improved deep sleep cycles
are noticeable. A relatively new
dental laser treatment on the
soft palate can provide snoring
relief when obstructive sleep
apnea (OSA) is not an issue.
Finally, remember that our
bodies are a lot of separate sys-
tems working together! A recent
book, “The Oxygen Advan-
tage,” by Patrick McKeown,
has an understandable update
on the how blood oxygen levels
can be increased using a breath-
ing technique that is counter-in-
tuitive. From athletics to daily
life, child to adult, this infor-
mation is well explained and
is another way to improve your
health this year. I recommend it
to patients and have a few loan-
ers in the office.
I hope this information
refreshes you in your health
resolutions for 2021! Let’s
apply the things we’ve had to
learn in 2020 to make a better
and healthier 2021.
Virginia McMillan, DDS, is
the dentist at John Day Smiles,
877-781-6210.