in this issue >>>

Pregnancy and Dental Care

Mouthwash, Alcohol, & Oral Cancer

Meet Our Newest Team Members

New Bites with Laura

Spring Flossword Puzzle

The Dental Examiner Volume 3, Issue 1

ORAL HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS, LLC

April 1, 2013

Pregnancy and Dental Care By Tammie P. Watts, BSB, MHA

Pregnancy is an exciting time in any woman’s life. It’s easy to overlook your dental care as you prepare for this new little person to en-ter your life. Keep in mind that dental care is an important part of having a healthy preg-nancy. The rise in hormone levels during pregnancy often causes the gums to swell, bleed and trap food caus-ing increased irritation to your gums. Preventive den-tal work while pregnant is essential to avoid oral infections such as gum dis-ease, which has been linked to preterm birth. So we’ve put some tips to-gether to help you with your dental care through pregnancy.

Before You Get Pregnant

Make a dental appointment before you get pregnant to have your teeth professionally cleaned, have your gum tissue carefully ex-amined and any oral health problems can be treated in advanced before your pregnancy.

While You Are Pregnant

Avoid sugary snacks. Sweet cravings are common during pregnancy. However, keep in mind that the more frequently you snack, the greater the chance of developing tooth de-cay.

If morning sickness is keeping you from brush-

ing your teeth, change to a bland-tasting toothpaste during pregnancy. Ask your den-tist or hygienist to recommend brands. Rinse your mouth out with water or a mouth rinse if you suffer from morning sickness and have bouts of frequent vomiting.

Tell your dentist or hygienist if you are pregnant. Non-emergency dental treatments, such as cavity filling and crowns, are typically postponed till the second or third trimester. Howev-er, it may be difficult to lie on your back for an extended peri-od of time in your third trimester. Elective treatments, such as teeth whitening and other cosmetic procedures, should be delayed until after the birth.

Routine x-rays, usually taken during one of your bi-annual exams, can usually be post-poned until after the birth. X-rays are neces-sary to perform many dental procedures, especially emergencies. According to the American College of Radiology, no single diagnostic x-ray has a radiation dose signifi-cant enough to cause adverse effect in de-veloping embryo or fetus. If x-rays are es-sential (such as in a dental emergency), your dentist, hygienist and dental assistant will use extreme caution to safeguard you and your baby.

Tell your dentist or hygienist of all medica-tions you are taking – including medication

and prenatal vitamins prescribed by your doctor – as well as any specific medical advice your doctor has given you. Your den-tist may need to alter your dental treatment plan based on this information. Certain drugs – such as tetracycline – can affect the development of your child’s teeth and should not be given during pregnancy.

After Delivery

If you experience any gum problems during your pregnancy, see your dentist soon after delivery to have your entire mouth exam-ined and periodontal health evaluated.

Suggestions for Addressing Your Pregnan-cy and Dental Work Needs:

The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends that pregnant women eat a balanced diet, brush their teeth thor-oughly with an ADA-approved fluoride toothpaste twice a day and floss daily.

Have preventive exams and cleanings during your pregnancy.

Let your dentist or hygienist know you are pregnant.

Postpone non-emergency dental work until the second trimester or until after delivery, if possible.

Elective procedures should be post-poned until after the delivery.

Maintain healthy circulation by keeping your legs uncrossed while you sit in the dentist’s chair.

Take a pillow to help keep you and the baby more comfortable.

Bring headphones and some favorite music.

Page 2 The Dental Examiner

“Everything in moderation.” That oft-quoted phrase is a bit clichéd but remains sound advice for many aspects of our daily lives...even oral hygiene! Too much brushing can lead to gum recession and tooth wear. Too much flossing can aggra-vate and harm the gums and teeth as well. Too much mouth-wash...well mouthwash is the topic of this article. Many of my patients tell me they use a mouthwash as part of their daily oral hygiene regimen. My response is always a cautious vote of approval because when used with proper technique and knowledge, mouthwash is great! However, mouthwash adver-tising/commercials can be misleading and often evoke percep-tion of a “magic rinse” amongst the public. Additionally, I will typically ask “do you know what’s in your mouthwash?” Eye-brows are inevitably raised by the patient at this point in the discussion, and I can understand why. The mass media, and in fact most dentists, do not routinely discuss the possible pitfalls

of mouthwash use. As the commercials tout, mouthwash can freshen breath,

dislodge trapped food particles, and kill oral bacteria thereby helping to prevent plaque accumulation and gingivitis. These are all excellent attributes, but rinsing with mouthwash should be prioritized! On more occasions than you might believe, a patient will tell me they use mouthwash daily...but in the next breath admit to brushing sporadically and never flossing. This is completely backwards! Brushing 2-3 times per day and flossing 1-2 times per day is the bare minimum for good oral health care. Nothing prevents oral problems more than follow-ing these two simple guidelines. The importance of mouthwash falls below these two and falls somewhere near tongue scraping and gargling in the category of what could be called “non-essential, yet excellent, daily oral hygiene techniques.” Plaque is best removed mechanically (i.e. brushing and flossing) and cannot effectively be rinsed away. This is because of the biofilm layer, a sticky "glue" produced by bacteria to keep them anchored to the tooth structure. Patients who rinse with mouthwash and think they are killing or removing all the plaque are sorely mistaken. Imagine taking a shower and just rins-ing your body with water. No soap. No loofah or wash-cloth. Sure you may rinse away some of the most egre-gious dirt and odor causing bacteria, but would you re-ally classify yourself as clean? I don't think so. In my opinion, proper technique and a quality toothbrush are far more important than mouthwash use. As I often say, “in a perfect world everyone would be brushing with a rechargeable toothbrush like Sonicare.” These tooth-brushes have a proven track record, consistently demon-strating significant hygiene improvements amongst pa-tients. Only after regular brushing with a rechargeable brush and consistent flossing are completed with proper technique,

should a mouthwash be considered.

The second part of this cautionary mouthwash discus-sion involves the mouthwash itself. Most mouthwashes being used contain alcohol (ethanol) which serves as a medium to dis-solve other active ingredients and contributes to that character-istic “burn” while rinsing. Formulations vary from brand to

brand, but the amount of alcohol in each is surprising in most. For example, the original gold version of Listerine contains 26.9% alcohol! In comparison, many commercially distilled spirits (i.e. vodka, whiskey, etc) contain 40% alcohol, which is more commonly referred to as 80 Proof. Therefore at 26.9%, original Listerine is essentially a 54 Proof liquid, about 2/3 the strength of an average hard alcohol! Obviously mouthwash is quite potent stuff, which is why it is commonly abused by indi-viduals seeking to consume alcohol when they’re not supposed

to...but that’s a different article for a different time..

The question I pose is simple: Is extended daily use of mouthwash containing that much alcohol safe? For years, re-searchers have pondered that question with inconclusive results. The American Dental Association (ADA) continues to place its “seal of acceptance” on mouthwashes containing alcohol. By definition, this means that the product has been deemed safe and effective by their high standards and thorough research. Over the years however, several individual studies have sur-faced finding an association between mouthwash containing alcohol and increased oral cancer. For example, in a study conducted by Winn & colleagues in 1991, a positive associa-tion the two was found. A more recent study conducted in 2007 by Guha and colleagues found that participants using mouthwash more than twice per day were nearly six times more likely to develop the oral cancer Squamous Cell Carcino-ma than those reporting never to have used mouthwash. A 2008 study published in the Australian Dental Journal made international headlines with a positive correlation finding be-

tween alcoholic mouthwash and increased risk of oral cancer. In response to the study and the publicity it derived, the ADA released their own statement refuting the findings of the study: “"the available evidence does not support a connection between oral cancer and alcohol-containing mouthrinse." Clearly additional research is need-ed in this debate to come to a definitive conclu-sion. Interestingly, Listerine and other manufactur-ers released their new line of alcohol free mouth-washes (Listerine Zero, Crest Pro Health Care, etc) the year after the Australian Dental Journal study was published. It’s wonderful and important to have these alcohol free mouthwash options as they provide a choice to the consumer, but as I mentioned earlier, I place far more importance and emphasis on A) brushing/flossing habits and B) Toothbrush type than any mouthwash (alcohol or not). In my household, we do not use mouth-wash regularly, but when we do, it’s alcohol-free.

Until conclusive research is conducted, the decision on whether or not to use alcohol-containing mouthwash will remain a matter

of personal preference.

Winn D M, Blot W J, McLaughlin J K et al. Mouthwash use and oral conditions in the risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer. Cancer Research 1991; 51: 3044-3047. Guha N, Boffetta P, Wunsch Filho V et al. Oral health and risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and esophagus: results of two multicentric case-control studies. American Journal of Epidemiology 2007; 166: 1159-1173. McCullough M J, Farah C S. The role of alcohol in oral carcinogenesis with particular reference to alcohol-containing mouthwashes. Aust Dent J 2008; 53: 302-305

Mouthwash, Alcohol, & Oral Cancer By Eric G. Jackson, DDS, MAGD, FICOI, FADI

Meet Our Newest Team MembersMeet Our Newest Team MembersMeet Our Newest Team Members

We are extremely excited to welcome Lily to our staff!! Lily brings

over 12 years of experience as a dental assistant to our office family

and is certainly a woman of many talents. You’ll find her assisting Dr.

Eric chairside for dental appointments on Fridays and Saturdays, in

addition to working the front desk Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.

Her 1000 watt smile and bubbly personality has fit right in with our

OHCP team and we are simply thrilled she is here. Additionally, we’d

like to publicly congratulate Lily and her husband Victor on the recent

arrival of their 4th child!! On March 13th Lily gave birth to a beautiful

7lb baby boy named Vincent!! When Lily returns from her leave,

please help us congratulate her on the new arrival!

We are thrilled to welcome Heather

Childs to our staff!! She joins her mother,

Shelley, in providing the benefits of mas-

sage therapy in our office. Heather

graduated from Northern Illinois Universi-

ty in May 2011 with a Bachelor of Science, Pre-Physical

Therapy. During her time at NIU, she was involved in track

and cross country and participated in many community ser-

vice events. She also served as the president of the Stu-

dent Health Organization, secretary of Empire Models,

and was a member of the Pre-Professional Program.

Heather attended the School of Holistic Massage and Re-

flexology after graduating from NIU, and she began her

massage therapy practice in November. She is also

trained in sports massage and the raindrop therapy tech-

nique. Patients can indulge in complementary massage

therapy before, during, or after their dental appointment

Lily C.

Heather C.

ACROSS: 4-LAMB, 6-WORLD, 7-MARCH, 9-

DIAMOND, 14-SUMMER, 15-CAROLINA, 16-

APRIL

DOWN: 1-FOOL, 2-DAYLIGHT, 3-EMERALD,

5-EQUATOR, 8-LATE, 10-DAFFODIL, 11-

SUNDAY, 12-ASIA, 13-PARIS

Flossword Puzzle Answers

News Bites with Laura >>>

Our office is now offering a new bleaching sys-

tem, Opalescence Treswhite Supreme.

It is a nice alternative to our Custom Bleaching

system. Great for teens and anyone after their

orthodontic treatment is finished. The kit con-

sists of a set of 10 pre-loaded whitening trays

that are worn 15-30 minutes a day.

Results are seen in as little as one day with most

results in one week.

Call our office for any additional information.

ACROSS: 4 When March comes in like a lion it goes out like a ____. 6 Daylight Savings Time starts & ends at different times around

the _____. 7 The word “_____” comes from the Roman ‘Martuis’. This was

originally the first month of the Roman Calendar and was named after Mars, the god of war.

9 April’s birthstone is the _______, which symbolizes innocence. 14 In Europe, Daylight Savings Time is known as ______ Time. 15 South ________ became the eighth state on May 23, 1788. 16 _____ 6, 1909-Robert Edwin Peary reached the North Pole. DOWN: 1 April begins with a day of fun jokes—April ____’s Day. 2 Benjamin Franklin was the first American to propose ________

Savings Time in 1784. However, it wasn’t fully implemented in the US until the second world war.

3 May’s birthstone is the _______ which means love or success. 5 If you stand at the _______ on the first day of spring, you will

see the sun pass directly overhead. 8 Hurricane season begins in ____ spring. 10 March flower is the ________. 11 Easter is celebrated on the ______ following the Paschal Full

moon. 12 Dandelions originated in ____. 13 The Eiffel Tower in _____ was officially opened on March 31,

1889. Answers found on Page 3

Oral Health Care Professionals, LLC Jeffrey S. Wascher, DDS

Eric G. Jackson, DDS, MAGD, FICOI, FADI

2033 Ogden Avenue Downers Grove, Illinois 60515

Phone: (630) 963-6750 Fax: (630) 963-6761

E-mail: Mail@OralHealthCareProfessionals.com

Serving Downers Grove for Over 30 Years!

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The Dental Examiner Page 4

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