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Spring Clean Your Teeth!

But I Brush and Floss All the Time!?

Being a dentist is like being on an island at times...and it's not the kind of island you and I are both dreaming about visiting!   Dentists often work alone, and don't interact much with other dentists.  It can get a little lonely and isn't a great way to work if you want to stay at the front of the pack.  That is one of the beautiful things about our team of doctors at Total Care Dental.  We spend time collaborating and sharing daily.  We learn from one another and help each other become better.   I am also involved in some online forums that discuss all things dental. On one forum I've become a bit of a renegade.  I jump into conversations that are very traditional and throw in ideas about nutrition and diet and herbal or homeopathic treatments.  I'm sure some of the members roll their eyes when they see me post!  But there are a few that have quietly reached out to find out more about what we are doing.  It's those dentists that make me excited about the future of dentistry!  Just tonight there was a conversation about the cause of gum disease.  The usual talk is all about keeping teeth clean.  If the teeth are clean the gums won't get infected...or so says the majority of dentists.  I disagree.  I've seen too many people with sparkling clean teeth that have gum infection and even full-fledged gum disease.  Are they closet dirty teeth people that just get them spiffed up before their dental appointment?  I don't think so.  Despite what you might think, we CAN tell if you clean your teeth or not!  So, if cleaning your teeth isn't all it takes to have healthy gums and teeth, what else is involved?  It goes back to nutrition again.  And one thing about nutrition that is often overlooked is absorption.  You can eat the most amazing foods and take the most expensive supplements, but if your gut doesn't absorb them, you just threw your food and money down the drain.  What does it take to absorb food?  Stomach acid to start.  And in our stressed-out world, many of us are LOW in stomach acid.  Yep, low.  And low acid leads to acid reflux.  Again, you read that right.  Low acid leads to food fermenting which leads to acid being pushed up and you feel the symptoms of reflux.  You need to have enough acid to break down your food into usable parts that your gut can absorb.  If you think you have a problem with this, talk to us or your health care provider.  Your gums depend on it! What does all of this have to do with sparkling Spring-Cleaned teeth and healthy cleaning products?  It's also an absorption thing!  Everything you put into your mouth gets absorbed through the gums.  You wouldn't want to put antifreeze in your mouth, but you are every time you brush with regular commercial toothpaste.  And you're absorbing it.  You wouldn't drink high proof alcohol, but you are when you swish with Listerine or other alcohol containing mouth rinses.  Some recommended products: Toothpaste - Earthpaste (Redmond), On-guard Toothpaste (DoTerrra) Mouth Rinses - Any alcohol-free variety These are a few tips to lead to a healthy mouth and healthy body.  Because we want to help you be the best you ever this year! Love, Dr. Michelle Jorgensen

A Bad Diet Could Cause More Deaths Than Smoking, According to a Major new Study

A Bad Diet Could Cause More Deaths Than Smoking, According to a Major New Study!

written by Rachel Hosie

Diets lacking in healthy food are responsible for more deaths across the globe than smoking, a major new study has concluded.

The research, published in British journal The Lancet, claims that around 11 million deaths per year — or one in five — are a result of a poor diet.

The diets cutting lives short were found to be particularly high in salt and too low in whole grains and fruit.

The analysis, part of The Global Burden of Disease Study, saw researchers assess the diets of people in 195 countries using data from surveys, sales, and household expenditure from 1990 to 2017.

Of the 11 million deaths linked to diet in 2017, 10 million were a result of cardiovascular disease. Cancer (913,000 deaths) and Type 2 diabetes (339,000) were the next biggest diet-related killers.

"This study shows that poor diet is the leading risk factor for deaths in the majority of the countries of the world," said study author Ashkan Afshin of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

He added that unhealthy diets are "a larger determinant of ill health than either tobacco or high blood pressure."

Consuming too much salt and too few whole grains were found to be particularly fatal, with each being responsible for three million deaths.

Not eating enough fruit was linked to a further two million deaths, too.

Salt raises blood pressure and thus risk of cardiovascular disease. Meanwhile, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables decrease the risk of heart attack and stroke.

We should be eating more:

• Whole grains
• Fruit
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Vegetables
• Omega-3 (found in fish and seafood)

We should be eating less:

• Salt
• Sugary drinks
• Processed meat

Perhaps unsurprisingly, countries where people follow a Mediterranean-style diet were found to have the fewest diet-related deaths: Israel, Spain, and France emerged top in the research, which was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

At the other end of the spectrum, Uzbekistan, Papua New Guinea, and Afghanistan were found to have the most diet-related deaths. 

For context, Israel had 89 diet-related deaths per 100,000 people, compared to 892 in Uzbekistan.

The UK had 127 diet-related deaths per 100,000 people per year, and the US had 170.

"Generally, the countries that have a diet close to the Mediterranean diet, which has higher intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and healthy oils [including olive oil and omega-3 fatty acids from fish] are the countries where we see the lowest number of [diet-related] deaths," Afshin said.

The researchers note that there were some limitations to their study — for example, the quality of data varied somewhat between countries, and they also didn't evaluate the effect of other forms of malnutrition (ie. undernutrition and obesity). 

However, they're encouraging people to focus more on adding healthy foods to their diets, rather than punishing them for eating fat and sugar. 

This is because there is a bigger gap between how much healthy food people should eat and what they actually do, than how much unhealthy food people eat and the amount they should consume.

For example, the average daily red meat consumption across the globe is 27 grams when the recommended limit is 23 grams. 

In contrast, the average daily consumption of nuts and seeds is just 3 grams, which is far below the recommended 21 grams. 

However, the one food researchers really are calling on people to eat less of is salt.