Good Morning Honey

These are words we all love to hear first thing in the morning, unless those words come from a person who has morning breath. What is it and what causes it?

Morning breath is just plain old bad breath! Why in the morning? Because when we sleep, we produce less saliva to wash away bacteria. This creates a humid environment which bacteria love. They produce sulphur compounds (sulphur can smell like rotten eggs) which stink.

What can you do to prevent morning breath? Brush (your teeth and tongue) and floss before you go to bed, hydrate (drink some water), no alcohol (because it tends to dry you out) and no smoking. 

Now that you have clean breath, go say "Good Morning,Honey!" and follow that up with a hug and kiss too!

         Dr. G

Spiders and Snakes Part Duo

For those of you who read my last blog, you know I'm discussing dental fear. Because dental fear IS NOT a laughing matter, this blog cannot be as light hearted as earlier blogs.

The most important thing you can do is make your dentist aware of your fear and anxiety. Ladies are better at this than men; the more I know about your fear and anxieties the more I can help. Macho men are the most difficult to treat because they won't say they are hurting, I ask can I give you more anesthetic and they say NO! Really, you would rather be in pain than give me permission to numb the area better. I'm sorry but there is a reason why men are the weaker sex.

What can be done for fearful patients? We have several options, the most common over the last 40 years is laughing gas. No, laughing gas doesn't make you laugh. I'll tell the story on how it got its name in another blog.
Valium works very well for people who have a little anxiety and want to take the edge off.
Oral Conscious Sedation works great for fearful patients who haven't been to the dentist for a long time and want to get their work done in the least amount of visits as possible.
I.V. sedation, this is the deepest sedation and is good for short visits like wisdom teeth, or the extremely phobic/fearful patient.

Dentistry has changed dramatically in the 30 years that I have been involved with it, and when we are a team working together. We can make your experience more pleasurable.

Dr. G

Spiders and Snakes

I'm sure most of you are wondering what do spiders and snakes have in common with dentistry.
Well, those of you who know me, know that when my wife and I had all the children at home, there were several things that they feared. One of them being spiders. I cannot tell you how many times I went into a bathroom to remove one of these creatures. I could never understand how a Daddy Longlegs could evoke so much fear into a child or adolescent. Snakes on the other hand give the willy's. I just don't like them. I would rather have bamboo shoots placed under my fingernails then be alone with a snake. Mice are in a whole different category, I don't have enough time to go there.
As you can probably guess, today's topic is fear. Why is dentistry so fearful? There's several reasons:
1. To allow someone into your mouth you have to give them total control of the situation.
2. "The Shot" Most of us if not all of us have had a painful injection (Dental Terminology 101 says never to use the word shot)
3. The sound of the "Drill", for any of us who have had dental work no other words are needed.
4. Our mind telling us it's going to hurt.
5. The dental work hurting, with newer anesthetics (Novocains) your dentist or hygienist should be able to keep your visit pain-free. More on that in a future blog.
6. White coat syndrome, just walking into a room with the "white coat" will cause an increase in blood pressure, and with it anxiety and fear.
7. Comedians and colleagues talking about root canals and painful experiences.
8. A natural fear of the unknown. A patient can't know everything going on, you're not a dentist, and the mind will put thoughts in your head like "I hope he doesn't hit a nerve," "It's going to hurt"

I feel like I'm doing David Letterman's top 10 list of why dentistry is fearful!
And the #1 reason people fear dentistry, because they haven't seen Dr. Gerosa for their dental work.

Seriously, in the next blog I will discuss what can be done to reduce dental fear and anxiety.

Have a great day,
Dr. G

Veterans Day

On this day we remember all Veterans! To me it's a more important holiday than Memorial Day because in May we recognize all those who died protecting our country. Today we celebrate everyone who has protected our country both dead and alive.
In the 20th century, our military was used to make medical breakthroughs. Because of the injuries they faced in the line of duty, procedures were created to save the injured and repair the injury. Dentistry also fits into this category.

During the Korean War a material was created called Intermediate Restorative Material, today we refer to it as IRM. This material was used quite often when dental work was done near the front lines. It was made in 3 colors. Yes, you guessed it, red, white and blue. The colors were used so the next dentist would be aware of what was going on with the tooth.

Red meant I went in there, did the best I could but there's still decay and more treatment needed on this tooth.
White meant I got all the decay out of this tooth, all it needs is a permanent filling.
Blue meant I got all of the decay out of this tooth but it needs more extensive work like a crown.

So today we honor all of the men and women who have defended our country, and recognize one of the advances they contributed to my dental profession.

Yes, we still utilize IRM, but we can only get it in white.

Dr. G

The Thread of Life

I'm certain that most of you have no idea that floss is the thread of life!

It actually is; a recent article in time magazine shows that daily flossing can add years to 

your life.

http://time.com/3554702/add-years-to-your-life/

Some of you are aware that plaque build-up on your teeth can put you in higher risk of strokes, but to actually help you live longer, that's amazing.

I know that flossing is a really difficult habit to get into. When I was younger, I would floss at night time, however after children came into my life, it took everything I had to remember to brush my teeth at bedtime, let alone floss. I actually shifted my thinking and got up a few minutes earlier, and now I floss in the morning. 6 days a week. I take Sundays off, I figured if the Christian creator can take Sundays off. so can I.

What type of floss should you use? Really, it doesn't matter, the important thing is breaking up the party that the bacteria are having before there are enough of them to create a problem. What I have found on myself, is that dental tape works better. I have tight contacts and tape, though it is thicker goes between my teeth easier. Many of my patients like Glide because it's impregnated with teflon and they feel this makes it easier.

In another blog I'll go over other uses for floss, but for now try and get in the habit of flossing daily and live longer because of it.

Dr. G

Brain Freeze

Have you ever one of those brain freeze's; not the one where you have an Icee too fast, but one where you do something that you knew you shouldn't do but did it anyway? You know like touching a hot stove or trying to answer your wife when she asks, "Does this make me look fat?"

That's what happened to me when I was trying to blog. I'm evaluating what time of the year we're in and then trying to write something of interest. Well, we just sailed through Halloween and I realized we're in November! What does this mean? Holidays, travel, Thanksgiving, presents, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years and what do I decide to blog about? Open Enrollment! That is until one of my trusty companions told me that I just grabbed a red hot poker! Now I'm icing my hand and feeling a little embarrassed. Let me just say if you have any questions on dental plans, call your dentist, they truly want to look out for whats best for you.

True Confessions! You want to know what the best part of Halloween? Buying candy at 50-75% of regular price. Yup I do have a sweet tooth and I hate getting a brain freeze.

By the way, honey you look great in that dress.

Dr. G

 

Dental Emergencies

I cannot possibly talk about all possible dental emergencies, However with Halloween being here I want to talk about broken teeth.

It seems that this time of the year with popcorn, corn nuts, caramels and the like. It is common to see broken teeth. With adults, it's normally a back tooth which has an old filling in it. Usually a cusp or support area of the tooth breaks off leaking a sharp edge. In children it tends to be a baby tooth which is weak because it's getting ready to fall out... With a child you want to keep them comfortable. Tylenol and orajel will help until you can have dentist look at it.

Adults tend to have more challenges. The sharp edges of a fractured tooth will drive you crazy because your tongue won't leave it alone. One option is to go to the pharmacy and see if they have any temporary material or soft dental wax. This will only work if there's enough tooth to hold onto the material. The other option is to use a file, like an Emory board to smooth the sharp edge. Take analgesics for pain, and no whiskey is not an analgesic! Then contact your dentist ASAP.

Hope everyone has a safe Halloween.

Dr. G

Halloween Candy

Is there a better candy for Halloween?

I don't know about you, but I always loved looking at my haul and seeing the bountiful treasure of M&M's, Snickers, Milky Ways, Tootsie Pops, Almond Joys and everything else. I would map out every savory detail of the next couple of days. At that moment my mom inevitably would enter the room and tell me to choose one candy and give her the rest. For me, it was about 5 minutes of nirvana, I'd look forward to it every year.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, the longer the sugar stays in your mouth, the worse it is for you. This makes sticky candies like caramels, and hard candies worse. Sticky candies can get caught between your teeth, and be a great picnic for the bugs (bacteria) in our mouths. Hard candies also will stay in your mouth a lot longer giving these same bugs an all morning or afternoon dining delight of sugar.

Always have your children brush their teeth, ideally for 2 minutes, before going to bed. If you think your child might be prone to tooth decay a fluoride rinse like ACT could be beneficial to be part of their daily routine.

Dr. G

Halloween

Halloween will be here later this week. It's a time which brings a lot of excitement for our children. Although costumes can range from funny to unique and creepy. We all want this to be a safe holiday for our little ones.

What should you do after the big haul?
The first thing to do is check the candy and make certain it hasn't been tampered with. If the seal has been broken on the candy, throw it away.

I want to assure everyone that one,two or three days of eating candy will not create a cavity. The sugar in the candy is food for the bacteria in our mouths, as we eat more sweets, the bacteria thrive and they will excrete acid. The acids will break down the enamel causing cavities. This has to happen over a long period of time. Months, not days.

I've been asked is it better to eat all the candy at once or over many days. Let me put it this way, if you eat the candy all at once, the bacteria eat it one time and your body has to tolerate one exposure to their acids. However, if you do this, you will most likely have to pull your child off the ceiling with all that sugar in their system. It's better to give them one or two candies a day.

In my family, we allowed our children to "get into" their Halloween candy for 2-3 days. Then we would hide it, and take it out a couple of time a month for a treat. Of course I was the official "taster" to make certain the candy didn't go bad.

Sensitivity to sweets can be a sign at you have a deep cavity into the nerve of the tooth, a crack in your tooth, or a leaky filling. If you have sensitivity to sweets that lasts longer than a day or two. Call your dentist. The earlier something is taken care of the less expensive it will be.

Go have a safe Halloween

Dr. G

Passion

I think passion is a word that is not used very much today. Yet it is such an important word.

I've told my children find a career you're passionate about and you'll never work a day in your life.
I think too often we look for the easy way, or just go with the flow. I know I've done this in my life too many times.

I'm fortunate that I have a passion for my profession, my patients and my family. I've been truly blessed.

I would challenge you to find something you're passionate about and do something with it. It could be as simple as seeing a sunset, but you just haven't made time for it, or connecting with an old friend who you love like a brother or sister, but time has prevented you from connecting with them. I would suggest that you take time to say I love you to those who are most important to you. Whatever you choose to do be passionate about it.

Dr. G

Hello World!

 Hello worldwide web.

After years of battling and fighting my family and staff, I've finally consented to write a blog.

I've been given so much input. I've been told to be funny. Really, Funny? How many of you 

have been to dentist who should be replacing Letterman! In our wedding vows, my wife said,

"I promise to laugh at your jokes" You now know that humor challenges me, or should I say my humor

will challenge you.

Then there's this thing called a hashtag, really hashtag???? When I grew up # was a number or pound

sign. They say this will open up the universe of Twitter to you. Great, I have to # my tweets to get attention to

my humor which will challenge you.

Enough already, I'm a really good dentist, I'll blog about that another time. Let's talk about something I'm 

really passionate about, college football. As you might know, I'm a USC graduate so a big Fight On to my fellow

Trojans and wannabe Trojans!

This year has been a great year for college football. I mean if I would've said a month ago that Mississippi State 

would be the #1 football team in the country, any football fan would look at me like I was crazy. If I were to have

said that two of the top three college football teams would come from Mississippi you would've called me an idiot.

Yet that's what's happened.It's been a crazy season so far and more craziness is sure to come.

Since this is our first date, I'll rely on the fact that when I think I've written enough, I've probably written too much.

In future blogs find out if I really have a sweet tooth, or if my brother was the starting center on his college basketball team.

Until then, Fight On!

Dr. Gerosa