Preventing Dental Emergencies in the Time of COVID-19
/Dental offices in Richmond, BC have been mandated to close by the British Columbia Ministry of Health and College of Dental Surgeons of British Columbia. It will be difficult to find a dentist to address your dental concerns during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is important for you to take good care of your teeth. This article will focus on how you can prevent dental emergencies during this pandemic.
Other than an accident, there are only three basic ways people have problems with their teeth. Two are infections and one is mechanical. The infections are tooth decay/cavities and gum disease. Only a licensed dentist can diagnose either infection.
Chewing is a mechanical process that creates hundreds of pounds of pressure per square inch. This pressure, when not in harmony, causes worn, broken and loose teeth and requires a highly skilled dentist to help distribute the pressure so teeth are not harmed.
I will discuss each entity to help you keep your teeth as healthy as possible until COVID-19 is no longer a serious threat. I promise to be very frank, open and honest. Now is the time for all people to start taking responsibility for their own health including diet, exercise and self-help. If you don’t clean your teeth properly, there are going to be negative consequences. If you are overweight, there will be negative consequences and the list goes on and on. Most health issues are common sense when you stop and think.
Tooth Decay Prevention
It is important to understand the decay process first. Food debris left on teeth feed bacteria which produce powerful acids. The acid eats through the enamel until it reaches the tender dentin. The bacteria then eat away at the dentin somewhat like flesh eating bacteria eat skin. Left unchecked, the bacteria enter the nerve and once in the nerve, they enter the circulatory system and have free reign to go to every organ in the body. The infected nerve can be considered acute or chronic. Acute means pain; chronic means no pain in everyday language. Pain or no pain, the infection is real.
Obviously, it is better to have a cavity-free mouth to start with. Common sense dictates that clean teeth don’t rot! I recommend brushing your teeth with an electric toothbrush for 2 minutes after breakfast and before bedtime. Brushing cleans only 70% of teeth surfaces. It doesn’t clean where the teeth contact each other. Yes, that means flossing in between all teeth before bedtime. I have no fear of ever having decay if I keep them perfectly clean.
Gum Disease
Gum disease is obviously in the gums and not the teeth. It is caused by different bacteria than decay. This particular group of pathogenic bacteria are also fed by food that remains on the junction of teeth and gums. It first starts out as gingivitis meaning only the gums are infected. It then progresses into the bone and eats the bone away. Because the bacteria have invaded living tissue and bone, they too are free to travel through the entire circulatory system causing havoc including weakening the entire immune system that’s so critical right now.
Clean gums do not get infected! Healthy gums grow into the roots of the teeth and seal out any type of bacterial invasion. If you have healthy gums and follow the above regimen, your gums should remain healthy.
If your gums bleed when you brush or floss, you have gum disease! Until this virus crisis is over, traditional dentistry will not be able to help you as dental cleanings are not recommended during this pandemic. Using the above regimen is the only thing you can do right now.
Important: When gums bleed on brushing, the toothbrush turns red and there is blood in the sink during rinsing. The natural thinking would be to leave the area alone. However, the truth is contrary to this natural thinking. Wherever there is bleeding, that area needs to be aggressively cleaned with an electric tooth brush, floss and a Waterpic type of appliance. The goal is to mechanically remove the bacteria that causes the infection. In no way does this compare with the effectiveness of a professional dental cleaning, but it is best thing you can do at home.
The Bite
Clean teeth have no effect on the way the teeth come together. Good bite or bad bite, the only advice I have is the Mantra; “lips together, teeth apart.” Clenching destroys teeth and can cause TMJ/TMD. It only makes sense to not clench.
The bottom line is to keep your and your children’s teeth perfectly clean which only takes a couple of minutes after eating. Now is the time to get into the habit. Once you get used to having perfectly clean teeth, you can never go back to the old neglectful way.
Summary of Good Oral Hygiene Regimen:
Use an electric toothbrush
Brush for two minutes each time, clean all surfaces of all teeth
Brush after breakfast and before bedtime
Floss once daily before bedtime
When gums bleed on brushing, do not stop brushing! Instead, Brush, floss and use Waterpik or Soft Picks to make the area as clean as possible.
