DENTAL CARE

Jeffrey Gross, DDS, FAGD

Q: What Can I Do to Make a Tooth-Friendly Thanksgiving? A: Although we have many holidays throughout the year with accompanying feasts, Thanksgiving stands out as the quintessential food holiday. It is all about the food and the main meal of the day. The meals are varied from family to family but they all have many of the same items on the menu. What we eat and how we conduct ourselves can have an impact on our teeth specifically, and our health in general. Let’s take a look at a traditional feast and how it impacts us in various ways.

Before we sit down to the main meal, we all like an appetizer. This sets the tone for the rest of the meal and gets our gastric juices flowing. One great starter is nuts. Everyone likes to graze on nuts. What better way to get ready for the main meal! The calcium found in nuts strengthens and adds minerals to teeth. Whenever we expend energy to chew a hard food we produce saliva. Saliva bathes the teeth naturally and sets up an environment to reduce cavities. If you add some raw vegetable and healthful dips to the plate we add more chewing to the process. The physical act of chewing these crunchy items actually helps keep the teeth cleaner. I can picture the appetizer tray right now with all of the wonderful foods which can be very low in calories to help balance out the rest of the meal. Of course we now need to move on to the star of the day. I am referring to our main dish of turkey. Unless you are a vegatarian, almost everyone has turkey at this meal. It is the central focus of our elaborate and elegant looking tables. Turkey is a great source of protein. It is low in fat, which may help our cholesterol levels. It is a source of vitamins B-6 and B-12. These B vitamins have been touted to help keep our brains sharp as we get older. We also find that it contains niacin, selenium and zinc. All of these are important minerals in our diet. The fact that it is low in carbohydrate, and of course sugar, means that it is excellent for general dental health. The zinc can help keep your gums healthy. Think of your gums as the first line of defense between bad bugs and the bone holding your teeth in place. Healthy gums translate into stable teeth.

Let’s talk about some side dishes. When we mention turkey, in almost the same breath we talk about cranberry sauce or salads. Cranberries are full of antioxidants. These are compounds that we hear a lot about. Let me take a moment to talk about oxidation and anti-oxidants. In a nutshell, oxidation in the body is a normal process. However, it creates substances called free radicals which damages cells and proteins. These free radicals steal electrons from other molecules to create the damage. This is how cells and proteins are impacted. Foods which are antioxidants try to short circuit this process. Hyun “Michel” Koo, D.D.S, Ph.D., is a dentist who does research into natural substances to reduce or prevent tooth decay. He has found that cranberries contains components that interfere with the enzymes that help create plaque. If we can conquer plaque, then tooth decay will become a thing of the past. Cranberries are also loaded with fiber. One of our biggest problems in the typical American diet is the lack of adequate fiber. Now, that’s all the good news about cranberries. The bad part comes from buying a commercial can of cranberry sauce or other cranberry product. Because the cranberry is very tart, the addition of sugar is a favorite. When you buy a can you can not control the amount of sugar. If you spend time making your own cranberry dish, then you are in charge of all of the health benefits and of keeping sugar to a minimum.

I could go on with more meal planning but my space is limited. Amidst all the fun, let us not forget to be thankful for all that we have and for all of our privileges. We live in a great country with so many wonderful opportunities. I am especially thankful for the being able to help many people on the road to oral health and beautiful smiles. If you want to be a part of my effort to provide the best dental care for all, please call me at 440.951.7856. My “Better Than Insurance” program is still in effect till the end of the month. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Jeffrey Gross, DDS, FAGD is an Ohio licensed general dentist and is on the staff of Case Western Reserve School of Dental Medicine. The Healthy Smile 34586 Lakeshore Boulevard (¼ mile west of Route 91 on Lakeshore Blvd) Eastlake, Ohio 44095 440-951-7856 Severance Medical Arts, Suite 603 5 Severance Center Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118 216-371-2333 www.jeffreygrossdds.com