Anthony Markiewicz, d.d.s., f.a.g.d.
helping you keep your teeth for a lifetime
852 North Route 83
Mundelein, IL 60060-9159
Give Us a Call: (847) 566-2811
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When Was Your Last Dental Cleaning?
May 18th, 2012
You water the garden three times a week, you change your car’s oil every three months, and you replace the batteries in your smoke detectors once a year. Your teeth need to see your dentist on a regular schedule, too.
While daily oral hygiene habits are essential to good oral health, professional dental cleanings at our office ensure your teeth are treated to a deeper level of cleaning. We recommend for most of our patients to have a checkup at least every six months. In addition to a thorough cleaning and polishing of your teeth, these regular visits help us detect and prevent the onset of tooth decay and periodontal (gum) disease. During your visit, we’ll check the health of your mouth, teeth, gums, cheeks, and tongue. We’ll also check old fillings and restorations, as these can wear away over time from constant chewing, grinding, or clenching.
If you are predisposed to oral diseases, you may need to visit our office more often than every six months. Factors at play in these diseases include age, pregnancy, tobacco use, medical conditions (such as diabetes, dry mouth, or HIV infection), along with how well you take care of your teeth on a daily basis.
Make sure your teeth get the professional attention they deserve – If you’re overdue for your next cleaning, check with our office to schedule an appointment!
Do you need a sports drink? Probably not!
May 10th, 2012
What do you gain by consuming a sports drink?
• Fluid
• Electrolytes (salt, potassium, calcium, magnesium, among others)
• Energy (calories)
Let’s examine these needs:
1) Fluids-for performance and health, you need to stay hydrated.
How much water do you need?
Every day you lose water through your breath, perspiration, urine and bowel movements. For your body to function properly, you must replenish its water supply by consuming beverages and foods that contain water. So how much fluid does the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate need? The Institute of Medicine determined that an adequate intake (AI) for men is roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day. The AI for women is 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.
Everyone has heard the advice, “Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day.” That’s about 1.9 liters, which isn’t that different from the Institute of Medicine recommendations. Although the “8 by 8″ rule isn’t supported by hard evidence, it remains popular because it’s easy to remember. Just keep in mind that the rule should be reframed as: “Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day,” because all fluids count toward the daily total.
You may need to modify your total fluid intake depending on how active you are, the climate you live in, your health status, and if you’re pregnant or breast-feeding.
If you exercise or engage in any activity that makes you sweat, you need to drink extra water to compensate for the fluid loss. An extra 400 to 600 milliliters (about 1.5 to 2.5 cups) of water should suffice for short bouts of exercise, but intense exercise lasting more than an hour (for example, running a marathon) requires more fluid intake. How much additional fluid you need depends on how much you sweat during exercise, and the duration and type of exercise.
2) Electrolytes:
When you sweat, you lose salt and other minerals. For longer workouts, you need to replace electrolytes. This can be done by using electrolyte replacements like SaltSticks. These supplements help replace electrolytes without sugar. You can dissolve in water or take with water. One capsule per 30-60 min of exercise is what is recommended. You need to adjust to your own sweat rate.
3) Sugar (Energy):
A general rule for most individuals is you don’t need to consume energy if you are exercising less than 90 min. Endurance athletes will need to consider ingesting calories during training and races, but most of us training less than 90 minutes don’t need to worry about ingesting calories.
So, most of us don’t need a Sports Drink during exercise. If you do enjoy one, be sure to be aware of how damaging they can be to your teeth and take adequate precautions as mentioned in our previous blog.
Are you consuming Sports and Energy Drinks? If so, you need to read this!
May 8th, 2012
A recent study published in the May/June 2012 issue of General Dentistry found that an alarming increase in the consumption of sports and energy drinks is causing irreversible damage to teeth—specifically, the high acidity levels in the drinks erode tooth enamel, the glossy outer layer of the tooth.
It is believed that consuming these drinks will improve sports performance and energy levels and that they are ‘better’ than soda. Most of our patients are shocked to learn that these drinks are essentially bathing their teeth with acid.
Researchers examined the acidity levels in 13 sports drinks and nine energy drinks. They found that the acidity levels can vary between brands of beverages and flavors of the same brand. To test the effect of the acidity levels, the researchers immersed samples of human tooth enamel in each beverage for 15 minutes, followed by immersion in artificial saliva for two hours. This cycle was repeated four times a day for five days, and the samples were stored in fresh artificial saliva at all other times.
This type of testing simulates the same exposure that a large proportion of American teens and young adults are subjecting their teeth to on a regular basis when they drink one of these beverages every few hours.
The researchers found that damage to enamel was evident after only five days of exposure to sports or energy drinks, although energy drinks showed a significantly greater potential to damage teeth than sports drinks. In fact, the authors found that energy drinks caused twice as much damage to teeth as sports drinks.
What does this mean?
- It is important to minimize intake of sports and energy drinks
- Chew sugar-free gum or rinse the mouth with water following consumption of the drinks.
- Wait at least an hour to brush teeth after consuming sports and energy drinks. Otherwise, you will be spreading acid onto the tooth surfaces, increasing the erosive action.
May is National Teen Self-Esteem Month!
May 3rd, 2012
Dr. Anthony Markiewicz knows image is everything. May happens to be National Teen Self-Esteem Month, and during this time, parents are encouraged to act as positive role models, help stop negative self-images, and improve confidence and security among teenagers.
We know one of the great ways to improve your confidence is to improve your smile. And that begins with a visit to our office. Has your child visited our practice in the past six months for his or her regular check-up? We invite you to give us a call to book your appointment!
See you soon!
