More Health Blogs
- HEAD LICE - don't let it get you down
- The Story of Cosmetics
- Allergies - What's behind the watery eyes and runny nose?
- MILK! Is it doing your body good?
- Down There
- Trick or Treat
- What is WRONG with me? I JUST CAN'T SLEEP!
- Body Talk Are You Listening?
- Bubble Bubble, Fizz Fizz
- Splish Splash, time for a bath?
- Yummy Lunch Recipe
- What is 'FAD DIET' and do they really work?
- The Truth about Marijuana
- LUNCH What are YOU eating everyday?
- Just Tired and Sad? Or is it Depression?
- An Awkward Topic
- SMILE ...and show off your pearly whites!
- Health: Keeping your BALANCE
- Sweating and smelly, what's a girl to do?
- Smoking - Making the Big Decision
- SWEEEEET!
- Understanding Cancer
- Break it down so you don't BREAK DOWN!
- Zzzzzzzzzz... good night = good morning
- Death and the Loss of a Loved One
- WATER are you getting enough?
- Want to have a toned body? It's not about eating less...
- Not all FATS are created equal!
- I tried smoking. Now how do I say no?
- Carbs Schmarbs... what's the big deal anyway?
- Are You Eating Toxins?
October 2008 Blogs
- Real Girl: Taylor
- Alberta
- COSTUME IDEAS or what to do if you're staying in
- Elemental Connections Part 1 of 4: Water
- Double, double toil and trouble
- SMILE ...and show off your pearly whites!
- What colours mean - Black
- Sharing makeup, does makeup cause acne? and hair static
- Do I look FAT today?
- Taylor Swift, country
- Before Green Gables
- The Goo Goo Dolls, pop/alternative
- What makes you beautiful?
SMILE ...and show off your pearly whites!
HEALTH, October 2008, by Dr. Jay
...and show off your
pearly whites!
We all notice a great smile, and with the amount of advertising for tooth whitening products these days, you may be one of the obsessed ones! But looking great and being healthy don’t necessarily go hand in hand.
Before Dentists
Teeth are a pretty amazing part of our bodies. Animals with teeth go back millions of years in evolution so we know they are important. All that biting, tearing and chewing gives them quite a workout. Have you ever stopped to wonder what people did in the past, before there were dentists?
Well, first of all, people didn’t live as long as they do today. ‘Early humans’ (AKA: cave people) rarely lived past 30, and in the Middle Ages, if you lived to your 60’s you were doing very well. Nowadays, many people live into their 90’s. That’s a long time to have only one set of teeth (not including baby teeth of course, which are replaced by your adult ones from the age of around 6 to 12).
There’s also a massive difference with the foods we ate then and the foods we eat now. Back then, people ate from the land; everything was natural. Therefore, little to no tooth decay. And today? Hello packaged foods! Sadly, any amount of sugary, processed or packaged carbohydate foods are hard on our teeth. I read once that the average person in North America will consume more sugar in one year than our ‘cave people’ ancestors did in their ENTIRE LIVES!! No wonder they didn’t have to worry about tooth decay.
Think about this for a minute... today we use our teeth 30-60 years longer, plus we eat things every day that cause decay. Shouldn’t we be more careful than less?
All those yummy snacks!
Candy and prosessed foods weren’t very popular until recently (within the last few decades), and even when they were, it was rare. Having candy or sweets was a special treat for your grandparents. Today, junk food is conveniently replacing homemade meals for some people. When you combine sugary snacks and desserts with all the breads, pastas, crackers and other carbohydrates we eat (carbs turn to sugar in your mouth) we have a recipe for disaster concerning our teeth!
Keep ‘em for LIFE!
We hear a lot about brushing, flossing and going to the dentist. Although dentist visits don’t exactly comapre to the fun of shoe shopping, we all know prevention is more fun than drilling cavities or root canals! Ever wonder why dentists go to University for so long just to learn about one part of the body? It’s because our teeth and mouths are very much connected to the rest of us. Your teeth are rooted to your jaw, which is connected to your skull. It’s pretty important for anyone working with that part of your body to have some serious training! An abscess or infection in your teeth or gums can sometimes poison you from the inside and cause infections in your blood and organs. This is serious stuff not to be taken lightly... your dentist is definitely on your side! I’d say avoiding these problems makes the most sense, wouldn’t you say?
I am no dentist so I won’t go into detail but you’ve got to know by now that brushing and flossing your teeth every day are super important. Make the time for your teeth. As always, BALANCE IS KEY! So for all the things you eat that cause tooth decay, spend as much time taking care of those pearly whites of yours! We all want to have a beautiful smile, but remember that whitening our teeth doesn’t equal cleaning them. Regular care and visiting your dentist every 6 months is key to looking after your health... that is great balance!
~ Dr. Jay