Disappointing dentist appointment..

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#16 Post by **Dark_angel** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 2:57 pm

I hate cola its disgusting. I have probably 1 can of fanta a week and the rest of the time i drink fizzy peach water, regular water or apple juice. I can easily drink 3 of 4 litres of apple a week.

My mum is addicted to coca cola and if she dosent drink it she gets headaches and her teeth are a disgusting yellow.

As for my hygiene it was poor untill i had braces but now i clean for at least 6 minutes a day and use an interdental brush twice as well as mouthwash. The colour of my teeth has improved loads and im hoping it will mean an end to cavities and the only work i'll need doing to my teeth is replacing and repairing filings ive already gained.

#17 Post by **Flora2006** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:25 pm

Dark_angel wrote:I hate cola its disgusting. I have probably 1 can of fanta a week and the rest of the time i drink fizzy peach water, regular water or apple juice. I can easily drink 3 of 4 litres of apple a week.

I stopped drinking all those sodas a long time ago. I am a Tropicana Orange Juice addict. Apple juice is so good as well.

My addiction used to be Crush but I stopped a long time ago for no reason in particular. These days I wish I could drink one but I'm too scared of it staining the ligs too much. For some reason I picture my brackets and ligs turning orange (even though I know brackets don't stain).

#18 Post by **rockexrolloh** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:23 pm

Dark_angel && Flora, did you guys know that juice has lots of sugar in it too? I was surprised. I drink apple juice and gatorade like crazy too. I guess it's just as bad for your teeth. My hygenist also said any food with sugar in it such as pasta, yogurt, etc. is bad too.
I was just wondering what the heck I'm suppose to eat/drink then!

#19 Post by **rockexrolloh** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:25 pm

jcdamon3 wrote:
I drink 3-4 a day but it's mostly Mt. Dew.
4 Mountain Dews a day X .25 = Roughly $2.00 a day X 365 days per year. You just paid for your ortho bill!

Buy this and break the cycle:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/caffederm.shtml

But don't read the last paragraph of the add....

PS. I quite caffeine cold turkey myself. I got headaches for a 2-3 days. It is a pretty easy addition to quit in my opinion.

That's a ridiculous amount of money to spend on Mt. Dew. haha.
I read that last paragraph. Ahem. hah. Have you ever tried that Caffederm? Wonder if it works.

#20 Post by **Flora2006** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 8:05 pm

rockexrolloh wrote: I was just wondering what the heck I'm suppose to eat/drink then!

Water!

;)

I know that orange juice and apple juice and lots of other have a lot of sugar in it...but I usually drink water right after drinking orange juice...just to rinse I guess.

Just keep cleaning really well...I mean you would have to literally stop drinking everything but water and stop eating tons of food to keep your teeth really really clean. But if you have a good cleaning routine and floss, you'll be just fine. Just don't drink that much soda.

#21 Post by **perfectangel818** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 8:23 pm

My ortho said that juices are (mostly) natural sugars, and the body breaks it down, so it's not harmful for the body. Plus, it's a fruit/veggie that is something our bodies need.

#22 Post by **rsprouse** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 8:43 pm

Let me add a few things here. Gingivitis is not a big deal in most cases and nearly 90% (I think that is the number) of people have some degree of gingivitis. Gingivitis is caused by plaque, when you have braces you have a large amount of places where excess plaque can accumulate and it is harder to clean due to access issues. This is one reason why so many professionals recommend 3-6 month cleanings while in braces. If you let the plaque accumulate and remain it will cause greater degrees of gingivitis and start the irreversible attachment loss of periodontitis. The moral of the story is spend a little more time thoroughly brushing and flossing properly If you need brushing instructions, <Insert favorite search engine here> the modified bass method. It is what I teach all my patients and what most dental schools and professionals teach these days. I believe KK mentioned using the proper brush and floss and that is correct, make sure you use the type of material that you can handle and clean your own teeth with. Soft bristled brushes and take your time.

Regarding soda, any material that has sugar is detrimental to your teeth. When sugar accumulates in the mouth, it coats your teeth and the bacteria secrete acid and break down your teeth causing cavities. Any sugar substance in excess is really bad for your teeth. If you are going to keep drinking 3+ soda's per day, at least try and brush after each one. The annoyance of that will surely help you quit

And a cool test to help in your cessation is to take a tarnished penny. Soak half of the penny in a cup of soda (or just drop the entire penny in) for a few minutes. You will be amazed at how all of the tarnish is eaten away by the acidic nature of soda. Everything in moderation and you will be just fine. Good luck.

Best,
Rory

#23 Post by **sydsmom** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 8:02 am

Take it from someone who drank a 2-liter bottle of soda (Dr Pepper or Pepsi) a day until she was 19: It's difficult, but you CAN quit the soda addiction!! It was over 10 years ago when I quit and I haven't had a cavity since then (knock wood!)

I never realized that all the caffeine probably contributed to my severe migraines as a teen. I haven't had a single migraine since I quit drinking all that soda and started sipping water all day and eating better. I do still allow myself one small (6-ounce) cup of coffee in the morning, and I will drink a small cup of soda at the occasional work potluck or family gathering. Other than that, it's water only. Water helps reduce the likelihood of getting cavities by cutting the acidity and diluting the sugar/starch in your food.

My teeth became extremely yellow from all the acid, sugar and brown coloring in the soda and I was always cavity-prone. Now, my dentist says from all that soda, I have very thin enamel and sensitive teeth. It's very painful in some spots!!! He even said that because my enamel is so thin, I may have to get bonding on some of my lower teeth, which look very yellow from the inner dentin showing through

Keep in mind that you may experience headaches for several days as you wean yourself off the caffeine. Keep yourself hydrated by drinking lots of water! I quit "cold turkey" and it was the hardest thing I've ever done, but well worth it!

Good luck

#24 Post by **missingu** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 9:22 am

Let's remember genetics, too. Some people are born with more resistant teeth while others, even with meticulous cleaning, get cavities. Same way some people can "diet" for long periods of time but not lose a lot of weight, while others can just do minor revisions to their diet and drop the pounds easily.

I drink easily 5 x 12 oz. diet cokes a day, at one point it was 8. It has been at least 15-20 years since I had a cavity. I believe I am blessed with resistant teeth, while others do all they can to no avail. I am aware of the acid issues and, given the fact that I have gone this long without damage, have internalized it but not changed my life because of it.

I have tried cutting out the caffeine and had some success, but never cold turkey. Caffeine is a drug, and when going off a drug, generally it is better to taper than to go cold turkey. Some people can, I couldn't.

There is a valid point to the sugar issue, related to why pediatricians don't want children going to bed with a bottle of milk due to decay potential of the lactose and related milk sugars, yet milk is critical for a child's growth.

All things in moderation. I try to live my life in a way that balances the "should" with the "want to" because I do place value on having a livable life.

I applaud rock... for going to the dentist after 5 years. That is a wonderful accomplishment in and of itself, because it is harder to do the longer it has been. I think it's great, and maybe would suggest a second opinion dentist before embarking on all that work. We get second opinioins in medicine, why not dentistry?

As an aside, isn't there a fair amount of natural sugars in alcohol, too, so alcohol can be a tooth-offender,too.

Sat Apr 15, 2006 9:57 am

rockexrolloh, I had to reply because I have been addicted to soda pop since I was about your age. I drank coke for years until I decided it was mostly repsonsible for me putting on too much weight. So I started drinking Diet Coke. I know it tastes horrible at first but after you get used to diet drinks the non-diet ones taste like syrup. (I too am the one in the restaurant eating french fries and drinking diet soda....)

I never drank coffee until I was 40, so I would tell everyone I just drank my caffiene cold instead of hot when I drank soda. I am very addicted to caffiene, and get the headaches also when I try to stop. Everyone is different, and some of us just don't have the will power to not have some bad eating or drinking habits. Mine is diet soda. (I have lived my whole life with alcoholics and feel like my soda addiction is a healthier trade off than being addicted to alcohol. I know I have inherited the tendancy to get addicted to stuff easy, so I try to be more careful than some because I have seen first hand the horrible affects of alcoholism. Sorry, I'm rambling)

Anyway, Mountain Dew has more caffiene than any other soda. (except those power caffiene drinks). If you can't stop the soda, which I totally understand, I urge you to try to switch to one that has less caffiene than Mt. Dew. Of all the diet drinks, Diet Dr. Pepper tastes the least like diet I think. You are very young to be taking in that much caffiene. I'm not preaching to stop the caffiene, because that would be hippocritical on my part, but please try to cut back.

My orthodontist told me that soda is bad when you are wearing braces because there is something in the fizz that they actually use to take braces off. I worried about that at first, and drank out of a straw. But in the 7 months I've had mine I haven't had a bracket come off. I have a hard time believing that all the teenagers I see in braces don't drink soda!

Good luck.
I'm going to get a soda!

Sat Apr 15, 2006 10:09 am

Oh I forgot to add. I have also suffered panic attacks. And I think the caffiene adds to that a LOT! Another good reason to cut back.

If you do decide to try to cut back. Do some searches on how many foods and medications have caffiene in them. Excedrin has caffiene. One time I was trying to quit caffiene and took Excedrin for the headache. Well NO WONDER it helped my headache....I could have drank a soda instead!

#27 Post by **jcdamon3** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 10:43 am

As an aside, isn't there a fair amount of natural sugars in alcohol, too, so alcohol can be a tooth-offender,too.

True, except that if you are drinking the amount of alchohol that I am hearing people are drinking sodas, you have way bigger problems than getting a few cavities!

Again, all things in moderation! I would never drink alchohol without eating something, usually a meal.