Raising the Standards of Dental Health

The saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is as true today as it ever was. This year, we feel we have once again raised the standards on preventive dental care.

It is almost two years ago, January 2007, when our monthly Dental Currents issue explained the “Health Equation”. Basically, it describes the oxidation and antioxidation chemical reactions occurring in our bodies to create energy and fuel our immune system.

The report compared the oxidation process to an apple oxidizing or turning brown when cut. An antioxidant like the vitamin C from a lemon squeezed on the apple keeps it white and fresh looking by combating oxidation.

The same thing happens in our body. As oxidation occurs to produce energy, we use antioxidants to balance or neutralize the damaging free radicals produced in the process. In an equation, both sides are equal like 2+2=4.

oxidation = antioxidation.

When oxidation exceeds the antioxidant defense, the body’s immune system uses inflammation to help re-balance the equation.

oxidation = antioxidation + inflammation

As well as eating lots of fruits and vegetables, we strongly encourage everyone to take a high quality multivitamin/mineral/antioxidant supplement and Omega 3’s to insure they are getting the nutritional support and antioxidants to prevent the need for inflammation to balance the equation. Periodontal disease, bleeding gums, tooth decay and bad breath are all signs of inflammation or infection.

Recently, we have become aware of technology that can economically and dramatically reduce the oxidation side of the equation. We now have the measuring tools to analyze the balance of oral bacteria. If the bad bacteria outnumber the good ones, there is an oxidation excess overwhelming the body’s antioxidant defenses. This requires the body to defend with inflammation. If your gums bleed or you have bad breath, you have this problem. We can now provide you with prescription mouth rinses to knock out the bad bugs and restore balance. Traditional mouth rinses simply aren’t strong enough. These new “industrial strength” rinses reduce oxidation to rebalance the Health Equation so inflammation is no longer necessary. We can provide you with follow up rinses to maintain both the bacterial balance and the Health Equation.

With the Orafresh rinses that you use at home, bad breath and inflammation are prevented before inflammatory periodontal diseases create costly damage. Basically, you can provide the ounce of prevention now or we can provide the pound of cure later.

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