A little about me.

My name is Lena Kats and I'm a Registered Dental Hygienist who is now also Certified in giving Local Anesthesia.

Most of my friends don't quite understand the passion and excitement I have for my profession, but I feel like most dental hygienists are in love with their work. I think we get so much happiness out of what we do, because we get to see that we are the cause of someone's improvement.  

I see dental infection like a ton of splinters  that you cannot remove, and your body is suffering because they are there. And here I come, the Superhero, and I get everything out and teach you how to avoid getting them. And then in 3 months I see you again and you body is so healthy, that all I feel is an enormous amount of happiness and satisfaction. After all - I did that. I helped you get back to health. 

The fun side of my job

I also like to see myself as a Detective and an Assasin. Yes, you read it correctly.

 

We are taught in school to search for clues, to gather data that will help the doctor determine how we can help you. That's a detective's job. That's also my job. 

For example: for those of you who take blood pressure or cholesterol medications, you may not feel any different, but the chemical composition of your saliva changes and that increases your risk for disease, because saliva is your main protector against bacterial invasion. 

That's why I always ask: "Has there been any changes in your medical history?" This is part of my search for clues. If I know what's putting your dental health at risk, I can help you, If I don't, then how can I?

The Assasin part of my job is the most fun part. I get to go after bacteria that have used the best of their abilities to create a favorable environment and cause you the most damage. But don't hate the bacteria. They are just another species that wants to live. 

They want to find a comfortable area for a settlement, which will provide them with a roof over their head and a good food supply and then they start building and building and building. Eventually, they become so well situated and grow to such large numbers that your body no longer feels there could be peace between the two and begins to attack the bacteria. But they are too strong, fast growing and acid producing to such an extent that the body just cannot win. You'll notice redness at the gumline and when you brush, use floss or toothpick you may notice bleeding. That's evidence of your body fighting but losing. 

That's my clue as a detective and that's when my job as an Assasin begins. And I love my job. I get to single-handedly destroy thousands of enemy settlements. It all sounds messy of course, but it's all about the tools and how to use them. And I use them well!!!

Dental Decay/ Tooth Cavities

Dental Decay/Tooth Cavities

Like most of our diseases, Dental Decay is caused by a combination of contributing factors. Decay causing bacteria, poor diet, and genetic predisposition.

Here is how it happens. You have decay causing bacteria in your mouth. Simple sugars in your diet are their perfect food. It’s easy for them to digest, because the breakdown of simple sugars begins in the mouth. Plaque that builds up on your teeth – sticky soft deposits – acts as an anchoring device to keep the bacteria in place so that they can easily reproduce and multiply. When bacteria digest these sugars, they produce acid. Acid weakens the enamel, and eventually breaking the surface, creating a very tiny hole. Bacteria settle into that little hole and continue to multiply. The hole becomes deeper and deeper and eventually becomes a cavity.

Few things you can do to Prevent Decay

Proper Brushing

By brushing after meals, you remove the food debris that bacteria use as food, and you reduce the acidity, which aids in weakening the enamel. If you can’t brush after each meal, then chew gum, especially gum that has Xylitol as a main ingredient. For example brands like “Mentos Gum” (green or blue bottles only) and “Ice Brakers Gum” have Xylitol as the first ingredient. If you don’t like gum, use mints. At Whole Foods you can find “SPRY Xylitol Mints”. Using these products helps prevent decay.

Fluoride

Fluoride is found in toothpastes, some mouth rinses, and prescription products you can find at your dental office. If you are in the low-risk decay category – meaning, there is no history of decay, you don’t have many fillings, crowns or other dental work, you don’t need to use prescription products. Simple over the counter fluoride toothpaste will be enough.
If you had dental work done to repair previous decay, have crowns and bridges, then you are more susceptible to getting decay and stronger products are needed to keep your teeth staying strong and decay free. Your dental hygienist can let you know if you are at risk and prescribe products that will help you be decay free.

Diet

It’s all about acidity. If you like to eat sweets, and can’t live without them, eat them or drink them all in one sitting. When you expose your teeth to acids once it’s better than doing it constantly throughout the day. Try to brush or chew gum after eating, it helps to stimulate salivary flow to decrease acidity. It would be better for your teeth to avoid things like candy, soda, coffee, tea, cookies, cake… But what kind of life would it be without such goodies.

Just make sure you protect yourself by brushing well, taking care of your cavities if you have them. Don’t wait until they are huge. Decay is an infectious disease. If you have decay causing bacteria it will cause more than one cavity. So take care of cavities as soon as you know you have them. And definitely go for routine cleanings and check-ups to make sure we catch them before they are too big.

Oral Irrigator / WaterPik

Oral Irrigator.

WaterPik is one of the best tools that can help you keep your mouth healthy. Throughout our lifetime, because of genetic predisposition or other environmental risk factors, we get a bunch of different dental work done. Fillings, Crowns, Bridges, Implants… All that work is needed to either replace what was lost, or preserve the tooth structure. Unfortunately, there is nothing like a natural tooth.

The natural tooth structure is very smooth by nature, and that makes it more difficult for the bacteria to attach themselves and begin its destructive irritation. Dental work, although necessary, puts the mouth at a disadvantage, because it changes the natural smooth structure of the tooth.

All dental work, no matter how good it is, creates ledges under the gum, where bacteria can thrive because they are less likely to be disturbed. Even if you are the best flosser in the world, there are places that you cannot clean out. Thus, leaving the bacteria behind to build their housing units and flourish.

WaterPik uses a constant flow of water under pressure and in pulsations. If you imagine a dirty driveway, full of dust, leaves and other debris, a hose with pressured water moves the dirt away, making the driveway clean again. That is how the WaterPik works. It loosens up the plaque and moves it to areas where you can remove it with your toothbrush a lot easier. The most important function of the WaterPik is the fact that it disturbs the bacteria. When the bacteria are free floating, they are absolutely harmless. Only when they are allowed to settle, they become dangerous and irritating to the body.

There is a learning curve involved in using the WaterPik correctly, without spraying down half your bathroom. But it’s very easy to learn, and the tool is great for anyone.

Another advantage of the WaterPik is the fact that many different solutions can be diluted in the water, to help kill the bacteria. For example:

Baking Soda or Sea Salt

Dilute 1 teaspoon of Sea Salt or Baking Soda in 1 cup of Warm water. Add to the WaterPik. Add more water to fill the container to the top. Make sure to flush the WaterPik with hot water after use to clear the lines.

Baking Soda is a natural acid neutralizer. Bacteria love and thrive in an acidic environment. If the oral environment is more basic (>7 on the pH scale), it is more difficult for the bacteria to function. This actually protects you not only from Gingivitis, but also from getting decay, because decay is the enamel structure failure due to constant acidic bombardment. I’ll talk in more detail about tooth decay in later blogs.

Sea Salt is Sea Salt. I don’t know if there is any research that actually found the reason why using warm salt water is beneficial for the mouth and tissues, but I know this method has been around for ages, and it works. Sea Salt is better than regular table salt, because it is more natural.

Bleach

Yes! Regular Household Bleach! It is the world’s best disinfectant. A solution of bleach and baking soda is used in hospitals to rinse and disinfect wounds. It works the same way in the mouth. Using it, helps to eliminate stubborn bacteria. Using bleach in the WaterPik is recommended for people who have Periodontal Disease. You don’t need to use it for Gingivitis.

Instructions:
½ teaspoon of Bleach and ½ teaspoon of Baking Soda diluted in 16oz of water. Irrigate 3 times a week. Make sure to flush the WaterPik with hot water after use to clear the lines.

I hope this helps. Contact me if you have any questions about anything I’ve talked about.
Koshechka19@hotmail.com

My Homecare Tools and Why They Work

My Homecare Tools and Why they work.

There is an overwhelming amount of different dental homecare tools on the market, and your head will start spinning from all the information that goes into picking the one that would be best for your particular needs.

Here is a review of the tools that I find do the best job at keeping your mouth healthy and disease free.

Regular Toothbrush

Colgate 360

I don’t think that there are any studies why this particular manual toothbrush works better than others, but I have noticed wonderful results in people who use it. It seems to be able to remove the plaque well, and so less deposits form on the surface of the teeth. They stay smooth and clean longer.

Electric Toothbrush:

Oral-B Triumph electric brush

Precision clean or Sensitive heads are my favorite

Floss

Regular Waxed floss is great. I personally don’t like Glide Floss. Although it is made to easily fit in between the teeth, I find that it does not remove much. If you are a person who has very tight contacts between teeth and regular floss shreds or it’s very difficult to get the floss to fit in between the teeth, than it’s a good tool, because it is better for you to use something, rather than nothing.
However, if your contacts are good, I recommend you try the Regular Waxed Floss. It’s nothing fancy, but it does the job well. It does not matter what brand you buy.

Oral Irrigator

WaterPik Oral Irrigator – Ultra Model

A WaterPik is a device that shoots out water under pressure and in pulsations. It’s like water pressure cleaner. The reason why it works is because the pressure of the water when directed under the gums and in between the teeth, can disrupt bacterial Biofilm in places where a toothbrush and floss is unsuccessful.
A WaterPik has to be used before brushing and flossing. It will loosen up the debris, and move it to places where it is easier for a toothbrush to pick it up. This device is meant for people who want to prevent Gingivitis and those who have Periodontal Disease and deeper pockets.

Next blog I will talk more about the Oral Irrigator how to use it correctly and what you can put in the water for better effects against bacteria.

Gingivitis / Inflammation of the Gums / Bleeding Gums

Gingivitis

Gingivitis is the simplest dental disease to prevent and treat. Simply put, Gingivitis is your body’s way of fighting the irritation created by the bacteria that are living the good life because nothing is disturbing them. Basically it is a War between your body and the bacteria.

Bacteria is something we all have, no matter who you are. If you are a human, you have it. They love to find a cozy place, and then start building their empires. That’s when our body starts noticing them. There are a lot of waste products that come out from their housing units, and are extremely irritating to the body.

The best place for bacteria to settle is underneath your gums. It is a place where they are least likely to be disturbed. Imagine a battle field. Your castle is surrounded by invaders who have built their camps right outside your doors. They are smart, and set up their tents in places where your weapons will be less likely to get them. In the process, they destroy and pollute the land that surrounds your castle. As the King or Queen, you must defend your property. You can’t sit back and expect the natural disasters to take care of the enemy for you. So you have to take matters into your own hands. It is your job to destroy as many camping sites as you can. But don’t worry, you have plenty of weapons that can help you do the job right. We’ll talk about them later.

Even though the defense against bacterial invaders sounds simple, it’s not. Their numbers are huge and they are extremely small. Your castle exists in a complete darkness, and you can’t see your enemy. How do you know when you must protect your land?

Inflammation

The first line of defense against the irritation is Inflammation. The blood vessels around the irritated area become dilated, to provide an easier delivery of your body’s defense fighters, AKA – WBC or White Blood Cells. But unfortunately, White Blood Cells are unable to win the war. They are way outnumbered by the enemy Bacteria and desperately need help. As the Master of the castle, it is your job to help your fighters win against the army of bacterial invaders. Imagine that you are a Master who is able to control and manipulate such destructive weapons like a Toothbrush, Floss, Oral Irrigator, and many more, so together, your fight will be a victorious one.

When you brush your teeth, the bristles of the toothbrush remove the Plaque and disrupt the bacterial formations. Plaque Plaque is a sticky layer that builds up on your teeth. It consists of bacteria, dead skin cells and partially digested food debris. It is soft in nature and easily removed by brushing, flossing or irrigation.
So, the best way to avoid having bleeding gums disease – AKA – Gingivitis, is to make sure to remove and disrupt as much bacteria and plaque as possible. Try to brush at least two times a day. Floss or use the oral irrigator once a day to get the bacteria in the areas where a toothbrush cannot reach. It usually takes bacteria 24 hours to settle down again after being disrupted. That’s why it is recommended to floss at least once every 24 hours.

And most importantly, the best way to resolve bleeding gums, if thorough and consistent home care does not solve the problem, is to see your Dental Hygienist, so that the areas that you cannot reach are cleaned out, and the gums are allowed to heal. Think of the dental hygienist as a Magician who can help you start from scratch. It’s a good idea to see you Dental Hygienist on a regular basis in order to prevent Gingivitis from starting in the first place. Regular maintenance interval depends on your genetics and your body’s reaction to irritation. Most people need to have their teeth cleaned every 3 months. It helps a professional to keep an eye on you, and control the problem before it truly becomes a problem. It is much cheaper to maintain than to fix something. Those of you who know cars would agree with me, because it’s much cheaper to change the oil regularly than to replace or repair the engine.

Another reason for bleeding gums is Periodontal Disease, and I will talk about that in my next post. I do hope that none of you allow your Gingivitis to turn into Periodontal Disease, because it is much more difficult to treat and maintain, and because the damage caused by chronic inflammation is not reversible.

Welcome!

I hope with this blog to educate, entertain, and enlighten people within the Dental Hygiene realm.