Are They Part of the Dental Community?

What does it mean to be a part of the dental community? The dental community is a network of dentists, educators and innovators that are highly interested in developing and learning about the up and coming technologies available in the dental field. This community includes everyone from experienced dentists and their students at dental schools to researchers in laboratories across the country.

Is Your Dentist Affiliated With Any Dental Associations?

• The American Dental Association
• The Academy of General Dentistry
• American Association of Public Health Dentistry

Advanced Care & Modern Dentistry with DeWitt Dentistry

Cavities occur when decay-causing bacteria living in the mouth digest carbohydrates (sugars) introduced into the mouth via food and beverages. This produces acid, which can eat through the protective enamel surface of teeth and attack the more vulnerable dentin below. Infants aren’t born with decay-promoting bacteria; however, they can acquire them from their caregiver(s) through close contact, for example:

• Kissing on the mouth
• Sharing food
• Sharing eating utensils (e.g., a spoon or glass)
• Cleaning off a pacifier by mouth

Tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease! It can start as soon as the first tooth erupts — which generally happens around age 6 to 9 months but can be as early as 3 months or as late as 1 year. Besides being potentially painful, severe tooth decay may cause your child to lose the affected primary (baby) tooth before it’s due to fall out on its own. That, in turn, can raise the risk of orthodontic problems because primary teeth maintain space for permanent teeth, which also use them as their guide for coming in properly.

It’s important to clean your child’s teeth regularly once they appear and to refrain from certain feeding activities that have been linked with early tooth decay. For example, use of a sleep-time bottle containing a liquid with natural or added sugars, such as formula or juice, can result in a pattern of severe decay once referred to as “baby bottle tooth decay.” These days, the term early childhood caries (ECC) is more commonly used to also encompass decay linked to continuous sippy-cup use, at-will breast-feeding throughout the night, use of a sweetened pacifier, or routine use of sugar-based oral medicines to treat chronic illness.

We recommend that you schedule a dental visit for your baby upon eruption of his or her first tooth or by age 1. This first visit can include risk assessment for decay, hands-on instruction on teeth cleaning, nutritional/feeding guidance, fluoride recommendations, and even identification of underlying conditions that should be monitored. Your child’s smile is a sight to behold; starting early improves the odds of keeping it that way!

If you would like more information about infant dental care, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Age One Dental Visit.”

All cultures worldwide recognize a smile as positive nonverbal communication. Yet many people are insecure about the way their smile looks. Modern cosmetic dentistry can completely change your smile through a comprehensive technique called Smile Design.

Take the following quiz to find out how much you know about your smile and smile design.

1. What is the basic reason we consider straight, healthy teeth to be attractive?
   1. An article in a beauty magazine.
   2. An instinctive understanding of health and survival.
   3. Our first grade teacher said so.
   4. A talk show on television.
2. What must we take into account in designing an attractive, balanced smile?
   1. The shape of your face.
   2. Your skin color and complexion.
   3. The form of your lips.
   4. All of the above.
3. As your dentist, we consider each of the following in evaluating your current smile except:
   1. Your marital status.
   2. The health of your bone and gum tissues.
   3. How your jaw joints function.
   4. The stability of your bite.
4. What do we use to evaluate your smile?
   1. X-rays and photographs.
   2. Models of your teeth and gums.
   3. Photographs and computer graphics.
   4. All of the above.
5. Bonding is one method that may be used to test or enhance your smile. It is used as:
   1. A way of making friends with your dentist.
   2. A way of training secret agents.
   3. A method of repairing chipped, broken or decayed teeth and testing changes before they are made permanent.
   4. None of the above.

Answers

1. b. What we consider an attractive smile is rooted in instinctive understanding of health and survival. We value straight, white, healthy teeth — only a few centuries ago, a person with few or no teeth was likely to starve.
2. d. All of these factors must be taken into consideration in order to design a smile that is in balance with your face.
3. a. While satisfaction with your life partner may make you smile, our priority in smile design is to make sure that the basic structures of your teeth are healthy and function properly.
4. d. All of the above are used in evaluating your current condition to design a new smile.
5. c. In bonding, a composite resin tooth colored material is shaped and physically bonded to a tooth or teeth that are chipped, broken, or decayed to restore both aesthetics and function.

After careful analysis and planning, a variety of techniques can be used to redesign an attractive and healthy new smile, so you can feel confident about smiling and sharing it with the world. To learn more about Smile Design, read “Beautiful Smiles by Design.” Or contact us to discuss your questions or to schedule an appointment.

Why Do You Need to Floss?
There are deep spaces and crevices between the teeth that a toothbrush just can’t access. Toothbrushes are designed to clean the front, top and back surfaces of the teeth, but they don’t clean the sides very well. Floss is the best way to clean even the most hidden places in the mouth that harbor leftover food particles, plaque and film. Floss also helps you clean very close to the gumline.

Dental Disease Due to Lack of Flossing
Diseases and infection of the gums and roots of the teeth often happen to patients who don’t floss their teeth regularly for many years. Gum disease (periodontitis) affects over 47 percent of adults over 30, and it’s mostly because they neglect their dental hygiene and don’t understand the importance of flossing. Infected, swollen abscesses can happen in the area between the gum and tooth as well when a patient fails to floss.

Flossing Tips for Better Dental Health
There are simple ways to remember to floss your teeth after meals and before bedtime. First, purchase enough floss containers so that you have one in every room of your house—at the very least there should always be floss in the bedroom, bathroom and living room where you relax after eating. If you don’t like regular floss, keep an ample supply of floss picks nearby. The more you see floss around your house, the more likely you’ll be to use it.

Schedule a Checkup Soon
You and your dentist will be happy with the results at your next checkup if you take up the habit of flossing every day. Call DeWitt Dentistry in Elmhurst today at (630) 279-2121 to schedule your next visit.

There are many long-term problems associated with eating disorders, including osteoporosis, infertility and anemia. Another unfortunate side-effect involves dental health. If your child suffers from bulimia nervosa, an eating disorder characterized by a cycle of food binges and vomiting, his or her teeth may show signs of tooth erosion.

Tooth erosion occurs when the tooth surface loses enamel after exposure to acid. It affects more than 90% of individuals with bulimia and 20% of individuals with anorexia nervosa, a disorder that involves starvation. There is often overlap between the two diseases — those with anorexia may sometimes binge and purge, and those with bulimia may try to restrict their food.

Each disorder results in dental diseases for different reasons. In bulimia, tooth erosion is caused by vomit, which is highly acidic and damaging. The frequency that a person engages in this activity will determine how much the teeth are affected. Usually, we will notice this erosion on the upper front teeth. In more severe cases, the salivary glands can become enlarged, causing puffiness on the side of the face. Anorexics, on the other hand, may have dental problems because they are often negligent about grooming and hygiene in general, including oral hygiene.

Every time your teenager visits our office, we will conduct a thorough examination, which includes looking out for the specific signs of eating disorders. If we do find that your teenager has severe tooth erosion, we’ll be sure to discuss our findings with you. We may recommend a sodium fluoride mouth rinse to strengthen tooth enamel and reduce its loss. Most importantly, you should speak with your child and seek guidance from a professional to help deal with the issue.

If you would like more information about eating disorders and oral health, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Bulimia, Anorexia and Oral Health.”

How Does the Egg Experiment Work?

• 1 hard boiled egg
• A clear container (cup or bowl)
• Vinegar

What Is the Point of This Experiment?

The Importance of Dental Health

Modern Dental Technologies and Services

The Process of Getting a Crown

1. Once you and your Elmhurst dentist William E. DeWitt, DDS, FAGD, decide that a crown is the right solution for your smile, your visit will begin with your dentist applying a local anesthetic to help you be more comfortable. Then, your dentist will shape your existing tooth so that it will hold the new crown.

2. After the tooth is ready for the crown, your dentist takes an impression of the tooth so that a crown can be fabricated from either porcelain and/or metal. This impression is sent to a laboratory where the crown is made.

3. Once the crown is finished, your Elmhurst dentist will bond or cement the new crown to your existing tooth. Your new crown will look and function just as a healthy, natural tooth.

The Benefits

• Improved appearance
• Restored function
• Improved bite
• Improved confidence

Who is a Candidate for Dental Crowns?

While crowns are a great solution for many people, not everyone is a candidate for a dental crown. First, you will need enough healthy tooth to support the new crown. If you do not have enough healthy tooth to work with, you may need to have that tooth extracted. In that case, talk to Dr. DeWitt about dental implants, which are a full replacement for a missing tooth which then supports the dental crown.

When considering dental crowns, it’s important to work with a dentist who is skilled in the art of crowns and bridges. DeWitt Dentistry of Elmhurst, IL offers dental crowns and implants to restore your smile to its natural function and beauty. Schedule an appointment today to give your confidence a boost with a healthy, white smile.

Benefits of Invasalign

There are several benefits of undergoing an Invisalign treatment. Dentists and orthodontists, alike, agree that oral health goes hand in hand with overall health. The greatest benefit, therefore, would be the health benefits that stem from having corrected, properly-aligned teeth. Teeth that are out of line often cause headaches, jaw discomforts and difficulties with speaking and eating. Crooked teeth can also lead to tooth decay and gum disease due to the fact that the teeth cannot be properly cleaned. Tooth decay and gum disease can lead to a host of health issues such as heart disease and cancer.

Other benefits of an Invisalign treatment include the following:

Convenience: Compared to traditional metal braces, Invisalign aligners can be easily removed for proper tooth cleaning.
Cosmetic: Aligners are invisible and look just as good as they work in transforming your smile.
Pain-free: Inviisalign aligners can be worn up to 24 hours and are virtually pain free.
No food restrictions: Unlike metal braces that have you watching what you eat, Invisalign aligners allow you to eat whatever you fancy.

Another tremendous advantage of Invisalign usage would be a boost in your self-image. Although braces have been around a while and have been seen by virtually everyone, there are still negative connotations that go along with having a heavy strip (or two) of metal in the mouth. Invisalign wearers gain confidence along with a beautiful smile.

Ready for a consultation? Stop by DeWitt Dentistry of Elmhurt and make an appointment today!

While it’s true that there are a few systemic (general body) medical conditions that can cause bad breath, including lung infections, liver disease, diabetes and cancer, the majority of causes originate in the mouth. We can conduct a simple oral examination to help diagnose the underlying cause of your bad breath. We will check your mouth thoroughly for signs of any dental problems that can produce an odor, including decayed or abscessed teeth, diseased gums, a coated tongue or infected tonsils. Typically, halitosis occurs when bacteria collect on the surface and back of the tongue where it is drier. Bacteria thrive in this environment, resulting in a “rotten egg” odor that so many of us are all too familiar with. This odor actually emanates from volatile sulfur compounds (VSFs), but will go away with proper treatment.

Once the exact cause is pinpointed, your halitosis can be treated in several ways. For example, we can show you how to brush and floss properly to more effectively remove bacteria responsible for tooth decay and gum disease — don’t be embarrassed, nobody really knows until they’re shown by a professional. We can also show you how to use a tongue scraper or brush to carefully clean the surface of your tongue. Treatment of tooth decay, the repair of defective or broken fillings, extraction of wisdom teeth (third molars) and periodontal (gum) therapy such as scaling and root planing (deep cleaning) will all help treat infection and consequently bad breath.

You don’t have to be embarrassed by bad breath any longer! The sooner you call our office to schedule an examination, the sooner you will be able to breathe a lot more freely. For more information about the causes of bad breath, read the Dear Doctor magazine article “Bad Breath: More Than Just Embarrassing.”