Waterford, MI Dentist
Lloyd H. Alpert, D.D.S.
4025 Highland Road
Waterford, MI 48328
(248) 682-6010

My Blog

Posts for: January, 2015

January 22, 2015
Category: Dental
Tags: Untagged

Most people know that painful burning sensation radiating from inside the chest – heartburn. Persistent symptoms, more than twice weekly, may be a sign of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. But not everyone with GERD has the symptoms of heartburn. In fact, you may have GERD and not even know it.

How can your dentist tell?

GERD, commonly called acid reflux, is caused when the esophageal sphincter, which separates the stomach from the esophagus, allows acid to seep out of the stomach. Many times this acid causes heartburn, but not always. In the absence of heartburn symptoms, the first indication that a person may have GERD is the erosion of the enamel on the molars or on the backside of teeth.

"Stomach acid can eat away at the enamel on your teeth," says Dr. Ken Sutherland, DDS, a Delta Dental senior dentist consultant. "Your dentist may be the first to notice symptoms of the disease when he or she detects enamel loss." If detected, your dentist may refer you to a specialist, who may prescribe treatment or recommend lifestyle changes specifically for the treatment of GERD, such as avoiding acidic foods.

What can you do?

Loss of enamel is permanent, and if left unchecked, may lead to the rapid decay of affected teeth. In addition to loss of enamel, GERD can do other long-term damage to your body, such as irritation and inflammation of your esophagus, which may even lead to esophageal cancer.

That's why getting a regular oral exam from a dentist is so important—your dentist may find early symptoms of a potentially serious problem before it progresses. In fact, more than 90 percent of systemic diseases have oral manifestations that may be detected during an oral exam by a dentist.

 


0 Comment(s) Permalink
January 15, 2015
Category: Uncategorized
Tags: Untagged

Winter, even when the weather’s mild, is not my favorite season. This winter’s been a hard one so far, requiring constant doses of positive thinking. Today’s dose of the top ten positives about winter should be taken with a full glass of water…or hot cocoa in front of a blazing fire.

10.  Staying indoors out of the cold means there’s plenty of time for those household tasks so easy to procrastinate about during spring and summer. Like cleaning the refrigerator or behind the stove.

9.   Also time to clean closets and take stuff to Goodwill, so when it’s time to move after decades in the same house, the task won’t be quite so daunting.

8.   Winter’s a good time to learn to do something new on the computer or to take figure skating lessons. Though a smart pill would make this item much easier.

7.   This is the perfect time to day dream about summer without having one’s hair go wonky from the humidity.

6.   Now’s the time to play the board games given as Christmas presents…while the games still have all the pieces.

5.   Trying out new baking recipes makes long winter nights shorter and keeps the house warm and cozy.

4.   Book research is much easier to concentrate upon when the weather outside is frightful.

3.   During winter, a person can to go to bed when the sun goes down, read for hours, and still turn out the light at a decent hour.

2.   Winter is the absolute best time to check out DVDs and catch up on TV series missed during busy child rearing decades.

1.   A winter like this one is long enough to write a book…a mystery novel, to be exact.

 


0 Comment(s) Permalink


Blog Content

Archive:

Tags

ADA Patient Library