THE TEN TOP FOODS FOR DENTAL HEALTH

23 04 2013

vegetables

The 10 top foods for dental health are:

Asparagus

Beets

Broccoli

Carrots

Celery

Cauliflower

Lettuce

Kale

Onions

Spinach

There is probably no surprise that they are also fantastic foods for your total body health!

 

 
 

 

Dr Donna Williams

Dr. Williams began her career in the field of dentistry at Howard University and graduated from Baltimore College Dental Surgery/University of Maryland. She is one of a select group of general dentists who have completed a fellowship in Holistic dentistry, and is also certified to use the only FDA approved laser for periodontal surgery. She is passionate about improving the health status of people throughout the community and beyond. Contact her at: Morningside Dental Care.

 


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CANDY PRICES MAY WELL BE ON THE RISE!!

13 03 2013

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U.S. sugar producers are poised to get a sweet deal.

The USDA is considering buying 400,000 tons of sugar in an aim to limit supply and boost prices so that sugar producers can pay back government loans that they’re in danger of defaulting on, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move would be an exercise of an untested provision inserted in the 2008 farm bill called the Feedstock Flexibility Program, which allows the USDA to intervene in the market to raise prices.

While the artificial price boost would benefit companies that manufacture sugar, the losers may be the makers of your favorite candies — like Mars, Hershey and Nestle — and that may mean higher candy prices.

(Read the full report on the bailout in the Wall Street Journal)

The sugar industry has long benefited from controversial government subsidies, and it doesn’t appear that will change anytime soon: The Senate voted down an amendment just last June that would have slowly stripped the sector of federal government aid, according to BusinessWeek. Though it’s not uncommon for the government to prop up certain commodities, the sugar subsidy functions differently than most. Instead of sending money to farmers to elevate prices — like in the case of corn, wheat and rice — the sugar program limits imports.

A bipartisan group of Senators, who backed the amendment, wrote in an August blog post for The Hill that by tightly controlling the sugar supply, the government is boosting prices and costing the country $3.5 billion and 20,000 jobs per year.

Candy companies, for their part, claim they often have to raise prices or slow down hiring to cope with the artificially high cost of sugar.

It could be difficult to get rid of any sugar subsidies though. Sugar makers spent more than $2 million to lobby lawmakers last year, according to data from Open Secrets cited by U.S. News and World.

 

Dr Donna Williams

Dr. Williams began her career in the field of dentistry at Howard University and graduated from Baltimore College Dental Surgery/University of Maryland. She is one of a select group of general dentists who have completed a fellowship in Holistic dentistry, and is also certified to use the only FDA approved laser for periodontal surgery. She is passionate about improving the health status of people throughout the community and beyond. Contact her at: Morningside Dental Care.


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The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food

26 02 2013

i feel sorry for the public

I shared an article on this blog over the weekend, which really hits home how the food industry intentionally creates food that are convenient, low cost, high in sodium, fat, sugars and extremely addictive.  I was very incensed about the fact that it is really not just about the willpower of the public, but that a conscious effort is made in the laboratory settings and marketing meetings to get people hooked on these foods.  The article spoke about the fact that  1 in 3 adults in the United states are clinically obese; that 24 million Americans have Type 2 Diabetes; and, one in 5 children have type 2 Diabetes.  What was not included in this article was that 50 percent of the American population has periodontal disease.  Clearly all of these degenerative diseases are making us as a country very sick.  I see the ill effects of eating these harmful foods and how it effects the oral cavity.  It is critical that we stop just picking up the easy to get convenient for us foods and take some time and read labels.  What seems like the easy way now, becomes the hard way in terms of pain, disease, and suffering in our future.  Please, if you haven’t read the article,  take time to do so, it is so important to be aware of the thought processes that go into the food that we so casually pick up at the store and place in our mouths.  Become aware! Stay healthy!

Dr Donna Williams

Dr. Williams began her career in the field of dentistry at Howard University and graduated from Baltimore College Dental Surgery/University of Maryland. She is one of a select group of general dentists who have completed a fellowship in Holistic dentistry, and is also certified to use the only FDA approved laser for periodontal surgery. She is passionate about improving the health status of people throughout the community and beyond. Contact her at: Morningside Dental Care.


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“I FEEL SO SORRY FOR THE PUBLIC”

23 02 2013

Please read this excerpt from an article in the New York Times about the link between obesity and addictive junk food, and the companies that produced and advertise these items:

photo: Grant Cornett for The New York Times

On the evening of April 8, 1999, a long line of Town Cars and taxis pulled up to the Minneapolis headquarters of Pillsbury and discharged 11 men who controlled America’s largest food companies. Nestlé was in attendance, as were Kraft and Nabisco, General Mills and Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and Mars. Rivals any other day, the C.E.O.’s and company presidents had come together for a rare, private meeting. On the agenda was one item: the emerging obesity epidemic and how to deal with it. While the atmosphere was cordial, the men assembled were hardly friends. Their stature was defined by their skill in fighting one another for what they called “stomach share” — the amount of digestive space that any one company’s brand can grab from the competition.

James Behnke, a 55-year-old executive at Pillsbury, greeted the men as they arrived. He was anxious but also hopeful about the plan that he and a few other food-company executives had devised to engage the C.E.O.’s on America’s growing weight problem. “We were very concerned, and rightfully so, that obesity was becoming a major issue,” Behnke recalled. “People were starting to talk about sugar taxes, and there was a lot of pressure on food companies.” Getting the company chiefs in the same room to talk about anything, much less a sensitive issue like this, was a tricky business, so Behnke and his fellow organizers had scripted the meeting carefully, honing the message to its barest essentials. “C.E.O.’s in the food industry are typically not technical guys, and they’re uncomfortable going to meetings where technical people talk in technical terms about technical things,” Behnke said. “They don’t want to be embarrassed. They don’t want to make commitments. They want to maintain their aloofness and autonomy.”

A chemist by training with a doctoral degree in food science, Behnke became Pillsbury’s chief technical officer in 1979 and was instrumental in creating a long line of hit products, including microwaveable popcorn. He deeply admired Pillsbury but in recent years had grown troubled by pictures of obese children suffering from diabetes and the earliest signs of hypertension and heart disease. In the months leading up to the C.E.O. meeting, he was engaged in conversation with a group of food-science experts who were painting an increasingly grim picture of the public’s ability to cope with the industry’s formulations — from the body’s fragile controls on overeating to the hidden power of some processed foods to make people feel hungrier still. It was time, he and a handful of others felt, to warn the C.E.O.’s that their companies may have gone too far in creating and marketing products that posed the greatest health concerns.

—–

for more of the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html

Dr Donna Williams

Dr. Williams began her career in the field of dentistry at Howard University and graduated from Baltimore College Dental Surgery/University of Maryland. She is one of a select group of general dentists who have completed a fellowship in Holistic dentistry, and is also certified to use the only FDA approved laser for periodontal surgery. She is passionate about improving the health status of people throughout the community and beyond. Contact her at: Morningside Dental Care.


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HAVE A HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! GO AHEAD AND ENJOY YOUR DARK CHOCOLATE!

14 02 2013

valentines day chocolates

1)  Dark Chocolate contains theobromine which helps prevent cavities

Dark chocolate contains theobromine, which has been shown to harden tooth enamel. That means that dark chocolate, unlike most other sweets, lowers your risk of getting cavities if you practice proper dental hygiene.

2) Dark Chocolate is good for Your Heart

Studies show that eating a small amount of dark chocolate two or three times each week can help lower your blood pressure. Dark chocolate improves blood flow and may help prevent the formation of blood clots. Eating dark chocolate may also prevent arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).

3) Dark Chocolate is Good for Your Brain

Dark chocolate increases blood flow to the brain as well as to the heart, so it can help improve cognitive function. Dark chocolate also helps reduce your risk of stroke.

Dark chocolate also contains several chemical compounds that have a positive effect on your mood and cognitive health. Chocolate contains phenylethylamine (PEA), the same chemical your brain creates when you feel like you’re falling in love. PEA encourages your brain to release endorphins, so eating dark chocolate will make you feel happier.

Dark chocolate also contains caffeine, a mild stimulant. However, dark chocolate contains much less caffeine than coffee. A 1.5 ounce bar of dark chocolate contains 27 mg of caffeine, compared to the 200 mg found in an eight ounce cup of coffee.

4) Dark Chocolate Helps Control Blood Sugar

Dark chocolate helps keep your blood vessels healthy and your circulation unimpaired to protect against type 2 diabetes. The flavonoids in dark chocolate also help reduce insulin resistance by helping your cells to function normally and regain the ability to use your body’s insulin efficiently. Dark chocolate also has a low glycemic index, meaning it won’t cause huge spikes in blood sugar levels.

5) Dark Chocolate is Full of Antioxidants

Dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants help free your body of free radicals, which cause oxidative damage to cells. Free radicals are implicated in the aging process and may be a cause of cancer, so eating antioxidant rich foods like dark chocolate can protect you from many types of cancer and slow the signs of aging.

6)  Dark Chocolate is high in vitamins and minerals

Dark chocolate contains a number of vitamins and minerals that can support your health. Dark chocolate contains some of the following vitamins and minerals in high concentrations:

  • Potassium
  • Copper
  • Magnesium
  • Iron

Dr Donna Williams

Dr. Williams began her career in the field of dentistry at Howard University and graduated from Baltimore College Dental Surgery/University of Maryland. She is one of a select group of general dentists who have completed a fellowship in Holistic dentistry, and is also certified to use the only FDA approved laser for periodontal surgery. She is passionate about improving the health status of people throughout the community and beyond. Contact her at: Morningside Dental Care.


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Seafood Mercury Warning!

6 02 2013

sharks against mercury
 
 

Dr Donna Williams

Dr. Williams began her career in the field of dentistry at Howard University and graduated from Baltimore College Dental Surgery/University of Maryland. She is one of a select group of general dentists who have completed a fellowship in Holistic dentistry, and is also certified to use the only FDA approved laser for periodontal surgery. She is passionate about improving the health status of people throughout the community and beyond. Contact her at: Morningside Dental Care.


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Are my mercury fillings making me mad?

5 02 2013

mercury fillings

The amalgam or mercury fillings used commonly in dentistry contain up to 50 percent mercury.  Mercury is a toxic heavy metal that most scientists believe can be harmful to your health. The name “Mad Hatter” was inspired by the phrase “as mad as a hatter”.   Mercury was used in the process of curing felt used in some hats, making it impossible for hatters to avoid inhaling the mercury fumes given off during the hat making process; hatters and mill workers thus often suffered mad hatter disease, mercury poisoning causing neurological damage including confused speech and distorted vision  Mercury has been removed from the shelves in our pharmacies and drug stores, because we know the dangers of inhaling mercury.

You can no longer get mercurochrome antiseptic nor mercury thermometers at the pharmacy, because the FDA has deemed the mercury to be hazardous to your health.

The manufacturers of mercury fillings themselves place warning labels on the outside of their containers.  The labels state that mercury fillings are nephrotoxic, neurotoxic.  It states that they are skin sensitizers, that they should not be used in small children, or expectant mothers, the list of warnings goes on and on.

When you have a mercury, or amalgam filling placed, your dentist can no longer use a squeeze cloth to remove the excess mercury before placing a filling.  The amalgamators (what we use to mix the filling together) have to be sealed so that while the mixing process is taking place, the mercury vapors are not released.  An amalgam separator is a special apparatus required to be in place in all dental offices to ensure that as you are removing the mercury fillings, the mercury do not get into the water supply once it is out of your mouth.  In translation, before the mercury filling is placed in your mouth it is toxic, and after it is removed from your mouth, it is toxic.  Why does the ADA say that during the time the fillings are in your mouth, they are safe?

Because it is very challenging to diagnose when a symptom in your body is the result of mercury toxins from your teeth, the ADA still allows for the placement of these fillings in our mouths.  They are also more cost-effective than some of the other materials that we use to restore teeth.

But the bottom line is there are other options, the composite fillings, and porcelain restorations look most natural,and they are a safer option for you.  In future blogs, I will discuss safe protocols for mercury removal.  But suffice it to say, when you go to your dentist to have fillings placed, insist on other options.  They are out there!

 

Dr Donna Williams

Dr. Williams began her career in the field of dentistry at Howard University and graduated from Baltimore College Dental Surgery/University of Maryland. She is one of a select group of general dentists who have completed a fellowship in Holistic dentistry, and is also certified to use the only FDA approved laser for periodontal surgery. She is passionate about improving the health status of people throughout the community and beyond. Contact her at: Morningside Dental Care.


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Can 1 yogurt = 1 soda?

29 01 2013

so why let them drink it

I have to say that Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s controversial soda ban, really hit home to so many due to the rising obesity epidemic that we have in this country.  First, I want to point out, that not only is there an increased incidence of obesity and diabetes, there also is an increased incidence in tooth decay and periodontal disease.  Research even shows that the high fructose corn syrup consumption in sodas may actually cause you to age more rapidly.    I think, as most people have reasoned, that though the mayor’s  intention is a good one, it really doesn’t address to any real measure, the totality of incidences that we find sugar in our diet, the hidden sugars.

When we ban large soft drinks, but kids still are able to enjoy a ketchup on their fries and hot dogs, do we pay attention to the fact that ketchup has 8% more sugar than ice cream?  What about the hot dog bun?  Most commercial baked goods, even those without a visible hint of sugar, are laden with hidden sugars.  Almost all processed foods are rich in hidden sugars.

When you go to your supermarket, thinking you are choosing the healthier option of a yogurt, think again.  The “fruit on the bottom” of a carton of yogurt contains up to nine teaspoons of sugar, almost the same as in a can of soda.  Peanut butter and most cereals are laden with sugars.  The best means of combating this obesity/dental disease epidemic is to read the labels before making a purchase.

Banning large sodas may seem like a good idea, but if manufactures are still able to inundate our food with hidden sugars, is it really going to make a difference?

read labels

Dr Donna Williams

Dr. Williams began her career in the field of dentistry at Howard University and graduated from Baltimore College Dental Surgery/University of Maryland. She is one of a select group of general dentists who have completed a fellowship in Holistic dentistry, and is also certified to use the only FDA approved laser for periodontal surgery. She is passionate about improving the health status of people throughout the community and beyond. Contact her at: Morningside Dental Care.


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Letter from a Conscientious Physician

23 01 2013

Image

One of my patients who I hadn’t seen in a few years came in to see me for treatment.  She brought with her a letter from her physician of which I will share.  It goes as follows:

“RE: Pre-Transplant Dental Evaluation

Thank you for agreeing to evaluate patient______________ as you know, this individual is currently being evaluated as a potential kidney transplant recipient.  Because there are a number of well documented risk and potential complications associated with dental disease during post transplant period, this evaluation represents a critical component of our pre-transplant evaluation procedures……”

Finally it stated “Perhaps you could also reiterate our concerns regarding the importance of meticulous dental care after transplantation, and reinforce this with our recommendation for meticulous plaque control”.

I am upset that one of my patients has to become a candidate to receive a kidney transplant, however, I am always pleasantly surprised when physicians are aware and  understand the connection between the oral cavity and the rest of the body.  I know that this patient will be in good hands.

In this day and age, anyone who is going to be a recipient of any type of transplant or knee and hip replacement surgeries and the like, must ensure that part of the preparation for the surgery includes getting a thorough dental examination and treating for any infections in the mouth, lest they spread elsewhere and cause complications for the surgery.

Most of us forget that the area of the body laden with the most bacteria is the oral cavity, the mouth.  Often people who have bleeding gums, usually, they don’t bleed all of the time, but on occasion.  Also, when your gums bleed it doesn’t hurt, so we are inclined not to pay attention to it.  Unfortunately, the same areas that are bleeding are the entryway for the bacteria to enter the blood stream and cause problems and disease in other areas of the body.  Heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes,  lung disease, even premature low birth weight infants are linked to infections in the mouth.  Though we often fail to pay attention to the mouth, it really is one of the most important areas of the body to devote time to ensure it’s health.  The health of your entire body can stem from your mouth.

I feel comfortable that the patient made a very good choice choosing a conscientious physician who is up to date on the latest research and most importantly has her best interest at

heart
 

 

Dr Donna Williams

Dr. Williams began her career in the field of dentistry at Howard University and graduated from Baltimore College Dental Surgery/University of Maryland. She is one of a select group of general dentists who have completed a fellowship in Holistic dentistry, and is also certified to use the only FDA approved laser for periodontal surgery. She is passionate about improving the health status of people throughout the community and beyond. Contact her at: Morningside Dental Care.

 


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