Family and Cosmetic Dentist - Livonia
31574 Schoolcraft Road
Livonia, MI 48150
(734) 425-4530
The super-sized meal has given birth to the super-sized consumer, which doesn't bode well from many perspectives, including dentistry.
The most obvious first step toward controlling obesity stands at the point of entry — the mouth. Even before the damage of poor food choices enter the digestive system, we can see how the ill effects of excess sugar and carbohydrates make their mark on the teeth.
Sugar-sweetened beverages are a serious concern these days, and serving sizes compound the problem. In the 1950s, a family-sized bottle of soda was 26 ounces. Today, fast food restaurants offer 42-ounce servings of soda — for just one person! So, it's easy to see how the effects of the super-sized soda can be linked to tooth decay, weight gain and the increased risk of illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes. Diabetics are more susceptible to serious gum disease, and as such require a more vigilant dental care regime.
Sizeable beverages are but an accompaniment to the abundant, carbohydrate-dense fast food options available today. The enzymes and bacteria in the mouth break down foods containing sugars and starches, producing acid, which attacks tooth enamel. While saliva provides a natural repair process, when carbohydrates are consumed too frequently, the repair process is overwhelmed, and the risk of tooth decay increases.
Also notable, sleep disorders can be linked to obesity. For example, some snorers have a potentially dangerous condition known as sleep apnea, in which they experience pauses in breathing during sleep. One cause of sleep apnea is that the extra weight in the neck surrounding the airway can obstruct breathing, by compressing the airway when the throat muscles are relaxed during sleep.
Please let us know if you suffer from any sleep disorder and ask Dr. Joboulian about dental appliances that may help.
We'd love to share information on the effects of diet, and the mouth-body connection.