Elmbrook Family Dental

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If you haven’t yet heard about our referral program, here is how it works:

If you enjoy being a patient with our office, refer your friends and family. In appreciation for your referrals, you may be eligible to receive a gift! Pass our name or web site information along to those who may use it, be sure they give us your name. The more people you refer, the more chances you have! This month, our patients have received gift cards to enjoy a meal at Stir Crazy or Carrabba’s restaurants!

Sports drinks lead to tooth erosion, study finds

Downing sports drinks over the course of the day can lead to erosive tooth wear, according to a study presented today at the International Association for Dental Research annual meeting. The condition, which breaks down the enamel and causes teeth to soften and weaken, affects one in 15 Americans and can result in severe tooth damage and even tooth loss.

“This is the first time that the citric acid in sports drinks has been linked to erosive tooth wear,” said study leader Mark Wolff, chairman of New York University’s Department of Cariology & Comprehensive Care in the College of Dentistry.

Researchers used cow teeth because of their close resemblance to human teeth and put half in a sports drink and half in water.

“Five teeth were immersed in each drink for 75 to 90 minutes to simulate the effects of sipping on sports drinks over the course of the day,” Wolff said.

Those in the sports drink had significant erosion and softening.

And brushing your teeth immediately afterward won’t help — in fact, it can hurt, Wolff says, because softened enamel is very susceptible to the abrasive properties of toothpaste. He recommends:

• Consuming sports drinks in moderation
• Waiting 30 minutes before brushing
• Asking your dentist about acid-neutralizing remineralizing toothpaste

The researchers used top-selling sports drinks, but didn’t name the brands.

Craig Horswill, the senior research fellow at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, disputes the research.

“This study does not replicate real life as the teeth were studied extracted from the mouth. Ohio State University recently conducted a study of some 300 athletes, the most comprehensive to date, and concluded that there is no relationship between the consumption of sports drinks and dental erosion,” he says.

The 2002 OSU study to which he’s referring found that out of 279 consumers of sports drinks, 64% did not have any dental erosion and 36% had dental erosion. Conversely, out of the 25 athletes who did not consume any sports drinks, 60% did not have any dental erosion and 40% had erosion.

The study was supported by a grant from Quaker Oats, which, along with Gatorade, is owned by PespiCo.

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Do you like your smile? Do you ever wish you saw a different person smiling back at you when you look in the mirror? Having straighter teeth can improve confidence and make you feel like a million bucks!

Did you know the first braces ever constructed were by Pierre Fauchard in the year 1728? We’ve come a long way since then! Braces have evolved from metal bands that completely surrounded each tooth, into small brackets that moved the teeth by a series of wires, into the amazing technology we have today.

If you’ve ever frowned upon your smile but didn’t want to go through the frustration and inconvenience of ordinary metal braces, then we have news for you! Our office is now an Invisilign certified office! Invisilign is a series of clear plastic removable retainers that reposition the teeth and straighten crooked smiles. Call our office today to set up a free consultation to see if you are a candidate for Invisilign.

 Did you know May 3rd is Tooth Fairy Day!

The most valuable tooth was one a nobleman purchased-belonging to the famous scientist Isaac Newton – for $4,560. It was set in a ring.

Did you know a snail can have about 25,000 teeth – on its tongue.

In the year 200 AD, the Romans used a mixture of bones, eggshells, oyster and honey to clean their teeth.

The Chicago Midwinter Dental Meeting was held between February 26th to March 1st. Over 31,000 people attended the convention where more than 600 vendors had booths set up. Dr. Neuschaefer, Dr. Brunner, and Dr. Schwartz took many of our staff members to the convention for two days. We learned a lot about new and upcoming products and innovations. The doctors and staff attended continuing education courses in many different areas of dentistry. We also had fun collecting free goodies from many of the vendors! We’re excited to utilize both the knowledge we gained at the convention, and to use many of the products that were demonstrated at the convention in our office!

Once we returned to our hotel at the end of the day, we all got ready to go out for a fun-filled evening in Chicago! The doctors treated us to a very nice dinner at Hugo’s Frog Bar. We had a great time and fully appreciate our fun weekend!