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It’s no secret that New Year’s Eve is one of the most widely celebrated holidays in the world. Dr. Razavi and our team love it too. It’s a fresh start, another year of surviving the crazy world we live in, a time to refocus on the things we want for ourselves, a celebration with those we love … the list goes on.

Dozens of countries welcome the New Year with over-the-top parties and celebrations. Because it’s a public holiday, many offices, businesses, and schools close for the day. As you think about your plans for this holiday, here are some fun facts about New Year’s that might surprise you!

Can you guess what the most common New Year’s resolutions are? You may already have one or two of these on your own personal list. The top five New Year’s resolutions are: to quit smoking, get a new job, lose weight, increase personal savings, and return to school. Just remember that coming up with a concrete plan to reach your goals is the surest way to achieve your resolutions!

About one million people brave the cold to watch the New Year’s Eve ball drop in New York City’s Times Square in person. Yes, that’s one million! This event is one of the most iconic celebrations in the world. People travel from all over just to experience it, but you can watch from the warmth and comfort of your living room.

If you’re not a fan of cabbage, collard greens, black-eyed peas, or ham hocks, you might want to revise your tastes. All these foods are all regarded as lucky fare on New Year’s Day. Unless you’re allergic, of course!

For many people in Mexico and Latin America, eating 12 grapes at midnight is a tradition that brings good luck in the 12 coming months. Most people even make a wish per grape!

Whether you’re celebrating in Kanata, Ontario or traveling elsewhere to observe the holiday, New Year’s Eve is a time to enjoy the company of your friends and family. Don’t forget to send warm wishes to your loved ones, and snag a midnight kiss with that special someone if you can!

It seems like the ads are everywhere these days—repair your enamel and reverse tooth decay with a tube of toothpaste! Are these claims too good to be true? Let’s dive into the science of tooth decay—how decay develops and how (and if!) it can be reversed.

Teeth can stand up to the powerful pressures of biting and chewing because over 95% of our enamel is made up of minerals. Calcium and phosphate ions in our teeth bond to form a crystal structure called hydroxyapatite. Because of the strength of this crystalline design, tooth enamel is the hardest substance in our bodies, even stronger than our bones. 

But bones, like most other parts of our bodies, are living tissue, which means that they can create new cells to replace old or damaged cells. Tooth enamel can’t regenerate new cells to repair itself. This means that when a cavity has made a hole in the tooth, the enamel can’t grow back. And, while enamel structure is very strong, it’s also vulnerable to damage—specifically, damage from acids. 

Our teeth are exposed to acids throughout the day, whether they are acids created by plaque bacteria or the acidic foods and drinks we consume. Acids dissolve mineral bonds, stripping calcium and phosphate minerals from the enamel and leaving weak spots in the tooth surface. This process is called demineralization. Demineralization is the first stage of tooth decay.

The good news? Our bodies are designed with a built-in defense mechanism to prevent demineralization from causing lasting damage. All through the day, saliva helps wash away acids in the mouth and bathes our teeth with new calcium and phosphate ions. These ions bond with the calcium and phosphate in our enamel, restoring enamel strength. This protective repair process is called remineralization. 

Now for the bad news. In the tug of war between demineralization and remineralization, saliva can only do so much. If your diet is heavy with acids, if you don’t brush away acid-producing plaque bacteria regularly, if you eat a lot of the sugars and starches which feed plaque bacteria, the remineralizing effects of saliva can’t keep up with the demineralizing effects of acids.

The first visible sign of demineralization is often a white spot on the tooth where minerals have been stripped from enamel. Studies have shown that enamel-strengthening toothpaste can be effective in this very first stage of tooth decay. Toothpastes which advertise enamel repair generally contain one or more of these ingredients:

• Calcium Phosphate
• Hydroxyapatite
• Fluoride 

Toothpastes with calcium phosphate or hydroxyapatite contain calcium and phosphate minerals, the building blocks of tooth enamel. Studies have suggested that these minerals can replace the calcium and phosphate ions stripped from enamel. These toothpastes may or may not contain fluoride, which is something you should discuss with your dentist before deciding on a specific toothpaste.

Fluoride toothpastes remineralize enamel—and more! Fluoride ions are attracted to the tooth’s surface, and, when fluoride ions join with the calcium and phosphate ions there, they form fluorapatite. Fluorapatite crystals are larger, stronger, and more resistant to acids than hydroxyapatite crystals. And, once bonded with tooth enamel, fluoride attracts the calcium and phosphate ions in saliva to remineralize the teeth more quickly. 

Why consider enamel-repair toothpaste? 

Once enamel is gone, it’s gone for good. If excess demineralization isn’t treated, a weak spot on the tooth surface will continue to erode, growing bigger and deeper until it becomes a hole in the enamel. This is a cavity, and your dentist will need to treat and repair your tooth to prevent the cavity from growing and potentially exposing the tooth’s pulp to bacteria and infection. 

If you wear braces, you want to be especially careful about excess demineralization. Because it can be hard to brush and floss effectively with braces, white spots and discolored patches are a common concern for those with braces, especially on the enamel around brackets.  

Talk to Dr. Razavi at our Kanata, Ontario office about which toothpastes can help restore a healthy balance between the ongoing cycles of demineralization and remineralization when you have braces. While tooth-repair toothpaste can’t fix cavities, these products can often strengthen demineralized enamel and reverse this earliest stage of tooth decay.

Let’s see…

Toothbrush? Check.

Fluoride toothpaste? Check.

Floss? Check.

Two minutes of thorough brushing? Check.

Careful cleaning around your brackets and wires? Check.

Wait… there’s something else… it’s right on the tip of your…

Ah! Your tongue! Whenever you brush, morning, evening, or any time in between, if you want the freshest breath and cleanest teeth, don’t forget your tongue.

Why your tongue? Because the tongue is one of the most common sources of bad breath. Let’s examine just why this occurs.

The tongue is made up of a group of muscles that help us speak and chew and swallow. But there’s more to this remarkable organ than mere muscle. The surface of the tongue is covered with mucous membrane, like the smooth tissue which lines our mouths. But the tongue isn’t completely smooth—it’s textured with thousands of tiny bumps called papillae.

These little elevated surfaces have several shapes and functions. Some make the tongue’s surface a bit rough, which helps move food through your mouth. Some are temperature sensitive, letting you know that your slice of pizza is much too hot. And some are covered with thousands of the taste buds, which make eating that pizza so enjoyable.

All of these papillae with their various functions combine to create a textured surface, filled with miniscule nooks and crannies. And if there’s a nook or a cranny where bacteria can collect, no matter how miniscule, it’s a good bet that they will, and the surface of the tongue is no exception. But bacteria aren’t alone—the tongue’s surface can also hide food particles and dead cells.

How does this unappealing accumulation affect you? These elements work together to cause bad breath, especially the bacteria that break down food particles and cell debris to produce volatile sulfur compounds—compounds which create a particularly unpleasant odor. Including your tongue in your brushing routine helps remove one of the main causes of bad breath.

And that’s not the only benefit! Cleaning the tongue helps eliminate the white coating caused by bacterial film, and might even improve the sense of taste. Most important, studies show that regular cleaning noticeably lowers the levels of decay-causing plaque throughout the mouth.

So, how to get rid of that unwanted, unpleasant, and unhealthy debris?

• When you’re done brushing your teeth, use your toothbrush to brush your tongue.

Clean your tongue by brushing gently front to back and then side to side. Rinse your mouth when you’re through. Simple as that! And just like a soft-bristled toothbrush helps protect tooth enamel and gum tissue, we also recommend soft bristles when you brush your tongue. Firm bristles can be too hard on tongue tissue.

• Use a tongue scraper.

Some people find tongue scrapers more effective than brushing. Available in different shapes and materials, these tools are used to gently scrape the surface of the tongue clean of bacteria and debris. Always apply this tool from back to front, and rinse the scraper clean after every stroke. Wash and dry it when you’re through.

• Add a mouthwash or rinse.

As part of your oral hygiene routine, antibacterial mouthwashes and rinses can assist in preventing bad breath. Ask Dr. Razavi for a recommendation.

• Don’t brush or scrape too vigorously.

Your tongue is a sturdy, hard-working organ, but tongue tissue is still delicate enough to be injured with over-vigorous cleaning.

Taking a few extra seconds to clean your tongue helps eliminate the bacteria and food particles which contribute to bad breath and plaque formation. Make this practice part of your daily brushing routine—it’s a healthy habit well worth remembering!

You might be surprised to learn that Dr. Razavi and our team recommend an orthodontic appointment even before your child has had that last visit from the Tooth Fairy. In fact, orthodontic assessments at our Kanata, Ontario office can be beneficial at many stages of your child’s life. Let’s look at some of the reasons why.

The Right Spaces

There’s a reason why we recommend that every child see an orthodontist by the age of seven. If there’s room enough in your child’s mouth to accommodate all the permanent teeth that will be arriving soon, you’re good to go. But if it looks like there won’t be enough space for those adult teeth, there are solutions we can offer to make the transition from baby teeth to adult teeth a smoother one.

• If your child’s mouth is small, the permanent teeth might have too little room to fit in when they arrive. We may recommend gently enlarging the upper dental arch with the use of a palatal expander. This device will provide room for the adult teeth, and could potentially shorten second phase treatment time.
• Too much space can also be a problem. If a child loses a baby tooth too soon, too much space between the remaining teeth can cause them to shift out of position, leaving the wrong spot open for the adult tooth to come in. We might recommend a space maintainer so that there is no shifting of the teeth, and there is room for the adult tooth to erupt in its proper spot.
• If there is a bite problem, early treatment can prevent more serious problems down the road.

If no treatment is necessary immediately, we can monitor the development of your child’s teeth and bite during periodic visits.

(Stay in) The Right Places

Once your child has achieved that perfect smile, it’s time to maintain it. Teeth actually move and shift throughout our lives, whether we have had orthodontic treatment or not. But with orthodontic treatment, the bone tissue and ligaments around the teeth remodel over time to hold the teeth in their new and improved positions. That’s why it’s often important to wear a retainer constantly for several months after the braces come off, as bone and ligament become a firm, strong anchor for the newly aligned teeth and bite.

But there’s no one expiration date on retainers! Worn nightly as needed, they help teeth stay securely in their new positions for a lifetime of beautiful smiles.

Healthy Smiles Mean Happy Faces

If you think your child is ready for any phase of orthodontic work, give us a call. We will be happy to make sure there is ample room for permanent teeth to erupt in their proper spots even during the baby teeth years. If braces are indicated at a later date, we will analyze any potential alignment and bite problems and present all of your treatment options. Finally, after the orthodontic work is completed, we want to make sure your child knows the best way to maintain that beautiful smile with conscientious retainer wear.

If you have any concerns about your child’s teeth or bite, even before the permanent teeth arrive, give our Kanata, Ontario office a call. Early treatment can often prevent future problems and might even lead to faster orthodontic results. At each stage of your child’s growth, we are here to provide your best options for healthy, happy smiles.