Keeping Teeth White While Drinking Coffee

It's almost summer and along with summer comes.... iced coffee!!
I had my first taste of iced coffee when I went on a trip to Taiwan.  At first, I thought, "How weird is this? " But when I tasted it, "WHOA! Where have you been all my life??"

For me, winter is best with a hot cup of green tea. Summers are definitely iced coffee time.
Now that warmer weather is right around the corner, I have a slew of requests for custom whitening trays and refill kits.

My latest article for Weekly Biz, Japanese newspaper is about how to keep your teeth whiter if you're one of those people that absolutely have to have their cuppa joe.

Enjoy the article and enjoy the iced coffee! Yumminess!

Can I Drink Coffee While Keeping MyTeeth White?

My Dad loves drinking strong dark coffee. I think he’s an Italian at heart. He had travelled to Italy as a young man and ever since his first espresso; he complains that all other coffees are weak and tasteless. Lately, he’s been changing the way he takes his coffee. It had me wondering because ever since I was little, the only way he would take his coffee was with sugar and black. A few months ago, he started adding honey to his coffee instead of sugar. This time, I see that he adds milk.  Were his tastes changing with age?

If there’s something my Dad likes more than coffee, it’s FREE coffee!  When I had lunch with him last week, I knew exactly which diner to take him to. The one that had free coffee refills!  I watched him pour in some honey, then some milk. Maybe he likes the sweetness of honey better? Maybe he wants a smoother coffee?  When I asked him why the change in habits, he answered, “White sugar is really bad for your body. If I want to sweeten something, I’ll put in honey.  It’s all natural.”  But why add milk?  “I’ve found that black coffee stains my teeth too quickly. By adding milk, it stains less.”

I’ve also recently read that adding milk to coffee will indeed lessen the staining.  It makes the coffee a lighter color and there are compounds in milk that helps prevent the stains from sticking. It works to prevent staining on real teeth as well as denture teeth.  If you don’t want to add milk to your daily coffee, the best thing to do is rinse with water afterwards, chew a sugarless gum and make sure your tongue is clean. 

 I asked my Dad if he heard this or read it somewhere. He said, “No, it’s just common sense! I want to keep my smile bright even if it’s not my own teeth!”  I’m glad that even at 84 years of age, my Dad looks younger than he actually is! Having a brighter smile definitely helps! 

This Patient Made Me The Most Nervous

People ask me if I'm nervous treating my husband in the dental chair. Nope, not at all.
People ask me if I'm nervous treating my kids in the dental chair. Nah, you're kidding, right?
People ask me if I'm nervous treating my Dad in the dental chair. Never. It's just Dad!

I've never had someone in my dental chair that made me nervous until last week.

My little niece came in for her first dental visit a few weeks ago. (cue drum roll!)

This Little Patient Made Me The Most Nervous

“Choose a job that you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” This quote is from Confucius.  I have heard of this quote but never realize who it was from.  I looked it up on the internet and all the searches included a picture of Confucius looking like an old Chinese man.  Somehow, if a quote comes from an old man with a beard, it’s automatically a wise saying.

That quote is so true of how I feel about being a dentist.  I really enjoy waking up in the morning and coming to work.  Seeing the list of patients on my computer makes me happy because I know I’ll be helping people and they will leave smiling. Most of these patients have been coming to the office for a long time so I get to know them very well. It’s like catching up with friends.

The other week, there was a patient that made me very nervous when I saw her name on my schedule. It was a new patient that I’ve never seen in my office before but just seeing her name made me very anxious. The sweet little 4 year old angel coming into see me was my little niece. This was her first dental visit ever.  She is a wonderful child, well mannered, polite and loves me.  That’s the problem… the last part. She loves me.  She loves me as her auntie and I want to keep it that way.  I don’t want her to be scared of me being her dentist. What if she didn’t want me to even look in her mouth?  What if she refused to sit in the big chair? What if she started to cry?  People who are nervous at the dentist as adults usually had a scary dental visit when they were a child.  I wasn’t sure how she would react that day but I was determined to make it a fun visit for her.  While I checked her parents’ mouths, she sat in the assistant’s chair.  She had on goggles, a mask and gloves and she “helped” me while I checked Mommy and Daddy’s teeth. After they were done, she asked, “Is it my turn now? I want Auntie to check my teeth too!”  (Her parents were such good examples of well-behaved patients! )

Great! This is going to be a fabulous visit!  I explained everything I was going to do and showed her all my dental “toys”.  She sat in the chair while I checked her teeth, we counted how many teeth she had, I cleaned her teeth and gave her a fluoride treatment. What a perfect visit!  We took a picture to remember that moment.  I know she wasn’t a bit nervous but I admit, I took a deep breath of relief after smiling for the photo when I really had nothing to worry about after all.  I’m looking forward to seeing her in my dental chair again in 6 months.  Nothing to worry about at all! 

Quick and Easy! or Is It?

Last Christmas, I had wanted to make my Dad some spicy roasted nuts. He LOVES nuts. Lately, he had been complaining that his sense of taste is not what it used to be and he wasn't getting as much enjoyment out of eating as he used to. Well, being the good daughter as I am, I decided that for Christmas, I would make him a batch of spicy honey roasted nuts! I did some internet research on what recipes had positive reviews, which pictures looked the best, how many ingredients and how long it took.....THAT is a biggie with me. If something has too many ingredients or it looks like there's too many steps, then it's a no-go.

My first batch came out looking like roasted insects. Was it too much time in the oven or was the honey scorching the culprit? I gave a batch for Dad to try. Not bad, he says! Does it taste burnt? No.... it's.... OK.  Is it spicy enough? It's OK, he says.  Great! Positive reinforcement!  Onto the next batch, then!

The second batch came out much better looking and with a punch of confidence, I added more spiciness! No bland nuts for dear ole Dad!  I packaged it nicely in the original container (from Costco).  Just when I was putting the lid on, my son walks into the kitchen.  "Is that for Gung Gung (Grandpa)?"  "Sure is!", I answered.
"Can you put my name on it as well?" "What?!"  "But what if I make a nice personalized label for it. That way, it will be a joint project!"  "Well, OK, fine."

One of the things I find amusing on the internet are photos of DIY Pintrest Fails.  Sometimes, I wonder if the fails are done horribly on purpose. I mean, there's NO WAY that that cake can look that messed up, right?

Here is my newest article for Weekly Biz Japanese Newspaper. Not that there are dentists out there looking on the internet for "Dental DIY" projects, but if you've been a dentist long enough, it makes you wonder sometimes.... For your reading pleasure!

It Looks So Quick and Easy

One of my daughter’s favorite things to do is “DIY” projects. It stands for “Do It Yourself”.  Her bedroom is always a collection of 10 different projects that she is in the middle of doing. Next to her chair is a scarf that she is knitting me. It’s been 3 months and the scarf is only 2 feet long. There is also T-shirt that she is painting for her brother. I’m afraid that by the time she’s finished, he would have outgrown that size. She gets all her ideas on the internet. 

There are plenty of people posting things that they have done themselves that came out gorgeous and perfect. They show the instructions step by step and it looks so quick and easy. After a 5 minute video, the project is finished! Beautiful! It could be baking a cake, it could be knitting a sweater, or it could be making a pair of earrings, or even painting your kitchen table. Everything is “SUGOI!” (meaning Great! or Amazing! in Japanese)  after the video.

In reality, that is not true. A lot of my daughter’s DIY projects have been unsuccessful.  A patient came to my office and wanted to improve her smile. She had gotten veneers, which are porcelain pieces bonded to the fronts of her teeth. They change the color, shape and size of her teeth. They are supposed to make her smile beautiful but instead she said it made her look like a horse. The veneers looked too thick, too white and too big. She had paid a lot of money as well. “The dentist said it would be the quickest and easiest way to improve my smile.” She said sadly. “But I’m thinking this was a big expensive mistake! Please tell me you can fix it! My friend speaks very highly of you and your office!” 

As many photos of perfect DIY projects there are on the internet, there are even more FAILED photos from people who were not prepared or not experienced enough to do the projects. When looking for a dental office, don’t necessarily look for the cheapest dental office; don’t necessarily look for the closest dental office, but look for the dentist with the most experience and the dentist that certainly knows what they’re doing. A good way to start is by asking friends and co-workers which dental office they go to and why. Make sure these are friends and co-workers that take care of their teeth on a regular basis, going for checkups and cleanings and not just for emergency visits. 

As for that patient, we were able to remove those ugly veneers and make her some that were beautiful and natural looking.  After 2 visits, she was able to leave happy and smiling. Sugoi! Now, if I can get my daughter to finish up knitting my scarf before winter is over, I can say “Sugoi!” again!

Cow farts and cavities...

Do global cow farts significantly contribute to the greenhouse effect on earth?
Does a piece of buttered toast tend to fall more often buttered side down on the floor?
Do cats really land on their feet all of the time?
Does birth order or cuteness correlate to the amount of cavities in a child?

Such deep pondering questions to start off the New Year!

My newest article for the Japanese newspaper Daily Sun is another fun read. I do try to avoid writing "heavy" articles for both Weekly Biz as well as Daily Sun. Most newspapers are already filled with enough tragic, sad, upsetting news. Obviously I'm addressing the last question listed above in my article. BUT I did do some online searching and while my birth order/ cuteness/ cavities informal observation did not involve research money, there was money pumped into the cow farts, buttered toast, and cat research.  Hmmm, maybe next time I should apply for a grant somewhere, somehow.

BTW, ......Global cow farts DO significantly contribute to the greenhouse effect. The US being the top country and Texas being the top state for producing cow farts.

- A piece of buttered toast DOES tend to land buttered side down but that's because of the general height from which it falls (waist height). Ways to overcome this.... higher kitchen counters and kitchen tables, shorter counters and tables, or just hold onto your toast better!

- Cats DO tend to land on their feet majority of the time but that also depends on the height of the fall. I also came upon some pretty old film segments (government films?) in which a cat was held by it's legs upside down and dropped. They did this comparison to a cat dropped the same way but in zero gravity. Poor cats, the ones in zero gravity had no idea what was going on!

For your reading enjoyment!

Dear Diary…. Does Cuteness or Birth Order Determine Amount of Cavities?

Going into the field of dentistry, I had to read a lot of scientific articles. It’s boring because of the way it’s written. The reports were very properly written with numbers and statistics and just, well… boring. But all these reports and numbers mean something and that’s what helps the field of dentistry advance and change for the better. Even after graduating from dental school, there is a need to keep up with the reports and articles so I can be a better dentist than I was yesterday.  I’ve gotten used to the boring reports and information so I don’t mind them but why couldn’t the reports be less dry? It’s because all the information that is collected needs to be very accurate and precise.

Over the years, I’ve also done some informal information collecting of my own in my office but of course, not as accurate and precise compared to the scientific magazines! I’ve observed that “birth order can somewhat determine the amount of cavities a child may have”. My reasoning maybe wrong but I think that the first child has the least cavities. That may be that the first child is the one that parents are the most careful with. They have the cleanest clothes, the best haircuts, the healthiest eating habits, the best brushing habits as well. The first child is everything that the parents can hope for. Things are fine as a new family of 3. Things are under control.

By the time the 2^nd, 3^rd or 4^th child comes along, parents are more tired, the house is a little messier, more meals are fast food, and perfect night time brushing habits are just not as perfect anymore.

I mentioned this theory with my friend who is also a dentist. He says he has a similar observation except his theory is that “cuteness determines the amount of cavities”. (I didn’t ask him how he determined which kids are cute). He says cute kids get more candy given to them even without asking and cute kids get more candy when they ask. After all, who can resist a cute smile that comes along with the question? Grandparents will spoil a cute kid more. And when it comes to night time brushing, parents are more willing to pass on brushing when they see those big eyes fill with tears in protest.

I really don’t think there is a way to test both our theories but if both of us are correct, parents with cute kids that are not firstborn may have to work a lot harder to keep their little mouths cleaner and cavity free! 

Will You Marry Me?

Every day when I'm driving into work,  I listen to the news, weather and traffic during the first 15 minutes. I alternate between 3 radio news stations to check on traffic so I can plot my journey to the world of teeth.

After I'm confident that I have the quickest route, I will switch to K-Love music. The DJs scatter in interesting stories around the world.  Today's story hit home. It had all the makings of a love story.  A boy, a girl, a wedding proposal, a ring.... and a wisdom tooth?!

Sometimes after I do an extraction, I will remark that the extracted tooth would make a perfect pendant for a necklace for the wife or girlfriend because Christmas is coming up soon. The patient would laugh along so the mood in the room would not be so stressful anymore. Of course, no one has ever taken that advice to heart. That is, until I heard the story on the radio this morning.

Apparently, a man had his wisdom tooth extracted and had it set into a ring and proposed to his girlfriend who promptly said, "Yes". Now, as a dentist, I don't mind being around teeth, in the mouth or all bloody and sitting on my tray after an extraction. I don't care how beautiful this wisdom tooth is or if it somehow had a weird indentation on it resembling a heart or if it had a heart engraved into it, I personally don't think any removed body part is appropriate as a token of undying love or used to ask someone for their hand in marriage.

Here is my latest article for Weekly Biz, Japanese newspaper. For your reading enjoyment and entertainment!

Will You Marry Me?

This morning when I was on my way to work, I heard something interesting on the radio. A man recently had his wisdom tooth extracted. He had it made part of a ring and used it to ask his girlfriend to marry him. As I listened to this story, I thought back 20 years ago when my husband asked me to marry him. How would I react if he was on his knees with a ring that had his tooth in it? I think I would have left him on his knees! 

As romantic as this man may think, the reason diamonds are in engagement rings and wedding rings is because diamonds are forever. They are beautiful and nothing can destroy them. A tooth, on the other hand, while being beautiful, it cannot last very long on a ring. Over time, it will dry out and break into pieces. On that day, the girl that received the really personal piece of jewelry will be left with a ring with sharp broken pieces of body parts. Not very attractive or romantic now, is it? The announcer on the radio said that she accepted his proposal for marriage with the tooth ring. But I certainly hope she gets a diamond from her man in the near future as well as a “I’m just kidding about the tooth ring, honey! Here’s the real ring!”

So how much is your tooth worth? It’s worth more in your mouth than out of your mouth! A clean, healthy tooth is free of charge and will last forever but once there’s decay, there’s the price of a filling, or the price of a root canal, or the price of a crown attached to that tooth. If that tooth is so bad that it needs to be taken out, there’s the price of an extraction, the price of replacing it with an implant!  

 Please be careful keeping your mouth and teeth clean and healthy. Get regular x-rays with exams, regular cleanings, and make sure to fix things when they are small!  Gentlemen, if you are single and reading this, start saving up for that diamond ring that you will be giving the future love of your life.  I can tell you, not a lot of girls are OK with a tooth on a ring as an example of your forever love for them!

Cricket Legs

Our home is a transient stopover for animals. Some stay for a short while (not that we're bad pet owners but some just have a shorter natural lifespan), and some stay for years and become infused as a part of the family.

Our newest member is Arnold, an anole.Even though this is considered a cheap pet, I've realized that like any pet, it's not the amount of money you pay upfront, it's the upkeep of said pet that is pricey. Arnold eats crickets and at 10 crickets/ $1, he's averaging about $3/ month. If you tack on gas to get the crickets and time spent driving to purchase these insects, it's starting to get to me. On top of that, to cut down on insect purching trips, I've been buying them 30 at a time. There is a separate container to keep these crickets while they are awaiting to be inserted into the food chain. Alas, the "food" also must be fed to be kept alive.  Fortunately, a few Cheerios, a lettuce leaf and a soggy paper towel ball is all they need as they wait unknowingly happily chirping away  at night.

My latest dental article is about crickets as food. Not so much for Arnold, but for people. Many countries outside the USA are already accepting insects as a food choice. Americans, in general are a lot more squeamish about things like this. Read and enjoy!

Did You Have Crickets For Lunch?

As a dentist, there are courses and lectures that can help improve dental skills and knowledge.  One of the skills I’ve developed after years of being a dentist does not have to do with dentistry at all. I’ve learned to identify leftover foods in patient’s mouths. I know, it’s an interesting but yucky skill. Broccoli is the easiest!

As much as my patients think they have clean teeth after lunch, it’s still a great idea to rinse with water and try to get all the food pieces out. Sugarless gum is also a good way to clean your teeth after a meal. It also freshens your breath and neutralizes the acidic saliva. 

Last month I was at a museum store with my kids and they were selling roasted crickets. “Look at that!” I said to them. “Let’s try a box!” We bought a box and ate it in the car. It just tasted a little dry, crunchy but not bad at all. Not what I expected! Scientists have said that in the future, insects will become more and more acceptable and available as food. The only bad part was after we ate the crickets, bits of cricket legs were all stuck in our teeth. I did not have any sugarless gum but thank goodness I always have floss in my bag. We checked each other with big wide smiles saying, “Do you see any more legs in there?”

2nd Chances

In life, and sometimes in love, people want 2nd chances.
My son is known for asking for 2nd chances. Every time there is is a punishment or a "consequence" to be carried out, there is pleading for 2nd chances.
As much as I want to be merciful, the lessons will not be learned or reinforced if I'm too much of a pushover. This month's article for Weekly Biz is just about that.
Happy reading!

2nd Chances

Recently I got a new cell phone and after it was activated, I noticed that all my old voicemail messages had transferred over. I had saved some of my kids’ messages when they were a lot younger. They still had their baby voices and it’s so cute. One message in particular made me laugh. It was my son when he was around 8 years old. My Dad was watching them after school while I was working. They are supposed to be doing homework and practicing their music. Those are the rules. No TV or video games after school, too.  My Dad told me that both my kids had broken the rules by watching TV so when I got home, as a punishment, I had them write 1000x “I will obey Mommy’s rules and not watch TV during school nights”. 

My 9 year old daughter went to her room and after a short time; handed in her 1000 sentences.  My son took longer so I had him complete it the next day. While I was at work the next day, he came home and left me a voice message. “Mommy, I want you to know that I did not watch TV after school today. Can I have a second chance?  If you let me stop writing, I will obey your rules, clean my room, wash the dishes after dinner and I promise not to watch TV after school on school nights.  I love you, Mommy.”  He sounded so sad.

Sometime in the future, people will have a 2^nd chance with their teeth. Adults have a complete set of teeth by the time they are 12 years old. Instead of living with one set of damaged or repaired adult teeth for the rest of their lives, having to deal with old root canals, bridges, dentures, implants, all of a sudden, a new set would come out and we would have a chance to do better. All the people who did not take care of their 1^st set of adult teeth could now have a 2^nd chance. Brand new white teeth as a 50 year old!

Unfortunately, that is not true. Like my son that left the sad voicemail, there were no 2^nd chances with his punishment that day and there are no 2^nd chances with a new set of adult teeth. My senior patients tell me that if they had known how important teeth are as they got older, they would have taken better care of their teeth while they were younger. Some people wish they have 2^nd chances with their teeth. In the future, they may be able to. Just not right now.