Dr. Bob's Mouthly Report

The Expense Nearly Half of Americans Think Can Bankrupt Them

by Robert Glisci, DDS, PC on 05/31/19

You've surely heard you should stash money away in a rainy day fund for any unexpected expenses. Whether you lose your job, the refrigerator breaks, or your kid gets hurt at soccer practice, it's important to keep a few thousand dollars in the bank, just in case the unexpected happens.

While all those costs could dent your budget, there's one expense that nearly half of Americans are worried will bankrupt them: healthcare.

Around 45% of Americans said a major health-related expense could potentially lead to bankruptcy, according to a Gallup poll. Healthcare expenses can break the bank at any age, but they're especially detrimental to older Americans -- retirees in particular.

Not only are older adults more susceptible to health issues, but retirees usually live on a fixed income. And going bankrupt from healthcare costs is even more likely for the 42% of baby boomers who have nothing at all saved for retirement, according to an Insured Retirement Institute survey.

Energy drink consumption rising in the U.S.

by Robert Glisci, DDS, PC on 05/31/19

(Reuters Health) - Americans are consuming more energy drinks, with a notable increase among young adults, survey data show.

Energy drinks are non-alcoholic beverages with high levels of caffeine or other stimulants, plus amino acids, herbs and vitamins. They’re marketed as fatigue killers and refreshing beverages that can improve physical and mental performance - but this may come at a price, researchers say.

They point to high caffeine levels in energy drinks and a “rapidly expanding body of literature” that suggests negative health effects and risky behaviors may be linked to high consumption of the beverages.

Beyond the caffeine, “people who drink energy drinks consume approximately 200 calories from these beverages daily, which is considerably higher than other sugary beverages like soda,” Sara Bleich at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston told Reuters Health.

Furthermore, ingredients in some of the drinks - such as guarana and taurine - are so poorly studied it’s hard to say whether they’re safe in large quantities.

Study ties childhood trauma to tooth loss later in life

by Robert Glisci, DDS, PC on 05/31/19

CHICAGO, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Even if children grow up to overcome childhood adversity, the trauma they experience in early life causes them to be at greater risk for tooth loss, according to a study posted on the website of the University of Michigan (UM).

The researchers investigated three models of life course research: the sensitive period, defined as the time in a person's life during which events have the most impact on his or her development; the accumulation model, which examines the effect of the accumulation of events over the life course; and the social mobility model, which examines the change in a person's socioeconomic status during that person's life.

They discovered that more than 13 percent of adults over 50 had lost all of their permanent teeth. Nearly 30 percent of respondents experienced financial hardship, or had lost their parents or experienced a parental divorce by age 16. Ten percent of the respondents had experienced physical abuse and 18 percent smoked during childhood. Nearly half held a high school diploma or less and 20 percent of respondents had lived in poverty at least once since age 51.

The researchers suspect adverse events could impact tooth loss through socio-behavioral pathways. For example, abused children may be more likely to engage in health behaviors such as binge drinking or excessive consumption of sugar or nicotine use, which can contribute to tooth loss.

Tips On How To Avoid “Wine Mouth”

by Robert Glisci, DDS, PC on 05/31/19

Bethany Biron explains how to avoid that age-old problem: red wine mouth.

As an enthusiast of wine — specifically, cheap wine from Trader Joe’s — I’ve had my fair share of dreaded wine mouth.

Despite lipsticks lining the aisles of Sephora in shades like “Cabernet Crush” and “Bordeaux Beauty,” waking up to stained lips and tinted teeth isn’t exactly chic. While I personally try to stick to white wine, it can be hard to avoid the siren call of a full-bodied red.

Luckily, there are some preventive steps you can take to avoid looking like an extra on “The Walking Dead” after a few glasses of malbec. Dr. Ruchi Sahota, spokeswoman for the American Dental Association, recommends brushing your teeth right before going out to help rid teeth of plaque, which dark, acidic beverages like red wine and coffee thrive on.

“Enamel is one of the hardest substances in our body, but it’s extremely susceptible to acid,” she said. “While drinking, try not to swish wine or hold it in your mouth for longer than you need to. Sip it and swallow.”

Another trick is to avoid drinking white wine before red, as it corrodes enamel and primes it for deeper staining. If you’re feeling especially cautious, Dr. Sahota suggests drinking from a straw. (Though that may not score you new friends at a party.)

Courtesy of the New York Times

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Mental health and substance use insurance claims more than double in last decade

by Robert Glisci, DDS, PC on 05/25/19

Insurance claims for mental health and substance use conditions have more than doubled in the last decade, a new report found. And the increase is driven largely by teens and young adults.

Reported rates of depression and anxiety among Americans have been increasing in recent years, with the most prominent growth seen among youth. More children, teens, and young adults are going to hospital emergency rooms for psychiatric concerns, including self-injury, like cutting. Suicide rates are also up, with rates of self-poisoning particularly surging among teenage girls.

At the same time, the nation has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic. More than 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2017 — double the number a decade earlier, the report states.

Experts caution that the rising rates of mental illness and substance use could be the result of different data collection methods, and not a true indicator of change. Reduced stigma might lead people to report their conditions more accurately today than in the past, they say.