Atrium Family Dental of New Lenox Blog

Throughout your lives, dentists have told you that you need to take care of your teeth and protect them from the development of plaque and cavities. But did you know that our teeth have their own natural protection? From your New Lenox dentists, we’re here to tell you that the tooth enamel is a type of tissue that coats the exposed parts of a tooth and it is one of the toughest substances in a person’s body. The strength of the enamel comes from the many minerals that the tooth contains. Tooth enamel is also semi-translucent, meaning the coloration of the tooth comes from the dentin which is underneath the enamel. It coats the top crown of the tooth and serves as the primary defense of our teeth against bacteria.

However, the tooth enamel is not exactly invincible. The types of food we eat can affect the strength of the enamel. Tooth cavities dissolve and destroy enamel by stripping the minerals that make it strong. One of the primary causes of tooth cavities is the consumption of sugary foods and acids. Our Illinois dental practice warns against sugar because it feeds bacteria, and as bacteria work hard to propagate, they release acids, thus destroying enamel.
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Athletes shouldn’t be interested in just winning when they play a game. Athletes, particularly young athletes, ought to be worried about safeguarding their smiles while playing contact sports.

At Atrium Family Dental, your New Lenox dental office, we provide Under Armour Perfomance Mouthwear and Boil-and-Bite mouthguards that offer your teeth complete protection throughout a game. It is vital to protect your mouth when playing a sport, specifically if you’re using metal braces as part of your orthodontic treatment. Mouthguards are important in keeping your teeth and gums safe from injury.
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You know how you go to the Dentist for your mouth and the Doctor for the rest of your body? Does that make you feel like your mouth is a separate entity and not really that connected to your body? If so, then you’re not alone. Most of us missed the memo about the “oral-systemic connection” (mouth-body connection). Maybe you have read in a newspaper or magazine or even heard on the news that gingivitis affects your heart. Just how connected are they?

In the past decade studies have proven that they are VERY connected! So much so that a healthy mouth will actually increase your life expectancy by three to ten years!!! The mouth has the highest concentration of bacteria of anywhere in the whole body, and that’s how it’s supposed to be. These bacteria aren’t all bad. They start the process of digesting your food and actually have some very positive roles in your health. The problem comes when those bacteria don’t stay in the mouth and they get into the rest of your body.
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