
3 Easy Ways to Keep Thug Bugs From Growing on Your Toothbrush

It’s critically important to help heal the misunderstandings that our culture has around how to navigate the path to greater oral health.
Let’s study 5 aspects of how diet and nutrition can impact oral health.
In this article, let’s explore the inner workings of diet’s impact on oral health.
To put into perspective the role that diet plays in helping or undermining our oral health, this first article is going to explore the work of Dr. Ralph Steinman.
Dr. Steinman was a dental researcher in the 1970s who did extensive research to determine the cause of tooth decay. He published his work in his amazing book, Dentinal Fluid Transport. He conducted tens of thousands of experiments on lab rats to determine the cause of tooth decay. What he found may surprise you.
Fundamentally, what Dr. Steinman discovered is that our teeth are alive.
Contrary to the popular cultural belief that teeth are like small rocks, the fact is that our teeth have fluid running through them, and this is called ‘dentinal fluid flow’.
The dentin is the layer of tissue in each of our teeth that’s just between the hard outer (enamel) surface and the inner soft tooth pulp.
Dr. Steinman discovered that this dentinal fluid flow is part of the blood circulation that goes into and out of each of our teeth.
He also discovered that when the dentinal fluid is flowing from the inside of the tooth outward, the teeth are very resistant to decay. However, when the fluid flow reverses and flows from the outer surface of the tooth towards the inner portion of the tooth, decay sets in very quickly.
The thug bugs in our mouths contribute to tooth decay. If the dentinal fluid is flowing the healthy way, this flow prevents the thug bugs from being able to decay the teeth; the flow washes them out of the teeth. It’s like they have to swim upstream to get into the teeth. On the other hand, if the dentinal fluid flow reverses, then it’s like the thug bugs get a free pass on a highway right into our teeth!
Dr. Steinman found that dentinal fluid flow is controlled by the parotid gland, a part of our salivary system that is located in the region behind our lower jaw. Then he discovered that the parotid gland is controlled by the part of our brain called the hypothalamus. For the sake of simplicity, let’s refer to this relationship between dentinal fluid flow, the parotid gland, and the hypothalamus as ‘dentinal fluid flow’.
With these pieces in place, Dr. Steinman’s work helped us to understand that a healthy, balanced diet not only helps to control the thug bugs responsible for dental decay, but also helps to maintain a healthy, living tissue within the teeth that can help resist decay through healthy dentinal fluid flow.
Written by- Oral Health Foundation
How eating disorders can affect your mouth: and how your dental team can help spot early signs
Eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder all have negative effects on the mouth, their symptoms can range from slight to severe and dental professionals are often among the first to identify possible red flags.
Multiple studies have shown eating disorders can affect oral health. That’s why the Oral Health Foundation is supporting Eating Disorders Awareness Week.
In this blog post, let’s look at what the main symptoms of each condition are, how they can affect the health of your mouth, and how your dental team can help you.
What is anorexia?
People with anorexia nervosa limit their intake of food and drink and have a fear of gaining weight. Many people with anorexia attribute their self-worth to their caloric intake and punish themselves for eating too much or eating the “wrong types” of foods.
What is bulimia?
Bulimia nervosa is a binge eating disorder and is diagnosed based on binge-purge patterns of eating. To meet the criteria for a diagnosis of bulimia you must be binging (taking in an excessive amount of calories in one sitting) and purging (expelling food/calories through excessive exercise, taking laxatives, or forcing yourself to vomit) for a prolonged period of time on a regular basis.
People with bulimia may also experience symptoms such as tiredness, bloating and/or constipation, abdominal pain, and irregular menstrual cycles.
What is a binge eating disorder?
Binge eaters have previously been classified as food addicts. They will often take in large quantities of food and/or drink without feeling like they are in control of what they are doing, these binges can be planned ahead of time with the sufferer buying “special” foods to binge on, or they could be spontaneous.
Binge eaters are not “overindulging” on foods or simply just having large portions, these are not enjoyable experiences and often cause a lot of distress and embarrassment for sufferers.
Characteristics of a binge eating episode include eating faster than normal, eating until feeling uncomfortably full, eating large amounts of food when you don’t feel hungry, eating alone due to embarrassment at the amount being eaten, and feelings of disgust, shame, or guilt during/after the binge.
All of these eating disorders affect your health, have negative effects on sufferers’ bodies, and should be treated as serious health conditions.
Potential negative effects of vitamin and nutrient deficiencies can cause the body to shut down and not function properly and that will also be reflected in the mouth. Oral signs of eating disorders can include:
https://www.dentalhealth.org/blog/how-eating-disorders-can-affect-your-mouth