Howard Farran Podcast 21 Jun 2024, 5:07 am

Listen to my interview with the great Howard Farran on Dentistry Uncensored Podcast

https://www.orthotown.com/blog/post/6325/618-the-dentist-dad-roger-lucas-dentistry-uncensored-with-howard-farran

Cavity Prevention Interview: Bread vs. Crackers 21 Nov 2016, 9:34 am

his video went viral, and will change your mind about how you think about cavities forever in just 4 minutes! Even the news anchor was convinced to change the snacks in her pantry! On live TV, see an experiment to compare the stickiness of different starches: bread vs. crackers! You will be shocked when you see the results at 2:30! Be sure to share it with anyone who has kids!

Learn why dark chocolate and whole milk are better for your teeth.

Eat More Chocolate for Your Teeth- Seriously! 21 Nov 2016, 9:26 am

This five minute interview (at the beginning), I use a visual demonstration to show why dark chocolate is one of the best treats to eat when it comes to your teeth, and why you should think about switching to skim milk for your kids. Make sure to still not drink milk all day long, or leave it in bed with a baby! Your teeth need to rest, too!

The research study I am referencing is from the 2014 Journal of Pediatric Dentistry.

Learn why you should give your kid bread instead of crackers.

Why Younger Siblings Get More Cavities. 1 Jul 2016, 9:34 am

The following post is a free chapter from More Chocolate, No Cavities. I hope it helps you!

Avoiding The Younger-Sibling-Cavities Trend

Most of the time, younger siblings get more cavities than do older siblings. I cannot tell you how many times I have had families in which the oldest child (or children) had zero cavities at age eight. Then, like clockwork, the youngest sibling turns five and is finally able to have x-rays to check for cavities hiding in between the teeth, and I find eight cavities. The cavities usually present in pairs of two and are in all four likely spots. Then the mother or father, looking shocked, says, “But I did everything the same!” I used to shrug and say, “It’s weak enamel.” That was before I discovered the “cracker hypothesis.” Once you change your paradigm, the answer becomes obvious.

How can you avoid this sibling trend? Here is my extremely scientific reasoning about why younger siblings get more cavities than do older siblings: we give younger siblings crackers to keep them quiet. And remember… crackers are ten times stickier than a piece of bread because they are dried out.

Doesn’t that make sense? Firstborn children are often fed fresh fruits and vegetables (from your organic garden in the backyard, of course). By the third kid, you hardly have time for food shopping, let alone taking a shower, so you push a bowl of crackers in front of the little one to keep him quiet as you rush to fill everyone’s needs. It’s not an indictment, just a reality. I joke with parents, telling them to give younger siblings tablets to keep them quiet; they might get ADHD, but at least they won’t have holes in their teeth. My joke is sarcastic but partially true in my own household. Setting limits on screen time is important, too. Letting kids learn how to entertain themselves without food or electronics is an important life skill.

There are a few other reasons for the younger-sibling trend:

Younger siblings start most things at a younger age. Take juice, for example. If you were super awesome and waited until age five to serve apple juice (other than special occasions or bouts of sickness), you deserve the biggest parental pat on the back ever because absolutely none of your friends did such a thing. But the youngest sibling somehow starts getting juice at age two. This is simply one example, but my point is obvious: it is emotionally and practically more difficult to do things “exactly” the same as you did with your firstborn.

The biggest reason that younger sibling get more cavities, however, is the lack of awareness of the cracker hypothesis. You attribute your older children’s zero-cavities success to a relative dearth of candy, absolutely no soda, virtually no juice, and strong enamel. You don’t remember that your older children did not graze on crackers all day.

“But I got away with not flossing with my other kids,” you say. And, in fact, you did. So you knew you would be set with the second (or third) child because your children have genetically superior teeth. But combine no flossing with extra crackers and more juice, and you have the perfect setup for eight cavities at age five for the youngest sibling. Another way of stating the theory is that you got away with not flossing your first child’s teeth because she didn’t have crackers very often, didn’t graze often, and had more water. Since your first child, you’ve made other subtle changes, and, all of sudden, you could not get away with not flossing (imagine flour jammed in between the teeth for two years).

So if you want to be proactive and keep up your zero-cavity streak for your youngest children (which would be impressive with two children, amazing in three children, and otherworldly with four or more), I would focus on the three principles starting at age one. Keep the “snacking only in certain places and times” habit going. Keep the rule of only carrying around water (not even milk is allowed away from the table). And because, by default, you are going to be more imperfect with the younger children, perhaps even floss their teeth even though you did not floss the older kids’ teeth.

I am happy to report that since I have been informing parents about my prevention principles for the past four years, I have had hundreds of families make it successfully to even the third (or fourth) child with zero cavities by age five. My theories have been working in my practice, and I have fewer surprised parents. Even more importantly, I have helped countless families completely reverse the trend. Their eldest child had eight cavities, and they were able to keep the youngest child cavity-free by changing all of the unhealthy habits. In most cases, bad genetics can be overcome with enough effort started early.

Floss Like a Boss 25 Mar 2016, 3:45 pm

In this flossing video, we discuss the four most important points to floss in between the back primary molars. If the back molars are not touching, don’t even worry about flossing them. It is only worth flossing in between teeth if they are touching. About ten percent of kids will need to have you floss the upper front teeth, sometimes even at age one. Thankfully it is very easy.

The bottom front teeth almost never have cavities in them because they are always protected by saliva. (The only time I see cavities in them is if there are at least ten other cavities, usually from constant juice or other liquids other than water.)

If your child has very tight teeth, you can use your thumb on your other hand as a “stopper” to catch the floss so it doesn’t snap all the way into the gums.

Have your child look up at the ceiling when flossing the top back teeth. You need to be able to see what you are doing. Alternatively, you can have your child lie down. Be creative!

Don’t throw away those flossers! You will save the environment by reusing the flossers. If you think about it, a regular toothbrush has much more bacteria on it than these simple flossers.

Don’t fill guilty about using the flossers. Technically, you have more control using regular floss, but the flossers make life so much easier. You will only do it if it is easy for you.

Remember, you can’t out-floss a bad “tooth diet”.

Why More Chocolate? 18 Mar 2016, 3:46 pm

The following contains excerpts from my book, More Chocolate, No Cavities: How Diet Can Keep Your Kid Cavity-Free.

Fat does not cause cavities. Starches and sugars do.

Counterintuitively, your teeth would be better off if you had a small piece of 70 percent dark chocolate instead of a pretzel, a cracker, or even dried fruit. (I can’t say the same for milk chocolate—sorry.) Dark chocolate has a higher fat content and therefore a lower carbohydrate concentration relative to crackers. It is similar to peanut butter that has some added sugar. Cavity-causing bacteria won’t selectively only break down the sugars in chocolate; it must process the fat, too. Since it has to “wade through” all of the fat molecules, it will process the sugar a little more slowly. My favorite is 70 percent dark chocolate. Dark chocolate in particular has more fat than it has sugar. In other words, fat is the majority of the mass, while sugar is a minority. The higher the cacao concentration the better, because this increases the fat content and lowers the sugar content. Dark chocolate also happens to contain some chemicals that may strengthen your enamel. Toothpaste manufacturer Theodent extracted a chemical from dark chocolate and used it to make toothpaste that has been shown to strengthen enamel. More research is needed, but it looks promising. I view it as one more excuse to eat dark chocolate. Now, don’t go crazy and eat dark chocolate all day long. But you knew that already, right? I even give my three-year-old dark chocolate a few times a week (yet our house is cracker free!).

What about milk chocolate? Milk chocolate does not have the same health benefits as dark chocolate, but because of its higher fat content, it is better than most other candies (if you are going to have a piece of candy anyway). In other words, if you had a choice (for your teeth) between milk chocolate, a sucker, or a chewy fruity candy, choose the milk chocolate. The milk chocolate has less fat and more sugar than does dark chocolate (and no enamel-strengthening chemicals), but the sugar doesn’t last as long as that of a hard sucker or chewy fruity candy. I wouldn’t recommend milk chocolate every day because it lacks any health benefits dark chocolate may potentially provide, but I view crackers in the same way. I also do not recommend crackers every day, either. When you think of it that way, the average American family can usually get away with more chocolate than expected and should have significantly fewer crackers than expected when it comes to cavities. Have more chocolate and fewer crackers than you originally expected, and your teeth will be happier. My office gives out a piece of dark chocolate to every new family to drive this point home.

The best thing about dark chocolate is that no parent who is focused on health would give it to their child all day long. Far too often, parents give their child otherwise nutritious foods too frequently throughout the day, and end up surprised when their child gets cavities. Be sure to check out my diet-based snack guide for the different categories of snacks when it comes to teeth.

If you are still not convinced, I have a cheat for you! They now make dark chocolate sweetened with xylitol! Without the sugar, and many clinical studies showing that xylitol may actually help prevent cavities on its own, now you have a cavity preventing machine for a treat. Here are two online retailers that I have found: 4noGuilt.com and DrJohns.com. (I have no financial ties to these companies, they are just what I have found to be delicious and use myself.)

Two side effects to keep in mind. One: Xylitol and chocolate are both poisonous to dogs. Keep it away from pets! Two: If you eat too much xylitol, it may have a mild laxative effect. However, I consider this a plus for my own children, since constipation is often a constant struggle, I actually give my own kids extra xylitol when they are constipated now. It helps their teeth at the same time, and it is delicious. Win-win!

My book, More Chocolate, No Cavities, is full of advice that you won’t find anywhere else, and even if your dentist does know it, doesn’t have an hour to tell you. Please buy a copy and pass it on to a friend!

Ultimate Health Podcast Interview 10 Mar 2016, 3:47 pm

086: Dr. Roger Lucas – Diet Alone Can Prevent 100% Of Cavities | Is Lemon Water Bad For Your Teeth? | Stay Away From “Sticky” Foods

This week’s guest is paediatric dentist and biochemist, Dr. Roger Lucas. He is leading the movement for a practical, diet-first approach to cavity prevention. Roger is the author of More Chocolate, No Cavities: How Diet Can Keep Your Kid Cavity-Free. In this episode, we discuss: Diet alone can prevent 100% of cavities Carbs are the … Continue reading086: Dr. Roger Lucas – Diet Alone Can Prevent 100% Of Cavities | Is Lemon Water Bad For Your Teeth? | Stay Away From “Sticky” Foods

The Ultimate Health Podcast

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How to Brush Your Child’s Teeth – with the Magic of Unicorns! 16 Jan 2016, 9:36 am

Step 1) Have fun with brushing!

Below is a teeth brushing song I made for my own daughters and patients. They love singing the song, and brushing while watching the video. It’s two minutes long! (Don’t worry, you don’t have to spend that long with a two year old as long as you help them get the spots they missed.)

Step 3) Be efficient with brushing!

Some areas of the mouth are harder to reach than others. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. If you know exactly how to get each area, you can clean every square millimeter of the teeth, and be as efficient as possible. It’s quality, not quantity, especially when you are helping a toddler.

As far as actual brushing technique, if you know exactly where to go, you can reach all of the areas that are usually missed (I know where I fix cavities at work all day, so I know where to focus on.) When your child turns 6 or 7, then convert to two minutes twice a day. If you are giving your child the right foods, you can spend less time brushing their teeth under age 6. Doesn’t that sound nice!

Step 4) Have less to brush!

If there is still food on the teeth and your child ate more than 5 minutes ago, it’s better to pick different food. By following the snack guide, you will see some healthy foods are stickier than you think! It took me years before I figured out that crackers and dry cereal are about 9 times as sticky as fresh bread or a bagel! So, stick with the snack guide, with snacks like apples, cheese, and toast, instead of dried fruit, crackers, and dried cereals for snacks, and you will find there is no food to brush!

Your job just became 9 times easier!

For a printable version, visit the Tooth Snack Guide page.

If You Must Have Dessert, Have This Instead… 8 Dec 2015, 9:36 am

I’m not going to say ice cream is healthy for you, because it is not.

Ice cream has lots of sugar. It has the capacity to cause cavities.

But it won’t.

That is because cavities are caused by time simple carbohydrates touch teeth more than any other factor. If you think about it, an apple, which is considered good for your teeth, has sugar in it as well. So does a smoothie. The reason that dentists are not clamoring for kids to eat less apples or smoothies is because the sugar in apples and smoothies isn’t sticky. The sugar and acids rinse away in about 20 minutes.

When it comes to the bacteria in your mouth, they can’t really tell the difference between the sugar in an apple or ice cream. Obviously an apple is healthier because of the vitamin C and fiber, but once there is a certain amount of sugar, it is all the same to the bacteria.

So, if you are going to have dessert anyways that isn’t fresh fruit, stick with ice cream instead of something worse, such as almost any other candy, or even dried fruit. Most candies stay in the mouth much longer than an apple or ice cream, and are not with a meal anyways. Dried fruit, even though healthy, sticks to the teeth for longer. Raisins once a day are okay, just not all day long. Kind of like ice cream. Don’t eat that all day long either.

Saying no to all sugars isn’t very practical. Knowing where you can give in a little and stay cavity free is practical. Don’t feel so guilty about ice cream. That is what I give my kids, and I am a crazy dentist.

Fluoride Recommendations Lowered 28 Apr 2015, 3:47 pm

For the first time in 50 years, the U.S. has lowered the recommended fluoride recommendations. As a pediatric dentist focused on prevention, here is a quick run down and my opinion:

The old guidelines: 0.7 ppm to 1.2 ppm depending on the average temperature. (ppm stands for parts per million)

The thought process was those living in hotter climates will drink more water, so they should have the lower lever of fluoride (0.7 ppm). Those living in cooler climates will drink less water, so could use more fluoride concentration (up to 1.2 ppm).

The new guidelines: The recommended guidelines are now a flat 0.7 ppm for all climates.

I think this is a step in the right direction. The thought process is that there are plenty of other sources of fluoride that we swallow. This includes small amounts of toothpaste every night, and the “halo effect” of fluoride, such as buying a product made with fluoridated water elsewhere.

Fluoride has been shown to help reduce the effect of the acid attack by bacteria make on teeth and thereby can potentially help reduce cavities. How it does this, exactly, is up for debate.

I believe most of the evidence leans towards fluoride in the water helping our teeth by rinsing over the enamel, and not by swallowing it. This is admittedly hard to study. However, rinsing enamel with fluoride has less chance of side effects than swallowing it, for obvious reasons.

Getting fluoride at your dentist every six months helps with the “topical” effect of coating the enamel with fluoride. There is less chance of fluorosis with fluoride at your dentist every six months as compared to swallowing too much toothpaste every night. (That is why it is important to use a rice sized amount for small children, and a pea sized amount once children are old enough to spit.)

Like any mineral, vitamin, or drug… too much is bad, but too little can bad as well. An extreme example… salt. Sodium Chloride (salt) is required to live. If you drink extreme amounts of salt, you would die. If you (somehow) were to manage no salt whatsoever, you would die. Both extremes are very difficult to achieve. There is obviously a wide range of safety. The same is true with fluoride.

With fluoride… too little and cavities (big brown holes) can be much easier to achieve. If you double the amount of recommended fluoride and swallow it daily, you run into the range of getting little white spots on your adult teeth (fluorosis.) There is no harm, but it doesn’t look cosmetically pleasing. If you have extreme amounts of fluoride (5-8 times the recommended amount) swallowed daily for years (like in some parts of the world where it occurs naturally in the water supply), then teeth are not formed correctly and other bad things can happen. I wouldn’t worry about these things unless you live in a place like Durango, Mexico.

For some families who are very educated about my philosophy that diet is the best way to prevent cavities and have a better diet than my own family, I would argue that fluoride in the water is not important for that particular family. This is probably a very small percentage of American households who have made the sacrifice to give up most processed foods. Not just sugar, but almost all flour. Also, not eating bananas or oranges all day, and following my other prevention principles and then some.

I still give my kids plenty of processed foods, like ice cream after dinner, macaroni and cheese for lunch, and whole grain breads. I still try to keep crackers reserved for preschool and on the go. But, I give them a small amount of fluoride toothpaste on their tooth brush every night, and I don’t buy bottled water. We drink the fluoridated stuff from the tap.

My only exception is: for infants.

Although my wife was able to exclusively breastfeed our daughters up to age one, I know that can be difficult or not possible with some children. If my child were to exclusively use formula, I would buy non-fluoridated water for formula use under age one.

If my assumption is correct: that fluoride helps more by passing over the teeth than by swallowing it, there is not much of a benefit under age one for fluoridated water in large quantities. Also, an infants weight is so small, they could get a relatively large amount of fluoride concentration from drinking formula, which could potentially increase the risk for spots on the teeth (fluorosis). As a child gains more weight (ages one and up), the risk of this theoretically diminishes.

Most families in America are not even aware that crackers and dry cereal can cause cavities. Unfortunately, there are still a large percentage of parents who may not even bring their child in to the dentist until ages 4 or 5. I still see this every day.

In my opinion, the fluoride is in the water for the children who are not able to see a dentist, and because we are hooked on processed flour.

So, until they put a warning label on all crackers and juice that they can cause cavities (which isn’t happening any time soon), fluoridated water is, in my opinion, a good public health measure.

I would only recommend to cut out fluoridated water if you also cut all all processed food.

Having a newborn baby, my family is not doing that anytime soon, so I happily give my kids normal tap water.

Dr. Lucas