914-337-6536
20 Studio Arcade Bronxville, NY 10708
You and your dentist are essential partners in making sure you have the best dental care. You do your part by eating a tooth-healthy diet, brushing and flossing as recommended, and seeing Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis regularly for checkups and cleanings.
And one more essential step you can take for your dental health? Let Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis know which prescriptions and over the counter medications you’re taking.
Medications Have Oral/Dental Side Effects
We’ve all grown used to hearing “Possible side effects include . . .” at the end of every pharmaceutical commercial. That’s because those unintended side effects can affect our health in any number of unexpected ways—and this includes oral health.
For example, a common side effect of many medications is xerostomia, or “dry mouth.” Because saliva helps keep our teeth and gums healthy by washing away food particles and oral bacteria and by reducing acidity in the mouth, a reduction in saliva production means a greater risk of cavities, gum disease, oral infections, denture discomfort, and bad breath.
Knowing a patient is taking one of the hundreds of medications which cause xerostomia allows Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis to both monitor the condition and suggest the most effective treatment options to control unpleasant symptoms.
Medications can cause not only dry mouth, but excessive gum tissue growth, oral sores, tooth discoloration, and changes in taste, among other side effects, so knowing which medications you’re taking can provide essential information for the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions.
Medications Interact
Medication might be needed for your dental treatment. Because certain drugs, supplements, and even some vitamins and foods can affect the way our bodies metabolize, absorb, and respond to other medications, we need to know which medicines you’re taking to arrive at your best treatment options.
Medications Impact Treatment
It’s important for Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis to know if any of your medications will affect standard treatments.
Anticoagulants, for example, are a necessary medication for preventing blood clots from forming, and are often prescribed for certain heart conditions, after joint replacement surgery, or for anyone at risk for developing blood clots. Because these medications prevent the blood from clotting, it’s important to let us know if you are taking such drugs before any kind of oral surgery.
If needed, Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis can work with you and your doctor to create a treatment plan which will be safe, effective, and designed to work with any of your medications. You should never discontinue taking your prescribed medications before dental work without medical approval, as this can be dangerous.
We need the most up to date information about your health to provide you with the best care possible. Knowing which medications you take and why you take them can help us:
Your prescriptions, over the counter medications, and even herbal supplements and vitamins are essential information. It’s a good idea to make a list before your next appointment at our Bronxville office so you have specific medications and their dosages at hand. It’s one small—but vital—step you can take to work with Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis for your best dental health!
One of the most frequent questions that Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis and our team hear is about what kinds of snacks are best for a child’s dental health. Sugary snacks are inevitable sometimes, but it’s vital for you as a parent to monitor how frequently your child is eating the kinds of snacks that may give him or her a cavity or two down the line.
Unsurprisingly, the best snacks are healthy ones, though they may not always be the most appealing to your little ones. The good news is that healthy doesn’t mean you have to compromise on taste. Once your kids give these tasty snacks a go, they might become open to all things healthy!
These snacks aren’t high in sugar but they contain all the nutrients your children need to have the necessary energy throughout the day.
This is only a sample of all the great, healthy snacks out there for your kids. For more ideas, ask us the next time you visit our Bronxville office. It’s never too early to create healthy habits; they’re not only good for oral health, but overall health too. That’s a win-win, if you ask us.
You’re busy getting ready for your day, and of course you’re starting your day off right by looking after your dental health. A two-minute brushing, some careful flossing, and—wait, is that a white spot on your tooth?
If your mirror reveals a patch of white on your enamel, it could be a symptom of early tooth decay. Does this mean a cavity is necessarily in your future? Perhaps not, if you act promptly to reverse the damage!
Cavities, after all, don’t suddenly appear in our mouths. Tooth decay is a process, and it begins with a weak area in the enamel that often appears as a white spot on the tooth. These weak spots are known as “incipient cavities,” because they can easily become cavities if left untreated.
Why do these weak spots occur? And how can we repair them? Let’s look at some tooth science.
Your tooth enamel is one of the marvels of the human body. Enamel is mostly made of calcium and phosphate ions, minerals which combine to form hydroxyapatite crystals. These crystals create a substance so strong that tooth enamel is the hardest part of the body—harder even than bones.
But it’s not indestructible! If you don’t care for your teeth with regular brushing and flossing, you’re leaving your enamel open to attack.
The bacteria in plaque convert the nutrients they get from the food we eat—especially sugars—into acids. These acids strip away the calcium and phosphate minerals which are the building blocks of our enamel, weakening the surface of the tooth.
Over time, these weak spots get bigger and deeper as bacteria and acids continue to attack the tooth surface. Eventually, cavities form, damaging the enamel surface, and, over time, even reaching into the dentin and the pulp inside the tooth. Once a cavity has formed, you need dental treatment to clean away the decay and repair the tooth structure.
The good news is that, when caught early, it’s possible to rebuild a weak spot in the tooth enamel before a cavity can fully develop.
While acids strip minerals from your enamel, your body is also replacing those lost minerals all throughout the day. How does this balancing act take place? With the help of saliva.
The very minerals which acids strip from your enamel are found in saliva. Saliva bathes your teeth with calcium and phosphate ions which, in turn, bond with your enamel to rebuild and restore enamel strength. When missing minerals are replaced like this, it’s called remineralization.
But this careful balance of demineralization/remineralization can become upset. If you neglect brushing and flossing, for example, plaque buildup will increase the amount of acids your teeth are exposed to. This means that your body won’t be able to replace the minerals as quickly as they are stripped away, and the result is a white patch on your tooth where the enamel has lost mineral strength.
If you’re surprised by the appearance of a white spot on your tooth, it’s a good idea to visit our Bronxville office for a diagnosis. If the spot is caused by an incipient cavity, Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis can provide you with some options to restore your enamel’s strength.
Fluoride toothpastes and fluoride treatments are some of the most efficient ways to remineralize your teeth. Fluoride is attracted to the minerals in your enamel. It bonds with the tooth surface, and, once there, it helps attract the calcium and phosphate ions in your saliva to restore lost minerals and repair weak spots.
But fluoride does more than just restore your tooth’s strength—it improves it! Fluoride ions join with the calcium and phosphate minerals in your teeth to form fluorapatite crystals, which are even larger and stronger than hydroxyapatite crystals.
Early treatment is your best opportunity to reverse the early stages of tooth decay. Keeping up with your brushing and flossing, eating a dental-healthy diet, seeing Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis regularly, and treating incipient cavities promptly will help ensure there are no unwelcome surprises in the mirror—just beautiful, healthy smiles!
Every hour of every day, someone in North America dies of oral cancer, the sixth most common diagnosed form of the disease. The five-year survival rate is only 50 percent, and oral cancer is one of the few cancers whose survival rate has not improved.
This grim statistic may make you think that oral cancer is a particularly deadly form, when in fact the high death rate has more to do with how late in its development oral cancer is detected. Routine screening is the key to early detection and survival, and in our continuing efforts to provide the most advanced technology and highest quality care available to our patients at Bronxville Dental Care, we proudly screen our patients for oral cancer.
So, who’s at risk for oral cancer?
Anyone can develop oral cancer, but some people are at a higher risk. These high-risk groups include those over the age of 50 and men, who are twice as likely as women to develop the disease. Smoking or chewing smokeless tobacco products, consuming alcohol excessively, and constant exposure to the sun at a young age are also risk factors.
How is oral cancer detected?
Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis and our team at Bronxville Dental Care suggest our patients perform a monthly self-examination to check for unusual red or white patches, sores, lumps, or thickenings anywhere inside the mouth, on the lips, or in the throat and neck area.
We encourage you to give us a call at our convenient Bronxville office if you find any of these symptoms or if you have trouble swallowing or experience a chronic sore throat and hoarseness. During your visit, Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis will inspect the oral tissues and neck to determine if abnormalities are present.
What happens if oral cancer is detected?
If we discover abnormal tissues during your visit, a biopsy will be required. The results from the biopsy will be sent to a laboratory to determine if the cells are cancerous or precancerous. If a diagnosis of cancer is made, surgery, as well as treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation may be necessary. Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis and our team will work closely with your oncologist and other members of your medical team to ensure that you achieve the best possible oral health care both during and after treatment.
Finding out you have oral cancer can be devastating news. If you are concerned that you might be at risk for developing oral cancer, talk to us about screenings and other things you can do to reduce your risk. Through a routine visual inspection, Dr. Jenny A. Kanganis and our team at Bronxville Dental Care can often detect premalignant abnormalities and cancer at an early stage when treatment is both less expensive and more successful, and can potentially save your life. Ask us about a screening during your next visit!