Dr. Ushma Patel's Dentist Blog

Back to school time is here and it presents a perfect opportunity to make up for the kids’ lax summer eating habits. Parents rarely look to their child’s dentist for nutritional input, but I’d like to share some important information with you concerning your child’s dental health.

When you pack your child’s school lunch, there are a myriad of things to consider. Which items will he throw away or trade? How can I keep the lunch both healthy and tasty? And what foods will have staying power to keep him focused and energized?

Another question I’d like you to consider is: Which items are causing my child’s teeth harm? One simple way to answer that question is to ask yourself if the food is chewy or sticky. While gummy fruit snacks may contain real fruit juice, don’t be fooled into thinking you are doing your child any favors. They still have high levels of sugar that don’t wash off your child’s teeth. Ditto for raisins, which appear to be a suitable and nutritious choice but can leave sticky, sugary particles clinging to a child’s teeth for hours, leading to tooth decay and bad breath. I’d rather see you pack a piece of dark chocolate! You may find that an odd thing for a dentist to say, but here’s why: Dark chocolate offers beneficial antioxidants and releases positive endorphins. Additionally, chocolate tends to naturally “wash” away from children’s teeth versus clinging to their molars like its deceptively healthier alternatives.

The best foods to pack? Crunchy fruits and vegetables. They are healthy for kids’ bodies and their crunchy texture loosens food that’s stuck to their teeth, in essence scrubbing away damaging food particles until your child can adequately brush and floss at home.

Here are some examples of fairly inexpensive, delicious, well-rounded lunches that are easy to pack and keep stocked in the house. They’ll do double duty for you by keeping your kids satisfied and by staving off cavity-causing food particles and bacteria.

Lightly Toasted Whole Grain Bread with Peanut or Almond Butter
Carrot Sticks with Dip
Apple Slices
String Cheese
A piece of Dark Chocolate
-Or -
Wheat Pita stuffed with Turkey, Hummus, and Lettuce
Celery Sticks with Peanut Butter
Banana Bread
Yogurt with Granola Bits

Look for a balance of protein, fat and calories and don’t be afraid to pack an occasional dessert. It’s easy to make carrot nut cake or banana bread to sneak in nutrients while stillproviding your kids with a treat. You can create healthful and satisfying lunches while still meeting their nutritional and dental needs.

Have you done a lunchbox makeover? Tell us about your child’s favorite healthy lunch and we may feature it on our website or in an upcoming blog.

Would you believe that your dentist might actually be able to alleviate those migraine and tension headaches?

I was experiencing frequent headaches and having a tough time working through the pain. At times the headaches were simply a dull nuisance and at other times they were excruciating, making me sensitive to light, sound, and frankly, just my general state of consciousness. As a dentist, I frequently heard similar stories from my patients.

Speaking with my colleagues about the causes and connections associated with the onset of headaches, I learned about a new non-drug treatment that helps treat and prevent those painful and annoying episodes. It’s the only non-drug treatment that has been both tested and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration specifically for the prevention of migraine headaches.

The treatment is called NTI (Nociceptive Trigeminal Inhibition) and it is a light, portable, and painless solution to nighttime teeth clenching, a common trigger of tension headaches and migraines. To use it, patients slip a tiny, transparent device onto their upper front teeth when they go to bed at night.

It works by relaxing the muscles that cause clenching or mastication (chewing or grinding). I started to notice NTI therapy in the press after Diane Sawyer talked about it on Good Morning America and thought I would research it for my patients and myself. As a tried and true “patient” of NTI therapy, I can wholeheartedly recommend this drug and pain-free treatment to my patients who suffer similar woes.

Because it is primarily a nighttime treatment, it does not interfere with daily function. People who use it report fewer or diminished headaches. Another positive result of NTI treatment is patients’ reduction or elimination of over the counter or prescription headache medications.

I know I am functioning at full speed thanks to using NTI to treat my headaches. I am especially glad the treatment is so easy, discreet, cost effective, and drug-free. I’d be happy to tell you more about my experience or learn more about your headache aggravations to see if NTI might be right for you.

What do you think of this new solution? Is there anything that would make you reluctant to try NTI to reduce or eliminate your tension or migraine headaches?

I’d love your feedback on this topic!

~Dr. Ushma Patel