Our Blog

June 21^st is National Selfie Day!

Selfie History

Self-portraits are really nothing new, but the level of importance they have found in our current culture certainly is!  Though the first ‘selfie’ is credited to Robert Cornelius almost two hundred years ago, and Buzz Aldrin took a selfie in space during the Gemini 12 mission in 1966, what we would now consider the ‘selfie’, (and the term itself), wasn’t really introduced until 2002.  The mainstream adoption of smartphones and social media catapulted the selfie into our lexicon, and it was added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2013, becoming the Word of the Year for 2014, the same year we saw the first National Selfie Day!

Selfies and Dental Aesthetics

The rise in the popularity of social media platforms and selfies brought with it an increase in the importance of dental aesthetics.  Our obsession with the perfect “Selfie Smile” may be relatively new, but society’s standards for dental aesthetics have evolved over time.  Orthodontists have been studying cultural perceptions of oral aesthetics for decades, and though there are some notable changes over time, (for example the ideal length of the central incisors (the two front teeth) in comparison to the lateral incisors (between the front and canine teeth), or the ideal width of the smile), the perception that bigger, whiter, brighter smiles are more attractive has been the standard for at least a century, and if our selfie trends are any indication, that won’t likely change any time soon.

The Selfie Smile Makeover

Cosmetic dental procedures have become mainstream in America and across the globe.  According to the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, common aesthetic procedures range from as simple as teeth whitening and orthodontics to complex surgeries like implants and periodontal plastic surgery.  Advances in dental materials and techniques make obtaining a smile to match your favorite celebrity more possible than ever before, and our constant access to beautiful people’s selfies makes us want this more than ever before, and this is especially true for teens and young adults.

Pediatric Dentistry and Prevention

Here at All Smiles Pediatric Dentistry, we know that in our current social media/selfie culture, a child's or teen's smile can profoundly effect their self esteem and development of their social skills.  We help our young patients build and maintain their beautiful, natural, selfie smiles, to help them avoid the need for invasive corrective procedures later in life.  Learning and using proper brushing and flossing techniques and placing fluoride to strengthen enamel helps to prevent oral health problems.  Maintaining a regular six month dental exam and professional cleaning schedule will catch issues when they first arise, and using the right techniques when there is dental decay, (placing timely and appropriate restorations (fillings) before too much tooth structure is damaged) are important tools that will keep your children’s smiles in selfie-ready shape throughout childhood!

We love a good selfie as much as anyone else, and we LOVE helping our patients feel good about themselves when they put their Selfie Smiles out there for the world to see!

All Smiles Pediatric Dentistry

At All Smiles Pediatric Dentistry we have taken steps to keep your children as safe as possible while in our office. Our initial protocol was set based on the guidance from the CDC, CalOSHA, and local government recommendations.  As guidelines change, so will the practice to ensure you and your child have a safe appointment.

Get to Know Us

At All Smiles Pediatric Dentistry, we incorporate proven techniques to share with you and your child at each dental checkup visit. Dr. Allen Job and his team are committed to providing the latest in oral health care prevention. Check out our monthly blog posts! Our practice is centrally located in San Diego, CA.

Get acquainted with us by watching our practice video and find out what we do.

Scheduling an appointment for your child is easy! Start here to schedule an appointment. All of our forms are online. Fill them out securely from your smartphone or tablet and hit send. On appointment day, your child will be seen at their scheduled time. For example, if you have a 9:00 AM appointment, your child will be seen at 9:00 AM.

Dr. Allen Job, DDS, MS, MPH, MS is a board certified pediatric dentist who practices in San Diego, California, where he specializes in prevention. For more than a decade, served as assistant professor for the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry (LLUSD). He is currently an instructor at LLUSD.

The COVID-19 pandemic is approaching its two-year anniversary.

The pandemic, with its shutdowns, quarantines, and overall societal changes, has impacted every facet of our lives.  As we reflect back on these last two years, we find some surprising unintentional health effects.  Even as we’ve focused our efforts entirely on protecting the health of our communities, certain aspects of health for some of us have been negatively impacted by our efforts.  Children’s oral health is one of those and identifying the reasons why will help us to repair the problems.

How Have Two Years of Pandemic Worsened Kids’ Pre-Existing Dental Health?

In March of 2020, when our country (along with the rest of the world) was figuring out how to navigate COVID-19, ‘elective’ procedures and surgeries were cancelled, sometimes for months at a time, in almost every state.  This meant dental practices were either closed entirely, or available only for serious emergencies.  Given that dental decay is one of, if not the, most common chronic illnesses of children in America, this created a crisis in children’s oral health.  Untreated dental cavities lead to more serious infections, at least requiring more extensive dental treatment, but sometimes resulting in serious bodily infections.

Children who already had significant decay and planned restorative treatments when the shutdowns began, frequently ended up in hospital emergency departments to treat their increasing symptoms (pain, inability to eat or sleep, etc.), or more seriously, the spreading infections caused by untreated cavities.  For these patients, what could have been in-office treatment often ended up requiring hospital-based general anesthesia for dental surgery, adding considerable expense and increased risk.  Children with moderate dental problems at the onset of the pandemic faired only slightly better, often requiring more invasive in-office procedures to restore worsened dental health.

Even if your child went into March of 2020 with healthy teeth and mouth, the pandemic may have impacted his or her oral health, too.  The months-long closure of most dental offices created a re-opening environment full of scheduling bottlenecks, due both to the backlog of delayed appointments and to the need for longer visits to accommodate patients’ additional treatment needs and new infection control protocols.  This meant those 6-month preventive visits you never miss were very delayed or very hard to get scheduled.

When it Comes to Pandemic Effects, Think Outside-the-Mouth

The pre-pandemic state of our kids’ mouths isn’t the only factor affecting children’s oral health two years later.  Things that have become our ‘new normal’ have had surprising impacts on pediatric dental health as well. For example, stay-at-home orders and online schooling allowed for more frequent snacking and drinking than would be typical in a child’s ‘normal’ day.  It’s well understood that eating and drinking sugary or high carbohydrate items leads to tooth decay, but grazing and frequent snacking on even lower-sugar foods and drinks has also been shown to increase your risk of cavities.  When we eat, the environment in our mouths becomes more acidic within seconds, but it takes much longer for our saliva to get our mouths back to a neutral pH.  This means that frequent snacking or drinking beverages other than water can overwhelm your body’s ability to protect tooth enamel from the acidic environment, leading to increased tooth decay.  Read more from our previous blog, Foods that Cause Decay.

Additionally, the toll of the pandemic and the sweeping changes it brought have had mental and emotional health effects on adults and children alike.  For many children, especially those under 7 years old, expressing their pandemic-related anxiety and fear is difficult, and can often be illustrated unexpectedly.  This can include what happens with the return to the Pediatric Dentist.  Even children who never exhibited dental anxiety or fear before may be nervous about any medical facilities, (including dental offices), and extensive protective equipment worn by the providers. This can make dental visits more difficult for both patients and parents.

Bouncing Back from the Pandemic Toll on Oral Health

The good news is that our pediatric dental community has been able to overcome the challenges we’ve faced over the last two years and have learned so much more about how to bring our patients’ oral health back to the pre-pandemic baseline.  Maintaining oral health and eating schedules at home, returning to routine preventive dental care, preparing kids for the emotional toll of returning to our offices, and treating any diagnosed dental issues as quickly as possible will position us all for success.

It’s been a long two years, but we’ve learned a lot about the importance of oral health for our communities, and our providers and patients are better for it!

All Smiles Pediatric Dentistry

At All Smiles Pediatric Dentistry we have taken steps to keep your children as safe as possible while in our office. Our initial protocol was set based on the guidance from the CDC, CalOSHA, and local government recommendations.  As guidelines change, so will the practice to ensure you and your child have a safe appointment.

Get to Know Us

At All Smiles Pediatric Dentistry, we incorporate proven techniques to share with you and your child at each dental checkup visit. Dr. Allen Job and his team are committed to providing the latest in oral health care prevention. Check out our monthly blog posts! Our practice is centrally located in San Diego, CA.

Get acquainted with us by watching our practice video and find out what we do.

Scheduling an appointment for your child is easy! Start here to schedule an appointment. All of our forms are online. Fill them out securely from your smartphone or tablet and hit send. On appointment day, your child will be seen at their scheduled time. For example, if you have a 9:00 AM appointment, your child will be seen at 9:00 AM.

Dr. Allen Job, DDS, MS, MPH, MS is a board certified pediatric dentist who practices in San Diego, California, where he specializes in prevention. For more than a decade, served as assistant professor for the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry (LLUSD). He is currently an instructor at LLUSD.

Here is an amazing fact: by the time your child reaches kindergarten class, more than 5 out of his or her 20 classmates will have dental cavities! Imagine that for a moment. Your child has just started the first phase of his or her educational journey and now more than a quarter of his or her classmates have a dental cavity.  It's 28 percent to be exact, per the National Institute of Craniofacial Research.

Maybe you, as a parent, remember having dental cavities, as a child.  And you might be thinking, "What's the big deal. Don't those teeth fall out anyway?" The answer comes later in this blog.

The CDC reports that dental cavities is the most prevalent chronic disease that our children are facing.  This is more common that getting diagnosed with asthma or allergies!

What's the big deal. Don't those Baby Teeth Fall Out Anyway?

First, as a parent, I do not want to expose my child to any forms of disease, especially something that can be avoided by following a few simple steps at home.

Second, think about the time you had to have a filling at the dentist as a child. Though there are now modern advances to decrease pain and discomfort, there is still an experience that may not be all too pleasant.

Thirdly, a child who is in pain from a cavity will not be able to focus properly at school or at home.  Sleep at home can also be disturbed, not only by your child, but in everyone at home.

Finally, there is cost associated with treating dental cavities.  There is direct costs from the procedure.  Also indirect costs need to be factored in such as, loss of income from taking your child to have a filling done, travel time, and time away from school.

There are physical and psychological factors that are associated with treating dental decay.

Instead of treating a problem after it has already occurred why not prevent the problem in the first place!

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 89 percent of children age one year had an office based physician visit, while only 1.5 percent had a dental office visit.

Recommendations for Oral Health Care for your Infant.

Here are some recommendations that will give your child the best possible outcome of having optimal oral health care.  Establish a dental home by age 1 for your child.  This means having your child seen by the dentist by your child's 1st birthday.  During the initial exam several areas will be discussed.  This includes:

1. Oral exam of your child's mouth.

This will include an age appropriate demonstration of gum and teeth cleaning with fluoride treatment.

2. Assessment of your child's risk for dental decay.

This will include a road map to fend off any potential risks for getting cavities and recommendations for diet, flouride use, and the frequency for checkup appointments.

3. Cavities management.

If your child does have a cavity, then your dentist can give you ways to treat the cavity at an early stage.  Most general dentists do not want to see infants, so make sure to seek out a pediatric dentist.

4. Injury prevention.

Learn how to decrease the risk to dental injury at home and also learn what to do if there is a dental injury, should that occur.

5. Teething.

Find out the signs and symptoms of teething and ways to treat it in easy steps at home.

6. Lip and tongue tie assessment.

If you child has had difficulty with breastfeeding or bottle feeding, then you would want to see your pediatric dentist as soon as you notice this issue.  You can find more information about this here.

7. Non nutritive oral habits.

If your child loves to use her pacifier, sucks her finger, grinds her teeth, or has an abnormal tongue thrust, then all of these areas can be addressed by your pediatric dentist.

Instead of worrying about cavities, give your child the best chance of having a great start by seeing a dentist by age one!  Your child will have many milestones in their future.  Having a cavity shouldn't be one of them!

All Smiles Pediatric Dentistry

At All Smiles Pediatric Dentistry, we incorporate proven techniques to share with you and your child at each dental checkup visit. Dr. Allen Job and his team are committed to providing the latest in oral health care prevention. Check out our monthly blog posts! Our practice is centrally located in San Diego, CA.

COVID-19 Precautions

Find out how we are protecting our patients and our staff with our improved safety protocol.

Get to Know Us

Get acquainted with us by watching our practice video and find out what we do.

Scheduling an appointment for your child is easy! Start here to schedule an appointment. All of our forms are online. Fill them out securely from your smartphone or tablet and hit send. On appointment day, your child will be seen at their scheduled time. For example, if you have a 9:00 AM appointment, your child will be seen at 9:00 AM.

Dr. Allen Job, DDS, MS, MPH, MS is a board certified pediatric dentist who practices in San Diego, California, where he specializes in prevention. For more than a decade, served as assistant professor for the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry (LLUSD). He is currently an instructor at LLUSD.

A recent report cited in the California Dental Association Journal - November 2020 issue  has linked consumption of sugar sweetened drinks (SSD) to increased dental caries,  obesity, and Type 2 diabetes in the pediatric population.   A sugar sweetened drinks (SSD) is defined as any beverage containing sugar added to it. This includes sodas, fruit drinks, sports drinks, flavored water, and other beverages such as teas and coffees. This is an important topic to discuss since there is a direct the link between oral health and overall health.

From 2011 to 2014, 63% of youth (ages 2-19) consumed at least one SSD daily. This constitutes 7.3% of their daily caloric intake.  Moreover, almost 20% of all sugar consumption in youth come from SSDs.   Consumption increased with age, low income, and race minority groups.

Increased Dental Caries

In another study, consumption of SSDs such as Coca Cola, Sprite, and Minute Maid Orange Juice increased enamel roughness.  This led to increased attachment to plaque and bacteria to the surface of the tooth.  Acid release occurs when plaque attaches to the enamel surface, thereby weakening the enamel.  This leads to a cavitation.

Obesity

Healthcare providers are aware of the connections between oral health and overall health.  From an early age children pick up eating habits that stay with them for a lifetime.  Starting with healthy food options and sticking to sound oral hygiene habits will help make the paradigm shift to prevention.  As more children make food choices that included SSD consumption, there is a shift to unhealthy food sources that can lead to obesity. Consumption of SSDs only provide empty calories.  These empty calories coupled with the lack of physical activity can lead to obesity in children.

Most dental providers shy away from discussing obesity, especially childhood obesity since they feel they may offend the parent or the child.  However, most parents, when asked if they could be open to having a discussion on this topic responded favorably to having an oral health provider discuss this area of health.

Type 2 Diabetes

Just like in childhood obesity, consumption of SSDs can affect the body's ability to regulate glucose and insulin.  This is a balanced regulation.  Flooding the body with sugars, such as from the daily consumption of SSDs, can decrease the body's ability to use insulin to decrease blood sugar levels. This can lead to Type 2 diabetes in children.

Goals

Oral health care providers have started using a screening tool to help start the conversation with parents and patients.  One of these screening tools is a caries assessment test which evaluates factors that may increase a child's risk for dental decay.  Moreover, this screening tool can be expanded to address some these other areas of health, such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

All Smiles Pediatric Dentistry

At All Smiles Pediatric Dentistry, we incorporate proven techniques to share with you and your child at each dental checkup visit. Dr. Allen Job and his team are committed to providing the latest in oral health care prevention. Check out our monthly blog posts! Our practice is centrally located in San Diego, CA.

COVID-19 Precautions

Find out how we are protecting our patients and our staff with our improved safety protocol.

Get to Know Us

Get acquainted with us by watching our practice video and find out what we do.

Scheduling an appointment for your child is easy! Start here to schedule an appointment. All of our forms are online. Fill them out securely from your smartphone or tablet and hit send. On appointment day, your child will be seen at their scheduled time. For example, if you have a 9:00 AM appointment, your child will be seen at 9:00 AM.

Dr. Allen Job, DDS, MS, MPH, MS is a board certified pediatric dentist who practices in San Diego, California, where he specializes in prevention. For more than a decade, served as assistant professor for the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry (LLUSD). He is currently an instructor at LLUSD.