Sara Kim在會中解說了何謂口腔衛生，口腔衛生為什麼重要，和全身健康，包括營養，糖尿病，心臟病，以及社交生活等方面，有些甚麼關係。
她還進一步說明什麼樣的口腔衛生才算好。導致口腔衛生不好的因素有那些，該怎麼照顧自己的牙齒和口腔，建議用那些漱口液，該怎麼處理嘴唇乾燥等。
下一次營養早餐講座，訂１２月２２日舉行。（所有圖片中華頤養院提供）
We had a great meeting on this morning, about 40 seniors participated this informative session with Dr. Sara Kim. Please see attached slides and photos.
Here are a few points of what she mentioned at our meeting:
1. What is oral health?
It is the health of everything inside your mouth. This includes your teeth, tongue, gums, bone around the teeth, and all the soft tissues in your mouth.
2. Why is ORAL HEALTH important and how is it related to your OVERALL HEALTH?
a. Nutrition
You need to eat to live
teeth and saliva help break down food so that our bodies can digest the nutrients from it (food that isn’t chewed well can slow digestion and the absorption of nutrients).
What interferes with the ability to eat?
Pain, infection, broken or missing teeth, lack of saliva, and altered taste. These problems may make you avoid certain food or only eat food that is convenient but not healthy.
b. Diabetes
Gum disease can make diabetes harder to control; and uncontrolled diabetes can make gum health harder to maintain.
c. Cardiovascular Disease
Inflammation and infection in your mouth can aggravate heart conditions.
If you have a heart condition, you should ask your cardiologist if you should take antibiotics before dental treatment (including cleanings) because they may want to protect your heart from oral bacteria.
If you have to undergo heart surgery, your cardiac surgeon will require that you take care of any dental infection before heart surgery because bacteria from your mouth can travel and infect your heart.
d. Social life (psychological health)
Eating is a social activity
SPEECH: your teeth, tongue and mouth all affect the way that you speak.
ESTHETICS (appearance):
Teeth help maintain the shape of our face by maintaining the jaw bone
People tend to not smile if they’re missing a tooth that’s noticeable.
3. WHAT DOES GOOD ORAL HEALTH LOOK LIKE?
a. Teeth WITHOUT cavities, fractures or infection
b. No plaque
c. No bleeding gums
d. Good saliva flow
e. No lesions, lumps or swellings
4. WHAT FACTORS CAN CAUSE POOR ORAL HEALTH?
Dry mouth (lack of saliva) and High sugar diet
5. Medical conditions that can affect dental care:
Arthritis
Blood thinners
Joint replacements (hip or knee)
Diabetes
Heart disease
Oral cancer
Xerostomia (dry mouth)
6. How to take care of your teeth and mouth:
a. Brush your teeth at least 2x/day, and for at least 2 minutes in small circular motions.
b. Use a soft toothbrush, and do not brush aggressively because you can do damage to the gum tissue and cause it to recede (pull away from the tooth).
c. Floss at least once/day.
d. If you have dentures (removable fake teeth), then make sure to take them out of your mouth every night before bed; clean it with a toothbrush; then soak it in a container with water overnight.
e. Limit the amount and length of time you consume sugar and acidic foods(soda, coffee, wine, citrus fruits and juices).
f. Go see a dentist at least twice a year (every 6 months) for a checkup, xrays and cleaning.
7. Mouth wash and deal with dry mouth suggestions:
a. Biotene mouth rinse, ACT fluoride rinse, Xylitol candies and tabs (Xylimelts), sugar-free sour candies.
The next Breakfast Seminar is on December 22nd, 2016. At 120 Shawmut Ave, Boston, MA 02118
