Dr. Anthony LaVacca

Whether you celebrated Valentine’s Day this year or not, we know one area of your life that could always benefit from a little TLC and that’s your oral health. Having healthy teeth and gums will help you look and feel your best. Of course, you’re already brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing daily (right?), but there are other simple habits you can adopt as well for a brighter, healthier smile and our Naperville dentists are sharing. 

Chew Sugarless Gum After Meals

Chewing gum might not sound like something that would make a list of tips for healthy teeth, but sugarless gum is a sneaky oral health superhero. Chewing gum has a number of oral health benefits, including encouraging saliva production. Saliva helps wash away food debris, plaque and bacteria and remineralizes the teeth after the acid attacks that occur whenever you eat or drink. 

While any sugarless gum will do the trick, choosing one with xylitol can be even more helpful. Xylitol is thought to kill harmful bacteria in the mouth and reduce the risk of tooth decay. (Purely Trident Sugar-Free Gum with Xylitol and Pur Sugar-Free Gum both fit the bill!) Rinsing your mouth after meals and snacks is another great smile care tip, but if you’re unable to rinse, chew sugarless gum, or for the best results, rinse and then chew gum. 

Add Mouthwash to Your Oral Hygiene Routine

When it comes to how to have healthy teeth and gums, mouthwash is underrated. Of course, brushing and flossing are paramount, but including mouthwash in your oral hygiene routine can also go a long way in improving your oral health. There are cosmetic mouthwashes meant solely to mask bad breath and, while having fresh breath is nice, these formulas don’t do much as far as boosting the health of your teeth and gums. 

Instead, therapeutic mouthwashes, like those that contain fluoride, peroxide, chlorhexidine and/or cetylpyridinium chloride are your best bet. Depending on the formulation or ingredients, these mouthwashes can reduce your risk of tooth decay, kill the bacteria that cause gingivitis, control plaque and whiten the teeth. Mouthwash is also good for getting the hard-to-reach places you may have missed with your toothbrush and floss. Some of our favorites, include:

• Crest Pro-Health Multi-Protection Mouthwash
• Listerine Gum Therapy Anti-Gingivitis Mouthwash
• ACT Total Care Dry Mouth Anticavity Mouthwash
• CloSYS Sensitive Antimicrobial Mouthwash

Invest in a Water Flosser

A waterpik, or water flosser, isn’t a replacement for flossing with dental floss. You’ll still want to use dental floss once daily in addition to using a water flosser. That said, a waterpik is an amazing tool for getting a brighter smile and healthy teeth and gums. It’s able to address nooks and crannies that are difficult to reach to dislodge food particles, improve the health of your gums and wash away plaque. 

Floss Before Brushing

There have been some articles popping up about the order of flossing and brushing. There was even a recent study on whether to floss or brush first. The results are what we’ve always told our Naperville general dentistry and cosmetic dentistry patients, which is flossing before brushing removes significantly more plaque. Flossing loosens the bacteria and food particles between the teeth, and then brushing followed by rinsing further clears everything from the mouth.

Don’t Always Reach for Your Toothbrush Right Away

While, yes, you should brush your teeth every morning, it’s not always ideal to do it immediately after breakfast. In fact, it’s probably better to brush your teeth before breakfast. We know, we know, no one wants to enjoy their glass of orange juice right after having toothpaste in their mouth. However, brushing won’t just rid your mouth of the bacteria and plaque that accumulated overnight, your fluoride toothpaste will also create an invisible coating on your teeth that can create a temporary barrier to protect against acidic foods and drinks.  

If you have something acidic, like orange juice, for breakfast or at any time of day, the American Dental Association recommends you wait 60 minutes after eating or drinking before brushing your teeth. This is because brushing can damage the enamel that’s been weakened by the acidity. Waiting an hour allows the pH in your mouth to return to normal, so your teeth can withstand your toothbrush. 

Enjoy Some Key Beverages and Foods for Gum Health

Your gums support your teeth and gum disease can result in the deterioration of tissue and bone. Ultimately, in extreme cases, this leads to tooth loss, which, obviously, won’t help your smile look healthy and bright. Show your gums love and your teeth will thank you. 

There are a number of foods and drinks that are a boon to periodontal (gum) health. Omega-3 fatty acids, like those found in salmon, tuna, pistachios and sesame seeds, can help reduce inflammation, decreasing your risk of developing gum disease. Vitamin C is also key to boosting your immune system, fighting bacteria and helping gum tissue regenerate. Incorporating red and green bell peppers, oranges and broccoli can increase your vitamin C intake. 

Studies have also found that the polyphenols found in unsweetened green tea and black tea are great for encouraging healthy gums. Green tea, in particular, contains flavonoids that lower inflammation and inhibit the growth of periodontal bacteria, lessening the risk of gum disease. For people who already have gum disease, green tea may slow its progression and prevent bone loss. 

Watch the Sugar and Carbs

Your diet and dental health are closely linked. The bacteria in the mouth feed on sugars and starches, and when they do, they release acids that eat away at tooth enamel, which can lead to cavities. While having sugars and starches in moderation is fine, particularly if you practice good oral hygiene, an excessive amount can increase your risk for tooth decay and gum disease. 

Enjoy sugary treats, particularly if they’re sticky and will sit on the teeth for long periods of time, on special occasions and try to limit sugary drinks, especially if they’re also acidic, like soda, sports drinks and energy drinks, as much as possible. Simple carbohydrates (we’re looking at you, potato chips and white bread) should also be eaten in moderation. 

Instead, focus on eating a well-rounded, balanced diet with lean proteins, a variety of fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats and calcium-rich food (either dairy, dairy substitutes or veggies). Be sure to also incorporate food for healthy teeth like nuts, leafy greens, low-fat yogurt and hard cheeses. The nutrients and calcium in these options will help strengthen enamel and the supporting bone. 

Raw, fibrous fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, celery and apples, are excellent foods for healthy teeth too, because they have the added benefit of scraping away bacteria and plaque as you eat them. Consider them nature’s toothbrushes. 

Use a Whitening Toothpaste With Fluoride

Using a whitening toothpaste that contains fluoride is a great way to brighten your smile. Not only will the fluoride strengthen teeth and protect against cavities, the whitening ingredients will help banish surface stains. If you need more than just a bit of brightening, however, professional teeth whitening will get you much more dramatic results in a way that’s safe and doesn’t increase tooth sensitivity.

Our Naperville teeth whitening treatment eliminates the deeper, more set-in stains without damaging your enamel. Yet, even after professional teeth whitening, a whitening toothpaste will help you maintain your results and keep your smile dazzling between treatments. 

Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Routine Dental Visits

We offer a full range of Naperville general dentistry services, including routine dental cleanings and exams. It can be tempting to put these appointments off when you’re not experiencing any dental problems. However, they’re really the key to maintaining healthy teeth and gums and catching problems early while they’re either reversible or easier to treat. Beyond that, during professional cleanings, we get rid of hardened plaque (tartar) that you can’t eliminate at home with a toothbrush, as well as surface stains, for an instantly whiter, healthier-looking smile.

Practice these nine simple habits to achieve a brighter, healthier smile and give your teeth and gums the love and care they deserve. If you’re interested in taking your smile health to the next level, whether with routine preventative care or our Naperville cosmetic dentistry services, schedule an appointment at Naperville Dental Specialists today online or by calling us at (630) 848-2010.

The ketogenic diet, or keto diet, has been a popular option for losing weight and improving certain medical conditions for years now. Whether you’re a longtime adherent or you just started as part of your New Year’s resolution, you probably know that it’s essentially a high-fat, low-carb diet. While there are benefits like shedding pounds and lowering blood sugar, there is one key drawback to the keto diet, and that’s something called keto breath. As a Naperville cosmetic dentist, general dentist and specialist practice, we thought we’d shed some light on this phenomenon by covering everything from what causes the less-than-stellar odor to how to get rid of keto breath. 

What is Keto Breath?

For the first order of business, what is keto breath? It’s a form of bad breath caused by being on a ketogenic diet. The keto diet involves eating a very minimal amount of carbohydrates, a moderate amount of protein and lots of fat. In fact, when a person is on the keto diet, a minimum of 70 percent of their daily calories will come from fat, while only 5 to 10 percent will come from carbohydrates. This causes the body to enter a metabolic state called ketosis where it’s burning fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. 

When the body is in a ketogenic state and in fat-burning mode, it can lead to weight loss and help regulate blood sugar, as well as help manage other health concerns. Yet, this is also where the keto bad breath comes in. As the body burns fat, the fatty acids are converted to ketones, including acetone, hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate, in the liver. 

These naturally occurring chemicals aren’t harmful but they are excreted during urination and exhalation. So, every time you exhale, you’re releasing ketones into the air, which is what keto breath is. Acetone probably sounds familiar because it is found in nail polish remover and has a strong odor. 

What Does Keto Breath Smell Like?

What does keto breath smell like? The good news is, keto breath has a distinctive smell, making it fairly easy to determine if it’s keto bad breath or bad breath from another cause like pungent foods, cavities, illness, or tooth or gum infections. Keto breath often has a fruity smell or a scent that’s reminiscent of nail polish remover. What does keto breath taste like? A lot of people describe the taste of keto breath as metallic. 

Having keto breath is actually a sign that the keto diet is working and your body is burning fat instead of glucose (sugar) from carbohydrates to fuel itself. In fact, some people use a keto breath tester, known as a ketone breath meter, to measure their ketone levels and be extra certain their bad breath is from their diet. Yet, while keto breath might be a good sign for you, you probably don’t want the rest of the world to smell it. 

How Long Does Keto Breath Last?

As for how long keto breath lasts, it’s temporary. It usually first appears within a few days to a week after starting the keto diet and lasts from several weeks to a few months, though if you go on and off the diet, your keto breath will come back. 

How to Get Rid of Keto Breath

Now that we’ve talked about what keto breath is, what it smells like and how long it lasts, let’s discuss how to get rid of keto breath. While, often, it can’t be eliminated completely since it’s the natural byproduct of the body converting stored fat to energy, it can be reduced or masked. Here are five tips for combatting keto breath:

1. Drink Plenty of Water

Staying hydrated with water is one of the first things any list of how to get rid of keto breath should mention. This is because drinking lots of water will dilute the concentration of smelly ketones you’re breathing out, helping to combat keto breath. 

Beyond that, water is an oral health star, in general. It doesn’t have sugar or carbohydrates for the bacteria in the mouth to feed on, it washes away odor- and cavity-causing food debris and plaque, it encourages saliva flow, which remineralizes the teeth, and it prevents dry mouth (another common cause of bad breath). 

2. Maintain Excellent Oral Hygiene 

While brushing and flossing won’t eliminate keto breath, they will control the other causes of bad breath and prevent your breath from getting worse. Brush your teeth twice a day and rinse your mouth out with water after eating. Floss your teeth once daily. You may also want to add a fluoride mouthwash to the mix. Since decay, plaque build-up, food particles, and tooth and gum infections can result in a bad odor, keeping teeth and gums healthy will go a long way in promoting fresh breath. 

3. Chew Sugarless Gum or Suck on Sugar-Free Mints

Sugarless gum and sugar-free mints won’t eliminate keto breath, but they can mask it. Chewing on gum or sucking on mints after meals also has oral health benefits, including encouraging the production of saliva to rinse food, bacteria and plaque off teeth. This also helps restore the pH balance of the mouth to reduce the risk of tooth decay. If you want to add even more benefits, opt for sugarless keto breath mints or chewing gums that contain xylitol, which can kill smell-producing and cavity-causing bacteria in the mouth.

4. Adjust Your Diet

If you eat too much protein, your body will release ammonia, another byproduct of metabolism, through your breath and urine as it breaks the protein down. The odor of ammonia is very strong, and when combined with the acetone your body is also extreting, it will lead to intense, really bad keto breath. So, if you’re eating more protein than you need, reducing your intake a bit can be helpful for improving your breath. 

If your keto bad breath is still really strong after moderating your protein intake and you can’t tolerate it, you can try increasing your carbohydrate intake a little too. This is where a keto breath tester is clutch. You can measure your ketone levels to make sure your body is still in ketosis after the carbohydrate increase, allowing you to find a sweet spot where you’re still losing weight but your keto breath is tamed. 

5. Visit Your General Dentist if All Else Fails

As we said, keto breath is temporary and it should go away in a few weeks to a few months, at the most. If you wait patiently and try these other tips for how to get rid of keto breath and nothing is working, maybe it’s not keto breath at all. You could be suffering from actual halitosis, or bad breath, from one of those aforementioned causes, including tooth and gum infections, dry mouth or poor oral hygiene. Or, it could be a sign of a health condition, such as diabetes. Make an appointment at Naperville Dental Specialists and a general dentist will help you get to the root of the problem and offer customized bad breath treatment to eliminate it once and for all. 

Now that you know how to get rid of keto breath, as well as what causes it, you can continue to go strong on the keto diet. If you need more help with bad breath, or improving your smile was also one of your New Year’s resolutions, schedule a visit with a Naperville general dentist, cosmetic dentist or specialist today!

It’s recommended that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep per night. That can be a tall order in the best of circumstances, but when you’re suffering from obstructive sleep apnea, it probably seems impossible. While you might have no idea you’re even waking up multiple times during the night, you certainly feel the fatigue and lack of quality sleep in the morning. Because sleep deprivation can have such a negative impact on your physical and mental health, figuring out tips on how to get better sleep with sleep apnea will go a long way in helping you reclaim your life. Not sure where to start? As a Naperville general dentist and speciality practice, we have you covered. We’re sharing 7 ways to get better sleep with sleep apnea. 

What is Sleep Apnea?

Let’s have a quick refresher on what sleep apnea is before we dive into our tips. Obstructive sleep apnea is a sleep disorder where breathing stops and starts throughout the night, sometimes hundreds of times. The airway becomes blocked, usually due to the soft tissues in the back of the throat collapsing. This causes you to stop breathing for 10 seconds or longer before you awaken, sometimes gasping for air, and your breathing resumes. This cycle repeats itself throughout the night. Patients are considered to have severe sleep apnea when breathing stops and starts 30 times an hour or more. 

Obstructive sleep apnea leads to irregular sleep patterns, preventing you from getting the quality of sleep you need, as well as decreased blood oxygen levels. This combination of lack of deep sleep and decreased oxygen can cause a number of serious problems, including:

• Daytime fatigue
• Depression
• Irritability
• Learning difficulties
• Memory issues
• Accidents, including car accidents and workplace accidents
• Sexual dysfunction
• Hypertension
• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Death

With such potentially severe consequences, it’s no wonder the first question most people ask is, can sleep apnea be cured? While mild cases of sleep apnea that are due to a person being overweight could potentially be resolved by the person losing weight, and there are surgical options for extreme cases that could alleviate the issue, in general, sleep apnea can’t necessarily be cured permanently. However, there are a number of sleep apnea treatments, ranging from using a sleep apnea machine, known as a CPAP machine, to wearing a custom dental device for snoring and sleep apnea, which we’ll get to shortly.

What are the Signs of Sleep Apnea?

The only way to know for certain if you have sleep apnea is to visit a specialist for an evaluation. Often, you’ll be referred for a sleep study. However, if you experience any of the common signs of sleep apnea, you should seek help. So, what are the signs of sleep apnea? The signs and symptoms include:

• Loud snoring
• Gasping for air while asleep
• Instances where you stop breathing while sleeping (noticed by another person)
• Headache upon awakening
• Waking up with a dry mouth
• Having a hard time staying asleep
• Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Irritability
• Problems paying attention 

7 Tips for How to Get Better Sleep With Sleep Apnea  

Just because you have obstructive sleep apnea doesn’t mean you’re destined for poor quality sleep forever. There are a number of things you can do to sleep longer and experience fewer breathing disturbances:

1. Learn How to Sleep With Sleep Apnea

It’s important to understand the basics of how to sleep with sleep apnea since your sleeping position can make it worse. Sleeping on your back, known as the supine position, increases the likelihood that the soft tissues of the back of the throat will relax and block the airway because gravity will draw them down. Sleeping on your side is the better option and it may decrease the number of apnea episodes. We know switching sleep positions is easier said than done. One study found that sewing a tennis ball to the back of the shirt helped people with positional obstructive sleep apnea stop sleeping on their backs, at least in the short-term. While you may not have to go to that extreme, it can be beneficial to find ways to get comfortable with sleeping on your side. 

2. Lose Weight if Necessary

While not everyone who has obstructive sleep apnea is overweight, being overweight or obese is a risk factor for developing sleep apnea. When you gain weight, you also gain fatty deposits around the neck and tongue that can restrict the airway. If you are overweight, losing weight will likely improve sleep apnea symptoms. According to the Sleep Foundation, weight loss of 10 to 15% of a person’s body weight can decrease the severity of obstructive sleep apnea by 50% in moderately obese patients. Yet, even if you’re carrying just a few extra pounds, losing weight might help you breathe easier and sleep better.

3. Limit Alcohol and Quit Smoking

Alcohol causes decreased muscle tone in the mouth and the back of the throat, which impedes airflow and can exacerbate snoring and sleep apnea. It can also interfere with the muscles that are involved in breathing and in how the brain controls sleep. While we’d never ask you to give up the occasional glass of wine completely, it’s a good idea to limit your alcohol intake, particularly close to bedtime. Smoking is also a culprit when it comes to worsening sleep apnea. Cigarettes cause inflammation in the upper airway, which impacts breathing. Quitting smoking will help with sleep, breathing and your health in general. 

4. Practice Good Sleep Hygiene 

Practicing good sleep hygiene on its own may not help you get rid of sleep apnea. However, good sleep hygiene will enable you to sleep more soundly overall and it can ensure that once you’ve used other methods or you’ve sought out sleep apnea treatment, you’re maximizing your ability to get some shut eye. Some ways to boost your sleep hygiene include:

• Using your bedroom for sleep only
• Avoiding device screens like your phone, tablet or laptop, which emit blue light, at least an hour before you turn in at night
• Developing a sleep schedule and sticking with it (i.e., going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on the weekends)
• Avoiding caffeine, large meals and alcohol close to bedtime
• Keeping your room dark, soothing and at a comfortable temperature
• Doing something relaxing before bed like taking a bath or reading 

5. Exercise 

Exercise is a key way to improve sleep and may also help you sleep better with sleep apnea. Moderate aerobic exercise can boost the amount of slow wave sleep, or deep sleep, you get at night. However, any exercise, whether cardio or weight training, might do the trick. Researchers analyzed eight studies on exercise and sleep apnea and found that doing any type of exercise, including walking, running, riding a stationary bike and doing strength training, as few as two days a week or as many as seven days a week, improved obstructive sleep apnea symptoms in patients. Patients also had better overall sleep and less daytime drowsiness. The improvements were independent of any weight loss, indicating it’s the exercise itself that helped participants sleep better.

6. Invest in a Humidifier

There’s a reason why many sleep apnea machines have built-in or attachable humidifiers. It’s because dry air can irritate your nose and throat making you more likely to snore and breathe with your mouth open while sleeping. While a humidifier isn’t a sleep apnea treatment or cure and won’t make sleep apnea disappear, it can help you get a better night’s sleep and breathe more comfortably. 

7. Consider an Oral Appliance

An oral appliance for sleep apnea is more comfortable and less burdensome than a CPAP and most patients prefer it to more invasive options. At Naperville Dental Specialists, we offer the SomnoDent® Mandibular Advancement Splint (MAS). The custom oral appliance can treat mild, moderate and even severe sleep apnea. It shifts the lower jaw slightly forward, which tightens the soft tissues and muscles in the back of the throat to prevent obstruction during sleep. 

It’s also an excellent dental device for snoring because it stops the tissues of the upper airway from vibrating as air passes over them, which is the main cause of snoring. Oral appliances are a tried and true method for getting better sleep with sleep apnea and they don’t interfere with your daily life or require significant upkeep. Your sleep partner will appreciate you using a dental device for snoring too! 

We hope our tips for getting better sleep with sleep apnea help you breathe easier and wake up more well rested. If you’re struggling, schedule an evaluation at Naperville Dental Specialists online or by calling us at (630) 848-2010. Dr. Anthony LaVacca and our expert team offer sleep apnea treatment in Naperville to help you improve your sleep and quality of life.