CATS vs DOGS
ネコ対イヌ
Our family has always been a “dog family”. Growing up, we’ve always had an endless parade of dogs in the house. I don’t remember a time when there wasn’t a dog or 2 around. We have never owned a cat before. The only cats I’ve seen around are the stray ones walking around the neighborhood or the ones that live in the little neighborhood supermarket. There are so many differences between dogs and cats. For one, dogs are much more slobbery with their saliva. Cats don’t show as much drool as dogs do. When you are kissed by a dog, you walk away feeling like you need a shower but when you are kissed by a cat, it feels as dry as sandpaper.
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Today I had a patient come in as an emergency. He doesn’t come in as often as we recommend so I was not surprised when he said he thinks he has a cavity. After x-rays and an exam, turns out that he had 3 teeth that were so badly rotten close to the nerve that there is a big chance that he would need root canal in the future. The last time he was in my office was about 1 year ago. How did things get so bad so quickly?
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Being a good dentist means being a good detective as well so I asked him a bunch of questions. I asked him about his eating and drinking habits; about his brushing and flossing habits; about his health; about stress in his life; about any new medication he may have been taking; about any harmful habits he may have picked up. The answers were, No, No,No. Nothing has changed. But finally when I asked him about dryness in his mouth, he said, “Yes, actually, I’ve noticed that my mouth has become quite dry at night to the point when I have to get up and drink water several times a night.” A-ha! This may be the answer to the puzzle!
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When it comes to saliva, I want all my patients to be like dogs and have lots of saliva. Saliva protects teeth in 3 main ways. Saliva neutralizes the acid in our drinks and in the foods that we eat. That acid can dissolve away the outer part of our teeth. Saliva turns the pH more neutral.
Saliva also contains chemicals that “heal” early cavities. They help to strengthen the outer layer of your teeth, the enamel.
After a meal, saliva also helps wash away food bits. The food that sticks around is used by the bacteria in your mouth. These bacteria cause cavities.
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So back to my patient that may need 3 root canals, I put in 3 temporary fillings to see how the nerve will react. If the nerve don’t do well and end up dying, he will need to do root canals. If the nerve survive, I know both he and I will be very happy. Next month, I will talk about possible causes of dry mouth, what to do about a dry mouth and what happened to my poor patient. I hope he’ll be OK!
（次回は1月17日号掲載）
〈Keyword〉saliva 唾液 dry mouth 口渇 rotten 腐った
〈プロフィル〉Dr. Clara Lee ニューヨーク大学歯学部卒業。ニューヨーク大学ブルックデール病院でチーフレジデンス修了。13年以上に及ぶ臨床経験は一般歯科、コスメティック、インプラントを含む。インビザライン認定医。Waterside Dental Care院長として古山医師と共に、多くの日本人患者さんを治療。Dentistryをこよなく愛している。記事提供：Waterside dental Care（Tel：212-683-6260）
