A short YouTube interview/transcript featuring periodontist Dr. Sanda Moldovan discussing gum disease, oral health, flossing habits, and links between oral health and overall health. The host asks common questions (e.g., guilt about not flossing) and Dr. Moldovan offers clinical explanations, anecdotes (work with recovering addicts), and practical observations about flossing, injury to gums, and diet/sugar.
Should you feel guilty about not flossing until 24 hours before your dental exam? I think I know the answer to that. But we do have periodontist Dr. Sanda Moldovan. So let's talk about gum disease, because people, a lot of people don't even know what that means.
What it is is actually an infection not only of the gum, but of the bone surrounding the teeth. You might have heard about movie star Michael Douglas battle with throat cancer. Well, in a recent interview, he actually admitted he should not have put off going to the dentist because a simple oral DNA test could have diagnosed him much sooner. I think the problem is with teenagers, especially in early 20s, what we see is that they feel ashamed. Welcome back to Gateway to Health. Everyone needs good dental advice, but some people more than others. Recently I spoke with Clean Radio about my work with recovering addicts. Let's listen in. So I'm a periodontist and nutritionist.
Okay.
As a periodontist, I treat the foundation around the teeth. I look at the gums and the health of somebody's mouth and overall health, you can see in the gums.
Actually, I'm gonna keep my mouth closed.
I could tell you are flossing really hard in the last couple days. Totally, you caught me. Well, what happens when you floss so hard? You can actually injure your gums and they swell up a little bit. That's why they're tender. It's almost like having a splinter in your hand. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. But what you may not know is that the mouth is the gateway to your health. I've scouted out some of the most organic and healthy restaurants in Southern California.
I have a son, 15 year old boy, Hank. He's my pride and joy.
Oh, and I'm sure he loves sugar.
White sugar, gummy bears, Coca Cola. I'm kind of bad like that.
Oh, well, let me give you a great alternative. It's called xylitol and it's a white powder. It tastes just like sugar and it looks like sugar. And what's good about it decreases cavities. I've had patients that haven't had back teeth for 10, 20 years and they said, oh my God. Everybody's telling me that I look 15 years younger. She's coming in in the morning and leaving with beautiful teeth in the afternoon. Prevention is the easiest way to ensure good health, which is why you should never miss a checkup. And the nice thing about the laser, oftentimes you only have to use topical anesthetic to cut the frenum. We don't even need to diffuse a needle. Coming up, we educate to elevate and learn a little bit about recovery. If somebody has problems with their gums, I would suggest stop using what you're using and get a sodium lauryl sulfate free toothpaste. This is a life changing surgery for our patient Leah today and for a long time she's going with diseased teeth. I'm Dr. Sanda and these were doctor's orders. Let me see your smile. Oh, that looks gorgeous.
