Olivia Newton-John, now in her early 60's, is still a fresh-faced picture of health — with a radiant smile to match. How does she do it? She does it with healthy habits learned from her German-born mother, Irene.

“I love greens, and as many organic vegetables as possible,” Olivia recently told Dear Doctor magazine. “From spinach to salads to beets — pretty much any and all greens!”

Olivia credits her mom with instilling her lifelong love of healthy foods. Irene used dark bread rather than white bread for sandwiches and even made her own yogurt — which she used as a topping on baked fruit for dessert.

“Growing up, my mum really taught us some great eating habits,” Olivia told the magazine. “When I was a girl in school, all of my friends would have cakes and cookies and fun foods but my mum was all about teaching us to eat healthy foods and to be very aware of what we were putting into our bodies. At the time I was annoyed about it, but looking back now I thank her for teaching me at an early age to eat healthily.”

Irene paid particular attention to her children's oral health. “My mum always made us brush and floss after every meal so, once again, like the foods we ate, she taught us early about the importance of great dental hygiene,” said Olivia, who has an older brother and sister.

As a mom herself, Olivia passed those healthy habits down to her daughter, Chloe.

“I always insisted on regular dental checkups and limited sugar, especially in soft drinks — they were never in our fridge,” she said.

Parents do play an important role in developing healthy oral habits from the very beginning, starting with proper tooth-brushing techniques. By age 2, a brushing routine should be established using a smear of fluoride toothpaste. For older toddlers, parents can use a child's size soft toothbrush with water and a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste. Children need help brushing until at least age 6, when they can generally take over brushing by themselves and also learn to floss.

The point of a good daily oral hygiene routine is to remove the film of bacteria that collects daily along the gum line, and in the nooks and crannies of teeth. Effective daily removal of this biofilm will do more to prevent tooth decay and promote lifelong dental health than anything else.

If you would like to learn more about preventing tooth decay or teaching your child to brush and floss correctly, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. If you would like to read Dear Doctor's entire interview with Olivia Newton-John, please see “Olivia Newton-John.” Dear Doctor also has more on “How to Help Your Child Develop the Best Habits for Oral Health.”

Implants are highly regarded by both dentists and patients for their versatility and durability. But it’s their life-like appearance that “seals the deal” as the restoration of choice — not only mimicking an individual tooth, but emerging from the gum line and blending indistinguishably with other teeth in color and symmetry.

To achieve this result, we must consider a few factors beforehand, particularly the amount of bone available at the intended implant site. An implant requires a certain amount of bone to properly position it for the most natural crown appearance. The bone present around adjacent teeth can also affect your appearance: in the absence of adequate bone the papillae, triangular shaped gum tissue between teeth, may not regenerate properly between the implant and the natural teeth. This can leave a noticeable void, what dentists call “black hole disease.”

Bone loss is a significant problem particularly after tooth loss. It’s quite possible for you to lose a quarter of the bone’s width in the first year after tooth loss. To avoid this, we often use bone grafting techniques immediately after extraction to lessen bone loss; if it’s already occurred we may be able to use similar reconstructive techniques to rebuild and encourage renewed bone growth. In the end, though, if there remains a significant level of bone loss it may be necessary to consider another option for tooth replacement other than implants.

The thickness of your gum tissue, a genetic trait, can also have an impact on the implant’s ultimate appearance. Thicker gum tissues are generally more resilient and easier to work with surgically. Thinner gum tissues are more susceptible to recession and tend to be more translucent, which could cause the underlying metal implant to be visible. Thus, working with thinner gum tissues requires a more delicate approach when trying to achieve a visually appealing result.

All these factors must be balanced, from implantation to final crown placement. But with careful planning and attention to detail throughout the process, many of these issues can be overcome to produce a satisfying result — a new and appealing smile.

If you would like more information on the aesthetics of dental implants, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Matching Teeth & Implants.”