Preventive Procedures and Nutrition Flashcards

During a nutritional counselling session, a patient reveals they frequently consume sports drinks during exercise. What should the dental assistant advise regarding dental health?

Answer: Sports drinks are highly acidic (pH 2.5-3.5) and contain sugars that increase both erosion and caries risk; recommend water as the primary hydration source and limit sports drinks to when medically necessary

Sports drinks combine low pH (high acidity causing erosion) with high sugar content (feeding cariogenic bacteria). This dual-threat makes them particularly damaging, especially with frequent sipping during extended exercise sessions.

Canada's Food Guide recommends which food group as a primary source of calcium for dental health when dairy products are not consumed?

Answer: Fortified plant-based beverages (soy, almond, oat milk fortified with calcium) and calcium-set tofu

Canada's Food Guide (2019) recognizes that not all individuals consume dairy. Fortified plant-based beverages and calcium-set tofu are recommended as equivalent calcium sources for those who avoid dairy due to lactose intolerance, veganism, or cultural preferences.

A parent asks about the safety of community water fluoridation in Canada. What is the current position of the Canadian Dental Association on this topic?

Answer: The CDA endorses community water fluoridation at 0.7 mg/L (ppm) as a safe and effective public health measure for caries prevention

The Canadian Dental Association supports community water fluoridation at the Health Canada recommended level of 0.7 mg/L (0.7 ppm), recognizing it as a safe, effective, and equitable public health measure that reduces dental caries by approximately 25% across all socioeconomic groups.

When counselling a patient with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) about protecting their teeth, what is the primary dental concern and recommended management?

Answer: Gastric acid reaching the oral cavity causes severe erosion, particularly on the palatal surfaces of upper teeth; management includes controlling GERD medically, using neutralizing rinses, and avoiding brushing immediately after reflux episodes

GERD causes intrinsic acid erosion when gastric acid (pH 1-2) reaches the oral cavity. The palatal surfaces of maxillary teeth are most commonly affected because the tongue directs regurgitated acid upward. Management includes medical GERD control, alkaline rinses, and delayed brushing after reflux.

Which trace mineral, naturally present in many foods and water supplies, is incorporated into tooth enamel during development to form fluorapatite, making the enamel more resistant to acid dissolution?

Answer: Fluoride

Fluoride is a naturally occurring trace mineral that, when incorporated into developing enamel, replaces hydroxyl groups in hydroxyapatite to form fluorapatite. Fluorapatite has a lower critical pH (approximately 4.5 vs 5.5), making the enamel significantly more acid-resistant.

A pediatric patient's parent reports giving the child a bottle of apple juice at bedtime. What condition is the dental assistant most concerned about, and what counselling should be provided?

Answer: Early Childhood Caries (ECC), formerly called baby bottle tooth decay; the parent should be counselled to eliminate bedtime bottles containing anything other than water, as prolonged sugar exposure during sleep rapidly destroys primary teeth

Bedtime bottles containing juice, milk, or any sugar-containing liquid cause Early Childhood Caries (ECC) because the liquid pools around the teeth during sleep when salivary flow is minimal, creating prolonged acid attacks with no natural clearance.