So I had a patient in the chair earlier today. I got a look at his teeth and said, “you have heartburn, don’t you? You suffer pain in your chest and throat after eating Italian food.”
He got this look on his face. It was kind of scared but also kind of amazed. It was as if Sylvia Browne had told him about a relative of his from beyond the grave!
The difference is, Sylvia Browne uses cheap parlor tricks and I’m for real!
What’s my secret? Was I born with this amazing power? Have I trained under experienced psychics?
Nope. I’ve just seen a ton of gastric reflux patients. They have telltale acid erosion spots. They show up most often on lower molars. Once you realize they aren’t necessarily from bruxism (a.k.a.”night time tooth grinding”) I see them a lot. The amazing thing is that 25% or more of patients with gastric reflux don’t have any symptoms! No heartburn, no itchy throat, no noticeable bad breath. On top of that…these erosion area on the teeth usually don’t hurt. They’re often only detectable by a dental exam. This is particularly scary because untreated gastric reflux is a leading cause of esophageal cancer, and esophageal cancer is particularly bad!
This Saginaw dentist is trying to impress you with his amazing powers. But have no fear…there’s nothing supernatural here!
Do you have questions about your teeth? Would you like more information about gastric reflux or other topics I’ve talked about? Feel free to email me at alan@meadfamilydental.com (I answer my own email) or call the office at (989) 799-9133. I’d like to be your Saginaw dentist!
Haha! Nice “trick”! I hope other dentists notice and mention gastric reflux when they see the tell-tale signs as well, especially if some people don’t have symptoms to clue them in.
Is that true that gastric reflux don’t have any symptoms?