Allison M. Stump, DMD

01/01/2025

🎊🥳🎉Happy New Year!!🎉🥳🎊

What’s your goal(s) for 2025? 👇🏻Drop them in the comments below👇🏻

If you are looking to be healthier in 2025, don’t forget your oral health!!

12/23/2024

11/13/2024

🦷🦈🦷 Toothday Tuesday 🦷🦈🦷

It’s Toothday Tuesday on a Wednesday!! This week I’m in north Florida with friends and I normally don’t do a post while on vacation but last light we walked the beach looking for sharks teeth and I was inspired!! This week is fun facts about sharks teeth!!

Unlike us humans, sharks usually have 5 rows of teeth. When a shark’s tooth is lost, the tooth in the row behind moves forward to take its place! Some species of sharks can produce up to 30,000 teeth in their life. That’s a lot of visits from the tooth fairy!! The shape of the tooth reflects the diet for that species of shark.

For more info on sharks teeth compared to human teeth visit https://www.deltadentalwa.com/blog/entry/2017/07/shark-week-all-about-shark-teeth

11/11/2024

❤️🤍💙 Happy Veterans Day to all of our veterans!! Thank you all for your service to defend our freedoms and our great country!! ❤️🤍💙

Both of my grandfathers served in World War II. My Pawpaw (Ruben Kitchen, Sr.) served in the Navy on the USS Yorktown, CV-10 in the Pacific theater. My Papaw (Donald Stump) served in the Army in the Atlantic theater. He was shot in the arm and was awarded the Purple Heart.

10/29/2024

🦷🦷🦷 Toothday Tuesday 🦷🦷🦷

Happy Toothday Tuesday!! With trunk-or-treats in full swing and community trick-or-treats approaching, let’s talks about the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to candy!

What’s your favorite candy?? Share below👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

Here is a few common types of candy.

Chocolate
Chocolate isn’t really sticky and it washes off your teeth pretty easily. ***Bonus points for dark chocolate: contains less sugar than milk chocolate

Sticky/Gummy Candy
The consistency of sticky/gummy candy leads them to stay longer on your teeth and harder to wash off naturally. The longer the treat stays on your teeth, the more time the cavity producing bacteria is working at demineralizing your teeth.
***Exception: sugar free gum.

Hard Candy
Hard candy usually takes a while to dissolve if you are just sucking on it. This means the sugary saliva mix is constantly washing over your teeth and keeping the pH of your mouth low which starts the demineralization process. On the flip side, if you are eating the candy quicker, you are most likely biting/chewing the candy. This can lead to the candy spending less time in the mouth, but increases the risk of breaking a tooth.

Sour Candy
Sour candy usually has citric acid to give it the sour flavor. Citric acid is very harmful to our teeth. more acidic than sweet candy.

When you combine these candy categories into one specific candy, like Sour Patch Kids, you could have a real problem on your hands.

10/22/2024

🦷🦷🦷 Toothday Tuesday 🦷🦷🦷

It’s Toothday Tuesday!!! Today, we will dive into good oral hygiene at home. October is dental hygiene month and this will also complete our series on pregnancy and oral health.

A healthy and happy smile starts at home and good oral hygiene home care is very important for everyone, including during pregnancy. The following steps are a great way to keep your pearly whites happy and healthy!
🦷 Floss
🦷 Antimicrobial mouth rinse
🦷 Brush

We all should be flossing at least once a day to not only clean between our teeth but also to clean between our teeth and gums. Bacteria like to hangout in this area. This bacteria can cause gum disease if not removed. Flossing before brushing allows for us to disturb the bacteria and food debris so when we brush we throughly clean the teeth. Think of it like sweeping your floors before you mop!!

Next in a good oral hygiene home routine is using an antimicrobial mouth rinse like Listerine. This helps kill any bacteria left after flossing and will help freshen your breath!

The last step in a good home care routine is brushing your teeth at least twice a day for two minutes each time with a fluoride toothpaste. Make sure you are brushing each surface of the tooth. After brushing, it’s important to not rinse your mouth to allow the fluoride and any sensitivity medicine to really sit on your teeth and work. Trying not to eat or drink anything after brushing for 30 minutes is very important in this step!

As always, if you are having a problem deciding what oral health products to use, check for the ADA Seal of Acceptance!!

Next week we will discuss which Halloween treats are better for your teeth.

10/15/2024

🦷🦷🦷 Toothday Tuesday 🦷🦷🦷

Happy Toothday Tuesday!!! Today we will discuss the effects of erosion on teeth, especially during pregnancy.

The outer layer of the tooth, the enamel, is a very hard surface, the hardest material in the body, but is very susceptible to erosion.

Erosion occurs when acid drops the pH of the mouth and allows the enamel to dissolve. Acid can be intrinsic (stomach acid) or extrinsic (what we eat or drink).

Pregnancy can come with reflux issues and morning sickness. These issues can impact your teeth. Some ways you can help reduce the risk of erosion is by:
🦷 Limiting snacking
🦷 Only drinking water
🦷Not brushing immediately after a reflux/morning sickness episode
🦷 Rinsing with water and baking soda

Check back next week for good hygiene habits and ways to help prevent dental issues during pregnancy!

10/11/2024

Tonight’s Northern Lights from Hardin Valley, Knox County, Tennessee!!!!

I was unable to see them the last time they made their way down south.

Share your Northern Lights pictures 👇🏻below 👇🏻in the comments!! Don’t forget to include your 📍location📍

10/08/2024

🦷🦷🦷 Toothday Tuesday 🦷🦷🦷

Happy Toothday Tuesday!! Let’s talk more about how to keep your teeth happy and healthy during pregnancy!!

Last week we discussed gum issues that can arise during pregnancy, this week will be on cavities.

During pregnancy, you are at a higher risk for cavities. This is most likely because of the change in diet (food and frequency). It’s not just the sugars in foods, but also the frequency.

Cavities are caused from plaque (bacteria) sitting on the teeth. What we eat and drink causes the bacteria in plaque to produce acid which drops the pH in the mouth and cause weak areas in the enamel. If this process occurs frequently, you produce a cavity.

It takes about 30 minutes after eating or drinking for the pH in the mouth to return to normal and to stop the enamel from “dissolving”. With this being said, if you are constantly snacking, the pH in your mouth can never return to normal.

Check back next week to learn how erosion is a problem during pregnancy!

10/03/2024

Let’s help our neighbors in East Tennessee and West North Carolina!!! I’ve ordered mine and can’t wait for it to come in!

Go get your shirts from The Kentucky Shop (https://thekyshop.com/collections/appalachia-strong) to help the recovery efforts in East Tennessee and West North Carolina!!

100% of the net profits will be divided equally between the two states!!

Thank y'all for gettin' behind this for our friends in Appalachia! If ya'd like one they are over at TheKyShop.com! Now off to print some tees!

10/01/2024

🦷🦷🦷 Toothday Tuesday 🦷🦷🦷

Happy Toothday Tuesday and happy October 1st!! This month we will discuss the 3 major dental issues related to pregnancy. Just as an FYI, dental treatment is safe during all 3 trimesters of pregnancy.

The 3 major dental issues related to pregnancy are:
🤰🏼 Gum diseases
🦷 Cavities
🤰🏼 Enamel erosion

While pregnant, your hormone levels are all over the place. This can cause changes in your gum health. 3 of the most common changes are gingivitis, periodontitis, and overgrowths.

Gingivitis is the mild or early stages of gum disease. At this stage, the changes to the gums are reversible with good home care. The key characteristics of gingivitis are red, swollen, sensitive, and sometimes even bleeding gums. Even with amazing home care, you may still have gum issues due to your hormones, but it’s still very important to keep your teeth clean from plaque and bacteria to help reduce the severity of “pregnancy gingivitis”.

The opposite end of the gum disease spectrum is periodontitis. This is the severe stage of gum disease and it is not reversible, but is manageable. Periodontitis is characterized by bone loss. Periodontitis is caused by plaque, bacteria, and food debris building up under the gums and attacking the gums and underlying bone causing inflammation.

Sometimes during pregnancy, the gums will develop lumps or bumps. These would be considered overgrowths and can also be found on the tongue or cheeks. Usually these overgrowths or “pregnancy tumors” resolve after pregnancy. Despite their name, they are non-cancerous.

Check back next week to learn about cavities!

09/24/2024

🦷🦷🦷 Toothday Tuesday 🦷🦷🦷

This Toothday Tuesday is all about how we can increase our salivary flow and help prevent a dry mouth!

If you are taking medications and notice your saliva production is less, talk with your doctor who prescribed the medications. They may be able to switch you to a different medication or give you another medication that increases salivary production.

One of the biggest changes you can do is evaluate your diet and make changes that way. These changes would include:
🦷 Limiting your caffeine intake
💧Limiting your alcohol intake
🦷 Increasing you water intake
💧Avoiding hot/spicy and dry foods
🦷 Sucking on sugar free mints and candies
💧 Chewing sugar free ADA accepted gum

A lifestyle change that can help is by using a humidifier in your house and work space. This will help by adding moisture to the air to help prevent over drying of the mouth and skin.

You can also try artificial salivary products and toothpastes without sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS).