Brushing your teeth, buttoning your shirt, or opening a child
proof bottle are all routine daily activities that most people take for
granted. But if you have arthritis and
it affects your hands, performing these and other basic tasks can be
challenging, if not impossible. Theoretically, "exercising" your
hands should reduce the pain, improve your range of motion, and, ultimately,
enable you to perform more easily the various tasks of daily living. However, early in the morning use of your
hands may aggravate your situation.
Arthritis of the hands manifests differently depending on what
kind of arthritis you have. Osteoarthritis,
which is the most common cause of hand arthritis, involves the protective
cartilage that covers the ends of your bones and its gradual deteriorates is due
to wear and tear or, in some cases, to injury. If your hand pain is caused by
osteoarthritis there’s a high probability that flossing and brushing your teeth
may be affected.
By contrast, rheumatoid arthritis, sometimes referred to as RA,
is an immune system disorder that damages the cells in the tissue that lines
and lubricates the joints in your hand. If
rheumatoid arthritis is the cause of your hand pain, the distinction between
osteoarthritis - and rheumatoid arthritis -induced hand pain is important for
several reasons*:
First, if your pain is caused by rheumatoid, you should not
attempt to alleviate it with exercise alone. So the exercise associated with brushing
your teeth could exacerbate your joint problems. Second, strengthening exercises can be
harmful if performed aggressively and should be done in moderation by people
with rheumatoid arthritis. Third, you
should perform any type of exercise with caution while you're having a flare up
of the joints.
So that your oral health does not suffer due to the deterioration
and pain associated with either arthritis I would suggest the purchase an
electric toothbrush. My preference is the Oral-B, but it really doesn’t matter which one you use, you just
need to use one. Regardless of your
condition, my experience with patients who use the Oral-B regularly has shown results
in the positive care of their oral health.
With respect to flossing, which is just as important in maintaining your
oral hygiene, you may need to increase the number of visits to the dentist to
clean your teeth where you can’t otherwise preform the task. If you discuss this with your dentist, you should be able to make arrangements just to have
your teeth cleaned on alternating appointments and forego unnecessary exam fees.
Interestingly enough, there is a possibility that the prescription by your
physician may afford you insurance coverage for the extra visits. As a side note, if you utilize a health
savings account, you certainly should be about to cover the costs of all your
visits with pre-tax health dollars. If
there is anything we can do to assist you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
*This information is not intended to substitute for the advice
of a physician. Some of this information was provided by Johns Hopkins website
on arthritis. (
http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com).
Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC
290 Carpenter Drive, 200A
Atlanta (Sandy Springs), GA 30328
404-256-3620
receptionist@rightsmilecenter.com
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