4 Ways to Have Good Dental Health
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According to many dental professionals, there are only a few hygiene principles that people need to practice if they want to keep their teeth and gums healthy for a lifetime. Here are a few of the key principles:
Brushing
Tooth brushing should begin as soon as a child has his very first tooth. Baby teeth are very susceptible to cavities, especially if a child frequently has a bottle or cup full of juice to drink. Parents should never allow their children to fall asleep with a bottle in their mouth, even if they are old enough to avoid choking on it.
Some people believe that the bristles on their brush should be stiff in order for them to remove tough tartar, but in reality the bristles should be soft, and the teeth should be brushed continuously for around two minutes, twice a day.
Flossing
Some people do not like to floss because it hurts their gums. If your mouth hurts when using regular dental floss, check Canada 411 for places that distribute tape-type floss. This type of floss slides between the tightest of teeth. If your gums hurt or bleed when flossing, it is time to visit the dentist.
Dental Visits
Rarely do people go through life with no cavities. Even people who brush twice a day and floss after each meal will benefit from a dental visit. The dentist can find cavities before they become painful, and the hygenist will scrape away the gum-damaging tartar.
Fluoride
Developed areas have fluoride in their municipal water, but some adults may need treatments with it to strengthen their teeth.
Keep your Teeth Healthy as an Adult
You know the rules, the way to brush and not to brush. Still, as you get older, those little cavity suckers seem to be eating your mouth out. You’ve had root canals, pulled teeth experiences, and even gingivitis. For years you have been told to floss, but you haven’t. You have been told to visit the dentist twice a year from the dentist as well as your good old insurance policy, but do you?
Here’s what you can do to keep your teeth and gums in the pink!
- Choose your toothbrush carefully. You probably don’t want hard bristles. Soft bristles help you to brush without hurting your gums.
- Brush twice a day. Use a toothpaste with flouride.
- Floss at least once a day. Take the weekend off if you’d like to, but resume on Monday.
- Or invest in a Water pik toothbrush. A lot like flossing, but far more fun. Around $50.
- Gargle with mouthwash after brushing. Keep your breath smelling fresh, and give your teeth and gums an extra kick.
- Visit the dentist twice a year. Even a small cavity is a better experience than a large one.
- Whitening your teeth doesn’t keep your teeth any more healthy, but whitening does make your teeth look healthier. Try this free home whitening remedy here: http://www.essortment.com/all/whitenyourteet_pry.htm or ask your dentist what she recommends.
Knowing the rules of teeth brushing, as you know, if only half of the battle. The difficult part comes in the doing. Start out small. Perhaps floss twice a week to start, or floss only at night when you’re not in a hurry. Find a way to remember what you’ve started; whether it is sticking a handy reminder on your vanity mirror or keeping the items for use out on the counter until you have it down.
Keeping your teeth healthy may not appear easy at first, but like everything else you start and somehow manage to finish, healthy teeth will come in time, and you’ll be glad you did it.
Make Your Next Dental Visit Pleasant
The number one reason people avoid going to the Dentist is fear. The fear of pain while in the dental chair prevents people from obtaining much needed dental treatment. Many Dentists understand this fear and put forth extraordinary effort to make a dental visit as pleasant as possible. As a patient, you can increase your chances of a pleasant and pain free experience simply by communicating with your Dentist or Dental Hygienist.
If you have sensitive teeth or sensitive areas in your mouth, you should communicate this information to the Dentist. For some people, getting their teeth cleaned is uncomfortable due to tooth sensitivity. However, if your Dentist or Dental Hygienist is unaware of your tooth sensitivity, he or she may not take the appropriate measures to alleviate the sensitivity. This leads to an unpleasant experience.
It is important as a patient to communicate any discomfort you may be feeling during your dental visit. Your Dentist and Hygienist are not in the dental field to cause you pain and discomfort. They want you to take care of your teeth and maintain regular teeth cleaning visits. Their goal is to help keep your mouth and teeth healthy. It is important you communicate any information that will help them make your experience as pleasant as possible.
Dentists have developed methods to make your visit as painless as possible; however, if you do not communicate issues you may have with your teeth or gums, they cannot help you. Oral health is important to have healthy teeth and gums. To ensure you receive proper care express any concerns you may have to your Dentist.
Visiting the Dentist does not have to by a frightening experience. Establishing a good relationship with proper communication will make your visits pleasant and without incident. Your gums and teeth will stay healthy and you will be happy.
Dental Complications During Pregnancy
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Due to numerous physiological changes, dentistry risks rise considerably during the course of pregnancy. Women are strongly encouraged to visit their dental hygienists as necessary in order to prevent benign complications from becoming a cause of severe birth defects.
Morning sickness, for example, generally causes vomiting, which leads to the deterioration of tooth enamel. This is harmless to the child, but it can cause the mother to experience unnecessary problems later on in life.
During their first trimester, nearly half of all pregnant women develop a condition referred to as pregnancy gingivitis, a condition in which the gums become inflamed and may result in bleeding. When these symptoms occur, dental hygienists are able to treat the condition to avoid further complications. Left untreated, this otherwise non-threatening dentistry condition may lead to a more severe condition known as periodontal disease.
Periodontal disease is responsible for causing irreparable damage to the teeth and gum line of the pregnant mother, and it can also lead to a variety of birth defects. Many dental hygienists believe that periodontal disease may be a factor in premature births. Low birth weight is another possible side effect to this condition that can easily be avoided by scheduling and attending regular dentistry appointments.
Periodontal disease is also known to lead to another potentially life threatening complication for both the mother and the child inside the womb. It may cause pyogenic granuloma, the formation of cysts or tumors protruding from the gum line. This condition can make it extremely difficult to chew and swallow food. As you can probably imagine, this can lead to increased fatigue or loss of energy in the mother, as well as a lack of vital nutrients for the developing fetus.
These dentistry complications that are known to accompany pregnancy are the most severe and can lead to devastating results. Dental hygienists help to protect the baby to be born, as well as the health of the mother’s teeth and gums.
Diagnosing A Receeding Gumline and How to Treat It
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A receding gum line is a disease that can almost always be avoided by using good dental hygiene. A receding gum line is one where the the gums shrink back far enough so that the roots of the teeth become exposed. When this happens, food can become trapped underneath the gum line and bacteria also has easy access to the roots. Because of this foreign material gaining access to such a sensitive area, pockets of infection form easily which results in the loss of teeth and jawbone. A receding gum line also causes the teeth to be sensitive to hot and cold food and liquid.
When a person does not brush and floss their teeth, they set their mouths up for damaged gum lines but this problem can also caused by being hit in the mouth, having crooked teeth or having genetically thin gums. Periodontal disease also causes receding gums. A person will begin to show signs of this disease before their dental hygienist even diagnoses them with it. Some things to look for include: noticing that the teeth seem longer than they used to and the spaces in between the teeth seem to be getting wider, having bad breath, having swollen or reddish gums. If the teeth bleed after they are brushed or the roots of the teeth can be seen, more than likely the gums have begun to recede.
A trip to the dental hygienist will help determine what is causing this gum line problem. If only the few teeth in front are affected, the cause is probably due to the tooth brushing method used by the patient but if all of the gums in the whole mouth are receded, there is probably some periodontal disease involved. The dental hygienist can teach the patient the best way to care for their teeth or set them up with treatment if they do indeed have periodontal disease.
How Dental Hygienists Work With Patients
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When a person goes to the dentist’s office to have their teeth checked out and cared for, generally the first person they see is the dental hygienist. The dental hygienist has a set plan of action to ensure standard care of their patients. Every step they take is done in order to be sure that no step is skipped and that the patient is properly cared for.
The first thing the dental hygienist does is to fully review the patient’s medical history. They will be sure to find out if the patient has been taking new any medication since their last visit to the dentist’s office since some medications can interfere with the treatment they will receive.
The hygienist will then check to see which x-rays need to be updated and what type of exam is necessary for this visit. The dental hygienist will then remove plaque build-up and tartar from the patient’s teeth and then polish them. If the patient is a child, they will receive fluoride treatments at certain visits up to a specific age. If necessary, the dental hygienist will do a periodontal assessment for the patient. This is done to find out how far back the gum line has receded, if at all. These assessments must be very well documented and the hygienist may ask for assistance during this documentation.
After the assessment, the dental hygienist will check over all of the data that was gathered during the assessment and will determine what type of treatment or therapy is needed for the future care of the patient. If the hygienist finds no problems with the patient’s teeth and gums, they will simply make another check-up appointment for several months in the future. If problems have been discovered, the dental hygienist will work with the patient and the dentist and devise a plan for future treatment.
