Category Archives: Dental treatments

When the apple bites back

Posted on by
1

 

“An apple a day keeps the dentist away” - I love this proverb, but reading a fellow blogger’s, Stasha’s post about a funny loo accident/incident involving an apple (don’t ask me how I associated, I am quite strange, huh?) made me think of an important thing about brushing that I feel, I have to share with you.

I am pretty sure that a lot of us don’t know what effect eating some kind of food can have on our tooth enamel. Acid wear can make your teeth more sensitive to temperatures and it also makes your teeth more prone to decay. This is called acid erosion. Cola contains phosphoric acid, while juices have natural citric acid and ascorbic acid. Both of them can damage your tooth enamel.

Here you have a handy-list.

These are the factors that can cause acid erosion:

  • acidic beverages (soda pops and soft drinks, fruit juices and wine) as they contain large amounts of citric acid
  • grazing through the day
  • brushing your teeth directly after eating or drinking anything else than water
  • constant vomiting (bulimia) or reflux causes acidic contents to be in frequent contact with the teeth, developing erosion

This is how you should do to avoid acid erosion:

  • Rely on dental floss during the day (only brush in the morning and in the evening)
  • Rinse your mouth after food consumption during the day
  • Drink a lot of water
  • Avoid snacks and constant snacking during the day, letting your mouth getting back it’s acid balance
  • Avoid brushing your teeth for at least half an hour after consuming acidic food or drink (and brush gently when you brush)
  • You can reduce the contact of acidic drinks with your teeth by using a straw
  • Try to include milk or other dairy products in your diet

 

Did you know about this already? Do you have some more tips for avoiding tooth erosion? Please share them!

Taking Care of Sensitive Teeth

Posted on by
Reply

 

Lots of millions of people all around the World know that sensitive teeth can make life in general a nightmare as it causes pain and discomfort that can make eating or drinking a painful experience.
Normally, this condition presents tooth pain after drinking cold liquid, eating hot or cold foods, or breathing in cool air. If the pain becomes unbearable, you should immediately go and see your dentist, as the nerve of your tooth could be exposed. Normally, sensitive teeth starts when the gums begin to pull away from the teeth and eventually the roots of  the teeth. When the gums pull away, the roots will be exposed to cavity too.

The exposed root tips contain small tubules that lead directly to the nerves of the teeth. Whenever pressure, hot, or cold elements travel down the tubules, it will trigger the nerves and result in pain. People with healthy teeth have these tubules covered by their gums.

Some tips for making you feel better once you have sensitive teeth:

  • Reduce the pressure when brushing your teeth. Brushing them hard tears at the gums, which can lead to sensitive teeth. If you have sensitive teeth now, you should try using an electric toothbrush that massaging your gums firmly too or simply use a very soft-bristled toothbrush (I use Curaprox ultra soft 5460).
  • There are several toothpastes out there on the market that contain potassium nitrate, which helps you to reduce pain and discomfort associated with sensitivity. Although there are several toothpastes to choose from, according to my experiences Elmex’s Sensitive toothpaste is the best, as it simply affects the nerve of the tooth and stops the pain where it starts.
  • Mouthwash can also help tooth sensitivity, providing it contains fluoride. It is important that the mouthwash does not contain any alcohol, like Listerine does. Elmex’s Sensitive Mouthwash is a good choice here too.
  • Avoid professional (peroxide-based) teeth whitening treatments as they could cause or make your teeth even more sensitive.
  • If you have tooth decay, get it fixed by a dentist as soon as possible. Tooth decay is a bacterial infection of the tooth and one of the main diseases of the mouth where the enamel and the dentin are softened, allowing bacteria access to the dentin tubules and ultimately, the pulp. This process causes inflammation which makes the tooth very sensitive to any irritation.
  • Bad bite, recent fillings or dental work, partial tooth fracture, and advancing gum disease can cause sensitive teeth too, make sure that you consult your dentist immediately about this.

Tooth sensitivity is something that many of us unfortunately have to deal with - although there are ways that you can fight back or prevent the pain and discomfort.

Wanna protect your baby’s future teeth?

Posted on by
2

I have talked about your own teeth during pregnancy already, but now it is time to talk about your newborn baby’s teeth.

You baby is born and you have everything in your life upside-down but still you have to concern some major issues about the baby’s future teeth.

Even when your baby is only a couple of months old, you should keep her gums healthy and clean. Gently wipe her gums with a wet, clean, soft cloth every day. The most important thing to remember is never to put your baby to bed with a bottle. Any kind of drink except water can cause a baby’s teeth to decay, even breast milk and infant formula. Other liquids that cause tooth decay are powdered fruit drinks, soda and juice. Any drink that contains sugar can cause tooth decay when your baby gets older. A two-month-old baby should drink only breast milk, formula or water.

Typically primary teeth will begin emerging from the gums at about 6 months of age. However, not every child is the same, so will begin teething as early as 2 months or as late as 1 year. Most of the kid experience pain when teething, there are actually a lot of symptoms to teething you will want to be aware of, such as: fussy, excessive drooling, loud crying, change in sleep habits, constant gnawing, loss of appetite, diarrhea, chin rash, and even ear aches. You can help by rubbing a cool washcloth on the gums or giving him cooled chew toys to help ease the pain. Be sure to give extra love and care during this traumatic time of his life.

These are some tips for you to follow in order to protect your baby’s future or present teeth:

  • Always hold your baby or keep your eyes on him/her during feedings. Do not prop up the bottle or leave your baby alone with the bottle in the bed.
  • If your baby needs a pacifier at bedtime, make sure it is clean and dry. NEVER EVER put the pacifier or bottle nipples in you own mouth (not even for a quick clean), because this would transfer the bacteria from your mouth to your baby’s mouth.
  • Do not dip the pacifier in honey or sweet liquids. Your baby might like the sweet taste, but these liquids will cause tooth decay when her teeth come in. Germs and spores in honey can also make a baby sick, that is why honey is not recommended under the age of 1.
  • Clean the nipples of your baby’s pacifiers and bottles by washing with soap and rinsing carefully and thoroughly with clean water. You could use a sterilizer in your microwave oven too.

How to clean your baby’s teeth?

Under the age of 6 babies, toddlers are too young to clean their own teeth, but what you can do is to start making their teeth cleaning a lifelong daily habit. Your baby learns most from watching you, so show him/her a good example by brushing your own teeth after every meal. Then clean your baby’s teeth by using a soft, wet, clean cloth to remove germs after every meal he eats. Start using toothpaste as soon as your baby gets his first tooth.

Make teeth cleaning a pleasant experience. That way your baby will want to try it on her own. In this case let him do it AFTER you have cleaned/brushed his teeth.

Crowns for the teeth - is that a good solution?

Posted on by
Reply

Despite the fact that there are numerous types of different dental care issues, there are some really common approaches towards these problems. One of the most common dental approaches to many dental care issues to use the crowns for teeth.

The crowns for teeth have been used for many years but they started to become even more popular these days because of several reasons. First of all, in the past the crowns were made of low- quality materials. Also, only the people from the lower classes used to wear those things because the richer people have different options ahead of them.

One of the most common reasons why the people used to neglect the dental crowns is the fact that they were made of really bad materials. Some people experience some really unfortunate allergic reactions and this is the primary reason why they had to leave those dental crowns for good.

However, nowadays all this is changed. Nowadays, the dental crowns are made of high quality materials and this is the main reason why the people are going to feel extremely happy about that. In the past, the dental crowns disturbed the natural appearance of the tooth. Nowadays, thanks to the new technologies and the different materials, which are used in the process of creation of those dental care structures, the dental crowns are not going to disturb the natural appearance of the tooth. They are going to look absolutely white and this is the primary reason why the people are going to be quite happy about that.

One more thing, the dental crowns are made of porcelain these days. This is going to become a golden standard in the process of creation of those dental care structures. You may ask why. Well, you must know that the dental crowns, made of porcelain, are going to look absolutely natural in the tooth because they appear white. Also they are  strong enough and that is how the general strength of the tooth is improved tremendously. This is something that all people want and that is how the people are going to enjoy to have some of the best dental crowns in their teeth.

Bad breath? I give you some “home-made” solutions.

Posted on by
Reply

A large number of people suffered from bad breath and they are not realizing it themselves until someone pointed it up to them. Everyone gets bad breath sometime and here are some alternative methods of fighting it before you would run to your dentist.

Some alternative home made solutions to fight bad breath:

  • Herbs

Instead of toting around breath mints to fight bad breath after a meal, carry a tin or baggie of herbs such as mint (the real one), thyme, fennel, cinnamon, anise, or cloves. Chew any of these after meals to fight bad breath.

  • Baking soda

You know baking soda as an ingredient in recipes, however it is also used in laundry and refrigerators to combat odor. Use it orally to fight bad breath. Simply add some to your toothbrush, add a little water, scrub and rinse.

  • Salt water

Rinse your mouth out with warm water and salt. This is also a remedy used to help get rid of a sore throat.

  • Lemon or lime water

Rinse your mouth out and gargle some lemon or lime juice mixed with warm water

  • Essential oils

Essential oils are plant extracts which means you’re getting a strong concentration of the plant’s benefits. Many essential oils have qualities that can fight bad breath. One home remedy is to add a few drops of tea tree oil to your toothpaste before brushing. For mouth wash, add one drop of Myrrh oil to warm water.

  • Parsley or mint

When parsley or mint is used as a garnish, there is a reason for that. It is also meant to be eaten to help fight bad breath from odorous meals. This bad breath home remedy
has been used for thousands of years.

  • Apple cider vinegar

For such an odd smelling liquid, vinegar has many uses and can help cure quite a few ailments as already reveled in one of my earlier posts. Add a little bit of apple cider vinegar to your water and drink it at least once per day. This will work for loosing some weight too .

 

And here you go some ineffective solutions that probably won’t work:

  • Overusing mouthwash

This can actually make your bad breath worse by contributing to a dry mouth.

  •  Breath mints

This method of fighting bad breath only masks the problem  and can contribute to tooth decay which also creates bad breath.

  • Chewing gum

Chewing gum, like breath mints, is not good for fighting bad breath since it only hides the smell. A better alternative to gum is water as a method of avoiding dry mouth.

 

And at last let me share the favorite motto of a friend with you:

“When your mouth stink onions, you can always take that smell away with some garlic!”

Dental veneers - what are they?

Posted on by
1

A lot of people need dental veneers. You may ask the most reasonable question:               “ Why?”. Well, the answer is pretty simple: people need those dental care structures because they have experienced a very unfortunate situation, where they had lost a tooth or several teeth. Also they do not have the enough money get the more expensive alternative, the dental implants. That is the primary reason why people choose to have dental veneers instead. Having dental veneers is not a permanent solution and that is why people are most likely going to have to buy the dental implants eventually. However thanks to the veneers they are going to have enough time (several years) for collecting the money that they need for dental implants.

Veneers are an important tool for the cosmetic dentist. A dentist may use one veneer to restore a single tooth that may have been fractured or discolored, or multiple teeth to create a “Hollywood” type of makeover.

Getting the best dental veneers is not something really hard, especially, if you keep some general rules in mind. First of all you need to set up your budged and you must decide how much money you are willing to spend on them. Also you need to talk to your dentist and ask him about the best dental veneers. He is going to tell you all the information that you need to know. That is how you are going to be in good position to make the best call. You may decide to go for the less expensive dental veneers, if you are planning to get the dental implants in the near future. If you are not going to buy them anytime sooner, you’d better go for the more expensive type of dental veneers because the quality is way better.

A lot of people struggle to understand the essence of the dental veneers. The dental veneers are tine little structures that are quite different from other dental care structures. They are placed on the top of the affected tooth but they are not attached to the patient’s jaw bone as the dental implants. The patient will not need any type of surgical intervention at all. The veneers are inserted in the dentist’s surgery and he is not going to need anything else but some cement as glue and the dental veneers that you have purchased.

If you have one of your teeth affected by the tobacco smoking, you are going to be extremely happy since the veneers would cover that up for you. And do you know what the best part about all this is? Nobody will be in a position to tell that you have the dental veneers installed on your tooth. They are very tiny and they resemble the tooth that you have. This way everything is going to look natural and you are going to be able to walk in public without worrying about the tooth that has a veneer installed. However if you have a broken tooth you could get the dental veneers installed as well. The veneers are going to cover the tooth and at the same time they are going to improve its stability and strength. This means that this tooth is not going to fall or break further more. This way you’ll be able to save this tooth.

Different types of dental veneers

There are two main types of material used to fabricate a veneer, composite and dental porcelain. A composite veneer may be directly placed (built-up in the mouth), or indirectly fabricated by a dental technician in a dental laboratory, and later bonded to the tooth, typically using a resin cement. In contrast, a porcelain veneer may only be indirectly fabricated.

Veneers or Whitening?

Porcelain dental veneers or direct composite veneers may require the “shaping” or “prepping” of all teeth being treated. Therefore, some cosmetic dentists first recommend teeth whitening to people with mildly discolored teeth who want a whiter and brighter smile because it is the least invasive cosmetic dentistry option. If crooked teeth or alignment issues are involved, whitening also may be combined with orthodontic treatments, including Invisalign.

Care of Dental Veneers

Care must be taken not to abuse veneers because the thin porcelain shells or composite layers can be damaged or break. Your dentist may advise you against certain uses or dietary tendencies (such as eating carrots) and may recommend you wear a protective appliance while sleeping.