Category Archives: Treatment Stories

When the apple bites back

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“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!

Parents, please help your kids!

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This following post was inspired by my daughter who came home yesterday and told me that she had two classmates at school, with rotten black teeth and the stink from their mouths was nearly unbearable for her. She does not even like to go close to them.

And we are talking about kids around 6-7 years of age!!!

This makes me so angry. Why won’t some kids’ parents care about their kids’ oral situation? Can’t they see that something nasty is going on in their mouth? I do check my kids’ teeth every single day and I make sure that they brush properly (I’ll help them)  and that they are not eating or drinking anything else than water after brushing their teeth before going to bed.

Many parents neglect the fact that their children have different dental care issues. This is one of the main reasons why these poor little kids/teenagers are not accepted in their school societies, and why they are going to suffer in the long run and they are not going to feel too good in life. It is only the parents who can help them dealing with the dental issues that they might have. This is one of the primary reasons why more and more people should be going to the dentist, asking for improved  smile design for their children. If they come to a level to even care so to say. But I think we are far behind this level.

Parents must be ready to do whatever it takes to improve their children’s oral health, otherwise their children are not going to feel comfortable and this is going to have a long term impact on their personalities.  It is pretty important to note that your children’s mental health is one of your top priorities as parents. If you have dealt with this problem already, it means that you have done your job, and your kid is not going to suffer because of his genetic or acquired problems, related to his or her dental health.

So PLEASE, if you are a parent, BRUSH and CHECK your kids’ TEETH regularly! This is absolutely the least we could do for them.

What do YOU think? Are you one of those neglecting parents too? Or are you like me, being mad at other parents?

The great importance of dental floss

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I am pretty sure about the fact that a lot of you out there have never ever used dental floss before. Maybe some of these people have heard of it, or even tried using it, but found it a difficult and a time consuming procedure.

All I can tell using dental floss is one of the best (if not the best) things you can do for your dental health. Cavity develops from bacteria left inside your mouth, and leaving food rests in between your teeth contributes to bacteria development that attacks your teeth. On the other hand some of us with tight gaps between our teeth can experience a very odd “spanning” feeling when something is stuck between the teeth. I am one of these persons and that is why I use dental floss every time I have eaten something that can get stuck in between my teeth (not yoghurt for instance).

The recommendation is to use floss at least once a day, advisably in the evening, before going to bed.

Having narrow gaps is making my floss shopping a pain in the “butt”, I have tried the whole selection of flosses that are out there on the market, and found that only a single one (luckily) I am able to use in between my teeth, the others won’t fit at all since they are being to wide. This brand is Oral-B.

It is really important to show your children how to floss too, and give them a specially designed floss.

Remember to always floss BEFORE brushing your teeth, this way you brush in between your teeth too (where the food rests were before flossing).

Note: This is not an ad for Oral-B, I just want to try to help the people who thought that they were not able to use dental floss when taking care of their teeth.

My evening procedure

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OK. Friends had already told me, my Hubby had already told me, my kids had already noticed my evening before-going-to-bed procedure. I told you in my previous post that I am obsessed about teeth. And so I developed this procedure of tooth brushing. I bet you already guessed that it takes time for me to go to bed. Haha.

This is what I do:

  • I go to the bathroom and start with washing my hands with soap and hot water.
  • After this I dry my hands and use floss in between my teeth.
  • Then I take my electrical toothbrush with extra soft brush attached, hold it under hot water, letting the brush become soft.
  • I put special toothpaste that contains vitamin A and fluoride but WITHOUT sodium laureth sulfath (I am not going to write down it’s name here).
  • I brush my teeth with the electrical toothbrush for 2-4 minutes.
  • After this I grab an extra soft Swiss made special extra soft toothbrush and put some more toothpaste on it.
  • I make sure to brush all over my teeth again with it and to brush even behind those hard-to-reach places like behind the wisdom teeth.

  • I rinse my mouth twice (at least).
  • Then I grab my tongue scraper and scrape thoroughly my tongue with it, as many time as it is needed to be clean.
  • I rinse again.
  • I make sure to clean all the devices properly before putting them back to their places.
  • I remove my makeup (mostly eye makeup) using quite a lot of cotton pads and sticks.
  • I wash my face with warm water.
  • Then I clean my face (leaving my eyes out of the procedure) with special cleanser fluid.
  • After this is done, I let it dry a bit then I apply anti-aging eye wrinkle cream around my eyes.
  • I continue applying anti-aging night-cream on my face and neck.
  • When this is all done I rinse my mouth with mouth water containing fluoride.

  • I take a shower.
  • I file my soles.
  • I put body lotion all over my body.
  • I go to bed.
  • I apply foot cream on my feet (I am so afraid of getting those cracked soles )
  • I put some lip balm on.
  • I rub my hands with hand cream.
  • NOW I am ready to sleep.

I do this every single day. Call me crazy, if you want to. I do call myself obsessed. Or do you think that this is normal? Never the less, do you as well have some odd “procedures”? I would be happy to hear them .

 

How the hell did I get so damn obsessed about teeth?

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Back in my young ages I did not care too much about oral health. AND the worst problem was that my parents gave it a shit too. I AM VERY MAD AT THEM because of this. They let me brush my own teeth when I was small, and never ever checked me. As a small kid you don’t understand the importance of a good brush. I just had a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste, brushed my teeth (at most) twice a day, morning and evening and THAT was it. I did not even care about missing some of the brushing occasions or eating some candies or chocolate after brushing my teeth in the evenings. On the other hand I ave not even heard of floss or fluoride either.

As far as I can remember, my parents had very bad teeth, I recall my father with black and missing front teeth and both my parents with loose teeth at their late thirties already. This terrified me somehow, and that was the point when I got obsessed with my own oral hygiene.

At that time I had a bunch of holes (cavities) already in several of my teeth and by the age of 18 I had to have one of my teeth removed (pulled out). So I decided not to end up there where my parents were, so I tried to overcome my fear of THE DENTIST and started to visit a dentist. I got all of my teeth filled and fixed and since then I’ve been going there recently, even for check-ups without any reason.

Now I know that your oral situation does not only depend on the genes transfered from your parents (if they had bad teeth, you tend to have them too) but on the fact how you take care of them during your life.

I read a lot about oral care, simple and cosmetic dental procedures, filtering out everything valuable to apply on myself and my kids. I try making the oral situation better for my friends and family members as well by giving them advices, but they don’t seem to listen to me, everyone has this huge fear of dentist, and when they react it is most usually too late.

You can not imagine how much you can do for your teeth just by using floss once a day before going to bed!!! So if you are interested in my ramblings about oral hygiene, keep reading my blog, and I promise, I’ll try to give you some important information and relevant issues that are free of medical expresses and easy to read.

Cheers!

Wanna protect your baby’s future teeth?

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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.

Is your unborn baby “sucking” all the strenght out of your teeth?

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You can get to a point where you may think so. So did I during all of my pregnancies. My teeth kept breaking and I definitely felt that they were getting weaker and weaker not mentioning those inflammations that popped out time after time. You start wondering…

He are some facts about oral health during pregnancy:

  • Pregnancy is truly a delicate time for expectant women because of the drastic hormonal changes that affect practically every aspect of their bodies, including their oral health. During pregnancy, the risks of gum disease increases, which also puts the baby’s health at risk. This is why taking good care of teeth as well as gums is very important for pregnant women.
  • There is an old wives’ tale -which is not totally true-, that one loses a tooth with each pregnancy, and while women will certainly notice a difference in their oral health during and after their pregnancy, there are a number of steps they can take to minimize the risk and ensure their teeth stay as healthy as possible.
  • Oral hygiene during pregnancy is very important to maintain. Due to the change of hormonal balance the gums may become irritated by dental plaque. Brushing at least twice a day and flossing daily after meals will help prevent dental decay and gum inflammation. Pregnancy Gingivitis is not fatal, but it is often very painful and can cause bleeding bleeding gums. Buy and use an extra soft toothbrush and use dental floss to avoid this.
  • Attending dental check-ups regularly, even during pregnancy is highly recommended. You do not have to be afraid of pain-killer injections as they only take regional effect. BUT avoid any bigger dental treatments when you are on your first trimester that can harm your baby, such as dental X-rays.
  • Make sure to maintain a diet that is both healthy and balanced, it should contain a lot of cheese, yogurt and other dairy products, all of which are excellent sources of essential minerals that help develop strong teeth and gums. The baby’s first set of teeth form during the pregnancy’s first trimester (12 weeks).
Try to remember these basic facts and you’ll manage your teeth health during your pregnancy just as fine as I did. Cheers!

 

Dandruff? Go natural!

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Dandruff is a skin disease that knows no boundaries and affecting millions all around the world, cutting across age and race. Dandruff, also called seborrheic dermatitis is an itchy, flaky and persistent skin disorder of the scalp, without redness. The scalp sheds dead skin cells in large numbers and dandruff appears as dry, white or greyish flakes usually on the top of the head. It is normal to continuously shed some dead skin flakes, as the skin is constantly renewing itself. With dandruff, this whole process of skin renewal speeds up, so a greater number of dead cells get shed. In addition, the cells are shed in clumps, which are big enough to be seen with the naked eye as embarrassing flakes. The scalp may also feel slightly or very itchy  in some cases.

Treatment of dandruff

Dandruff is a natural process. Elimination takes time, but you can manage and control it. Treatment of dandruff is directed at fighting the skin inflammation. This is done either directly, by using cortisone-based creams and lotions (which reduce inflammation), or by reducing the yeast that builds up on scaly areas and adds to the problem.

  • Keep the hair and scalp clean, to decrease the accumulation of dead cells. Wash frequently so that flakes do not build up.
  • Brush your hair daily to improve the circulation and remove any flakiness (even for you with short hair).
  • Massage the scalp daily using the fingertips. This stimulates the circulation, dislodges dirt and dandruff and helps in the hair growth.
  • Avoid spicy and greasy food because it helps dandruff to increase and spread. Add more fresh and green vegetables and fruits to the diet. Have a balanced diet containing lots of vitamin A, B6, B12. Avoid intake of fried foods, sugar, chocolates and nuts. Strong tea and coffee and processed food should be avoided as well.

Natural home made remedies

Most of the dandruff shampoos claiming to reduce dandruff contain Zinc Pyrithione, Nizoral and salicylic acid to contain the growth of fungi and reduce dandruff. However, the more chemical you apply to your skin, chances of reactions are always a concern.

  • Rub onion onto scalp. Onions are high in sulphur, which is essential for a healthy scalp.
  • Avoid dyeing hair, unless an absolute must. We all have bacteria on our scalp, some of which are beneficial. This ‘good’ bacteria prevent dandruff yeast, and hair dyes reduce their numbers.
  • Garlic whether eaten or applied externally is excellent for fighting dandruff.
  • Apple cider vinegar (diluted with equal amount of water) when massaged onto scalp helps curb dandruff. It is a natural antiseptic.
  • Lemon juice or sour curd when applied onto scalp is also useful.
  • Fenugreek seeds - ground into a fine paste, applied onto scalp, and left for half an hour.
  • Juice of bitter gourd when massaged with oil onto scalp relieves dandruff.
  • Boil some neem leaves in 4 teacups of water. After cooling and filtering, use for washing hair.
  • Numerous herbs are beneficial to the skin and scalp and can be made into a rinse, or added to your shampoo.  For example: Comfrey, Thyme, Plantain, and Licorice.
  • Essential oils are also effective dandruff cures. Some essential oils that are particularly beneficial are: Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Lavender, Lemon, Cypress, and Tea Tree.


You can add a few drops of any of the above essential oils to your favorite herbal shampoo. Essential oils can also be added to vinegar to make a massage oil mixture for dandruff.  You’ll  need:

  • one tablespoon of cider vinegar
  • 5 drops of Thyme
  • 3 drops of Sage
  • 3 drops of Cypress
  • 5 drops of vegetable oil (e.g. evening promise, jojoba, carrot)

Mix the above listed items and add them to one ounce of spring water.  Use about one teaspoon of the mixture each time, massage into the scalp (not the hair) every night before going to bed.

Remember! Treatment for dandruff is not a one-time affair. Dandruff comes back, if regular care on a daily basis is not taken. Consult a doctor if your scalp is red and itchy or if the skin is flaky around the eyebrows, round the nose or behind the ears, because you might be having a more severe form of seborrhoeic dermatitis.