How to take care of dental braces

As a grown-up you are conscious that dental braces are a delicate thing, and after all you the money and time invested in them, you better take good care of them.

The problem is with children who usually have hard time getting used to them, that is why parents must establish these braces dental care rules before finding their kid trying to remove them with tweezers, scissors and God knows with what else.

Avoid eating hard or sticky foods as candy, ice, and bubble gum (sorry, but this is a definitely NO, NO) and others that can break the arch wire and/or the braces, and therefore delay your treatment.

Do not bite your nails, pencils, toothpicks or any other object that can tweak the arch wire and alter the normal movement of your teeth.

Use braces toothbrush and try to give yourself the most through brushing and flossing to prevent pieces of food and sugar get stuck between the braces and form tartar, that will lead to gum inflammation and bleeding, cavities and teeth stains.

In case one of the braces or the arch wire come off, set an appointment with your dentist to fix it. Remember making the best of your time.

Do not miss your dental appointments. Missing one means losing three weeks of effective treatment that might harm your teeth and gums, AND you will not get the results you expect.

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Wisdom tooth bacterial infection

In case wisdom teeth emerge partially, and the rest of them stay submerged, the surrounding gum may get infected and inflamed.

This leads to swelling of the cheek and the neck. Becomes worse in times of stress… This swelling, called pericornitis, tends to become acute in times of high stress when the immune system is not at its best condition, and when bacteria lie in wait for of infection the crown of the wisdom tooth.

How bacteria gets into wisdom teeth

Usually at the end of the mouth, where wisdom teeth are placed, there is a gum flap that may extend over the tooth’s surface. Debris and food may get trapped inside under this gum, and this obviously leads to infection.

When wisdom teeth emerge well or bad. When the wisdom tooth emerges in good position, the flap can be trimmed, so any infection will be avoided. This procedure is called Operculectomy.

When the tooth does not emerge because there is no place for it, then it has to be extracted. A wisdom tooth removal is done by an oral surgeon.

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Rules of thumb for toothbrush care

Although you can always buy a new toothbrush, you still must take care of it not only to make it last longer but to prevent dental disease and injured caused by toothbrushes in bad conditions.

• First rule of thumb is NEVER sharing your toothbrush with anybody else, not even your closest relatives or partner. This is an important issue for people with vulnerable immune systems or infectious diseases as oral herpes and HIV/AIDS. 

• Second rule: Change your toothbrush every three or four months. Some people seem they only renew their toothbrush when the last bristle comes off!  

• Third rule: This is not only because an old toothbrush is a little bag of bacteria, but also because it loose its mechanical efficiency. 

• Fourth rule: Make sure you buy a toothbrush holder that keeps them separated. 

• Fifth rule: Do not cover them or keep them in closed cases (attention with the travel toothbrush). The moist environment within the case favors bacterial growth more than open air.  

Finally, I have heard the trick of washing your toothbrush in a dishwasher or sterilizing it in a microwave. Just NO: domestic disaster. 

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Braces rubber bands: how to cope with them

If you have dental braces - as I proudly do- you know what a nag the rubber bands are, they hurt when the dentist replaces them and how terribly tarnished they look after a week more or less.

Braces rubber bands have a very important purpose: moving you teeth back and forward, depending on the purpose the dentist wants to give them. These long elastics are placed in diagonal way. They are not the little ligatures attached to each brace.

At first they hurt as hell because they are very tight, so you can change them frequently. It is better you take off their rubber bands before each meal and place new one after eating and also before going to bed.

I also recommend you avoiding hard-chewing meals as bread and meat, too (I have some ice cream to ease the pain).

What happen if I swallow one of my braces rubber bands?

Do not worry; braces bands are made of medical latex safe for human consumption. It will be evacuated through the feces.

They are only dangerous if you swallow too many of them, which only a child would do, so keep an eye when you child is changing his braces rubber bands.

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Is toothpaste dangerous for my teeth?

Have you ever read those little letters on your toothpaste tube? Probably you have, but the thing is: Do you understand what those long names mean?

Soap, shampoo, beauty products…and toothpaste, they all contain chemicals. And despite these are well integrated within the products, they can be released over time as result of the constant use and cause damage to your health and the environment.

Dental toothpaste contains triclosan, an antibacterial substance that can irritate your eyes and skin, and that might cause cancer.

A publication of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University indicates that the combination of water chlorine and the antibacterial agents of triclosan that some toothpastes have could create cancerous chloroform.

Colgate toothpaste contains triclosan and other products of Colgate-Palmolive have it too. However, it contains it minimal quantities and the chloroform created when combined with water is minimal as well, as their have stated due to the investigation of Chinese authorities on soaps and toothpastes with triclosan.

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Breath RX, dental product of the day

What is this Breath RX that has been haunting me for days?

Breath RX is an oral care system composed by whitening toothpaste, tongue scraper toothbrush and antibacterial mouth rinse. Other complementary products mints, gumballs and breath spray: a complete oral army to fight bad breath.

Breath RX Fresh Breath System was developed by Dr. Bill Dorfman, an American dentist who gained media recognition through the Extreme Makeover Dentist show.

BreathRX 1-2-3 blue gel system consists of:

Breath RX toothpaste with fluoride for tartar protection.

Breath RX Brush: Tongue scraping my dears. That is the key for good tooth brushing. Most people make the mistake of just brush their teeth, but what about the biggest source of bacteria, our tongue?

I think it is not much the toothbrush, but your thoroughness when brushing what makes the difference.

Breath RX Rinse is alcohol and sugar free. Two very important aspects for me, since mouthwashes with alcohol tend to irritate your mouth. And in case you are diabetic, sugar free mouth rinses are great relief if you accidentally swallow it.

Source: Breath RX

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Breath stinks? It could be your heart

When there is something going on within us our own organism is the first one to send us the alarm. And bad breath…gee, what an alarm it is!

If you have been lots of popping mints and Listerine strips lately with no success, you should book an appointment with the doctor because that stinky breath might be the symptom of severe conditions.

Some conditions as HIV/AIDS, periodontal disease, cancer, eating disorders, STD’s, among others break out in our mouth.

In the case of heart disease, a bad dental health can cause conditions in other parts of the body.

How come if my breath stinks my heart gets affected?

Let’s start by the well-known fact that our mouth if full of bacteria. In the cleanest of mouths, there are still a lot of bacteria. Some of these are good for our mouth while others are just hazardous for our health when they overpopulate.

The best example of this is gum disease. The bad bacteria of this condition can get into the bloodstream and therefore have a first class trip through other parts of our body.

Now, the challenge for scientists is replace the good bacteria, which can be done with a probiotic mint as EvoraPlus that prevents the growth of the bad guy and hence, the bad breath.

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Homemade paste for mouth ulcer

Mouth ulcers really suck; they are so painful and embarrassing if you want to kiss someone (you just avoid it). 

Mouth ulcers are still a mysterious condition, though we know that citrics have healing and relieving properties that we can use to prepare a homemade remedy against mouth sores. So this is how we do it:

Step 1: Take some oranges and lemons, peel them and put the skins to dry on fire. Toast them to make them get dry but do not let them get burnt.

Step 2: Grind the skins and blend them with toothpaste (any toothpaste). Pour the mix in a tight-closed container.

Step 3: Brush your teeth every morning and evening with this paste.

You will see how mouth sores reduce and disappear. This homemade paste helps disinfect your mouth and prevent the outbreak of mouth ulcers. 

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Brushing baby teeth

Your newborn baby does not have any teeth yet, so you do not have to "brush" her teeth as if she were a bigger kid. However, you do have to take her of her gums. Dental care for children should be as early as possible.

From 0 to 18 months

What most pediatricians recommend is dipping a gauze pad in bottle water and introducing it gently with clean hands into the baby's mouth. Use your index o pinky finger to cleanse her upper and lower gums and under the tongue. If it is necessary, change the gauze.

From 18 to 29 months

Buy a small baby toothbrush and a small plastic cup for it. Make sure the bristles are very soft. Rinse it and introduce it gently in his mouth and brush in circles the upper and lower teeth and molars, while doing so rinse the toothbrush. Let the baby spit, though if you can not make her do so just rinse the toothbrush as many times needed.

Older than 29 months

If your kid can speak and understand basic instructions teach him how to brush his teeth by himself. Put a bit of toothpaste on his toothbrush or dental rinse gel and emphasize on making him rinse his mouth.

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Fiber avoids teeth problems in children

We know that American nutrition has been in deep trouble for long, butluckily more and more people are becoming aware and trying to have a healthier lifestyle. Good. And here goes one more reason to make change happen: fiber rich foods will keep you children teeth problem free. 

Apples, carrots, jam beans and other fiber rich foods must take part in your child’s daily diet, but you have to serve them in large slices to make him chew in order to strengthen his bite. 

When you fee you child with soft, mashed, minced or grinded foods you are not making him chew enough and this is the main cause of misaligned or crooked teeth due to the lack of space in the gums.  

Your child’s jaw needs to work out as any other muscle or bone in his body. So, as soon as he is able to chew, replace the baby food for sliced –not grated- food to exercise his jaw bones.

In addition to fiber enriching your child’s diet, you can prevent he develops teeth problems by teaching good dental hygiene habits as soon as his first tooth comes up to avoid the most common teeth problems such as cavities, gingivitis (gum inflammation) and abscesses. 

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Invisalign: invisible braces

Braces are far from sexy and comfortable – though some people fancy them sexually, but this is not our subject- therefore, dentists came up with one the coolest dentistry innovations to make patients have and better looking: Invisalign, an invisible way to straighten teeth without ugly looking braces! 

Invisalign consists of custom made invisible retainers that hold your teeth instead of the heavy duty wires and braces. You wear the invisalign aligners for two weeks, you just take them off to eat, drink, brush, floss, etc. The dentist will replace the invisalign retainers with the next in the series – your teeth will move little by little- until your teeth adapt to the final position he has determined.

To get Invisalign braces you have to consult Invisalign certified dentists (this is a relatively new dentistry treatment, so there are not many good orthodontists out there doing it) that will determine the best alignment for both your appearance and your bite.  

If the dentist determines you are a perfect Invisalign candidate, congrats! The next step is taking molds and taking X-rays or digital pictures from your teeth, from which your aligners will be fashioned. The number of aligners you will depend on how much movement your teeth need to get straightened.

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Am I good candidate for tooth bleaching?

We all want brighter and whiter teeth for sure; it is our right to look good and fab smile. However, tooth bleaching is not necessarily the best solution for you... or for me.

Most people decide to take over the bleaching treatment by themselves getting over-the-counter whitening products, however the wisest thing to do is going to the dentist to get an evaluation of your dental condition, and therefore recommend the best dental solution for your case.  

Depending on the type and condition of your dental stains, you dentist will suggest among these the best tooth bleaching treatment for you:  

• Professional dental cleaning to get rid of external stains produce by food and tobacco. 

• Bleaching toothpaste to get rid of shallow stains. (In order to get better results you may use teeth whitening gel and teeth whitening strips). 

• Professional dentist bleaching or home bleaching is for the hardest yellow stains.  

• Veneers and fillings are for reconstructing the most affected teeth or getting specific results. 
  

Great, seems I have plenty of options, but still what works better for me?

If you have very yellow teeth you are quite lucky. That’s right, you are because your teeth respond better to bleaching than those with a grayish o brownish coloring, or even better than teeth stained by tetracycline (a.k.a. Sumycin, Terramycin, Tetracyn, Panmycin, etc.) and dental flouring can not get totally white after bleaching. 

If you have veneers, fillings or crowns on your frontal teeth, dental bleaching is NOT for you because the dental bleacher will have no effect on the material of these dental applications.  

If you have sensitive teeth and or periodontal disease, you should avoid chemical tooth whitening since they can irritate your gums. 

If you have serious teeth and jaw problems, dental crowns and veneers are way better you give you a perfect looking white smile. 

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Feeding you baby asleep boosts dental cavities

Breastfeeding your child asleep boosts “bottle cavities” due to the cleansing effect of saliva decreases during sleep time, leaving their teeth unprotected to the high content of sugar concentrated in his/her mouth.

These bottle cavities attack milk teeth and they can be very destructive: they can even damage fifteen dental pieces!

This kind of dental cavities mainly appear in 6-month and four to five-year-old children. It starts destroying the enamel. Small white stains appear in your baby’s teeth that eventually go yellow, spread and become darker. 

The reason why these awful dental stains appear is the prolonged contact your baby’s teeth have with sugar-rich liquids and when you give them a pacifier dipped in sugar, but especially when you let him sleep with the bottle filled with milk or processed juices.

No surprise mother’s milk is the best solution for dental cavities. Breast milk fat works as dental protection. Also, it is better you get your baby used to drinking water instead of industrial juices and keep the pacifiers and bottle only until he is two years old. It is necessary he learns to chew by himself, so his jaw gets stronger and he can segregate saliva. 

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Molars and teeth can grow again with mother cells

Teeth and molars would be able to be regenerated in a matter of five or ten years, indicates the Washington Post.  

In theory, it would be possible to remove a damaged tooth from your mouth and reconstruct it out from the mother cells within it and transplant it again in your mouth, which means a much better and compatible alternative to replace missing teeth than metallic dental implants used nowadays.

Titanium dental implants are prone to get loose and produce infections as gingivitis and periodontitis due to the incompatibility between the bone and the dental implant.

This new treatments means great news for patients who can not be candidates –they have not enough bone in their jaws to support titanium screws - for regular dental implant surgery or anyone who prefers dental implants derived from his own natural teeth and molars.

This naturally leads us to think about our milk teeth and wisdom molars, they are just the perfect pieces for dental regeneration (means the days of our good old friend the tooth fairy will come to an end?).

In these days of recycling, we see something like this happening other formerly considered waste materials like newborn umbilical cords, since new therapeutic uses are discovered for mother cells contained in the blood of umbilical cords. 

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Causes of tooth ache

Any kind of pain is always a bad thing, but tooth ache is special because it affects our teeth, the organs we eat everyday with.

Anyone who has experienced it knows how terrible it is, especially when you have a work where you have to talk or have direct contact with people, or it just paralyzes you. It sucks big time.



But, what are the causes of our dental mishap?

• Tooth root’s exposure. This may happen due to gum receding or untreated cavities. If there is a deep cavity in the untreated tooth, then it is possible that the dental pulp causes an intense pain that doesn’t leave you sleep.

• Tooth decomposition and decay. Again, this is related to the presence of cavities, which means you have to go ASAP to the dentist.

• Cavities close to the nerve. When teeth are so close together, if one has a cavity it can pass it to other teeth. This usually happens to wisdom teeth.

Other reasons for teeth pain are:

• Gum disease.
• Bruxism or teeth grinding.
• Abnormal teeth bite.
• Dental trauma.
• Poor dental ergonomy.

Although you can always take a painkiller and ease your immediate pain, you MUST visit the dentist for a full checkup, once you notice sensibility to hot and/or cold foods, constant tooth ache, inflamed gums, strong pain when biting, more pain in that area after a dental procedure or teeth discoloration.

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Cosmetic dentistry: debunking top dental myths

Before you turn 60 your teeth will have performed chewing for over 32 million times. Gees, that’s’ a hell of a job for your pearly white, isn’t it? Then, don’t you think they deserve some good cosmetic dentistry pampering?

Therefore you should consider a soon visit to the dentist, but it is better if you go with a calm mind, free of prejudices and fears. And for that, we want to debunk for you three common myths about cosmetic dentistry treatments.

Myth # 1: Braces are only for kids

Absolutely not. Adults of different ages need braces as much as children do.

In fact, there are adult-specialized orthodontists (lingual orthodontics) that put braces on the back of your teeth to avoid the ugly “can opener” look, these are called: lingual braces. There is also the alternative of Invisalign, invisible braces as retainers.

Myth # 2: Teeth bleaching can weaken your teeth

When you get your teeth bleached they do not lose strength, they just become more translucent. However, after the application of teeth bleaching products with hydrogen peroxide there might be sensitivity and irritation of dental tissues. Rarely, there have been reported cases of irreversible tooth damage due to dental bleaching.

Myth # 3: They have to trim down your teeth for veneers placement

Not necessarily. Depending on the position and shape of your teeth, the dentist would just put the veneer over the tooth with no need of shaving it down. It can also be possible to reshape the enamel to put the tooth in the right position, and just place the veneer on.

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The impact of white teeth makes on your image

Even though pearly whites are not necessarily synonym of health teeth (yellow and grey looking teeth may be healthy and strong anyway), they do have an effect in a person’s self-image. It makes people look and feel more attractive, and opens many doors for them.

People with whiter teeth feel more confident smiling than people with not so white teeth, and they also seem more attractive, at least that’s is what 9% of Canadians (3 million people, most of them women) think according to an Angus Reid Poll.

This image people have about their teeth has been highly reinforced by Hollywood movies where bright white teeth are a must among celebrities. However, let’s keep realistic, too white looks too fake, and we have mentioned above, white teeth not necessarily mean healthy strong teeth since an excess of whitening and bleaching products can cause hypersensitivity and the quick deterioration of tooth enamel.

Despite that a professional teeth whitening can cost a minimum of $400 per session (it is not covered by dental plans because it is a cosmetic procedure), people are willing to pay for it.

However, teeth whitening will not work for everyone (black teeth), so in that case veneers placement would be a better solution.

But in case, for any reason you can not undergo a whitening procedure you can always take care of your smile by natural home remedies, that is by dropping noxious habits as drinking alcohol and too much coffee, smoking, cutting on staining foods and keeping a constant and proper dental care (brushing, flossing and mouth rinses).

Source: Northern News Service

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Meet Power Swabs, the teeth whitening enhancer

A teeth whitening enhancer? Yes, and its name is Power Swabs.

This recently released product is a professional enhancer of teeth whitening and dental bleaching products thanks to the patented FACT Technology ™ that uses detergents, solvents and other agents that enhances and fastens the stain removal action of bleaching products.


Power Swabs benefits

• Gets rid of the sensitivity effect of dental bleaching.
• You can see results 50% faster.
• Effective stain removal action.
• More long-lasting whitening results.
• It’s a great invest for your money.

How it works?

First of all, this product has to be handled by a professional dentist or dental hygienist. It has a special dispenser mechanism. The liquid is applied onto the teeth with a collapsible liquid-filled foam swab. Power Swabs is meant to be a standard product before every teeth whitening procedure.

What makes this product stand out among other tooth whitening and bleaching products is that it actually removes the stains –at least that what their manufacturers state-, not only masks or lightens stain as dental bleachers.

In addition to this, Power Swabs can be used for other cosmetic dental procedures as prep cleaning prior to crown insertion and stain softening prior to dental prophylaxis.

Source: eMediaWire

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Home remedies for natural teeth whitening

If for any reason you do not want or can not get a teeth whitening treatment, you can still get your pearls white by means of the following side-effects free natural remedies:

• Hydrogen peroxide is a very popular natural whitening agent that can be combines to increase its properties with lemon juice, baking soda, baking powder, etc.

• Drinking a lot of water is one of the best natural remedies against teeth stains. It also helps promote healthy gums and prevent you from drinking staining drinks such as coffee, teas, colas, etc.

• Using toothpaste with whitening properties. Although they can not produce quick results, but still they can produce noticeable effects in the long time.

• Other good teeth whiteners are: silica, apple cider, white vinegar, bamboo powder, calcium carbonate and sodium chloride.

Please note that lemon juice and strawberry juice are not the best teeth whitening home remedies very frequently because their strong acids can weaken your teeth. For better results, just rub them directly on your teeth or mash them into a paste.

Source: Los Angeles Chronicle

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Dos and donts for keeping healthy white teeth

First of all, we have to face the fact we can not stop eating and drinking (and smoking), so it is natural they get yellow due to this daily use.

However, as naturally stains come, as naturally they can go too thanks to these natural solutions:

Do’s

• Eat foods that act as detergents as apples, carrots, pears, guavas, cauliflower and cucumbers that produce great saliva flow and act as natural staining bacteria removers.
  

• Eat dark greens as broccoli, lettuce and spinach that create a protective film on your teeth that prevent/brush away stains.

• Eat high fiber and wholemeal foods as they act as natural cleansers.

• Mash strawberries and spread them all over your teeth. Leave them for 1 or 2 minutes, then rinse and brush it off.

Don’ts

• Reduce stainy food and drinks red wine, tea, coffee, soy sauce, berries and many others. But since it is almost impossible to get rid of all them, just rinse your mouth, brush your teeth or chew gum.
  

• Keep it low with sports and energy drinks that contain organic acids that break down calcium and erode teeth. They are even more harmful than sodas.

• Do not consume in excess citric fruits due to the fact they contain acids that deteriorate the tooth enamel over time.

• Reduce your intake of vinegar and other acid foods that open up the pores of tooth enamel.
  

Finally, stains on the surface can be removed with whitening toothpastes and home/office whitening kits. However, with deep old stains you would have to get them removed by a professional dental care professional.

Source: Cayman Net News

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