Taking Care of Your Teeth
It is unfortunate that people will take their dental care for granted. It is only when the pain sets in that the reality of it all comes to bear. We have so many possible scenarios concerning teeth that it becomes boggling. How often do you brush? Is the brush really any good? Do you consider the food that gets trapped between your teeth? Do you use a good mouth rinse? Is the toothpaste any good? Are you alert to clues that problems are coming? How can we worry about all this stuff if we are so concerned about work and making money to survive? Well, in the end, it will mean money if you are totally negligent concerning these dental issues. However, all it takes is just a few short minutes every night before retiring. It will mean just a little bit of your time to enjoy the use of your teeth for a lifetime. I hope you can use and enjoy the following information.
Lasers in Dentistry
Dental Problems
Personal Dental Care: How To Have Teeth For A Lifetime
Thanks to better in-office dental treatments and
at-home care, more people find it easier to manage
their personal dental care.
Although there are some conditions and diseases that
can facilitate tooth loss, the products and technology
today gives people more control to help keep their
original teeth until they get old.
The most common suggestions to have a healthy set of
teeth for a lifetime is to constantly brush and floss
them. Most teeth and mouth problems are triggered or
caused by plaque, an icky layer of bacteria, food
particles and other organic matter that forms on the
surface of the teeth.
The bacteria found in plaque are responsible for
producing acids that cause cavities to form. Plaque is
also responsible for periodontal disease, an infection
that can damage the tissues and erode the bone
surrounding the teeth.
The best way to remove plaque and destroy its chances
of building up is through brushing and flossing.
Regular brushing and flossing is really needed so that
the plaque won’t have the chance to accumulate and
harden.
Don’t Be A Sloppy Brusher Most of the people have been
taught the proper technique of brushing the teeth when
they were kids.
However, as people get older, they tend to disregard
the proper way of brushing and just brush their teeth
sloppily. If you think that simply brushing your teeth
all round and making bubbles is enough to get rid of
the plaque and other food debris, think again.
You may just be wasting your time, effort and
toothpaste if you don’t practice the proper technique
of brushing your teeth. It takes more than instinctive
brushing to get your toothbrush bristles to remove
plaque without injuring your gums.
If you really want to know the proper way to brush
your teeth, you can visit a dental hygienist or a
dentist so that they can show you the proper way to do
it.
General Tips About Brushing You need to brush your
teeth at least twice a day. Perhaps the most important
time to brush your teeth is just before you go to
sleep because during sleep, the production of saliva
decreases, making the teeth more vulnerable to the
attack of bacterial acids.
It’s not advisable to brush more than three times a
day because it may cause the gums to recede in the
long run. When brushing your teeth, make sure not to
make the strokes too harsh because it will also cause
the gums to recede or bleed.
Imagine this: plaque sticks to the teeth just like jam
sticks to a wooden ladle. Rinsing the wooden ladle
won’t really remove the jam, instead, light and
constant brushing will be able to do the trick.
Brushing too hard will damage the ladle, which will
also have the same damage to the teeth and gums. Don’t
rush when you are brushing your teeth. Two minutes is
the recommended time to adequately remove the food and
plaque build-up on your teeth.
Change your toothbrush regularly.
Don’t be a scrooge when it comes to toothbrushes
because they are the primary weapon for personal
dental care. They don’t cost a lot so when you notice
that your toothbrush has been with you for three
months already, or if you already that the bristles of
your toothbrush has already began to splay, it’s high
time that you replace it with a new toothbrush.
Keeping Your Teeth Extremely Healthy
Having a very busy lifestyle is definitely not an
excuse to neglect your personal dental care. You don’t
really want to have plaque and other bacteria staying
inside your mouth, right?
It takes just a few minutes a day for you to combat
and prevent the spread of bacteria, plaque and
cavities in your mouth. Simple tooth brushing and
mouth care procedures can take your teeth a long way.
Simple Brushing Tips Brushing just the front of your
teeth won’t do your teeth a lot of good. When you
brush your teeth, don’t just focus on your front teeth
just because you think that they are the ones more
exposed to world. You also have to brush your teeth
along the sides and those located at the back of your
mouth.
When you brush your teeth, don’t be too harsh on your
gums. Make sure that your brush strokes should be away
from your gums, not towards. When you brush your
teeth, try not to rush. The suggested time spent for
brushing one’s teeth is at least three minutes.
If you don’t really want to exceed three minutes, you
can use a timer or play a song that lasts for three
minutes. Choosing the right toothbrush would also make
your brushing time more enjoyable.
If you are not comfortable with your toothbrush
anymore, there’s no reason for you not to ditch it and
buy a new one. If you have sensitive teeth and gums, a
toothbrush with soft bristles would be perfect for
you. However, if you have pretty strong teeth, you can
use medium or hard bristles for you to clean your
teeth better.
It is also advised that you change your toothbrush
every three months. If it’s hard for you to keep track
of the days and months, you can opt to buy a
toothbrush that comes with a color indicator that
would tell you that it’s time to change your
toothbrush.
Learn To Floss Your Teeth As most dental care
commercials would say, brushing alone is not enough to
ensure that your mouth and teeth is 100% clean.
True enough, you can’t really guarantee that you will
end up having extremely clean teeth by just brushing
alone. If you want to take the cleanliness and
freshness of your teeth and mouth to the net level,
then you might want to learn how to floss your teeth.
People who floss for the first time may find it a bit
weird and difficult to do. However, with enough
practice, flossing can become an easy job. Dental
floss helps a lot in getting rid of food remnants
stuck in your teeth where toothbrushes can’t reach.
Visit Your Dentist Now that you already know the basic
steps in maintaining a healthy set of teeth, it
doesn’t mean that you can already skip visits to your
dentist.
It is still very important to visit your dentist at
least twice a year because there are really some
procedures (such as oral prophylaxis) that only
dentists can do.
Having your teeth cleaned professionally by a dentist
is really a different and better experience than
simple brushing and flossing. Enhance your personal
dental care by integrating regular brushing and
flossing and visiting the dentist at least twice a
year.
Personal Dental Care: Brush Your Plaque Away
The primary aim of personal dental care is to prevent cavities from forming in the teeth. In order for you to prevent cavities and maintain a healthy set of teeth, you need to remove
plaque, a transparent layer of bacteria that stays on
the surface of your teeth.
Some effective ways to prevent plaque from forming is
to brush your teeth at least twice a day and floss at
least once a day. Brushing your teeth will help
stimulate your gums and in turn keep them healthy and
less susceptible to gum diseases.
Choose The Right Toothpaste Toothpastes are typically
made of detergents, abrasives and foaming agents. The
most common active ingredient in toothpaste is
fluoride. Fluoride is the component of the toothpaste
that is responsible for preventing cavities from
forming.
When choosing what toothpaste to buy, make sure that
it has a great amount of fluoride to keep your mouth
cavity-free. Studies say that 1 out of 10 people has a
tendency to accumulate tartar rapidly. What is tartar?
It is actually plaque that is difficult to remove and
damaging because it is already in hardened form.
There are anti-tartar toothpastes and mouthwashes
available in the market today which can help prevent
tartar formation. Another great tip for preventing the
formation of tartar is brushing the teeth located near
the salivary glands.
For individuals that seem to have teeth which are
sensitive to pressure, cold and heat, there are
toothpastes specially made for sensitive teeth.
However, a visit to the dentist may be most
appropriate so that the dentist can assess whether the
sensitivity of the teeth may lead to a serious problem
such as nerve inflammation or severe cavity.
Learn How To Floss Although brushing is considered to
be the most important part in the personal dental care
routine, it doesn’t actually have the ability to
remove the plaque and food particles between the
teeth, under the gum line or within braces.
A dental floss is the weapon to get rid of the
abovementioned teeth and mouth “pests”. Flossing can
be done at least once a day.
There are actually different kinds of flosses and
these depend on the space that a person has in between
his or her teeth. Most dentists would usually suggest
unwaxed floss because it is easier to glide through
narrow spaces.
However, recent studies have discovered that there is
actually no significant difference in the
effectiveness among the different kinds of dental
flosses. When flossing your teeth, you should be very
careful so that you can avoid injuring your gums.
Remember, gums are very sensitive and they can bleed
easily. Never force the floss under the gums; just
curve the floss around the edge of your tooth and form
a letter “c” then glide the floss up and down the side
of each tooth. Do not forget to floss the back sides
of your teeth as well.
All in all, maintaining your very own personal dental
care routine can be easy, as long as you have enough
willingness and determination to achieve a great set
of pearly whites.
If you are one of the many people who don’t really
give much attention to your teeth, don’t wait until
you experience awful dental-related problems such as
toothache, bad breath(halitosis) or bleeding gums.
Personal Dental Care:How To Achieve Dazzling Pearly Whites
Most people nowadays are getting attracted to tooth whitening
products because they want to have a million dollarsmile just like the celebrities seen on television.
If you want your teeth to become whiter and more
dazzling, you can add whitening toothpastes into your
personal dental care kit. If you want to use whitening
toothpastes, don’t forget to check if it still
contains fluoride and other ingredients that fight and
prevent plaque and tartar.
However, a lot of whitening toothpaste users claim
that these whitening products didn’t really do much in
changing the color of their teeth. The yellowing of
the teeth is actually a natural phenomenon. As a
person gets older, his or her teeth becomes yellowish.
If you are not satisfied with the color of your teeth,
the best way is to visit your dentist first and
consult him or her about your dilemma. Your dentist
will tell you about the effectiveness of
over-counter-products or they may even offer to give
you professional treatment.
Most celebrities actually prefer to undergo
professional teeth whitening treatment because that
way, their unique needs can be met. Be very careful in
purchasing over-the-counter teeth whitening products
because some of these may contain bleaching agents
that can actually damage your mouth and gums.
In addition to that, do follow the instructions
strictly to avoid experiencing adverse side effects.
The Teeth’s Nemesis:
Sugar Perhaps everybody has gone through a stage in
their childhood when they would constantly hear their
elders warning them about the evils of eating too much
sugary sweets and candies. And those warnings are true
indeed; eating sugary sweets and candies is a major
cause of tooth decay.
However, it might helpful for you to know that its not
just about the amount of sugar that you eat - it also
involves when and how you eat sugary stuffs that
determine the health of your teeth.
When you drink sodas or eat sugary foods throughout
the day, the enamel of your teeth becomes constantly
exposed to acids. Cough drops, hard candies, and
breath mints are just some examples of the harmful
sugary sweets that dissolve in your mouth slowly.
Dental professionals and experts suggest a 3-hour
break in between taking food and drinks that contain
sugar. Starchy or sugary foods eaten with a full meal
is said to be less harmful to the teeth compared to
being eaten alone because the increased production of
saliva helps wash away the bacteria and sugar.
Eating sweet and sugary foods before sleeping is
perhaps the most damaging thing one can do to his or
her teeth because one does not produce a lot of saliva
when he or she is asleep.
If you want to have a health set of teeth yet you
can’t seem to cut out sweets from your diet, you can
try some of these tips to help you achieve your goal:
eat carbohydrates with a meal, brush your teeth
directly after eating, rinse your mouth thoroughly
with mouthwash or water, chew sugarless gum, don’t eat
sugary foods and sweets between meals, eat non-sugary
foods (cheese, popcorn, yogurt, raw veggies) as
snacks.
In a nutshell, achieving and maintaining a healthy set
of teeth may not be as easy as 123 but with enough
determination and commitment to your personal dental
care routine, you will surely have the smile that
you’ve been wanting ever since.
Personal Dental Care: It’s Never Too Late
If you are guilty of neglecting or abusing your pearly
whites in the early years of your life (by not
brushing regularly, by smoking a lot of cigarettes,
drinking a lot of caffeine, etc) you might find
yourself getting a bit self-conscious when you smile.
Whether your teeth are already exhibiting a
yellowish-tinge or suffering from extreme sensitivity
to hot or cold food and beverages, it’s never too late
for you to level up your personal dental care routine.
Can’t Smile Without You Most people with a “normal” or
average set of teeth don’t really realize the
importance of their pearly whites until they
experience problems concerning it.
Imagine this: you use your mouth to communicate with
people every minute of everyday and that means that
your teeth is also exposed every time you communicate
with other people. If you are not confident about your
teeth, you will definitely become self conscious which
would greatly affect the way you interact with others.
Now do you realize the importance of maintaining a
healthy set of teeth? If you do, then it’s high time
that you give a little more time for your personal
dental care.
Brush Regularly You don’t really have to be a
toothbrush maniac and strictly brush your teeth every
after meal. What if you eat at least 8 times a day?
Brushing your teeth 8 times a day would definitely
irritate the enamel of your teeth and may even make
your gums tender and make you more susceptible to gum
irritation and gingivitis.
Most dentists would recommend that brushing the teeth
at least 2 or 3 times a day is enough to maintain the
cleanliness of the teeth and mouth.
If you seem not to be satisfied with just merely
brushing, you can actually floss (now you can do this
after every meal, just make sure you know the right
way of flossing or you’ll still end up having gums
that bleed) or gargle some mouthwash.
Have A Tongue Cleaner If you think that brushing and
flossing alone is enough to help eliminate, manage and
control the halitosis-causing bacteria in your mouth,
think again!
The bacteria are not only found in your teeth but they
are also found in your tongue and in the “cheeks” of
your mouth. Brushing alone will not help you achieve
100% fresh breath. You will need to clean your tongue
and inner mouth cheeks as well.
You can do this by simply buying a tongue cleaner.
There are a lot of toothbrushes in the market today
that have built in tongue and cheeks cleaner. They may
be a bit more expensive than regular toothbrushes, but
they’re worth the extra money anyway.
Don’t Be Lazy There may be times when you arrive home
very late at night or you simply had a very rough and
tiring day that you just want to crawl right into bed
when you get home. You ditch brushing your teeth and
then you justify your act by telling yourself “it’s
only for tonight” and then you sleep right away.
You might think that it’s a harmless act but maybe it
would help if you would know that a person who sleeps
overnight without brushing his or her teeth gives the
bacteria in his or her mouth ample time to multiply
which gives off a “deadly” mouth odor in the morning.
Personal dental care is a person’s responsibility to
himself. It is part of daily hygiene and it must be
not neglected, just like bathing and washing hands.
Personal Dental Care: You First, Before The Dentist
Most people think that it’s the dentist’s job to take
care of people’s teeth. It’s quite true but the fact
is, it’s the responsibility of every individual to
take care of his teeth first before going to the
dentist.
Simple personal dental care such as brushing and
flossing are enough to maintain the hygiene of the
mouth and teeth. Dentists are only for treating and
curing abnormalities and diseases of the mouth, as
well as for giving regular oral prophylaxis at least
twice a year.
If you would just depend on your dentist for the
hygiene of your mouth, you would surely be spending a
lot of money. As they say, prevention is better than
cure that’s why you should be responsible enough to
prevent cavities and other teeth and mouth-related
diseases from existing in your mouth.
Smile Like A Movie Star A lot of people dream of
having Julia Roberts’ million dollar smile. It’s not
actually difficult to achieve that kind of smile. As
long as you maintain proper personal hygiene and
regularly visit your dentist, it won’t be long before
you can achieve your very own movie star-like smile.
However, if you are not blessed with straight and
perfectly shaped teeth, do not lose hope! You can
still achieve your very own million dollar smile -
that is, if you can afford to spend some money to
“repair” your teeth.
Most movie stars who seem to have brilliant pearly
whites didn’t actually have those set of teeth
naturally. About 80% of the celebrities in the movie
industries have undergone teeth enhancing or teeth
restructuring just so they could flash their perfect
smiles on screen.
Although having one’s teeth look exactly like those
seen on TV can be a little bit expensive, if you can
afford it, then go ahead.
However, these kind of processes and procedures still
require healthy teeth as a base or foundation. Dentist
wouldn’t really go ahead with the procedure if they
see that the original teeth are brittle or damaged.
Before enhancing one’s teeth and making it look like a
movie star’s, dentists would still go back to the
basics and repair the damaged or decayed set of the
original teeth.
A Fence For Your Teeth Kids and teenagers are usually
the ones who are commonly seen with braces but there
are also a great number of adults who can be seen
wearing braces.
Although wearing braces can be quite awkward and can
make one feel as if his or her teeth has a fence
around it, braces are actually very effective in
aligning crooked teeth. People who have crooked teeth
can still achieve their million dollar smile by having
their teeth put in braces.
The duration of the braces in one’s teeth greatly
depends on the severity of the crookedness of the
teeth. When the braces are already taken off from the
mouth, retainers have to be worn in replacement of the
braces. Retainers need to be worn to reinforce the
alignment of the teeth.
To know more about personal dental care and other
dental services that may be useful to you, a visit to
your local dentist may just be what you need.
Investing in your teeth is actually something that
would boost your self-esteem and may even land you
your dream job.
Taking Care Of Your Teeth
When you get your photo taken, you usually smile and
reveal to the world your teeth. Healthy teeth can be a
indicator of one’s personality. Slobs usually have
teeth that are rotten and they have bad breath.
However, people who keep their teeth in tiptop shape
are the ones who are known to be successful and
responsible in their careers. Personal dental care
differs from one person to another, but it all comes
down to one important fact: the healthier your teeth
are, the greater you would look.
Aside from the aesthetic value of healthy,
good-looking teeth, they also help a person chew foods
properly. Remember, for a person to have a good
digestion, the foods that he or she would eat should
be chewed properly. Having a good set of teeth also
enables a person to speak clearly and confidently.
People who have a poor set of teeth are usually shy
and hesitant to talk in public and fail to effectively
communicate with others. Although sometimes, the shape
and structure of one’s teeth may be genetic, dentists
and orthodontists can usually help re-shape and
improve crooked, ugly teeth.
The Importance Of Healthy Teeth It is very important
that individuals take care of their teeth because it
will prevent plaque formation which pertains to a
clear film that sticks to the surface of the teeth.
You might think that having a clear film stuck to your
teeth is harmful (since it’s clear, anyway) but you
might change your mind when you discover that the film
is very sticky and it has a magnet-like aura that
attracts bacteria to stick to it.
Sinfully Sugary Sweet Bacteria are attracted to sugar
stuck on your teeth like ants in a picnic. The
bacteria that is attracted by the sugary substance
left in your mouth after you eat candies or cake
breaks down the sugar into acid.
The acid is the one responsible for eating away your
tooth enamel, which would then cause holes in your
teeth called cavities. Too much plaque also causes a
disease called gingivitis. It is a gum disease that
makes gums red, sore and swollen.
The first indicator that you have gingivitis is when
your gums easily bleed even with just simple and basic
brushing. Practicing personal dental care is really
important because if one wouldn’t take care of his or
her teeth, the cavities and unhealthy gums will make
the gum very sore and rotten.
Getting awful toothaches can also be a result of lack
of personal dental care. Having toothaches and other
mouth-related diseases due to lack of personal mouth
hygiene will surely make eating, as well as
communicating with other people difficult.
Brush Properly If you are already getting paranoid
about all the bacteria that is staying inside your
mouth, don’t be! You can actually combat the bacteria
in your mouth by two simple weapons: toothbrush and
toothpaste.
By brushing your teeth at least two times a day, you
can break down the plaque and prevent it from building
up to cause cavities and other teeth and mouth
problems.
Being a responsible owner of pearly whites is not
difficult. You just have to make sure that you don’t
forget about your personal dental care amidst your
busy work or lifestyle.
Why You Need To Visit The Dentist
If you think that brushing and flossing alone is
enough to keep your teeth and mouth clean and healthy,
think again. If you think that you can manage to have
a clean and healthy mouth without the help of a
dentist, then what are dentists here for?
Dentists play a big part in managing the personal
dental care of individuals. Dentists check your teeth
and mouth for signs of cavities and gum disease.
They will also help you maintain extra clean teeth and
they will also teach you the proper ways of brushing
and flossing. They can even demonstrate it to you so
that you can really see how it is done.
Be Careful Of What You Eat And Drink Dentists would
also give you important advices related to teeth and
mouth care. Perhaps one of the most common advices
that dentists give their patients is to be careful
with what they eat and drink.
Eating and drinking sugary stuffs such as candies,
cakes and soda can attract a lot of plaque to stick to
your teeth. If you want to have healthy teeth, do try
to eat more fruits and vegetables and drink more water
than soda.
More Than Sprays And Breath Mints The world is full of
instant solutions and shortcuts and dental care is not
exempted from the variety of instant solutions.
A lot of breath mints and breath fresheners are
available in the market today, offering instant fresh
breath to individuals who are perhaps too busy to
spend at least three minutes to brush their teeth.
If you are one of the many people who are seeking the
aid of breath mints and breath sprays to give you
fresh breath, you might want to change your approach
to personal dental care because it will just do you
more harm than good.
Aside from the fact that breath mints and breath
sprays can’t really rid your teeth and mouth of minute
pieces of food debris, they are also not good for long
term use.
The truth is, breath mints and breath freshener sprays
are only good at masking mouth odors.
Sure, they can give you instant fresh breath that can
probably last for a few hours, but when you look at
your mouth through a microscope, you will really be
disgusted and appalled by all the bacteria and food
debris that can be found in your mouth and in between
your teeth.
Brushing:
Simplest Yet Most Essential Brushing one’s teeth may
seem to be the simplest and most basic part of
personal dental care but it is one of the most needed
things to do to achieve clean and healthy teeth.
You see, in order for you to prevent cavities, you
need to brush off the plaque stuck in your teeth
brought about by the food and beverages that you ate
and drank.
Brushing regularly can also save you a lot of unwanted
trips to the dentist. Remember, breath mints and
breath freshener sprays won’t help in getting rid of
the bacteria that causes plaque to build up in your
teeth.
If you want to have a nice set of teeth without having
to undergo awful toothaches and bad breath, take the
extra mile to spend time for your personal dental care
routine.
Yes, It’s More Than Just Brushing
Almost everyone has their own share of childhood
tooth-y story. Parents have their own unique way of
encouraging their children how to take care of their
teeth - from exaggerated stories to imaginary
characters (hello, tooth fairy).
However, encouraging children to take care of their
teeth is actually a good thing to do because it’s a
good idea to start practicing personal dental care at
an early age. Perhaps the most basic thing that almost
everyone knows about personal dental care is brushing.
Brushing one’s teeth after every meal is considered as
the most basic step for personal dental care. A lot of
people may think that brushing one’s teeth is just
plain brushing; what most people don’t know is that
there is a proper way to brush one’s teeth.
Brushing one’s teeth effectively does not involve
freestyle strokes. If you are one of the many people
who do not know the proper strokes of brushing, a
visit to the dentist would be the solution to your
problem.
Brush Your Teeth At Least Two Times A Day Although
there are some people who believe that it is necessary
to brush one’s teeth three times a day or after every
meal, most dentists would recommend that teeth should
be brushed at least two times a day.
There are even cases when dentist would discourage
their patients from brushing more than two times a
day, especially for those people who are experiencing
discomfort from sensitive teeth.
Don’t Be A Lazy Bum In a world that’s full of hustle
and bustle, with lots of deadlines to meet and
schedules to juggle, it wouldn’t be a wonder if one
would forget about his or her personal dental care.
Some people can even afford to get through a day
without actually brushing their teeth. If you are one
of the many individuals who think that eating
mentholated candies, gargling mouthwash, or flossing
can equal to brushing, you might need to change your
approach to your personal dental care routine.
Eating candies to hide the scent of what you just ate
during your latest meal is definitely not a good idea.
Sure, it would be excusable if you just did it once or
twice, or during an emergency, but if you are guilty
of doing it regularly, you are actually doing more
harm than good to your teeth.
Eating candies and other sweets to compensate the lack
of brushing may just infuse more cavities to your
teeth. You may not see the harmful results of this
horrible “dental care” right away, but in the long
run, you will surely find yourself regretting why you
let your teeth fall into the traps of candies and
sweets.
Substituting brushing with a simple mouthwash gargle
session in the bathroom may seem to save you a lot of
precious work time, but in reality, you are just
putting your teeth (and mouth) in jeopardy.
Mouthwashes are made to enhance the cleanliness of
your teeth, not to substitute tooth brushing. Simply
gargling with mouthwash won’t thoroughly cleanse your
mouth.
Sure, your mouth may feel fresh and clean after you
gargle with mouthwash, but if a microscope would be
placed in your mouth (especially in between your
teeth), you may just end up being disgusted with what
you see.
Achieving a healthy personal dental care routine is
important because it will surely make or break your
smile. Don’t neglect your teeth because they make up
an important part of your face.
Yes, You Have To Go To The Dentist
Even if you say that you take care of your teeth very
well, you still can’t evade the fact that you still
have to go and visit your dentist at least twice a
year.
Sure, it’s really not fun to go to the dentist but if
you really want to achieve the best personal dental
care for your teeth, regular visits to the dentist
would be of great help to you.
What Happens At A Typical Visit To The Dentist Going
to the dentist every six months is considered more as
prevention against cavities, plaque build-up and other
teeth and mouth-related problems.
The goal of dentists is to prevent gun disease, tooth
decay, and other disorders that put the health of your
teeth and mouth in jeopardy.
A casual consultation with a dentist will usually
consist of three parts: a medical and dental history
(this is where the dentist asks questions about tooth
care and reviews past dental records), dental
examination and professional cleaning (oral
prophylaxis).
The dentist will then examine the gums, teeth and
other tissues surrounding the mouth. The joints of the
jaws may also be included in the examination to check
for the over-all health of an individual’s mouth.
Dentists usually use a probe and mirror to check the
crown (the visible part) of each tooth for evidence of
looseness, decay or plaque. The dentist may also check
the quality of your bite and the way your teeth fit
together.
After checking the teeth, the dentist will usually
proceed to examine the general condition of the gums.
Healthy gums are pink and firm - not swollen, soft or
inflamed.
If the dentist can find deep depressions (or pockets),
he or she might suspect that an individual has gum
disease.
When the dentist is finished examining the visible
parts of the mouth and teeth, the dentist will then
take X-rays that could possibly reveal abscesses,
tooth decay, or impacted wisdom teeth.
Abscesses should really be discovered right away
because it involves collection of pus surrounded by
tissues that are swollen. If it won’t be treated right
away, it might be a source for other complications.
Why Professional Cleaning Is Better Than Normal Tooth
Brushing Professional cleaning aims to remove hard
deposits with the use of a scraping instrument named a
scaler.
Aside from a scaler, an ultrasonic machine may also be
used by the dentist; it uses high frequency sound
waves to facilitate the loosening of plaque deposits.
After cleaning, most dental hygienists will polish the
teeth. Polishing of the teeth smoothens and cleans the
teeth’s surfaces, removing annoying stains and making
the teeth more resistant to plaque.
There are also some dental hygiene package that
consists of application of fluoride sealant or
compound to help prevent or slow down decay.
Going To The Dentist Isn’t So Bad After All Now that
you are already aware of what happens during a regular
trip to the dentist, you would probably think that a
trip to the dentist won’t be so bad, right?
If you want to promote personal dental care, you
should be the first one to have the initiative to go
to the dentist.
You can’t achieve the best personal dental care if you
just depend on yourself and your resources at home.
Dentists are equipped with tools, machines and
instruments that would surely make your teeth and
mouth cleaner, fresher and better.
The following article from the internet:
The Wisdom on Wisdom Teeth
Surgeons favor pre-emptive action; others might wait and see.
By Lindsay Lyon, U.S. News & World Report
"You know the old colloquialism, let sleeping dogs lie? Well these dogs are not sleeping," warns Richard Haug, executive associate dean at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry. Ongoing study links even pain-free wisdom teeth to early gum disease that worsens over time, sometimes causing havoc far beyond the mouth. Indeed, pregnant women with gum disease around their wisdom teeth appear to be much more likely to give birth prematurely than unaffected pregnant women. The latest data suggest that as many as 80 percent of people will develop problems with their wisdom teeth.
But controversy lingers about when to take action. Most experts no longer believe that crowding is a concern, but the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons typically recommends pre-emptive pulling in young adulthood, before symptoms arise, when roots haven't yet fully formed and surgical risks are lowest. "If you have to have them out when you're 45, you will not enjoy that," promises Tony Pogrel, chair of the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of California-San Francisco.
Andrew Ziolkowski, 59, can attest to that. A dental checkup a couple of years ago revealed that cysts had formed around his impacted wisdom teeth and damaged his jawbone—a surprise to Ziolkowski, who hadn't experienced any pain. The necessary surgery required that his jaw be wired shut for weeks afterward and resulted in some nerve damage, a rare complication. "To this day I have no sensation in my lower lip and chin," says the architect from Germantown, Md.
Nonsurgeons are less gung-ho about preventive pulling. "If they're not causing pain or infection, and they're coming in straight, I usually take a wait-and-see approach," says Cynthia Sherwood, a general dentist and national spokesperson for the Academy of General Dentistry. Those who wait are advised to have their wisdom teeth checked yearly, since they are tough to keep clean and may get infected or shift position. "You're committed to that treatment plan until you die," says Thomas Dodson, associate professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Because wisdom teeth don't form until around age 5, Anthony Silvestri, director of dental anatomy and occlusion at Tufts University's dental school, foresees a day when lasers will be used to prevent that from happening. He and colleagues have had success in animals. "It doesn't make sense," he says, "that everyone should be having surgery for a useless tooth."
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