Dental Health Care

Archive for ‘dental health care’ Category

Nutrition And Dental Health Intimately Linked

Proper nutrition and dental health are indeed intimately linked. Malnutrition has long been linked to common dental health problems, including:

Tooth decay
Gingivitis
Advanced Periodontal Disease
Halitosis

Thus, before focusing on fancy dental health products that are supposedly the new space-aged cure-all for dental health and oral hygiene concerns, it is important to get the basics right. This may be considered to be alternative dental health care by some dentists and medical professionals who tend to focus most education efforts on good oral hygiene practices. However, nutrition is the foundation of dental health and oral hygiene is the complement.

To this end, it is important to focus on fluoride intake. Almost all dental health information released in the past 3 generations points to the importance of fluoride in the prevention of the most common dental problems-cavities.

If you ingest a single milligram of fluoride every day since the day you were born, the odds of having tooth decay decreases by an estimated 50-60%. This is because fluoride is particularly important when teeth are developing because it will literally increase the strength of the tooth and its surrounding enamel as the teeth are mineralizing.

So, the earlier fluoride is added to the diet, the better protected you will be. Fluoride is naturally a part of our dental health and oral hygiene routine even when we are unaware if we live in communities that add this beneficial mineral to their water source. However, not all communities add fluoride to the water supply or in the same amount. Plus, for people with well water, there is no fluoride present and common dental problems are thus more likely. However, it is possible to buy fluoride tablets or supplements and many dental health products like toothpaste and mouth wash can be found with the mineral already embedded.

However, even with fluoride at recommended levels in your diet, tooth can still compromise your dental health and oral cavity. Cavities are formed when bacteria feed upon food particles that cling to the teeth or becomes stuck in crevices. In particular, the bacteria that are responsible for cavities love carbohydrates. When feeding, the bacteria secrete acid that compromises the integrity of the enamel that helps protect your teeth. The rate of secretion depends upon the type of carbohydrate that the bacteria are feeding upon.

Sugars are carbohydrates and they are the foods that cause bacteria to grow fastest. Fructose, lactose, and glucose are all sugars that cause a rapid production of acid and the resulting destruction of teeth enamel. Current dental health information available from the ADA (American Dental Association) recommends avoiding the following products:

Table sugar
Molasses
Honey
Corn syrup
Beverages made with fructose or dextrose

To slow the rate of acid secretion, you may want to engage in a little “alternative dental health care” by eating foods that help cleanse the teeth naturally, such as:

Meat products as they are free from carbohydrates
Fresh fruits
Vegetables, especially the green leafy variety such as spinach, broccoli, and Brussels Sprouts

When proper importance is placed upon nutrition, dental health is naturally improved and good oral hygiene practices are perfectly complemented.

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Don’t Be Fooled By The Dental Health Product “Revolution”

Every few months it seems like some “revolutionary” new dental health product is touted as the cure-all for all of our problems where our teeth are concerned. Sometimes, it is some newly designed brush that can somehow reach those hard-to-reach crevices in our teeth that will finally help us beat tooth decay. Other times, it may be some new toothpaste that can finally put an end to tartar and plaque and thus solve all of our dental health and oral hygiene problems. But of course then we still have to worry about our nutrition for dental health.

Or perhaps it is possible that we have been losing the struggle against tooth decay for all these years because we have been using the wrong toothbrush. While you may wonder how many times the toothbrush can be redesigned or whether toothpaste can possibly get any better, the truth is that all of these advances are actually designed to combat the true cause of common dental problems-anaerobic bacteria.

In all reality, there have really only been a couple of major advances in dental health and oral hygiene in the past 50 years-fluoride and sealants. After World War II, it was discovered that fluoride can help improve the strength of the enamel covering our teeth.

It is enamel that protects teeth against the anaerobic bacteria which cause tooth decay. Brushing and oral hygiene are concerned with removing these bacteria from the enamel surface. If the bacteria find food particles on your teeth, they will begin feeding and secrete an acid that destroys enamel-and opens the door to cavities. Because fluoride increases the strength of enamel, it is a definite benefit to oral health and the prevention of tooth decay. Still, despite the fact that fluoride is believed to have reduced the number of cavities by 30-50% since its introduction in dental health products and community water supplies, the statistics remain alarming where tooth decay is concerned:

87% of all adults by the age of 40 have had a cavity (and in millions of cases-several cavities)
68% of us have at least one cavity by the time we are 19
25% of all people aged 60 and above do not have any of their natural teeth left
25% of preschoolers have at least one cavity before their adult teeth come in

A sealant is an invisible but protective coating that prevents cavities from forming. This protective layer is basically like adding heavy armor to the enamel of teeth and will not allow bacteria or food to penetrate and cause cavities for up to five years. Sealants are recommended by pediatric dental health professions as a way of protecting teeth so that children enter into adulthood with a full set of beautiful white teeth free from cavities. Nearly one-third of all school-aged children have sealants protecting their teeth.

However, sealants are not the end to dental health and oral hygiene concerns but they certainly are the most dramatic advancement in dental health products since the discovery of fluoride. Studies are currently underway to gauge the effectiveness of sealants in the battle against tooth decay. However, the sealant (not some special toothbrush or toothpaste) is the most revolutionary dental health product to be developed since fluoride and many in the medical community believe it may have a similar impact on the reduction of tooth decay.

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Why Dental Health And Heart Disease Are Related

For far too few of us, the link between dental health and heart disease is unknown. A large part of the reason for this ignorance is because that many don’t take much notice where gum disease is concerned as symptoms are hardly noticeable-at first. However, common dental problems such as gum disease can spread beyond the oral cavity and affect other systems in the body, like the heart or brain.

If the gum disease is not eliminated in the early stage, known as gingivitis, then it will spread below the gum line where advanced periodontal disease problems like peridontitis will manifest. In all cases, the origin of common dental problems is harmful bacteria which are always found in the oral cavity. The anaerobic bacteria population is generally kept under control by using good oral hygiene practices such as daily brushing and flossing. However, when common dental health product usage fails to contain the microbes, an infection will start because of the increased bacteria population.

The harmful bacteria in your mouth actually form the plaque which ossifies into tartar when it is not removed. Periodontal disease treatment will be necessary if this hardened layer of tartar is not eliminated by a teeth cleaning treatment by your dentist. The bacteria breed faster behind the tartar which means that the infection grows at a faster rate and does more harm when a dental cleaning procedure is not performed and the layer is allowed to remain. The infection will spread below your gum line and then start to destroy gingival and bone tissue until your teeth literally begin to loosen and eventually fall out is advanced periodontal disease treatment is not performed quickly.

Scientists and researchers now believe anaerobic bacteria migrate from oral cavity if gum disease prevention fails to neutralize their population. Once the teeth actually fall out, the infection tends to spread first to the jaw bon. These harmful microorganisms will then enter the bloodstream and eventually attach themselves to fatty plaques responsible for causing blockages in arteries and leading to heart problems. If periodontal disease treatment fails or does not occur, these harmful bacteria will attach themselves to fatty plaques and effectively speed the process of clotting.

Other medical problems may arise if the bacteria responsible for dental health problem such as infective endocarditis. The condition is actually little more than an infection within the chambers and arteries of your heart and it is caused by the same bacteria responsible for advanced periodontal disease. Given enough time, the infection will cause growths to develop which can break off. Once free, these infected growths will travel through your blood where they can lodge in other critical organs, such as the brain where they may cause stroke or other serious complications. Typical advanced symptoms of the condition include:

Always seem to feel tired or run-down, even during midday
Very low-grade fever that never actually goes away but tends to linger for weeks at a time
Mild to moderate headaches at all hours of the day or night
May notice awakening with chills or with night sweats

Dental health and heart disease are intricately linked and the cost for avoiding advanced periodontal disease or even something as mild as gingivitis may very well prove to be the cause of serious medical problems in the future.

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Poor Kids Dental Health May Prevent Future Achievement

Ever since the discovery of fluoride’s benefits in the fight against tooth decay, kids dental health has made great stride in the past few decades. However, while the dental health information regarding the overall reduction in cavities is indeed very impressive during this time period-the fact remains that cavities are the most common dental problems that children face.

According to dental health information compiled by the Centers For Disease Control, there remains a lot of room for improvement in the fight against tooth decay, because:

One in four children under the age of five has had at least one cavity in their baby teeth
One in two school-aged children between the ages of 12 and 15 have had at least one cavity-of this group, nearly half receive no treatment for their tooth decay if they live in a household below the poverty line
Seven in ten children have had common dental problems like tooth decay by the time they graduate for college

The mental development of a child and dental health go hand-in-hand. The most alarming piece of dental health information listed above is that nearly 50% of all children with cavities living below the poverty line receive no treatment. In addition to poor mental health, untreated cavities and other common dental problems can cause a host of issues that can literally affect a child for the rest of their life, including:

Malnourishment-if it is painful to eat or even causes embarrassment, then a child is less likely to consume enough nutrients which can affect cognitive abilities (in children under the age of 10) and physical development
Absenteeism increase-workers that fail to show up often acquire bad habits in childhood. When children begin missing school due to common dental problems like cavities, they will be more likely to avoid other unpleasant things like work in later years. This can hurt income potential and career advancement and permanently condemn a child to a life of poverty and underachievement
Social Anxiety-Indeed, the potential of a child and dental health are linked according to many sources of dental health information. School often requires a lot of group activities and presentations-just like work will in later years. If a child’s teeth are yellowed and decayed, it can be embarrassing to even speak aloud, let alone excel in school.

While many parents may not have the means to treat common dental problems such as gingivitis or tooth decay, the cost of prevention is far less expensive. The additional efforts taken by a parent to help improve oral hygiene habits may be the key that helps your child open doors to opportunities later on in life. Besides, poor dental health and heart disease are linked so the price of failing to learn good oral hygiene can be far greater than not getting the best job!

Being sure to buy dental health products made with fluoride and taking the time to properly instill good oral hygiene habits can help propel a child into achievement in later years. So, while poor kids dental health can indeed stunt or prevent future achievement in later years-the situation is preventable at little expense and the investment of time.

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Bacteria Are True Cause of Most Common Dental Health Problems

Do you remember when it seemed like all common dental health problems seemed somehow linked to candy or sugar in one way or another? Pediatric dental health professionals continue to advise the use of sugarless gums and similar products as a way of preventing tooth decay in our youth. Halloween has seemingly become a night of dread for some parents because of this relentless assault against sugar. However, dental health and oral hygiene crusades against sugar is only a small part of the story because it is bacteria-not sugar-that you really need to worry about when it comes to preventing tooth decay.

Indeed, it is bacteria that can ruin adult and kids dental health. Everything from cavities to severe periodontal disease is ultimately caused by these harmful microorganisms. Unfortunately, there is no way to actually cure any of these oral health concerns because these bacteria are always present in your mouth. Therefore, dental health and oral hygiene should be concentrated upon fighting these bacteria rather than sugar.

The crevices in our teeth are where these harmful bacteria tend to settle. By themselves, there is little these bacteria can do to cause cavities. But, when food particles also settle in these crevices, the bacteria populations grow as they feed on them. And yes, bacteria love sugar because they are ready sources of high energy but they will feed on any organic particles in your mouth.

When feeding, the bacteria produce an acid by-product that will damage and ultimately destroy the very enamel that is supposed to protect your teeth. Once this layer of enamel has been breeched, no amount of dental health products can stop the formation of a cavity. However, practicing good oral hygiene will help control the bacteria population and thus slow the development of a cavity.

So, what can be done about these harmful bacteria that cause tooth decay? Well, dental health products made with fluoride and some form of anti-bacterial agent are recommended. However, be careful of mouth washes or other products made with alcohol or other chemicals as they may lead to dehydration and actually increase the bacteria population. Anything that lowers the level of saliva in your mouth is actually hurting your oral health-not helping!

Saliva can help control the bacteria population because it is loaded with enzymes that help with the production of antibodies that neutralize the harmful microbes. Thus, adult and kids dental health is ultimately compromised by behaviors that cause dehydration and lower the level of saliva in your mouth. Some common sources of dehydration include:

Drinking alcohol or any caffeinated beverage
Using laxatives
Taking dietary supplements
Smoking

Therefore, it is bacteria and not sugar that is the true source of cavities and other oral health problems like advanced periodontal disease. And it is saliva, complemented with alcohol-free dental health products, that will help you best prevent those common dental health problems that can cause us all so much grief!

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