Archive for March, 2009

Dental Bridges

Dental Bridge Guides When you have one or more missing teeth, then a dental bridge may be used to restore the resulting gaps. The dental bridge is basically a false tooth, beautifully created from porcelain that fills the gap and is supported by adjacent teeth or implants Dental Bridge Dental bridges are fixed to specially prepared teeth. These teeth are usually the teeth either end of a gap

Here is the original post:
Dental Bridges

Leave your Comment

flossing
Image by dead redhead via Flickr

If you’ve already found out that you have periodontal or gum disease, it’s not too late to start taking your oral health back.

As with most oral or dental diseases, periodontal disease is primarily a disease stemming from poor hygiene.

It is normally painless and symptomless and is the most prevalent disease among people of civilized nations.

If left untreated it can result in not only loss of teeth, but also serious systemic medical conditions.

However, there are plenty of gum disease treatments that you can practice every day at home that will help to reverse the effects of this condition.

Here are a few suggestions that may help.

Since hygiene is at the root of the problem, obviously one of the first things you’ll need to do, if you’re not already, is brush after every meal.

If you’re not able to brush your teeth every time you eat, you should at least rinse your mouth out with water or mouthwash after every meal, so that you can get rid of food particles and bacteria that will settle in your mouth after eating.

An antibacterial mouthwash will help to kill disease-causing bacteria below the gum line and will reverse the effects of the disease quickly if you do this on a regular basis.

Another obvious gum disease treatment includes flossing every day. Most dentists recommend that you floss twice a day.

To ensure your gum disease treatment regimen is effective, make sure that you floss below the gum line to get rid of the debris and bacteria that cause periodontal disease.

If you want a more intense treatment, you may want to check out oral irrigators. The force of the water coming out of the irrigator will flush food particles away from the teeth and gums quite intensely and can really augment the effects of brushing and flossing. You may need to ask your dentist about the irrigator they recommend for you.

Eating foods that are natural and rich in enzymes is also one of the gum disease treatments that you’ll want to try. If you eat lots of raw green vegetables, especially leafy greens like parsley, they will help to freshen the breath and make your teeth whiter.

And citrus fruits and nuts like almonds and walnuts can also help to rid the mouth of bacteria. So, your diet will have a lot to do with how well you’re able to combat this condition.

If these gum disease treatments are not working quite as well as you planned, you may want to go to the dentist to get more intense treatment options.

Normally, your exam would reveal the presence of gum disease. And your dentist would then recommend various gum disease treatments, depending on the seriousness of the condition.

Typically, as part of the exam, you’d also get your teeth cleaned. This is perfect, since you’ll need super-clean teeth if you are going to begin your new hygiene regimen.

The dentist may recommend a combination of home and clinic treatments, too.

For instance, a prescription for a mouthwash that has strong antibacterial properties may be part of the steps to treat the disease at home.

And if conditions worsen, or the disease has already progressed before you get to the dentist for preventive treatments, you may need to consider periodontal surgery.

This could involve lifting the gums and doing a deep cleaning that simply can’t be done adequately otherwise. Or it could involve bone grafts, extractions and other drastic measures to try to save your teeth.

In the final analysis, periodontal disease is completely preventable through proper nutrition and hygiene. Your teeth, gums and supporting structures were meant to last a lifetime.

And they can, if you take care of them and employ some of these gum disease treatments BEFORE you get gum disease.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Leave your Comment

Group Dental

Group Dental Insurance Plans Here you can find Group Dental Insurance Plans: Group Dental 1. Aetna Dental Access Aetna is one of the nation’s leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving members with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care .

See the rest here: 
Group Dental

Leave your Comment

(A) A small spot of decay visible on the surfa...
Image via Wikipedia

In order for tooth decay to develop in a tooth, that tooth must first have two things present:

1. Acid producing bacteria
2. Food for the bacteria to feed upon

Teeth that are the most susceptible to decay have been de-mineralized. De-mineralized essentially means that some of the minerals in the tooth enamel – like calcium, magnesium, zinc and fluoride – have been leached out, thereby “de-glazing’ the enamel.

This leaves the enamel quite porous, which in turn allows acids and bacteria even greater access to the inner tooth.

This de-mineralization is due to a combination of constant exposure to acids in the foods and drinks consumed, as well as the acids produced by staff bacteria in the mouth as waste by-products as they consume the residual food debris left in the mouth after a meal.

So clearly, knowing the “cycle of decay” as you now do, you’ll understand how poor hygiene habits will allow the plaque and tartar to build up around teeth and speed up the process of decay.

Even though your mouth has a lot of bacteria that is always present, only one type will generate the acid that results in tooth decay.

Once the decay has settled in the tooth’s enamel, it may progress very slowly. Or, it could move at an astonishing rate.

This is primarily dependent on the general health of the host, the daily nutritional intake and, of course, the oral hygiene regimen.

Once the decay has made it through to the second layer below the enamel, called dentin, it will spread faster as it heads towards the pulp.

The pulp is the vital area of the tooth, as it contains the nerve and blood supply. This is where the pain will be the most intense, as the byproducts of the decay will begin to irritate and inflame the nerve tissue.

Although decay can take 2 – 3 years to get through the enamel, it can make it from the dentin to the pulp in less than a year. Once it makes it to the dentin, the decay can destroy most of the tooth structure in a matter of weeks – or months.

The most preventable type of tooth decay, known as smooth-surface decay, also grows the slowest. It starts out as a white spot in the tooth, where the bacteria dissolves the enamel. Smooth-surface decay is very common with those 20 – 30 years of age.

Pit or fissure decay is a bit more serious, forming along the narrow grooves in the chewing side of the molars. It progresses more rapidly, and can eat your teeth a lot faster than smooth-surface decay.

Due to the grooves being so narrow, it can be hard to clean them with regular bushing. Even though you may brush on a regular basis, this type of decay is hard to prevent without going to the dentist for your regular checkups and cleaning.

This is why pit and fissure sealants were invented quite some time ago. They use long-lasting, modern materials to seal the bacteria out of those natural grooves and fissures in the molars that are too narrow for tooth brush bristles to fit into.

The last type of decay, known as root decay, begins on the surface of the root. Root decay is common with middle aged individuals. It is normally the result of dry mouth, a lot of sugar, or not taking care of your teeth. Root decay is the most difficult to prevent, and the most serious type of tooth decay. It can eat teeth fast, leaving you no choice but to get the affected teeth removed.

Tooth decay is no laughing matter, and should always be treated before it has time to spread and affect more of your teeth.

If you visit your dentist for your regular checkups and cleaning, you can normally prevent it from starting.

You should always brush and floss on a daily basis. You can also use mouthwash such as Scope or Listerine to kill bacteria if you like. But flush again several times with plain water after using an alcohol-based mouthwash, because over time, the alcohol can damage and dry-out tissue.

Bacteria is always present in your mouth. And while you can use mouthwash to kill it, you can also remove the vast majority of it by simply flushing your mouth vigorously with water after eating.

If you take care of your teeth and follow the advice of your dentist, you can normally prevent tooth decay well before it has a chance to eat at your teeth.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Leave your Comment

Dental Costs

How Much Dental Cost? Shaving nicks and toothaches hurt more than they should. While a nick will vanish in a couple of days, toothache will take your pocket for a spin before it goes away

Excerpt from: 
Dental Costs

Leave your Comment