Chlorhexidine is a powerful chemical formula that is prescribed as a mouthwash mostly after dental surgery in the United States. This mouthwash may also be prescribed for various other situations.

Most often you will also receive a warning not to use it for more than two or a few weeks. This is because Chlorhexidine can stain your teeth.

Things are little different in Europe than in the United States. Some things are sold over-the-counter there that you cannot get without a prescription in the United States.

I was in a drug store in Germany and found some Chlorhexidine. I was initially excited because it claimed to be an "anti-staining’ formula. Since I was travelling and did not have access to the tools I normally use for my daily oral care, I thought I’d give this ‘anti-staining’ formula a try.

Forget it! Within a week I could see that it was beginning to stain my teeth. I promptly stopped using it.

Dental health is a problem for almost every human being alive. There is a small percentage of the population that appears to be immune to gum disease, but most of us have to fight against it at one point or another.

In fact, as I recall, I found a stat on the Mayo Clinic’s website stating that 95% of people over age 65 have some form of gum disease. If true, the implications are staggering! Just think about it.

The problem is that this is not a disease that happens as a result of aging as many people think. You can be six years old and have the disease. What is important is that people become more aware of it.

Even your dentist will tell you that your dental health is largely up to what you do at home! They can only see you a couple to a few times a year at most. That does mean that the bulk of the work in caring for your dental health falls on you personally. This is one of those things that we pretty much have to do for ourselves!

Learn what you can do to help stop the progression of gum disease based on what you do at home. Prevent this serious problem from causing you to lose teeth.

Author David S.

Disclaimer: This article is for information and entertainment purposes only. It does not intend to render advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have or think you might have gum disease or any other health problem, visit your periodontist or physician for advice, diagnosis and treatment. The USFDA has not evaluated statements about products in this article.
 

Patients with disabilities require special attention when undergoing dental procedures.

These patients are hard to restrain and have difficulties remaining still for extended periods, especially in the case of complex dental surgery.

The treating dentist puts the patient in a deep state of relaxation or complete sleep by administering sedation medication or general anesthesia.

Sedation and sleep dentistry offers a better dental solution to patients with disabilities.

Patients with physical and developmental disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy, Down syndrome, Parkinson’s and those who have behavior problems may require the expertise of a certified sleep dentist.

Their situation demands special care and attention different from the regular dental procedures performed on non-special needs patients.

How does sedation and sleep dentistry work?

First and foremost, the treating dentist will review the needs of the patient.

After identifying the needs of the patient only then a treatment plan will be prepared.

The levels of sedation varies with each case. Some patients easily doze off to a relaxed state while the others require more sedative medication before they can achieve the desired level of complete relaxation.

In other cases such as patients with severe mental disabilities, it is important to put them completely to sleep.

During surgery, the sedation may be administered through a combination of breathing mask and medication.

Laughing gas or nitrous oxide will gradually put them in a relaxed state. The patient’s treatment plan determines whether oral or intravenous medication is appropriate. These are administered in graduated levels until such time complete relaxation is achieved.

In the past, these procedures are performed in the hospital where proper facilities are available. Now, developments in dental art technology allow patients to have the surgery right at their dentist’s office.

These dentists have secured specialized training and have permits in the administration of anesthesia from the state they operate in.

Not all dentists are licensed to perform sedation and sleep dentistry.  Do not forget to check the dentist’s qualification and experience before committing to a dental procedure.

If you’re starting to experience pain or discomfort in the back of your mouth, and your oral health is intact for the most part, your wisdom teeth may be growing in.

Here is some information for caring for these teeth, as well as ways to deal with the pain of ‘adult teething.’

Wisdom teeth are the last teeth to grow into the adult mouth, so you could receive them between the ages of 17 and 25, which is commonly referred to as the Age of Wisdom.

Scientists believe that in ancient times, the wisdom teeth grew in much quicker, but since the diet has become much ’softer’, it takes longer for these molars to grow in.

And also, due to the change in diet over time, it is believed that humans no longer require a third set of molars.

Consequently, the human jawbone has decreased in size so that most people lack the room in their mouths for their wisdom teeth.

When your wisdom teeth begin to grow in, they may or not be impacted or partially impacted, depending on the size of your jawbones.

Impacted means that they are not able to erupt through the bone and gums.

They are usually fully enclosed in bone and either pointing in the wrong direction or butting up against the root of the second molar.

Partially impacted teeth are only halfway protruding through the gums. These tend to be more problematic, due to increased difficulty with hygiene.

It is quite common these days for a young person to be referred from an Orthodontist to an Oral Surgeon for extraction of wisdom teeth.

This is because most Orthodontists believe the forces exerted by the erupting wisdom teeth on the second molars and other teeth causes tooth misalignment.

They feel that if the third molars are removed, then only the forces of orthodontics will be at work on the alignment of the teeth, and therefore make getting a perfect smile that much faster.

If you clearly don’t have the room in your mouth for wisdom teeth, dental professionals recommend that you have them removed before they start to cause problems.

Talk to your dentist about having this procedure done before you are thirty.

This will also ensure that your mouth will heal faster, and if you wait until you are older, you could be putting yourself at more risk for periodontal disease, decay or other problems.

The surgery may be done in the clinic under local anesthesia alone, or possibly in the operating room, under general anesthesia.

It depends on the difficulty of the case as well as your health and your desires.

Normally, all four wisdom teeth can be removed on an outpatient basis in a clinic, under IV sedation and local anesthesia.

With IV sedation, you are still conscious, but very comfortable.

When the procedure is done, a friend or relative drives you home to sleep it off.

After you have the surgery done to remove your wisdom teeth, you may experience some slight swelling and discomfort, but this is completely normal.

You can use a cold compress for the first 24 hours to help with the pain and inflammation, and your doctor will also prescribe medications that will help with the pain.

For more information on how to care for your wisdom teeth before they are removed, browse through some of our other articles or visit www.ada.org.

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