When Traveling, Pack the Essentials

Of course, you want to ensure you have the right clothes, sunscreen, bug spray, and whatever else you need for your trip. However, it’s also important to not forget the essentials for your mouth—toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss! If visiting friends or relatives, don’t assume they’ll have these things for you. Going to the store when you first arrive somewhere isn’t going to be ideal. It’s better to make sure you pack these items and have them with you when you arrive. Better yet, keep them in plain sight so that you remember to use them every morning and evening as you’ll be off your normal routine!

Keep Hydrated

There are lots of different beverages that are popular to consume during the summer—from iced coffee to energy drinks to margaritas, you’re going to have options when it comes to what you want to drink. However, drinking water rather than sugary alternatives not only keeps you hydrated, but also helps cut down on dental plaque. Keep water with you during the day so you can sip and provide your mouth with the saliva it needs to properly nourish your teeth and stop plaque from sticking to your teeth. If plain water gets boring, try seltzer water with some crushed fruit in it!

Choose Healthy Summer Snacks

It’s the time of year when you hear the ice cream truck, buy the kids French fries at the beach, and snack on popcorn at the movies. This summer, you can protect your smile by being choosy about your snacks. Watermelon is an excellent choice because of its water content. Ice cream, although it contains calcium, is packed with sugar. Other swaps to make include fresh fruit as opposed to prepackaged foods, frozen yogurt instead of ice cream, and sweet potato fries or kale chips as opposed to potato chips or French fries. By enjoying sugary foods in moderation, you can help protect your smile from tooth decay.

Visit the Dentist

The kids might be on summer vacation, but tooth decay and gum disease never take a break. This is the perfect opportunity to get your kids to the dentist while they’re out of school. Schedule an appointment to see how your kids’ teeth are doing. Your dentist can also tell you where they need to improve with brushing and motivate them to brush and floss daily!

When it comes to your summer this year, don’t put your oral care at the bottom of the list just because you’re on vacation. You can maintain a healthy smile by packing your toothbrush, drinking plenty of water, choosing healthy snacks, and visiting your dentist. Enjoy your vacation!

The post Tips to Maintain a Healthy Smile during Your Summer Vacation appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

There are several different types of fillings these days. Although the traditional amalgam (silver) fillings aren’t as popular anymore, composite fillings, ceramic, and glass ionomers are all options you may have. You and your dentist will decide on the best one for you based on the size and location of your cavity. Talk with your dentist about what to expect the setting time for your material to be—not every material has the same one!

Brush and Floss Gently

After you get your cavity filled, you can brush and floss as normal—and this means gently! Always choose a soft-bristled toothbrush and gently brush your teeth twice a day and floss at least once a day. No need to take special care when brushing around your cavity, just ensure your brushing is gentle so to not damage your enamel or your new filling!

Avoid Extreme Hot or Cold Foods

Sensitivity may happen as a result of any food you consume with extreme temperatures for the next few days or weeks. You’ll want to try and avoid foods with extreme temperatures; these could not only hurt you but your filling! You may also experience sensitivity when biting down, a sensation that should go away as your mouth heals.

Take Caution When Chewing

Be gentle when chewing. It may help to chew on the opposite side that your cavity was filled on. Be careful while eating and drinking, especially because of the local anesthesia as well as the time it’ll take your filling to set. Avoid eating or drinking for a couple hours while the anesthesia wears off and you can comfortably chew food again, and if you can, avoid chewing directly on the filling for a couple of days.

Contact Your Dentist

It’s always best to follow up with your dentist to ensure the filling has set properly, but in the meantime, call your dentist if you have extreme pain, trouble biting down on the filled tooth, or notice cracks in the filled tooth. Your dentist will advise you on which symptoms are normal and which aren’t. Always call your dentist if you have any questions or concerns!

With the proper care, your filling will set securely and your tooth will be protected for years. Talk with your dentist about the best filling material of your tooth, and treat your mouth with care in the days after the procedure. This includes avoiding hot and cold foods, chewing carefully, and brushing gently!

The post The Best Ways to Take Care of Your New Filling appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

1. Begin by getting your hands clean with an antibacterial soap. If you haven’t flossed in a while, you may experience some bleeding, and you don’t want germs from your hands to infect your gums.

2. You will want to use about a foot and a half of floss (a guess is just fine – no need for a tape measure in the bathroom). Wind most of the floss around your two middle fingers. You only need about two inches to actually run between your teeth. The extra floss gives you stability and

allows you to change to a new section of the floss periodically rather than just transferring bacteria from one place to another with the same little piece of floss.

3. Use your thumbs and index fingers to hold the floss (aren’t you glad you wrapped it around your middle fingers?), and gently guide it between your teeth by gliding it back-and-forth.

4. Don’t use the floss like a saw. Rather, curve it into a c-shape and glide it gently up and down the side of each tooth.

5. Extract the floss from between teeth with the same gentle motion you used to guide it in. Note: Close teeth may make it tempting to push the floss in between your teeth or pull it out sharply, but that’s just a good way to cut your gums, so stick to gliding it back-and-forth.

6. Be sure to get below the gumline when sliding the floss up and down.

7. As you move from tooth to tooth, use clean sections of floss.

8. If you floss first, brush your teeth well afterward. If you brush first, you may want to use a mouth rinse afterward to make sure all of the bacteria your just loosened is removed from your mouth.

9. If you choose to use a floss pick, just be sure not to transfer bacteria. Floss picks have been proven to be effective at cleaning teeth. The main concern, especially if you are just beginning to floss, is taking bacteria from all over your mouth and accidentally pushing it into a cut in the gums. You can always use several floss picks during your flossing session. Just switch to a new one as they get dirty.

The post 9 Tips for More Effective Flossing appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

Take, for example, diabetes. This serious health condition is strongly related to oral health. When infections occur in the mouth, the body’s primary response is inflammation. Unfortunately, many of the bacteria involved in periodontal disease feed on the byproducts of such inflammation. The inflammation also causes a response in the body that results in the body having an impaired ability to use insulin. Even if the body is producing enough insulin, the inflammation may result in higher blood sugar. On the other hand, once the inflammation in the mouth is reduced, the body can once again utilize insulin properly.

Another major risk factor that is associated with poor oral health is heart disease. More than 9 out of 10 patients who have heart disease also suffer from some sort of periodontitis. Again, increased inflammation in the body can have a negative effect on the heart. Blood vessels constrict which can result in hypertension. This, in turn, creates an environment in which a heart attack is more likely.

Should pregnant women be concerned about caring properly for their teeth? Absolutely! Gum disease has actually been linked to premature births. A baby that is born prematurely has increased chances for learning disorders, heart problems, and certain lung conditions. While oral infections are generally more common in men, pregnant women need to be on guard against periodontitis during this time period in which their hormones have changed dramatically.

Many other health conditions have been linked to poor oral health. Alzheimer’s is found more commonly in individuals who suffer tooth loss prior to age 35. Some studies have found a connection between osteoporosis and oral health (although more research is need to see if the connection is simply the result of teeth and bones both being affected by bone loss). Other immune disorders have also been linked to oral health.

Since dental health is so vital to your overall health, how can you protect yourself? Be sure to brush at least twice per day. Use floss on a daily basis, and be sure to clean the gum line. Don’t let your toothbrush get too old. You should go through 3 to 4 of them per year. Finally, be sure to see your dentist every six months for a checkup and a cleaning. Your good oral health may in fact help you to ward off many other serious health conditions.

The post Will Good Oral Health Potentially Ward Off Other Diseases? appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.

Bleeding Gums

One thing to look for on a regular basis is bleeding gums. This condition can potentially be caused by brushing the teeth with a toothbrush whose bristles are too hard, however, if you change your toothbrush to one with softer bristles and you still experience bleeding and gum sensitivity, then this is likely telling you that other oral health conditions are having this effect and an examination and evaluation from a dental professional is in order.

Teeth Sensitivity

Another thing to be aware of is sensitivity when eating hot or cold foods. As the enamel deteriorates from the bacteria sitting on the teeth when you don’t brush, certain items could cause sensations in the mouth. This will be commonly felt when you bite down on something such as a Popsicle or a hot sandwich, and increasing sensitivity indicates that your condition may be deteriorating over time. Again, a sign that a thorough examination of your teeth and enamel would be beneficial.

Tooth Discoloration

One of the most visible ways you project oral health to the world is by the color of your teeth. No one enjoys having people notice that your teeth are discolored, and color changes can be cosmetic or indicators of something potentially more serious. Stains on the teeth are often caused by certain foods as well as drinks like coffee or tea. Smoking will also cause a noticeable discoloration on the teeth. As you may have noticed on other smiles, these activities and habits can leave a yellow tint to the teeth. This discoloration is something that can be proactively addressed by both stopping these activities which are the primary causes of the condition, coupled with, as we’ve been told time and time again, regular brushing and flossing. Professional teeth whitening is also available from dentists to provide faster and immediate results. These results though won’t last like you had hoped if you don’t address the underlying causes, so consider the lifestyle and dietary changes you can make to help your oral health.

Tooth Pain

Pain in the mouth and teeth is a clear-cut indicator that something is wrong and should not be ignored. Some of the causes of pain can include abscesses from an infection in the mouth, cavities that are near the nerve of the tooth and teeth that are chipped or broken, to name a few. If there are any cracks in your teeth, then your tooth structure has weakened and there is a higher probability for the tooth to break, even during normal activities like while you are eating or brushing.

Loose Teeth

Unless you are young and still have baby teeth, you should not at any point have loose teeth in your mouth. Tooth looseness can be an indicator of a range of oral health concerns, including periodontitis, which is an inflammation and infection of the ligaments and bones that support the teeth. When you don’t brush and floss regularly, plaque and tartar build up at the base of the teeth. This build-up leads to inflammation which causes a pocket or gap to form between your gum line and the teeth, that in turn fills with plaque and tartar. Untreated inflammation leads to damage of the tissues and bone surrounding the tooth, which can make it loose and lead to infection. The longer infection of your gums, also referred to as gingivitis, is allowed to progress without treatment, the greater the change of significant damage to your teeth, mouth and overall oral health.

So in short, if you have a loose tooth that you weren’t expecting, or even if you were, get it examined as soon as possible. You’ll be glad you did.

If you experience any of these outlined conditions, it is important to see a dentist to get a proper oral exam and to hold to regular check-ups so that you will have  teeth that are strong and beautiful for years to come. Visiting the dentist early when you first notice the signs, even if between your regular check-ups, can save you time, pain, money and likely increase the chance that less invasive dental treatments will be needed to restore your mouth and teeth to optimal oral health.

The post 5 signs you may not have great oral health appeared first on Your Dental Health Resource.