Everyone knows how big and embarrassing the problem of bad breath can be. People start turning their faces away and avoiding talking to you because of it, and, to make the things worse, your close friends and family do not always let you know that you have this problem. Usually, bad breath is caused by the odorous sulfur wastes created in our mouth by oral bacteria. When we consume protein rich foods, such bacteria get activated, and odorous waste products are the result of this metabolic activity. Professionals call the problem of bad breath halitosis (oral malodor), which can be transient (temporary) and chronic.

Undoubtedly, bad breath can seriously affect our social life and all sorts of our relationships. That is why people always look for the ways to get rid of it and make the breath fresher. First of all, if you need to combat bad breath, you have to find out what are the reason(s) of it. There are several major general reasons that cause bad breath, including:

• poor dental care and improper mouth hygiene;
• problems with digestion, dieting and poor nutrition;
• dehydration of your mouth and certain problems with the throat.

These are the most common problems causing halitosis, but usually it is not easy to diagnose correctly, whether you suffer from only one or all of those conditions at the same time. Therefore, your complex strategy for getting rid of bad breath must embrace as many of the tips suggested below as possible:

• Observe the basic rules of proper oral and dental hygiene: brush you teeth two times a day, regularly floss and use mouth wash, and also visit your dentist for periodical check-ups and cleaning procedures.
• Do not forget to scrape your tongue when brushing your teeth, because a great deal of odor-causing bacteria is usually located on your tongue.
• Drink plenty of water during the day to avoid dehydration.
• Change your diet, eat more of natural and healthy food.
• Avoid eating a lot of cheese and cheese products (sometimes they can cause bad breath), as well as garlic, onion and fish.
• Drink green tea.
• Consult your doctor if your digestive system is problematic.
• 
• Use the following ideas to instantly remove your bad breath for some period of time: chew a sugarless chewing gum, minty candies, a spring of parsley or some mint leaves, a piece of cloves or couple of fennel seeds. You can also wash your mouth with some essential oil which has antiseptic properties (Tea Tree oil, etc.): add three-four drops of the oil in 100 ml of water and wash you mouth thoroughly.
• If you are taking medications, learn more about their side effects: possibly, they are also causing bad breath.
• Reduce your tobacco and alcohol consumption.
• Avoid having such problems as overweigh and obesity.
• Remember that various sprays or mouth washes available in the pharmacies can cure your problem only temporarily.

Tags: bad breath, dental care, Flossing, halitosis, mouth hygiene, oral bactaria, oral malodor, tooth brushing

Posted: September 26th, 2008 under Dental Care for Every Day.
Comments: none

Periodontal or gum disease is one of the chronic inflammatory diseases caused by bacteria attacking the tissues that surround and support your teeth (gums or gingivitis). This is one of the most dangerous and most frequent dental problems which nowadays can be found in every three of four Americans over 35. At the same time, according to the research carried out by Harris Interactive Inc, only 60% of adult Americans have enough information on how to recognize the symptoms and prevent gum disease. Many people are also not aware about the fact that this disease is one of the leading reasons of tooth loss.

Periodontal disease usually starts with formation of bacteria (or plague) around your teeth, that within the time accumulates and hardens into calculus (or tartar). After this, bacteria begin affecting the gums around your teeth, so such effects as bleeding or receding gums, sensitive or swollen gums can take place. On the second stage of the disease, bacteria can grow below the gumline and affect the teeth, make them lose and damage the connective tissues.

Gum Disease Development

Therefore, the following symptoms must give you a signal about inflammation and possible serious problems with your gums:

•    Bleeding gums;
•    Swollen or sore gums;
•    Too red or too pale gums;
•    Gum recessions;
•    Painful teeth;
•    Loose or shifting teeth;
•    Bad breath.

On its early stages gum disease can be quite painless and hard to be detected. Certainly, the earlier the disease is detected, the more effective medical treatment will be. Generally, the treatment is aimed on removing the tartar from the roots of teeth and assisting gums in healing and reattaching. Modern medicine offers the following options for periodontal disease treatment: operative procedures, laser treatment, antibiotic treatments, scaling and root planing, medications and other periodontal procedures.

The specialists recommend regular dental check-ups and healthy diet as the most effective preventive measures for gum disease. Do not delay seeing your dentist after you have noticed the first symptoms of possible inflammation in your gums. Also, always remember that proper dental care (regular brushing, flossing, as well as visiting your dentist twice a year) is sufficient for keeping you gums and teeth healthy for a lifetime!

Tags: dental care, gum disease, loss of teeth, oral hygiene, periodontal disease

Posted: September 13th, 2008 under Dental Care for Every Day.
Comments: 1

As an important supplement for usual procedures of oral hygiene, effective dental care requires developing healthy eating habits. Unfortunately, the realities of our life and such social factors as our age, socio-economic status, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, housing and so on, impact our eating habits a lot. Besides, such phenomena as advertising and social trends influence our eating habits, too. For instance, many people eat Chinese food because it is considered to be trendy.

However, nowadays, social influences started affecting our eating behavior to a great extent. For example, we often have no time for cooking healthy homemade meals and choose to eat in fast food restaurants or have snacks, which seriously harm our teeth and digestive system. In addition, modern young people live their life at night like owls, and this makes them eat and drink very late. Is it a healthy eating habit? Certainly not! That is why, unfortunately, the majority of eating habits of modern youth can hardly meet the requirements of healthy nutrition strategies and dietary recommendations.

It is especially important to educate your children for healthy eating habits and make them watch what they eat in order to take care about their teeth and gums. Childhood and adolescence are the most important times in everyone’s life from the perspectives of formation of human body and human psychology. That is why all good healthy habits must be established since early childhood, and all parents have to monitor closely eating behaviors of their children and be concerned about their dental and overall health.

Tips for developing good eating habits as important elements of dental care:

• Try to decrease consumption of the foods and drinks with high content of sugar and acids, such as candies, chocolate, jams, various juicy deserts, lemons, and so on.
• Try to decrease consumption of carbonated drinks as they are harmful for your teeth.
• Avoid chewing hard foods, as well as cracking with your teeth such foods as nuts, dry beans, etc.
• Avoid eating snacks between your daily meals as snacking considerably increases your risks to get tooth decay.
• If you can not give up snacking, eat some fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Avoid binge eating and junk food.
• If you suffer an eating disorder, learn how to protect your teeth in every particular situation.
• Try to enrich your daily diet with fresh vegetables, berries, bread and cereals, cheese, milk and yogurt, meat, fish, mushrooms and other foods with proteins and xylitol.
• Finally, make it a habit to rinse your mouth with a mouthwash or drinking water after every meal or snack.

After you have started observing these simple recommendations, it will not take a lot of time for you to notice the improvements of your oral and general health. Eating the foods enriched with vitamins and proteins, as well as balanced and regular nutrition must become essential elements of your daily dental care. In addition, healthy eating behavior will help you to decrease the risks of obesity, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even cancer. Stick to these simple principles of eating and your excellent health will be the best reward for all your efforts.

Tags: balanced diet, dental care, eating behavior, eating habits

Posted: July 2nd, 2008 under Dental Care for Every Day.
Comments: none