We all know that regular dental checkups are a key component of an effective dental care plan. We know that we need to see a dentist at least two times a year, but most of us do not visit their dental clinics that frequently. Why? Because we are busy or because of being sure that everything is fine with our teeth. This approach actually does not work and we should take care about out teeth all the time. And – very important: we should properly take care about our teeth at any stage of life!

1. Babies and infants. Despite of a popular belief that seeing a dentist is not important fr babies and infants as the teeth of the babies will fall out very soon, all serious health care organizations recommend young moms to show their babies’ teeth to dental specialists. When your baby is 1 year old, start seeing a dentist with him once per 6 months. Remember that many types of serious dental diseases and problems start in very young age, specialists say.

2. Children and teenagers. It is a known fact that children and teenagers like drinking Cola, Sprite and other carbonated drinks, as well as eating candies, chocolate and other foods which affect their dental health to a great extent. Hormonal shifts and changes in the’ body sometimes also cause serious impact on dental health. Therefore, regular dental checkups is a must for teenagers.

3. Adults. Adult people should visit their dentists once per every six months. Those who got used to avoid doing so – due to personal reasons like dental phobias, busy schedules or any other – should look for effective motivation and reasons to make regular dental visits. Remember that only timely examinations and proper dental care can help to prevent all possible serious dental diseases, including oral cancer, gum disease and many others.

4. Older people. Seniors should do everything possible in order not to add any sort of dental problem to the bundle of health problems they have already developed. Dental care and visiting dental specialists for seniors is very important, first of all, because they need to make all efforts in order to keep their natural teeth intact, lower the risks of tooth root decay, prevent gum disease and so on.

Tags: dental care

Posted: October 15th, 2010 under Dental Care for Every Day.
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To continue discussing the previously mentioned issue related to increasing number of people who suffer from severe dental phobias, we’d like to talk about another very effective technique to calm down stresses and fears related to visiting a dentist. Many modern dental clinics and dental offices are offering their clients an interesting approach to treating those patients who fear of dentists: sedation dentistry.

As it becomes apparent from its name, sedation dentistry involves giving a certain sedative medication to a patient before starting actual dental treatment. Usually, a sedative is administered orally (as a pill) or intravenously. Specialists define two types of sedation dentistry techniques: conscious SD (when the patient remains awake and aware about what’s going on during the procedure) and unconscious (or sleep) SP (when the patient remains asleep during the procedure).

Actually, there are three levels or types of sedation dentistry. The first one embraces applying Nitrous Oxide, known also as ‘laughing gas’ which is believed to help patient feel more relax and establish a good connection and trust between the patient and the dental specialist. Oral conscious sedation is the second level. It involves giving the patient a special pill, which slows down metabolism of the patient and his responses slow down substantially. Oral conscious sedation
pill makes patients feel a little drowsy and considerably less sensitive to pain and discomfort linked to dental procedures.

Finally, the third type of sedation dentistry approach is called Intravenously Administered (IV) sedation. It mean using a small line in order to administer a medication and keep the patients, who have severe fears and cases of dental phobias, asleep during the whole period of the procedure. It is reported that all these three approaches work fine for the majority of the patients and can be used regardless of the type of dental procedure: a missing tooth replacement, tooth restoration, dental filling placing and so on. Ask for more information in your local dental clinics and dental offices.

Tags: dental phobias, sedation dentistry

Posted: September 17th, 2010 under Dental Care for Every Day.
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Lots of people are terrified only with one thought about visiting their dentists. Mostly, they are afraid of pains, numbness, swelling and other types of discomfort which come when anesthesia is gone, but many also shiver while hearing a sound of a dental drilling device. Also, it is especially hard for those patients who are allergic or can not tolerate anesthesia, and their dental phobias are really disturbing. That is why millions of people avoid visiting their dentists on a regular basis, making public dental care go worse and the number of dental problems increased.

Fortunately, German dentists found an interesting solution for reducing the occurrence and negative effects of dental phobias. The specialists at the German Society of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy (DGH) offer modern dental clinics and dentists try using hypnosis to calm down fears and anxiety of their patients. According to the reviews of DGH specialists, this dental hypnosis can be effectively used to increase the quality of dental services as well, because in most situations dental specialist can feel patient’s anxiety and fears, therefore he or she gets tense and sometimes can’t do the job well. That is why dental hypnosis is beneficial for the dentist as well giving him better opportunity to focus.

Stephan Eitner, the President of the DGH says: “Concentration is the first thing we do. The dentist speaks with the patient in a way that diverts the patient’s thoughts from anxieties and focuses them inward, he said, comparing the mental state with “daydreaming“. Other German specialists, like Georg Duenzl, a board member of  the Milton Erickson Society for Clinical Hypnosis (MEG), find this approach very interesting and promising. However, everyone underlines that additional research is necessary to study possible reactions of the patients on the personal or environmental factors.  In particular, it is considered that dental hypnosis will not work for the patients with mental disorders, because their behavior under hypnosis is very hard to predict.

Tags: dental hypnosis, dental phobias

Posted: August 24th, 2010 under Dental Care for Every Day.
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