Excessive alcohol consumption is dangerous from many angles. Nowadays, one more risk linked to this type of substance abuse was discovered. According to the findings of a clinical research, those people who are alcohol dependent and consume excessive amounts of alcohol on a regular basis are three times more likely to develop serious dental problems, including gum disease. Moreover, as it is stated in the report about the study published in March in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, combining alcohol abuse with heavy smoking can substantially rise the risks of gum disease and other serious dental problems.

According to Dr Nigel Carter, one of the expert at the British Dental Health Foundation, who presented and wrote a series of comments on the research, all those who enjoy excessive amounts of alcohol on a daily basis should be aware about numerous consequences of this terrible habit. ‘The growing body of evidence suggests what we once thought were safe alcohol consumption levels are in fact not so, particularly if it’s compounded by smoking,’ Dr. Carter said. The study revealed that every one of five regular alcohol consumer develop very serious stages of gum disease withing just few years of practitioner their nasty habit.

However, the experts continues, it is possible to lower the mentioned risks for heavy drinkers by observing the basic rules of daily dental care, namely brushing the teeth twice a day, flossing the teeth regularly, and visiting dental care professionals for regular dental check-ups. Dr. Carter underlines that not only alcohol itself (which is rich in sugars, calories, and other harmful compounds) causes elevated risks of gum disease in those who consumes it in excessive amounts. Most heavy drinkers never follow the mentioned rules of dental and oral hygiene, this way seriously lowering their chances to enjoy good dental health for many years.

Specialist points on the fact that currently, the number of people who drink alcohol on a regular basis, as well as heavy smokers, is steadily increasing, making the mentioned risks of social dental health becoming more and more serious. ‘People are drinking more and more these days and, with many so-called “social smokers” having a cigarette while they drink the likelihood is that the number of poor dental health and increased cases of illness will continue to rise until people are forced to take notice,” he said. It is estimated that every year about 70,000 deaths in the UK are cause by chronic illnesses originating from poor dental health.

Tags: risks of gum disease

Posted: April 5th, 2012 under Miscellaneous.
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The importance of a proper dental care, both on the daily basis and making regular dental check ups. Unfortunately, not all of us follow the mentioned routine thoroughly, especially retarding the necessity to visit a dental specialist once a 6 month period of time.

Some of do this out of laziness and not caring much about own dental health. Some of us are doing it because they simply do not have current dental problems and forget about the risks connected with skipping dental visits. Some of us may not be able visiting dental specialists due to too high expenses for dental services. However, quite a lot of us avoid visiting dental care specialist due to a very common reason – dental phobias.

This type of disorder is really quiet common, despite the fact that modern dental technologies are becoming less and less linked to pain. However, a great deal of people can not combat their anxiety and stresses linked to visiting their dental care professionals. This problem imposes a serious threat to dental health of our society around the world. Thus, a group of experts from Sydney University, led by Special Needs Dentist Dr Avanti Karve, wondered, who suffer from dental phobias the most. They carried out a research and were studying the problem for as much as five years.

It tuned out that the women in their late 30s and early 40s are suffering the most from dental phobias. The experts underline that sometimes this kind of phobias get so much severe, that in such women even mentioning the word ‘dentist’ in a conversation results in blood pressure rising and other common symptoms of stress. This group of women is reported to be the leading one among those who were skipping regular dental check ups due to increases anxiety and stress. Also, those people who suffered from oral or other sort of trauma, or lived any sort of abuse suffer from dental phobias very often.

‘Dental anxiety is real and complex and should never be underestimated,’ Dr Karve, a study leader, said. It was also found out that those people who suffer from sever dental phobias can cope with very strong dental pain for up to 17 days. Usually, most of us can not stand on dental pain and call our dentists in 3 days at most. If you are wondering about these interesting findings of Australian specialists, check out the report and the comments of dental experts in one of the latest issues of the Australian Dental Journal.

Tags: dental care, dental phobia

Posted: March 15th, 2012 under Miscellaneous.
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Many people have cats, dogs, or other pets, but not many of those happy pet owners are aware about the fact that our pats also need dental care. This can sound weird, but it is true. Do you dog have bad smell from the mouth? Sometimes this smell becomes really terrible, and quite a lot of dogs suffer from this problem. According to the most recent statistics published by the American Veterinary Dental Society, in every eight of ten cases such factors as dental plaque, tartar and all sorts of dental bacteria are the main causes of terrible bad smell from the dog’s mouth. For cats, this number goes a little lower and comes to every seven in ten cases. Therefore, our pets, just like us, humans, need certain regular dental care: a special dental care for pets.

Unfortunately, the cases of periodontal disease or other serious dental problem is more common in cats and dogs than anyone of us can think. Sometimes, dental bacteria enter the blood stream of the infected pet and causes more serious health problems and infections. Certainly, doing easy procedures in the framework of an individual program and dental care for pets can be very effective for preventing and possibly treating the mentioned problems.

Ideally, the most effective prevention for serious dental problems and illnesses is, certainly, daily brushing. However, it can be good to do this procedure at least once per 3-5 days. There are special tooth brushing devices and equipment like special brushes, special tooth pastes formulated for pets, and so on, which can be bought in pet-shops. It can be hard to train your dog or cat to be tolerant to such procedures, but it is possible to make the procedure quite simple and put it to just an issue of a few seconds. It is fine if your cat or dog swallows the toothpaste as it has no fluoride and will not be harmful to the pet.

Also, it is necessary to show your pet to a professional who is qualified to perform dental services like oral rinsing, dental cleaning, dental examination, and even special surgical procedures. Along with regular brushing carried out at home, these procedures can help slow down tartar formation and lower chances of serious dental problem in your pet. Always keep in mind that your pet will be healthier and live a longer and happier life provided dental care for pets is properly considered and maintained. Talk to your veterinary specialist who can assist you in creating an effective and sufficient dental care program for your pet.

Tags: dental care for pets

Posted: February 3rd, 2012 under Miscellaneous.
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