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

We all heard about positive effects of fluoride on our dental health and strength of our teeth. Fluoride can be found in the food we eat, in the water we drink and even in the air we breathe. We receive fluoride mainly from tea, nuts, green vegetables and sea products. The majority of the toothpastes and mouth rinses we use also contain this helpful mineral element. Along with calcium and phosphorus, fluoride boosts strength and durability of our teeth, as well as ensures normal development of our bones and growth of our hair and nails.

The importance of fluoride for preventing tooth decay was discovered about 50 years ago. Modern dental professionals classify two types of fluorides we receive from the environment. Topical fluorides are the ones we receive when using fluoride products (fluoridated toothpastes, rinses and gels) by placing them onto the surfaces of our teeth. Particles of fluoride enter the crystals of tooth enamel, make it stronger and protect from possible decay and damage. Systemic fluorides are the ones that we receive with food and water. They are collected in the development layer of our tooth enamel and play important role in formation and restoration of our teeth.

The main positive effect of fluoride is increasing durability of tooth enamel and making the enamel less sensitive to the influence of sugar, acids and other “dental enemies” we consume with the food. Fluoride slows down formation and growth of plague and dental calculus. Finally, fluoride is an important element for formation of healthy tooth enamel, that is why fluoride treatment is frequently recommended to young children. Such treatment involves applying fluoride gels or other fluoride products to the teeth of your child for several minutes (preferably, under the supervision of a dental professional). Also, using special fluoride supplements and vitamins is another type of fluoride treatment.

As we receive major amounts of necessary fluoride from the water we drink, proper level of water fluoridation is one of the key points for effective tooth decay prevention. That is why the water in our water supply systems is regularly fluoridated, especially in those areas where natural level of water fluoridation is not enough. Optimal level of water fluoridation varies from 0.7 to 1.2 parts per million (depending on climatic conditions of the area). For the people who can not enjoy the benefits of fluoridated water, using home care fluoride products can be a great solution.

At the same time, it is necessary to remember that overexposure to fluoride can cause fluorosis (or teeth discoloration) and fluoride toxicity, which is usually accompanied with nausea, vomiting, pains in abdomen, thirst and other warning signs. Learn the level of water fluoridation in your local water system and adjust your diet to satisfy your daily needs of this mineral. If you have lower content of fluoride in your water, you need to enrich your diet with the products containing this useful mineral, as well as to use fluoridated toothpastes and mouth washes in order to make your teeth stronger and protect them from decay.

Tags: dental care, fluorid products, water fluoridation

Posted: June 24th, 2008 under Dental Care for Every Day.
Comments: 1

It seems like everything is known about the rules and recommendations on how to take care about our teeth effectively. However, day after day new versions of good old principles of dental care appear here and there. As a result, many people still remain confused about the basics of brushing, flossing, whitening and other dental care procedures. Check out the most popular dental myths and related comments of dental specialists.

MYTH: Brushing my teeth several times a day harms the enamel.
TRUTH: This is partially true. Usually, it is enough to brush your teeth two times a day, but if you have an opportunity to brush your teeth more frequently (for example, after every meal), use a soft or extra soft toothbrush.

MYTH: Expensive toothpastes are always better than cheap ones.
TRUTH: It is not always true, and some moderately expensive toothpastes can be very effective. Ask your dentist about the toothpastes that can be good for your particular dental situation.

MYTH: Using a sugarless chewing gum with xylitol after meal can replace brushing and have the same effect.
TRUTH: Not really, but if you can not brush your teeth after every meal, you can use a sugarless chewing gum to clean your teeth and refresh your breath. Do not chew it for more than 10 minutes.

MYTH: I must not brush my teeth if my gums bleed.
TRUTH: Bleeding gums is a sign to see your dentist. However, if you can not do this as soon as possible, you can brush your teeth with a soft or extra soft toothbrush.

MYTH: Placing a tablet of aspirin beside my aching tooth can ease the pain.
TRUTH: Aspirin does not work effectively for relieving toothache. Besides, it damages soft tissues in you mouth. Therefore, it is better to use natural analgesics, such as clover oil or tea tree oil.

MYTH: There is no need in seeing dentist if there is no visible problem with my teeth.
TRUTH: You must see your dentist twice a year, no matter in what condition your teeth are at the moment. Sometimes, only a dentist can see possible problem, and it is always better to start treatment on the earliest stages.

MYTH: If tooth enamel is white, the tooth must be considered healthy.
TRUTH: This is absolutely not true! A tooth can look healthy and white, but, at the same time, it can have cavities, problems with the root or other abnormalities that require treatment.

MYTH: After a decayed tooth is treated, there will be no more decaying there.
TRUTH: There is no guarantee for this. After the treatment, every tooth must be properly cared about: regularly brushed, flossed and so on.

MYTH: It is better to treat a decaying tooth rather then opt for removing it.
TRUTH: Before making a decision whether to continue treatment or remove an aching tooth you have to consult a qualified dental professional and, possibly, ask for the opinion of several specialists. Sometimes, even totally decayed tooth can be restored, and, at the same time, there are situations when even a healthy looking tooth must be extracted.

MYTH: It is better to remove wisdom teeth because they usually cause problems.
TRUTH: Do not extract your wisdom teeth until you have started having real problems with them.

MYTH: Good dental health can be inherited.
TRUTH: Such factor as inheritance plays minor role for good dental health of people. The main rules are to maintain proper oral hygiene and visit your dentist regularly.

MYTH: Eating a lot of chocolate brings to tooth decay.
TRUTH: No, it does not, but if you do not brush your teeth or at least rinse your mouth every time after eating chocolate, you are at much higher risk to get tooth decay.

MYTH: Eating too hot or too cold meals can harm my teeth.
TRUTH: Only regular eating too hot or too cold meals can be harmful for your teeth and dental nerves.

MYTH: Using toothpicks after meals can widen the gaps between my teeth.
TRUTH: Using usual toothpicks can not have such effects, but you must be very careful when using toothpicks because they can damage the gums and other soft tissues in your mouth.

MYTH: Teeth whitening is harmful as it can damage the enamel.
TRUTH: Modern methods of teeth whitening, including laser teeth whitening or Air Flow technique, have minimal harmful effects. Nevertheless, one must remember that teeth whitening can not be recommended for many people, especially for those who has sensitive teeth, problematic enamel, underdeveloped tooth tissues, as well as for pregnant and nursing women.

MYTH: After any bleaching procedure teeth do not remain shining white for long time.
TRUTH: In average, the effect can last for about a year or so, but after every following bleaching procedure the duration of the effects usually decreases.

MYTH: It is not harmful to whiten your teeth with usual sodium bicarbonate.
TRUTH: It is, actually, very harmful, because sodium bicarbonate we use for baking has very strong abrasive effects. If you want to whiten your teeth in an easy way, use special whitening toothpastes with bicarbonate. Such toothpastes contain much smaller particles of bicarbonate and they do not damage teeth that much.

MYTH: There is no need in taking care about the teeth of my baby because in some years they are going to fall out.
TRUTH: This is absolutely wrong from a variety of perspectives. First of all, if you do not take care about premature teeth, they may fall out before the time and cause problems with bite or improper development of your child’s permanent teeth. Besides, it is necessary to start educating your children to maintain good dental and oral hygiene since early childhood.

MYTH: It is necessary to avoid dental procedures during pregnancy.
TRUTH: Regular dental treatment must not be avoided by pregnant women, but there is a number of procedures, such as X-rays or surgical dental procedures, which must be postponed for pregnant women.

MYTH: Any type of dental treatment is very painful.
TRUTH: Not anymore. Advanced dental technologies allow making dental treatment not painful by using anesthetic agents.

Tags: dental myths, dental treatment, Flossing, tooth brushing, whitening

Posted: June 21st, 2008 under Dental Care for Every Day.
Comments: 4