Many people avoid visiting dental specialists because of unpleasant and scary procedure of dental drilling. They postpone again and again, making the situation even worse. Certainly, it is hard to do something to avoid dental cavities, but it is possible to change something about drilling. Recently, French specialists at at the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale came up with a new technology which can help us forget about dentist’s drill once and forever.

According to the results of a new study which were recently published in the journal ACS Nano, a new technology includes applying a new teeth-healing gel to the cavities, instead of very unpleasant and painful procedure of dental drilling. The experiments started in order to check out the properties of the peptide MSH, which was reported to be able to regenerate the tissues of human bones. It is a known fact that human teeth and bones are quite similar in structure, therefore French specialists made up their minds to take a chance and study the effects of using this substance for healing teeth.

Their research showed that when a thin film or gel with the peptide MSH  is placed into a cavity, the tooth starts regenerating the tissues in a natural way. The experiments on mice demonstrated that within one month it is possible to heal tooth cavities using this revolutionary method, which can help to substantially reduce the need for root canals, removing the pulp and nerve, etc.

However, the specialists underline that this innovative technology will not lead to giving up such important daily procedure as tooth brushing. Benkirane-Jessel, one of the scientists and dental specialists at the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale, told the press that it is only a new technology which can help control cavities, but not the process of their formation. Therefore, regular tooth brushing and flossing will still play a key role in lowering the risks of cavities and other dental problems.

Tags: dental drilling, dental specialists, tooth brushing

Posted: June 30th, 2010 under Miscellaneous.
Comments: 1

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

Many people consider dental powders to be something old-fashioned as the effectiveness of modern toothpastes is very satisfying for proper dental care. However, sometimes tooth powders do their job better than any toothpaste. The composition of tooth powders is based on finely powdered abrasive elements (such as chalk or calcium phosphates) and a detergent or sweetening agent (essential flavored oils, sugar, menthol, etc.). Some tooth powders also contain bicarbonate which is perfect for whitening our teeth. At the same time, in contrast to so popular toothpastes, dental powder does not contain fluoride and xylitol: important chemicals that can prevent tooth decay.

The first examples of dental powder appeared in the end of the eighteenth century in the Great Britain. The powder was made of calcium carbonate (powdered chalk), sometimes mixed with magnesium carbonate, brick dust, porcelain dust and other abrasive substances. To make the taste of the powder more pleasant and soft, the pharmacists and dentists used to add menthol oil, anise oil, cinnamon oil or oil of cloves. In those times such tooth powders were quite expensive because only rich people could afford using a toothbrush for oral hygiene: poor people were still cleaning their teeth with their fingers.

Nowadays, advanced technologies of contemporary dentistry allowed receiving very powerful dental mixtures from only natural elements that are as much effective as chemicals, but do not harm our health. Modern tooth powders contain therapeutic essential oils (such as tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, peppermint, etc) that reduce bad breath, have very good antiviral and antibacterial effects, as well as different sea salts with useful microelements and micronutrients. Some dental powders are enriched with the vitamins and minerals that can rejuvenate the tissues in mouth.

Therefore, the advantages of dental powders include lower costs, greater cleansing power and the absence of dangerous chemical agents (which are sometimes carcinogen and very harmful to our organism). Many specialists underline that modern toothpastes contain a great variety of dangerous chemicals (including the soaps, mutagens, toxins, etc.) and using such pastes can bring to various allergies, problems with digestive system and other serious diseases. That is why some dentists tend to recommend children below 6 to use only tooth powders based on natural elements.

Nevertheless, toothpastes with their moderate abrasive effects, more effective chemical content and a great variety of tastes remain unbeatable competitors of dental powders. Moreover, being more popular and highly demanded, toothpastes can be considered as generally more effective against various new resistant dental bacteria. There are a number of large powerful manufacturers such as Colgate, Unilever and the others, which spent millions of dollars for medical researches and improving the quality of their products. Taking into account all the above, it is possible to come to the conclusion that the best strategy for effective oral hygiene can be keeping both modern soft toothpastes and natural powerful dental powders in your bathroom. By using a toothpaste one day and dental powder the other day you can enjoy the specific benefits of both these mixtures for effective dental care and keep you teeth clean and healthy.

Tags: dental care, dental powder, tooth brushing, toothpaste, toothpowder

Posted: August 18th, 2008 under Effective Brushing.
Comments: 1