Xerostamia, known by most as dry mouth, has a number of causes. Our mouths tend to become somewhat drier as we age and salivary output decreases. Treatments for medical conditions such as chemotherapy and radiation cause dry mouth as a side effect, as do certain medications and problems in the immune system.
Keeping your mouth moist is important to your dental health an your overall health as well. It's important to dental health because saliva helps to clear bacteria and small food particles from your mouth. It's important to overall health because having too little saliva can contribute to heartburn and constipation as well as being just plain uncomfortable.
However, even when caused by factors mentioned above, there is a good deal you can do to control xerostamia at home. The first and most important thing is to drink enough water. When salivary gland output is adversely affected, you need to replace the lost moisture from somewhere, and the best source is clear water. Taking small sips of water throughout the day will help to make a dry mouth more moist and comfortable.
Another option is to take at least part of that water in the form of green tea, which studies have shown may have considerable benefit to both dental and overall health because its antioxiants fight free radicals. Also, green tea has little or no acid, and acid is a major contributor to dry mouth, tooth cavities and other dental problems.
Whether you choose plain water or green tea, brushing, flossing and rinsing your mouth with water after eating is the best way to control xerostamia and prevent cavities.
After you have oral surgery or a dental procedure, sometimes you will experience swelling within 24 hours. Swelling after a dental procedure is performed can last for up to five to seven days and after the swelling subsides, you may get bruising on your face. This could last for up to 10 days after oral surgery has been done.
However, there are simple ways you can reduce the swelling and bruising of your face after you have a dental procedure done.
You can put a cold compress on the swollen area the first day after surgery. Wrap up some ice cubes in a towel or use a bag of frozen vegetables. Never apply heat to the swollen area in the first 24 hours after oral surgery.
When you apply the cold compress, keep it on for ten minutes, remove it for ten minutes and then put it back on the swollen area for another ten minutes.
Keep putting the cold compress on and off every ten minutes for the first 24 hours right after your oral surgery.
On the second day after your oral surgery, you will want to put a warm compress on the swollen area. A warm compress can be a water bottle or heating pad wrapped in a towel. Don't use anything that is too hot and could burn your skin. Using warmth actually increases circulation to decrease the swelling.
If your swelling continues to worsen 48 hours after surgery, or your swelling doesn't go down within a week after surgery, call your dentist to find out your next step.
As people watch the incredible results on television shows such as Extreme Makeover, cosmetic dentistry is becoming the most sought after form of dental care today. With modern advancements in dental technology, it is quicker and easier than ever to get the Hollywood smile you always dreamed of.
Patients with discolored teeth, chipped teeth and even cracked teeth will be pleased with the variety of options available at a cosmetic dentist's office. Professional tooth whitening can be done in just one or two visits to the dental office and yields incredible results. Patients can enjoy teeth that are five to ten shades whiter after having just one or two dental whitening treatments done by their dentist.
Another option for correcting imperfect teeth is dental bonding. The dental bonding material is sculpted around your tooth by a dentist to correct imperfections and then heat is applied to strengthen the bond so the bonded tooth works as well as a natural tooth.
Finally, there are porcelain veneers that can even correct misaligned teeth. Porcelain veneers are tooth colored, thin shells that get bonded to the front of your teeth to perfect your smile.
Because cosmetic dentistry is painless, effective and simple, many people are deciding to improve their overall oral appearance and hygiene through cosmetic dental procedures.
At the root of all oral evil is plaque and food debris left on your teeth that can cause tooth enamel to break down and cavities to form.
Your mouth naturally contains bacteria from the food you eat, which turns into plaque on your teeth. When this plaque stays on your teeth, it can compromise tooth enamel. Enamel is hard and made up of mineral salts such as calcium. These mineral salts are subject to attack by acids, which causes tooth enamel to break down.
When plaque forms on your teeth and doesn't get removed by brushing or the saliva in your mouth, it produces acid as it eats up sugar. The acid begins to eat away at your tooth enamel and tiny holes begin to form in the enamel. As the little holes in your enamel increase in size over time, a cavity forms in your tooth.
To avoid having your tooth enamel compromised, minimize your sweet snack and brush your teeth for at least two minutes, twice a day. Remember to use dental floss in between your teeth daily. Most importantly, scheduled routine examinations with your dentist to check and clean your teeth. Your dentist will see the beginnings signs of tooth decay and be able to stop them in their tracks before they cause more damage.
It is extremely important to maintain regular visits to the dentist and have the dental work you need done right away to avoid additional tooth damage. However, it can become a rather expensive endeavor if you have multiple oral hygiene problems to address.
If you do not have access to dental insurance, there are other options that enable you to get the dental procedures you need performed. Many dentists now offer payment plans to ensure affordability and access to quality dental care for all patients, regardless of whether they have dental insurance.
There are different payment plan arrangements made by various dentists. Some are done through a formal company that require a credit check prior to extending credit for dental work. Much like a credit card, the company will predetermine a dollar amount for dental work you can finance and you pay a monthly bill to clear up the balance. Even if you have poor credit, you may be able to obtain the financing you need by having a co-signer on your application. The application is quick, easy to process and gives you immediate credit to get dental procedures done right away.
Other dentists will offer a private payment agreement with some of their patients, especially if the dental work is a few hundred dollars or less. Discuss breaking down dental visits and payments to make them more affordable with the office manager or billing clerk at your dentist's office. Often they will find an arrangement that works for you because they really want you to get the care you need.
Don't put off the dental care you need because of cash flow – there are payment plans available to get the work you need done today.
Some of the current facts about dentistry in America today are amusing, amazing, educational and surprising.
Did you ever wonder the going rate for the Tooth Fairy? According to Securian Dental Plans, the Tooth Fair is currently paying out $2 per tooth. The American actors with the best teeth are Bratt Pitt and Julia Roberts. Almost three quarters of Americans would rather go grocery shopping than floss their teeth.
The past decade has seen a serious decline in the incidences of tooth decay. Only 40% of young people ages 6 to 19 had ever had cavities, which is down 50 percent from ten years ago. Despite this fact, over 51 million hours of school are lost annually by children due to dental related illness. Employed adults lose over 164 million hours of work every year because of dental visits or oral health problems.
While Americans spend over $2 billion annually on oral care items, half of Americans do not get regular dental care. Consider that 50 percent of Americans consider the smile the first facial feature they notice and that 80 percent of Americans are not totally happy with their smile. With all the advances made in cosmetic dentistry, more Americans can realize a great smile than ever before.
Modern dental implants are an amazing example of updated technology. Dental implants give people with missing teeth a change to have a natural replacement. Whether teeth are lost due to trauma, periodontal problems or decay, dental implants can replace the tooth with one that looks and works just like the original.
Removable dentures were formally the sole solution to replacing missing teeth. Fixed partial dentures require healthy teeth for support. Dental implants are a root like device that is made of titanium and integrated right into the jaw bone. A few months are necessary for bone to form around the implants so they are solidly placed. One the implants are integrated, the crown, bridges, dentures or tooth are affixed to the artificial root and work just like your own teeth. Until the prosthesis are delivered, you wear a temporary prosthesis.
Good candidates for dental implants are people who live a healthy lifestyle. Dental implants may not be placed in chain smokers, people with endocrine disorders such as uncontrolled diabetes, people with bone disorders and a few other similar conditions. However, most healthy people over 16 years old are prime candidates for dental implants.
If you want an attractive, functional and natural-looking way to replace missing teeth, consider dental implants.
Might as well ask, "How much is a blue suit?" Blue suits, of course, vary in dollar worth. You may even need one to look great at a job interview. But even an expensive, perfectly tailored blue suit will go out of fashion one day.
But a great smile—now there's something money can buy that will last you a lifetime with proper care! The worth of a great smile can hardly be over-estimated. It may cost you a bundle to get your teeth from where they are today to where you want them to be (namely white, gorgeous and completely healthy) but the dividends that a great smile pays can be reaped for the remainder of your life.
A great smile is a major asset to your appearance, and as such it can add a great deal to your personal and professional lives. The people you see on extreme dental makeover programs may indeed be spending major bucks. But one look at their "before and after" pictures is enough to remove all doubt that every dollar spent was very well spent!
The dollar cost of getting a great smile is always going to be relative to the value it brings, so don't be scared off by what you may think are high prices. Most dentists today will work out a payment plan with you, and the dividends that a great smile creates can be yours to enjoy a lot sooner than you may think!
Acidic foods can be quite harmful to your teeth because they erode your tooth enamel. The enamel n your teeth is a strong, protective coating that helps to prevent decay. Once the enamel is softened and eroded, you can't get it back and your teeth become more vulnerable to decay.
The saliva in your mouth is meant to neutralize acid. However, continually consuming sugary foods such as soda, cookies and fruit juices causes excessive amounts of acid to form in your mouth and increase the possibility of tooth enamel erosion. Dentists recommend that your reduce the amount of soft drinks, sports drinks and fruit juices you drink to minimize tooth enamel erosion. If you cannot brush your teeth after eating a sugary snack, rinse with water for 30 seconds to remove some of the sugar left behind. The best way to remove sugary debris is to brush your teeth with an ADA approved fluoride toothpaste after snacking. You should brush your teeth at least twice a day for two minutes. Also, daily flossing is imperative to remove the particles that get stuck in between your teeth and may cause enamel erosion.
Remember to schedule routine visits to your dentist's office for checkups and professional cleanings. A professional cleaning can help to remove stubborn plaque and tartar that compromises the enamel on your teeth. Additionally, your dentist will be able to detect early signs of decay to keep them at bay.
The best way to keep your teeth healthy is to avoid acidic foods, eat healthy snacks, brush and floss regularly and visit your dentist for routine checkups.
Why are celebrities swarming to cosmetic dentists all across the nation? For celebrities, their smile is a universal way to communicate and gain favor from fans. A great smile is a necessary aspect of their professional and personal success and celebrities know that it is just moments away once they arrive at the cosmetic dentist's office.
Drinking wine or coffee can cause your teeth to get telltale stains. Professional tooth whitening is simple and only takes an hour or two at the cosmetic dentist's office. A hydrogen peroxide based gel is applied to the teeth and often heat is used to accelerate the process. In just one treatment, your teeth can be five to ten shades whiter so you are ready to smile for the camera.
If your teeth are more drastically stained or have chips, dental bonding can recreate your teeth painlessly and quickly. Your dentists sculpts a tooth-colored material around the damaged teeth and applies heat to harden it. In just one trip to the cosmetic dentist's office, your teeth can look greatly improved.
Finally, teeth that are misaligned or have more noticeable damaged can be made Hollywood perfect with porcelain veneers. Porcelain veneers are thin, tooth colored shells that are bonded to the front of your teeth to create a white, attractive smile. The process is quick and painless.
Because there are so many simple, quick and painless ways to transform a smile, celebrities are visiting cosmetic dentists so they are ready to smile with confidence for all their photo ops.
