Monthly Archives: August 2012

What are Wisdom Teeth For?

What are Wisdom Teeth For?

You’ve probably heard several tales of people getting their wisdom teeth removed and probably wondered, “what are wisdom teeth for  anyway?” They seem rather useless if their only purpose is to get removed. Perhaps the better question isn’t what they are used for, but rather what they were used for. Honestly, in this day and age, we no longer need wisdom teeth like our ancestors did centuries and centuries ago.

Wisdom teeth had more of a purpose when the human diet consisted of rough, tougher foods, like leaves, nuts and meat. Humans of long ago didn’t have the utensils and soft foods we do now, so wisdom teeth gave them the chewing power they needed to consume those hefty and raw foods. These days we have different cooking techniques, forks and knives to assist us in our eating habits. We don’t need the tough teeth anymore.

Why do They Cause so Many Problems Now? 

As the human lifestyle changes over the centuries, so do our bodies. Our jaws are a bit smaller than people from long ago and, in result, our wisdom teeth don’t have as much room to come in properly. They may be blocked by other teeth, or become impacted, by coming in at an odd angle. It is possible for wisdom teeth to come in without any complication and be functional teeth. But, wisdom teeth will usually need to come out for one reason or another, as they can also affect the position of other teeth and cause headaches.

Fun Fact:

Wisdom teeth usually come in between seventeen and twenty-five years of age. This is about the age people are thought to become wise, thus giving wisdom teeth their name.

How to Deal With a Chipped Tooth?

How to Deal With a Chipped Tooth?

Sometimes your teeth take a hit and leave lasting damage. You might get a mark or, more terrifyingly, a chip out of a tooth. When you’re faced with that kind of damage, how are you supposed to deal with it? What are the options?

No matter how extensive the damage is, it would be a wise idea not to leave it alone for too long. It may not hurt, but any damage to your teeth will encourage further damage to the tooth and possibly the soft tissue surrounding it, which will make the problem harder to deal with physically and financially. You can discuss with your dentist what might be the best option for you and your situation, but don’t wait to solve the problem.

Treatment

 

Filling and Bonding:

The treatment of the tooth will depend on how badly the tooth is damaged. If it isn’t too bad, the tooth may only require filling and bonding. The filling will simply fill in whatever may be missing from the tooth and the bonding will seal the tooth to protect it from any possible wear and tear. It’s a relatively painless treatment and doesn’t take all that long to do. In some cases, you may have to get some porcelain veneers so your teeth will look great cosmetically.

Crowns, Inlays and Onlays:

Should your teeth be badly damaged, you may need to take a different route to mend your teeth. If the damage to the tooth doesn’t affect the placement of your teeth, you may need a crown with an inlay and possibly an onlay. A crown simply fits over the chipped tooth to provide a substantial surface for chewing and mashing up your favorite foods. An inlay is similar to a filling, preventing any kind of debris from getting under the crown and giving you grief. Onlays may not necessarily be needed, unless the crown can’t provide the protection your tooth needs.

Tooth Extraction:

If your tooth is too damaged for even a crown, then it will probably need to be removed. While it sounds like a scary prospect, it’s sometimes the best option. If you feel pain whenever you put pressure on the tooth, it’s probably time for it to come out. But there’s no need to worry, as the extracted tooth can be replaced with an implant or a dental bridge, covering up the damage cosmetically and also giving you a suitable chewing surface. This way, you won’t have to deal with any pain or aesthetic issues.

What it really comes down to is that the best way to handle a chipped tooth is to get it treated. Don’t leave it unattended and don’t try to deal with the damage yourself. Doing either can result in worse condition of the tooth and gums, which is a bigger hassle than anyone is willing to deal with. If you chip your tooth, visit your dentist and discuss what can be done to ensure the situation is handled properly.

How to Make Your Own Mouthwash?

How to Make Your Own Mouthwash?

If you want fresh breath and a clean mouth, mouthwash is the buddy you turn to. But that mouthwash you picked up from the store is full of toxic ingredients that may do more harm than you think to both yourself and your environment. Why do people always tell you not to swallow it?

Store bought mouthwash has actually been associated with an increased occurrence of oral cancer, enamel damage and tooth sensitivity. While that is merely an association, research has actually shown that mouthwash can damage DNA and is toxic for your cells. It won’t have an immediate effect, but will be damaging in the long run if you continually use mouthwash full of toxic ingredients.

{youtube}ZHdkn4_E424{/youtube}

The good news is that you can make your own mouthwash with safe, natural ingredients that are affordable and easy to find. To make your own mouthwash, you’ll need the following ingredients:

  • ½ cup of distilled water
  • 1 cup of aloe vera juice
  • 2 tablespoons of baking soda
  • 1 tablespoons of witch hazel
  • 20 drops of Peppermint essential oil

Snatch up an old mouthwash bottle, or some other bottle that will easily work, and a funnel. Using the funnel, pour everything into the bottle, shake it up and you’ve got yourself a homemade, safe mouthwash your whole family can use. It doesn’t have any toxic contents or alcohol, so your children can use it as well. If they swallow it, it won’t harm them at all, as the contents are all safe to swallow, but will freshen breath and catch those extra bacteria after brushing.

If you have a few extra minutes, toss out that toxic mouthwash and make your own. The ingredients are easy to shake together and lack the toxic contents that can lead to oral cancer and cell damage.

What Kind of Toothpaste Should I Use?

What Kind of Toothpaste Should I Use?

A visit to the toothpaste aisle can be overwhelming. There are so many options that you might be confused about what toothpaste you should use.

5 Things Most Types of Toothpaste Have in Common

Toothpaste’s main function is to provide abrasive agents that remove food and bacteria from your teeth. Calcium carbonate is the most common abrasive ingredient in toothpaste, though some brands may use a different ingredient in its place.
Most toothpastes include flavoring. Some brands add saccharin (sugar) to make toothpaste taste better. Available flavors vary widely and include mint (most common), cinnamon, citrus and even bubblegum. Toothpaste is also available without added flavoring or with natural flavoring for those who want to avoid artificial additives.
Detergents are added to many brands of toothpaste to create cleaning foam. Sodium lauryl sulfate is a common detergent found in toothpaste.
Fluoride is added to most toothpastes. It’s a mineral that prevents tooth decay by making tooth enamel stronger and provides minerals to parts of teeth that have started to decay.
Moisturizers and thickeners. Toothpaste must be thick enough to spread on your toothbrush and must be kept moist inside the tube.

Toothpaste for Sensitive Teeth

If you experience tooth pain when eating or drinking things that are hot or cold, you might want a toothpaste formulated for sensitive teeth. This kind of toothpaste contains compounds that reduce the sensitivity of your teeth.

Some people are prone to canker sores inside their mouths. Sodium lauryl sulfate may be one cause of such sores; to avoid this, find a toothpaste that is free of this common additive.

Tartar Control Toothpaste

 

Plaque is the layer of bacteria on and in between your teeth that you remove by brushing and flossing. If it’s not removed, it hardens and becomes tartar. Toothpastes with extra compounds such as zinc citrate and triclosan can prevent tartar buildup.

Whitening Toothpaste

If your teeth are stained, you might want to try a whitening toothpaste. These specially-formulated pastes contain extra abrasives and chemicals that bind to stains in order to remove them.

Specially-Flavored Toothpaste

If you’re having difficulty getting your kids to brush regularly, a flavored toothpaste might help. Toothpastes developed for kids include flavors such as bubblegum, fruit punch and grape.

Adults might also enjoy some of the special flavors on the market. Instead of the typical mint, you can find toothpastes flavored like cinnamon, citrus and even herbs.

How to Choose the Right Toothpaste

First, ask your dentist for a recommendation. Your dentist is familiar with your specific dental needs and may encourage you to use a specific type of toothpaste.

Otherwise, as long as you choose a toothpaste that has been approved by the ADA (American Dental Association), you can’t go wrong.

How to Brush Your Teeth with an Electric Toothbrush?

How to Brush Your Teeth with an Electric Toothbrush?

An electric toothbrush doesn’t provide different results that a properly-used manual toothbrush. However, some people don’t brush thoroughly enough with a manual brush; those people will benefit from an electric toothbrush.

The brushing technique with an electric toothbrush is different from that of a manual brush. With a manual brush, you must provide all the movement; with an electric brush, you need only guide the brush. Here are the 10 steps to brushing with an electric toothbrush.

Floss your teeth before brushing. While using an electric toothbrush may clean your teeth more thoroughly, it can’t get between teeth like floss, so you’ll still need to floss your teeth. Though it doesn’t matter whether you floss before or after brushing your teeth, some dentists feel that brushing beforehand allows for better fluoride penetration from your toothpaste.

Make sure that your toothbrush is fully charged, or that the batteries are fresh. Rechargeable electric toothbrushes typically have lights that indicate the charge level so that you can see when the toothbrush needs to be charged. You can tell when battery-charged electric toothbrushes need fresh batteries when the toothbrush begins to slow down.

Apply toothpaste to the head of the brush. Use the toothpaste you normally use with a manual brush; special toothpaste is not necessary.

Turn the brush on and guide it to the outside of your front teeth. Don’t push down on the brush or move your hand around much; just guide the brush along the surface of each tooth, letting the brush’s action clean the tooth as you go. Hold the brush in place for a few seconds before guiding it to a new position on the tooth.

Guide the brush from one tooth to the next, allowing the toothbrush to clean the outside of every tooth.

Repeat the process, this time cleaning the inside surface of every tooth.

Clean the chewing surface of each tooth by guiding the brush along the surface, holding the toothbrush in place for a few seconds before moving on.

Rinse your mouth with a small amount of water.
Run the head of your electric toothbrush under water to clean it.
Wipe the handle of the brush to dry it and place the brush back on the charger (for rechargeable electric toothbrushes) or in a place where the toothbrush head won’t come into contact with germ-laden surfaces.

A Reminder…

Most manufacturers recommend that you replace the head of your electric toothbrush at least every 3 months.

How to Floss Correctly

How to Floss Correctly

Your whole life you’ve been told that dental hygiene is important. By now, you’re probably excellent at brushing your teeth, but have always questioned whether or not you were flossing properly. Sometimes it can be hard to motivate yourself for flossing, but that simple string can get places that your trusty toothbrush can’t. Of course, that’s only as long as you floss correctly.

Prepare the Floss

Take about an 18 inch string of floss and wind each end around your middle fingers and then pinch the floss between your thumbs and index fingers. There should be about one or two inches of length in between.

Floss Position

Always keep one or two inches of floss taut between your fingers. Use your thumb to guide the floss for your upper teeth and your index finger to guide the floss for your lower teeth.

How to Floss

Glide the floss between your teeth using a zigzag motion. Be sure to be gentle and somewhat slow. Don’t hurriedly shove your floss between your teeth. While flossing, form a ‘C’ shape by angling the floss to hug the side of one tooth. Don’t forget to angle the floss the opposite way to get that other tooth.

Where to Floss

Floss up and down against the tooth surface and a dip under the gum line. Be sure to floss each tooth thoroughly with a clean section of floss on the same string. Even those molars in the back need flossing. After flossing, rinse with mouthwash or water.

Any kind of floss will be effective if you floss properly. Just be sure to floss every tooth along the sides and the gum line. Brushing can only do so much, but flossing will help your teeth be the cleanest they can be. Even teeth with broader spaces between them need flossing.

Braces or Other Dental Work

If you have braces, a permanent retainer or some other dental work that can get in the way of normal flossing, there is special orthodontic floss that’s stiffer and can be threaded under wires. There’s also the option of floss threaders, which look like plastic, bendable needles. You can simply thread the floss through the loop and easily push the threader and floss under wires.

How to Floss Correctly

How to Floss Correctly

Your whole life you’ve been told that dental hygiene is important. By now, you’re probably excellent at brushing your teeth, but have always questioned whether or not you were flossing properly. Sometimes it can be hard to motivate yourself for flossing, but that simple string can get places that your trusty toothbrush can’t. Of course, that’s only as long as you floss correctly.

Prepare the Floss

Take about an 18 inch string of floss and wind each end around your middle fingers and then pinch the floss between your thumbs and index fingers. There should be about one or two inches of length in between.

Floss Position

Always keep one or two inches of floss taut between your fingers. Use your thumb to guide the floss for your upper teeth and your index finger to guide the floss for your lower teeth.

How to Floss

Glide the floss between your teeth using a zigzag motion. Be sure to be gentle and somewhat slow. Don’t hurriedly shove your floss between your teeth. While flossing, form a ‘C’ shape by angling the floss to hug the side of one tooth. Don’t forget to angle the floss the opposite way to get that other tooth.

Where to Floss

Floss up and down against the tooth surface and a dip under the gum line. Be sure to floss each tooth thoroughly with a clean section of floss on the same string. Even those molars in the back need flossing. After flossing, rinse with mouthwash or water.

Any kind of floss will be effective if you floss properly. Just be sure to floss every tooth along the sides and the gum line. Brushing can only do so much, but flossing will help your teeth be the cleanest they can be. Even teeth with broader spaces between them need flossing.

Braces or Other Dental Work

If you have braces, a permanent retainer or some other dental work that can get in the way of normal flossing, there is special orthodontic floss that’s stiffer and can be threaded under wires. There’s also the option of floss threaders, which look like plastic, bendable needles. You can simply thread the floss through the loop and easily push the threader and floss under wires.

Can Wisdom Teeth Cause Headaches?

Can Wisdom Teeth Cause Headaches?

Wisdom teeth can be a hassle. Or they can be nothing at all, just some extra teeth hanging out in the back of your mouth. But if you’re one of the unlucky people with troublesome wisdom teeth, you might start wondering what sorts of problems your good ol’ wisdom teeth area actually giving you. As they’re coming in, a headache might pop up. Sometimes a headache is just a headache. But if your wisdom teeth are coming in and giving you grief, that headache might be a wisdom tooth headache.

As those great teeth of false wisdom appear, a gum pouch develops where the tooth is trying to push through. This pouch can become infected, swelling up and getting in the way of some of your other teeth. Obviously, you don’t want to bite on that tiny pillow of infected gum tissue; it would hurt too much. So, most people solve the biting issue by adjusting their jaw position and changing their bite. This is where the problem really begins.

By adjusting the position of your jaws, you may be instantly developing a bad bite. This makes the jaw joints go into the wrong position, which causes them to become inflamed and provide pain and problems for you. If that isn’t horrible enough, the bad bite pushes your jaw joints into your ear muscles whenever your teeth bite together. Because of this, your jaw muscles try and correct the problem to keep the pressure of the ear muscles, but instead go into spasms and cause pain. That is what causes that awful headache. Headaches are terrible enough, but someone with incoming wisdom teeth may constantly experience a wisdom tooth headache.

Treatment

The best treatment for a wisdom tooth headache is the removal of those wisdom teeth. Taking painkillers will only take away the pain and will not correct the core problem. Removing your wisdom teeth will keep your jaw from developing an improper bite and will, in turn, stop those wisdom tooth headaches.

A Wisdom Tooth Infection

In some cases, a wisdom tooth infection can create pus that leaks into the jaw muscles and irritates them. Such an infection can prevent a person from opening their mouth and can also throw in that unpleasant wisdom tooth headache. In these situations, see a dentist immediately, as the infection can flow into the brain and cause long term issues or even death.