Most dentist advise that a baby should see a dentist by the age of one. In the past many people did not take their child to see a dentist until they were much older normally between two and five years old. So why take your baby to see the dentist so early?

The reason why early dental prevention is important is that dental problems can begin early. One main concern is early childhood caries or BBTD. Your child risks severe tooth decay from using a bottle during naps or at night or when they nurse continuously. The sooner the dental visit, the better the chance of preventing dental problems. Baby teeth are important since children with healthy baby teeth can chew food easily, learn to speak clearly, and smile with confidence. Starting your child now on good dental habits can lead to a lifetime of good dental habits and oral health care.

Research is suggesting that pregnant women getting dental X-rays are more likely to have underweight babies. This new study is the first to link dental X-rays with low birth weight and full-term babies. However do not cancel your dental appointment. Dentist already know to not take unnecessary X-rays of pregnant patients. Maintaining dental care during pregnancy is important since poor dental health is neither good for you or your baby. Just beware and let your dentist know if you are pregnant or could be pregnant, so proper precautions can be taken

Parents should make sure their child woodwind and brass instruments are properly cleaned after playing.  One such study done looked for germs in a total of 117 distinct testing sites, including mouthpieces and reeds, internal chambers and cases of the instruments and found more than 400 bacteria, 19 yeasts and 58 molds that could risk a musician’s health.

With more people turning to alternative medicine people are finding out that clove oil may help to alleviate toothache pain. If you choose to use clove oil it can be applied with a cotton swab or q-tip to the affected area. You can normally find clove oil in most health food stores. However although clove oil is safe to use in small amount, however in large quantities it can be hazardous causing liver and respiratory problems. One should also keep in mind that it help to relieve toothache pain but does not fix the problem as to why your tooth is hurting in the first place. Whenever you are experiencing toothache pain you should see your dentist.

Be proactive in your child oral health care routine.  Healthy baby teeth will lead to healthy adult teeth and good dental habits. Here are some easy tips on baby dental care.

 1. Brush your baby teeth twice a day using a child tooth brush

2. Use only a smear of children toothpaste
3. You can get a child tooth brush in many places such as local pharmacy/drug store or a large supermarket.
4. An easy way to brush you child teeth is by having them sit on your knee with their head against your chest.
5. Brush their teeth like you would your own in small circles. Making sure to brush each tooth
6. Have you child watch you brush your teeth. This set a good example and shows them how to start brushing their teeth on their own when they are ready to do so.
7. When taking your child to the dentist make it a fun day and keep things light. It will make it easier for them to go to the dentist and lessen any chance of dental fears.

Tooth Decay in baby teeth can spread to the underlying permanent teeth.

Some people still do not feel that baby teeth are all that important to worry about, and therefore do not always give proper dental care to their child/baby. Still other people do not know that dental carries on baby teeth can cause tooth decay on the underlying adult teeth yet to coming in. Baby teeth play an important role in your child development because they aid in chewing, reserve space for permanent teeth, help with speech development, and help the face retain its normal shape. It is estimated that 90% of people in the US have at least one cavity and that 75% of people had their first cavity by the age of five.

You should take care of your baby teeth and gums even before you baby teeth start coming in. You want to gently cleaning you baby’s gums twice a day. Babies start teething around six months but teething times can vary. Normally the bottom incisors are the first to erupt, with other teeth following after. It is very important to take proper care of your baby teeth. Baby teeth are necessary in development because they aid in chewing, reserve space for permanent teeth, help with speech development, and help the face retain its normal shape.

With the economy going down health experts worry that people are cutting back on their dental work because they do not have the money. One such example would be a woman in Colorado that uses super glue to keep her teeth from falling out. Stating she can not afford dental care and even though she has dental insurance the max limitation is only a $1000 which does not help her on a $8000 plus dental bill. But, because she has dental insurance she is not eligible for dental assistance. There is no question that the economy can be bad for many people. That is why preventive dental care is even more important. So is buying the right dental insurance plan to fit your needs. If you need extensive dental care buying or having a plan that as a low maximum limitation may not make the best sense. Talk to a dentist then talk to a dental insurance agent if you need help finding the right dental insurance plan for you and or your family.

Many people associate bad breath with either foods we consume or bad oral hygiene. Even though a main cause to bad breath odor does comes from food particles trapped in our mouths, bad breath can also be an underlying medical condition of the stomach, lungs and bloodstream.
What can you do to control bad breath issues:

1) Brush your teeth and rinse your mouth thoroughly after every meal to remove any excess food particle from the mouth.
2) Brush your tongue.
3) Floss your teeth daily to remove any food particle trapped between your teeth and gums.
4) Have regular dental check ups. The dentist will be able to maintain gums and teeth health as well as check for any faulty restorations, overhanging fillings or loose crowns, all of which can trap food in the mouth and cause not only bad breath but dental issues.
5) Chew sugarless gum or even have sugar-free lozenges. Both will help increase the flow of saliva.
6) Drink plenty of water throughout the day
7) Avoid mints and mouthwash that has alcohol since they can make bad breath problems worse only temporarily masking bad breath.
8) Caffeine and alcohol can lead to dry mouth which can cause bad breath.
9) Avoid smoking or chewing both will cause bad breath as well as other health issues.
10) Milk and dairy products can cause many people to have bad breath.
11) Some medicines will cause bad breath, If you have bad breath that is not association with your diet or oral hygiene and is a constant issue seek out a doctor to see if there are any other health issue to why you may have bad breath.

Possible side effect of brushing your teeth with baking soda in order to whiten them.

Baking soda may to help whiten your teeth. However, baking soda is an abrasive that may ware down your tooth  enamel as well. The warning down of your tooth enamel may cause more damage to your over all dental health. Before using baking soda or any home remedies you should consult your local dentist to make sure that you will not be doing more harm than good.

Maintaining a balanced diet is important to maintaining good oral health.

As you may already know cavities are caused by plaque build up. Plaque is a thin film of bacteria that builds up on  your teeth. So the more food and or drinks you have that contain high sugar content the higher risks are of plaque developing and leading to cavities. Protect your teeth by having a well balance diet with low sugar. Not to say you can not have those sugary sweets once in a while but try to limit them and remember to brush twice a day and floss daily in order to help reduce plaque build up on your teeth.

Using Twitter and other Micro-blogging Service for Public Health Surveillance Of Dental Pain

A new means for public communication for dental and health care is the use of micro-blogging service such as twitter. Dentist that uses such services are finding out that they are able to communicate not only with their current patients but as well as  any new patients. More dentist are opening up their offices to the internet communities by having their own websites and blogs as well as being on services such a Twitter.

Based on studies done women who want to have a baby should make sure they are taking care of their oral health. Research found for the first time from when a woman starts trying to conceive, her chances of falling pregnant can depend on how well she looks after her teeth and gums. That the effect of gum disease on conception is about the same order of magnitude as the effect of obesity.

New research is suggesting that oral health deteriorates during hospitalization and is associated with an increased risk of hospital-acquired infections and reduced quality of life.

This Research Published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology provides the latest evidence that oral health is being overlooked in hospitals, with potential serious consequences. The study reviewed data from five studies between 1998 and 2009 in the UK, USA, France and Netherlands. The study identified increases in plaque accumulation and gingival and mucosal inflammation. The findings were worst amongst patients who required help with their breathing

How to best brush your baby’s teeth after they start coming in Normally a baby will start teething around six months though can take as long as a year or more. When your child starts to have teeth you will want to look for a baby toothbrush with a small bristle head but still provide for a grip that fits your hand. You will want to brush your baby’s teeth at least twice a day and as long as you are cleaning your child’s teeth regularly toothpaste is not needed until advise by your dentist.

Brush your child tongue if possible since this will also help to fight bacteria growth. You only need one quick swipe of the tongue. Also it is strongly suggest that your baby see a dentist when they cut their first tooth. For additional dental care for you child talk to your dentist.

Saliva contains an abundance of proteins that could be used to screen for diseases, particularly oral diseases. Until now, though, studies have only focused on the small subset of free-floating saliva proteins. Far more proteins are present inside of oral cells, and Timothy Griffin, Nelson Rhodus and colleagues developed a method, called three-step peptide fractionation, to look at those understudied proteins. Researchers have developed a novel technique to separate and analyze all the proteins found in human saliva, not just the soluble ones, providing an approach that may reveal protein markers for oral cancer and other disorders in the oral cavity. Source ScienceDaily

Just another reason why preventive dental care is important. Seeing a dentist regularly and taking care of your dental and oral hygiene is always important, but here is another reason that may make you want to go see your dentist.

In a recent study it has been revealed erectile dysfunction can be linked to gum disease. The research1, carried out on 70 male subjects, showed a correlation between gum disease and the ability to achieve an erection. The data indicates that as the severity of erectile dysfunction increased, so did the prevalence of chronic periodontitis (gum disease). Overall, more than four out of five men (81.8 per cent) with severe erectile dysfunction had gum disease. In comparison, in cases of mild erectile dysfunction, the incidence of gum disease was less than two in five men.

Help keep your dental cost low by having either dental insurance or a dental plan in place. This website can help you with that.

Links have be found that obesity can effect your oral. According to a recent study it revealed the deeper the periodontal pockets, the higher the proportion of subjects with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or over, which is a figure according to the World Health Organization as generally considered to be obese. In 2008, 1.5 billion adults, 20 and older, were overweight.

Periodontal pockets are essentially food and plaque traps that irritate and decay teeth to the point where the tooth can eventually fall out if not being treated by a dentist. The deeper the pocket, the greater the risk of tooth loss. Having proper dental care and seeing your dentist regularly can help prevent tooth loss due to periodontal pockets and gum disease.

Having both good oral healthcare and taking care of your over all health just makes sense. On this web site we can help you save money on your dental care needs with one of our dental insurance or dental plans.

Post-Menopausal Women Have a Higher risk of Tooth Loss

Proper oral health care is always important to maintain, However for women there are additional dental and oral health risks that need to be checked and maintain. In a new research of a study of over 1,000 post-menopausal women it was forecast that over one in four post-menopausal women have a higher risk to suffer from tooth loss over a five year period. This risk increases to nearly 90 per cent if other risk factors are present, especially diabetes and if they smoke.

Periodontal Gum Disease, Tooth Loss and a Possible Cancer Risk

A number of prospective studies done suggest that gum disease and tooth loss may increase the risk of various cancers. The study done adjusted for know risk factors such as smoking and dietary factors. The finding of the study shows that periodontal disease was associated with a small, but statistically significant, increase in overall cancer risk which persisted among non smokers