Bad Breath – What are the Natural Treatments? Having bad breath is a common complaint that afflicts many people. It is caused by the presence of bacteria in the oral cavity. Bacterial growth can occur due to many reasons, and in many places that may cause a foul odor to emanate from your mouth. Usually the most common reason is infrequent brushing leading to bacterial decomposition of leftover food particles in your mouth and in between your teeth.

Also, certain kinds of food like garlic and onion tend to make your mouth smell as they themselves have strong odors. The disintegrating food particles may cause foul odors to emanate from your mouth, from the skin of your tongue, the gaps in your teeth from under the gums. Bad breath is caused by a variety of factors, the primary one being the breakdown of proteins from food particles in the mouth by bacteria. Certain kinds of food and drink are also responsible as they have strong smells as well, like onions, cheese, tobacco, and garlic.

Bad breath may also be caused by throat infections, dental decay, worms in the intestinal tract, constipation, gum diseases, gastritis, and accumulation of food between the teeth. In short, any sort of bacterial build up in the gastrointestinal tract can lead to bad breath.

Answer: I want to whiten my teeth but without going to a dentist, parents won’t pay for me to get my teeth whiten. Answer: I can understand parents not wanting to spend extra money on whiten treatment. Here are a few suggestions, but make sure you run them by your parents first before trying any of them.

1) See if your parents would be willing to have you brush with toothpaste with whiten. That is normally not any more expensive then toothpaste without whiten
2) See if your parents would be willing to spend around 45.00 to 60.00 for over the counter whiten strips.
3) Keep in mind if you really want white teeth avoid staining them in the first place.
4) Do not smoke or chew
5) Drink staining drinks (coffee, soda, tea etc.) though straws.
6) Brush after eating whenever possible. When you can not brush right after try chewing whiten gum.
7) There is also mouthwash with whiten you can use that is over the counter as well.
8) Finally as my mom would say, start saving your pennies for when you can afford to have your teeth whiten by a dentist and are able to pay for it yourself.

Question: I brush my teeth with a hard bristle brush so that I get my teeth clean but then when I do my gums bleed. I brush hard because I tend to have bad breath and I want to make sure that my breath dose not stink. What can I do to have healthy teeth and gums?  

Answer: You may be brushing too hard. Changing to a soft bristle may help you. You also may want to look into getting products that have gum care included. You can find this in tooth paste as well as mouth wash.

Question: I thinking about buying a dental discount plan just wanting to have a better understanding on how they work.

Answer: Most individual dental insurance plans require you to satisfy waiting periods and deductibles before having major and sometimes even minor restorative work done. Discount dental plans help make maintaining good oral health a lot more affordable. And, with no waiting periods or complicated coverage procedures, dental discount plans are about as simple as you can get.

How do discount dental plans work? As we become aware about our oral health, there has been a demand for affordable dental care. Discount dental plans are the newest option for those without coverage. These dental discount plans are much cheaper than traditional dental insurance, and also offer almost equal coverage for all dental work, even cosmetic procedures not covered by standard indemnity dental plans.

The catch is that dental discount plans are not really insurance at all. They work more like club memberships, where the cost of membership (your “premium”) earns a steep discount on any club service (dental work) you buy. The discount normally applies to all dental office services performed by an approved “plan” dentist, but no procedure is covered completely

Question: I never been to the dentist. My mom says they will hurt me if they did a cleaning. I feel I should go to the dentist but I do not want to be hurt by one and my mom dose not seem to want to take me to one.

Answer: Normally it dose not hurt just to have a basic cleaning done. Since you never had a cleaning done by a dentist before it may hurt you a little. Yet what the bigger issue is that by not going to the dentist you may need more then just a general cleaning.

Whats the Best Dental Insurance or a Dental Discount Plan

Question: Currently looking for either a dental insurance or dental discount plan. I am not picky but would like to get the better of the plan option. I have not been to the dentist in over three years so it time to a least get a check up.

Answer: In a prior post on December 1st 2014 “Dental Plan or Dental Insurance we addressed some of the basic differences. However no one plan is better then the other.

Meaning what is best really depends on your own current dental needs. I suggest calling our member services line at 310-534-3444. They will be able to go over your current dental needs and help you choose the best plan type for your needs.

Is there dental insurance available for braces?

Question: Thinking about getting braces to correct my teeth, but would like to have some dental insurance to help with the cost. Is there any plans that can help me with this?

Answer: Yes you can get dental insurance and dental discount plans. With respect to dental insurance make sure the plan you want to get covers not only braces but braces for an adult if you are over the age of 19. In regards to dental discount plans age is not a factor and in general the average discounted saving is around 20% off.

Question: Will a orthodontist know if I have TMJ? I think a may have TMJ but not sure.

Answer: Yes, a orthodontist will know if you have a TMJ issues and be able to treat you for it if you do. If you feel you have a TMJ issue speak to your dentist so that he/she can confirm if you do or do not have TMJ and what is needed to treat any dental care needs you may have

Question: I do chew daily, I am wanting to stop but until I do if I brush often will that help prevent dental health issues?

Answer: The side effects of chewing tobacco are numerous, but since we are talking about your teeth here are the side effects related to just your mouth.

1) Stained teeth
2) Bad breath
3) Sores on the gums and in the mouth that are stubborn to heal
4) Some of the effects on dental health are escalated by the sugar that is added to the tobacco during processing to improve the taste.
5) Risk of developing oral cancer

It is a good idea to stop chewing as soon as possible brushing your teeth is important but when chewing you are still increasing your risks for dental health issues.

Question: Thinking about getting braces just wondering if Invisaligns really work and are they more costly then the basic metal braces?

Answer: Yes Invisaligns work for many issue just as well as using metal braces. They do cost more then metal braces. So make sure if you have dental insurance they they cover them. Many dental Insurance will not cover invisaligns. You may want to look into a dental discount plan if your insurance dose not cover. A discount plan will normally save you at least 20% off the cost of invisalings.

Question: I want to whiten my teeth but without going to a dentist, parents won’t pay for me to get my teeth whiten.

Answer: I can understand parents not wanting to spend extra money on whiten treatment. Here are a few suggestions, but make sure you run them by your parents first before trying any of them.

1) See if your parents would be willing to have you brush with toothpaste with whiten. That is normally not any more expensive then toothpaste without whiten
2) See if your parents would be willing to spend around 45.00 to 60.00 for over the counter whiten strips.
3) Keep in mind if you really want white teeth avoid staining them in the first place.
4) Do not smoke or chew
5) Drink staining drinks (coffee, soda, tea etc.) though straws.
6) Brush after eating whenever possible. When you can not brush right after try chewing whiten gum.
7) There is also mouthwash with whiten you can use that is over the counter as well.
8) Finally as my mom would say, start saving your pennies for when you can afford to have your teeth whiten by a dentist and are able to pay for it yourself.

Question: I brush my teeth with a hard bristle brush so that I get my teeth clean but then when I do my gums bleed. I brush hard because I tend to have bad breath and I want to make sure that my breath dose not stink. What can I do to have healthy teeth and gums?

Answer: You may be brushing too hard. Changing to a soft bristle may help you. You also may want to look into getting products that have gum care included. You can find this in tooth paste as well as mouth wash. As for your bad breath. It could be caused by the foods you are eating. Some foods will just cause you to have bad breath even though you are brushing and taking good care of your teeth.

Try looking into that and see if that makes sense for you Also I would suggest talking to your dentist about your dental care habits. Your dental can go over them with you to make sure you are taking proper care of your dental health. They can also check to see if there are any dental issues (such as tooth decay) going on that is causing you to have bad breath.

Question: I thinking about buying a dental discount plan just wanting to have a better understanding on how they work.

Answer: Most individual dental insurance plans require you to satisfy waiting periods and deductibles before having major and sometimes even minor restorative work done. Discount dental plans help make maintaining good oral health a lot more affordable. And, with no waiting periods or complicated coverage procedures, dental discount plans are about as simple as you can get.

How do discount dental plans work? As we become aware about our oral health, there has been a demand for affordable dental care. Discount dental plans are the newest option for those without coverage. These dental discount plans are much cheaper than traditional dental insurance, and also offer almost equal coverage for all dental work, even cosmetic procedures not covered by standard indemnity dental plans. The catch is that dental discount plans are not really insurance at all. They work more like club memberships, where the cost of membership (your “premium”) earns a steep discount on any club service (dental work) you buy. The discount normally applies to all dental office services performed by an approved “plan” dentist, but no procedure is covered completely

Question: I would like to know does it hurt to get a root canal?

Answer: Your dentist will make it so that while he/she is doing the root canal you have little or no pain. Your dentist does not want to hurt you. They will advise you to let them know if do feel any pain so they can numb the area more to stop any pain you may be having. Do not be scared about this process they will make it as easy a possible for you.

Question: I never been to the dentist. My mom says they will hurt me if they did a cleaning. I feel I should go to the dentist but I do not want to be hurt by one and my mom dose not seem to want to take me to one.

Answer: Normally it dose not hurt just to have a basic cleaning done. Since you never had a cleaning done by a dentist before it may hurt you a little. Yet what the bigger issue is that by not going to the dentist you may need more then just a general cleaning.  

Should you go to a dentist? Yes. However, maybe there other factors that your mom must deal with that makes it so that she can not for whatever reason take you to a dentist. With that being said you can either wait until you are 18 and pay for the dentist yourself, and in the mean time take extra care of your brushing and dental hygiene. Or you may want to speak to your mom one more time. Explain to her that you would really like to be able to go to the dentist. However try to understand if she still will not take you. You are not in her shoes to know her full reasons.

I want to avoid scams

The concept  of having to have your wisdom teeth removed is not clear to me.  Do you always have to have them removed?  I just started to have my bottom wisdom teeth come out but they seem fine to me.  They do not hurt me and as far as I can tell are coming out straight.

So why remove them just because?  My dentist said they can start to cause problems but if they are not causing problems now why take them out.   As you can see I do not what to have any extractions.  One because of the cost and two if it is not necessary I do not see the point.

Question: Thinking about getting braces to correct my teeth, but would like to have some dental insurance to help with the cost. Is there any plans that can help me with this?   

Answer: Yes you can get dental insurance and dental discount plans. With respect to dental insurance make sure the plan you want to get covers not only braces but braces for an adult if you are over the age of 19. In regards to dental discount plans age is not a factor and in general the average discounted saving is around 20% off.

Question: Will a orthodontist know if I have TMJ? I think a may have TMJ but not sure.

Answer: Yes, a orthodontist will know if you have a TMJ issues and be able to treat you for it if you do. If you feel you have a TMJ issue speak to your dentist so that he/she can confirm if you do or do not have TMJ and what is needed to treat any dental care needs you may have.

Question: I do chew daily, I am wanting to stop but until I do if I brush often will that help prevent dental health issues?

Answer: The side effects of chewing tobacco are numerous, but since we are talking about your teeth here are the side effects related to just your mouth.

1) Stained teeth
2) Bad breath
3) Sores on the gums and in the mouth that are stubborn to heal
4) Some of the effects on dental health are escalated by the sugar that is added to the tobacco during processing to improve the taste.
5) Risk of developing oral cancer
It is a good idea to stop chewing as soon as possible brushing your teeth is important but when chewing you are still increasing your risks for dental health issues.