Oral Health Tips for Smokers

Oral Health Tips for Smokers

* Seek out resources for assistance: www.cancer.org, www.hazelton.org, www.smokefree.gov, www.pointperio.com.
* Schedule an exam with your physician to identify the right smoking cessation program. Inquire about a counseling service, nicotine patch or gum, nasal inhalers and sprays or non-nicotine prescription medications.
* Schedule a professional dental cleaning and oral health checkup. Inform your dentist that you are a smoker and ask to be screened for periodontal disease and other smoking-related conditions.
* Be certain to maintain a proper dental hygiene home program. Smokers have special dental hygiene needs. For example, smokers usually require professional cleaning more often than non-smokers. Treat yourself to a new tongue cleaner, dental floss and mouthwash.
* Initiate a stress reduction program such as an exercise regimen, Pilates or a yoga class.

Smokers’ Challenges & Solutions

The challenge in quitting smoking lies in both the physical and emotional dependency caused by the nicotine in cigarettes. Nicotine is a drug equally addictive to other narcotics. The physical withdrawal from cigarettes may include headaches, nausea, cold sweats, and tremors. The emotional symptoms may include depression, irritability, nervousness, fatigue, and a lack of concentration.

find a local dentistSince withdrawal from smoking can be one of the most difficult challenges to overcome, the healthcare community has developed a wealth of solutions to assist you. There are state-sponsored “quit smoking” hotlines, prescription medications, and over-the-counter drugs designed to help you through the withdrawal period.

There are behavioral modification programs that can be accessed through state sponsored “quit smoking” hotlines. You may have access to one-on-one therapy offered by private psychologists, therapists, counselors or in some cases, through prescription medication companies. In the end, the advantages of quitting are far greater than the risks associated with smoking.

Preventive Dentistry Strategies

Preventive Dentistry Strategies

Preventive oral care strategies for children and adults include a number of in-office and home care activities, including:

At-home oral hygiene.
The most important prevention technique is brushing and flossing at least twice a day (or after every meal) to remove dental plaque, a film-like coating that forms on your teeth. If not removed, plaque can build up and produce dental tartar, a hardened, sticky substance with acid-producing bacteria that cause tooth decay and lead to gum disease.

Fluoride use.
Fluoride strengthens teeth and prevents tooth decay. Fluoride treatments are provided in dental offices, and dentists recommend using fluoride toothpastes and mouth rinses at home. Public water fluoridation – ranked as one of the 20th century's 10 great public health achievements – provides a major source of fluoride.

Diet.
A balanced diet is a dental health essential. Foods with sugars and carbohydrates feed the bacteria that produce dental plaque, while calcium-poor diets increase your chances of developing gum (periodontal) disease and jaw deterioration.

Regular dental visits.
Since most dental conditions are painless at first, if you don't regularly visit your dentist, you may not be aware of dental problems until they cause significant damage. For best results, schedule regular dental check-ups every six months; more often if you're at higher risk for oral diseases. Your dentist should also perform oral cancer screenings to check for signs of abnormal tissues. Especially for children, checking oral growth and development (including an assessment for caries development) should be part of dental evaluations.

Dental cleanings and screenings. A dental cleaning (prophylaxis) is recommended every six months to remove dental plaque and stains you're unable to remove yourself, as well as to check for signs of tooth decay.

X-rays.
X-rays enable dentists to look for signs of dental problems that are not visible to the naked eye, such as cavities between teeth and problems below the gum line.

Mouth guards.
Mouth guards – particularly a custom-made mouth guard prescribed by your dentist to provide a better fit – can be worn during sports activities to protect against broken teeth. Mouth guards also are used to treat teeth grinding (bruxism), which can wear down teeth and contribute to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder.

Orthodontics. A bad bite (malocclusion) can impair eating and speaking, and crooked teeth are hard to keep clean. Correcting an improper bite with orthodontics that may include the use of dental braces or clear teeth aligners (invisible braces), such as Invisalign or Invisalign Teen, limits the possibility of future dental problems.

Sealants. Sealants are thin composite coatings placed on the chewing surfaces of back permanent teeth to protect your child from tooth decay.

Avoid smoking and drinking.
Smoking, chewing tobacco and alcohol consumption can negatively affect your oral health. Apart from dry mouth, tooth discoloration and plaque buildup, smoking causes gum disease, tooth loss and even oral cancer.

Oral health management.
Consistent dental care for chronic dental diseases/conditions is essential for arresting or reversing their harmful effects.

Patient education.
Patients who understand the outcome of poor dental health are likelier to see their dentist for preventive dentistry treatments. Instilling excellent oral hygiene habits significantly helps ensure a lifetime of dental health.Preventive Dentistry Strategies

Dental plaque identification

Dental Plaque Identification at Home

The home dental plaque identification test identifies plaque, a sticky substance that collects around and between teeth. The test helps show how well you are brushing and flossing your teeth.

Plaque is the major cause of tooth decay and gum disease (gingivitis). It is hard to see with the naked eye because it is whitish colored, like teeth.

How the Test is Performed

There are two ways to perform this test. One method uses special tablets that contain a red dye that stains the plaque. One tablet is chewed thoroughly, moving the mixture of saliva and dye over the teeth and gums for about 30 seconds. The mouth is then rinsed with water and the teeth are examined to identify pink-stained areas (unremoved plaque). A small dental mirror may help to check all areas.

The second method uses a plaque light. A special fluorescent solution is swirled around the mouth. The mouth is rinsed gently with water, and the teeth and gums are examined while shining an ultraviolet plaque light into the mouth. The advantage of this method is that it leaves no pink stains in the mouth.

In the office, dentists are often able to detect plaque through a thorough examination with dental instruments.

Normal Results

No plaque or food debris will be seen on the teeth.


What Abnormal Results Mean

The tablets will stain areas of plaque dark-red.

The plaque light solution will color the plaque a brilliant orange-yellow.

The colored areas show where the brushing and flossing have missed. These areas need to be brushed again to get rid of the stained plaque.

Considerations

The tablets may cause a temporary pink coloring of the lips and cheeks. They may color the mouth and tongue red. Dentists suggest using them at night so that the color will be gone by morning.

children problem

The question may be funny enough but not that funny to avoid answering it. As far as our visibility goes, our mouth may contain the teeth and the tongue but there is also the presence of many other things not visible to the naked eye. Diseases affecting the mouth and the throat are very common and it is mainly cavities and cancer that rule the chart. Children between the ages of 12-15 are the main sufferers of cavity. Cavity could cause severe pain, dysfunction, underweight and a very poor look on the face. Due to some of these diseases, some of the children may also tend to absent from school.

Cavity is not a disease that cannot be treated but the children coming from poor families face a tough time. Not just the children but also even the aged face this problem. People over the age of 60 tend to loose almost all their teeth. It not only spoils their look but also limits their intake of some nutritious food. This in turn affects their health.

Mouth and throat cancers is yet another problem. The main cause of this is too much of smoking and alcoholism. People who smoke a lot are prone to deadly diseases like periodontitis. Moreover, due to excessive smoking, medicines fail to show their reaction.

AIDS is a well heard of disease and is also a deadly one. Research says that this disease causes a serious damage to the mouth and the surrounding areas. The lips, tongue, cheeks and the gums are the worst affected by AIDS.

Many of the diseases of the mouth are also caused due to gallstones in the gallbladder and the liver. These stones cause a hindrance to the digestion of the food and the waste materials that are supposed to be eliminated from the body, remains back in the intestinal tract. Gallstones also slow down the secretion of bile, which in turn reduces appetite, and the secretion of saliva from the glands. If there is less saliva in the mouth, it causes a lot of problems. In extreme cases the tooth gets decayed and several other tooth problem also arises. Our mouth is very prone to bacterial and viral diseases and this is caused due to the waste in the mouth that decomposes leading to toxins in the body. The bacteria of the mouth are called the Thrush and the virus is called the Herpes. The weak and unhealthy cells of the body are the main targets of these bacterial and viral diseases.

Sometimes our mouth undergoes a bitter taste. This is caused due to the bile in the mouth, which drastically brings about a change in the pH- value of the saliva, which slows down, in fact destroys its cleansing abilities and leaves the mouth, to be affected by infection

The diseases that affect the mouth may sound deadly but it takes very little to enjoy a refreshing breath and have a broad smile on your face. It's never too late to take care of your mouth.