Waterlase Dental Clinic

16/07/2012

What Causes Dry Mouth?

There are several causes of dry mouth, also called xerostomia. These include:

Side effect of certain medications. Dry mouth is a common side effect of many prescription and nonprescription drugs, including drugs used to treat depression, anxiety, pain, allergies, and colds (antihistamines and decongestants), obesity, acne, epilepsy, hypertension (diuretics), diarrhea, nausea, psychotic disorders, urinary incontinence, asthma (certain bronchodilators), and Parkinson's disease. Dry mouth can also be a side effect of muscle relaxants and sedatives.

Side effect of certain diseases and infections. Dry mouth can be a side effect of medical conditions, including Sjögren's syndrome, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, anemia, cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, Parkinson's disease, stroke, and mumps.

Side effect of certain medical treatments. Damage to the salivary glands, the glands that produce saliva, for example, from radiation to the head and neck and chemotherapy treatments for cancer, can reduce the amount of saliva produced.

Nerve damage . Dry mouth can be a result of nerve damage to the head and neck area from an injury or surgery.

Dehydration . Conditions that lead to dehydration, such as fever, excessive sweating, vomiting, diarrhea, blood loss, and burns can cause dry mouth.

Surgical removal of the salivary glands.

Lifestyle. Smoking or chewing to***co can affect saliva production and aggravate dry mouth. Continuously breathing with your mouth open can also contribute to the problem.

What Are the Symptoms of Dry Mouth?

Common symptoms of dry mouth include:

A sticky, dry feeling in the mouth
Frequent thirst
Sores in the mouth; sores or split skin at the corners of the mouth; cracked lips
A dry feeling in the throat
A burning or tingling sensation in the mouth and especially on the tongue
A dry, red, raw tongue
Problems speaking or difficulty tasting, chewing, and swallowing
Hoarseness, dry nasal passages, sore throat
Bad breath

Why Is Dry Mouth a Problem?

Besides causing the aggravating symptoms mentioned above, dry mouth also increases a person's risk of gingivitis (gum disease), tooth decay, and mouth infections, such as thrush.

Dry mouth can also make it difficult to wear dentures.

How Is Dry Mouth Treated?

If you think your dry mouth is caused by certain medication you are taking, talk to your doctor. He or she may adjust the dose you are taking or switch you to a different drug that doesn't cause dry mouth.

In addition, an oral rinse to restore mouth moisture may be prescribed. If that doesn't help a medication that stimulates saliva production, called Salagen, may be prescribed.

Other steps you can take that may help improve saliva flow include:

Sucking on sugar-free candy or chewing sugar-free gum
Drinking plenty of water to help keep your mouth moist
Protecting your teeth by brushing with a fluoridetoothpaste, using a fluoride rinse, and visiting your dentist regularly
Breathing through your nose, not your mouth, as much as possible
Using a room vaporizer to add moisture to the bedroom air
Using an over-the-counter artificial saliva substitute

13/07/2012

Don't Brush Where You Flush

Most bathrooms are small. And in many homes, the toilet is pretty close to the bathroom sink where you keep your toothbrush.

Every toilet flush sends a spray of bacteria into the air. And you don't want the toilet spray anywhere near your open toothbrush.

"You don't store your plates and glasses by the toilet, so why would you want to place your toothbrush there?" McCombs says. "It's just common sense to store your toothbrush as far away from the toilet as possible."

You also wouldn't eat after going to the bathroom without first washing your hands. The same advice applies before brushing your teeth, McCombs says.

Toothbrush Storage Tips

Once you've moved your toothbrush away from the toilet, here are a few other storage tips to keep your brush as germ-free as possible:

Keep it rinsed. Wash off your toothbrush thoroughly with tap water every time you use it.
Keep it dry. "Bacteria love a moist environment," Harms says. Make sure your brush has a chance to dry thoroughly between brushings. Avoid using toothbrush covers, which can create a moist enclosed breeding ground for bacteria.
Keep it upright. Store your toothbrush upright in a holder, rather than lying it down.
Keep it to yourself. No matter how close you are to your sister, brother, spouse, or roommate, don't ever use their toothbrush. Don't even store your toothbrush side-by-side in the same cup with other people's brushes. Whenever toothbrushes touch, they can swap germs.

09/07/2012

For children, summer means school is over and it is time for the fun to begin, while parents often think of it as a time they have to find activities to keep their kids busy all summer long. Many of the activities kids start enjoying over the summer can often put their growing teeth in danger, such as: football, soccer, baseball, tennis, gymnastics, swimming, diving, skateboarding, bike riding and many others. In all of these activities the teeth are at risk of getting cracked, chipped or even worse—totally knocked out. In fact a recent study showed that an athlete is 60 times more likely to have an injury or trauma to the teeth if they are not using protective mouth guard while engaging in activities where tooth or mouth injuries are a risk. The best way to prevent these injuries is by getting a protective mouth guard.

Protective mouth guards, or teeth guards as they are sometimes called, can be purchased from your child's dentist. These mouth guards not only protect the teeth from being chipped, broken or dislodged, they also help protect the jaw in the event of any type of collision. There are several types of mouth guards you can purchase for your child; two of which are available over the counter and one you must visit a dentist for.

Stock mouth guards are the most inexpensive type of mouth guard that can be bought in most sporting goods stores and departments. While they do protect the teeth somewhat, they often do not fit properly and fall out often, causing them to be annoying to wear. The boil and bite style mouth guards can also be purchased in most stores and can be molded to the mouth while warm then they keep their shape. While they do fit better than the stock type, they aren't very long lasting and can irritate the gums.

The last type of mouth guard is the custom fit mouth guard which can be obtained from your child's dentist. This type offers the most reliable way for your children to protect their teeth during all those summer activities. It will take a few visits for the mouth guards to be fitted and made but the end product is long-lasting, fits perfect in the mouth and is comfortable to wear, which will make it more likely your child will wear it and develop a habit of protecting their teeth as they grow older.

07/07/2012

You need to take good care of your teeth especially during summer time!

High summer temperatures, bacterial growth accelerated, with a small mouth can be spared, it is easy to breed bacteria as food in summer, if not brush your teeth after eating food will result in residues in food fermentation in the oral cavity, a further reproduction of bacteria "hotbed", triggering a variety of oral soft tissue inflammation.

Summer, with the most common wisdom teeth pericoronitis, the patient will appear wisdom surrounding soft tissue inflammation, with swelling, heat pain, mouth not open, eating difficulties and other symptoms, can lead to severe jaw swollen lymph nodes, fever and even . The inflammatory symptoms are similar to traditional Chinese medicine called "toothache, Wind & Fire", is complicated by complex acute inflammation, it is generally painkillers, antibiotics do not easily and rapidly effective.

In addition, the summer there are common dental decay toothache, the summer people like to eat cold drinks and ice cream, a strong cold stimulus will lead to more severe pain, dental caries, and thus lead to pulp disease, periapical disease, jaw inflammation and a series of complications, and even affect the general health, dental crowd so there should pay attention to not drink cold drinks in the summer.

Now people also like to draft in the summer, cooked the fish and the spicy hot pot, and while eating hot pot, while beer on ice, ice cream, regarded as "fashionable", realize that such hot and cold stimuli, it is easy to teeth premature aging. After the summer fashion, many people feel the teeth lacked the strength to bite a few days, it is too hot and cold stimulation by the teeth, leading to pulp allergies. Tooth was originally an enclosed space, the internal dentin below the enamel tooth nerve attached, if the external stimulus to the tooth surface enamel by erosion brittle, and will naturally be affected by hypersensitivity to the inside of the nerve stimulation will often pulp allergies and even pain.

In addition, the summer is still prone to bleeding gums, a lot of people think that only "lit", drink some herbal tea just fine. In fact caused by many reasons for bleeding gums, "lit" just by chance because, in fact, bleeding gums most likely cause is periodontitis.

As a result of oral hygiene habits and genetic environment is too acid for oral health reasons, the mouth is not time to clean food debris, excessive accumulation of bacteria on the teeth and the teeth, the formation of tartar, and then the gradual accumulation of plaque calcification, the formation of the stubborn tartar. Brushing action can not be due to the general removal of dental calculus. Therefore, destruction of dental calculus, periodontal tissues as bacteria multiply base of carriers and to produce many toxic factors, causing red, swollen gums, bleeding, continued destruction of periodontal tissue, resulting in the absorption of alveolar bone supporting the teeth damage, eventually leading to tooth loosening and shedding.

As the long summer holidays, students, excessive eating, rest did not rule, stay foaming, excessive alcohol and other bad habits, can cause mouth ulcers, therefore, oral ulcers are more common in summer (especially youth groups) in the mouth diseases.

06/07/2012

Benefits of Waterlase Dental Treatment

Accuracy & Precision

WaterLase® dentists are able to remove tooth enamel decay (the hardest substance in the body), bone and gum tissue precisely while leaving surrounding areas unaffected. This conserves and allows you to keep more of the healthy tooth structure.

Reduced Trauma

High speed drills can cause hairline cracks and fractures in the teeth that eventually lead to future dental problems. WaterLase® reduces damage to healthy portions of the tooth and minimizes trauma.

Improved Cavity Fillings

WaterLase® cavity preparations can increase bond strength of tooth-colored restoration resulting in longer lasting fillings.

Less Bleeding & Swelling

Due to its conservative, gentle cutting action and coagulating capabilities, the WaterLase® performs many soft tissue (gum) procedures with little or no bleeding and less post-op swelling.

Fewer Dental Visits

Since you often do not need shots or anesthesia, a WaterLase® dentist can perform cavity preps in all areas of the mouth in just one visit. This technology also gives trained WaterLase® dentists the ability to painlessly perform many procedures that were previously referred to specialists.

Versatility

The WaterLase® is extremely versatile. It can be used for a wide range of hard and soft tissue procedures. From decay removal, cavity preparation, root canals, smile design, gum and bone surgical procedures and many others.

*Discomfort is based on individual sensitivity to pain, and other factors, so not all patients can be treated painlessly without anesthetic. However, dentists using WaterLase to perform typical cavity preparations report not using anesthetic in the majority of cases.

05/07/2012

Dental Treatment Not Scary at ALL!!

More Comfortable Waterlase Dentistry uses laser energy and a gentle spray of water to perform a wide range of dental procedures without the heat, vibration a...

29/06/2012

Apples A Great Fall Treat, But Be Careful!!

Apples are among fall's most delicious benefits. And while an apple is a better snack than a candy bar, new studies show that apples merit some special consideration for your teeth.

apples generate some issues as well. Like most fruit, they
are acidic. Apples are about as acidic as apricots and, believe
it or not, oranges. No surprise, lemons and limes are more
acidic and bananas are less so. That makes a glass of water
after an apple is a good idea. And if you want to brush your
teeth after an apple, experts suggest waiting about 30 minutes
to do so.

26/06/2012

Help your young child brush at bedtime!!

He or she should get in the habit of brushing twice a day, but night is most important due to lower salivary flow!

18/06/2012

Start teaching your babies good dental habits when they are infants! The best time for a child's first dentist is six months after the child's first teeth erupt.
Even infant's teeth can develop cavities!!!! 0_0

11/06/2012

Enjoy your Brushing time with your favorite song on I-pod!

As I posted before, it's recommended to brush your teeth at least 2-3 minutes, twice a day! With a melody from a radio or an I-pod, when the song is done?! So are you!

Enjoy your BRUSHING ^_________^

08/06/2012

Floss! Floss! Floss!

Floss your teeth every day! It's the most important action you can take to prevent gum disease, an ailment afflicting more than half of adults!

02/06/2012

A bright healthy smile?!
The perfect summer accessory!!!!

Summer is coming and everyone wants to look their best!
If you're considering a brighter smile as part of your summer look, then why don't you consider getting a whitening process??

Now is the perfect timing for this!