Five Types of Dental X-rays

Dental x-rays are used much more than just for detecting tooth decay and cavities. Dentists also used them to survey teeth or bone anomalies, diagnose dental disorders, and/or prepare orthodontic treatment. With dental x-rays, dentists can now perform these oral surveys without the need of direct visual exam, making the procedure comfortable and convenient for the patient.

Survey Reveals Native American Children Have More Tooth Decay

In a statement released on May 30, 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics announced that Native American children as well as those born to indigenous populations have more tooth decay and cavities compared to other children. The pediatricians’ group further recommended that doctors and dentists should pay more attention to these kids’ oral health.

Gum Disease is Prevalent among Adults

According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, many adults in the US are suffering from gum diseases.

Conscious Sedation Methods Used by Dentists

Most kids become uneasy when they go to the dentist’s office. Can’t really blame them though with all they’ve heard from friends or seen on TV and movies. Nevertheless, dentists put up with all that anxiousness. After all, it’s their job. So what do they do to keep these kids at ease? Simple, they just do these sedation techniques to keep the kids sit long enough until the procedure is done.

Low-fluoride toothpaste is no better than nonfluoride toothpaste in preventing tooth decay among children

Toothpastes containing less than 1,000 parts per million of fluoride concentrations are as ineffective at preventing tooth decay as toothpastes with no fluoride at all. This finding, published in the Cochrane Database of research group Cochrane Collaboration, is taken from 79 clinical studies involving 73,000 children worldwide.

Tooth Decays in Toddlers and Infants

Tooth decay poses a serious threat for today’s kids. Twenty-eight percent of children aged two to five in the US have tooth decay, this according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The pain interferes with the kids’ eating, playing, sleeping, and other activities. While tooth decay treatments are readily available, the best cure is still prevention.

Muting the dentist’s drill eases the patient’s fear

Much like noise-canceling or noise-reduction headphones in airliners, a new dental technology can block out the shrill sound from the dentist’s instruments, which has been the prime cause of patient phobia and anxiety.
The device, containing a microphone and a chip, shuts out sound from the dental drill through soundwaves that produce interference. The prototype device, invented by clinicians from King’s College London, uses an electronic filtering system that locks onto soundwaves and removes them.

Baby Bottles, Pacifiers, and Thumb-Sucking Can Ruin Your Baby’s Teeth

Babies suck—it’s their natural and physiological reflex. They find comfort in bringing their fingers, pacifiers, or any object within reach inside their mouth. Though it may be a normal aspect of their development, sucking could create a problem for your baby.

Let Your Kids Take Charge of Their Teeth

Each day offers an opportunity for your kid to learn new things. Last week’s lesson was about twisting, licking, and dunking his cookie on a glass of milk. The other day was about making “bunny ear loops” to tie his shoelaces. With so many things that you can teach him, perhaps you could also show him how to take care of his teeth. His young age is ideal for developing his habit of brushing and flossing.

Eating Right to Prevent Tooth Decay

Brushing and flossing are ideally the best steps to protect your kid’s teeth from decay as well as gum disease. But without a well-balanced and healthy diet, brushing and flossing won’t do much.

Regular intake of green tea prevents and cures gum disease, study finds

Green tea has become an increasingly popular beverage being touted in numerous studies as having therapeutic benefits for heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, genital warts and obesity. Green tea’s antioxidant properties are believed to produce anti-inflammatory and wound-healing effects.

Getting to the bottom of sensitive teeth

Dentine hypersensitivity is a sudden, sharp shooting pain in the teeth triggered by hot, cold or acidic foodstuff. Pain is also felt with touch, such as from chewing or tooth-brushing, and with air pressure, such as when one is breathing through the mouth.

Oral bacteria in pregnant mother can infect the unborn fetus

Periodontal disease (gum infection) can spread through the bloodstream and infect the uterus (womb). This could cause low birth weight, premature delivery and infection of the unborn child. A case report published in the Green Journal of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reported fetal death due to infection of oral bacteria, Fusobacterium nucleatum, found in gum disease.

Acupuncture before treatment eases anxiety of dental patients

Patient anxiety or fear of going to the dentist has been one of the predicaments dental practitioners face when providing dental care. One in 20 patients or 5% of patients in the US and Europe have odontophobia, or extreme dental fear, while up to one-third experience some degree of anxiety.

Regular intake of green tea prevents and cures gum disease, study finds

Green tea has become an increasingly popular beverage being touted in numerous studies as having therapeutic benefits for heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, genital warts and obesity. Green tea’s antioxidant properties are believed to produce anti-inflammatory and wound-healing effects.