Saturday, June 26, 2010
Why take good care of your teeth?
Today there is a wide range of toothpastes created to meet a variety of needs. Example, you can find tartar control toothpastes, or those that cater to the little ones' needs. Make sure that fluoride is present in your toothpaste as it fights cavities. Ask your dentist about the formula that's best for you and your family. You will gain a deeper understanding about smile makeover by checking out that resource. When it comes to toothbrushes, choose the right one. To get the most out of brushing, choose a toothbrush with the correct size, shape and bristle type. It is wise to grab a toothbrush which fits so well in your hand and is also easy to be controlled. Replacing your toothbrush after four months of use is the way to go. Your gums will suffer and your teeth won't be cleansed if you brush using a toothbrush with worn, split, uneven or toothpaste clogged bristles, so change it. Replacing your toothbrush after coming from an illness should be a good way to prevent being infected once more. Brush properly every day and properly brushing is as important as brushing often. With a 45 angle to the gum line, scrub your teeth back and forth covering one to two at a time, using mild, short strokes. Next, make sure that all the surfaces of the teeth along with the inside, outside and ones used for chewing. Also brush your tongue so that you can avoid bad breath. You will gain a deeper understanding about smile dentist by checking out that resource. Flossing alone can eliminate plaque and the food bits in those hard to reach areas. Wrapping it around each hand's middle finger, make sure that you still have at least a couple of inches before getting to work on it. Next, gently ease the floss at the spaces right between your teeth and also in the area under the gums. Scraping the sides of the tooth should be done in a very gentle manner, and do this while pulling away the floss from your gums. Rinsing teeth provides added protection. Using a daily dose of tartar control or fluoride gargle, one can be assured protection especially in between teeth and round braces, the places that are very hard to reach. Trapped food particles are loosened with the swishing action. Since young children, periodontal surgery patients and adults with receding gums are especially prone to cavity, they must use a fluoride rinse. One can be able to limit the growth of tartar around teeth if he gargles with tartar control rinse regularly. Bacteria in plaque is able to thrive due to tartar, the cement like substance around the teeth that also attracts stains. Eating right is the only way to achieve good body, mouth and teeth health. It is recommended to limit the frequency of your snacking, especially your intake would be comprised mostly of food which have high sugar and starch content like breads, cookies or even cakes. Beware of keeping foods in your mouth for prolonged periods as this is the major cause of acids from plaque which attack the enamel of your teeth. Make sure you do not take mints, cough drops, mints and things you suck too often. When you do eat foods high in sugar or starch, try to eat them with your meals, rather than as snacks. In order to flush out food from the mouth and neutralize acid build up, eating time has to double the production of saliva. Flossing and brushing after meals is a great way to go. Upon finishing a meal and you cannot brush immediately, chewing sugarless gum would be a good idea. Food residues can be cleared and acid is neutralized with chewing gum that stimulated saliva flow.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Attention All Mouth Breathers - 5 Important Reasons Why You Must Breathe Through Your Nose
If you're a chronic mouth breather because of a stuffy nose, you're not alone. As the weather chills and allergies and colds abound, and nasal congestion becomes a common trend, mouth breathing inevitably follows-especially when you're sleeping. I'm sure you've seen many passengers asleep on the subways and trains, head and pitched back, mouth wide open, and snoring louder than a diesel engine. Mouth breathing can surely ruin your social image, but that's nothing compared to the havoc it can wreak on your health.
5 Potent Benefits of Breathing through Your nose
One of the most important reasons to breathe through your nose is because of a gas called nitric oxide that's made by your nose and sinus mucous membranes. This gas is produced in small amounts, but when inhaled into the lungs, it significantly enhances your lung's capacity to absorb oxygen, increasing oxygen absorption in your lungs by 10-25%. Nitric oxide also can kill bacteria, viruses and other germs. This is why you often hear fitness and yoga instructors emphasize inhaling and exhaling through your nose during workouts.
Also, if you can't breathe well through your nose, your sense of smell will suffer and therefore your sense of taste, since your smell and taste buds are connected. This can lead to disturbances in your appetite and satiation levels, wreaking havoc on those struggling with weight issues.
Your nose also has vital nervous system connections to your lungs and heart. Not breathing well through your nose can alter your heart rate and blood pressure, as well as increase your stress responses.
Your nose makes about 2 pints of mucous every day. If your nose isn't working properly and mucous isn't cleared, the stagnant mucous can lead to infections such as sinusitis or ear infections, not to mention bad breath.
Lastly, not breathing well through your nose can aggravate snoring or obstructive sleep apnea. Nasal congestion alone doesn't cause obstructive sleep apnea, but it can definitely aggravate it. If your palate and tongue structures are predisposed to falling back easily due to sleeping on your back and muscle relaxation in deep sleep, then having a stuffy nose can aggravate further collapse downstream. Untreated obstructive sleep apnea can lead to chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety, weight gain, high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attack and stroke.
Knowing all these benefits of breathing through your nose, however, doesn't help much if you don't know why you're not able to do so. To stop mouth breathing, the first thing you must do is to figure out what's blocking up your nose.
What Can Stop Up Your Nose
Nasal congestion is something everyone experiences now and again. Yet, if you're trying to prevent this from happening it's important to explore the various reasons behind why and when this occurs.
Here are five of the most common reasons for a stuffy nose:
"I Have a Deviated Septum"
By definition everyone has a slightly crooked (deviated) nasal septum. There are various reasons for having a deviated septum, including trauma, but the most common reason is no reason at all. It's just the way your nose developed. What's more important than how deviated your septum is is what's happening in front of an around your septum.
Wings in Your Nose
Turbinates are wing-like structures that attach to the sidewalls of the nasal cavity, opposite the midline nasal septum. They normally smooth, warm, humidify, and filter the air that you breathe, but they also become enlarged and produce mucous when inflamed. Turbinates also swell and shrink alternating from side to side, which is a normal neurologic process called the nasal cycle.
Is It An Infection or Allergies?
If you have allergies, a cold or any kind of infection, then your turbinates will swell up, clogging your nose with lots of mucous production. Contrary to popular belief, the color of the mucous has no relation to bacterial vs. viral infections.
Flimsy Nostrils
Once you have inflammation and swelling inside your nose, for some people, depending on the configuration of your nose, your nostrils can literally cave in as you inhale. Different noses have differently shaped nostrils with various nostril thicknesses. The more narrow your nose, the more likely your nostrils can cave in. People who undergo cosmetic rhinoplasty are more at risk years later, since narrowing the nose can weaken the support structures of the nose.
A Nervous Nose?
Some people's noses are extra sensitive, especially to weather changes, like temperature, humidity, and pressure changes. Certain chemicals, scents and odors can set off a reaction as well. Many people mistakenly think this reaction is an allergy, but it's really your nasal nervous system over-reacting to the weather or to odors. One of the most common reasons is from poor quality sleep, which causes a low-grade stress response, which can heighten your senses.
It's All Under Your Nose
A chronically stuffy nose doesn't happen by itself. Usually it's part of a bigger picture, where the entire upper and lower jaws are more narrow and constricted, in addition to more narrow nasal cavities. I've described this process in my book, Sleep Interrupted, where due to modern human's eating soft, mushy, processed foods, our jaws are much more narrow than normal, with dental crowding. Bottle-feeding, which is another modern, Western phenomenon, is also thought to aggravate this problem.
If you have a stuffy nose, it can also aggravate soft palate and tongue collapse when in deep sleep, due to muscle relaxation. With more obstruction, more stomach juices are suctioned up into the throat and nose, causing more swelling and more nasal congestion. All this from smaller and more narrow jaws.
5 Potent Benefits of Breathing through Your nose
One of the most important reasons to breathe through your nose is because of a gas called nitric oxide that's made by your nose and sinus mucous membranes. This gas is produced in small amounts, but when inhaled into the lungs, it significantly enhances your lung's capacity to absorb oxygen, increasing oxygen absorption in your lungs by 10-25%. Nitric oxide also can kill bacteria, viruses and other germs. This is why you often hear fitness and yoga instructors emphasize inhaling and exhaling through your nose during workouts.
Also, if you can't breathe well through your nose, your sense of smell will suffer and therefore your sense of taste, since your smell and taste buds are connected. This can lead to disturbances in your appetite and satiation levels, wreaking havoc on those struggling with weight issues.
Your nose also has vital nervous system connections to your lungs and heart. Not breathing well through your nose can alter your heart rate and blood pressure, as well as increase your stress responses.
Your nose makes about 2 pints of mucous every day. If your nose isn't working properly and mucous isn't cleared, the stagnant mucous can lead to infections such as sinusitis or ear infections, not to mention bad breath.
Lastly, not breathing well through your nose can aggravate snoring or obstructive sleep apnea. Nasal congestion alone doesn't cause obstructive sleep apnea, but it can definitely aggravate it. If your palate and tongue structures are predisposed to falling back easily due to sleeping on your back and muscle relaxation in deep sleep, then having a stuffy nose can aggravate further collapse downstream. Untreated obstructive sleep apnea can lead to chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety, weight gain, high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attack and stroke.
Knowing all these benefits of breathing through your nose, however, doesn't help much if you don't know why you're not able to do so. To stop mouth breathing, the first thing you must do is to figure out what's blocking up your nose.
What Can Stop Up Your Nose
Nasal congestion is something everyone experiences now and again. Yet, if you're trying to prevent this from happening it's important to explore the various reasons behind why and when this occurs.
Here are five of the most common reasons for a stuffy nose:
"I Have a Deviated Septum"
By definition everyone has a slightly crooked (deviated) nasal septum. There are various reasons for having a deviated septum, including trauma, but the most common reason is no reason at all. It's just the way your nose developed. What's more important than how deviated your septum is is what's happening in front of an around your septum.
Wings in Your Nose
Turbinates are wing-like structures that attach to the sidewalls of the nasal cavity, opposite the midline nasal septum. They normally smooth, warm, humidify, and filter the air that you breathe, but they also become enlarged and produce mucous when inflamed. Turbinates also swell and shrink alternating from side to side, which is a normal neurologic process called the nasal cycle.
Is It An Infection or Allergies?
If you have allergies, a cold or any kind of infection, then your turbinates will swell up, clogging your nose with lots of mucous production. Contrary to popular belief, the color of the mucous has no relation to bacterial vs. viral infections.
Flimsy Nostrils
Once you have inflammation and swelling inside your nose, for some people, depending on the configuration of your nose, your nostrils can literally cave in as you inhale. Different noses have differently shaped nostrils with various nostril thicknesses. The more narrow your nose, the more likely your nostrils can cave in. People who undergo cosmetic rhinoplasty are more at risk years later, since narrowing the nose can weaken the support structures of the nose.
A Nervous Nose?
Some people's noses are extra sensitive, especially to weather changes, like temperature, humidity, and pressure changes. Certain chemicals, scents and odors can set off a reaction as well. Many people mistakenly think this reaction is an allergy, but it's really your nasal nervous system over-reacting to the weather or to odors. One of the most common reasons is from poor quality sleep, which causes a low-grade stress response, which can heighten your senses.
It's All Under Your Nose
A chronically stuffy nose doesn't happen by itself. Usually it's part of a bigger picture, where the entire upper and lower jaws are more narrow and constricted, in addition to more narrow nasal cavities. I've described this process in my book, Sleep Interrupted, where due to modern human's eating soft, mushy, processed foods, our jaws are much more narrow than normal, with dental crowding. Bottle-feeding, which is another modern, Western phenomenon, is also thought to aggravate this problem.
If you have a stuffy nose, it can also aggravate soft palate and tongue collapse when in deep sleep, due to muscle relaxation. With more obstruction, more stomach juices are suctioned up into the throat and nose, causing more swelling and more nasal congestion. All this from smaller and more narrow jaws.
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