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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.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

How To Cure Bad Breath

From casual conversations to important business meetings those of us who suffer from bad breath are faced with an embarrassing and quite literally distasteful condition. There is nothing quite like the feeling of panic when during a conversation you suddenly become aware that the other person can smell your bad breath. It can effect every part of a suffer's life. And some times the anticipation of the other person smelling your foul breath leads you to avoid situations you would otherwise enjoy and even excel in.

The Right Cure For Bad Breath

It is important to realize that there are several distinct causes of bad breath and that there are correspondingly different treatments for the different causes. Simply sucking a mint will not cure the fundamental, underlying problem. When you are looking for a cure for bad breath, you will have to examine the cause of the bad breath in order to treat it effectively. Bad breath is a common condition that affects one in four people and it is good to know that there is a cure and bad breath can be treated effectively.

Oral bacteria, foods, smoking, dentures, and dry mouth are the main causes of bad breath. Each cause of bad breath can cause either long term or short-term bad breath. However there is a cure for each of the causes of bad breath. And nobody needs to suffer as either the cause or the recipient of the problem of bad breath.

Oral Bacteria

The number one cause of bad breath is oral bacteria in the mouth, teeth and gums. This bad breath can be controlled, and even completely eliminated by regular brushing and flossing of your teeth. You should also brush or scrap your tongue. The oral bacteria that live in your mouth uses the tongue as one of their favorite hiding spots. When brushing and flossing you must dislodge food particles and plaque from your teeth so that bacteria will not thrive in your mouth. By getting into a regular routine of brushing and flossing, you can control the growth of bacteria and remove the problem of bad breath for ever.

If you suffer from chronic bad breath, medically called halitosis, then you must consult with a doctor to find a stronger, more permanent, treatment to cure your bad breath.

Food Caused Bad Breath

We all know that some foods, such as onions and garlic, can cause short-term bad breath. That is why you have to be very careful what you order when out on a dinner date, or even a business lunch. However while you can eat a sprig of parsley, cloves, fennel seeds or peppermint to mask the odour, the smell of strong foods cannot be eliminated because it originates in your intestinal tract. While you can try to mask the smell you run the risk of overpowering your breath with both mint and garlic. The only solution to food caused bad breath is to wait for the odor to leave your body naturally.

Bad Breath Caused By Smoking

The smell of tobacco and cigarette smoke is very hard to shift from your mouth, and your clothes. For those who don't smoke, and more importantly for those who have given up smoking, the smell of cigarettes from a person's breath can be quite distasteful. No amount of brushing, mouthwash or breath sprays will work, because these simply mask the smell temporarily as you will always have another cigarette. No only dose smoking leave the smell of tobacco and stale smoke in your mouth, but it also leaves your gums and teeth prone to gum disease which in and of itself will cause bad breath. If you smoke you will have bad breath, if you want fresh breath you will have to give up smoking.

Dentures And Bad Breath

Dentures that are not cleaned regularly can cause bad breath. Food particles can be caught in your dentures and unless they are washed regularly the food particles will help promote the growth of oral bacteria in your mouth causing bad breath. Always clean your dentures as recommended by your dentist.

Dry Mouth Caused Bad Breath

Dry mouth is a condition that can cause both short-term and long term bad breath. Moisture in the mouth helps to clean the tissues of excess food particles. However if the mouth is too dry, these food particles will not be washed away and bacteria will multiply. You should drink eight glasses of water water and juices each day to keep up the moisture levels in your mouth flush out the oral bacteria that causes bad breath. Don't forget to brush and floss regularly.

To effective the cure your bad breath must match the cause of the problem. Once you have found the cure for your particular condition you will feel like a great weight has lifted from your shoulders and you will conduct your interactions with other people, from casual conversations to important business meetings, with a new found confidence, knowing that your breath is fresh and sweet.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Bad Breath Home Remedies

Bad breath is mostly caused by odour forming bacteria in the mouth, and these bacteria are present in large quantities in the sticky film of plaque that coats our teeth. These bacteria are mainly long, filamentous types that mesh together to form a tangle of bacteria within their own foodstuff, the residues of our food mixed with saliva. Among the substances produced by these bacteria are sulphur compounds that are unpleasant smelling. Bacteria can also live in large numbers on the tongue and contribute in a similar way to bad breath.

This scenario of a constant build up of bacteria in plaque can be overlaid by other factors that can cause bad breath, such as: gum disease, dental decay, accumulation of bits of food between teeth, throat infection, sinus infection, post-nasal drip, stomach infection, and eating certain foods like garlic, onions or strong cheeses.

The most important home remedy for bad breath is proper and careful cleaning of one's teeth, twice a day, for each and every day. Thorough removal of all the plaque on the teeth twice a day helps to keep bacterial numbers down to a level where they cannot produce enough unpleasant smells to be a nuisance. The body's saliva production helps too by fighting bacteria in the mouth, so it's a good idea to drink plenty of water during the day to keep the mouth moist. Too much alcohol and some medical conditions can have the effect of drying out the mouth allowing unfriendly bacteria to flourish and cause bad breath. Thorough cleaning of the teeth requires special attention to be given when brushing to the base of the teeth right next to the gum, as this is an area that's easy to miss. The spaces between your teeth need to be cleaned out daily too, and for that you will probably need to use dental floss. If you don't know how to use this then your dentist can show you.

Simple home remedies that help freshen breath are:

· Chewing parsley or mint leaves
· Gargling with baking soda dissolved in warm water.
· Brushing the back of the tongue and then cleaning the brush with antiseptic.
· After meals chewing some sunflower seeds and then drinking a glass of water.
· Chewing sugar-free gum, as it helps remove food particles in the mouth and sweetens the breath.
· Eating natural or Greek yoghurt, as it helps to establish "friendly" bacteria.
· Drinking pineapple juice has an immediate swamping effect on a foul mouth
· Eating apples daily helps to clean teeth and remove plaque.
· Using a mouthwash containing zinc, or eating foods rich in zinc, help combat anaerobic bacteria which are often responsible for the worst smells.
· Using a mouthwash of diluted hydrogen peroxide also helps kill anaerobic bacteria.
· Drinking tea made from fenugreek can be helpful. The tea is made by simmering a teaspoon of the seeds in half a litre of water for fifteen minutes and then straining before drinking.
· The use of a water-pik is helpful for many, particularly those who find flossing difficult to master. A water-pik is a device that pulses a jet of water between the teeth and helps flush out food debris. It is also good for cleaning around and under fixed bridgework, which can otherwise be difficult to clean.

The best way to avoid bad breath is to clean your teeth thoroughly on a regular basis and keep off foods that you know to cause problems.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Bad Breath Home Remedies That Are Effective

Effective Bad Breath Home remedies

When your breath has a bad odor others tend to avoid you. Having Bad Breath can adversely affect your personal life as well as your professional life. If people are afraid to approach you for fear of smelling your breath then maybe it's time you found yourself a cure. There are bad breath home remedies that work very well. You can opt for a natural bad breath remedy, or you can visit your dentist for your bad breath remedy. Although in the long run this option may end up costing you more money and more of your time.

Why is it that when a person has a breath problem most people are afraid to tell them, but as soon as the person leaves the room they can't wait to tell others and make jokes about that person. This can have a devastating effect of your social life and your career if it happens too often let alone the embarrassment it can cause. Even though we all will have breath problems at some point Millions of people suffer from the stigma of having chronic bad breath. This means that their breath problem is one that is savvier in nature and not easily cured, but there is always hope. When dealing with someone who has stinky breath it is important to remember that bad breath is not contagious. You can't catch it from someone else.

The number one bad breath cure is to do a good job when brushing your teeth, tongue, cheeks, and gums. More cases of halitosis have been cured by this one step than all the rest combined. This will solve the simple forms of halitosis such as morning breath and breath problems caused by foods like onions, garlic, and spicy foods. Of course there are times when brushing is just not an option, like when you're on the go. When this is the case you need to rinse your mouth out several times with clean fresh water. This can lower your chances of having smelly breath by as much as 50%. Now this is only to be regarded as a temporary stop gap until you can brush your mouth. Mints can be a help in these cases as well.

When a person get nervous or frightened like when you have a big meeting with the boss or you have a hot date your mouth will tend to dry out. This is called dry mouth and can become a big source of mouth odor. When the mouth dries out the odor causing bacteria have a field day and they grow at nearly twice the normal rate. This is why it is so important to keep your mouth rinsed out and moist. Why do you think there is always a pitcher of water on the table at business meetings? When the mouth is kept moist your natural defenses that are in the saliva can keep the bacteria in check.

Another home remedy that works very well is fruits and fruit juices. It might surprise you to learn that cranberry juice will actually dissolve the plaque that collects on your teeth. The other benefit you get from the fruit is that it has a high acidic content that helps to kill the bacteria in your mouth. Just about any citrus fruit helps in this way. It really does not matter if you eat the fruit or drink the juice it will work just as well. You can use apples, oranges, or pineapples. So use your favorite fruit and you will help your breath and besides fruit is very good for you anyway.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

How to Fight Bad Breath - 7 Things You Can Do to Combat Bad Breath

Bad breath is a common problem of many, and it is also one of the many unpleasant things that you surely would not want. Aside from being an embarrassing condition, this can also be hard to overcome, thus it is important to be well-informed and equipped with knowledge on how to fight bad breath and prevent them from ruining your social life.

Here are 7 things that might rescue your from this common and embarrassing condition.

1. Chew sugarless gum. One of the ways to fight bad smelling breath is to allow the continuous flow of saliva especially after meals. Saliva will flush food particles as well as bacteria in the mouth that causes bad breath. Especially after eating spicy foods, which can also greatly contribute to that foul smell if very tiny food particles are left in the mouth.

2. Thoroughly brush your teeth every after meals and don't forget to floss. Flossing will eliminate the hard to reach areas in between the teeth, which cannot be cleaned by simple tooth brushing.

3. Clean your tongue. The tongue can be a place for bacteria and minute food particles that cause bad breath, thus no matter how you clean your teeth if your tongue is not cleaned, it may still give you that bad smell. Get yourself a tongue cleaner and make it a habit to clean your tongue after you brush your teeth. To learn how to fight bad breath, you have to maintain good oral hygiene as always.

4. Go to your dentist for thorough cleaning. Brushing alone cannot get rid of plaque and tartar in your teeth that may have hardened through time, thus it is also beneficial to go to your dentist and have your teeth cleaned thoroughly. There is indeed a big difference in cleaning in brushing alone and letting the dentist clean your teeth with her dental apparatus.

5. Get cavities filled up. One thing that may cause a really bad breath is the presence of cavities. If you have cavities, how small it may be, have your dentist fill it up. No matter how long you brush your teeth or you floss, if the cavity remains there, the foul smell will stay.

6. Have a good dose of water everyday to flush out odor-causing bacteria and food particles in your mouth, especially every after meal.

7. If you have a persistent bad smelling breath that does not go away, make sure there are no underlying conditions that cause it. An unpleasant smell in your breath is one of the main symptoms of tonsil stones, sinusitis and other underlying conditions, thus make sure you are eliminating the main cause of your unpleasant breath. It may also be a sign of some liver diseases or diabetes, thus make sure also that you have ruled out these medical conditions as causes of the unpleasant smell in our breath.

Always maintain proper oral hygiene and dental care. These are just simple things you can do everyday, but they are powerful ways on how to fight bad breath.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

How best to Cure Bad breath

From casual conversations to important business meetings those of us who suffer from bad breath are faced with an embarrassing and quite literally distasteful condition. There is nothing quite like the feeling of panic when during a conversation you suddenly become aware that the other person can smell your bad breath. It can effect every part of a suffer's life. And some times the anticipation of the other person smelling your foul breath leads you to avoid situations you would otherwise enjoy and even excel in.

The Right Cure For Bad Breath

It is important to realize that there are several distinct causes of bad breath and that there are correspondingly different treatments for the different causes. Simply sucking a mint will not cure the fundamental, underlying problem. When you are looking for a cure for bad breath, you will have to examine the cause of the bad breath in order to treat it effectively. Bad breath is a common condition that affects one in four people and it is good to know that there is a cure and bad breath can be treated effectively.

Oral bacteria, foods, smoking, dentures, and dry mouth are the main causes of bad breath. Each cause of bad breath can cause either long term or short-term bad breath. However there is a cure for each of the causes of bad breath. And nobody needs to suffer as either the cause or the recipient of the problem of bad breath.

Oral Bacteria

The number one cause of bad breath is oral bacteria in the mouth, teeth and gums. This bad breath can be controlled, and even completely eliminated by regular brushing and flossing of your teeth. You should also brush or scrap your tongue. The oral bacteria that live in your mouth uses the tongue as one of their favorite hiding spots. When brushing and flossing you must dislodge food particles and plaque from your teeth so that bacteria will not thrive in your mouth. By getting into a regular routine of brushing and flossing, you can control the growth of bacteria and remove the problem of bad breath for ever.

If you suffer from chronic bad breath, medically called halitosis, then you must consult with a doctor to find a stronger, more permanent, treatment to cure your bad breath.

Food Caused Bad Breath

We all know that some foods, such as onions and garlic, can cause short-term bad breath. That is why you have to be very careful what you order when out on a dinner date, or even a business lunch. However while you can eat a sprig of parsley, cloves, fennel seeds or peppermint to mask the odour, the smell of strong foods cannot be eliminated because it originates in your intestinal tract. While you can try to mask the smell you run the risk of overpowering your breath with both mint and garlic. The only solution to food caused bad breath is to wait for the odor to leave your body naturally.

Bad Breath Caused By Smoking

The smell of tobacco and cigarette smoke is very hard to shift from your mouth, and your clothes. For those who don't smoke, and more importantly for those who have given up smoking, the smell of cigarettes from a person's breath can be quite distasteful. No amount of brushing, mouthwash or breath sprays will work, because these simply mask the smell temporarily as you will always have another cigarette. No only dose smoking leave the smell of tobacco and stale smoke in your mouth, but it also leaves your gums and teeth prone to gum disease which in and of itself will cause bad breath. If you smoke you will have bad breath, if you want fresh breath you will have to give up smoking.

Dentures And Bad Breath

Dentures that are not cleaned regularly can cause bad breath. Food particles can be caught in your dentures and unless they are washed regularly the food particles will help promote the growth of oral bacteria in your mouth causing bad breath. Always clean your dentures as recommended by your dentist.

Dry Mouth Caused Bad Breath

Dry mouth is a condition that can cause both short-term and long term bad breath. Moisture in the mouth helps to clean the tissues of excess food particles. However if the mouth is too dry, these food particles will not be washed away and bacteria will multiply. You should drink eight glasses of water water and juices each day to keep up the moisture levels in your mouth flush out the oral bacteria that causes bad breath. Don't forget to brush and floss regularly.

To effective the cure your bad breath must match the cause of the problem. Once you have found the cure for your particular condition you will feel like a great weight has lifted from your shoulders and you will conduct your interactions with other people, from casual conversations to important business meetings, with a new found confidence, knowing that your breath is fresh and sweet.