Strong, healthy teeth and gums

How does your smile rate?

Healthy strong teeth and gums are important to our physical and mental health. Looking after your teeth is important - you need good oral health and hygiene practices, to visit a dental service regularly and to eat well.

Eating and drinking well for strong healthy teeth.

As a parent - be a good role model. Eat healthily and brush your teeth and visit the dentist regularly. Encourage your children to do the same.

Enjoy teeth friendly (protective) foods and drinks at meals and snacks. These include cheese, vegetables, milk, fresh fruit, yoghurt, egg, nuts.

Encourage children to drink water as the main drink. Limit fruit juice/cordial to only ½ to 1 glass per day and offer 2 to 3 glasses of milk a day.

Avoid frequent snacking on sugary sticky foods (such as lollies, fruit bars, roll-ups, chocolates, and sweet biscuits) as these foods stay in the mouth longer (they are sticky) and have been shown to harm teeth. If you do have these foods, have them only occasionally and at a meal time or with other protective foods.

Although dried fruit and low fat muesli bars can be nutritious snacks, they are also in a sticky form and can stay in the mouth longer, potentially causing harm to teeth. Have these foods with protective foods and drinks (such as a glass of milk).

What about babies?

After the age of 6 months, encourage your baby to start drinking from a cup (apart from breastfeeds, that is). If your baby drinks from a bottle, don't let them fall asleep with the bottle in his or her mouth. (The natural sugars in the fluid will "pool" around the teeth and cause dental caries). If your baby needs a bottle at night, remove the bottle once they have finished drinking.

If your baby has a dummy, don't put any sweetener on it, like honey or sugar. If your baby has a bottle, avoid adding any sweeteners such as honey or sugar to the milk and avoid giving cordials or softdrink in a bottle to your baby.

Avoid putting dummys and bottle teats in your own mouth and then into baby's mouth, or tasting baby food using the same spoon as for your baby. This habit can transfer any tooth decay bacteria that you may have in your mouth to your baby and can cause dental caries.

As soon as baby has teeth, clean them with a gauze cloth or soft toothbrush.

More information about good oral health for children can be found in this brochure.

4:36 AM | 2 komentar | Read More

3 Surprising Ways to Keep Your Teeth Healthy

In addition to brushing and flossing, a healthful diet (with natural or added fluoride) protects teeth from decay and keeps the gums healthy. Read on to discover how to keep your smile safe and strong.

Tooth decay (cavities and dental caries) and gum disease are caused by colonies of bacteria that constantly coat the teeth with a sticky film called plaque. If plaque is not brushed away, these bacteria break down the sugars and starches in foods to produce acids that wear away the tooth enamel. The plaque also hardens into tartar, which can lead to gum inflammation, or gingivitis.

A well-balanced diet provides the minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients essential for healthy teeth and gums. Fluoride, occurring naturally in foods and water, or added to the water supply, can be a powerful tool in fighting decay. It can reduce the rate of cavities by as much as 60 percent.

Dental Health Guidelines
Start right by eating right during pregnancy. Make sure that your children’s teeth get off to a good start by eating sensibly during pregnancy. Particularly important is calcium, which helps to form strong teeth and bones, and vitamin D, which the body needs to absorb calcium.

You need lots of calcium for healthy teeth and gums. Low-fat dairy products, fortified soy and rice beverages, canned salmon or sardines (with bones), almonds, and dark green leafy vegetables are excellent sources of calcium.

You need vitamin D to help absorb the calcium. Vitamin D is obtained from fluid milk, fortified soy and rice beverages, margarine, fatty fish such as salmon, and moderate exposure to the sun.

Fluoride is key. To a large extent, cavities can be prevented by giving children fluoride in the first few years of life. Fluoride is supplied through fluoridated water (not all municipalities fluoridate their water supply, however), beverages made with fluoridated water, tea, and some fish, as well as many brands of toothpaste and some mouthwash. Fluoride supplements are available for children who don’t have access to fluoridated drinking water. It is wise to check to see if the water supply in your area is fluoridated. Excess consumption of fluoride can cause mottling of the teeth.

Also needed are phosphorus, magnesium, vitamin A, and beta carotene. In addition to calcium and fluoride, minerals needed for the formation of tooth enamel include phosphorus (richly supplied in meat, fish, and eggs) and magnesium (found in whole grains, spinach, and bananas). Vitamin A also helps build strong bones and teeth. Good sources of beta carotene, which the body turns into vitamin A, include orange-colored fruits and vegetables and the dark green leafy vegetables.

Children are particularly vulnerable to tooth decay; parents should:
1. Provide a good diet throughout childhood

2. Brush children’s teeth until they’re mature enough to do a thorough job by themselves (usually by 6 or 7 years old)

3. Supervise twice-daily brushing and flossing thereafter

4. Never put babies or toddlers to bed accompanied by a bottle of milk (which contains the natural sugar lactose), juice, or other sweet drink

5. Never dip pacifiers in honey or syrup

1. The sugar factor. Sucrose, most familiar to us as granulated sugar, is the leading cause of tooth decay, but it is far from the only culprit. Although sugary foods, including cookies, candies, and sodas, are major offenders, starchy foods (such as breads and cereals) also play an important part in tooth decay. When starches mix with amylase, an enzyme in saliva, the result is an acid bath that erodes the enamel and makes teeth more susceptible to decay. If starchy foods linger in the mouth, the acid bath is prolonged, and the potential for damage is all the greater.


Be careful when eating dried fruits. Dried fruits can have an adverse effect on teeth, because they are high in sugar and cling to the teeth. Even unsweetened fruit juices can contribute to tooth decay — they are acidic and contain relatively high levels of simple sugars.


Fresh fruits, especially apples, are better choices. Fresh fruit, although both sweet and acidic, is much less likely to cause a problem, because chewing stimulates the saliva flow. Saliva decreases mouth acidity and washes away food particles. Apples, for example, have been called nature’s toothbrush because they stimulate the gums, increase saliva flow and reduce the build-up of cavity-causing bacteria. A chronically dry mouth also contributes to decay. Saliva flow slows during sleep; going to bed without brushing the teeth is especially harmful. Certain drugs, including those used for high blood pressure, also cut down saliva flow.


2. Gum disease. More teeth are lost through gum disease than through tooth decay. Gum disease is likely to strike anyone who neglects oral hygiene or eats a poor diet. Particularly at risk are people with alcoholism, malnutrition, or AIDS/HIV infection or who are being treated with steroid drugs or certain cancer chemotherapies. Regular brushing and flossing help to prevent puffy, sore, and inflamed gums.

4:34 AM | 0 komentar | Read More

Want to Vomit While Brushing Teeth?

Nausea when brushing your teeth in the morning-general-turned out to be experienced by many people. Feel like vomiting are also often appear suddenly. Previously you did not experience it, but since last few weeks you feel the urge to vomit. However, rarely a feeling of nausea to vomiting. Most people just want to throw out votes, or after burping nausea that goes away by itself.

The cause of this sickness there are various kinds:

1. You have a sensitive throat. The back of the throat having contractions that stop the object enters the throat, except when you want to swallow normally.

2. You brush your teeth too hard so that pressing the inside of the throat. Remember, a bulimic usually striking his mouth until he vomited his food.

3. Psychological factors, because you never vomited while brushing your teeth too hard. The incident was apparently unintentionally made an impression, so you're always worried about vomiting when brushing your teeth. Negative thoughts can also lead to negative events.

4. Some say that the nausea when brushing your teeth is also caused by the increase in stomach acid (heartburn). Try your attention, if any of your toothpaste foam contained clear yellowish colored viscous liquid?

5. You're pregnant, so that nausea is part of the morning sickness that you experience.

Based on the various causes of this, you can actually cope with nausea during tooth brushing.

1. Breathing through the mouth while brushing your teeth. Inhale deeply when I want to throw up, and avoid holding the breath, or concentrate on breathing in one way, because it will only aggravate the situation.

2. Do not open your mouth too wide or with stiff. Relax your muscles in your mouth and throat. If possible, brush your teeth gently without opening his mouth. If stomach acid goes up, throw your first toothpaste foam.

3. Do not put too deep a toothbrush, and brush with the strong, because your hand can accidentally poke too hard.

4. Replace toothbrush with softer bristles, or replace the toothpaste with a flavor that is not too spicy. You can choose your toothpaste that tastes like.

5. Drinking warm water after waking up, then rinse with warm water when brushing your teeth.

6. If you are not sure of the cleanliness of teeth due to stop brushing your teeth before touching any teeth, help with mouthwash or tongue scrapers to clean your tongue (you can buy at pharmacies).

7. If the use of tongue scrapers still makes you sick, use dental floss to wipe your tongue. Take along the usual floss, then brush into your tongue from the inside out. This method will be quite successful for a sensitive throat.

7:20 AM | 2 komentar | Read More

5 Things that Make Teeth Yellow Being

Teeth whitening is now one of the most common procedures in cosmetic dentist. Understandably, who the hell wants to have yellowish teeth, though this is not due to your negligence? However, if you can prevent your teeth are not stained by food and beverage, why bother to follow this procedure? You can even make yourself at home tooth whitening. Find out how below.

5 things that stain teeth:
1. Coffee, tea, dark colored soda. Types of drinks that can cause stains on clothes, it also can stain teeth. Sport drinks and fruit juices are other causes. That does not mean you are then not allowed to drink it (because coffee, tea, or fruit juice would provide health benefits), only noticed when sipping the drink. Do not be until there is contact between the liquid beverage with teeth. It would be better if you drink with a straw. Then, make sure you brush your teeth after eating these foods and beverages.

2. Cigarettes. Cigarettes do not provide any benefit. Providing health risk, waste of money, also make the tooth enamel to yellow. Nicotine in cigarettes will leave permanent brown stain.

3. Berries. Fruits such as blackberries, blueberries, and cranberries, no need to doubt the benefits of his health. But these fruits also will leave a dark stain on your teeth. You should rinse with plenty of water, during and after eating this fruit. Also, brush your teeth afterwards to prevent stains left behind. Another fruit that will also make the enamel of the teeth become damaged is the fruit bits (sweet tuber).

4. Snacking before bed. Home from work, watch TV in the room while snacking, it feels like in heaven. But if you then drowsy and fell asleep until morning, this is the danger. You not only have the potential to gain weight, but also causes the color of the tooth becomes dark. This is because saliva production slows down when we sleep, so that the food consumed is not cleaned naturally. The result, stains on the teeth and the increased risk of cavities.

5. White top and gold jewelry. Both of these are not directly influence. However, look, when you are wearing white tops, or accessories of gold, your teeth will tend to look darker. Replace your white top with a cream or ivory-boss (so that the color is darker than the color of teeth). For accessories, wear silver, or other bright colors.

In order to keep teeth white
Of course you already know how to maintain hygiene and dental health. Cleaning between the teeth using dental floss, brush my teeth with toothpaste that match your dental health conditions, and gargling with mouthwash. To protect teeth from plaque that causes tooth stained, you can also chew gum containing xylitol (sugar free). Using a glossy lipstick with a deep color will also brighten the appearance of your teeth. Orange-colored lipstick tends to highlight the yellow teeth. Give the highlights on the cheekbones with bronzer golden to make teeth look whiter

7:18 AM | 1 komentar | Read More

Fruit Juice Good for Teeth

Juice is recommended for those wishing to take their health benefits. However if you consume juice, for example, to detox or lose weight, it is advisable to choose juices with no sugar. For juice that contains too much sugar not only makes you still suffer from obesity, but also damage the teeth.

Research conducted in America found that sugar and acids contained in fruit juice can damage tooth enamel. Dental conditions can be even worse if you brush your teeth immediately after drinking juice. Softened tooth enamel to an hour after you drink the juice of acid, making it brittle.

"Concentration of acid in orange juice is very strong, so the teeth really late," said study leader, YanFang Ren, who is also a guest lecturer at the dental department of the University of Rochester. "This has the potential to cause serious problems for those who drink fruit juice or soft drinks every day."

There are several causes of dental erosion, including acid-soluble, when the acid is naturally flooded into the mouth and sometimes erodes the back teeth. In addition, brushing your teeth with strong also cause tooth erosion. However, acid levels in our food have been the biggest cause.

"We've found more cases of dental erosion," explains Dr. George Druttman, dentist in Cap City Dental, London. "We ourselves think is doing a good thing Degnan a healthy drink, but it turns out the acid in these drinks can dissolve the enamel."

Unfortunately, this study does not give advice on what kind of fruit that is still quite safe for consumption. For the sake of dental health.

7:15 AM | 1 komentar | Read More

Gargling Better than Dental Scrub

Do not brush your teeth immediately  after  consuming  soft drinks  or drinks that contain acid! So opinions Mary Hayes, DDS, spokesperson of the Chicago Dental Society.

We all know that brushing your teeth is one of a very good habit to keep our teeth to stay healthy. But, did you know that turned out to have a habit of brushing your teeth after sipping a drink "acid" will only give bad impact to the health of our teeth.

The reason is, the combination of acidic soft drinks, juice and isotonic drinks, and the movement of "rough" would erode email brushing our teeth. This is what will lead to cavities. Acid content will soften our tooth enamel making it more susceptible to damage when brushed.

So, rather than taking a toothbrush and toothpaste every time after drinking acidic beverages, such as juices, soft drinks or isotonic drinks, better get used to rinse with water only. This will help us clean the acid content of our teeth. Or, we can also chew sugar-free gum can increase the production of saliva or saliva to neutralize acids in the mouth.

If you want to keep brushing your teeth, wait approximately one hour after consuming drinks or foods that contain acid. Because one hour is considered sufficient for the acid to the tooth enamel is lost and we are to return to original condition.

7:14 AM | 2 komentar | Read More

Black Tea Good for Teeth

The team from the University of Illinois Collenge of Dentistry examine substances contained in black tea (black tea) was able to fight bacteria in the mouth is usually the culprit of gum disease and cavities. Type of tea is more popular in Western countries has the ability to kill and suppress the growth and acid production of cavity-causing bacteria in dental plaque us.

Black tea also can affect glucosyltranferase bacterial enzyme that is responsible in turning sugar into "sticky substances" used plaque to stick to the teeth. Exposure of black tea are able to make some bacterial enzymes lose their ability to blend with other bacteria in plaque. In other words, black tea can reduce the quantity or amount of dental plaque in our mouths. The British Dental Association states, either black or green tea can help us fight the buildup of plaque on teeth.

A study shows, the volunteers who were asked to gargle with black tea for 30 seconds, 5 times with time interval 3 minutes, can stop the growth and production of plaque bacteria in their mouths. Black tea is indeed holds great influence in maintaining the health of our teeth, said Dr. Christina Wu, head of research. However, for optimal results still depend of the dental treatment that everyone else did.

So if you want to have healthy teeth, replace soft drinks that damage with a cup of black tea or green because of acid content in soft drinks will only lead to an erosion in our tooth enamel.

7:13 AM | 0 komentar | Read More

How to Make Natural White Teeth More

Clean white teeth really make us more confident, and certainly more pleasing to the eye. Unfortunately, not everyone is fortunate to have white teeth. There is a yellowed teeth because affected drugs, or because of drink and cigarettes. Others are due to genetic factors.

Various products with whitening toothpaste of various brands to prove that you are not the only one who had a problem with the yellow teeth. But if the chemicals in this product you feel is too hard, there are several other ways to make your teeth whiter.

1. Create own bleach
Mix ½ tablespoon of baking soda with ½ tablespoon of salt to make cleaning the teeth, so suggestions Dorie Byers, author of Natural Beauty Basics. Add a drop of peppermint-scented essential oils to freshen breath. Lightly moisten your toothbrush and dip it into this mixture, and rub on the teeth. Particles in the baking soda will polish the tooth surface, while the chemical reaction with water will lighten the stain. To prevent your tooth enamel is damaged, apply this method only once a week.

2. Apples, pears, strawberries
There are several types of fruit that turned out to be useful to protect the tooth. "Snacks are producing saliva include apples, pears, strawberries, celery, and carrots," says Thomas Connelly, DDS, cosmetic dentist stylist in New York City. Additional saliva produced by this fruit helps remove bacteria from the mouth, and whiten your teeth.

3. Gargle
Gargle for 30 seconds immediately after eating, suggestions Connelly. This can help prevent food you just ate left in the tooth.

4. Add cream
You know, that coffee or tea can cause teeth to yellow or even brownish? To avoid this, Connelly suggested to add creamer or milk in tea or coffee. This mix will change the chemicals in the drink, which makes it more difficult to leave stains on the tooth surface.

5. Dark green vegetables
Get used to consume dark green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, and kale. These vegetables contain mineral compounds that produce the membrane that covers the tooth and protect it from stains.

6. Avoid soda
Sodas contain acids, such as phosphoric, citric, malic, and tartaric, which can erode tooth enamel. Even if you are so fond of soft drinks, just use a straw when drinking it. At the very least, a straw can minimize the acid left on the teeth.

7:12 AM | 2 komentar | Read More