By Dr Dipu Mathew
Basic dental care involves brushing and flossing your teeth regularly, seeing your dentist for regular check-ups and cleaning, and eating a mouth-healthy diet, which means foods high in whole grains, vegetables and fruits, and dairy products.
Why is basic dental care important?
* To prevent tooth decay.
* To prevent gum (periodontal) disease, which can damage gum tissue and the bones that support teeth, and in the long term can lead to the loss of teeth.
* To shorten time with the dentist and dental hygienist, and make the trip more pleasant.
* To help prevent bad breath. Brushing and flossing rid your mouth of the bacteria that cause bad breath.
* Basic dental care helps keep teeth white by preventing staining from food, drinks, and tobacco.
* To improve overall health.
* To make it possible for your teeth to last a lifetime.
Are there ways to avoid dental problems?
m Keeping your teeth and gums healthy requires good nutrition and regular brushing and flossing. Brush your teeth twice a day — in the morning and before bed — and floss once a day. This removes plaque, which can lead to damaged teeth, gums, and surrounding bone. Replace your toothbrush when it begins to show wear, or every three months, whichever comes first. It is also very important to change toothbrushes after you’ve had a cold, since the bristles can collect germs that can lead to re-infection.
m Use a toothpaste that contains fluoride, which helps prevent tooth decay and cavities. Ask your dentist if you need a mouthwash that contains fluoride or one with ingredients that fight plaque.
m Avoid foods that contain a lot of sugar. Sugar helps plaque grow.
m Avoid using tobacco products, which can cause gum disease and oral cancer.
m Practice tongue cleaning. You can use a tongue cleaner or a soft-bristle toothbrush, stroking in a back-to-front direction. Tongue cleaning is particularly important for people who smoke or whose tongues are coated or deeply grooved.
m Schedule regular trips to the dentist based on how often you need exams and cleaning.
Common dental problems and how to avoid them
m Bad breath: Medically called halitosis, bad breath can result from poor dental health habits and may be a sign of other health problems. Bad breath can also be made worse by the types of foods you eat and other unhealthy lifestyle habits. Smoking or chewing tobacco-based products, gum disease and dry mouth can also cause bad breath. Other diseases that can cause halitosis are respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia or bronchitis, chronic sinus infections, postnasal drip, diabetes, chronic acid reflux, and liver or kidney problems.
m Gum disease: Gum disease is typically caused by three factors: bad oral hygiene, smoking and genetic susceptibility. Gum disease sufferers don’t often show symptoms until their 30s and 40s, though teenagers can often have gingivitis, which is the milder form of the disease.
* Periodontitis is the more severe form of gum disease and can put you at greater risk for heart attack or stroke. How? Bacteria can be inhaled or enter your blood through the gums, eventually affecting your heart and lungs.
Symptoms of gum disease include constant bad breath, swollen or bleeding gums and loose or sensitive teeth. The treatment often includes a deep cleaning or scraping tartar from below the gum line, prescription antibiotics, mouthwashes or gels and surgery.
* Tooth sensitivity: There can be many causes. Chief among them are exposed root surfaces. If the gums recede just a little bit — 1 or 2mm — the root of the tooth can become permanently exposed. The root surface is extremely porous and can allow fluids and air to indirectly stimulate the nerve in the centre of the tooth. Other possible causes include exposure to heat or cold, sensitivity to acidity or cracked teeth. The bottomline: if your teeth are causing you real pain, you should go to your dentist to figure out what’s going on.
* Cavities: Another problem caused by bacteria in the mouth being left alone and given time to cause damage. The bacteria feast on sugar and starch remnants left on and between our teeth. After they eat these carbohydrates, they secrete an acid waste product. This acid dissolves the tooth enamel. The bacteria then move in and live in the spaces left behind in the teeth, and are more difficult to reach through brushing and flossing.
The key to prevention? Good oral hygiene is your best bet and parents should be particularly mindful, as cavities most often occur in kids. Once a cavity has formed, a dentist can use a crown, filling or — if necessary — a root canal to treat the problem.
* Wisdom teeth: Ever wonder why some people have to get their wisdom teeth removed, while others don’t? If you have enough space in your jaw for them, they’ll come in nicely and you can keep them forever. But for some people, there isn’t enough room, which means they’ll only come in, or “erupt” only partially. This could be problematic because it can lead to infection: Bacteria are able to enter the soft tissue around the partially-erupted tooth and reside deep in the gums where the tooth is stuck. Eventually, they will develop an infection in the jaw bone around the wisdom tooth, or in many cases a cyst will form around the impacted wisdom tooth.
* Teeth grinding: Teeth grinding or Bruxism, is very common in adults and is very destructive to the teeth — causing them to become short and blunt, and sometimes resulting in jaw problems. The most common causes are misaligned teeth and stress. Orthodontic or restorative dentistry can correct alignment, and the dentist can fabricate a custom plastic guard for people to wear while they sleep to protect their teeth from the destructive force our jaws can produce.
* Toothache: Deep cavity, injury, infection are the common cause. Dentist will analyse the cause and will give the treatment options accordingly, such as fillings, root canal treatment or extractions.
* Discoloured/Yellow teeth: Often caused by the foods and beverages we consume. Some major culprits are red wine and coffee. Smoking is the most common cause. Some teeth just come in with a yellowish undertone to them, naturally.
A wide variety of cosmetic options are available to deal with this, including whitening and veneers.
Women’s oral health and overall health
The Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health states that good oral health is essential to good general health. And specifically for women, a growing body of research has linked gum disease to a variety of health problems that affect women. Because gum disease is a bacterial infection, it can enter the bloodstream and may be a factor in causing other health complications:
m Heart disease: People with gum disease may be more at risk for heart disease and have nearly twice the risk of having a fatal heart attack.
m Stroke: One study found a casual relationship of oral infections as a risk factor for stroke.
m Diabetes: People with diabetes are more likely to have gum disease and may make it more difficult for diabetics to control their blood sugar. Gum disease may also be a risk factor for diabetes, even in otherwise healthy individuals.
m Respiratory problems: Bacteria that grow in the oral cavity can travel to the lungs causing respiratory disease such as pneumonia — especially in people with gum disease.
m Pregnancy outcomes: Pregnant women who have gum disease may be more likely to have a baby born too early or too small. Gum disease may also trigger increased levels of biological fluids that induce labour.
Because gum disease is usually painless, many women may not even realise they have it until it reaches an advanced state. Your best defence is to brush and floss daily and to see your dentist regularly.
How does my oral health need change throughout my life?
Women have special oral health requirements during the unique phases in their lives. Changes in female hormone levels during puberty, menstruation, pregnancy and menopause exaggerate the way gums react to plaque. So at these times, women need to be especially thorough when brushing and flossing every day in order to prevent gum disease.
Other important information you should know:
* Menstruation — some women find that their gums swell and bleed prior to their periods, while others experience cold sores or canker sores. These symptoms usually go away once your period starts.
* Oral contraceptives — inflamed gums are one of the most common side effects.
* Pregnancy — studies show many pregnant women experience pregnancy gingivitis, when dental plaque builds up on the teeth and irritates the gums. Symptoms include red, inflamed and bleeding gums. Prenatal care is especially important.
* Menopause — oral symptoms experienced during this stage of a women’s life include red or inflamed gums, oral pain and discomfort, burning sensations, altered taste sensations and dry mouth.
* Osteoporosis — a number of studies have suggested a link between osteoporosis and bone loss in the jaw. Researchers suggest this may lead to tooth loss because the density of the bone that supports teeth may be decreased. When combined with gum disease, osteoporosis speeds up the process of bone loss around the teeth
How to handle accidental tooth loss
A knocked-out or partially dislodged tooth can usually be reinserted in the socket within 30 minutes of an injury. Adults should hold the tooth in place with clean gauze, trying not to touch the root of the tooth.
You may handle the tooth with a sterile gauze or pad and rinse it with water if it has become very dirty, but it is best not to clean a dislodged tooth. If you are not able to hold the tooth in place for any reason or you cannot reach a dentist or emergency room within 30 minutes, the tooth may be placed in a container with fresh whole milk or the person’s own saliva for transport.
For an empty bleeding socket, place a fold of sterile gauze or pad over the socket and bite down on it. Maintain this pressure for twenty minutes or until bleeding stops.
If a child loses a tooth due to accident or injury, do not try to reinsert the tooth.
A child may not hold the tooth in properly or may accidentally swallow it. Instead, place the tooth in whole milk to keep the tooth alive until a dentist can reinsert it.
*The author is a dental surgeon at Aster clinic, C-Ring Road.
Study uncovers health
benefits of pessimism
By Monte Morin
Here’s a bit of good news for people who like bad news:
A German study suggests that people who are overly optimistic about their future actually faced greater risk of disability or death within 10 years than did those pessimists who expected their future to be worse.
The paper, which appears in the March edition of Psychology and Aging, examined health and welfare surveys from roughly 40,000 Germans between ages 18 and 96. The surveys were conducted every year from 1993 to 2003.
Survey respondents were asked to estimate their present and future life satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 10, among other questions.
Researchers found that young adults (age 18 to 39) routinely overestimated their future life satisfaction, while middle-aged adults (age 40 to 64) more accurately predicted how they would feel in the future.
Adults 65 and older however were far more prone to underestimate their future life satisfaction. Not only did they feel more satisfied than they thought they would, the older pessimists seemed to suffer a lower ratio of disability and death for the study period.
“We observed that being overly optimistic in predicting a better future than actually observed was associated with a greater risk of disability and a greater risk of mortality within the following decade,” wrote lead author Frieder R Lang, a psychology professor at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
Lang and colleagues hypothesised that people who were gloomy about their future may be more careful about their actions than people who anticipated a rosy future.
“Perceiving a dark future may foster positive evaluations of the actual self and may contribute to taking improved precautions,” authors wrote.
Surprisingly, respondents who enjoyed good health or income were associated with expecting a greater decline compared with those in poor health or who had low incomes.
Also, researchers said that higher income was related to a greater risk of disability.
Study authors noted that there were limitations to their conclusions. Illness, medical treatment and personal loss could also have driven health outcomes.
However, the researchers said a pattern was clear.
“We found that from early to late adulthood, individuals adapt their anticipations of future life satisfaction from optimistic, to accurate to pessimistic,” the authors concluded. “Pessimistic accuracy appears to be linked with preserved functional health and better chances to survive.” — Los Angeles Times/MCT
