How to Provide the Best Dental Care for Your Kids

Parents play an essential role in keeping their children’s teeth healthy and clean. Preventive care starts at home. Here are some ways to promote oral health for your children. 

Avoid sugar

Sugary foods and sweet drinks mix with bacteria in the mouth, forming an acid that attacks tooth enamel, leading to cavities. 

Clean teeth

It is important that parents clean their children’s teeth when they are very young, and do it with them as they get older.

Visit your dentist

It is advised to visit the dentist within 6 months of the eruption of a child’s first tooth. Some dental associations recommend a first dental visit at the age of two years old.

Pacifiers and thumb sucking

Sucking helps babies to relax, but by age two or three, he or she has less need to suck. Foremost, never put sugar, honey or corn syrup on a pacifier.

Help prevent early childhood tooth decay

Once a child has teeth, he or she is susceptible to tooth decay. Mother’s milk, formula, cow’s milk, and fruit juice all contain sugars. Never let your child fall asleep with a bottle of milk, formula or juice or with breast milk still in his or her mouth.

Full Article: Providing the Best Dental Care for Your Kids
Source: The Canadian Dental Association.
In French: Comment procurer les meilleurs soins dentaires pour vos enfants

Dental care for people with diabetes

Diabetes is a disease that is still incurable but that can be controlled by taking many precautions. If you have diabetes, you must look out for what you eat, exercise regularly, take your medication diligently, and also pay special attention to your oral health.

Among the oral problems that diabetes can trigger, dry mouth (xerostomia) and infections are the main ones. Xerostomia, or lack of saliva in the mouth, can have serious consequences, including tooth decay (cavities), the appearance of ulcers and fungal infections, and the difficulty of wearing dentures and partials.

Oral infections that diabetics encounter are the cause of periodontal disease. Gum disease, or periodontal disease, affects the gums and the bone that support teeth. Gum disease is more difficult to cure when you have diabetes. It is therefore important to maintain your gums healthy and have them checked regularly.

Furthermore, if you are diabetic and undergo oral surgery, healing will be more slow than usual. So whether you have a tooth extraction, wisdom teeth removal, or gum surgery, you must expect longer healing time.

Dentists recommend people with diabetes to have meticulous oral hygiene, by brushing and flossing preferably after every meal. It is also cautious to see your dentist for regular checkups, every three months if possible, for a tooth and gum exam, and a tartar scaling. At each visit, your medical history must be updated by informing any change of your diabetes state and the medication that you are taking.

If you feel that your gums are bleeding more than usual, it would be important to consult your dentist immediately. Gum disease is the worst oral complication that you can get when you have diabetes and it must be controlled. You must also notify your physician of the state of your oral health.

A lot of attention is needed to keep your mouth healthy. But if you act with the recommendations of your physician and your dentist, you can lead a healthy life for a very long time.

Full Article: Diabetes and Dental Care
In French: Soins dentaires pour les gens atteints du diabète

5 Reasons to Floss Your Teeth Every Day

Did your dentist remind you to floss your teeth at your last dental checkup? And yet it is easy to forget to do. Maybe by knowing why flossing is so necessary for oral hygiene, it would be easier to follow the dentist’s advice. Here are 5 important reasons why flossing is so important:

1. To reduce the risk of having cavities
   Brushing alone cannot clean all around a tooth when there is another tooth right next to it. Flossing completes tooth brushing by removing plaque and foods remaining in between two teeth where tooth decay often starts.
2. To reduce the risk of having gum disease
   Plaque is full of harmful bacteria, and if left around teeth it can accumulate on gums and start an inflammation. This is the first step of gum disease, including gingivitis and periodontitis.
3. To prevent halitosis
   Plaque that is located in between teeth, if not removed, can emanate a bad smell, which is one of the number one reasons of having bad breath.
4. To prevent tartar buildup
   If plaque is left around teeth, it becomes tartar with the saliva calcification action. Tartar can also cause gum disease and to reduce its amount around teeth is good for oral health.
5. To reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease
   People with heart disease must be very vigilant with their oral hygiene because the mouth is an entry point for harmful bacteria that, if not eliminated, can eventually reach the heart.

See also in French.

What is the Worst that Can Happen if Wisdom Teeth are not Removed?

If a dentist recommends removing wisdom teeth, it would be unwise to delay the surgery indefinitely. To do so may invite a variety of problems including damage to adjacent structures, such as sensory nerves, the maxillary sinus, and alveolar bone. Postponed wisdom teeth removal may be more complicated and require a longer recovery period. Additionally, damage caused by wisdom teeth to adjacent teeth and structures may not be easily repaired.

Tooth Decay

Keeping the back of the mouth clean with daily brushing and flossing is difficult in the best of circumstances. When wisdom teeth are present, good oral hygiene in this area is very difficult; a situation that often leads to cavities. Research has shown that more young adults have decay in the wisdom tooth area than previously thought.

Gum Disease

Wisdom teeth are not like other teeth in that they generally do not have adequate space to erupt. This is due not only to limited space, but also to the fact that gum tissues in the area are not designed to attach to the tooth in a normal way like other teeth. No matter how well someone maintains oral hygiene, it is very tough to keep the wisdom tooth area clean and bacteria free. Bacterial infection and inflammation often results in gum disease that can affect neighbouring teeth.

Involvement of adjacent structures

A young adult’s wisdom teeth generally have incomplete root systems, making surgery relatively uncomplicated. As wisdom teeth mature, their roots lengthen and may become involved with the surrounding structures such as sensory nerves or the maxillary sinus. In such cases, surgery may trigger a greater chance of complications.

Cyst and tumour formation

A fully impacted wisdom tooth sits in the jawbone surrounded by the sac in which teeth develop. Over time, however, this sac may enlarge and even develop unhealthy changes in the cells from which it is made. Problems occur when the sac surrounding the impacted tooth becomes filled with fluid and enlarges to form a cyst. As the cyst grows it may damage the jaw, neighbouring teeth and other surrounding structures. Very rarely, tumours develop from the same tissues that surround an impacted tooth, requiring extensive surgery and reconstruction.

What if wisdom teeth are kept?

If wisdom teeth are kept despite the fact that the dentist or the maxillofacial surgeon advised to remove them, it is important to monitor their health and condition regularly. X-rays and clinical examination should be done in the area every two years. Particular care of brushing and flossing of the area should also be taken into account.

See also in French.

Why is Oral Hygiene Important?

A smile is the shortest distance between two people. To make sure that your smile reflects the best about you is to practice good oral hygiene.

Teeth are important, not only for the smile and the speech, but also for their contribution to the structure of the face and the jaw. Bacterial infections that affect teeth and gums are probably the greatest threat to a healthy mouth. Bacteria can be left on teeth, or in between them, later causing tooth decay and cavities. Bacteria can also accumulate around the gums leading to gingivitis or more severe gum disease.

Regular oral hygiene is very important to eliminate bad bacteria that can cause these infections. Brushing after each meal, flossing daily and regular checkups at the dentist complete oral care to always have healthy teeth and gums.

See also in French.

Top Ten Reasons to Remove your Wisdom Teeth

Top 10 reasons to remove wisdom teeth:

10. Because there is limited space for wisdom teeth to erupt and because the surrounding gums are difficult to keep clean. Infection and inflammation are therefore common even when there are no apparent symptoms.

9. Even when wisdom teeth erupt through the gum tissues, they rarely provide any meaningful function and are always difficult to keep clean.

8. Wisdom teeth have high risk of getting cavities on them because they are very hard to clean while brushing and flossing.

7. In some cases, impacted wisdom teeth develop cysts, and rarely tumours. Removal of such lesions may require extensive procedures to repair and restore jaw function and appearance.

6. With age, the chance for complications related to the removal of wisdom teeth increases.

5. Gum disease and inflammation associated with wisdom teeth may lead to receding gum tissues, deterioration of the jawbone and tooth loss.

4. Wisdom teeth may contribute to crowding of nearby teeth.

3. Even wisdom teeth that seem to be problem-free remain a breeding ground for oral infection and inflammation. Research supports the concept that such inflammation may enter the bloodstream and contribute to the development and/or progression of a variety of diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and stroke.

2. Once it has been determined that a wisdom tooth will not successfully erupt into your mouth and be maintained in a healthy state, early extraction of wisdom teeth is associated with faster and easier recovery.

1. The number one reason for removing wisdom teeth: Peace of mind!

Source: American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.

See also in French.

5 Steps to Good Oral Health

Having healthy teeth and healthy gums is simple once you know what to do. Avoid oral problems and unwanted disease by following these 5 steps:

Practice Good Oral Hygiene
Brush your teeth and tongue at least twice a day using a soft-bristle toothbrush. Use preferably fluoride toothpaste to remove plaque and bacteria. Also floss every day to remove the remaining plaque around the gums and in between the teeth to prevent tooth decay and gum disease.

Eat a balanced diet
Avoid excess sugar because tooth decay causing bacteria use sugar to start cavities. Avoid sweet drinks, especially soft drinks and energy drinks. Eat fruits instead of drinking fruit juices. A healthy diet promotes wellness and good oral health.

See your dentist regularly
Regular checkups with your dentist, preferably every six months, help to stop small problems from worsening. Regular cleanings also prevent tooth decay and gum disease.

Don’t smoke or chew tobacco
Tobacco causes gum disease and eventually tooth loss. Smoking can also lead to deadly diseases such as oral cancer.

Check regularly for warning signs
Gum disease is a serious illness that leads to tooth loss. The warning signs are bad breath and red, puffy and sore bleeding gums. Oral cancer’s warning signs include inexplicable bleeding, open sores, white or red patches, numbness or tingling, and small lumps and thickening on the sides or bottom of your tongue, the floor or roof of your mouth, the inside of your cheeks or on your gums. If these signs become visible in your mouth and don’t disappear after two weeks, you should report them quickly to your dentist.

In French: 5 étapes pour une bonne santé bucco-dentaire
Source: Globe and Mail

What Causes Sensitive Teeth?

It is such a burden to suffer from a sensitive tooth. It bothers during meals, while drinking something hot or cold, even sometimes while breathing air through the mouth.

There are many factors that can cause sensitive teeth:

• Brushing the teeth in a hard or strong way can wear out the enamel and cause tooth sensitivity.
• If the gum level recedes, due to gum disease or vigorous brushing, the root becomes exposed, making the tooth sensitive.
• A fracture of a tooth can expose the dentin.
• Cavities and tooth decay can of course cause the teeth to be sensitive.
• Grinding the teeth wears down the enamel.
• Tooth whitening products can cause a temporary sensitivity to the teeth.
• Certain mouthwashes are acidic and long term use can wear away the enamel of the tooth.
• Foods high in acid content, such as soft drinks, citric fruits, or ice-tea, wear out the enamel if consumed excessively.
• Recent dental treatments (fillings, cleanings, root canals or crowns) can cause sensitivity to the repaired tooth for a few weeks.

A severe tooth ache, that is constant and prevents sleep, can be the cause of more serious problems and should be checked by a dentist as soon as possible.

See also in french.