Dental Care - Gum disease

Gum disease, also known as periodontal disease is a serious condition that could lead to lot's of problems in your mouth.

Symptoms of gum disease

• Bleeding gums

• Swollen and tender gums

• Gums that have pulled away from teeth

• Bad breath that won't go away

• Loose teeth

Not all these symptoms appear when you have gum disease. Some victims don't develop any symptoms at all. That's why it is important to keep up with your regular dental visits for cleaning and inspection.

A good regime of oral hygiene is also a preventative measure.
Gum disease can be prevented and treated. If you have gum disease, visit your dentist who will begin treatment and possibly reverse the damage caused by gum disease.

Certain people are more susceptible to gum disease. Factors that could increase the risk of developing periodontal disease include;

• Poor oral hygiene

• Chewing tobacco

• Diabetes

• Pregnancy

• Crooked teeth

• Bad fillings

• Improperly fitted tooth bridges

• Oral contraceptives

• Steroids

• Cigarette smoking

Get more facts on Gum disease today @ www.dentalcarefind.com

Dental Care - Discount dental Plans

These discount dental plans (click on banner below), offer savings of 10% to 60% off usual dentist fee on a wide range of dental services.

Dental procedures you will save on includes; Dental exams, cleanings, X-rays, root canals, wisdom tooth extractions, braces, dentures, fillings, crowns, dental implants, gum surgery, flouride treatments plus many other dental procedures.

Health Insurance Quotes

As always, we are dedicated to providing you with resources that will help you find the most affordable dental and health insurances.

Get a quote today, why pay more on health insurance when you could pay less?

Dental Care tips cont'd.......

Regardless of how good your diet and lifestyle is, plaque accumulates on your teeth. Regular tooth Brushing and Flossing is needed to prevent dental damage.

It is recommended that you brush your teeth at least twice daily and floss at least once daily.

Read more on the importance of daily tooth brushing and dental flossing at:
www.dentalcarefind.com

Teeth Clenching

Teeth Clenching also know as Bruxism is a term used to describe the forcible grinding and clenching of the teeth. It usually happens at night during sleep although some people find themselves grinding their teeth during the day as well.

Bruxism is a concern since it can result to tooth lose and other problems. The pressure on the teeth may result to enamel chipping or cracking, hairling fructures, wearing out of the teeth surface exposing the dentin and causing teeth to be sensitive, soreness and fatigue of the jaw. Left untreated, bruxism may result to complete tooth lose, jaw distortion, earaches and headaches especially when you wake up in the morning.

This disorder is commonly found in men and woman age 25 years and older. What causes Bruxism? causes vary but the most common is due to emotional factors. These include, anxiety, anger, daytime stress, frustration, pain and sleep disorders. Alcohol and some types of medication may worsen tooth grinding.

Children also gring their teeth but usually as a result of discomforts such as ear infections, colds and allergies. Bruxism in kids is usually temporary and will go away when discomfort is not present.

So, how do we treat teeth grinding? By use of night- guard trays. These provide ways to reduce or stop grinding and even ways to reduce further damage and pain due to grinding.
There's no cure for Bruxism. Visit your dentist as soon as you suspect teeth grinding for tooth damage assesment as well as work with you in stopping the damage of your teeth.

Since teeth grinding occurs at night, the following symptoms should prompt you to visit your dentist.

• Headaches, earaches, Jaw and facial pain and tenderness on awakening~ symptoms usually dull as the day goes by.

• Will usually get a compain from your spouse on the noise keeping the up all night.

• If teeth has become sensitive to cold, pressure and other stimuli

• Teeth surfuces appear flat

• Loss of dental implant screws

• If you find yourself grinding teeth during the day

For more information on Dental Problems and Treatments, visit:
www.dentalcarefind.com

Dental Insurance compared to Dental Plans

1. Dental Insurance

• Usually high premiums

• Requires waiting periods

• Requires filling out claim forms

• Normally won't include dental specialties

• Normally requires a deductible

• May require a refferal to see a specialist

• Typically inaccessilble to individuals and families unless provided by their employers

2. Dental Plans

• Low premiums~ very affordable

• No waiting periods~ can be effective next business day

• No claims forms and tiresome paperwork involved. Members present their membership card and instantly receive discounts at the dentist

• Select plans include huge discounts on dental specialties including Cosmetic dentistry and Othodontia

• No deductables, no annual maximums

• No health restrictions

• No referral required to see a specialist

• Available directly to individuals, families, groups and businesses

Dental discount plans are affordable and easy to use alternative to dental insurance. Sign up today and start saving!

Discount Dental Care Plans

Discount dental care plans are designed to save you money on your next visit to your dental care provider.
If you don't have dental coverage and are considering visiting a dentist, you might want to sign up with one of these discount dental care plans that will save you lot's of money.
Dentists participating in the Network have agreed to take a discounted fee as payment in full. Simply present your membership card and immediately receive discounts on most dental procedures.

Thousands of people have benefited from discount dental plans.

Benefits of Discount Dental Care Plans

• Save 10% to 60% off most dental services
  
  
• Plans start as low as $79.95 per year
  
  
• No paperwork hassles, just present your membership card and receive a discount
  
  
• 30-day refund policy
  
  
• No annual limits, members enjoy discounts on most dental services all year long
  
  
• Most dental plans activates within 1-3 business days
  
  
• No health restrictions
  
  
• Select plans include discounts on dental specialties, including Cosmetic dentistry and Othodontics
  
  
• Available for Individuals, Families, Businesses and Groups
  
  
• Choose from 100,000+ participating dentists in more than 30 combined regional and national dental networks

Discount dental care plans are affordable and easy to use. Join today and receive significant savings on most dental procedures.

Special Offer...Join today and receive 3 additional months added to your program FREE!

Your pet needs Dental Care

This dental care information is meant for owners of domestic cats and dogs.

It is important to ensure good dental hygiene in pets. Ideally, pet's teeth should be brushed daily, just as in humans. Without proper dental care, your pet could develop bad breath, gum disease and may even loose teeth.

A dental regimen at home can be helful in preventing the above problems and includes:

1. Brushing your pet's teeth

2. Feeding pediatric formulated foods proven to effectively combat plaque and tartar build up

3. Schedule regular veterinary checkups atleast once a year of take your pet for a dental exam if you suspect a problem

Early signs of gum disease gingivitis in pets include--bad breath, pain or bleeding or yellow brown crust of tartar around gumline.

Do not use human toothpaste on your pets teeth. Visit your pet supply store or the veterinarian office for dental products specifically designed for cats and dogs.

Avoid soft, gummy and sugary treats--promotes tooth decay

Remember to take your pet to a veterinarian as soon as you own one.

Cavity Free Kids

Parents, here are some tips that are recommended in order to keep your children from developing cavities.

1. Good Oral Hygiene

Ensure reqular, supervised, brushing and flossing for toddlers and kids upto age 8 years. Brush and floss after meals or atleast twice daily. Use a wet gauze for infants or a clean washcloth to wipe away the plaque that contains bacteria for teeth and gums.

2. A balanced diet

Give your kids eat healthy snacks or natural foods instead of Candy or other sugary foods. Provide foods rich in calcium for strong bones and teeth. Remember to brush and floss after any meal because some of these "good" foods, like fruits, milk and carbohydrates contains sugar that are broken down by bacteria, producing acids that will cause cavities.

3. Ensure kids get enough amount of flouride

Just enough, not less and not more than the recommended levels. Flouride incorporates itself into tooth's enamel, making it more resistant to acid attack. Talk to your dental care provider on how to ensure correct levels of flouride.

4. Dental Sealants.

Dental Sealants are easily and quickly applied in the dental office and provides long lasting protection against cavity formation. A dental sealant is a plastic, professionally-applied material that is put on the chewing surfaces of the back teeth and acts as a physical barrier so that cavity causing bacteria cannot invade the pits and curves on the chewing surface.

Give Kids A Smile Day 2007

On Friday, Feb 2, 2007, the nation's dentists will provide free oral health care services to thousands of low income children across the country.

Give kids A Smile is meant to accomplish two things;

1. Help children get dental care they so desperately need.

2. Raise awareness that our children deserve a better health care system that addresses their dental health needs.

You can find all the information you need, including how to identify kids in your community who might benefit from the event by visiting the
American Dental Association's website.

Free toothbrushes and toothpaste
For the 5th annual Give Kids A Smile ( Friday, Feb 2, 07), Colgate-Palmolive Co. will supply toothbrushes and toothpaste to participants nationwide who request free products.

Products requests will be accepted begining Oct 1, 2006 through Nov 15, 2006.

Remember, requests for free products are requests and not orders placed. The corporate sponsors are very generous, but demand always exceeds supply.

Be a participant, sign up today

Electric Toothbrushes verses Manual Toothbrushes

Research has shown that Electric toothbrushes are no more effective than manual toothbrushes. However, "rotating-oscillation" electric toothbrushes (where the head of the toothbrush rotates first in one way and then the other) out-performed manual brushing removing 7% more plaque and leading to 17% less gum disease than manual toothbrushes.

All other electric toothbrushes are no better than manual toothbrushes the researchers found. These include toothbrushes that vibrate at ultrasonic frequencies such as Ultrasonic toothbrushes, the ones with heads that moves from side to side and counter oscillation toothbrushes with sets of bristles that moves one way then the other, or circular motion electric toothbrushes whose heads rotate in one direction only.

The analysis was as a result of a collaboration between the Corkrane Oral Health Group and a team of researchers lead by Dr. Chris Deery of the Edinburgh Dental Institute. More info on this at dentalcarefind.com

It is worth mentioning though that electric toothbrushes have been very helpful to people with low mobility, such as kids and the elderly.
These toothbrushes can also be an incentive to kids not interested in cleaning teeth and may find electric toothbrushes a novelty.

Learn about the fascinating history of the toothbrush.

Help for Dentists

Are you a dentist in need and don't know who to turn to for help?

As part of it's Charitable Assistance Programs, the ADA Foundation has a Relief Grant Program designated to provide financial assistance to dentists and their dependents who, because of accidental injury, a medical condition or advanced age, are not self-supporting.

Other charitable assistance programs include,

--loans for educational support to facilitate certain retraining of disabled individuals

--Disaster grants and loans

--Chemical dependency treatment

For more information and to explore all available forms of assistance, visit their website at this link: American Dental Association

Affordable Dental Plans

Can't afford Dental Care? you are not alone. Statistics show that about 50% of the population in America does not seek regular dental care. One of the reasons is because we live in an era of escalating health and dental care costs and most of us simply can't afford it.

One way to help pay for your dental care if you don't have dental insurance is by signing up with an affordable dental discount plan. why pay full price at the dentist when you can sign up with one of these dental discount plans and save 10%-60% on most dental services? Premiums start as low as $79.95 per year.

Who can Join: Families, individuals, businesses and groups.

Joining a dental plan is easy. You will have all the information you need in just 3 steps. (1) Search, (2) compare and (3) choose from more than 30 national and regional money-saving discount dental plans.

When you enter your Zip Code in the search box provided below, you will instantly be provided with:

1) A list of Discount Dental Plans in your area, in which you could browse and compare

2) List of dentists you could visit for any plan you choose. Included is the dentist's name, specialty, dental office physical address and phone number.
--A map to the office location is also provided.

3) Annual Program Fee

--and much more, including an offer to receive 3 additional months added to your program for FREE!.

NOW, take the first step toward a healthier smile and start saving today!

Dental Phobia

Statistics show that more than 50% of the population in the United States does not seek regular dental attention. To some, it’s because of lack of dental coverage and cannot simply afford a visit the dentist’s office while to others, it’s because they just too busy with other issues of life, work children etc. The biggest part of the pie goes to people who have severe apprehension with dental treatment because of a phobia.

What is Dental Phobia? - It is the fear of dentists and everything to do with them.

Do you have severe anxiety about dentistry and have been avoiding dental visits for many years or decades? Well, you are not alone. Many of us experience dental phobia but to various extends. Due to this fear, some people find themselves in denial of dental problems, even with extreme pain.

A dental phobia isn’t a simple fear or anxiety with dentists or dental treatment, but a serious issue that can be helped.

Other common characteristics of dental phobia include: frequently breaking dental appointments, significant tension the evening prior to your dentist visit, feeling physically ill and tense at the thought of having a dental injection, anxiety at the sight of dental instruments, sweaty palms or gripping of armrest in a dental chair, rapid heartbeat and the overwhelming feeling of lack of control.


Avoiding Dental Care

Avoiding dental care can be detrimental. Problems associated with avoiding dental care, such as chronically infected gums and teeth, can lead to the inability to chew and digest.

Without healthy gums and teeth, your speech can be altered, halitosis can develop and your self-confidence can be affected.

Left untreated, undiagnosed dental problems lead to infection and contribute to a decrease in overall health.

Help for those who experience Dental Phobia

The first step is finding a good dentist that is patient, competent, caring, and has the ability to nature.

Openly discuss the matter with your dentist before any dental procedure. Most dentists understand the problem and will be gentle and try to make the experience as pain-free as possible.

Other treatment options:

• Local anesthetic that does not contain epinephrine, which can make the heart race and escalate the sense of panic.
• Nitrous oxide (laughing gas)
• Pre-medication with anxiety-reducing drugs
• Acupuncture to relieve symptoms
• Hypnosis
• Psychotherapy

The most you can do is to convince yourself that the experience isn’t that bad and that it’s worth every effort you made to take care of your teeth.

Try to think about the following points- may make you feel better.

• Nothing bad will happen to you while at the dentist's chair
  
• This worked for me- closed my eyes and mentally placed myself in some very beautiful beach. I could clearly see the beautiful birds flying around, blue water, people relaxing and enjoying the sunshine. Before I knew it, the dentist announced that the tooth was out- it was a tooth extraction.
• Think of dentist as highly trained professionals and trust them to do the right thing.
• The pinch of the needle will only last for a few seconds, and then you will be all numb.
  

Resources on Dental Phobia

Self-Help for Dental Phobias and Fears

Dental Structure

Adult humans (usually by age 20) have a set of 32 teeth evenly distributed across the mouth’s quadrant. Each quadrant (lower and upper), has 8 teeth as follows:

1) Central Incisor
2) Lateral Incisor
3) Cuspid (Canine)
4) First Pre Molar
5) Second Pre Molar
6) First Molar
7) Second Molar
8) Third Molar (Wisdom Teeth)

These set of teeth are usually termed as the 2nd set of teeth. The 1st set (“baby”, “milk”, “primary” or “ deciduous”) usually appears at age 6 months of birth.
Note: Some babies are born with one of two teeth already visible.

Teething- this is when the 1st set of teeth becomes visible in infants and is usually painful. Teething can be a difficult time for babies and parents. Babies may become fussy, sleepless and irritable, loose their appetite and drool more than usual. Gently rubbing your child’s gums with a clean finger, a small cool spoon or a wet gauze pad can be soothing.
Most children have their full set of primary teeth in place by age three.

Children have 5 sets of teeth (1 to 5) listed above and are evenly distributed across the mouth’s quadrant. Total number of these milk teeth is twenty. Children start to loose their primary teeth usually at age six. The second set (permanent set) begins to erupt pushing out of the jaw the 1st set. The wisdom teeth are the last to erupt at around age 20.

Note: The wisdom teeth may not erupt at all due to lack of room. This happens when the jaw is too small to support extra teeth. The result is impacted wisdom teeth.

Dental irregularities

Did you know it is possible, though rare, for a person to have a 4th and even 5th Molars?
In this case, the total number of teeth will be more than 32 depending on how many “extra” teeth one may develop.

Dental Care Tips

Tips and Facts on Dental Care


1. Did you know the food Clove has long been used to dull the pain of toothache?

2. Studies show that Tea- black, Oolong and Green tea fights cavities

3. Drinking Soda with a straw will actually help save your teeth because the surgary Soda doesn't coat your teeth as when you drink straight from the glass.

4. If you have to chew gum, then choose surgar free gum. Sugar is detrimental to your teeth

5. A recent survey by the Lemelson-MIT Invention Index, which asked which of five inventions Americans could not live without revealed the toothbrush as the undisputed champ! beating the car, the personal computer, the cell phone and the microwave as the most prized innovation.

6. Parents, here is a tip help get your toddler to clean their teeth: ask them to brush your teeth while you simultenously brush theirs. This trick really works! but not for long. A few weeks on avarage.