Most of us understand that fluoride is immensely beneficial to our oral health. This is because it strengthens our teeth and makes them more resilient against decay. Consequently, many water supplies have been infused with fluoride to promote the development of strong teeth. However, what happens when one ingests too much fluoride?

Fluorosis

Fluorosis occurs as the result of ingesting too much fluoride too early in life. The first signs of fluorosis are typically brown stains and flaws across the surfaces of the teeth. See your dentist right away if this problem occurs, as they will most likely be able to treat the condition outright.

Causes

If a child consumes too much fluoride as their permanent set of teeth are coming in, they may develop fluorosis. After taking them to a dentist and confirming they have the condition you may need to have your child x-rayed to check if the problem has progressed to any areas other than the surface of their teeth. Further treatment protocol will be outlined in the next section.

Treatment

With fluorosis, it is important to remember that the problem is not a life-threatening one. Rather, it is merely cosmetic and is in no way reflective of the child’s health. This is a good thing because there are a wealth of cosmetic treatment options that are relatively simple: teeth whitening, crowns, tooth bonding, and veneers. If fluorosis is caught early, teeth whitening may be the best solution. This is due to the fact that the discoloration has yet to really set in. However, if the problem is left untreated then bonding or a crown may be required.

Prevention

If you have children and want to protect them from the social trauma that could potentially result from such a condition, the best way to help them is to take note of their fluoride intake. By maintaining careful watch, you can engage in a little preventative maintenance that will afford you ample time to address the problem just after it occurs. When showing your children how to measure out their fluoride, make sure the amount they are putting on their toothbrush is not larger than a pea. Additionally, get them into the habit of spitting after they brush, as one should never swallow fluoride. One effective means of preventing swallowing is forgoing flavored toothpaste for something much less enticing. Finally, take extra care to restrict your child’s access to other household items containing fluoride. This will ensure that they do not accidentally ingest anything without you knowing about it.

When we visit a dental office for the first time, we are required to fill out a medical history form. While many just scoff and skim over this, thinking it doesn’t relate to their oral health, the detriments of doing so could be extensive. This is because oral health is directly correlated with the body’s overall health. For this reason, it is important to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information on your medical history form. Here to further dilettante those reasons is a list explaining why giving a comprehensive and accurate account of your medical history is paramount to the dentist.

The Correlation Between Oral and Bodily Health

As mentioned above, current research indicates that there is a relation between oral and bodily health. Essentially, these studies argue that examining the health of one’s mouth provides a good idea as to what is occurring over the rest of the body. For this reason, one of the purposes of the medical history form is to provide an idea about what might be causing dental ailments and how these could relate to your overall health. Doing so will improve your quality of treatment and provide preventative maintenance of conditions that would otherwise develop.

Correlation with Diabetes

Numerous studies show that diabetics are at increased risk of developing periodontal disease. Periodontitis is a nasty infection that festers in the gums and can cause longterm damage to the bone structure beneath. Here, it is important that dentist possesses knowledge of your condition so they can recommend the best treatment plan.

Knee and Hip Replacements

One thing many people do not consider is how joint replacement affects certain dental procedures. Consequently, many patients who have undergone joint replacement will want to inform their dentist so they can be treated with antibiotics if necessary. The goal of the antibiotics is to destroy bacteria before it finds its way into the bloodstream. Therefore, it is essential that this treatment take place prior to the performance of any dental procedure.

Heart Disease

The studies outlined above also demonstrate a direct correlation between periodontitis and heart disease. They argue that the bacteria spawned from periodontitis can worsen heart disease. This is due to the blood clots that bacteria cause after entering the bloodstream. Such clots interrupt the blood that should otherwise find its way to the heart. The result is increased blood pressure and a higher potential for cardiac arrest.

Most of us understand that brushing our teeth is an efficient means of preventing cavities, maintaining a glittering smile, and preserving fresh breath. In the social sphere, all of these outcomes are advantageous. In terms of personal hygiene, they cannot be ignored. However, what happens when we forget and fall asleep without brushing our teeth? Is the damage minimal or irreversible? Here to give you a better idea of the consequences is a brief list describing just what happens when you fall asleep without cleaning your teeth.

What Happens to the Teeth?

Every time we eat, we are simultaneously feeding ourselves and the bacteria that reside in our mouths. Just like us, the bacteria defecate after they eat. Can you guess where? That’s right, all over our teeth! The waste that bacteria leave behind is highly acidic and eats away at tooth enamel, eventually causing tooth decay and cavities.

Sleeping without brushing allows plaque to calcify on the teeth. Once this has occurred, it can only be removed by a dentist. Even worse, gums misread plaque as an infection, which causes the immune system to attack. Consequently, the body also starts to attack healthy tissue that is trying to hold the teeth in place, causing the gums to peel away from the teeth.

The Dangers of Inflammation

Long term inflammation can cause excessive long term damage. Just how much damage? Well, some studies have linked habitual inflammation to heart disease, hearing loss, and dementia. Granted, all of this won’t happen if you forget to brush your teeth a couple times; it’s when you make a habit out of it that thinks can get dangerous. Rather than promoting bodily degradation, just take an extra five minutes for preventative oral hygiene. It doesn’t even necessarily matter when you brush, so long as you remove the bacteria once in the morning and once at night.

Tips and Tricks

Keeping a toothbrush next to your bed means you can give your teeth a quick brush if you forget to do so before getting into bed. You don’t even need toothpaste for this trick, just keep some sanitizer on hand to clean your brush afterwards. Additionally, you can also do the same with floss. There’s also a great memorization technique that can be used before bed: get into the habit of running your tongue over your teeth, and pay attention to whether the surface feels thick and pasty, or smooth. This habit provides a quick and effective means of knowing whether your teeth are clean or caked in plaque.

Good oral health is a vital part of staying healthy and Medicaid can be a critical component in achieving that goal. States must meet certain requirements to offer dental benefits to children who are covered under the Medicaid program as well as those who are enrolled in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). But while children are mandated for care, states can be more selective about providing similar benefits to adults.

Covered Benefits for Children

Medicaid covers dental work for all children in the program under the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit. Oral screenings are typically included in any physical examination a child may receive, but it should not take the place of a full dental examination by a dental professional. Children can be referred to a dentist under the stipulations set forth within the rules of each state. Any covered dental work provided to a child in Medicaid must meet the program minimums, which include routine preventative care, relief from tooth or oral pain, removal of infection, and restoration of teeth that have been damaged or lost.

Early Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Testing (EPSDT) Benefit

Under EPSDT, all dental work must be performed on a child that has been deemed as a medical necessity. The guidelines for that determination are established by the states individually. Should there be a condition or malady discovered during a checkup, the state is bound to provide services to treat the problem, regardless of whether or not they are covered under that state’s Medicaid program.
States must also develop a dental maintenance schedule in accordance with established dental associations that have sufficient expertise in providing healthcare for children. Dental services must be offered to children at periodic intervals that follow the prescribed schedule and states must provide dentist referrals to comply with those intervals for care.

Covered Benefits for Children in CHIP

Any state that offers CHIP through the Medicaid expansion must provide the ESPDT benefit. CHIP programs are also required to cover dental services that are essential to prevent disease and promote good dental health, cover emergency procedures, and restore teeth and other oral functions in children.

Covered Benefits for Adults

While Medicaid comes with specific minimum requirements for children in all states, coverage for adults is less stringent. States have more leeway to determine what dental services can be offered to adults in the Medicaid program. Most states maintain a minimum of emergency dental services to all adult enrollees, however, many fail to provide a comprehensive plan.

Although they sound similar and many confuse the two as the same thing, there are marked differences between cold sores and canker sores. Knowing how they differ from one another is vital to understanding how they develop and what steps you should take to prevent them from occurring.

What Do Cold Sores Look Like?

A cold sore resembles a pimple and it’s typically located around the outside of your mouth. Cold sores are very contagious, requiring specific and sometimes complicated treatments to remove them. Though most cold sores are not a serious condition, they can prove to be potentially deadly for sufferers with a diminished immune system due to medication or other contributing diseases.

Causes of Cold Sores

Cold sores are spread through viral contact. They can be passed among individuals who come into close contact with one another by way of kissing or other similar physical contact. Cold sores can also be transmitted by people who eat from the same fork or spoon, drink from the same glass, and so on.

Most of us will experience a cold sore at least once and many are first exposed to the HSV 1 type virus, the primary cause of cold sores, by the time they reach the age of five. If you have the virus it doesn’t necessarily mean you will develop a cold sore. It can remain dormant but still be transmittable even if you never experience any cold sores. An outbreak can be the result of hormonal changes, stress, suppressed immune system, a viral infection, fatigue, even direct sunlight.

What Do Canker Sores Look Like?

A canker sore appears a white circle or oval that is located within the mouth. It can develop inside the lip, on the gums, the tongue, or the interior of the mouth at the cheek. They can grow in size and become extremely painful, making it difficult to eat, drink, or speak without discomfort. But despite the pain, canker sores are not a serious condition and they will often clear up in anywhere from two to three weeks’ time.

Causes of Canker Sores

Canker sores usually come about as a signal that you aren’t taking the best care of yourself. They can develop if you are stressed out or fatigued, maybe you’re not eating well and lack certain vitamins or nutrients in your diet, or you’ve eaten foods that are highly acidic. They can also be caused by an oral injury in the mouth that didn’t heal fully or properly resulting from eating something sharp such as a potato chip or biting the inside of your cheek or tongue by mistake. Hormonal changes are also a cause of canker sores.

Your toothbrush is your first line of defense against tooth decay and poor oral health. So you want that tool to be working at peak performance at all times. But since your toothbrush will be seeing a lot of active use on a daily basis it can get worn out in a relatively small period of time. Toothbrushes do have a finite expiration date, which can be determined just by looking at it. If you notice the bristles are starting to look faded and frayed, then it’s time to throw it out and get yourself a new one.

Changing Your Toothbrush

The American Dental Association recommends that you switch your toothbrush out every three to four months. That is just an overall suggestion, you or your children may need to switch out a worn down toothbrush sooner based upon how often you brush and how rigorous you get when you do. Some people brush harder than others and that additional wear and tear can have an impact on the lifespan of your toothbrush. But the maximum length for holding onto any one toothbrush should really be no longer than four months.

This goes for normal toothbrushes or electric variations in which you can swap out brush heads. Clinical studies have shown that bristles which are worn down and frayed are far less effective at removing plaque, food particles, and other bacteria than a toothbrush with fresh bristles. That can have an impact on keeping your teeth clean and your mouth healthy.

Toothbrush Care and Maintenance

The best way to keep your toothbrush in optimum working order is to follow some simple care and maintenance techniques. After you’re finished brushing, rinse your toothbrush under running water in order to remove all excess toothpaste and bacteria that you just scrubbed away. Store the toothbrush in an upright position so it’s allowed to air dry properly. Do not store your toothbrush in a closed container because the wet bristles can develop bacteria if they aren’t allowed to completely dry out correctly.

Getting Sick

When you come down with a cold or some other malady you’re not going to stop brushing your teeth. But after you get healthy again, you should throw out your toothbrush regardless of how long you’ve had it. That’s because you may still have some cold germs stuck in the bristles and while they may not cause you to get sick all over again, they can have detrimental effects on your oral health.

Not everyone has the same experience with wisdom teeth, even though everyone starts to get them during adolescence. In some cases, wisdom teeth erupt with little muss or fuss, while others end up dealing with the many issues related to impacted wisdom teeth.

Like teething babies, most of us experience some amount of pain or at least discomfort as wisdom teeth grow, and many people experience symptoms like swelling and redness of gums, swelling of the jaw, and even pain in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Difficulties eating and sometimes speaking are not totally uncommon.

Serious symptoms are most often associated with impacted wisdom teeth and they can get even worse if infection sets in, causing pain, swelling, fever, and more. In addition, you may experience headaches when wisdom teeth are coming in. Are headaches a common symptom or should you assume the two are unrelated?

When is a Headache Just a Headache?

Just because your wisdom teeth are coming in, or because they are impacted, doesn’t necessarily mean they are to blame for headaches. In some cases, you may simply be prone to headaches. Keep in mind that adolescence is also a time when the body is developing and hormones run wild, so headaches could be related to something else.

That said, it is not uncommon to experience headaches associated with the growth of wisdom teeth. As wisdom teeth come in, you may adjust your bite to accommodate the discomfort in the back of your mouth. This is particularly common in cases where wisdom teeth are impacted, infected, and causing you pain.

When you compensate for pain by adjusting your jaw and your bite, your TMJ can become stressed or even dislocated. This, in turn, can demand extra work from surrounding muscles, which can get overworked and start to spasm. From there, it’s no surprise that pain results, radiating through the neck, face, and head and causing headaches.

What Can You Do?

OTC painkillers like NSAIDs and aspirin will only go so far. Whether you’re dealing with impacted, infected, or merely painful wisdom teeth that are causing headaches, the best solution, generally speaking, is to have your wisdom teeth removed.

Even when teeth erupt perfect and pain-free, many dentists recommend removing them because they are so difficult to clean and maintain. Rather than waiting for cavities and other issues to develop down the line, you may simply want to remove wisdom teeth early. This is also the best way to avoid pain and headaches related to wisdom teeth once they start to grow.

There are an abundance of myths out there related to dental care and pregnancy. The following information is intended to dispel the most prominent ones, but always check with your dentist for the best advice pertaining to your specific situation.

Myth: dental work should be avoided while the patient is pregnant or the patient should avoid telling their dentist that they are pregnant.

Fact: The opposite is true. Patients should always inform their dentist of their pregnancy and check-ups, cleanings, and filling work are all recommended. Even local anesthetics and X-Ray’s are permitted, albeit cautiously and only when absolutely necessary. While the ideal time to see the dentist is prior to becoming pregnant, the best time during pregnancy is during the second trimester. Patients should check with their dentist to determine when would be the best time to schedule an appointment.

Myth: calcium from the baby’s teeth is sourced from the mother’s teeth.

Fact: The calcium in a baby’s body comes from its mother’s diet, not her teeth. If the mother’s diet is insufficient, her body would source it from her bones rather than remove it from her teeth.

Myth: avoid X-Rays at all costs.

Fact: While they are usually generally avoided in all but the most imperative situations, X-Rays are actually considered to be safe during pregnancy. Besides, it is better to remove an infection rather than run the risk of the baby contracting it. As always, patients experiencing any pain should consult their dentist for advice pertaining to their specific situation.

Myth: local anesthetics should not be used at all during pregnancy.

Fact: While it is always recommended to consult with your dentist before treatment, many studies have concluded that the use of local anesthetics during pregnancy will not have adverse effects on the baby.

Myth: If you vomit you should immediately brush your teeth.

Fact: It is actually best to rinse with water (or water with baking soda) and wait 30 minutes before brushing rather than brushing outright. This is because brushing immediately after vomiting can further degrade the enamel on your teeth (which the gastric acid from the stomach is already working on). As mentioned above, this can be combated by rinsing with water (adding baking soda assists in neutralizing the acid), then brushing after 30 minutes, preferably with a fluoride-rich toothpaste.

Many job seekers find it challenging to blend two important things – the interview and a smile. The act of smiling has been scientifically studied, and it relays happiness, authenticity, and trust across cultures and generations. Most of the time, it happens subconsciously. That’s not usually the case during a job interview. The first impression you make gives a smile all that much more importance, which will now be explained in more detail.

During the first few seconds of the interview, a friendly smile will tell the interviewer you are easy going and enthusiastic. It also shows that you are confident in your abilities and eager to help others along. Those who smile more also help create a more pleasant environment. Other people don’t simply believe they should feel happier; smiling triggers a signal to the brain, so its effects are innate. You may even get your interviewer to relax and remember your discussion as a positive experience, which may work in your favor later on.

Be Careful of Too Much of a Good Thing

It is important to smile during a job interview. Just be careful not to do so too much. Smiling excessively will only make you look weird and detached. Try to make your smiles appropriate based on the moment and what is being discussed; if the interviewer is talking about industry facts, a big grin will look kind of odd. A false smile will too; it involves different facial muscles, and your interviewer’s brain will interpret it in a negative light and they may even feel uncomfortable.

Keep Your Teeth Looking Nice

In addition to your body language, your teeth tell a story too. Check in the mirror for spinach or any other foods that might be left over from your last meal. Many people consider teeth whiteners a few days earlier, which can lighten things a few shades to give off your best impression.

Relax

The more you relax during the interview, the easier it is to avoid awkward facial expressions. It is important for your nerves to not get in the way. Being relaxed will also make it easier to assert your confidence and smile naturally during the conversation. Try thinking positive thoughts and drawing your attention to attractive colors, humorous signs, or anything around that you find brings on a smile. If you do, chances are the job interview will turn out much better.