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Dental Care - Fluoride and Your Teeth

| May 27, 2007

Fluoride plays an important role in keeping teeth healthy by helping to prevent tooth decay. That’s why fluoride is added to many toothpastes and why fluoride treatment has become a routine part of dental cleanings. Fluoride is actually derived from fluorine, a prevalent element found within the Earth’s crust. Fortunately, most people get the fluoride their teeth need from their drinking water, as most municipalities in the US add it routinely.

How can fluoride help prevent tooth decay? It does so two ways. First, part of the fluoride that enters the bloodstream travels to the teeth and once there, helps strengthen enamel. The enamel is the translucent material that covers your teeth. Stronger enamel helps minimize the effects of demineralization - the loss of minerals caused by the damaging acids the bacteria in plaque produce. Demineralization will weaken a tooth’s enamel over time, making it more susceptible to decay. As the enamel decays, it’s more susceptible to dental cavities.

The other way fluoride benefits teeth is during the remineralization process. Remineralization is the body’s natural way of replenishing the minerals that have been lost via the demineralization process. Each time you drink milk, for example, a portion of the minerals contained in milk head to the teeth to assist with remineralization.

Fluoride works the same way. As it enters the body, either via drinking water, mouthwash, toothpaste or topical application, it helps enamel replenish its supply of fluoride. While remineralization is taking place, it has the added benefit of slowing down plaque’s ability to produce damaging acids.

To supplement or not? That’s a controversial question and the bottom line is this. If your drinking water supply is not fluorinated, you should inquire about receiving fluoride supplements. Children between the ages of 6 months and 16 years especially need fluoride as it’s the most effective way known so far to keep dental decay under control. A dentist or your child’s doctor can prescribe fluoride in liquid or tablet form when deemed necessary.  Or a dental hygienist can provide a fluoride application during your dental visit.

Most people who get their drinking water from a ground water supply or from a water processing plant get an adequate amount of fluoride. However, those who purchase bottled water may have a problem because fluorine is not added to many brands. While bottled water may have other benefits, its lack of fluoride may outweigh those benefits. If you drink bottled water and you’re unsure whether it contains fluoride, check the ingredients listed on the label.

The controversy surrounding fluoride centers on the possibility of getting too much into your system. Like other vitamins and minerals, too much may cause problems. The most common result of excess fluoride is fluorosis, which may be unsightly, but isn’t harmful. Fluorosis is a condition in which the enamel becomes discolored or mottled.

Fluoride toxicity is more serious and occurs when a large amount of fluoride is ingested in a short time. Its symptoms include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, pain in the abdomen and abnormal thirst. Since this occurs most frequently in small children, it’s important to keep toothpaste out of children’s reach, to supervise children while they brush their teeth and to teach them not to swallow the toothpaste.

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Tooth Whitening

| May 23, 2007

Tooth whitening is all the rage, with teeth looking whiter and brighter than ever before. Strictly cosmetic, this dental treatment improves the appearance of teeth by lightening stains and other discolorations. There are many reasons why teeth stain and turn yellowish in color, but the biggest culprits are the things people do every day – drinking coffee, tea and non-clear soda and smoking cigarettes. The pores on the enamel take hold of these stains which is why regular brushing can’t remove them.

Age is also a factor in tooth staining and discoloration. And sometimes, teeth stain from the inside rather than from the out. Excess fluoride and certain medications can cause these intrinsic stains. Tooth whitening, a process that needs to be repeated regularly, works on the stains on the outside of the teeth.

Teeth whitening can be done while at the dentist’s office or it can be done while at home. At home, you can use whitening products available at your local pharmacy or you can use custom-made trays and solutions that are prepared by your dentist. Each requires a series of whitening procedures of varying lengths. If you’re interested in having your teeth whitened, it’s a good idea to discuss with your dentist the benefits and disadvantages of each method.

Before teeth whitening can begin, teeth must be cleaned by a dentist or dental hygienist and all cavities will need to be filled. Receding gum can cause a problem if it has receded so much that the roots are exposed. Because there’s no enamel on roots, whitening won’t take hold. Whitening also won’t work on teeth that have crowns or veneers.

How teeth whitening works

To whiten teeth, trays are loaded with a solution made with hydrogen peroxide. The trays are similar in look and shape to a mouth or night guard. The solution-filled trays are positioned over the top and bottom rows of teeth and they remain in place for one to two hours. Or if the whitening is done at home, overnight.

Sessions can be shorter when done at the dentist’s office, but the patient needs to return for several visits. When done in the office, the dentist is right there to monitor the process. If done at home, care must be taken when inserting and wearing the mouth guards. If any of the solution leaks, it may irritate the gums.

In theory, the longer you keep the solution on your teeth, the whiter they’ll become. However, some types of discoloration are difficult to remove. There are some whitening products that are only activated when they come into contact with a light or heat. Those are best used under the supervision of your dentist.

Whitened teeth can last just one month or 6 months or longer. The more you avoid the substances that cause staining, the longer the process should last. The only side effects of teeth whitening are possible gum irritation and temporary sensitivity. Overall the process is very safe, however those who are pregnant should avoid teeth whitening. To date, studies on how or if whitening agents affect a developing fetus have not been conducted.

Click here for Maximum Teeth Whitening the Natural Way!

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Dental Insurance Quote

| May 20, 2007

An adequate dental insurance package can significantly remove much of the cost burden involved in obtaining dental treatment.  It can also go a long way in ensuring you obtain good quality dental care.  Therefore, it can be said that the added peace of mind, as well as the overall health and economic benefits that you can obtain from suitable dental insurance cannot be overemphasized.  Getting a dental insurance quote is never a challenging prospect, because there are a wide range of competing dental insurance quotes on the market.  It is worth mentioning that prospective buyers of dental insurance must always ensure that the dental insurance quotes they obtain are for total coverage insurance packages, if this is what they require.  This is because some dental insurance quotes will only cover emergency and non-emergency treatment and not regular dental appointments.  Hence, before starting your search for a dental insurance quote, you should know exactly what coverage you require.

To a large extent, getting the most competitive dental insurance quote will require a good measure of research and comparison analysis.  This is imperative, because there is nothing worse than signing up for a dental insurance plan, only to discover that you could have obtained an even better deal.  When searching for insurance quotes, it is also important to bear in mind that getting specialized advice and guidance is always a good idea.  Such assistance can be obtained from the many free guides and informational resources that are available online.  You could also patronize the services of a health care insurance advisor.

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Health Dental Insurance

| May 15, 2007

Health dental insurance is perhaps one of the most essential expenditures anyone could make.  This is because of the important role which proper dental health care plays in general well being.  Besides obtaining affordable insurance, prospective buyers of health dental insurance need to ensure that they obtain the dental coverage that meets their exact requirements.  Though not everyone can afford total dental coverage, it is always a good idea to go for a dental plan which contributes a substantial amount to your annual dental treatment expenses.  In most cases, it is advisable to patronize the services of a health dental insurance broker.  This is because a health dental insurance broker can recommend a fully customized dental plan.  At this junction, it is also worth mentioning that some health dental insurance providers also give their customers the option of having both their health and dental insurance needs covered in one package.

You can always get a free online quote from the website of a reputable health dental insurance provider.  Most of these dental insurers will give you an instant, no obligation quote.  Furthermore, for your added convenience, many online dental insurance providers will also accept online applications.  Some health dental insurance companies even offer discounts to those customers that complete their applications online.  It should also be mentioned that many people get tied up in unsuitable dental insurance plans because they failed to get all necessary information.  So, buyers ought to ensure that they understand all terms and conditions of any insurance plan before signing up.

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