Author: scarob

Periodontal gum disease is a very serious condition that can affect your overall health, and can destroy the health of your teeth. Read on to find out how you can prevent tooth and gum disease for yourself and your family, and how you can notice its symptoms quickly.

Preventing Gum Infection

Gum disease can be contracted if your mouth is not cleaned properly, or if you don’t clean your mouth as frequently as you should. So, after each meal (or snack), you should be sure to brush your teeth or rinse your mouth with an antiseptic mouthwash, preferably both.

You should also make sure that you are flossing at least once or twice a day-although flossing too often could cause your gums to bleed. This could be an indication of gum infection, so if you are experiencing pain or discomfort after flossing, then merely brush gently and advise your dentist as soon as you can to get more advice on treatment.

Spotting a Gum Disease Symptom

Some other symptoms that you may observe include pain or considerable sensitivity in the teeth or gums (especially when you’re eating), and your teeth may not feel the same in your mouth when you’re chewing your food. You may also notice puss in and around your gums, which is a distinct indication of periodontal disease.

Swollen gums or toothache even when you’re not eating can also be a sign of periodontal disease, so if you are having any of these symptoms, you should make certain that you visit your dentist as soon as you can in order to look into the treatment options that will work best for you.

Gum Disease Treatment

There are several treatments that you can take advantage of in order to get rid of gum disease, and many of them do not require surgery. You can get your gums and teeth thoroughly cleaned at the dentist’s office if you are in the early stages of periodontal disease, and you may be given a regimen to follow that includes flossing or brushing with gentler utensils in order to heal your gums.

You can also talk to your dentist about soft tissue grafts, a procedure that uses soft tissue from other parts of the mouth to restore the parts of the gum that have been damaged by the condition. You can also undergo crown lengthening, which elongates the crown and makes the teeth look longer. Many times, people with short crowns experience periodontal disease because there is unusual gum space in the mouth, which makes it easier for bacteria to enter the mouth.

Source: Free Articles

Author: Adrian Adams

Gum disease (known as periodontitis in medical lingo) occurs when the tissues (gums) that surround your teeth and hold them, get infected. If you are infected with gum disease, you most probably will not realize it, as the infection does not cause pain when it sets in the early stages. The pain begins only when the infection has set in nicely and begun causing havoc with your teeth (causing them to fall out or be removed by a dentist). You will be surprised to know that gum disease is the major cause of tooth loss in adults.

Though you may be brushing your teeth regularly, but that is not enough – you need to take good care of your gums too. Here is a small guide on how to take care of your gums and thereby prevent gum disease:

1. Brush your teeth twice daily: After eating, bacteria park themselves on your teeth and if you allow them to remain there, the gums will start deteriorating. Therefore, you must brush your teeth, and brush them well, twice in a day to remove the bacteria formation. Pay attention to the toothbrush you use – it must be soft-bristled. Remember to use dental products that bear the American Dental Association’s seal of approval.

2. Floss daily: You must regularly floss your teeth to clean out the food particles that are lodged in between your teeth. Flossing is required because toothbrush bristles cannot reach between your teeth and if you leave the stuck food particles unattended to, they will begin to fester and damage the gums.

3. Watch your diet: Do not binge out on sugary-foods such as cakes and desserts – be especially careful with colas as they are have a lot of sugar content, and are acidic as well. Pepper your diet with vegetables, fruits, wholegrains, and cereals. Milk products have lots of calcium in them and they are good for your teeth and gums too. And, do not binge out between meals and do not lust for midnight snacks!

4. See your dentist: Visit your dentist regularly for routine check-ups and tooth cleaning, because plaque collects on your teeth and filters down to your gums and infects them, and it is a good idea to get it removed every few months or so.

These were the preventive measures you can take to ward off gum infection. Once your gums are infected, it is still possible to treat them provided the infection is in an early stage. Once the infection gets into an advanced stage, the gums and the bone, which act as a support system for the teeth may get damaged causing teeth to fall off or be removed.

But, you have all the means at your disposal to ward off gum disease and there is no reason why you would ever want it to even reach the infection stage. So, take good care of your teeth and gums and keep smiling.

Source: articlesbase.com

Author: David Snape

Protecting our gum tissue is not only critical to the appearance of our smile and keeping our natural teeth, it may also be imperative to our overall health. Studies keep popping up indicating the contribution of gum disease to other diseases of the body such as heart disease. Researchers have discovered that those with periodontal disease are not quite twice as likely to suffer from coronary heart disease.

How can you improve your gum health? There are generally two aspects that contribute to the health of your gums. They are professional care and home care. Both of these are important. One without the other will not be very effective, unless you can afford weekly professional cleanings. Therefore home care is at least equally, if not more, important. Neglecting professional care will not work either. You need both to optimize the health of your gum tissue, also called gingiva.

As far as professional care goes, you might consider utilizing the services of a periodontist over that of a general dentist. The periodontist has specialized training and experience with gum tissue health and disease. In addition, that is the focus of his practice. Just like there are specialists in medicine, there are in dentistry as well.

Practically speaking, my own experience is that the care provided in the periodontist’s office, as far as gum health is concerned, was far superior. This includes the quality of the professional cleaning service. I found the periodontist’s office to be able to provide me with many more details about the health of my gums including additional tips on how to care for them. This is information that I did not receive at the dentist’s office. In fact, the dentist did not refer me to the periodontist, I did that for myself. I am glad that I did.

The frequency of professional cleanings should be every two or three months when it comes to your gum health. The six month cleaning schedule that everyone is used too is adequate for caring for the teeth but not for the health of our gums. Home care is the second aspect of caring for our gums and it is very important. Without it, most people won’t have a chance to keep their gums healthy.

Brushing and flossing are seldom enough to provide adequate home care. If they were, gum disease would probably not be labeled ‘the silent epidemic’. The use of a Perio-Aid and an oral irrigator with hydromagnetics are reasonable additions to one’s daily routine. There may be other tools that can be helpful as well.

In short if you have or think you might have gum disease, visit a periodontist. Learn about performing excellent home care for your gums. More frequent professional cleanings are a plus. With adequate professional and home care, you stand a good chance of successfully fighting off gum disease or preventing it in the first place.

Lost gum tissue does not normally grow back. Your periodontist may be able to perform procedures that help. Restoration is seldom one hundred percent. It is best to prevent problems or to stop a current problem from becoming worse. In the future, medical technology may provide us with more options.

This article is for information purposes only. It is not meant to provide advice, diagnosis or suggest treatment. If you have or think you might have gum disease, gingivitis or any other health related problems, visit you dentist or doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

Source: articlesbase.com

Author: Angela Rogers

Periodontal disease is also known as gum disease. There are many reported cases in which the patients have lost tooth because of gum disease. Just like any disease, the gum disease can be treated best when diagnosed early. You must know the warning signs of gum disease so you can report it as early as possible to your dentist.

These warning signs include bleeding gums, swollen gums, expression of pus when the gums are pressed, increase in the gap between your tooth and the gum, bad breath, difference in the strength of the bite, loosening of tooth. It is important to note here as to what causes the gum disease. The major cause of gum disease occurs because of plaque. The plaque lies between the gum line and the tooth.

It then combines with the sugary substances on which the bacteria act to produce acid and toxins. This then acts on the tooth and the gum resulting in the breakdown of the gum tissue. Brushing the teeth along with flossing is truly important in preventing gum disease because brushing alone is not sufficient to remove the food residue that gets stuck between the gums and teeth.

You can also use fluoride toothpaste as it helps prevent decay. Mouth rinse is also a very good option to help remove bacteria, which prevents tooth as well as gum infection. Some of you might not pay due attention to the periodontal disease or gum disease. The periodontal disease is an irreversible disease process. In this disease, the support of teeth is lost, which results in the tooth to become loose and finally fall out.

Did you know that gum disease is also directly linked to heart attacks and it is also linked with the increased blood glucose levels. Another research suggests that the gum disease is also linked to premature birth. All these facts are the result of periodontitis and have very serious health impact on individuals who do not take proper dental hygiene measures.

There is also a condition known as pregnancy gingivitis. This occurs due to hormonal changes and has a strong impact on eating habits. In this condition, the gums are red, swollen and extremely tender and on brushing, the gums bleed. This condition occurs in about 50% of women who are going through pregnancy. This is also a situation that requires serious attention.

You might have heard of a very serious infectious condition known as Trench Mouth. It is a very painful gum infection. This infection occurs due to poor dental and oral hygiene. Other causes of this infection are lack of sleep, smoking, increased stress. The name Trench Mouth was given to this condition when the soldiers in trenches suffered from severe gum infections, which resulted in necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis.

The only way that you can safeguard yourself from severe gum infections is taking proper care of oral and dental hygiene. Therefore the message goes out to all including adults and children to take proper care of your oral and dental hygiene.

Source: Articlesbase.com

By making a few simple change in your lifestyle you may be able to avoid the discoloration of your teeth. If you’re a smoker or a coffee drinker, it is time to consider quitting or reducing your consumption of it.
Also, improving your dental hygiene by regularly brushing and flossing. Visit your dentist every 6 months to get your teeth cleaned as well.

Make an appointment with your dentist if an abnormal discoloration happen. If an abnormal tooth color lasts despite having a good oral hygiene, go to your dentist immediately!

Treatments to whiten teeth varies depending on the cause of its discoloration. This may include; proper tooth brushing and flossing technique use, over-the-counter usage of whitening agents, veneers, bondings, and avoidance of food and beverage that cause stains.

Diabetes, which is not properly controlled, can lead to periodontal disease (of the gums) in both the young and the elderly. Periodontal diseases are infections in the gums and bone that holds teeth in place.

Diabetes and periodontal diseases:
 

Because of changes that occur in the blood vessels with diabetes, thickened blood vessels may prevent the efficiency of the flow of nutrients and the removal of debris from tissues. This impediment in the flow can weaken the gums and bones, making them more susceptible to infection.
Read the rest of this entry »

With growing medical research, it become important periodontal disease (gum) can contribute to, or worsen, heart disease and diabetes – serious health problems. Studies show that Gum disease may also lead to the birth of premature babies of low birth weight. The researchers believe that oral infections, such as periodontal disease, characterized by inflammation and bacterial infection of the gums, adversely affect other evils out of the mouth, as the disease allows the bacteria travel by the bloodstream to other parts the body.

“The Hispanic Americans are at high risk for heart disease and diabetes, and recent research suggests that periodontal disease may contribute negatively to those conditions. It’s important that people know that problems with oral health can affect the rest of the body, “says Dr. Gilbert Barajas, Periodontal Health Group of East Los Angeles, and member of the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP).

Researchers believe the bacteria of periodontal disease can affect a variety of ways to heart health, diabetes and the birth of premature babies with low weight:

Heart Health
The periodontal bacteria can enter the bloodstream and contribute to the formation of clots – the leading cause of coronary artery disease. The bacteria in the bloodstream can lead also to inflammation of the inner covering of the heart and heart valves, known as bad infective endocarditis.

Among Hispanic men, heart disease and stroke, represent approximately 27 percent of all deaths – more than cancer and AIDS combined. Similarly, heart disease and stroke account for 33 percent, roughly, of all deaths among Spanish-American women – more than cancer, diabetes, pneumonia and influenza combined.
 

Diabetes
Patients with diabetes are more likely to develop periodontal disease. Diabetics, in general, have a more compromised immune system. Moreover, if a diabetic patient has a periodontal infection, there is a greater chance that his diabetic condition worse. Approximately 20 percent of Hispanic Americans aged 65 and over have been diagnosed with diabetes. It is estimated that an additional six percent of the Hispanic American population has diabetes but has not yet been diagnosed.
 

Premature babies of low birth weight:
Pregnant women with periodontal disease suffer from an increase in the production of fluids that induce the work of delivery, leading to premature births of babies of low birth weight. This threat shows the importance of incorporating a periodontal evaluation standard prenatal care.

Approximately 26 percent of the Spanish-American did not receive prenatal care during the first quarter – the most critical period in fetal development, as it is when you develop all its major organs, legs and arms.
“The research shows clearly how important is paying attention to our oral health. It is vital that Hispanic Americans understand that periodontal disease is preventable and treatable. I would advise all performed oral examinations annually to rule out tooth decay, deterioration and the beginning of periodontal disease, “adds Dr. Barajas.

“The symptoms of gum disease in its early stages, are generally difficult to detect. Many people may have this wrong and not know it. Therefore, as indicated by this study, people have to be sure that your dentist or periodontist revise the gums on a regular basis, because the periodontal assessment can help protect health in general, “says Dr. Jack G. Caton, president of the AAP. Read the rest of this entry »

Virtually all medicines for the skin are topical or systemic. The topical medicines are applied directly into the affected area of the skin. The systemic drugs are ingested orally or injected and distributed throughout the body. On rare occasions, when you need a high concentration of a drug in the affected area, the doctor may inject a drug just under the skin, this procedure is called intradermal injection.

Some medicines for the skin require a prescription, others can be purchased without a prescription. Although generally are considered safer than those that require a prescription, OTC medicines should be used with caution. Implementing the wrong medication can worsen a disease skin or hide symptoms, making diagnosis more difficult for the doctor.

Topical preparations
The active substances (drugs) from a topical preparation are mixed with (suspended in) a vehicle (an inert carrier of the medication). . Consequently, among the topical preparations, the formulation and consistency vary widely. It is the vehicle that determines the strength of the product and makes the active compounds remain on the surface or penetrate the skin (if the preparation is thick and oily and watery or light). Depending on the vehicle used, the preparation will be an ointment, cream, lotion, a solution, a powder or a gel. Read the rest of this entry »

The skin is not only a protective layer. It is a system that regulates body temperature, perceives the stimuli of pain and pleasure, does not allow certain substances enter the body and represents a protective barrier against the harmful effects of the sun. The color, texture and the folds of the skin to help identify the individuals. Any disruption in the operation or the appearance of the skin may have significant consequences for the physical and mental health.

Each layer of the skin meets a specific task. The outer layer, the epidermis, is finer, in most parts of the body, a plastic film. The top of the epidermis, the stratum corneum, containing keratin, is made up of remnants of dead cells and protects the skin from harmful substances. At the bottom of the epidermis are the melanocytes, cells that produce melanin (the dark pigment of the skin).

Beneath the epidermis is located the dermis, which contains pain and touch receptors, whose ramifications reach the surface of the skin and various glands function of the same: sweat glands, which produce sweat, sebaceous glands, which produce tallow, and hair follicles, which cause hair. Also, inside the dermis, are blood vessels that provide nutrients and heat to the skin and nerves that branch off between the different layers of the same.

Below the dermis is a layer of fat that helps insulate the body of heat and cold. Read the rest of this entry »

How do we recognize the atopic eczema in infants and children? :

The atopic eczema in infants most often begins before the age
of 1 year. Diagnosis requires a medical consultation. It can take several forms:
red lesions and scratch at the cheeks, folds of elbows and knees … etc. The
eczema of the child and infant moves pushed by the need to address because they
are often not experienced by children. The eczema of the child may disappear to
5-8 years.

The treatment:

The treatment of atopic eczema surges may involve lowering
drugs mainly scraping (antihistamines), and local products intensifying
hydration of the skin as well as cortisone creams.

Parents are often afraid to use creams cortisones. You should know that the
creams effective against major thrust of eczema. It is better that a child
flourishes with a skin that a child who sleeps badly and scratching. Simply use
the creams cortisones (under medical prescription)

    used instead of cortisone creams average force,

    apply only to areas of eczema freshly cleaned up efficiency
(about 4 to 7 days)

    and decrease gradually applications then.

It is considered that cortisone creams can be used for each reached an
approximately 1 tube for a child aged 4-5. Beyond that, you have to re-treatment
to reassess the balance sheet and allergy.