Smile with Confidence: A Comprehensive Guide to Dental Health and Care

Oral hygiene

Common Dental Questions, dental care questions and answers, dental health tips, cosmetic and restorative dentistry, dental technology, ask a dentist about oral hygiene

woman holding toothbrush and coffee

Your Best Cosmetic Dentist Tips for Avoiding Stained Teeth

Originally posted on: https://readytosmile.com/your-best-cosmetic-dentist-tips-for-avoiding-stained-teeth/ TEA AND RED WINE LOVERS are probably all too familiar with the effects these liquids have on…

dentist with patient in office

Complete Health Dentistry: Oral Health Impacts Overall Health

Originally posted on: https://readytosmile.com/complete-health-dentistry-oral-health-impacts-overall-health/ Preventable chronic diseases cause seventy-five percent of medical costs. It has become a monumental discovery in…

What Causes Morning Breath?

We all hate that icky feeling we get when we get up in the morning with “morning breath” and we often scurry right away to the bathroom to brush our teeth before we offend our significant other.  Heck – sometimes we even offend ourselves.

Morning breath

Halitosis, or bad breath, in general, may be caused by several factors, only one of which is poor dental hygiene.  The foods you enjoy eating, like curry, garlic or onions, are a major culprit and emit a foul odor, no matter how much you brush and floss. In the case of garlic and onions, they actually go right into your pores and the smell emits from your lungs, not just your mouth.  Garlic may keep you healthy but you might lose a friend or two along the way as well.

Other foods besides onion and garlic cause morning breath and this is because they are notorious for creating a sticky film on your teeth.  One infamous offender is spinach. It’s believed that the residue spinach leaves on the teeth is from oxalic acid, which also can be found in beets, kale and rhubarb.

The biggest reason for bad morning breath is because when we are unconscious and sleeping during the night, many of our bodily functions stop or slow down, and this includes our salivary glands.  Saliva is very important in fighting bad breath because it is high in oxygen and this kills the anaerobic bacteria.  It also helps break down the food particles and remove them from the mouth when the saliva is swallowed.  Due to the lower amounts of saliva during sleep, the mouth is exposed to less oxygen and there is less of it circulating to cleanse and remove particles from the mouth.  Thus, before going to bed you should ensure your mouth is as free from particles of plaque and food as possible because those items are like magnets that drag bacteria toward them and cause them to multiply.  Bacteria in the mouth thrive in an alkaline environment that inhibits the growth of bacteria.

How to Clean The Tongue

To keep your mouth healthy and avoid committing the dreaded social blunder of having halitosis, otherwise known as “bad breath”, dentists recommend that you do the following:

  • Brush your teeth twice daily
  • Floss at least once per day
  • Use a tongue brush or scraper daily.

So, what the heck is a tongue scraper, and, furthermore – why did my dentist never recommend doing this?

Well, the concept has been around for a long time; in fact, tongue cleaning was performed by the Romans, and was recorded in Europe back in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Health Benefits of Strawberries

Strawberries look, smell and taste good, they are good for you as well.  You know you can’t resist picking one up and popping it into your mouth – neither could the Romans back in the day.  They used the wild variety of this popular and healthy treat known as a strawberry, for a large variety of medicinal purposes, such as alleviating inflammation, fever, kidney stones, gout, whitening teeth and taming bad breath … and much more.

Strawberries for dental hygiene

The Romans used strawberries to combat bad breath – so how does that really work, and is it effective?  Well, the ancient Romans discovered that the strawberry with its seeded exterior, and sweet and sensational taste, can remove the tartar from your mouth, thus causing a fresh and sweet breath.

Facts about Baby Teeth

Naturally, babies are vastly different from adults, and that means that baby teeth aren’t like adult teeth. Just as you wouldn’t treat your infant as you would a toddler, a tween, or a teen, you must realize that you need to approach your baby’s incoming teeth in a different manner. Those little teeth your little one’s mouth is growing come with their own set of requirements. But it doesn’t stop there. Your baby’s mouth and overall oral hygiene also must be handled differently from your own dental routine. The best place to start when it comes to your baby’s new teeth is to learn the facts about those teeth. Following are some important facts about baby teeth from top dentists, as well as practical tips on caring for your baby’s dental health.  If you have more questions about baby teeth or are ready to take your little one to her first dental visit you should contact a family dentist in Essex County.

Foods That are Good for Teeth

If you were to sample a group of people in a large crowd and ask them if they were 100% happy with their teeth the answers would vary. Some might say they don’t like the shape of their teeth, they may mention having too many cavities that resulted in bad fillings, or more commonly the whiteness of their teeth isn’t good enough. Across the board the issues would be cosmetic, but there is a deeper issue below the surface of the teeth. It’s important to be aware of the foods that you consume because it does impact the overall appearance of your teeth. Here you will learn about some foods that are good for your teeth.

What Is A Tongue Cleaner?

A tongue cleaner? Say what?! Whoever heard of such a thing? Well, not many people. In fact, studies show that less than 20 percent of Americans have ever used a tongue cleaner. Even most people who pride themselves on their excellent oral hygiene practices don’t routinely use a tongue cleaner, and many never have. But tongue cleaners are wonderful and inexpensive little devices that can do wonders for the health of your mouth, especially if you’re someone who faces challenges with your teeth or even with chronic bad breathe. But what is a tongue cleaner? Why should you use one? Will it really make that big a difference to your teeth, gums, or breathe? The answer to this question? Absolutely! And the great news is that it takes just a minute or two a day. Here’s more information from general dentists about tongue cleaners and, most importantly, why you should add a tongue cleaner to your daily oral hygiene regimen.