Thursday 26 March 2009

Easy Tips to Keep Your Teeth Healthy


During these tough economic times, many regular activities are being put on hold — and that includes visits to the dentist, as reported by Medill Reports.

So how can people take care of their teeth now to avoid expensive dental procedures in the future? Chicago Dental Society dentists gave us the top ten budget-friendly ways to care for teeth at home:

1) Drink plenty of water. It’s a “natural” mouthwash that can help reduce stains left by coffee, soda and red wine.

2) Eat a piece of cheese. After dinner, munch on some cheddar - it can help neutralize acids in your mouth.

3) Chew sugar free gum. Chewing gum increases saliva production, which helps to wash away plaque acid and bathe teeth in needed minerals to strengthen tooth enamel.

4) Wait to brush after acidic drinks. After drinking orange juice and soda pop, don’t reach for the toothbrush right away. Wait at least 20 minutes to reduce the chance of enamel wear.

5) Rinse with hydrogen peroxide. A small amount of H2O2 mixed with water makes a great anti-bacterial and whitening rinse after brushing. Just don’t swallow!

6) Brush with baking soda, a gentle abrasive that can clean like toothpaste.

7) Use a straw. Might feel awkward to drink coffee or red wine through a straw, but doing so can help minimize direct contact between your pearly whites and these staining liquids.

8) Soften your toothbrush. Sensitive teeth can find relief from rough bristles by running the toothbrush under hot water before brushing.

9) Avoid sugar and starches. Both sugar and carbs can feed bacteria that causes tooth decay. It’s just not the sweet stuff - a handful of crackers can have the same effect as a candy bar at feeding bacteria.

10) Brush and floss. Duh.

The Chicago Dental Society surveyed more than 300 members to find out how the economy is affecting dental care. More than half say their patients are putting off needed dental work. More than 40 percent of dentists report that visits for preventative dental care are also on the decline.

Taking care of your teeth now can prevent expensive dental procedures in the future. And while regular dental visits do play an important role in overall care, here are some at-home remedies that will help your smile-and your wallet.

Top Ten Budget Tips to Keep Your Teeth Healthy

Friday 20 March 2009

Plan Free Dental Clinic: Dental Help

Community Foundation helping plan free dental clinic

The Carroll County Community Foundation is leading the area’s planning for a free dental clinic operated by Arkansas Mission of Mercy as part of the Arkansas Dental Association.

The free clinic will be held on May 8 and 9 at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Springdale, exit 72 off of U.S. Hwy. 540.

The doors open at 7 a.m. and it is “first come first served.” Fillings and extractions are offered at no cost; no income requirements. Both children and adults are welcome.

In 2008, in the Little Rock area, more than $643,000 of donated dental care was provided. Involved were 143 dentists, hygienists, dental assistants, pharmacists, nurses, support staff and 790 volunteers. Patients treated totaled 1,569 with 2,816 extractions and 1,711 fillings.

Interested volunteers can see the volunteer job descriptions click on Mission of Mercy (blue border) and click red. A video about the free clinic can be seen on-line.

Source: Helping Plan Free Dental Clinic

Monday 16 March 2009

Be Responsible & Aware About Your Dental Health


Dentist Jeff Harvey, at right, uses a dental dam to isolate specific teeth during a procedure with Dr. Gary Schumacher last year in the dental clinic at Ebenezer Medical Outreach. Staff at Ebenezer say the local dental clinic is the only option for some low-income residents. Efforts are under way to improve access to cosmetic dentistry.

Two-thirds of children in West Virginia have cavities by age 8. That is far, far too many.

West Virginians drink a lot of sugary soft drinks. They use a lot of tobacco products. Both are bad for their teeth.

Small children, too, suffer from "Mountain Dew mouth" because their parents put soft drinks and sugary fruit juices in baby bottles and sippy cups for their children to drink in bed. The habit of drinking sugary drinks starts young and continues into adulthood.

Couple that with the fact that relatively few children in West Virginia see a dentist regularly and you have a prescription for dental problems in a large number of people in this state. But it's not just here. It's in Appalachia as a whole.

As reported by Laura Wilcox in The Herald-Dispatch a week ago, experts say many factors contribute to bad teeth, including a lack of fluoride, access to care and preventive action.

Experts say there is no single solution to the dental care problem, but many efforts are making a difference, said Bobbi Jo Muto, community oral health coordinator for the Robert C. Byrd Center for Rural Health at Marshall University.

One recently announced was a $500,000 grant for children's oral health in West Virginia. Grant money will provide increased access to preventive services for youth through school-community partnerships.

Muto told Wilcox that preventive care should be a priority in the region.

"If we can just make people realize they don't have to lose their teeth. They don't have to have a cavity. It's 100 percent preventable, and yet we have all these children with rampant decay," she said

It's another of those areas that come down to parents taking responsibility for their children's dental health, just as they take responsibility for other aspects of health. That means instructing them in good dental care, making sure they see a cosmetic dentist and being aware of what they eat and drink.


Unfortunately, the stereotype of the toothless Appalachian is always good for an easy laugh. That's why Jay Leno was able to say this about the proposed Barbie ban in the West Virginia Legislature: "They want to make it illegal to sell Barbie dolls in West Virginia cause they say the dolls give girls unreal expectations. See, apparently in West Virginia, dolls that have all of their teeth are not considered realistic."

There is no reason in the 21st century that so many children should have so many dental problems. Access to care can be expensive. Legislators are working on that, and more Medicaid money for dental care could be available when the session ends. Gov. Joe Manchin has asked dentists to volunteer one day a month to help people who otherwise could not or would not seek dental care.

Outreach programs in schools also could reach children who now don't know about basic dental health or who know about it but don't practice it.

It will take a combination of outreach programs and families taking responsibility for their own health, but it has to be done. Appalachians have a history of poor dental care. It needs to stop with this generation once it has been taught what it needs to do, once people do what they must and once they have the resources to take care of themselves.

Improving dental health requires responsibility, outreach

Friday 13 March 2009

Few Tips To Ensure That Plastic Surgery Is Safe

Contemplating cosmetic surgery? If so, you're likely concerned about finding a skilled physician. A recent survey of women ages 35 to 69 by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery found that 95 percent were more concerned about their doctor's training and experience than about how soon they would see results.

These tips from the society might help would-be patients in making the decision to undergo elective cosmetic procedures, from having a botox injection to cosmetic eyelid surgery.


1. Make sure your physician is board-certified. Board-certified doctors have gone through a residency and passed a rigorous exam, says Dr. Robert Weiss, society president and a Baltimore-based dermatologic surgeon. Consider whether that person is one of the "core four": dermatologist; plastic surgeon; ear, nose and throat specialist; or ophthalmologist.


2. Consider cosmetic surgery will be performed with latest and advanced technology. If it's being done in an outpatient surgery center, check to see if the facility is accredited.


"It doesn't have to be in the hospital setting," Weiss says. "A lot of times in the hospital, there's no control over the cleanup afterwards."


3. Make sure the doctor will be there. Sometimes the doctor's staff performs the procedure. Even if you're "just" having a restylane, a professional should do it, Weiss says. Some salons or spas allow cosmeticians to administer the shot and may not even have a medical professional on site when it's done.


"You have to question when the most potent toxin known to mankind is being injected by someone who could be a hairstylist," Weiss says.


4. Know what to do and expect before and after. Consult with the physician before having the procedure done.

Ideally, your doctor will give you pre- and post-operation instructions, Weiss says. If he or she does not, make sure you ask.


ways to ensure that plastic surgery is safe

Latest Cosmetic Surgery For Good Looks

cosmetic surgery is big news in Britain. More of us undergo aesthetic procedures in the UK than in any other European country. So it's hardly surprising that techniques are being constantly refined, updated and improved to tempt us to improve our appearance.

One quick session makes you look great and feel fantastic. No wonder Botox junkies just can't get enough. Some of the cosmetic treatments listed below are most favorite and widely used.


QUICK-FIX BOTOX

Why it's innovative: Botox, the wrinkle-filler has been the treatment of 2002, and now a new procedure is set to offer a variation on the theme. The effects of Botox normally last for four to six months. But the new treatment is about to be launched with effects that last just two to three weeks.

It's aimed at people who want the procedure simply for a special occasion or who are more cautious about trying
botox and would like to test out a more temporary procedure first.


What are the advantages?

A patient would be able to try a new look for a shorter period of time.


What is involved?
The treatment is exactly the same as Botox, but the fluid used is a shorter-acting type. How long does it take to recover?: A few hours at most.

Along with botox and other cosmetic surgeries
restylane is also known much.

Could These New Cosmetic Surgery Treatments Tempt You?

Wednesday 11 March 2009

A New Jewel Discovered For Dental Crowns

Restoring a tooth has been done by labour-intensive methods dating from the 18th century - until now

Computers have altered many professions; now it's cosmetic dentistry turn. Yes, frightened patients will still face the drill. But when it comes to designing and manufacturing a crown, implant, bridge or dentures, dental implants computers are beginning to replace painstaking manual methods. The basic design of the typical crown - metal bonded with porcelain - dates from the 18th century. This is a sector ripe for reinvention.

Most patients probably have no idea how much individual labour goes into restoring even a single tooth: each piece is bespoke. Take a crown. Traditionally, once the tooth has been prepared, cosmetic dentist pours gunk into two jaw-shaped trays into which the patient bites down to create impressions. These are sent off to a lab along with the dentist's instructions.

The die is cast

On arrival, dental stone is poured into the impressions and left to harden. A pin is placed at the tooth being worked on (the "die") and others in the underside of the stone model, and a base is then poured on to it. Once set, the model is cut with a split saw or fine diamond disc so that the die can be removed for working. The pins mean it can be put back in precisely the same place. The technician then uses the die to build up a wax pattern 0.4mm to 1mm thick, in the shape that will ultimately be cast in metal. "The first thing I had to do as an apprentice," says Chris Everingham, the retiring founder of Creative Dental lab in London, "is wax tooth-carving, so I learned the anatomy."

The finished pattern, embellished with a prong, or "sprue", is placed into a metal casting ring, which is filled with material called "investment". Once that's hardened, heating the ring to 850C burns off the wax, leaving the pattern's empty shape behind. The ring is mounted in a spinning machine, and centrifugal force pushes molten metal into the empty space, recreating the wax pattern in metal. Knock away the investment, remove the sprue, and there's the basis, or "coping", for your crown.

From there, the crown is hand-painted with porcelain, first with an opaque layer to blot out the darkness of the metal, and then with successive layers of shades chosen to match the patient's own teeth. The finished crown is fired at 930C and sent back to the dentist for installation.

You hope. Anything destined for a patient's mouth must be precisely made to within 20 microns. Gaps attract saliva, which can wash out the cement holding the crown in place, turning the gap into a haven for bacteria and decay.

But even a lab that can afford lengthy finishing times - Everingham estimates his maximum output at 60 crowns a month - can't be perfect; impressions may have tiny bubbles or smears. It is these imperfections that computer technology is beginning to address.

About 18 months ago, labs such as Creative and nearby Ken Poland, which supplies cosmetic dentistry to the Channel 4 TV show 10 Years Younger, began buying 3M's Lava system. Poland's Steve Pope makes the traditional stone model, but then scans the model and creates the coping digitally using a virtual "wax knife" and automated software. When Pope, a former aircraft engineer, builds a bridge on screen, it looks as hard as working in wax; this profession is being reskilled, not deskilled.

The data file is sent to a milling centre, in this case, Poland's own. There, the Lava software takes the file and assigns it to a barcoded block of zirconia. Cured at 1,500C, it becomes a hard, strong material that can be tinted by soaking and to which porcelain will bond. Pope says it's better than metal: zirconia is bio-compatible and used in hip and knee replacements. The block is placed in the milling machine, and the computer translates the data file into cuts to produce the actual coping. Then the coping is cured for more than 11 hours. From there, the porcelain is applied by hand. Pope is particularly impressed by the software's ability to calculate precisely how much extra to allow to compensate for shrinkage in the curing process - between 23% and 26%.

Magic wand

The next stage is eliminating the impressions. At the New York offices of Dr Steven Alper, an oral scanner reads the movements of a wand inside the patient's mouth. The wand captures 3D video of the patient's upper and lower jaw, as well as the outside bite pattern. "I can see if I need to fix something," says Alper. "For example, for a crown prep you have a margin around the tooth, and it's hard to see on the patient. You only have one or two views, and they're all white and small. On the screen you can look really close."

Turning the image to various angles on his touchscreen, Alper found a hole. He rescanned that section, filled out an onscreen prescription, and sent the file to the lab electronically. Simultaneously, the data goes to a facility that uses it to generate the physical model in resin. The die is sectioned in manufacturing, eliminating the imprecision of saw cuts.

All of this eliminates time waiting for materials to harden, cure or cool. More importantly, everyone agrees the software does a better job of getting as tight a fit as possible. "It won't cure everything," says David Coppen, chairman of the Harley Technician Study Club, which saw the scanner demonstrated in London last week, "but this is the future."

A new jewel in dentistry's crowns

Avoid Dental Risk By Taking Regular Dental Check Ups

University of Pennsylvania Dental School student Matt Joosse examines the teeth of Mia Bush, 12, in Philadelphia. Gallup poll reports that Americans are cutting back on dental care due to the tight economy.

Skipping regular dental visits could land Americans in "the chair" down the road with far more serious and costly tooth and gum problems, say experts, as new data reveal many Americans chose not to see a dentist last year.

"The message of the value of your teeth is not getting through," says Matthew Messina, consumer adviser for the American Dental Association and a dentist in Cleveland. "If people consider dental care a luxury item, they're shorting themselves. Prevention's always cheaper than fixing problems later."


GRAPHIC: Paying for health care
SURVEY: 21% of Americans scramble to pay medical, drug bills

Results out this week from a Gallup-Healthways poll of 355,334 Americans indicate that more than one-third of the population, 34% to be exact, did not visit a dentist last year at all. A recent American Dental Association survey shows dentists' incomes are dropping, too, and some dentists say patients who've lost dental insurance are asking about alternate payment plans or skipping appointments.

The 2008 Gallup data report that in nine states, close to half of residents did not visit a dentist last year, even though the ADA recommends twice-yearly cleanings and check-ups. Men, African Americans, Hispanics and seniors were more likely to skip, an historic pattern, Messina says. Over half of those making less than $2,000 a month reported omitting visits as well, according to Gallup. So take regular dental check ups from dentists at cosmetic dentistry.

Many Americans say they forgo routine dental care