Oral Health Quotes

Here are 7 of the most successful treatments for halting tooth pain. Each treatment can stand alone, or you can try several of them together. 1. Place clove oil or powdered cloves on the painful tooth. 2. Swish organic sesame seed or coconut oil in your mouth for 5-10 minutes and then spit it out. 3. Place goldenseal powder on or near the painful tooth. 4. Place oil of oregano on the tooth 5. Dissolve a moderate amount of natural salt in a small amount of water and swish it in your mouth for at last one minute. Repeat several times throughout the day. 6. Echinacea can be applied topically on the tooth and/or taken internally using the tincture or powdered form. 7. Supplementing with vitamin B5, pantothenic acid. Food sources rich in B5 include: liver, sunflower seeds, shiitake mushrooms and eggs. [2011] - Ramiel Nagel

The disadvantage to flossing is that it's very easy to cut your gums. Injuring your gums daily doesn't seem like a practice that will promote healthy teeth and gums. The advantage to flossing is that you're able to clan out debris from between your teeth that would otherwise linger and putrefy in your mouth. If you floss our teeth, be very careful not to slash your gums. If you choose to floss with a string, then use dental tape, which is a wide and thick version of dental floss. Using the blotting method to poke out food with an ultrasoft tooth brush, or using a water flosser (oral irrigator) seems to be much better suggestions. [2011] - Ramiel Nagel

Today most medications have mouth-drying side effects, and a dry mouth is a risk factor for dental problems. The saliva that protects teeth also protects your esophagus. If the coating is absent from your teeth, it may also leave your esophagus vulnerable to bacterial or fungal infections that create symptoms of acid reflex. It is interesting how dry mouth, dental problems, and acid reflux are so closed linked. [2010] - Ellie Phillips

Some kinds of tooth bacteria are harmful, whereas others are good for our dental health. People can lose healthy bacteria following an abrasive dental cleaning, after taking a course of antibiotics, or when the mouth becomes dry or acidic for long periods of time. During times of change, it's possible for a new type of bacteria to infect your mouth and suddenly cause damage to your teeth and dental health. [2010] - Ellie Phillips

Dental problems in a dry mouth may actually be made worse with excessive toothbrushing or the frequent use of mouth rinses like Listerine, which itself has an acidity level capable of dissolving tooth enamel if it remains, undiluted, on teeth for a long period of time. [2010] - Ellie Phillips

Ideally, you should take a mouth acidity (pH) reading in the morning, right after you wake up. This will give you a recording that is independent of changes caused by eating or drinking. Begin the test by spitting a small amount of saliva into a spoon and dipping a strip of litmus paper (or a litmus stick) into the liquid. If you test your resting or morning saliva and find it's neutral or alkaline, you will generally have good salivary protection for your teeth. If you find your saliva is acidic, you may be at higher risk for cavities and tooth decay. A true healthy mouth ideally has a resting acidity measurement of close to pH7. Any time your mouth's acidity level falls below the number 6, you should be worried about your teeth. [2010] - Ellie Phillips

Measuring the pH of my saliva has shown me how it becomes more alkaline about half an hour after I have taken vitamins, when I relax in a sauna, or when I bask on the beach during vacation. Many forms of relaxation, including gardening and exercising, likewise seem to have positive alkalizing effects on my saliva. People need to realize that there is no single salivary pH and that one reading that shows a normal pH is not a guarantee that it will remain healthy. Regular readings will help you determine how much protection you have naturally for your teeth and when you may want to be particularly careful during times of more mouth acidity. [2010] - Ellie Phillips

The public has been conditioned to believe that dental cleanings are for the benefit of their teeth. The truth is that professional cleanings may reduce deposits, but they cannot stop the regrowth of acid-loving bacteria, and cleanings themselves cannot strengthen or protect your teeth. No amount of brushing, flossing, or professional cleanings can completely rid your mouth of bacteria. Unless you remove the conditions that promote harmful bacterial problems, more harmful bacteria will grow back and any cycle of damage will be repeated. [2010] - Ellie Phillips

Mouth rinses and toothpastes contain various kinds of fluoride. I recommend only sodium fluoride, which has been studied for decades and is the most stable and safe. And it will not stain teeth, a problem that can occur with other kinds of fluoride, particularly stannous fluoride. [2010] - Ellie Phillips

I advise patients to avoid high-concentration fluoride products and look for lower-dilution products, such as ACT, with 0.05% fluoride, which, ironically, can be more effective in strengthening your teeth than gels and pastes that contain ten times the concentration of fluoride. Try to keep fluoride in contact with your tooth surfaces for as long as possible; the longer the duration of contact, the stronger your tooth enamel will become. The more often you rinse with fluoride, the more help you give your teeth. Rinsing several times a day will speed and improve results in you're trying to strengthen your teeth or repair damage. [2010] - Ellie Phillips

Adults will benefit from using a dilute 0.05% sodium fluoride rinse without alcohol the last thing before going to bed. If you rinse and spit out but don't wash your mouth or drink anything more, a thin residue will cover your teeth for many hours during the night. The residue helps minerals in saliva rebuild damaged tooth enamel to improve the condition of your teeth while you're sleeping. The treatment will be especially helpful for people with tooth damage caused by dry mouth, acid reflux, or trauma to teeth from a hard bite. [2010] - Ellie Phillips

If you're going to bleach your teeth, understand what you're doing and evaluate the risks. During bleaching you can upset or kill the nerve of a tooth, which could potentially require a root-canal treatment or even an extraction. Everyone who bleaches their teeth will damage their enamel to some extent. Bleaching decreases the hardness of the teeth, demineralizing and weakening them. [2010] - Ellie Phillips

Most whitening products contain peroxide as the main ingredient. The problem with peroxide is created by something called a hydroxyl-free radical, a by-product of bleaching that causes damage to the gum--damage that may be permanent. In addition, many whitening toothpastes contain abrasive polishing agents to remove some of the surface layer of your tooth, the part most often stained. But remember, this layer offers your tooth the most protection from infection and a barrier to make teeth less sensitive. I consider that a very well-known brand of whitening mouth rinse should be considered a co-carcinogen and that using the product may increase your risk for oral cancer. Stay clear of products that claim to whiten teeth. [2010] - Ellie Phillips

In general, a toothbrush head should be less than one inch in length and should have a handle that allows a firm grasp. The bristles must have rounded ends to avoid damaging the gums. I suggest looking for "caretaker" brushes with small heads and longer handles. [2010] - Ellie Phillips

Brushes should be cleaned daily, using an anti-bacterial or other sanitizing method. Toothbrushes can be cleaned by swishing the bristles of the brush in ½oz undiluted antibacterial rinse (Listerine) for 30 seconds. Rinse away the disinfecting liquids under running tap water. Store the brush head up, in a cup, allowing the bristles to air dry completely between each use. If your storage conditions are damp or wet, mold or bacteria will grow easily on your brush, even under a cover or in a bag. Depending on their bathroom conditions, some families may be able to keep their toothbrushes cleaner by storing them in a kitchen area. The makers of the UV sterilizers for toothbrushes are now making small portable units for traveling toothbrushes, and the units seem to work well. [2010] - Ellie Phillips

Most pastes contain dicalcium phosphate dehydrate as an abrasive to clean teeth. Abrasive toothpaste, often used for tartar control, can cause sensitivity and may actually weaken teeth. Some antibacterial ingredients and whitening products may even be classified as co-carcinogens, capable of triggering cancer in cancer-prone patients when used repeatedly over time. I recommend the original Crest Regular Cavity Protection toothpaste with no extras. This paste is sufficiently cleansing without being too abrasive. It contains sodium fluoride to strengthen teeth. [2010] - Ellie Phillips

Recent testing confirms the effectiveness of Listerine in removing plaque from teeth and shows that rinsing twice a day is as effective for removing plaque as flossing once a day. Listerine exerts its antibacterial effect mainly on immature bacteria, so rinsing every 12 hours is important. The bonus of Listerine is that rinsing reaches everywhere in the mouth whereas only about 25% of the mouth is cleaned by flossing and brushing. Look for the original formula or a taste you can tolerate. Avoid rinses that are advertised for plaque control, whitening, or have other features that are unnecessary. [2010] - Ellie Phillips

A large percentage of adults have acidic saliva or drink acidic drinks just before brushing their teeth. Their teeth will therefore already be acid softened as they start brushing. Acid-softened teeth are easily abraded, especially by a toothbrush coated with toothpaste. Poorly designed brushes, stiff or hard bristles, or an abrasive toothpaste make this problem worse. I suggest using a stabilized chlorine-dioxide mouth rinse called Closys in the United States (Retardex in the United Kingdom) for a prerinse. A chlorine-dioxide rinse is most effective if it's unflavored. [2010] - Ellie Phillips