If chewing food and retaining a sparkling smile is not enough for you, avoiding toothaches and a visit to the dentist could be reason enough to maintain healthy teeth. Ignoring your tooth health can lead to many problems. Answer yourself the following question. Would you like your teeth inside your mouth or in a glass tumbler beside your bed at nighttime? 

If you opted for the former, then going through the following tips and advices will go a long way in helping you sustain healthy teeth. They are:

1)  Brush and floss twice a day
Brushing and flossing twice a day, on a regular basis will help you maintain healthy teeth and gums in the long run. The ideal time to brush your teeth is 20 minutes after a meal. Opting for a toothbrush with a small head and soft bristles gives you better access to even the deeper portions of your mouth, thus providing comprehensive cleansing to your teeth. Moreover, softer bristles are generous on your gums as well.

2) Nutrition
Whatever you eat, either protects you or makes you more susceptible to diseases and disorders. This stands true for your oral health as well. As such, choosing the right foods early in your life is of vital importance. Foods such as cold drinks, cakes, candies and other such sugary substances facilitate the growth of germ and bacteria in your mouth, resulting in plaque and cavities. Choosing foods that are low in starch and sugar will reduce the development of germs and help eradicate cavities or plaque in the long run.

3) Smoking
Even the pack of smoke that you buy endorses smoking is injurious to your general health. Smoking causes reduced flow of blood to the mouth, which resultantly leads to increased chances of periodontal disease and mouth cancer. Smoking, moreover causes a decline in the ability of the bones and tissues to revascularize (self-heal). All else apart, just stop smoking.

4) Chewing gums
Chewing gums are highly beneficial especially after a meal. They not only increase the flow of saliva in your mouth, but also improves the flow of blood to your brain, thus enhancing your alertness by close to 10%. In addition, chewing gums help neutralize the acid in your mouth, thus helping you cleanse your mouth.

Tips to Maintain Healthy Teeth

Small painful mouth sores can be anywhere in the mouth lips, soft palate, hard palate, cheeks, gum base, tongue and even on the roof of the mouth. When situated  inside the mouth, they can cause pain during eating or swallowing, especially with hot or spicy foods. A bigger cause for concern is that these mouth sores or mouth ulcers or canker sores could be an indication of an underlying health condition. A lot of chronic diseases, including HIV, herpes, and syphilis, manifest themselves as mouth sores. The following are some of the health conditions to watch out for when you have mouth sores. Each disease has characteristic appearance and so very often are easy to identify.


1. Herpes simplex (HSV1): The herpes simplex virus causes sores on the lips only which are usually painful with red blisters that last about 10 to 14 days. These are caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 and the sores appear about 20 days after contracting the virus. Also, once they enter the system, they can cause recurrent attacks especially when the immunity is low.


2. Canker sore: The most common type of mouth ulcer, they are also known as aphthous ulcers and are usually seen on the soft tissues of the mouth (not the hard palate or the gum base). These are generally innocuous and heal within 5 to 7 days. Do reach out for medical help if there are more than 5 to 6 bouts of canker sores in a year.


3. Oral thrush: Also known as candidiasis, this is where there are whitish lesions on the tongue and the insides of the mouth. Candida is a fungus that is normally present in the mouth, but when the immune system is weakened, it can lead to an infection, orally manifested as white lesions. These are typical and appear in toddlers and in patients with anemia, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, or cancer patients on chemotherapy.


4. HIV/AIDS: Another disease which first can be diagnosed in the mouth is HIV/AIDS. In the first stages of infection, known as acute retroviral syndrome, where the first symptoms of the disease begin to manifest, oral ulcers are one of the first symptoms. With the other associated symptoms, more workup for diagnosis should be done followed by appropriate treatment.


5. Oral cancers: The lining of the inside of the mouth can develop cancer and usually it appears in the form of chronic non healing ulcer that just does not go away. Seen anywhere in the mouth, nonhealing ulcers are a cause for concern and should be investigated and treated.


As seen above, mouth sores may be harmless often, but in some cases, may have something more to tell about the health in some cases. 

Mouth Sores - Could They Be More Than Just a Sore!

Hyperdontia is a peculiar and quite rare dental problem which involves the growth of excess number of teeth. It can appear during birth and last till the primary teeth fall out to be replaced by the permanent set of teeth, or appear with the rise of the permanent teeth. If a person shows a tendency to grow more than 20 temporary teeth or more than 32 permanent teeth, he or she suffers from hyperdontia. 

Where do the additional teeth occur?
The additional teeth or supernumerary teeth can appear anywhere inside the mouth or dental arch, but the most common ones are called wisdom teeth and they grow as anterior molars after a certain age. Extra teeth in new born infants are called natal teeth. Occurrence of more than 4-6 supernumerary teeth is rare, although there have been known cases of more than 30 supernumerary teeth. 

Why does hyperdontia occur?
1. Hyperdontia often occurs in association with a few select disorders like cleidocranial dysplasia, Ehler - Danlos syndrome, Gardner syndrome, and cleft lip and palate. 
2. Although the exact cause of hyperdontia has not yet been discovered, some studies have shown that it might be a result of over activity of dental lamina during the phase of tooth development in infancy. 
3. It could also possibly be due to genetic or environmental factors. 

What problems does it pose and how can hyperdontia be corrected?
1. The existence of extra teeth often causes problems in speaking.
2. It may also cause deformation in the mouth region, and impediments in a lot of other functional activities like eating. 
3. In rare cases, the extra tooth/teeth may be agents of tumors or cysts. 
4. Therefore, treatment must be swiftly undertaken so as to remove the extra teeth and prevent rise of further teeth in the same spot. 
5. Sometimes, hyperdontia also leads to overcrowding and misshapen rows of teeth; this can also be corrected with extensive procedures.

All About Hyperdontia

Nasal congestion (blocked nose) can give you nightmares. The condition often results in people breathing through their mouth. Mouth breathing, once a while (due to factors that affect the nasal breathing) is understood. The main problem arises when people, especially kids continue to breathe through their mouth even under normal conditions. Nasal breathing is what we have learned and practiced all along. Breathing through the nose is a healthy practice that has many health benefits. Any alteration in this habit can have a deleterious effect on the health in the long run. It can alter the body dynamics and mechanisms, necessary for the proper functioning of the body.

Though cold and nasal congestion are the most common causes of mouth breathing, other conditions that often contribute towards this unhealthy postural habit include:
  Severe respiratory infections.
  Allergies which tend to block the nasal airway (either partial or complete).
  Kids who have a habit of sucking their thumbs or fingers are often found to breathe through their mouth.
  Sinus, enlarged adenoids or tonsils, hay fever, can also result in mouth breathing.

Harmful effects of mouth breathing
In mouth breathing, there is less absorption of oxygen into the bloodstream as compared to the nasal breathing. This oxygen deprivation can give rise to serious consequences and health problems.

Snoring and sleeping disorders (sleep apnea, often resulting from oxygen deprivation) are common among people who breathe through the mouth. Many people wake up with a terrible headache, feeling tired, irritated, and fatigued (in spite of having their full quota of sleep) in the morning. Unable to have a sound sleep often interfere with the overall performance of the affected person. Low levels of oxygen in the bloodstream can also result in hypertension and cardiac problems. Some people also suffer from brain fog (mental fatigue resulting in confusion and at times, hallucinations).
Dry mouth along with cracked lips is one of the harmful consequences of mouth breathing. Under normal situations, the saliva (in the mouth) prevents the bacteria from thriving within the mouth and causing infections. When the mouth becomes dry (less saliva), bacteria can easily thrive inside, resulting in infections (throat and ear), cavities, bad breath, Gingivitis (gum inflammation brought about by a bacterial infection).
A person with mouth breathing may suffer from digestive problems such as acid reflux, gas, and stomach upsets.
Believe it or not, but mouth breathing can give rise to skeletal and facial deformities (especially in children). The face may appear narrow and long, the chin and jaws lower, and the cheekbones often suppressed. There is also an improper alignment of the teeth (teeth appear crooked).
Mouth breathing can also lead to speech impediments, especially in children between the age group of 4-12 years. 

Mouth Breathing - Did You Know How It Is Bad For You?

Hyperdontia is an oral condition where people may have an overcrowding of teeth in their mouths due to the growth of extra teeth which are known as supernumerary teeth, in dental terms. This problem may hit people of any gender, background and medical history. This is caused when an extra tooth bud is found in the tissue from which the teeth typically grow. The most common cases are those that affect children who are already suffering from Down's Syndrome.

This article will tell you all about coping with and correcting the issue.

1. Problems Experienced: Let us first understand the various problems that a patient may experience. To begin with, there may difficulty when it comes to eating and chewing as too many teeth will make this task cumbersome. Also, this condition may prevent the normal teeth eruption process. Further, these teeth may fuse with the permanent teeth in the mouth of the patient. And finally, all this can also lead to the formation of a cyst or tumour.

2. Check Ups and Diagnosis: In order to treat this problem, the dentist will first of all conduct a thorough check up of the mouth of the patient and try to find the exact cause of the ailment. This will also be done with the help of lab tests based on blood samples as well as a dental X-ray. Further, the most important thing that the dentist will try to check is whether or not the supernumerary teeth are affecting the growth of the permanent teeth, in any way. 

3. Tooth Extraction: Once the dentist has had a look at the problem, he or she will be in a better position to take a call regarding whether or not the supernumerary teeth need to be removed. In most cases, these teeth will not be removed unless the said tooth is loose, which in turn can present the risk of choking by passing into the lungs. If tooth extraction has been decided upon, then the orthodontist or the dentist will do so by administering local anaesthesia first. Depending on the severity of the condition, the tooth may have to be cut and removed in pieces while the doctor has to ensure that there is enough space left for the permanent teeth to grow and find a place for themselves. 

4. Alignment: After the process of extraction is done, the dentist has to ensure that there is proper alignment of the teeth with the help of proper orthodontic methods for the remaining teeth to grow in a proper manner. Endodontic treatment will be used for fused treat in order to work on the tooth pulp and tissue in the surrounding area.

How to Correct Severe Hyperdontia?

The smile is the first thing we notice about a person, and more than anything else, it reveals the teeth first. We all yearn for that set of perfectly aligned teeth that are pearly white in color. However, this is not a reality in all people.

Due to various reasons, the teeth are not always bright and white. In some cases, the high fluoride content in the water can lead to fluorosis, which causes irregular patches on the teeth. Chewing tobacco and smoking are another reason for teeth discoloration, ranging from yellow to brown to black. The most inevitable of all reasons is ageing, where they naturally change to a darker shade of yellow. However, dental technology has also improved to come up with various solutions, so that the dream for that set of pearly whites can be made a reality.

Bleaching is by far the most commonly used method for teeth whitening. The tooth has an outer layer called enamel, a next layer called dentin, and a final inner layer called the pulp. The enamel contains organic particles that give the tooth its color, and the bleach material attacks these organic particles and thereby removes the stains.

It is always advisable to use tooth bleaching under the supervision of a dentist. A thorough examination and diagnosis is required before deciding on one of the two modes of bleaching.
1. In-office bleaching: This involves use of whitening gels that are not available over the counter. The gel is applied on the discolored portions of the teeth to leave a whiter tooth behind after the stipulated time.
2. Home bleaching: In cases where more regular application is desired, the patient is given a kit which has customized trays and the whitening gel. The patient is educated on a schedule including how and when to apply the gel and instructions for this application.

In addition, for minor discolorations, there are other options as below:
1. Whitening strips: These strips are similar to adhesive bandage and contain the bleaching agent. They are applied onto the tooth and left for usually about 30 minutes to take effect.
2. Brush-on whitening: These gels are applied directly on the tooth and left for a while or overnight if required.
3. Whitening chewing gum: For the chewing gum lovers, this could be an option. These chewing gums are similar to any chewing gum but include bleaching agents.

Side effects: Sensitivity and gum irritation are the two common side effects of bleaching. This could be either from the chemical or the trays that are used. The need to repeat the treatment again is another shortcoming. Repeated visits to the dentist may be needed once or twice a year to maintain the pearly white smile!

Bleaching for Extra White Teeth

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