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Chewing Gum is Good for Teeth

The act of gum chewing has been around since ancient times. In Greece, people would chew sap from the mastic tree. While in another part of the world, the Mayans were gnawing on the sapodilla tree sap. Native Americans in New England habitually chewed sap from the spruce tree. They learned this practice from English settlers. Nowadays, with the aid of modern technology, most civilized people no longer chew sap. Chewing gum products of today are a mixture of waxes, synthetic resins and a latex material called elastomers. This substance is added to provide elasticity; it makes gum chewy. Although gum is often characterized as candy, The American Dental Association differs. The ADA has recognized sugarless gum as a valuable cavity fighting tool.

Benefits of chewing gum

When chewing occurs in the mouth more saliva is produced. The increased amount of saliva neutralizes acids and lifts away food particles, and harmful bacteria. Acid is produced by plaque bacteria on the teeth. Over time, if not removed, plaque will harden into tartar and destroy tooth enamel, making teeth vulnerable to decay or even disease. More saliva means more protection for your teeth.

Sugar-free chewing gum

Studies have shown that people who chew sugar-free gum for at least 20 minutes after eating have a significantly reduced risk of developing tooth decay. Currently, there are so many chewing gum varieties on the market claiming to offer therapeutic components. Some include properties that will re-mineralize teeth and fight cavities. Others are created to control tartar by reducing plaque and in turn, prevent gingivitis. Chewing sugarless gum can be a valuable part of your oral health routine. Keep in mind, it does not take the place of twice daily brushing with a fluoride toothpaste, and flossing. That is still the most effective way to take care of your teeth and gums. Use gum chewing as an aid, especially when a toothbrush and toothpaste are not readily available.

ADA approval standards

Some gums are better suited for dental purposes than others. The ADA will only grant their seal to sugar-free gums that meet their strict guidelines. If a brand doesn’t meet the required efficacy standards they won’t receive the coveted seal. Approved sweeteners that do not cause tooth decay are aspartame, mannitol, and sorbitol. The product also needs to be shown to help reduce plaque and strengthen teeth by actively increasing saliva production. You will be sure to receive the desired chewing gum benefits if you look for the ADA seal.

How to Get Rid of Canker Sores

A common canker sore is a painful mouth ulcer that most people will experience at one time or another. A patch of red skin will become present first, and gradually become more inflamed. A white or yellow spot will develop in the middle. Sufferers need to find canker sore relief to be able to chew and speak properly.

Canker Sore Causes

These bothersome sores are sometimes caused by bad habits, like biting the inside of your lip or cheek. Ill-fitting orthodontic appliances are another culprit. Other times, internal factors come into play, like stress, genetics, and a compromised immune system. But still, these irritating spots are best known for popping up for no identifiable reason. Fortunately, there are effective home remedies for canker sores that you may already have on hand. If you are susceptible to spontaneous outbreaks and need canker sore relief from time to time, consider experimenting with the following easy remedies.

Home Remedies for Canker Sores

- Chamomile Tea: Chamomile is a plant similar to a daisy. It is widely used to promote a calming effect or encourage sleep. This herbal remedy can also help with digestive issues. German chamomile contains an essential oil known as bisabolol or levomenol. This naturally occurring compound is used as an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory agent. Treatment with a chamomile tea bag will help ease canker sore pain and possibly accelerate healing.
- Numbing Spray: Both of the essential oils of peppermint and eucalyptus offer anti-inflammatory properties and protection against infection. They also provide a cooling effect to help ease discomfort. To create a therapeutic spray, start with about two tablespoons of either olive or grapeseed oil and pour into a glass mister bottle. Add 8-10 drops each of the essentials oils and shake very well. Spray directly onto the affected area.
- Coconut Oil: Coconut oil treatment is one of the best ways to get rid of canker sores. This holistic powerhouse helps reduce inflammation, fight infection and is easy to apply. With either your clean hands or a cotton swab, dab a generous dose of coconut oil directly onto the sore. If you find the oil is too runny, melt one tablespoon of it with about half that amount of beeswax to compose a thicker layer.

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Raw Honey: Honey has been used as a potent first aid salve since ancient times. Like the previous canker sore remedies, it offers an anti-bacterial barrier and anti-inflammatory therapy. Simply rinse your mouth with warm water and then dab a thick layer of honey onto the sore. Repeat two or three times per day.
Yogurt: Eating yogurt every day can help balance bacteria levels in your mouth. A product of fermented milk, yogurt is often used to help populate the gut with healthy bacteria. An overgrowth of bad bacteria in the mouth may lead to the development of canker sores. It is important to use plain yogurt rich in active cultures. Take in at least one tablespoon three times per day. It can be helpful to take in a full cup serving with a touch of raw honey for added healing benefits.

Additional Tips

Limit or omit acidic foods from your diet when you are experiencing a canker sore outbreak. Acid rich foods can trigger the onset of sores and hinder healing. However, some highly acidic juices, like lemon juice, have been helpful at promoting healing. Determine which treatment options work best for you by trial and error, and try to pinpoint your triggers.

Why You May Experience Jaw Pain

Why Does My Jaw Hurt?

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ), or jaw joint, withstands a lot of abuse over the course of a lifetime. This joint is used more than any other in the body. TMJ is a hinge that connects the lower jawbone (mandible) and the upper jaw (maxilla) to the skull. This bony structure allows opening and closing of the mouth. Medical disorders or misalignment due to injury can result in jaw inflammation and sore jaw muscles.

What Causes Jaw Pain?

The jaw joint is a complicated mix of bones, tendons, and muscles. Damage to any of these areas may result in jaw tightness or other jaw discomfort. Both upper jaw pain and or lower jaw pain are common ailments, each the result of varying causes. Some individuals experience ear and jaw pain while chewing, others endure jaw discomfort regardless of movement. Besides painful chewing, many sufferers experience a clicking or popping sensation in the jaw, tooth pain and soreness throughout the face and neck area. It all depends on the source of the pain. There are conditions, unrelated to TMJ, that appear to induce jaw soreness. Some common health issues include heart disease or angina, osteoarthritis and trigeminal neuralgia, which affects the nervous system inducing pain in the face and jaw.

What Treatments are Available?

Oftentimes jaw soreness as a result of TMJ disorders will disappear without treatment. If symptoms become persistent consult your dentist for a consultation to evaluate the cause of your jaw pain. Non-prescription pain medication like Ibuprofen can be taken to alleviate ear and jaw pain and possibly diminish jaw inflammation. If necessary, your doctor may suggest stronger analgesics, a certain class of antidepressants or muscle relaxants. For individuals who clench their teeth while sleeping, a bite guard may be prescribed. If all else fails, your doctor may discuss injections or surgery to relieve your sore jaw muscles.

Pregnancy and Oral Hygiene

Pregnancy brings many changes to the female body. One you may not expect is changes in your oral health. Surging hormones can cause your gum tissues to magnify a normal reaction to plaque. The increase of progesterone may encourage bacteria growth, causing pregnancy gingivitis. Symptoms are noticeable around the second month of pregnancy. Gums are red and swollen, and may bleed during brushing. This discomfort will generally not cease until after the birth. With proper oral hygiene at home and visits to your dental clinic, your teeth should remain healthy throughout pregnancy.

Prevent Enamel Erosion

Vomiting exposes teeth to corrosive stomach acids. Repeated regurgitating will break down enamel, increasing the probability of decay. The highly acidic vomit softens enamel, leaving it susceptible to damage. Even gently brushing with a soft-bristle toothbrush is a bad idea. Rinse with plain water, followed by a good fluoridated mouthwash. Wait at least 30 minutes before brushing your teeth.

Hydrate a Dry Mouth

Pregnancy-induced hormone shifts can also lead to a decrease in saliva. This is uncomfortable, and bad for your oral health. Saliva washes away debris and controls bacteria in your mouth. If you are not producing enough, your teeth and gums are more prone to plaque buildup, cavities and pregnancy gingivitis. Drink plenty of water and swish it around your mouth to wash away bacteria and keep dry mouth under control. It is very important to be diligent about oral hygiene during pregnancy. Dental care should include brushing with a quality toothbrush for two full minutes twice daily, flossing daily and using an antimicrobial, fluoridated mouthwash. In addition, healthy eating should be a priority, for both a healthy pregnancy and maintaining oral health. Consuming greens, carrots, nuts and milk are associated with healthy teeth and gums. Stay away from foods that are high in sugar and starch, which create a friendly environment for bacteria. Also, visit your dentist regularly and keep him/her up-to-date with your current stage of pregnancy.

Why Do Food And Drink Taste Different After Brushing?

We’ve all been there: you’ve just brushed your teeth, forget about it and take a big swig of orange juice. You’re expecting some delicious refreshment but… yikes! It’s not just orange juice, either. Many foods taste slightly odd after brushing your teeth. So, why is it that food and drink taste so different after you’ve just brushed your teeth? Our common toothpaste contains an ingredient known as sodium laureth sulfate. It is this ingredient that so drastically alters the taste of certain foods you usually enjoy. This ingredient usually appears on the label as SLES or SLS. So why do we have it in toothpaste in the first place? Sodium laureth sulfate is a foaming agent that essentially makes it easier to spread toothpaste around your mouth while you’re brushing. Without it, your teeth brushing experience would be a whole lot different and you wouldn’t be able to perform the same comfortable brushing action as normal. Additionally it has an emulsifying action that contributes to the removal of surface stains and helps dissolve debris. So that’s great, right? It certainly is for brushing your teeth, but has the adverse effect of affecting your taste buds in two very significant ways. One is that it suppresses the receptors on your taste buds so they fail to pick up on sweetness quite so acutely. At the same time the sodium laureth sulfate boosts any bitter tastes, so what you finally end up tasting is bitter to the extreme! Fortunately for everyone this doesn’t last. Around half an hour after brushing your saliva will have diluted everything away and your mouth will be back to normal. So, if you’d like to take a big swig of orange juice in the morning, just remember to try and do it before you brush, it’ll be a much better start to the day!

4 Easy Ways to Cut Down On Sugar

It’s always a good idea to start making better choices regarding your health and diet. One way to do this is by reducing the amount of sugar you consume in your diet. It’s a good idea for your internal health, and also for your teeth. It can be hard to cut back those cravings brought on by a sweet tooth, but fear not! Here are some foolproof tips for taming that sweet tooth.

Drink plenty of water

We often mistake our craving for sugar as a call from our sweet tooth, when the reality is many times we’re simply dehydrated. If you’re tempted to reach for a sugary snack, try having a glass of water instead, it may be all you need.

Snack well

When you’re craving sugar, it’s usually a little snack you’re after. For this reason it is smart to have some healthy snacks nearby. Fruits and nuts are great, especially berries. You could even try freezing fruit and then blending it to make yourself an ice cream!

Read the label

Labels are there for your help. When you’re shopping for healthy food, be sure to check the labels on everything you buy. If you see sugar high up the list, drop it and look for an alternative. And don’t be fooled just because something says ‘now with less sugar’ or something similar – be sure to read the label thoroughly!

Clear out your cabinets

If you’re seriously worried you’ll be tempted, the best thing that you can do is clear sugar out of your house. If it’s not there, you can’t have it. Throw out all the cookies, the ice cream, the cupcakes, the muffins, the frozen food and the fizzy drinks! Cutting out sugar isn’t easy since it has made its way into many of our everyday meals, but by staying aware and being determined, you can drastically cut down your sugar intake to lead a healthier life.

Scheduling Your Child’s First Dental Visit

As a new parent, we bet you were over the moon with joy when your baby’s first tooth appeared. Now that the baby finally has a tooth, it’s high time that you start caring for their dental health. If you are a new parent, you must be wondering when you should take your child to visit the family dentist for the first time. According to American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, your child’s first dental visit should be by their first birthday. Studies throughout the US have shown that children of preschool age are the most vulnerable to cavities. Therefore, in order to prevent early childhood tooth decay, parents need to focus on early detection of cavities, proper dental hygiene, and diet management. As a new parent, your child’s wellbeing is of utmost importance to you. At the first dental exam, ask for advice regarding how to take care of an infant’s teeth, the proper usage of fluoride, potential hazards of finger and thumb sucking, ways to prevent injuries and damage, development of teeth, and the relationship between dental health and a proper diet. Getting a baby’s teeth clean in the coming years is going to be a tricky job unless you learn to do it well. In this post, we tell you all the details regarding choosing a dentist for your child, what to expect on your child’s appointment day, and how you can protect your child’s teeth from dental issues and diseases.

Choosing the Dentist

There is no doubt you need to choose a reliable and child friendly dentist for your toddler for their first dental visit. To get things right, try calling a few offices and ask, “At what age should my child have their first dental exam?” Choose only those offices that agree with the ‘first birthday first dental visit’ theory and proceed. Also, it’s important that you look for a pediatric dentist i.e., dentists who specialize in children’s dental care. For this, check your local telephone directory, ask for advice from fellow parents, or search online for the nearest dental clinics.

First Visit: What to Expect

If you’ve taken your baby for a ‘well-baby’ check at a physician’s office already, then this dental exam is going to be something similar. First of all, the doctor is going to take a look at your child’s history for possible dental issues. Next comes the part where he responds to your concerns and any questions you might have. Here, you should talk about your baby’s overall teething, dental habits, and development. Now comes the most crucial part. The dentist will examine your child’s teeth in such a way that both you and the dentist can see the teeth clearly. At this stage, you can see tooth alignment and any signs of trouble. The dentist will show you how to clean your baby’s teeth properly, giving you a chance to practice. They may also clean your child’s teeth at the session. They may apply fluoride only if your child has a risk of developing cavities. Feel free to ask questions regarding good oral hygiene and practices.

Collecting Information

As you’ve probably understood by now, this first dental exam is going to be more of an informative session for you regarding your child’s oral hygiene. You’ll have an idea about which foods to avoid, how to brush the baby’s teeth, and how to prevent dental diseases. If your child has oral habits such as thumb sucking, the dentist will also ask about it. Make sure that you schedule another visit six months later or according to your dentist’s advice.

How effective are Dental Implants

The words ‘dental implants‘ may sound scary, but don’t let your worries get the best of you. In modern times, it is the most effective way to replace your missing teeth. It can be very embarrassing if your front teeth are missing. Why should you stop smiling if there is cutting edge technology? In order to understand what they are, you need to first know a little bit about your teeth. Basically they have two parts; the crown and the root. The crown is the shiny white part that you see when you smile. The root is embedded deep into your gum and helps support your crown.The procedure involves both replacing your root and crown to give an everlasting smile.

How does it Work?

It’s a simple two step procedure of replacing your root and fixing a prosthetic crown on top of it. The first step is to remove your root by a minor operation and replacing it with a titanium implant. It will be embedded deep into your jawbone and needs to heal for 12 weeks before attaching the Crown. When your gum is fully healed around the root implant, the dentist can go ahead with the next step. The crown is then modeled and colored to match your teeth and secured on top of the root.

Is it Painful?

Since the procedure is done under local anesthesia, most patients don’t experience any pain except some mild discomfort. It is even less painful than extracting your wisdom tooth! After the procedure, you might feel soreness, but the dentist will prescribe medicine for any discomfort that you might face. Moreover, the procedure has a 98% success rate at giving you your healthy smile back!

How effective it is?

Business executive and former supermodel Kathy Ireland was having normal day when suddenly she took a nasty tumble. The accident gave her severe wounds on her face and damaged several of her teeth. Fortunately most of it was reparable; even her teeth! Now after several teeth implants and months of recovery, she got her perfect smile back. The technology for dental implants was first available in the 1970s. It has come a long way since then and chosen by dentists across the board as one of the safest and most effective methods of replacing damaged teeth. So why live with a broken smile when you can have a new one?

Causes and Problems of Sensitive Teeth

Do you feel a sharp pang in your teeth when you eat your ice-cream or take a sip of some hot coffee on a cold winter night? If you do, then you might have sensitive teeth. In the case of sensitive teeth it’s recommended you make an appointment to find out if you really do have sensitive teeth or another dental issue. If you do, then you need to be careful about what you eat, what you drink, how often you brush or floss your teeth. People, who have sensitive teeth, often do so due to some underlying problems like gum disease, tooth decay, exposed teeth, worn out fillings, or damaged root canal. You start to have sensitive teeth because there has been some damage to the layer of enamel that is right above your gum line. The function of this enamel is to protect your teeth from chemicals and harmful bacteria in food. There is another layer for protection under the gum line which is called the cementum and this also has the function of protecting the root of the teeth. Below this layer (the cementum) and the enamel is a layer called the dentin, which is thinner than the layers of cementum and enamel. Dentin has some microscopic tubules, which are what the cementum and the enamel are there to protect. If this protective layer suffers any damage then the microscopic tubules of the dentin create a gap for letting in hot, cold, sticky, and acidic foods which then reach the cells and the nerves with the tooth and cause that sharp pang of pain that you feel when you have certain food. Dentin also gets exposed to food when the gums recede, eventually causing hypersensitivity. The problems causing sensitive teeth varies for each person, therefore the treatment also varies to a certain extent. You should never take the advice of another patient and do what they have done. The problem may get worse if not treated in the right way, so it is suggested that you go to a professional dentist and get your teeth looked at. ToothWorks Calgary is one of the many clinics that has certified dentists as well as the authority to prescribe you with the proper medication. Contact us today for an appointment with our amazing dentists who will take the greatest care of you. Say goodbye to hypersensitivity with our help and go back to enjoying your food with every bite.

A Basic Introduction to Dental Implants

Dental implants are best suited for people who have gaps between their teeth, an entire tooth missing, cavities, and crooked teeth. The application of implants includes setting a small titanium screw into the bone of the tooth in a position where the root is. Once the screw is set in place, a prosthetic tooth is attached to the base of the screw, which holds the prosthetic permanently in place so that it does not loosen up. This makes the replacement tooth sit solidly, filling in the gap of the removed tooth. Dental implants are healthier for the patients’ mouths than dentures or bridges, and they also look more natural when compared to the other two. Dental bridges last for a long time, but dental implants are permanent and easier to adjust to. The process of installing dental bridges is more complicated, and if not done correctly, it might make the teeth weaker and prone to further damage in the future as the bridge starts to wear off. Another reason to select dental implants is that these are permanently attached to the jaw bone with the small titanium screw, whereas dental bridges and dentures only cover the missing teeth from the outside. This means that the jaw bone surrounding it may get damaged and deteriorate if that area is not cleaned properly. There are two types of implants:endosteal and subperiosteal.Endosteal implants are more commonly used among patients. Your dentists will examine your current dental health as well as your previous medical and dental history, thereafter, determining which type is best for you. However, in order to get adequate consultation on this procedure, setting an appointment at our clinic can help provide information and answers to any concerns you may be having.Undergoing surgery is serious and the dentists at Toothworks Calgary are highly experienced in such procedures. At Toothworks, our dentists will examine your teeth thoroughly, check your medical records, and give you the exact type of treatment that you need.