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Category Archives: General

The connection between oral health and heart disease

 It is next to possible to think that your oral health can be connected with heart disease also. But, indeed, oral health (such as tooth loss or gum disease) can directly affect your heart such as heart stroke or attack.

Brushing your teeth twice a day for at least two minutes can lower down the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

How cardiovascular disease and poor oral health be connected?

The bacteria present in your mouth that causes gum and teeth infection causes gingivitis can travel to elsewhere in the body through blood vessels can cause blood vessel inflammation and damage followed by tiny blood clots, heart attack, and stroke.

Bacteria present in the mouth not only cause infection but the body’s immune response causes inflammation that causes vascular damage in the body, including the brain and heart.

There may be no direct connection between gum disease and cardiovascular disease but the other factor that can also affect is smoking.  Smoking can affect both your oral health as well as cardiovascular health.

Symptoms and warning signs:

 Your gums are swollen, red, and sore when touched.

Notice bad breath or a bad taste in your mouth.

Your gums bleed when you brush, eat or floss.

Infection around teeth or gums.

You feel the loose tooth.

Who is at risk?

Patients who are facing chronic gum conditions such as Gingivitis or advanced periodontal disease have the highest risk for heart disease which is caused by poor oral health when it remains undiagnosed or unmanaged. The bacteria that are mostly associated with gum infection are present in the mouth and enter the bloodstream, where they get attached to blood vessels and increase the risk for cardiovascular disease.

People think if gum inflammation is not noticed you cannot affect the heart but inadequate oral hygiene and accumulated plaque can put you at risk for gum disease.

Measures for prevention:

For prevention of gum disease and proper oral hygiene brush twice a day with a soft-bristled brush that perfectly fits your mouth and reaches every tooth surface even on teeth that are far away. Use toothpaste in which fluoride content is high to increase gum health. You should also floss daily and regular dental check-up for regular professional cleaning is a must.

By being proactive about your oral health, you can protect yourself from developing any connection between oral health and cardiovascular disease.

What To Do With The Chip or Break a Tooth

Teeth are damaged in many ways and the damage could be slight or extensive depending upon the condition of teeth and injury. If the damage caused to teeth is major then you have to make a visit to your dentist and in case of minor injury, you can solve it at home.

In case of major injury quickly address the pain and protect your teeth and inside of the mouth from further injury.

Break a tooth:

If there is a break in the tooth first rinse your mouth with warm water right away to clean it. Then apply pressure to the area to stop bleeding and place a cold compress at the area of swelling.

Lose a tooth:

If the tooth has popped out completely from the mouth, use a gauze pad to hold it by the crown and then try to place it back into the socket if possible.

If the tooth appears to be dirty then rinse it with clean water. Don’t clean or scrub it with any other solution and don’t clean hard otherwise bits of tissue will mix in water.

If you are not able to put the tooth back in the socket place it in the glass of water, milk, or saline solution. Try to get to the dentist as fast as possible before 30minutes.

How to protect your mouth until you see a dentist:

If your tooth got a small chip, that case applies dental wax over the edge to keep it from slicing your tongue or affecting your mouth. This procedure is not recommended if you have a large chip or section of tooth missing.

OTC temporary kits that contain dental wax are available in drugstores.

Try to avoid chewing on the side with a damaged tooth and floss around the tooth to reduce pressure.

Injuries that need treatment and that don’t need treatment:

In case of injuries, any tooth can break down that range from slight cosmetic damage to serious injuries. Deep can run down to roots or from the tooth’s center to the pulp chamber, which contains blood vessels, nerves, and connective tissue.

Cracks may not be visible, hiding inside the tooth or below the gums. Some of the chips or cracks may have no symptoms or symptoms that appear to be cavities, sensitivity or periodontal disease.

The deeper or wider range of cracks needs extensive treatment. A dentist can diagnose the damage with or without magnifying glass by performing a bite test or using a dental x-ray.

Cracks that might not need treatment:

Not every crack or chip needs treatment or some are quite common. Craze lines are small cracks that appear on enamel only or are common.

Cracks that need to see a dentist:

You will have to see the dentist in any case of small crack or chips because it is hard to tell the extent of damage caused to the tooth.

There are no home remedies to prevent further injuries to your teeth and mouth and the sharp edge of a cracked tooth can damage soft tissues of the mouth, causing more pain, infection, and costlier treatment.

In case of untreated damage, it could lead to a root canal, tooth loss, or other complications.

Common Brushing Mistakes That People Make

Many people are scared to visit a dentist and, they do not take care of their teeth so much. Even some people who brush daily, also find themselves suffering from teeth pain and other oral problems.

It is advised to visit your dentist after 6months, you can also do some things on your own to keep your dental healthy. There are certain mistakes that people do while brushing their teeth daily and they have made routine which is now a habit that can lead to poor dental health.

Not using a proper toothbrush: one of the most common mistakes which many people do is they think a hard toothbrush will clean your teeth more. But this is the wrong myth to buy a medium or hard toothbrush for teeth cleaning should be stopped. Instead, buy a toothbrush with soft bristles so that it does not cause damage to the upper layer of teeth with overzealous care.

Using whitening or anti-sensitivity toothpaste regularly: A common mistake concerning toothpaste is to use medicated toothpaste which is meant to mask sensitivity for a long period. This type of toothpaste will mask the symptoms but do not treat the problem else they make your teeth vulnerable to gum diseases and bad breath. The type of toothpaste does not matter as long as you use the right amount and brush twice a day. Sensitive toothpaste is meant for a prescribed time while whitening toothpaste must be used under the supervision of the dentist to prevent damage to teeth. Toothpaste must protect your teeth and gums so it should contain fluoride that protects your teeth from decay.

Wrestling with teeth: hard brushing will damage your teeth and brushing more than 3-4 times is also bad. Unlearning bad habits may be hard so you can switch from manual to automatic brush. A battery-operated brush is difficult to adjust for some time but makes dental hygiene easy and even reduce the frequency of dental visit.

Wrong brushing technique: brushing technique used on teeth should be vertical, not horizontal. Many people are habituated to taking long horizontal brushing strokes. This can lead to irritation and damage. Hold your brush at 45 degrees to your gums and start brushing in an up and down motion. Don’t use side-to-side motion and try to reach the areas that you have been ignoring till now.

Brushing too many times or too quickly: most of us hate going to the dentist so to avoid your visit with the dentist best alternative is to start properly doing the brush. Remember you cannot remove old cavities so easily but can avoid new cavities. Always ensure you do not brush more than twice a day as excessive brushing can damage your teeth enamel and gums. To remove plaque do not brush very hard most dental practitioners suggest brushing in a balanced manner.