Health Touches

Fluoride plays an important role in keeping teeth healthy by helping to prevent tooth decay. That’s why fluoride is added to many toothpastes and why fluoride treatment has become a routine part of dental cleanings.

When you have a cavity in a tooth, the most common treatment option is a filling.

A dental implant is designed to look, feel and act like a real tooth, which can help boost your self-confidence, help you chew your foods more efficiently and can help avoid bone atrophy, a process whereby the jawbone begins to shrink over time. Dental implants may even improve your speech.

The dental visit - most people enjoy it but others dread it. Here’s an overview of the two most common types of dental visits: a dental checkup and a comprehensive dental examination.

There is this belief among some people that dental care for babies isn’t an important issue because those ‘baby’ teeth will be replaced by permanent teeth.

In the United States, dental care is not something that the government offers to all of its citizens. There is government assistance available to those who qualify such as those whose income falls below a certain level and the elderly.

Like the name implies, a crown is designed to sit atop a tooth that is too damaged to be fixed with a filling.

Removing plaque from your teeth and gums is what proper dental care is all about. Daily, you can handle this task on your own by brushing right and flossing. Twice a year, however, you should let a professional take a look inside your mouth.

How long has it been since you started using that toothbrush you used this morning? Is it fairly new? Is it a month old? Two? Three? Is it older than that? If you’re still using the same toothbrush you were using three months ago or worse, even longer, then get yourself to the store and purchase a new one as soon as possible!

Brushing your teeth properly is an effective way of removing plaque, that sticky white substance that grows in between and along the bottom of teeth and along the gum line. But rarely will tooth brushing alone remove all plaque, no matter how good a job you do.

Part I introduced you to the key players involved in tooth decay and touched on the importance of maintaining a neutral pH level inside the mouth. This next part will elaborate on pH balance, the different types of cavities and what you can do to prevent tooth decay.

The pain definitely tells us when we have cavities, but few of us understand why we get them. You likely know that poor dental hygiene causes cavities, but do you understand why not brushing or flossing causes cavities?

Periodontal disease is the category given to those infections that occur in and around the teeth, specifically, the gums. Periodontal disease typically begins as gingivitis and will progress to periodontis if left untreated.

The role of exercise in helping to lower stress - and the subsequent beneficial effects on health - has been widely studied.

A good workout routine will test you, but shouldn’t damage you. As muscles get used, especially somewhat beyond their usual range, lactic acid, micro-tears and other physiological changes occur that result in muscles being built up stronger than before.

Here are some simple exercises to help stretch and strengthen those all-important back muscles.

Exercise after surgery can be part of recommended physical therapy, or a return to pre-operative routines. In either case, done properly, exercise will help create flexibility, improve balance - by strengthening muscles that help stabilize joints - and keep the cardiovascular and other systems functioning well.

In generations past, exercise was believed to be mostly for the younger set. It was even believed that older people couldn’t increase muscle mass or strength if they wanted to. Studies at Harvard and elsewhere have now firmly put that myth to rest.