Your mouth needs a regular shower just like your body does. Oral hygiene is a huge component to your overall health, but it’s one of those things that many people overlook. While showering regularly has become a ritual that you don’t even have to think about because you know you have to in order to maintain proper hygiene, it doesn’t take much to forget about daily brushing. But it’s just as important as anything else! So, open your mouth and say “ah”. Your tongue can say a lot about your oral health.

White Patches

If your tongue has white patches, it’s not necessarily an indicator of poor oral health. However, it can be linked to an overgrowth of yeast in the mouth. So, start by using your toothpaste twice daily and brushing your tongue every day for a week or two. If the white patches are still there, this could be a result of poor oral hygiene, which has turned into an overgrowth of candida (yeast). The good news is that this can often be cured with twice-daily brushing and an anti-fungal mouth rinse.

Coated White Tongue

A coated white tongue can be similar to the prior in the sense that it could be nothing to worry about. Often times, your tongue may become coated in white as a result of dehydration. More importantly, it could be the result of poor oral hygiene and/or an overgrowth of candida. So use your Pearlie White toothpaste and mouth wash  twice daily, and remember to brush your tongue!

Red and Swollen Tongue

A red tongue isn’t all that unheard of, especially if it’s accompanied with a sore throat. However, these tongue symptoms can also be a sign of scarlet fever. If you have an intensely high fever, it’s time to take a trip to your family doctor. Otherwise, a red and swollen tongue could be the result of vitamin deficiency. So, start taking your vitamins and be consistent with regular brushing.

Tongues can tell you a lot about your oral hygiene and overall health. Pacific dental group tells you to stick your tongue out and say “Ahh” and discover if you need to simply enhance your daily brushing, rinsing and flossing or if you need to take a trip to the doctor.

Source from pearliewhite.com

People with high blood pressure taking medication for their condition are more likely to benefit from the therapy if they have good oral health, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension.

Findings of the analysis, based on a review of medical and dental exam records of more than 3,600 people with high blood pressure, reveal that those with healthier gums have lower blood pressure and responded better to blood pressure-lowering medications, compared with individuals who have gum disease, a condition known as periodontitis. Specifically, people with periodontal disease were 20 percent less likely to reach healthy blood pressure ranges, compared with patients in good oral health.

Considering the findings, the researchers say patients with periodontal disease may warrant closer blood pressure monitoring, while those diagnosed with hypertension, or persistently elevated blood pressure, might benefit from a referral to a dentist.

Pacific dental group remind everyone that to take care about our oral health and make sure to make an appointment at least twice a year with your dentist.

Source from American Heart Association

Evidence suggests that sipping wine may be good for your colon and heart, possibly because of the beverage’s abundant and structurally diverse polyphenols. Now researchers report in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry that wine polyphenols might also be good for your oral health.

The researchers checked out the effect of two red wine polyphenols, as well as commercially available grape seed and red wine extracts, on bacteria that stick to teeth and gums and cause dental plaque, cavities and periodontal disease. Working with cells that model gum tissue, they found that the two wine polyphenols in isolation — caffeic and p-coumaric acids — were generally better than the total wine extracts at cutting back on the bacteria’s ability to stick to the cells. When combined with the Streptococcus dentisani, which is believed to be an oral probiotic, the polyphenols were even better at fending off the pathogenic bacteria. The researchers also showed that metabolites formed when digestion of the polyphenols begins in the mouth might be responsible for some of these effects.

Pacific dental group remind that even if wine polyphenols could fend off bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease, but don’t drink too much.

Sourse from American Chemical Society

Electric toothbrush benefits
Electric toothbrush bristles vibrate or rotate to help you remove plaque buildup from your teeth and gums. The vibration allows for more micro-movements every time you move your toothbrush across your teeth.

More effective at removing plaque
A review of studies showed that, in general, electric toothbrushes do decrease more plaque and gingivitis than manual toothbrushes. After three months of use, plaque was reduced by 21 percent and gingivitis by 11 percent. Oscillating (rotating) toothbrushes seem to work better than just vibrating toothbrushes.

May cause less waste
When it’s time for a new toothbrush, you only have to replace an electric toothbrush head in many cases, so it may be less wasteful than throwing away a full manual toothbrush.

However, if you use a single-use electric toothbrush, you’ll have to completely replace it when it’s time to do so.

May improve your focus while brushing
At leastone study found that people were more focused when brushing their teeth using an electric toothbrush. This improved people’s overall experience brushing and could potentially improve how well you clean your teeth.

Manual toothbrush benefits
Manual toothbrushes have been around for a long time. While they don’t have the bells and whistles found in many electric toothbrushes, they are still an effective tool for cleaning your teeth and preventing gingivitis.

If you’re most comfortable sticking with a manual toothbrush, continue using one if it means you’ll still brush twice per day, every day.

Accessible
You can get a manual toothbrush at almost any grocery store, gas station, dollar store, or pharmacy. They also don’t need to be charged to function, so you can use a manual toothbrush anywhere and at any time

Affordable
Manual toothbrushes are cost-effective. You can usually buy one for $1 to $3.

Both electric and manual toothbrushes are effective at cleaning teeth if you use proper technique and brush long enough. Overall, an electric toothbrush may make brushing easier, resulting in better plaque removal. Pacific dental group suggest talk with your dentist if you have questions about which toothbrush might be best for you.

Source from healthline.com

Dental care continues to vary depending on where you live, as toothbrush.org has released its 2018 report of the states with the best and worst oral health. The advocacy group reports that Minnesota has the best oral health in the United States, followed by Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Michigan. Arkansas has the worst oral health, preceded by Louisiana, Montana, Mississippi, and West Virginia.

Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the ADA, the United States Census, and other sources, toothbrush.org evaluated each state based on 20 different metrics including overall condition of mouth and teeth, pain due to oral health, adolescents with cavities, dentists per capita, smokers per capita, fluoridated water, Medicaid dental benefits, State Oral Health Plans, and the Oral Health Knowledge Index.

According to the report, one in four Americans lacks dental coverage, and this lack is part of the reason why dental insurance is perceived as the least affordable healthcare service. Also, two thirds of those who haven’t been to the dentist in a year cite expensive dental costs as the reason why. Meanwhile, 36% of Americans aren’t receiving preventive dental care. And while 77% of adults say they plan on visiting the dentist in the next year, only a third do so.

Massachusetts led the nation in the number of children who visited a dentist in the previous year, followed by New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Vermont. Connecticut led in the number of adults who had visited a dentist, followed by Massachusetts, Minnesota, Vermont, and Rhode Island. North Dakota came in last among children who had visited the dentist, and West Virginia was last for adults.

People who have access to fluoridated water have a better chance of avoiding tooth decay. However, 25% of Americans don’t live in areas where it is available. Kentucky led the nation in the percentage of residents receiving fluoridated water, with Minnesota, Illinois, North Dakota, and Maryland rounding out the top five. Hawaii was last, preceded by New Jersey, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.

While tooth decay and other oral health problems are are generally preventable,  there’s a significant portion of the U.S. that isn’t receiving preventative care (36% according to the CDC), which leads to poor oral health, significant health risks (such as heart disease), and a lower quality of  life. Pacific dental group reminds that to keep good habits for your dental, and check with your dentist as least twice a year.

Source from toothbrush.org

When you brush or clean in between your teeth, you notice your gums bleed. A little blood is no big deal, right? Wrong! Bleeding is the first sign of gum disease, an infection caused by bacteria. If you wash your hands and they started to bleed, you’d be concerned. The same thing goes for your mouth.

So what’s the difference between the different types of gum disease? What can you do to prevent infection in your mouth? Why does it matter if your mouth is infected? For the answers to these and other questions, read on!

What is gingivitis?

Gingivitis is inflammation of your gums. Signs of inflammation include swelling of the gum tissue, bleeding, tenderness, bad breath and gums that look bright red in color instead of a healthy, pale pink. Inflammation is caused by the body’s response to a bacterial infection, most often caused by poor, or less than thorough, oral hygiene. Breaking it down a bit, the fuzzy feeling you get on your teeth is plaque and is full of live and dead bacteria and its toxic byproducts. As this bacteria eats sugar and starches (that you eat), it excretes acidic toxins. You read that right — bacteria poops acidic toxins in your mouth. These toxins irritate your gums and cause infection. These same toxins are what cause cavities. Yes, cavities (decay) in your teeth are a bacterial infection.

If this bacteria/plaque isn’t thoroughly removed, your body’s immune system can’t fight the infection. However, your body will try and inflammation will occur. Inflammation, especially chronic inflammation, anywhere in your body is not good. It’s worth writing again, inflammation is not good!

What is periodontitis?

The longer bacteria go undisturbed and unremoved by brushing and cleaning in between your teeth, the more virulent or strong the bacteria gets. This can lead to more than gingivitis, which only affects your gums. In your body’s fight against this bacteria, the tissue holding in your teeth (for instance, connective tissue and bone) begins to break down. This tissue cannot grow back. If left unchecked and the infection continues, you are simply left without the supporting structures that hold your teeth in, like bone and ligaments, and your teeth may need to be extracted.

When bone, ligaments, gums and supporting structures of teeth begin to break down, this is periodontitis. When your gums and supporting structures start to break down, a pocket is created around your tooth where a toothbrush, floss or other homecare aides cannot clean as well. When your gums break down it can also cause them to recede, exposing the roots of teeth. The roots of teeth are not covered or protected by strong enamel. They are covered by cementum, which is softer, so tooth sensitivity can become a problem and the exposed roots can decay (get cavities) easier.

Like with gingivitis, dental hygienists have specialized instruments and training to remove this bacteria. Pacific dental group suggest that to go to your dentist immediately if you have any of these conditions.

Source from dentalproductsreport.com

Getting kids to brush their teeth—and to brush them properly—sure isn’t easy. It just isn’t high on their list of things they want to do in a day, and most would skip it all together if they could.

Of course, kids typically don’t understand the consequences of ignoring their oral health. All they know is brushing isn’t exactly fun; it’s just another boring chore their parents want them to finish before bed or before they head off to school.

That’s where oral health care professionals and parents come in. It’s important for you to work together to figure out ways to make kids actually want to brush their teeth. For the oral health care professional, that usually means educating the parents as well as the child and focusing on teaching them how to make brushing fun.

“Brushing is something they have to do, and kids don’t like that,” says Sarah Thiel, RDH, CEO and co-founder of CE Zoom. “Kids are kids and are going to do what they want, but I believe a lot of it is on the parent. If parents get lazy, kids can develop bad habits. You have to teach them. It’s not just about cavities, it’s about overall health. If they develop gingivitis, it can affect their whole system.”

It starts with the parents

Thiel spends a lot of time educating parents in her practice and wants them to be part of the appointment any time she’s working on a patient younger than 18. She shows them areas their child might be missing, and what those areas look like before they’re properly cleaned and what they look like after. She encourages parents to make a habit of checking their children’s teeth after they brush and to go back over any spots they might have missed.

Pacific dental group suggest all moms that it’s important to understand how effective tooth brushing is at removing plaque and how proper brushing will help ensure children don’t experience the pain of a toothache. They’ll have better grades and more social acceptance,”

Source from Dentalproductsreport.com

Dry mouth is caused by an inadequate flow of saliva. Dry mouth, also known as xerostomia, is not a disease, but rather a symptom of a medical disorder or a side effect caused by gland problems, mouth breathing, or certain medications (allergy antihistamines, cold decongestants, pain killers, and others). It is also a side effect of diseases or medical problems such as Sjogren’s Syndrome.

Dry mouth is especially prevalent in seniors due to the large number of medications that have a side effect of dry mouth. This can be harmful to keeping a healthy mouth as age increases, but a dentist can help to manage the effects of dry mouth.

There are a few ways to help lessen the side effects of dry mouth, especially as caused by medication. You can also ask a dentist for additional recommendations for your specific case.

Here are a few ways to help lessen the effects of dry mouth:

• Use over-the-counter oral moisturizers, like spray or mouthwash
• Use lozenges or sugar-free gum to stimulate saliva production
• Get a humidifier to help keep moisture in the air
• Avoid foods and beverages that irritate dry mouths such as coffee, alcohol, carbonated drinks, and acidic fruit juices
• Ask your physician if you can adjust the dosage or take a different medication

Pacific dental group remind you that to drink more water can also help lessen dry mouth as well.

Source from dentalassociates.com