Dental News Articles

Sparkling Homes and Teeth: Preventing Infections Through Hygiene and Cleanliness By Lucy Wyndham The US Department of Health & Human Services stresses that environmental cleaning is a fundamental principle in the prevention of infection in healthcare settings. General standards of hygiene are also applicable to the home care setting in the prevention of diseases and to promote general & oral health. Cleaning prevents the growth of bacteria and the spread of viruses that make residents sick. Your home environment can pose a hazard to your physical and mental health. An atmosphere that is laden with bacteria and harmful toxins can find their way into your skin and mouth which will affect your dental health. Keeping home environments tidy and clean  prevent infections and diseases  that could impact oral and general health. Basic Home Cleaning Strategies to Keep Oral Health Optimum Throughout the day, you touch many things in the house from food to non-food ob...

By Lucy Wyndham Angular Cheilitis causes the corners of the mouth to become cracked and dry. This in turn can cause bleeding and blisters and the skin may feel scaly and itchy. You may also find that you have an unpleasant taste in your mouth. This guide will help you understand the causes of this condition and the best ways to cope with it. Improving your diet will help Angular Cheilitis can sometimes be caused by a deficiency in minerals, in particular zinc, iron and Vitamin B2. Improve your iron by eating vegetables such as spinach, soy beans, leafy green vegetables and lentils. Lamb and beef are also rich in iron. Green beans, asparagus and Brussel sprouts are rich in zinc.  Foods rich in Vitamin B2  include cheese, beef and lamb and oily fish such as tuna or mackerel. If you have difficulty including these foods into your diet, you may wish to take a supplement. Angular Cheilitis caused by infection When saliva builds up in the corners of your mouth it ...

DENTAL NEWS, Volume IX, Number I, 2002 Top Ten List of Sound Oral Health Strategies to Keep Children Pain-Free and Problem-Free Throughout Childhood By Neal G. Herman , D.D.S., F.A.A.H.D. Clinical Professor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Director, International Program in Pediatric Dentistry, New York University College of Dentistry Abstract Emerging information, technology and therapies make it possible for most children today to grow up with good oral health. The most powerful vehicle we have to achieve this goal is informed professionals and parents. All the tools exist to promote oral health and prevent problems in children if we apply what we know and have learned. The challenge is to increase dissemination of this information, and to remind everyone that good oral health contributes significantly to one's overall general well being12. I- INTRODUCTION Dental problems during infancy and childhood are mostly avoidable. However, ...

ABOUT TOOTH DECAY Tooth decay is a chronic disease in which there is localised destruction of susceptible dental hard tissue by acidic by-products from bacterial fermentation of dietary carbohydrates. This damages hard tooth structure causing tooth decay. It is the most common chronic disease on the planet, affecting 80 percent of the population, in which some regions have higher rates of caries than others. Early forms of tooth decay – known as early or initial caries – can be stopped and reversed if the multiple causative factors are reduced. On average, people in the North Africa and Middle East (NAME) region have 1.9 instances of DMFT – Decayed, Missing, or Filled Teeth – each, with some countries’ populations averaging up to 4.6 DMFT per person. In several countries, the instances of 6 year olds with untreated tooth decay is higher than 80 percent, up to as much as 100 percent. CAVITIES The formation of cavities occurs along a continuum which spans a series of stages from s...