Fluoride is commonly found in toothpaste, mouthwashes, and dental gels. But what exactly is fluoride, why do dentists rave about it, and as a parent, should I have any concerns about fluoride?
It is a mineral that is present in nature from many sources, from our natural water supply to tea, fish, and beer. When added to drinking water, it has been shown to drastically reduce tooth decay. The World Health Organization and Public Health England are among several other important health bodies that have endorsed the merits of fluoride in improving oral health. Research has consistently shown that brushing with fluoride toothpaste is the single most important way of reducing your child’s risk of tooth decay.
Not true! Fluoride works its magic in several different ways…
In the UK around 10% of the population benefit from a water supply with it either occurring naturally or being added to a level that has been shown to improve oral health. If you are curious to know whether this applies to where you live the majority of water companies have an online function to check this.
In areas with fluoridated water, 5-year-olds are 15% less likely to have had tooth decay than children from non-fluoridated areas. Also, fluoridated areas have 45% fewer admissions to hospital for dental decay, which often results in teeth being removed under general anesthetic.
With regards to other health complications, a report by the Water Fluoridation Health Monitor for England by Public Health England in 2014 proved there was no evidence for a difference in the rate of the following medical conditions in populations living with it or without it in the water:
Although fluoride is very good for our teeth you must use the correct concentration and amount for the age of your child. As a general rule children under three should use a smear of toothpaste containing no less than 1,000 ppm fluoride and children between the are of 3 and 6 should use no more than a pea-sized amount of toothpaste containing more than 1,000 ppm fluoride.
Too much fluoride for our teeth can result in a condition called fluorosis, which can cause little white flecks on the teeth when mild and sometimes larger brown patches when more severe. The risk of fluorosis from consuming too much fluoride is linked to the amount of toothpaste much more than the actual concentration. To avoid fluorosis make sure you know how much paste to put on your child’s brush and make sure your child does not eat or lick the toothpaste (where possible!).
The most important thing you can do is assist your child with their brushing using fluoridated toothpaste. Fluoride also comes in different forms such as mouthwashes, fluoride gel, and even as a component of some tooth-colored fillings. Pop into Happy Kids Dental for a consultation and we can provide a fluoride plan tailored to your child’s oral health needs.
Resources:
happykidsdental.co.uk
We love our patients and love to help them form healthy dental life that will last them a lifetime. Growing Smiles is a pediatric dentistry in Anna, Richardson, Plano, Garland, Murphy we have Pediatric Services in Texas: Early Childhood Care, Preventive Care, General Treatments, Sedation Dentistry, Special Needs Dentistry, Emergency Service and Orthodontic (Braces & Invisalign) For more information call us to answer all of your questions so get an appointment today.
If you notice a strange white rash inside your mouth, you may have a condition called thrush. It’s an infection caused by the candida fungus, which is yeast. You can get it in your mouth and other parts of the body. It can cause diaper rash in infants or vaginal yeast infections in women.
Anyone can get thrush, but it happens most often to babies and toddlers, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems.
What Causes Thrush?
Small amounts of the candida fungus are in your mouth, digestive tract, and skin. It’s supposed to be there, and it’s usually kept under control by the other bacteria in your body. But sometimes, certain illnesses or medications, like corticosteroids or antibiotics, can disturb the balance. This can cause the fungus to grow out of control. That’s when you get thrush.
Stress can cause it. So can a number of medical conditions, like:
If you smoke or wear dentures that don’t fit right might, you’re also more likely to get thrush. And babies can pass the infection to their mothers while breastfeeding.
Children and adults
Initially, you may not even notice symptoms of oral thrush. Signs and symptoms may include:
In severe cases, usually related to cancer or a weakened immune system from HIV/AIDS, the lesions may spread downward into your esophagus — the long, muscular tube stretching from the back of your mouth to your stomach (Candida esophagitis). If this occurs, you may experience difficulty swallowing and pain or feel as if food is getting stuck in your throat.
Infants and breast-feeding mothers
In addition to the distinctive white mouth lesions, infants may have trouble feeding or be fussy and irritable. They can pass the infection to their mothers during breast-feeding. The infection may then pass back and forth between the mother’s breasts and the baby’s mouth.
Women whose breasts are infected with candida may experience these signs and symptoms:
The goal of any oral thrush treatment is to stop the rapid spread of the fungus, but the best approach may depend on your age, your overall health and the cause of the infection. Eliminating underlying causes, when possible, can prevent recurrence.
Thrush may return even after it’s been treated if the underlying cause, such as poorly disinfected dentures or inhaled steroid use, isn’t addressed.
Resources:
www.webmd.com
We love our patients and love to help them form healthy dental life that will last them a lifetime. Growing Smiles is a pediatric dentist in Anna, Richardson, Plano, Garland, Murphy we have Pediatric Services in Texas: Early Childhood Care, Preventive Care, General Treatments, Sedation Dentistry, Special Needs Dentistry, Emergency Service and Orthodontic (Braces & Invisalign) For more information call us to answer all of your questions so get an appointment today.
Do you think gum disease is something that only happens to people your grandparents’ age? Think again! Teens can get gum disease too, and it can cause problems from the simply embarrassing (like bad breath) to the serious — like pain and tooth loss (which is both embarrassing and serious!).
What Is Gum Disease?
Gum disease is also known as periodontal disease.
Periodontal disease is an inflammation of the tissues and bone that support the teeth. Untreated gum disease can become very serious, causing teeth to become loose or fall out.
Gum disease is usually caused by a buildup of plaque, an invisible sticky layer of germs that forms naturally on the teeth and gums. Plaque contains bacteria, which produce toxins that irritate and damage the gums.
Hundreds of types of bacteria live in the mouth, so keeping plaque at bay is a constant battle. That’s why brushing and flossing every day — and regular trips to the dentist — are so important.
Who Is at Risk?
Certain things can make a person more likely to develop gum disease. Some may inherit this tendency from their parents. The snacks you eat also can put you at risk of developing gum disease — especially if you grab fries and a soda after school and aren’t able to brush immediately after eating them. You probably know that sugar is bad for your teeth, but you may not know that starchy foods like fries also feed the acids that eat into your tooth enamel.
If you have braces, fending off plaque can be tougher. Plus, some medical conditions (including diabetes and Down syndrome) and certain medicines increase the risk of gum disease.
Running yourself down with a lousy diet, too little sleep, and too much stress leaves you more vulnerable to infection anywhere in the body, including your gums.
Girls have a higher risk of gum disease than guys. Increases in female sex hormones during puberty can make girls’ gums more sensitive to irritation. Some girls may notice that their gums bleed a bit in the days before their periods.
For severe — and early — gum problems, though, the real bad guy is tobacco. Not only does smoking lead to bad breath and stained, yellowed teeth but smoking also is a leading cause of gum disease.
According to the American Dental Association (ADA), people who smoke cigarettes and chew tobacco are more likely to have plaque and tartar buildup and to show signs of advanced gum disease. They’re also more likely to develop mouth cancer in the future.
How It Progresses?
Gum disease progresses in stages. Believe it or not, more than half of teens have some form of gum disease.
Do your gums bleed when you floss or brush your teeth? Chances are you already have the mildest form of gum disease — bleeding gums are usually a sign of gingivitis. Other warning signs of gingivitis include gum tenderness, redness, or puffiness.
If plaque from teeth and gums isn’t removed by good daily dental care, over time it will harden into a crust called calculus or tartar. Once tartar forms, it starts to destroy gum tissue, causing gums to bleed and pull away from the teeth. This is known as periodontitis a more advanced form of gum disease.
With periodontitis, gums become weakened and form pockets around the base of teeth. Bacteria pool in these pockets, causing further destruction of the gums. As periodontitis spreads, it damages deeper gum tissue and can eventually spread to areas of the jawbone that support the teeth. This can cause teeth to become loose and fall out. Though periodontitis is rare in teens, it can happen. If it’s not treated, it can cause real trouble for your teeth.
What should you do to avoid these problems? See your dentist if you notice any of these signs of gum disease:
Tracking It Down and Treating It
Gum disease can be sneaky, sometimes causing little or no pain or irritation before permanent damage is done to your teeth. That’s why regular dentist visits are a must. With X-rays and a thorough examination, a dentist or dental hygienist can spot trouble before you know it’s there.
The earlier that gum disease is caught, the better. Adopting better brushing and flossing habits can usually reverse gingivitis. Sometimes your dentist will also prescribe antibiotics or a special antibacterial mouth rinse to tackle the problem.
Once someone develops periodontitis, it isn’t as easy to control. Usually, there is a widespread infection of the gums that need to be treated. This may require several special treatments either by a dentist or a periodontist, an expert who specializes in the care of gum disease.
Some of the ways dentists and periodontists may treat periodontitis are:
While undergoing treatment for periodontitis, it’s especially important to take special care of your teeth and gums to see lasting improvement. This includes flossing and brushing every day and quitting habits that mean bad news for the mouth, such as smoking or eating sugary snacks between meals.
Prevention Tips
Fortunately, there’s good news: Gum disease is usually preventable. Just take care of your teeth, starting now. Don’t wait!
Advice for Parents
Early diagnosis is important for successful treatment of periodontal diseases. Therefore, it is important that children receive a comprehensive periodontal examination as part of their routine dental visits. Be aware that if your child has an advanced form of periodontal disease, this may be an early sign of systemic disease. A general medical evaluation should be considered for children who exhibit severe periodontitis, especially if it appears resistant to therapy.
The most important preventive step against periodontal disease is to establish good oral health habits with your child. There are basic preventive steps to help your child maintain good oral health:
Sources
kidshealth.org
perio.org
We love our patients and love to help them form healthy dental life that will last them a lifetime. Growing Smiles is a pediatric dentist in Anna, Richardson, Plano, Garland, Murphy we have Pediatric Services in Texas: Early Childhood Care, Preventive Care, General Treatments, Sedation Dentistry, Special Needs Dentistry, Emergency Service and Orthodontic (Braces & Invisalign) For more information call us to answer all of your questions so get an appointment today.
Twin studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the average U.S. adolescent of the 1970s had six or seven cavities; his 1990s counterpart, just three. Today’s teenagers are twice as likely to return from the dentist and report, “Look, Ma, no cavities!”—to quote a famous toothpaste commercial of yesteryear.
Dr. Jim Steiner, director of pediatric dentistry at Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, attributes the improvement in young people’s dental health primarily to increased access to fluoridation. “Fluoride reduces tooth decay as well as slows down the decaying process,” he explains. “More than 95 percent of all toothpaste now have fluoride in them, and about 65 percent of our population drinks fluoridated water.”
A related advance is the use of dental sealants, clear or white thin plastic coatings that can be painted onto permanent teeth. As Dr. Steiner explains, “Fluoride protects the areas between the teeth. But it can’t always reach the chewing surfaces of the back molars.” Sealants fill the tiny pits and grooves of those teeth, the site of most cavities. Second molars typically arrive around age twelve. One sealant application costs roughly half the price of a filling.
Teens who do develop cavities have less reason to dread the dentist’s chair than you might have when you were their age. New dental instruments such as the laser and the air abrasion unit make getting fillings virtually painless. Laser therapy doesn’t require anesthesia. Nor do many treatments with the air abrasion handpiece, which resembles a tiny sandblaster. However, the devices can’t be used in all situations, so don’t expect to see the high-speed drill become obsolete anytime soon.
Another advance of interest to young patients is cosmetic. Besides the traditional silver-colored metal alloy used to fill cavities, a composite material can be used so that the color can be tinted to match the teeth.
Crooked teeth, overbites, and underbites are best corrected with braces during puberty, while the facial bones are still growing. These are usually inherited traits, although some orthodontic problems stem from injuries, years of thumb-sucking or losing one’s baby teeth earlier or later than normal.
If you were a “metal mouth” as a teenager, you’ll immediately notice that modern dental appliances are less conspicuous than the braces you wore. “Years ago,” says Dr. Jim Steiner, director of pediatric dentistry at Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, “the silver bands that hold the wires had to be placed around all the teeth. That’s no longer done. Nowadays we might band only the first and second molars, and bond brackets directly to the rest of the teeth.” The brackets can be colored to match the teeth. They also come in a clear material, as well as metal. Some patients may be candidates for “invisible braces,” which are worn on the inside of the teeth.
On average, youngsters can expect to wear the appliances for about two years. During that time, they return to the orthodontist on a monthly basis. The doctor will usually tighten the wires at these appointments, in order to increase the tension on the teeth. Any discomfort or soreness afterward can usually be alleviated with an over-the-counter pain reliever.
When braces alone aren’t sufficient to straighten the teeth, a child may have to wear a night brace to bed, to apply pressure externally. Two prongs on the headgear are inserted into a pair of cylinder-shaped metal receptacles constructed on the outer surface of the back molars. Then an elastic band wraps around the back of the head to keep the apparatus in place. Understandably, teens usually aren’t too happy about having to put on the night brace, but parents can reassure them that this is a temporary measure.
After the orthodontist removes the braces, the young person is given a removable retainer to wear for the next six to twelve months in order to maintain the alignment of the teeth. The simple device consists of a metal wire attached to a plastic plate that has been confirmed to fit against the roof of the mouth..
source:
healthychildren.org
We love our patients and love to help them form healthy dental life that will last them a lifetime. Growing Smiles is a pediatric dentist in Anna, Richardson, Plano, Garland, Murphy we have Pediatric Services in Texas: Early Childhood Care, Preventive Care, General Treatments, Sedation Dentistry, Special Needs Dentistry, Emergency Service and Orthodontic (Braces & Invisalign) For more information call us to answer all of your questions so get an appointment today.