by | Jun 17, 2014 | Words of Wisdom
Word of Wisdom No. 3: Clean your tongue
Many people tend to think that the brushing process involves the teeth and in most cases ignore brushing the tongue. A tongue scrapper is more effective than a tooth brush in this tongue cleaning process. The two major cleaning methods that can be used includes, using a scrapper, spoon and lastly using a tooth brush. However children in most cases find it yucky and difficult to brush the tongue, in such a case it is best to introduce the child to tongue brushing using a spoon. Many children prefer tongue scrapping to tongue brushing.
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by | Jun 12, 2014 | Orthodontic Treatments
Why Teenage Patients Have More TMJ Problems in the Spring?
As spring approaches it is common for orthodontists such as Dr. Demas to receive a larger than usual number of phone calls from current and former patients reporting unexplained jaw pain. Parents often report that their teenage children have painful jaws and are unable to eat, sleep or study properly. This pain is often diagnosed as TMD, short for temporo-mandibular jaw pain.
Stress is the often the cause of TMD
The final week or two of April and the beginning of May are the periods when students are under the most stress. Intermittent sleep and eating habits can cause jaw pain. This is normally in the muscles beyond the lower molars. These are the chewing muscles, and pain in this region suggests that the grinding and clenching of teeth are causing the soreness – not actual medical problems with the muscles or the teeth.
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by | Jun 10, 2014 | Words of Wisdom
Word of Wisdom No. 2: Chuck your toothbrush
Medical specialists have proven that a tooth brush can cause cases of reinfection if one fails to change the toothbrush after an attack. Some disease causing bacteria such as, strep tool germs have been known to hide in the toothbrush for a long period. Hepatitis causing agents also can survive for more than hours in a toothbrush. To avoid cases of transferring bacteria, it is important to chuckle the tooth brush or at least replace it after using it for one month. After brushing, the tooth brush should be carefully rinsed and placed in a clean position.
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by | Jun 3, 2014 | Words of Wisdom
Words of Wisdom No.1 “Go On a White-Teeth Diet”
The diet taken in most cases influences on the type of teeth that one has colored diet greatly contribute in making the teeth more dingy. The selection of the diet is thus very vital, the type of stuffs that should be avoided ranges from alcoholic drinks, non-alcoholic drinks and a series of foods. In a case one is not able to restrain from these diets, then it is important to brush or gaggle some water immediately after the drink or the meal.
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by | May 29, 2014 | Orthodontic Treatments
Retainers
Braces are orthodontic appliances, but retainers are not, as their purpose is not to move the teeth. It is a fact of life for many brace users that once the brace has been used, a retainer has to be worn, too. This is to prevent the teeth from moving back into their original position.
The majority of patients who have had orthodontic treatment must wear retainers. If retainers are not worn, then their teeth will soon be misaligned and crooked again. The hard work and sacrifice that have gone into wearing the braces will soon be lost. The necessity to wear a retainer after the brace has been removed is the down side of brace installation.
The main reason for wearing a retainer is to halt the tendency of the teeth to move back in to their original position. Particularly as we go through the aging process, teeth may move in an unpredictable manner. A retainer which is worn for a long period can reduce the impact of these changes and can even prevent them altogether. This means straighter teeth can be assured into the future.
A retainer is fitted when orthodontic treatment has been completed and the braces have been removed. There are two types available – one that can be fixed more permanently on to the teeth and another type that is removable. The orthodontist selects the one that is most useful for the recipient.
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