Archive for September, 2009

Tips for Rinsing

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

In addition to the above 4 steps recommended by the American Dental Association (ADA), antibacterial mouth rinses reduce bacteria in the mouth that cause plaque and gum disease, according to the ADA. Fluoride mouth rinses also help reduce and prevent tooth decay. The ADA does not recommend fluoride mouth rinses for children 6 or younger because they may swallow the rinse.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/

Anderson Dental Group

Alarming Rise In Oral Cancer Rates Among Forty-somethings

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Rates of oral cancers, such as cancers of the mouth, tongue and lip, have increased by around a quarter in the past decade among people in their 40s, according to figures from Cancer Research UK today.

Oral cancer is largely a preventable disease with tobacco and alcohol use being the main risk factors.

Cancers caused by smoking often take up to 30 years to develop, so tobacco is less likely to be the main reason behind the increase in oral cancer in people in their 40s compared with older people.

And since smoking rates have gone down and alcohol consumption has gone up, experts believe the increase in oral cancer rates could mainly be down to drinking.

Other risk factors that could have helped to fuel the rise in this age group include a diet low in fruit and vegetables, and a sexually transmitted infection called the human papillomavirus (HPV).

Oral cancer rates in the UK for men in their 40s have gone up by 28 per cent since the mid 1990s, and rates for women in their 40s have increased by 24 per cent in the same period.

For both men and women of all ages, oral cancer rates have increased by more than 45 per cent since records began in 1975.

Hazel Nunn, health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said: “These latest figures are really alarming.

“Around three quarters of oral cancers are thought to be caused by smoking and drinking alcohol.

“Tobacco is, by far, the main risk factor for oral cancer, so it’s important that we keep encouraging people to give up and think about new ways to stop people taking it up in the first place.

“But for people in their 40s, it seems that other factors are also contributing to this jump in oral cancer rates.

“Alcohol consumption has doubled since the 1950s and the trend we are now seeing is likely to be linked to Britain’s continually rising drinking levels.

“It’s possible that HPV and diet are also playing a role, and the evidence – particularly for the role of HPV – is growing.”

Each year in the UK around 5,000 people are diagnosed with oral cancer and around 1,800 people die from the disease. Oral cancers include those of the lip, tongue, mouth, parts of the pharynx and piriform sinus. Around a third of oral cancers are diagnosed in the mouth and a slightly lower proportion on the tongue.

The most common signs of oral cancer are ulcers, sores, red or white patches in the mouth that last longer than three weeks and unexplained pain in the mouth or ear. Less common signs include a lump in the neck, a persistent sore throat or difficulty swallowing.

Hazel Nunn added: “The good news is that oral cancer can be treated successfully if it’s caught early enough. It’s important that people go to the dentist regularly and report any symptoms to their GP or dentist without delay.”

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/

Anderson Dental Group

Extreme Makeover: Perfect Smile

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Sometimes a simple teeth bleaching is not enough to achieve a perfect smile. But if you really want new, white looking teeth then some more complicated treatment is needed. Extreme makeover smile is one of the possible solutions. It includes several or even all of the standard cosmetic dentistry procedures. It means that a beautiful smile is possible, but one day dentist visit won’t be enough.

Smile makeovers require well trained and highly experienced dentists. To make a perfect smile you need more dental procedures to be done by only one dentist, using a wide variety of materials, so he should know them all. The whole treatment process takes form several hours to a few days. Everything depends on the initial state of your teeth.

One of the commonly met cosmetic, teeth problems is considered the stain. It’s removal is the first step to achieve a white smile. Makeovers always include teeth whitening and teeth bleaching. These procedures can be done in a dentist office as well as at home. However, considering your special needs it would be right to perform the smile whitening in the office.

If teeth whitening is one of the main dental procedures made to achieve a new smile then it’s faster and more convenient to have it performed by your dentist. If it’s one of the last, concluding operations then a at-home bleaching is also possible. In the second case you have more time to manage with, and no other procedures will follow after this one.

Smile makeover treatment won’t pass by any cracked or chipped tooth. If you have some then it is absolutely necessary to cure them. An extreme makeover smile procedure includes fixing such problems that ensures you having not only a beautiful smile, but a healthy one, too.

Bonding is another cosmetic dentistry operation that makes smile whitening possible. It is used to fix chips or fill small irregularities. A tooth-colored plastic is used for this purpose. It’s usually applied to the outside of the tooth making imperfections invisible.

Porcelain veneers remain the most popular smile makeover achieving procedure. The front side of a tooth is covered with a thin porcelain shell that protects your white smile from discoloration. Besides, porcelain veneers are stronger and highly resistant to coffee and cigarette stains. They can also protect a cracked or hardly damaged tooth from further distraction.

The porcelain installing procedure is rather quick and painless. More time is taken to prepare teeth for this kind of smile whitening. But, in the end, you’ll have a good protection of your teeth, an easier possibility to brush and floss, plus a new smile. In the same time you can try porcelain crown that covers the entire tooth, treating more structural damage.

Tooth colored fillings are also a good way of extreme makeover smile achieving. To maintain a healthy and beautiful smile it’s much better to reinforce the structure of the teeth with fillings that won’t have a different color. Besides, in comparison with the old, amalgam fillings, these one are harmless.

Dental implants are widely used to replace natural teeth that are missing or in a very bad condition. Extreme makeover smile is done by introducing in the jawbone an implant that acts like a natural tooth root. It is usually made of titanium and is very strong. Then its head is covered with a ceramic tooth specially made before. Even if the procedure has more functional purposes, it is considered as a cosmetic one because of its high costs.

Dentures can serve a good helper for older people. They are applied when the patient has no or a few teeth left. In this case, the perfect smile is achieved by a full mouth reconstruction. They are always custom made. So, now you can see that extreme makeover smile is easily done in several days time, just by performing some usual, cosmetic dentistry procedures described above.

Source: http://worldental.org/

Anderson Dental Group