2012: A Great Year to QUIT SMOKING!

Besides being an instant bad breath cure, quitting smoking can improve the appearance of your teeth. For many people, tooth staining is one of the most common side effects of smoking. You may see some improvement with tooth whitening toothpastes or other whitening products, but the stains will persist if you continue to smoke.

Need another reason? Besides the superficial problems of stained teeth and bad breath, smoking can affect your oral health by significantly increasing your risk for developing oral cancer. Oral cancer includes cancer of the lip or mouth, including the tongue, the insides of the cheeks, the gums, the area under the tongue, the bony area in the top of the mouth and the area in the back of the mouth behind the wisdom teeth.

Data from the National Cancer Institute show that more than 5,000 people in the United States will die from oral cancer in 2008, and more than 22,000 new cases of oral cancer will be identified. The best way to reduce your risk for oral cancer is to stop smoking. Tell your doctor or dentist that you are ready to quit smoking and he or she can help direct you to local support groups and perhaps prescribe nicotine replacement products to help you through the process. In addition, be sure to follow a regular routine of good oral health care, including twice-daily tooth brushing and daily flossing.

Pain Free Flossing

One of the most common reasons people give for not flossing their teeth daily is that they find flossing uncomfortable and even painful. Some people experience bleeding gums after flossing, and this discourages them from continuing with this healthy habit and important element of dental hygiene.

The truth is, even if you have sensitive gums, you can enjoy pain-free flossing. Instead of the thin, string-like flosses, try a soft floss, such as Oral-B® SATINfloss®. Or try a dental tape, such as Oral-B’s Satin Tape, which is wider than standard floss. Many people with sensitive gums find that the dental tape is more comfortable, enabling them to make flossing part of their daily oral care routine.

Also, be sure that you’re using a soft-bristle brush, so your teeth and gums aren’t irritated when it's time to floss. Use a soft touch with both brushing and flossing—you don’t need to scrub hard with your toothbrush or use a lot of force when you floss to get the benefits, just be sure to brush thoroughly and floss between each tooth.

As a wise dentist once said, "You don’t have to floss all your teeth—just the ones you want to keep!"

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What is Good Oral Hygiene?

What is Good Oral Hygiene?

Good oral hygiene results in a mouth that looks and smells healthy. This means:

Your teeth are clean and free of debris
Gums are pink and do not hurt or bleed when you brush or floss
Bad breath is not a constant problem
If your gums do hurt or bleed while brushing or flossing, or you are experiencing persistent bad breath, see your dentist. Any of these conditions may indicate a problem.

Your dentist or hygienist can help you learn good oral hygiene techniques and can help point out areas of your mouth that may require extra attention during brushing and flossing.

How is Good Oral Hygiene Practiced?
Maintaining good oral hygiene is one of the most important things you can do for your teeth and gums. Healthy teeth not only enable you to look and feel good, they make it possible to eat and speak properly. Good oral health is important to your overall well-being.

Daily preventive care, including proper brushing and flossing, will help stop problems before they develop and is much less painful, expensive, and worrisome than treating conditions that have been allowed to progress.

In between regular visits to the dentist, there are simple steps that each of us can take to greatly decrease the risk of developing tooth decay, gum disease and other dental problems. These include:

Brushing thoroughly twice a day and flossing daily
Eating a balanced diet and limiting snacks between meals
Using dental products that contain fluoride, including toothpaste
Rinsing with a fluoride mouthrinse if your dentist tells you to
Making sure that your children under 12 drink fluoridated water or take a fluoride supplement if they live in a non-fluoridated area

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Smokers Present Tougher Bacterial Challenge to Periodontal Treatment

Periodontal disease is difficult to successfully treat in any dental patient. One patient type that can be especially challenging is smokers. Smokers are up to 6X more likely to experience periodontal destruction compared to non-smokers And it's been long recognized that smoking impairs healing following non-surgical periodontal treatment.

A new study has found that smoking may pose yet another hurdle.

In patients with moderate-to-severe chronic periodontitis, researchers found that smokers consistently demonstrated lower levels of health-protective bacteria and significantly higher levels of disease-related bacteria below their gumlines. These included higher levels of the red complex Treponema and Tannerella species, which have been linked to more severe and refractory periodontitis.

This may help to explain why smokers are less responsive to scaling and root planing (SRP) alone, exhibiting smaller pocket depth reductions and fewer clinical gains resulting in deeper periodontal pockets.

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Toothbrush Advice!

Toothbrush Care and Replacement

How can I take care of my toothbrush?

To keep your toothbrush and yourself healthy, make sure you let it dry out between uses. Toothbrushes can be breeding grounds for germs, fungus and bacteria, which after a while can build up to significant levels. After using your toothbrush, shake it vigorously under tap water and store it in an upright position so that it can air out.

To prevent cold and flu viruses from being passed between brushes, try to keep your toothbrush from touching others when it is stored. A standard toothbrush holder with slots for several brushes to hang upright is a worthwhile investment in your family's health.

How often should I change my toothbrush?

Most dentists agree you should change your toothbrush every three months. Studies show that after three months of normal wear and tear, toothbrushes are much less effective at removing plaque from teeth and gums compared to new ones. The bristles break down and loose their effectiveness in getting to all those tricky corners around your teeth.

It is also important to change toothbrushes after you've had a cold, the flu, a mouth infection or a sore throat. That's because germs can hide in toothbrush bristles and lead to reinfection. Even if you haven't been sick, fungus and bacteria can develop in the bristles of your toothbrush —another reason to change your toothbrush regularly.

How can I protect my toothbrush when traveling?

A plastic toothbrush case will protect toothbrush bristles from becoming squashed or flattened in your traveling kit. After brushing, however, you should let your toothbrush dry in the open air, to help reduce the spread of germs.

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