Green Tea Reduces Inflammation, Increases Periodontal Health

Green Tea Reduces Inflammation

Green tea – a beverage already touted to have numerous health benefits, including boosting weight loss and improving heart health – can put another notch in its belt.

A 2009 study published by the Journal of Periodontology, uncovered yet another benefit of green tea consumption. In a study conducted at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, researchers found that drinking green tea may promote healthy teeth and gums. Researchers studied the gum health of 940 men and found that those who often consumed green tea had better periodontal health than those who consumed it less.

Green Tea Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Researchers suspect that green tea’s anti-inflammatory properties contribute to periodontal health. Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the gums and bone supporting the teeth. This inflammatory condition is fueled by an overgrowth of harmful bacteria in the mouth.

This is big news, as periodontal disease has been associated
with the progression of other diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

In addition to green tea, oral probiotics can help keep harmful bacteria in check by supporting the population of beneficial bacteria in the mouth. These beneficial bacteria compete with
the harmful bacteria for both nutrients and space on the teeth and below the gum line, effectively pushing out harmful bacteria.

With periodontal disease becoming more and more common as we age, pairing oral care probiotics with green tea sounds like a good plan for great health!

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Keeping Dentures and Retainers From Retaining Odors

Denture or Retainer Breath

Keeping Dentures & Retainers From Retaining Odors

Those who wear removable dentures or retainers must understand the importance of proper hygienic care as an important means of maintaining a healthy oral mucosa.

Denture and retainer cleanliness is often poor due to improper mechanical cleansing and the relative inefficiency of most commercial products for chemical cleansing. Dentists and patients should realize that microbial plaque on dentures may be harmful to both the oral mucosa and the patient’s general health.

It is the responsibility of the patient to maintain oral hygiene through a daily home care routine, but it is the obligation of the dentist to motivate and instruct the patient and provide the means and methods for plaque control.

Attack the Plaque

It’s a little known fact that plaque, tartar and bacteria can build up on retainers, mouth guards, dentures and aligners. Plaque, tartar and bacteria can populate any surface of the mouth, including the appliances used in the mouth. Keeping the plaque, tartar and bacteria in check can decrease the smells associated with any appliance used in the mouth.

Brush, Brush, Brush

Brushing after every meal is the first step in keeping dentures and retainers from holding onto the foul smell of particles of rotting food. Dentists and hygienists should ensure that denture and retainer wearers have solid brushing skills that remove the food particles that get stuck between the appliances and the teeth or gums. These particles feed the harmful bacteria in the mouth, the very same bacteria that is responsible for bad breath.

Balance Bacteria

Adding the ProBiora3 probiotic blend to oral care products, the beneficial bacteria pushes out the harmful bacteria known to make breath smelling. This probiotic blend is an easy way to ensure mouths smell fresh and clean.

The Scare of the Dental Chair for Adults

The Scare of the Dental Chair

Why Many Adults Avoid Regular Dental Treatment

Just the thought of going to the dentist renders many otherwise extremely rational adults into people who would do anything to avoid spending a few minutes getting their teeth checked and cleaned.

According to a recent study conducted by Montana State University,
dental anxiety is a “pervasive barrier to dental treatment for many individuals.”

How Many Adults Fear the Dentist?

According to WebMd, up to 20 percent of the American population fears trips to the dentist. But why?

The reasons for dental fears are varied, but the big reasons include:

•    Fear of pain

•    Fear of needles

•    Fear that the anesthetic won’t work

•    Fear of having another adult in your personal space

•    Fear of embarrassment from the after-effects of the anesthetics (like drooling, an inability to  eat neatly, and even slight speech impediments)

The bottom line is that these fears are so real that an online forum, Dental Fear Central has been established as a gathering place for those who are looking for ways to make dental visits a less harrowing affair.

Dentists are seeking ways to get adults to follow through with regular dental appointments to ensure good tooth and gum health. From making offices feel less clinical to offering routine cleanings under anesthetic or hypnosis, dental professionals are bending over backwards to get patients into the chair.

The Multiple Effects of Smoking on Oral Health

Butt Out!

The Multiple Effects of Smoking on Oral Health

Of all the damage one can do to their teeth, most dental professionals agree that smoking is one of the things that causes the most serious impact on overall oral health.

While much damage can be done simply by not following a good oral-care routine including flossing, or regularly indulging in staining foods, like coffee, tea, beets or red wine, smoking is known to cause much more serious damage to the mouth.

What Does Smoking do to the Mouth?

First of all, unlike foods and drinks that simply stain the teeth, the tar and nicotine in cigarettes make teeth yellow after very little time smoking, and long-time smokers’ teeth turn brown.

As if brown teeth aren’t bad enough, smoking is a known cause of periodontal disease, because smoking causes a lack of oxygen in the bloodstream, making it nearly impossible for infected gums to heal. Smoking is also linked to an increase in dental plaque.

A Leading Cause of Oral Cancer

While most smokers consider lung cancer to be the biggest risk when lighting up, research shows that smoking – and the use of other tobacco products – causes a significant increase in the risk of developing oral cancer.

Oral Cancer More Common Than You May Think

According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, oral and pharyngeal cancer causes more than 8,000 deaths per year in America alone. This number has not improved in decades.

“The death rate for oral cancer is higher than that of cancers which we hear about routinely such as cervical cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, laryngeal cancer, cancer of the testes, and endocrine system cancers such as thyroid, or skin cancer (malignant melanoma).

If you expand the definition of oral cancers to include cancer of the larynx, for which the risk factors are the same, the numbers of diagnosed cases grow to 41,000 individuals, and 12,500 deaths per year in the US alone. Worldwide the problem is much greater, with over 400,000 new cases being found each year,” the Oral Cancer Foundation reports.

Apparently the high death rate for this common cancer is due, in part, to the fact that it is often detected too late for effective and swift treatment.

Why Those With Kidney Disease Need Healthy Mouths

The link between kidney disease and poor oral health just keeps getting stronger and stronger.

A recent study published in the Journal of Periodontology (JOP), the official publication of the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP), reports that toothless adults may be more likely to have chronic kidney disease (CKD) than adults with teeth.

In the study, conducted at Case Western Reserve University, toothlessness (endentulism) was found to be significantly associated with CKD, indicating that oral care may play a role in reducing the prevalence of chronic kidney disease in the U.S. population.

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University studied 4053 adults that were at least 40 years old (most were older) to investigate the link between CKD periodontal infection, and endentulism. CKD was considered a moderate to severe reduction of kidney function.

The class for periodontal disease was wider, including those with infection but no periodontal disease, minimal loss of tooth attachment and gums that bled upon probing (indicating inflammation) and full-blown periodontal disease, as well as edentulous patients who lost their teeth because of advanced periodontal disease.

The results were astounding, indicating that those with any level of periodontal infection or disease, including those with minor gum loss, were at a increased risk for developing chronic kidney disease.

Research has also linked poor oral health with heart disease, diabetes and other life-threatening conditions.

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