Study Finds Dentists Uniquely Positioned to Help Smokers Quit

Study Finds Dentists Uniquely Positioned to Help Smokers Quit

Smokers whose dentists offer intervention strategies like nicotine patches or lozenges are far more likely to quit according to a report published in the May issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

In the largest study of its kind, University of Arizona researchers have proven the effectiveness of quit-tobacco interventions in public dental care settings serving low-income patients. People who received an intervention – advice and assistance including nicotine patches or lozenges – were two to three times more likely to have quit smoking 7.5 months afterward than participants who received the usual care, the journal explained.

“The dental setting is different from a medical clinic in that physicians can’t pull out a lung and show the patient the damage caused by smoking. The oral health team has a unique opportunity to show the immediate effects of smoking or tobacco use to their patients,” said lead researcher Judith Gordon, an associate professor in the University of Arizona’s department of family and community medicine.

What Gordon found is that dentists and hygienists are able to simply able to had patients a mirror and show them exactly how smoking is impacting their oral health. Once patients see the damage, the dental staff can explain the long-term risk of cancers of the mouth and throat.

Another reason researchers believe the trained dental clinics were so successful in encouraging patients to quit is that dentists usually see their patients more often than doctors do.

Funded by the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute, the study involved 14 federally funded community health center dental clinics in Mississippi, New York and Oregon that serve racially/ethnically diverse patients.

In randomly selected clinics, staff members were trained to provide interventions as recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service. The training included a 3-hour, in-service workshop on integrating and delivering a brief, tailored tobacco intervention including self-help materials, referral to a tobacco quit line, as well as training on the proper use of nicotine replacement therapy.

Have You Heard of Oral Care Probiotics?

When Someone Asks…

Have You Heard of Oral Care Probiotics?

Our bodies are homes to thousands of bacteria. Many of those bacteria simply live in and on our bodies because they are simply a convenient environment in which to live. Some of the bacteria in and on our bodies can be harmful (think of skin infections) while still others are beneficial (think of how bacteria in the gut are said to aid in digestion).

Probiotics are live microbial organisms that are naturally present throughout the body. They are often referred to as “beneficial” or “good” bacteria. Because there are bacterial colonies throughout the body, there are different types of probiotics to support good health.

Oral Care Probiotics

There has been much media attention given to the effectiveness of probiotics of to assist in digestion. So, too, are there probiotics that can help support gum and tooth health by competing with harmful bacteria for both nutrients and space in the mouth. In doing so, oral care probiotics also help eliminate the bacteria that creates the volatile sulfur compounds responsible for bad breath.

Oral care probiotics are available in the convenient, easy-to-use, travel-friendly form of mints to be taken twice per day after brushing. Called EvoraPlus, these probiotic mints are available at many major retailers and online.

EvoraPlus also offers a completely safe and natural way to gently whiten teeth to their maximum potential by producing a byproduct of a continuous low dose of natural hydrogen peroxide. Because it is such a low dose of hydrogen peroxide, there are none of the negative side effects associated with using other over-the-counter whitening products, which instead employ high doses of harsh, chemical hydrogen peroxide.

EvoraPlus oral care probiotics offer a cutting edge solution for tooth and gum health, fresher breath and naturally whiter teeth.

Your Patient’s Bad Breath is Likely Caused by a Common Bacteria

Goodbye, Halitosis!

Your Patient’s Bad Breath is Likely Caused by a Common Bacteria

The human mouth is filled with hundreds of bacteria. Many of those bacteria are simply hanging out in the mouth because it’s a nice dark and wet place to live. A few of those bacteria, however, create a waste product called “volatile sulfur compounds” (VSCs) – the root cause of many cases of halitosis (bad breath).

The term “volatile” simply describes the fact that these compounds evaporate readily, even at normal temperatures. The extreme volatility of VSCs explains how these compounds have the ability to offend those around us, instantly.

A person’s mouth is home to  hundreds of different species of bacteria. And on going in our mouth, at all times, is a constant battle for living space between the types of bacteria which do create waste products that cause bad breath and those that don’t. And it is the precise balance between the relative numbers of these two different types of bacteria that will ultimately determine the quality of a person’s breath.

An accumulation of dental plaque creates the perfect conditions for VSC-causing bacteria to thrive on the surfaces of teeth and deep below the gum line. As more and more plaque builds up in a person’s mouth, the bacteria that cause bad breath gain available living space and proliferate, thus increasing the level of odor causing compounds that escape with each breath that is exhaled.

If brushing and flossing alone were enough to combat these VSC-causing bacteria, those who have pretty good dental habits should always have good breath. But bad breath is obviously not always the result of poor dental hygiene, and if antibacterial mouthwashes were the answer, then the same would be true – no one would ever have bad breath.

The true key to eliminating halitosis is to crowd out those VSC-causing bacteria. Probiotic oral care bacteria compete with the bacteria responsible for bad breath. By consuming the same nutrients as the bad-breath-causing bacteria and fighting with them for space on the surfaces of teeth and below the gum line, probiotics crowd out the smelly bacteria and make breath fresh around the clock.

Bad Breath Linked to Bacteria Responsible for Ulcers, Cancer

More Than Halitosis

Bad Breath Linked to Bacteria Responsible for Ulcers, Cancer

New research from Japan has found a link between bad breath and the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers and cancer.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology, revealed that the bacteria responsible for both stomach ulcers and cancer were found in the mouths of some people with halitosis.

Research has revealed that infection by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which is carried by more than 90 percent of people in the developing world and 20 to 80 percent of people in the developed world, was a possible cause of peptic ulcers and gastric cancers.

The more recent study produced by Dr Nao Suzuki from Fukuoka Dental College in Fukuoka, Japan and colleagues, suggested that the human mouth, which is home to hundreds different species of bacteria (some of which cause disease), is a possible reservoir for H. pylori, particularly in the presence of periodontal disease, a known cause of halitosis.

According to Suzuki, halitosis is common in humans and is mostly caused by gum disease, debris on the tongue and poor oral hygiene.

Suzuki and his colleagues tested patients complaining of halitosis for the presence of H. pylori, studying DNA scans of saliva taken from hundreds of citizens, many of whom had halitosis.

Of the participants 102 had periodontal disease, 16 percent of whom had H. pylori in their mouths.

These results led researchers to conclude that deep periodontal pockets and inflammation create favorable conditions for the growth of H. pylori bacteria.

This research means that patients with periodontal disease coupled with halitosis should be tested for H. pylori infection.

Stopping Halitosis at the Source

Stopping Halitosis at the Source

One of the primary complaints of patients in the chair is persistent halitosis, since bad breath makes for bad impressions.

Many people with bad breath rely on mints, gums and mouthwashes to help relieve unrelenting bad breath. Generally those methods fail and for good reason – mints, mouthwashes and gums simply mask the smell of bad breath, instead of addressing it at the root cause.

Halitosis is caused by bacteria in the mouth releasing volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs). These VSCs produced by bacteria can only be addressed at the microbial level. This is why many mouthwashes claim to stop bad breath – because they indiscriminately wipe out bacteria in the mouth. They don’t, however, halt the return of these bacteria. And once the bacteria return, so does the halitosis.

Why Flossing is Important

Flossing can help reduce the impact of halitosis by removing the pieces of food caught between teeth, and reducing the smell of those foods decaying. Flossing also helps remove some of the bacteria responsible for VOCs, but not the bacteria colonizing below the gum line.

Since brushing and flossing can’t remove the bacteria below the gum line, and mouthwashes offer temporary results at best, oral care probiotics may be the answer. These microscopic beneficial bacteria can reach where common tooth cleaning devices can’t, deep under the gum line where harmful, VSC-releasing bacteria prefer to colonize. In fact, the only thing that fits in those gingival crevicesis bacteria. That’s where oral care probiotics come in.

With EvoraPlus probiotic mints, dentists and hygienists finally have an answer to patients’ persistent halitosis.

Honing in on the Causes of Morning Breath

The many factors that contribute to bad breath in the morning

“How do I get rid of morning breath” is probably one of the most common questions dentists receive. It’s certainly no secret that patients are very unhappy with having bad breath at any point in the day, especially after they feel like they have tried every trick in the book to freshen their breath.

Caused by many things, bad breath can also be caused by the types of foods we eat.  Decaying particles of food between our teeth and the foul-smelling Volatile Sulfur Compounds (VSCs) released by harmful bacteria that inhabit the mouth.

How to Help Patients Overcome Morning Breath

There are many schools of thought on what might cause morning breath. Eating foods high in sulfur content is one way to spoil your breath for hours afterwards. Everyone knows – onion or garlic breath doesn’t simply brush away.

A Google search for an exact number of Americans who floss daily shows numbers ranging from only 2 percent up to 50 percent, so getting patients to floss to remove food particles from between teeth would go a long way toward improving morning breath.

Mouthwash – Helpful or Harmful?

Many patients who complain of morning breath note “I brush my teeth every night before bed, and I use a very strong mouthwash!”But sometimes the alcohol in mouthwash contributes to dry mouth, which, left overnight, can cause bad breath. Mouthwashes also tend to indiscriminately wipe out bacteria in the mouth, which can allow the bad bacteria a good opportunity to overpopulate while you snooze.Those bad bacteria tend to have an annoying byproduct, called Volatile Sulfur Compounds, which smell just as bad as they sound.

Perhaps the best way to keep morning breath in check is to introduce beneficial bacteria, or probiotics, into the mouth. These probiotics coat the teeth and around the gum line, competing directly with the stinky, morning-breath causing bacteria for tooth space and nutrients.

Simply allowing a probiotic mint to melt in your mouth after brushing your teeth each morning and evening can help minimize bad breath around the clock.

Can Tongue Scrapers Hold Up to Their Claims to Freshen Breath?

Is Tongue Scraping the True Answer To Fresher Breath?

Tongue scrapers have made quite a showing in the oral care market in recent years, claiming to put an end to bad breath . While they have been widely available for many years, it appears the increase in popularity has been fueled by no small part by information widely available on the Internet.

Marketers claim that by scraping the surface of the tongue, these devices eliminate bacteria, making the assumption that the bacteria on the tongue are the culprit for bad breath . However, like many products, their effectiveness has not been validated.

Bacteria Really Does Contribute to Bad Breath

Bad breath is generally an indication of bacterial imbalance in the entire mouth – between teeth, on the surfaces of the teeth, under the gums, and, yes, on the tongue. The answer to better breath is to ensure that the good bacteria in everywhere in the mouth outnumbers the bad bacteria responsible for the foul odor of bad breath.

Bacteria in the Mouth

The human mouth is home to between 700 – 800 bacteria. The mouth is a good home to bacteria, most of which thrive in warm, wet, dark places. Most of the bacteria are completely innocuous.  A few, however, are to blame for bad breath. These bacteria naturally emit volatile sulfur compounds as a byproduct. These VSCs are to blame for the vast majority of chronic bad breath conditions.

On the flip side, there are also beneficial bacteria that make their home in the human mouth. If you have chronic bad breath, you are likely lacking in the beneficial bacteria department.

Probiotics Combat Bad Breath

Probiotics are a staple in many cultures. Dr. Jeffrey Hillman, Chief Scientific Officer of Oragenics, Inc., has identified three strains of probiotics found in very healthy mouths – Streptococcus oralis (S. oralis KJ3™), Streptococcus uberis (S. uberis KJ2™) and Streptococcus rattus (S. rattus JH145™). Dr. Hillman has combined these probiotics to develop a probiotic mint that, when used twice daily after brushing, crowds out bad-breath-causing bacteria on all surfaces of the mouth – not just the tongue.