Tag: Oral Health

good oral hygiene

Is It True That Good Oral Hygiene Can Reduce Cancer Risk?

Cancer remains one of the biggest killers in the world. In fact, as the average age of the population increases, so does the number of people dying from cancer. It is the second leading cause of death across the globe, second only to cardiovascular diseases. Oral cancer is deadly, but the patient has to go through a severe, painful procedure during a cancer diagnosis. But a good oral hygiene habit minimizes the chance of cancerous cell growth in the mouth area. Reduce Chances Of Cancerous Growth With Oral Hygiene The good news is that in many cases, cancer can be treated if it is detected early. But, of course, it is even better to identify what increases cancer risk and reduce these factors in our daily lives.  You may be surprised to realize that regular visits to a good dentist, such as this dentist St Leonards, can reduce the risk of cancer. Cancer can spread to any body part like the lungs, uterus, mouth area, neck, and intestine. Every cancer treatment process is painful. But among all areas, the mouth and the neck areas are some of the sensitive parts of the body. Therefore, you can quickly reduce the chances of cancer by maintaining good oral hygiene. Is There Any Connection Between Overall & Oral Health? Your mouth is full of bacteria, the majority of which are beneficial to maintaining the balance in your mouth. Some of the bacteria even help to prevent tooth decay. However, some have less honorable intentions. These are the ones that react with the sugar in your food and create acid. This attacks the tooth enamel and damages it, increasing the risk of cavities. But, it also does something else, it allows bacteria to get into your bloodstream. There is a vast number of blood vessels in and around your mouth. Bacteria in your blood can travel to other parts of your body and cause issues. But, you can build up good oral hygiene habits and control harmful bacteria production. Research suggests that bacteria in your blood can travel to your brain and contribute to developing diseases such as Alzheimer’s. However, research is ongoing. Is Poor Oral Hygiene Linked With Oral Cancer? The more considerable risk at present from poor oral hygiene is oral cancer. Recent studies have shown there is a link between people with poor oral hygiene and oral cancer. It is believed that the harmful bacteria in your mouth can cause healthy cells to ‘go bad.’ This is often the beginnings of cancer and, if left unspotted, will develop into oral cancer. It is more likely to occur if you smoke or chew tobacco and have poor oral hygiene. Your genetic disposition or cancer in your family can also influence the likelihood of it happening. Good oral hygiene is the key to minimize the higher risk of cancer. If you have these types of bad habits like chewing tobacco or smoke, get rid of the habit fast to maintain oral health. How Regular Dental Visits Help? A regular visit to the dentist, at least once a year, will help any issues in your mouth to be spotted early. Your dentist gets a better view of your teeth, gums, and even your throat than you do. If they notice anything unusual or different from usual, they will investigate further.  This will help to ensure any issue is caught early and can be treated. Of course, good oral hygiene reduces the risk. That means brushing your teeth twice a day for at least two minutes each time.  In addition, you should floss daily, and mouthwash can be beneficial. If you have any concerns about your oral hygiene procedures, you should chat with your dentist. They will guide and even show you to help you get it right. It’s in their interests as well as good for your teeth and overall health. Conclusion: Good oral hygiene is not only helping you to keep your mouth clean and hygiene. The overall health benefits of a clean mouth are undeniable. So better take care of your mouth and teeth to keep your body healthy and fit. So how are you planning to minimize the chances of cancerous cell growth? Start with maintaining your mouth health. Read Also: How Cold Weather Affects the Cancer Patients Early Symptoms and Signs of Breast Cancer

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teeth brushing habits

5 Little Changes That Can Make Your Teeth-Brushing More Effective

It’s easy to assume that keeping your teeth brushing habits in good condition is largely just about preserving a gleaming, Hollywood-standard smile. However, your teeth aren’t just for show; they serve an array of crucial practical purposes. These include helping us to digest food and even talk coherently. Neglecting your teeth brushing can lead to tooth decay – which, in turn, can lead to pain as well as the necessity of fillings, crowns or inlays. There’s also the risk of gum disease, which can wear away at your teeth and even bone around the teeth. How, then, can you brush your teeth more effectively? 5 Little Changes That Can Make Your Teeth-Brushing More Effective: Choose the right toothbrush The Oral Health Foundation recommends that adults advise people to use small or medium size brush head. The brush head should be soft, os that it does not damage tooth gum. The head needs to be small enough so that it can reach to the back end of the teeth. While children’s brushes should be smaller, they must still include filaments of the same type. Then there’s the question of electric toothbrushes – which, research has indicated, do remove plaque more effectively than manual toothbrushes. Both adults and kids can benefit from going electric. Use a good fluoride toothpaste Considering that many dental experts have credited fluoride with helping to prevent cavities, it’s surprising that not all dental products actually contain fluoride. You should make sure that your toothpaste has it, which shouldn’t be too difficult, given the wide choice of fluoride toothpaste. There is evidence that even people who otherwise stay on top of looking after their teeth can see their efforts undermined if fluoride isn’t involved, Medical News Daily observes. “The optimum level of fluoride for anyone aged three and over is between 1,350ppm and 1,500ppm, so it doesn’t matter too much which brand you’re using as long as it has that level of fluoride,” Karen Coates of the Oral Health Foundation has explained to The Guardian. Brush in a massaging, rather than aggressive, motion Once that toothpaste is on your brush, how hard should you press it onto your teeth? Coates cites “a fine line between brushing effectively and overbrushing.” She adds that electric toothbrushes could help you to strike the right balance due to their inclusion of a pressure sensor. Of course, it’s already common knowledge that you should brush twice a day. However, when you do brush, make sure you do it in small circular motions while being careful not to leave the front, back or top of any of your teeth untouched. Resist sawing back-and-forth motions! Spit out toothpaste left over, but don’t rinse Fluoride can help to strengthen and shield your teeth – and, in this way, prevent the onset of tooth decay. However, you must allow the fluoride to work its magic. That means not rinsing your mouth after teeth brushing, as you would be rinsing out the fluoride. Therefore, just settle for rinsing out the surplus toothpaste after your brushing. Coates says reassuringly: “The residual bits of fluoride will stay on the teeth for about 30 minutes after brushing.” Pay regular visits to the dentist According to the expert recommendation, you should get a dental checkup every six months. Each routine dental examination will see the hygienist clean your teeth and remove any plaque and hardened tartar. The dentist will inspect your mouth for warning signs of oral health issues like cavities, gum disease or mouth cancer. If the dentist spots minor damage, like a chip or crack, they might advocate a cosmetic treatment like teeth bonding from Ten Dental – and give you some more teeth brushing tips if there is visual evidence that they are needed. Read also: Dental hygiene tips Dental care tips

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Oral Health

E-Cigarettes: How They Effect On Your Oral Health

Smoking is a trend that comes and goes with decades. Sometimes in history is was a class distinction and in some other times, it was only a practice of criminals and drug addicts. But, what is smoking? Smoking refers to the process or burning a substance and breathing the smoke to be tasted and also absorbed into the bloodstream. Many different substances can be smoked, mostly leaves of plants. The most common plant to be smoked is tobacco. It can be found in many different presentations and with different additives for flavor or fruit scented. After discovering the damaging effects of the combustion of tobacco in our lungs, many people and institutions have devoted their efforts to ban the consumption of cigars and cigarettes. It was the combination of higher life expectancy rates and the popularization of tobacco consumption that gave rise to studies and research of their negative effect on lungs and their direct relation to lung cancer. Read also: The Disturbing Trend Of Multiple Chronic Medical Conditions Once the studies showed that the combustion of tobacco created tart and tar was the main toxic element when smoking, the effort was deviated to eliminating the intake of toxic tar into the system. Longer filters, water filters, and many more devices were then created to achieve this goal. And following the creation of these items, the electronic cigarettes offer smokers the possibility of enjoying nicotine without the negative side effects of tar. Electronic Cigarettes, How Do They Work Electronic cigarettes are battery-operated devices, they can look like a pen, and some others have new designs that may look like cigars or cigarettes. These devices convert liquid nicotine into a vapor or mist that the user – smoker- inhales. Since what the user is inhaling, is not smoke, the community of supporters has decided to call themselves vapers. With these e-cigarettes, there is no fire and therefore no ashes and smoke to be inhaled. E-cigarettes are offered to the public as a healthy alternative to tobacco cigarettes. They started being sold in 2003, and now, multiple houses offer different kinds of electronic cigarettes to suit different audiences and moods. Are They Safe The research on electronic cigarettes is not thorough yet. Many laboratories are carrying out diverse tests to examine the effect of the use of electronic cigarettes over time. Apparently, the absence of fumes makes them already a lot healthier than smoking a regular cigar. However, this does not mean they are completely exempt from doing any harm. Any substance is dangerous when it is excessively consumed, even water! Studies have shown that nicotine present is not associated with the traditional danger of smoking. It was the tar that was to blame. In the case of nicotine vapor, it is still necessary to carry out more extensive research to assess the long-term effect it could have on the human body. Nicotine And Oral Health Nicotine acts as a vasoconstrictor, and this means that the flow of blood is reduced because of the consumption of nicotine. After consuming the tobacco e-liquid and without sufficient blood flow, the gums in your mouth could be affected and be left without the nutrients and oxygen they need to stay healthy. This can cause gum recession and gum death through the death of the tissue. It is also important to point out that gum disease may be harder to diagnose when inhaling tobacco vapor. This is due to the same fact explained earlier, the vasoconstriction created by the nicotine reduces blood flow through the gums, and therefore when you brush you don't bleed anymore, or maybe the bleeding is drastically reduced, but the original causes of the gum disease are still there. Read also: The Relationship Between Oral Health And General Health Because of the same effect, your mouth will also find harder to produce saliva. This can cause some other minor issues. Eating, for example, could be affected because of the missing saliva, since saliva is an important element in the digestive process. Another issue derived from not producing enough saliva is bad breath. Saliva stops bacteria from forming inside your mouth, and without it, bacteria can reproduce quickly and give you terrible breath. The recommendation would be to stay alert to the symptoms of gums disease even if you notice that you have stopped bleeding for a while. It is always good to remember that you should not take this article as the replacement of a visit to the doctor. A health professional would always be the best option when it comes to assessing the health of your mouth. If you are thinking of switching from regular cigarettes to e-cigarettes, there will be an immediate improvement in your quality of life. The elimination of the toxic tar and smoke that was being inhaled is a real plus for your health but be concerned about other negative effects due to nicotine as highlighted in this article.

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