Your Dental Care Guide

Along the years, The American Dental Association has been striving to raise their awareness and advance solutions when it comes to improving all the access to dental care. Dentists are the leading advocates for improving the access to dental care. They are willing to take the entire lead, but can’t fix this mess all alone. The federal, local and state governments and society at large must stop all the shortchanging oral health and find the political will to get a better dental care to the millions of Americans who don’t receive it. Only the oral health care needs to be a priority

The dental components in Medicaid and SCHIP, which are supposed to provide health care to disadvantaged Americans, are chronically underfunded. Federal law mandates that Medicaid cover basic preventive and restorative services. But many state programs fail to deliver care to even half of their eligible children. Adult dental coverage through public health programs is even worse; many states simply don’t provide it. Taking care of yourself is a critical component of oral health, and too many Americans lack a basic understanding of preventive oral health, things like brushing, flossing, eating a healthy diet and drinking fluoridated water. About one-third of public water systems are not fluoridated, yet it is the single most effective public health measure to protect against tooth decay.

It would be tempting to think that one can visit a dentist only when one has a toothache and that more importantly, such visits need only concentrate on that one particular toothache. Unfortunately, dental visits should not only be regular, they should also be recognized as opportunities for individuals to learn more about the state of their dental health. To further elaborate, a visit to the dentist need not be a one-way conversation that drones on and on; individuals should be assertive and should ask questions. These questions may take the form of, “Which latest dental innovation would prove helpful to my teeth given my dental history?” or, “What kinds of food or drink should I stay away from to prevent having dental problems?” Only perhaps after making an effort to befriend one’s dentist and to gain a personal understanding of one’s dental conditions can an individual actually look forward to dentist appointments. After all, since not many will admit that they love sitting in a chair while a dentist examines their teeth, then perhaps the best way to turn seemingly boring dentist appointments would be to stop seeing the situation from such a linear perspective.

Picture from
Daily Mail. 5 May 2008 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=512813&in_page_id=1774.

Sometimes our oral health care practices are influenced by the various marketing strategies taken by company’s and often do not really address the actual dental care needs of our children. We must remember that our children need toothbrushes that are small enough to comfortably fit into their mouth and must have soft bristles. Toothpaste amount should also be regulated to only a pea size so that it will not create too much foam to interfere with their brushing.

Stand behind your child to guide them at first. Concentrate the first two minutes on brushing the upper and lower back teeth which are usually the starting point of cavities. Use only short circular strokes taking ample time to clean chewing surfaces. Proper rinsing through allowing water to circle within the mouth and spitting is also very important.

With all the bells and whistles and hundreds of toothbrushes on the market, you’ve got to wonder, which is really the best toothbrush to buy – manual or electric?

If you’re not sure which type of toothbrush you would use the most here are some pros and cons of both. Manual Toothbrush is inexpensive, has easy to grip handles; some with tongue scraper and easy to carry wherever you will go. Only thing is, has no built in timer to tell the user when 2 minutes are up. Electric toothbrush most have ergonomic handles, have built in timers and some even dispense toothpaste, but only problem with this are, they are quite expensive and require batteries to be charged before using.

Dental floss is an ancient invention. Researchers have found dental floss and toothpick grooves in the teeth of prehistoric humans. Levi Spear Parmly (1790-1859), a New Orleans dentist is credited as being the re-inventor of modern dental floss.

In 1882, the Codman and Shurtleft Company of Randolph, Massachusetts started to mass-produce unwaxed silk floss for commercial home use. The Johnson and Johnson Company of New Brunswick, New Jersey were the first to patent dental floss in 1898. Dr. Charles C. Bass developed nylon floss as a replacement for silk floss during WW II. Dr. Bass was also responsible for making teeth flossing an important part of dental hygiene.

Having a good dental hygiene is not just having pearly white teeth. Like everyone else, people with developmental disabilities can have a healthy mouth if we know how to follow the basic rules to a healthy dental care.

First rule is to Brush every day. Much better is we’re going to do this after every meal. Second is Floss every day. An alternative way to brushing your teeth everyday as this will help remove that extra something in between teeth and lastly, Visit a dentist regularly. It is a good thing to visit and have a regular dentist checkup once every six months to monitor your oral health.

In Canada, people of all ages are enjoying good oral care and regular dental care from professionals which will help to ensure that their teeth and gums will remain healthy for the rest of their life. The Canadian Dental Association is also providing vital information on oral care to help them promote dental health.

Because you are never too old to take care of your teeth, even senior citizens need to take some steps to preserve or improve the state of their oral health. Some of these steps that can be taken by senior citizens include:

• Regular check up
• Regular brushing and flossing
• Caring for false teeth and partial dentures

Pregnancy is a state where extra care must be taken in terms of your health not only for yourself but for your baby as well. During pregnancy, additional oral hygiene must be observed which includes but is not limited to daily brushing and flossing, healthy eating, observing a balanced diet and continues regular dental visits.

By properly implementing these guidelines, the pregnant mother can avoid some of the most commonly experienced dental problems that are usually identified with the state of pregnancy. Due to the hormonal fluctuations experienced a pregnant mother can experience additional plaque, gum disease (swollen and bleeding gums), bad breath and tooth decay.

When you brush your teeth, do not be in a hurry�that is, if you’re not in a hurry to wear the set of teeth similar to the ones that grandpa or grandma sports.

A friend of mine tells me that he sings the happy birthday song moderately in his head to every time that he does a stroke in order to make sure that he does not miss a spot. Another friend turns on the TV to switches to the local channel and claims that the amount of time for ads, which seems to be a little longer than a program or show itself, cuts it just about right.