How Often is Too Often to Whiten Your Teeth?

Posted on by
Reply

Aesthetic alteration can have a big impact on your life for the better if that’s the sort of thing that makes you happy and feel more confident. The flipside, however, is that it can take a toll on your body depending on what you had updated, altered, removed, or added. The human body is amazing at healing and recovering, but when unnatural things happen, the body can be thrown into limbo and not know how to function properly, depending on the procedure.

Luckily, teeth alteration usually manifests in the form of whitening. While whitening is “natural” in that only the coloration is affected (when using ADA approved products, that is), it can still affect the rest of your mouth negatively if you go overboard and whiten your teeth too much.

So the question begs to be answered: how much whitening is too much whitening?

Well, let’s start off by observing some pretty basic rules when it comes to things of this nature. Your best bet, right off the bat, is following the directions on whatever the product’s packaging says. While you could argue that these are sometimes rough guidelines and you could whiten your teeth more than it says, I’ll be quick to remind you that these are guidelines for a reason. There’s no point in pushing the envelope if you don’t absolutely need to. And teeth whitening, let’s not forget, is a luxury, not a necessity.

Your next best bet in figuring out how often is too often (and avoiding that “too often” time frame) is talking with your dentist. By consulting a professional, you’ll get an extremely accurate timeframe on when you can whiten again or if you can even double down with two products at once. Sometimes, whitening products are harmless. Other times, they can do a number on your gums or enamel, something that you want to be extremely wary of.

From there, the best indicator of whitening too much or too often is how you feel. If your gums are hurting or your teeth feel weird, it’s best to give it a break. The bleach in whitening products can negatively impact your oral health depending on the frequency of whitening, but it all comes down to you and your own health. If you feel like something is off, chances are you’re right.

It’s also important to choose whitening products that don’t affect your enamel. Enamel is your teeth’s number one line of defense against cavities, so don’t ever compromise its structure. I mean, you brush your teeth and floss every day to help protect your enamel. By eroding it with certain products, you’re directly negating all that work you do every day to keep your teeth clean!

Things Your Tongue Can Tell About Your Health

Posted on by
Reply

You may not believe it but it is the fact that your tongue can tell you a lot about your overall health. There are some colors and textures of tongue that you can look into the mirror and get to know about the health condition you are having deep down in your body. Moreover, any pain and irritation in your tongue can be a sign of any disease in your body. Even if you are unable identify disease this way, your dentist can do it.

A few conditions of tongue and their connection with the health issues are worth mentioning in this regard.

White coating or spots on your tongue

There can be a few reasons for your tongue to have white coating or spots.

  • The first reason to mention is the oral thrush. This condition is also known as yeast infection. This condition involves development of white patches on the tongue. This infection occurs mostly in elderly people and infants but it can also occur in younger adults. The main reason for this condition is the weakened immune system due to diabetes and inhalation of steroids for the treatment of asthma.
  • Another condition in which the cells of the mouth grow excessively is known as leukoplakia. In this condition, the white patches develop on the tongue. Use of tobacco is the main reason for the development of this disease. Moreover, leukoplakia can be a precursor to the oral cancer.

The red tongue

Redness of tongue can also tell you about your health in a number of ways.

  • The reddish appearance of your tongue can be due to deficiency of vitamin B-12.
  • There another condition of tongue that is called geographic tongue. This condition involves appearance of spots or patches that can have white borders. These spots are reddish. Generally, these spots are not harmful but you should consult your dentist or doctor to get your tongue checked.
  • Another condition that can turn the tongue red is called scarlet fever. This condition causes the tongue to appear like a strawberry with red and bumpy spots. The fever can be high and painful; so you need to see your doctor as soon as possible. This condition is normally treatable with the help of antibiotics.

Black and hairy tongue

In some cases, you may find your tongue getting hairy and black. It is due to the overgrowth of papillae. The condition can look quite scary but it is not quite harmful. The black appearance is due to the bacteria settling in the papillae. Due to this very reason, you need to get this condition treated because bacteria can cause damage to your oral and overall health. Normally, the use of scrapper or brushing your tongue can help you get rid of this condition.

An Overview of Dental Implant Surgery

Posted on by
Reply

If you have lost a tooth or your tooth is so infected that it needs to be removed, you may wonder if there could be an alternate which could look and function just like the real tooth. Fortunately, we now have dental implants which restore not only the looks but also the functions of the real teeth.

A dental implant basically consists of a metal post, which is also called implant, and a crown that helps you restore the smile and chewing power. The metal post, or metal root, is inserted into a jawbone through a surgical process.

Reasons to go for a dental implant

If you are planning to get a dental implant, you first need to know why you are going to need it. Sometimes, the replacement of missing tooth doesn’t need a dental implant. If that is the case with you, you may be able to save money because dental implant is an expensive surgery. So, you need to know if you really require a dental implant surgery.

Moreover, you need to know if you qualify for getting a dental implant. You may be a right candidate for dental implant if you have:

  • One or more missing teeth
  • Jawbone which has grown to its fullest and that it can support implant
  • Healthy oral tissues
  • Good health that can support effective healing of your gums and jawbone
  • No intention to wear dentures

Things you can expect

There are different stages a dental implant surgery can be divided into. Those basic stages need to be mentioned in this regard.

  • If your tooth is not already missing, it is removed.
  • If there is not much of the jawbone to support dental implant, surgeon may choose to graft the bone.
  • The jawbone is then left to heal for a certain period of time. The purpose is to make sure that newly grafted bone becomes the part of the jawbone.
  • After the jawbone is fully healed, surgeon will insert dental implant into it through a surgical process.
  • After insertion, you will have to let the jawbone get fused with the dental implant. For this purpose,the dentist is not going to attach any permanent crown on the top of the implant so that it doesn’t come under any kind of pressure due to chewing of foods.
  • After the jawbone gets fully fused with the implant, dentist will attach an abutment on the top of the dental implant. This abutment is the holder of the crown. The crown is prepared just for you so that it gets completely adjusted among other teeth.

The process, from start to finish, can be long enough to take several months. The major time is taken by healing process. There may be some complications after you get the implant. For instance, there may be swelling or infection in the area. This is due to damage to the nerves connected to the gums and jawbone. However, these issues, no matter how painful they turn out to be, can be fixed if you visit your dentist as soon as you feel there is an issue.