Wisdom Teeth

April 21st, 2008

At around the age of 17, wisdom teeth either eruptor try to, or fail entirely to eruptin the back of your mouth. Because of the lack of room in the jaw for the large, sharp wisdom teeth, the dental community often encourages them to be removed. But why should you? Do your teeth need all that space? Or is there more to it than that?

When wisdom teeth come into your mouth fully, and not crooked, they’re usually harmless, and serve their purpose of being grinders. But it’s often the case that a tooth will only erupt halfway, leaving the pierced gum area around it susceptible to food and bacteria which can leak down inside and cause infectionnot to mention bad breath. These infections aren’t small matters, although they do begin that way. If left untreated, they can cause trismus, the inability to fully open the mouth, and keep spreading until they reach as far as the neck.

Even if a tooth does come out correctly, it’s far enough back in the mouth for it to be difficult to reach to clean with a toothbrush and impossible to floss without unhinging your jaw.

However, most wisdom tooth-related problems are caused by the tooth failing to emerge fully from the gumthese teeth, called ‘impacted teeth’, can tilt outwards abnormally, crowding the teeth around them and causing pain and irritation of the gums. Such crowding can create a slow-working domino effect, causing other teeth to become crooked. After that, they can only be returned to their original positions with braces.

Cysts can form around the impacted tooth, affecting the bones and expanding the jaw. If they grow large enough, they can fracture the jaw. Sometimes, although not often, cysts can harbor cancerous tumors.

There are many kinds of impactionmesial, when the tooth is angled toward the front of the mouth; vertical, towards the bottom; horizontal, when a tooth is on its side; and distal, when it angles toward the back of the mouth. There’s more: bony impaction is when the tooth hasn’t even made it to the gum, but is still stuck behind in the jawbone. Soft tissue impaction describes when the tooth does make it through the bone, but fails to make the final jump through the gum tissue.

But why go through with having these teeth, which are signals that one has come-of-age in some cultures, removed now? Surgery certainly isn’t something to which many of us look forward. Unless it’s pressinglike, say, a brain transplantwe tend to put it off. But it’s best to remove the cause before it becomes a problem, which is why, although the thought of removing these third molars isn’t enticing, you should have them out before they can cause discomfort and infection in your mouth. Even if you do manage to avoid these effects for awhile, the bone surrounding the tooth becomes denser as you age, and once you pass forty the tooth becomes more difficult to remove. So what are you waiting for? A few days of pain can save you years of headache.

Fashun Smith is a freelance writer and consumer advocate for http://www.CheckMyDentist.com, helping visitors locate a Dentist Atlanta and all over the United States.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

How Your Culture Views Dental Hygiene Why is it Important

April 11th, 2008

Cry for help: We need to change our priorities
It is pretty interesting how rapidly we change our toothpaste, more than we change our cooking oil. It’s all about new and different. Just like clothes and shoes. Whatever is in vogue should be our first priority. Isn’t it? But, how many times do we think that our teeth have a whole lot of a difference in their environment as well as their requirements?

Change is the attitude of the millennium. We want change every time, in everything. Nobody wants to lag behind in this race of being as unique as possible. Yes, we do need change but, in our priorities. It is ridiculous that we never think about changing our eating habits, sleeping habits, talking habits etc.

God has made our teeth to protect us from indigestion and inability to assimilate food properly. But, they also need protection. And believe me, they are the most neglected part of our body in our society. Women spend lot of time and money on improvement of their face, hands and feet. But, it is miserable that they don’t even think about their teeth. Men keep themselves busy all the day with an obsession to earn money. But, they can’t spend few bucks on the health of their teeth.

The famous saying “A penny in time saves nine” comes very true in this case. If we adopt certain small habits, like brushing our teeth using a reliable toothpaste after every meal, avoidance of candies, careful use of chocolates and other sweets, we won’ have to spend our hard earned money on Dental treatments and teeth implants. After all, you can’t stop smiling!!!

Shariq Ali

Tag:

Dental Hygiene, an Ancient Practice - The History of the Toothbrush

April 6th, 2008

One of the most asked questions by adults and children is the origin of the toothbrush. There are several schools of thought on when the real toothbrush was created, but you need to look far into the past for the first evidences of oral hygiene.

The Chinese were believed to create the first real toothbrush, or a device that was used to clean teeth, but it was much different than the ones that we are used to today. These first toothbrushes, crafted in the 1400s, did not use nylon for bristles, or plastic for the handles. They were crafted from bamboo, one of the most common plants from that area. The bamboo formed the handle for people to hold on to. Attached to this handle was a set of bristles, which were crafted from the tough hair of the Siberian wild boar. The hairs used came from the back of the neck of this animal. This is the toothbrush associated with having been the ancestor of the one that we use today.

However, there is evidence that there was another form of the toothbrush dating up to 3000 years before the birth of Christ. Due to this, the history of the toothbrush proves that this device is one of the oldest still used by man, only truly outdated by the wheel. This form of the toothbrush was found within pyramids of the Egyptians. These toothbrushes were crafted from a stick. Unlike the Chinese version of the toothbrush, the end of the stick was flayed so that the fibers of the wood were more soft. This stick was then rubbed against the teeth to serve as a form of oral hygiene. This form of the toothbrush did not become far spread as the Chinese version.

The Chinese version of the toothbrush spread to Europe, where the Siberian wild boar took the brunt of the growing popularity of the invention. The only downside to the hairs of the Siberian wild boar was the fact that it was very rough on the gums. On account of this, some people began to use the hairs found on the backs of horses to craft the bristles on their brushes, as this was much easier on their gums and teeth. Despite the added softness of the horse hair bristles, the boar hairs were more commonly used, as horses were too valuable to Europeans during this period of time.

The boar hair toothbrush continued to be used until the early 1900s. In 1937, nylon was created in the Du Pont laboratories by Wallace H. Carothers. This invention forever changed the history of the toothbrush, as well as every other device that required a fibrous material, including ropes. In 1938, Nylon became the sign of modernization, from the creation of nylon stockings to Dr. West’s first nylon toothbrush. This brush was called Dr. West’s Miracle Toothbrush. Even with this breakthrough in the toothbrush, it wasn’t until World War II that Americans began to take oral hygiene more seriously. This was a direct result of the war. This influence spurred on the development of better toothbrushes.

Toothpaste & Whiteners

Another aspect of toothbrush history that should be taken into account is toothpaste and other whiteners. These are usually used with the toothbrush in order to make certain that the teeth and breath were acceptable. The concept of toothpaste and mouth washes is pretty old - almost as old as the Egyptians toothbrush. The earliest known toothpaste was created by the Egyptians. It was said to contain a drachma of rock salt, two drachmas of mint, one drachma of dried iris flowers and 20 grains of pepper. This was then crushed and mixed together to form a powder. When mixed with saliva and applied to the teeth, it would help whiten and clean your teeth. When experimented with by an Australian dentist, the mixture worked far better than anything else created until the twenty first century. The only downside was the fact that it caused his gums to bleed.

In the 18th Century, the next recorded version of toothpaste occurred. This mixture called for dragon’s blood, cinnamon and burn alum. This mixture tends to be more of an amusement for many scientists, as there is no proof that “dragon’s” existed. What may have really been considered to be dragon’s blood is unknown.

The 19th Century saw a lot of innovations to toothpaste, although many of them would be repulsive compared to what we are used to today. Charcoal, for example, was used to clean teeth. Most of the toothpastes of this time were powders that became a paste when introduced to saliva. A lot of these different toothpastes were designed to both clean teeth and give the user better breath. This is where the modern idea for toothpaste came of, and one of the turn points in the history of toothpaste. The combination of these pastes and the toothbrush worked to ensure that there was a higher chance of cleaner and healthier teeth and gums.

It wasn’t until the 1900s that toothpastes evolved to be more modern. Colgate, and many other toothpaste companies, worked to design toothpastes that tasted good while providing the means to clean teeth while not causing gums to bleed. Many ingredients are now used in toothpastes, with Fluoride being one of the most common. There are a wide variety of “herbal” toothpastes as well, which do not contain this component. Each of these types are designed to fit the needs and wants of every type of person out there. This high level of choice is the primary evolution of toothpastes. While only a few were available as early as the Egyptian days, now there is something for everyone.

The combination of the toothpaste and modern toothbrush gives everyone the oral hygiene and dental health that they need to be able to have the sparkling teeth that is desired by so many. This combination also helps prevent the loss of your teeth later in life, so that dentures are not required as early. The history of the toothbrush and toothpaste shouldn’t be looked down upon, as the options used back then were no where near as pleasant as the types available today.

About The Author

Rebecca Blain is a professional and hobbyist writer who enjoys taking care of her fish and educating people about oral health care such as Crest Whitestrips, which you can read about here:

http://www.everything-teeth.com/whitestrips-review.html

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Close
E-mail It