Leaving Feeding Bottles in your Baby's mouth overnight can damage his/her Teeth

When a baby wakes up to feed at night, the most comfortable thing for the mother to do is to reach out for the feeding bottle, place in her baby's mouth and continue with her sleep. Though it saves the mother stress, this action is detrimental to the health of the baby.

Babies without teeth may get away with this type of feeding. However, once your baby starts bringing out his/her teeth, there is risk of developing tooth decay(holes on the teeth).

Whenever your baby feeds, saliva helps clean off residual milk from their teeth. The rate at which saliva cleans the teeth when we are asleep is lower than when awake so it is important to make sure that your baby doesn't have any food in his/her mouth when sleeping.

Most times when you insert the feeding bottle at night, the baby doesn't finish the milk or beverage before falling asleep and so has milk in his/her mouth for a long period of time. When the conditions are conducive for the sugar loving bacteria, they start acting on the teeth to cause tooth decay. This type of decay is also known as baby bottle decay/early childhood decay.

Your baby may likely have decay if you notice:

• Unsightly brown spots on the teeth
• Tooth starts chipping off
• Pain if decay is not managed early
• Pus discharge from tooth which signifies infection
• Eventual Tooth loss

Although baby bottle decay can affect other teeth, it occurs commonly on the upper front teeth. This is because the tongue covers the lower teeth during bottle feeding.

How to Prevent Baby Bottle Tooth decay

• Don't put sweet things such as beverages in their bottles at night.
• Remove all left over food such as biscuits when you notice your child has fallen asleep.
• Brush your baby's teeth regularly.
• Visit the dentist as soon as you notice any changes in your child's teeth.

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Do you know that Coffee stains the teeth? Find out ways to prevent Teeth stains.

Tobacco, coffee, tea, red wine, kola nut(African) and chlorhexidine mouthwash are major culprits when it comes to teeth stains.

The following are ways to prevent these culprits from staining your teeth.

1. Quit tobacco: aside from the fact that smokers are liable to die young, tobacco also causes embarrassing teeth stains. Whether you chew or smoke tobacco, it leaves unsightly stains on your teeth. 
2. Make use of a straw when taking colored drinks.
3. Drink water/rinse your mouth after taking coffee or tea.
4. Brush your teeth twice daily. Brushing after food will also help prevent stains. However, you may have to delay brushing for 30mins after taking acidic foods to prevent your teeth from wearing off. 
5. Use chlorhexidine mouthwash only for the time your dentist recommends. Avoid prolonged use of chlorhexidine as it is known to stain the teeth. You could use other mouthwashes.
6. Floss regularly: stains tend to gather in areas not easily accessible to brushing such as in between the teeth. Flossing helps prevent buildup of stains.
7. Lastly, go for regular scaling and polishing (professional teeth cleaning) to prevent accumulation of dirts and stains.

The good thing about these stains is that they are external, hence they can be easily removed by the professional cleaning of the teeth done by dentists.

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7 Reasons why you should not grind your Teeth

Teeth grinding is a habit many engage in when they are anxious/stressed or during sleep. It is also known as Bruxism. The sound produced when a person clenches and grinds could be quite disturbing. Teeth grinding is seen in children and adults; however, it is commoner in adults. Children who grind their teeth later outgrow it.

While under stress people who grind their teeth use it as a means to release tension. Some who grind while sleeping may not know they grind their teeth unless they are told by family members. Waking up with jaw pain and headache is a pointer to night grinding.

Regular teeth grinding may lead to the following:

1. Jaw pain
2. Wearing down of the teeth: an obvious reduction in the length of teeth.
3. Teeth sensitivity: results from the wearing down of the teeth. The topmost layer of the teeth(enamel)is worn down exposing the sensitive yellowish inner layer(dentin).
4. Tooth loss
5. Jaw joint pain/TMJ pain
6. Headaches.
7. Swollen cheek muscles.

Treatment for teeth grinding include

1. Reduce stress: individuals may benefit from attending counseling sessions to help reduce stress.
2. Muscle relaxation exercises
3. Use of medication to relax the muscles (muscle relaxants)
4. Mouth guards: if grinding persists after stress reduction or muscle relaxation, your dentist can help make a mouth guard similar to those used in sports such as boxing to prevent the upper and lower teeth from making contact.

Although mouth guards are available for purchase, they may not fit readily like the one your dentist will make.

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Electric toothbrushes: A smart way of cleaning your teeth

Electric toothbrushes are powered toothbrushes which can either be rechargeable or non rechargeable. When switched on, they produce vibrations that are effective in removing plaque(whitish substances) from the teeth and prevent gum disease.

It is important to state that you can achieve a good oral hygiene by brushing your teeth with a medium textured manual toothbrush if you use the appropriate brushing methods. It is however proven that Electric/powered toothbrushes help clean the teeth better than the manual toothbrushes.

There are various power toothbrush designs available ranging from those with simple designs to more complex ones. There are also designs with plain bristles to round bristles which rotate and apply deep cleaning action to areas not easily accessible in the mouth.

Selling points:

1. Can be used by children, adults and the elderly. It is especially recommended for people who have 'special needs' i.e they are not able to clean their teeth by themselves.
2. Most power toothbrushes come with spare heads/bristles which can be changed after 3 months.
3. Some have indicators which tell you how long you've brushed for or cautions you if you are brushing too hard.
4. They help reach and clean non easily accessible areas in the mouth.
5. Most are quite easy to operate: put on the button and move the brush around the surfaces of the teeth for the required brushing time -2mins.

Though the electric toothbrushes are more expensive, they produce greater results than the manual ones. For people who rush through their Toothbrushing routine so as not to be late for work, the electric toothbrush will help achieve a clean mouth with less stress and produce more results.

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5 Fun ways to Spice up your Child's Toothbrushing.

Getting a child to brush can sometimes be a tough job. From a crying child to one who runs away whenever it is time to brush. For the very young ones, they may simply not understand why mummy has to stick something into their mouth and move it around.

The following are sure ways to get your child interested in toothbrushing:

1. Colourful toothbrushes with their favorite cartoon character: toothbrush manufacturers have been able to make toothbrushes for children with various cartoon characters. Characters such as Barbie, and Spider-man are examples of those toothbrushes. You can take them shopping and allow them pick their toothbrush.
2. Toothbrushes with tunes: some toothbrushes have tunes/songs which comes on when a button is pressed. The tune might be one he/she dances to while brushing.
3. Toothbrushing songs and apps: you can download a Toothbrushing song which plays for 2 mins(the required brushing time). There are also brushing games and apps which can be downloaded for free.
4. Toothpaste flavours: many children do not like the mint flavour in some toothpastes, they prefer flavours like strawberry so be sure to get them a nice flavour.
5. Brushing together: You can schedule your Toothbrushing time to that of your child; brushing your teeth and showing him/her how to brush. 

Avoid the stress, make Toothbrushing fun for your child today. 

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Secrets to having painless Dental procedures

The mere thought of going through pain can trigger fear in an individual and affect his/her decision to visit the Dentist.

A relaxed and cooperative patient is every dentists joy as this will help him/her conclude treatments on time and be able to attend to other patients. The dentist therefore aims towards achieving a painless procedure by administering anaesthesia to make the area he/she wants to work on numb(deprived of sensation).

Procedures that require numbing include deep cleaning, fillings, removal of a tooth etc

Various numbing methods

1. Topical anaesthesia: this can either be anaesthetic gel or spray applied to the surface of soft tissues (the gum or cheek) to achieve some degree of numbing. It is usually used before the introduction of the needle to minimize the pain caused by the needle prick. Its numbing effect is usually short. Anesthetic Sprays cover a wider area than topical gels; they can be used for a number of simple procedures such as removing very mobile baby tooth or getting out a piece of fish bone/popcorn chaff stuck between the teeth. The effect wears off within minutes.
2. Anaesthetic solution: this is administered with the aid of a dental syringe and needle. Do not be alarmed at the sight of the syringe as the size is to enable the solution cartridge fit in. The numbness usually wears off within 3 to 4 hours so care should be taken not to accidentally bite the lip or cheek before the numbness wears off as this may result in a deep bite injury.

Other forms of anaesthesia not commonly administered include

• Sedation: sometimes, your dentist may decide to give you additional medication to help you relax and take pain away; this is known as sedation. This can be done by a dentist who is trained in administering sedation.
• General anaesthesia: rarely, the patient might need to be put to sleep to complete treatment. Such treatment may include repairing an extensive jaw fracture or removing a jaw growth.

Secrets: BE RELAXED. It is important to differentiate between pain and pressure as some patients wrongly interpret pressure as pain. 

If after your dentist has given you anaesthesia to make your tooth numb you still feel pain, please raise your left hand to call the dentists attention and inform him/her you still feel pain. This is the most important secret to having a painless dental treatment.

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Check out the Materials used to fill holes in the Teeth

Holes created by tooth decay or fracture are usually filled/restored to stop pain and the progression of the decay. Filling the tooth also helps restore the tooth back to function and aesthetics.
There are basically 2 types of filling materials; temporary and permanent.

1. Temporary filling materials: as the name implies are materials placed temporarily on the tooth with the intention of replacing it with a permanent one at a later date. They are not as strong as permanent materials and are easier to remove.
2. Permanent filling materials: are placed permanently and can stay as long as 10-15 years or more without needing replacement. 

Amalgam filling:

Permanent Filling materials your Dentist will often use include

• Amalgam: a silver coloured material. It is strong and inexpensive. It is mainly used for filling the back teeth(areas not readily visible when you talk or laugh).
• Composite: is a white material that matches the colour of the tooth. A light is usually shone on it during the filling process. This is to make it hard enough to withstand forces of chewing. They often absorb stains(such as coffee and tobacco) with time. They can be used for both front and back teeth. 
• GIC(Glass Ionomer Cement): is also a white filling that blends with the colour of the tooth. It can be used for both adults and children. It is the preferred filling material in children because it has the ability to release fluoride which prevents tooth decay. It also forms a good bond to the tooth(sticks to the tooth). 

White filling

White fillings are generally preferred to silver fillings because they blend with the tooth colour and are not easily noticed.

The choice of filling material is largely determined by your dentist who knows what material will work best for you depending on the size of the hole and the area affected.

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