1.  Over the holidays, many of us crack our teeth, thinking our teeth are made of steel.  Truth is, under that hard enamel shell is a very sensitive nerve running through a root surrounded by soft living tissue.  Crunch on a lechon skin and welcome pain.  Yes, cracking a tooth is an intensely painful experience resulting in the urgent need for a root canal and crown.  Hey, I won’t be around when that happens so choose what you eat.

mmmmm lechon

2.  Don’t give in to the temptation to bite down on that candy cane. Also, damaging acids form in the mouth every time you eat a sugary snack and continue to affect the teeth for at least 20 minutes afterwards.

3.  Your teeth are not  bottle openers.  If you don’t want to have us make an implant + a crown or bridge in your mouth, for heaven’s sake, carry a bottle opener on your keychain.

4.  Alcoholic and carbonated drinks erode (melt) the enamel of your teeth.  So follow this up with lots of water.

5.  Brush and floss your teeth after every meal .  The single greatest cause of cavities is food (usually sugar) left on or around the tooth.  Brushing and flossing is an obvious solution, it removes excess food and cleans the surface of the tooth.  But who remembers to bring their toothbrush and dental floss to a Christmas party? So then…

6.  If you don’t have a tooth brush, rinse your mouth thoroughly with water to wash away food particles, produce more saliva and neutralize acids in your mouth.

1. Use a toothpaste that is formulated for kids.  The fluoride content is lesser than the regular toothpaste adults use.

Remember, when bacterias attack the tooth, the minerals that make up the tooth weakens.  Fluoride re-mineralizes the weakened part of the tooth. Fluoride also discourages the bacteria that produces the cavity-causing acids from attacking the tooth.

2. Combined with good oral hygiene and consumption of healthy food, the risk for decay in your child’s teeth is low. However, if you plan to constantly give sweet and sticky foods to your kids, fluoride will be of little or no help at all.

3. For children under 2 years old, use a SMEAR amount of fluoridated toothpaste. Babies still don’t know how to spit out toothpaste; ingesting minute amounts will not cause harm to his body or teeth.  Brush their teeth after every meal, but use the toothpaste only twice a day preferably morning and night before going to sleep. If you live in places known to have very high levels of fluoride in the drinking water, or your family consumes fluoride-rich food everyday, use non-fluoridated toothpaste.

smear amount of toothpaste

4. For those aged 2 to 5 years, a pea-sized amount is recommended. Remember that the parents should be the one to dispense an appropriate volume of toothpaste on a soft, age appropriate toothbrush.  At this age, kids should be taught how to spit out the excess toothpaste.  No need to wash it away with water, since the remaining fluoride can ‘bathe’ the teeth and offer higher level of protection from acid attack.

pea sized amount

Your dentist in makati also recommends that your child have fluoride treatment done every 6 months.  This is highly recommended for kids 6 years and above.  For kids younger than 6, check up and early exposure to a clinical environment will be beneficial to build a comfortable relationship between the makati dentist and your child.

50′s heart throb James Dean had no front teeth! He wore a bridge.

don't look at ma teeth!

• New born babies have no caries forming bacteria. Infact, it is the babies mother who transmits the plaque forming bacteria by blowing on food before feeding and kissing the babies mouth.

• There was a sudden massive surge of patients with tooth decay the year coke was launched.

• The popular practice of placing a cap on toothbrush head actually favors bacterial growth on it as moisture is increased in enclosed containers favoring the growth of bacteria.

• Always replace a toothbrush after you had a cold, sore throat or notorious infections. The bacteria plant them on the toothbrush which can lead to reinfection.

• The electric chair was invented by a dentist. Hhhmmmm makes you a wonder a whole lot about the Dentist’s Chair doesn’t it?

• Aztec dentists would mix iron fillings, water and navel lint, bake and insert it in the cavities to seal it.

• A poll conducted in Michigan showed that Republicans, Protestants & women brush their teeth more often than Democrats, Catholics & men. 2% of those polled said they don’t brush at all.

• There is someone whose job includes squeezing Prince Charles’s toothpaste onto the royal toothbrush. That someone is Michael Fawcett, the prince’s personal valet.

• Dentists rate big (61%) in ethics poll for honesty and trustworthy AGD Impact pg 8 March 2004.

• Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least six (6) feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush.
  

• Academy of General dentistry, the average person only brushes for 45 to 70 seconds a day, the recommended amount of time is 2-3 minutes.

• Two ‘Fs’: Fluoride (use fluoride toothpaste daily) Frequency (avoid frequent snacking between meals)…..this is the “practical way to help avoid dental decay.

• Dentistry is affordable:
  Dentistry:  $50 Billion
  Pet food:  $50 Billion
  Hair care:  $100 Billion
  Gambling (legal):  $300 Billion

• More than 300 types of bacteria make up dental plaque.

A recent research published in Preventive Medicine has shown that people who drink at least a cup of green tea a day can keep their teeth until their old age.  However, adding sugar or cream to your tea is another story.

One explanation may be because the warmth of the tea helps wash out your mouth.  But one may argue, what about coffee?

Coffee gave poor results as people usually drink their coffee with sugar and cream, which may lead to tooth decay in the long run.

But unsweetened coffee didn’t give beneficial effects as green tea.

It seems that green tea has a bactericidal component called catechins that kills bacteria that causes tooth decay and gum disease.  It also kills the germs that causes bad breath. What’s more, it also contains fluoride which strengthens teeth.  You now have more reasons to choose green tea over coffee.

So go ahead and brew yourself some tea.  It may save your teeth.

What causes singaw?

1. There are many kinds of bacteria found in the mouth. An allergy to a particular type of bacterium can trigger a singaw.
2. It might be your immune system.
3. It might be hereditary.
4. You may have a nutritional deficiency in vitamins or nutrients such as vitamin B12, folic acid, vitamin C, or iron.
5. You may have undergone emotional stress, injury or trauma.

What should I do if have always recurrent singaw?

• Drink lots of fluid and take Vitamin C.
• Avoid injuries, especially to your mouth.
• Be careful in brushing your teeth; use oral gargles such as Betadine or Bactidol.
• Take singaw medicine.

For that last tip, this dentist in Makati found that Debacterol® has proven quite effective. Debacterol® is a liquid, topical, debriding agent used for treating ulcerating oral mucosal lesions, commonly referred to as canker sores, aphthous ulcers, or oral ulcers, as well as minor oral abrasions. It’s uniquely effective in the treatment of Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (Canker Sores); it is also a treatment for Aphthous Stomatitis that completely stops oral ulcer pain, seals damaged oral mucosal tissues and aids natural healing processes after just one application, which requires only minutes to perform.

How does Debacterol® work?

Simply dry the lesion with a cotton swab and apply Debacterol. In only seconds, the pain is gone! Typically, the lesion is replaced by healthy tissue in three to five days.

Why is DEBACTEROL® so effective over conventional products?

In order for any ulcerating mucosal lesion to heal, the factors causing the injury must first be controlled at the ulcer site. Then, any necrotic tissue debris in the ulcer bed must be removed so that healthy new cells are able to migrate into the damaged area and proliferate. In the normal course of healing in an untreated individual, the immune system is relied upon to perform and promote all of these activities. A limiting factor in the rate of ulcer healing is the capacity of the immune system of an individual to prevent further damage and to clear the way for repair cells to infiltrate and multiply.

This is what it looks like:

If you suffer regularly from singaw, please contact this dentist in Makati and I’ll set up an appointment with you and Debacterol®. We’ll then work out some kind of quality oral hygiene regimen for you so you can say goodbye to canker sores… permanently.

Oral Prophylaxis is the thorough scaling and polishing of your teeth surfaces above, between and under the gums.

Scaling removes the hard tartar which forms on your teeth like scale inside a kettle. You can’t remove it just by brushing your teeth. Scaling also removes trapped food and plaque containing millions of germs which can cause tooth decay and gum disease. Stains from coffee, tea, cigarettes or red wine are also cleaned away when your Philippine dentist polishes your teeth.

There are two ways to scale teeth.

• Hand scalers – these come in different sizes and shapes, to reach different parts of your teeth. This is why you will see the dentist or hygienist changing instruments quite often.
• Electric scalers – these use very fast vibration with water. The water is sucked out of the mouth. A hand scaler is used to check whether the teeth are completely clean.

For polishing, your dentist in Makati will use a rotating brush or rubber polisher with a special toothpaste.

Scaling cleans above and below the gums. If you have gum disease, scaling needs to be deeper, around the roots of the teeth.

Your Makati dentist will tell you about the best way to clean your teeth and gums thoroughly at home.

What are the benefits?

* If your gums bleed when you brush, you may have early gum disease. Regular scaling helps to stop the disease getting worse
* Gum disease can cause bad breath (whew!), which you can prevent by regular scaling and cleaning your teeth thoroughly at home.
* Regular scaling and polishing by a Philippine dentist helps keep your teeth and gums healthy by making it easier for you to keep your teeth clean at home. You should see and feel the difference.