If you suffer from chronic, severe bad breath, also known as halitosis, it’s important to identify the cause so you can determine an effective treatment.Halitosis has many causes, including the following:

• Tobacco use. If you smoke, quit. Your bad breath may be due to other causes, too, but tobacco use is a guarantee of bad breath.
• What you eat, or don’t eat. Certain foods, such as garlic, contribute to bad breath, but only temporarily. Once they are absorbed into the bloodstream, the smell is expelled through the breath.
• Dry mouth. If your mouth is extremely dry, there is not enough saliva to wash away excess food particles and bacteria, which can cause an unpleasant smell if they build up on the teeth.
• Infections. Bad breath that seems to have no other cause may indicate an infection elsewhere in the body. Bad breath can be a sign of a range of conditions including respiratory tract infections, chronic sinusitis or bronchitis, diabetes, or liver and kidney problems, so it’s important not to ignore the problem.

The best way to improve bad breath is to follow a thorough oral care routine including twice-daily tooth brushing and daily flossing to remove the food particles and bacteria that can cause bad breath. Mouthwashes only improve bad breath for the short term.

Bruxism includes various behaviours like:-

• Gnashing of teeth
• Grinding of teeth
• Clenching of teeth
• Gritting of teeth

Signs of teeth grinding-

1. A chipped tooth
2. You have a headache when you wake up
3. TMJ pain disorder
4. Chronic grinding of teeth
5. Pain in jaws
6. Loosening of teeth from the gums
7. Losing of teeth
8. Fracturing of teeth
9. Wearing away of teeth and enamel
10. Receding gums/Recession
11. Recurring headaches
12. Tooth pain

Treatment which really help include:-

• Using a warm, wet washcloth on the jaw in front of earlobe
• Massaging jaw muscles, the neck, and face to relieve tension on trigger points
• Getting physical therapy
• Doing exercises to relax the jaw
• Using muscle relaxants to relax the jaw

Treatments for bruxism designed to reduce symptoms or get rid of teeth grinding include:

• Reducing stress
• Don’t open your mouth too wide.
• Drinking more water

• Getting more sleep
• Not chewing gum or on other objects as it allows your jaw muscles to get more used to clenching and makes you more likely to grind your teeth.
• Consciously relaxing the face and jaw throughout the day
• Buying a teeth grinding mouth guard
• Avoiding alcohol, which increases the urge to clench the teeth
• Avoiding caffeine, which can make you jumpy and tense

• Do not chew on pencils or pens or anything that is not food.
• Train yourself not to clench or grind your teeth.
• If you notice that you clench or grind during the day, position the tip of your tongue between your teeth. This practice trains your jaw muscles to relax.

The most popular and widely used of these solutions is mouth guards which are custom fabricated according to your mouth.

How to get rid of stains?

Stained teeth can be due to poor oral hygiene, consumption of tobacco etc. So, it is important to change your habits in order to have a good smile. Get professional cleaning done and maintain hygiene.

 How to fight bad breath?

Foods like onion or garlic are notoriously known for causing bad breath. Other items that can be responsible for it are coffee, alcohol and cigarettes. Eating a healthy balanced diet, staying hydrated, washing your mouth at regular intervals, brushing right and giving up on smoking can help.Mouthwashes can help for transient time. Start flossing and cleaning tongue.

 Toothaches are really painful. What to do?

There can be causes like accidents or falls, misaligned or impacted wisdom teeth, gum disease,caries, etc. If your tooth is hurting, it is recommended that you visit a dentist to get relieved of your pain, instead of self medication.

 After how much time, toothbrush should be changed?

Replace your toothbrush when the bristles start splaying or bending, or every three months, whichever comes first.

    Why is smoking bad for my teeth?

Smoking or chewing tobacco can leave extrinsic stains on the enamel of the teeth. Tobacco contains staining elements that cause a gradual yellowing of teeth and affect the appearance of your teeth.

   What can be reason of dry mouth?

Dry mouth is not a disease, it’s a symptom of other diseases like diabetes, hypertension, Parkinson’s or a side effect of several medicines.A dry mouth can increase tooth decay and fungal infections of mouth.

 How many times should I brush?

While it is ideal to brush thrice a day, brushing twice everyday for 2 minutes can be sufficient to prevent germ build up and maintain good oral hygiene.

A dental abscess is an infection at the base of a tooth. It means a fund of pus has formed at the tip of a tooth root in your jawbone.However, it can spread to the goo near the tooth, If the infection is not treated. This causes swelling and pain. More serious infections spread to the face. This causes your face to swell (cellulitis). This is a veritably serious condition. Once the lump begins, it can spread snappily. A dental abscess generally starts with a crack or depression in a tooth. The pain is frequently made worse by drinking hot or cold potables, or smelling on hard foods. The pain may spread from the tooth to your observance or the area of your jaw on the same side.

Helpful Tips

There are different categories of mouth rinses, but those that contain fluoride can help prevent cavities by protecting teeth against cavity-causing bacteria. Using a fluoride rinse can enhance your regular oral care routine, but remember that using a fluoride rinse does not replace twice-daily tooth brushing and daily flossing for complete oral health.

Follow these steps to get the most from your fluoride mouth rinse:

Brush and floss first. Teeth should be as clean as possible to get the full benefit from a rinse.

Use the right amount. Use the amount of rinse indicated on the label or as directed by your dentist.

Swish like you mean it. Keep your mouth closed and swish the rinse vigorously for at least 30 seconds.

Spit. Don’t swallow mouth rinses. The sodium fluoride in most fluoride rinses can be toxic, if large quantities are swallowed. If you allow your child use mouthwash, supervise to be sure that he or she spits it out and doesn’t swallow it.

To get the most benefit from a mouth rinse, avoid eating, drinking or smoking for at least 30 minutes so you don’t dilute the fluoride.

Dental scaling is the most common nonsurgical way to treat gum disease, which is also known as periodontitis.

If your disease is moderate, but not severe, your dentist may recommend scaling to treat the disease and keep it from getting worse.

Scaling is nonsurgical, but it is a different type of procedure from a standard dental cleaning because it involves cleaning the areas of the tooth below the gum line.

There are two types of scaling instruments and some dentists or dental hygienists may use both:

• Scaling with hand-held instruments. Your dentist or periodontist will use a dental scaler and curette to manually remove (scale) the plaque from the teeth.
• Scaling with ultrasonic instruments. Ultrasonic scaling instruments clean plaque from the teeth with a vibrating metal tip that chips off the tartar and a water spray to wash it away and keep the tip cool.

Ankyloglossia, also known as tongue-tie, is an oral anomaly present from birth and  may decrease mobility of the tongue tip and is caused by an unusually short, thick lingual frenulm, a membrane connecting the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth. Ankyloglossia varies in degree of severity from mild cases characterized by mucous membrane bands to complete ankyloglossia whereby the tongue is tethered to the floor of the mouth.

Effects of tongue-tie

• Difficulty in eating
• Difficulty in speech
• Bad oral hygiene
• Mechanical/social effects
• Prevent the tongue from contacting the anterior palate which can result in an open bite deformity.
• Mandibular prognathism when the tongue contacts the anterior portion of the mandible with exaggerated anterior thrusts.

Treatment

Cutting through the

attachment/frenum

using LASER/BLADE under

Local anesthesia

(Frenotomy/Frenoplasty)

Have you lost a tooth?

• Does it make you feel embarrassed or self-conscious about your smile?
• Does it feel awkward when chewing and eating?
• Do you wish you had better, more natural chewing function and the ability to enjoy all foods?

So, DENTAL IMPLANTS is the answer to all your problems.

 Dental implants can change all of that.Dental implants perform and look just like natural teeth; no one will ever know you are having permanent dental implants. It increases comfort, function and confidence while speaking, eating and smiling.

 What are dental implants?

Dental implants are metal posts or frames that are surgically positioned into the jawbone beneath your gums. Once in place, they allow your dentist to mount replacement teeth onto them.

Procedures involved in placing dental implant

• Placement of the implant.
• Abutment Placement.
• Placement of final crown which will replace the Missing tooth.

IMPLANT-SUPPORTED DENTURE:-

Implant supported denture have many advantages over regular dentures, such as added stability and ability to chew foods. Implant-supported dentures also make it easier to talk. And just as importantly, you won’t worry about your denture falling out of your mouth when you chew your food.

Oral Care Tips For Implants

Most dental implants are successful, and there are a few steps you can take to help ensure success and make your implant last :

• Practice good oral hygiene – brush twice a day and floss once daily. Using interdental brushes, brushes that slide between teeth, can help clean the hard to reach areas around your implant.
• Quit smoking – smoking can weaken the bone structure and can contribute to implant failure.
• Visit your dentist – cleanings and exams every six months can help ensure your implant is in good condition, and that it stays that way.
• Avoid chewing on hard foods – don’t chew on hard items such as ice and hard candy because they can break the crown.

Even if you wear braces, you can, and will , brush and floss your teeth consistently. Maintain an honest oral care routine of twice-daily tooth brushing and daily flossing to stay your teeth looking their best, and they’ll look even better when your braces are removed.

In order to properly clean around braces, it are often helpful to understand a number of the foremost common types.

Brackets. Most brackets are made from either chrome steel or a transparent or tooth-colored plastic. The brackets are usually attached to the fronts of the teeth and a wire is skilled all and adjusted by the orthodontist to supply the right pressure.

Lingual Brackets. These brackets are placed on the within (tongue-facing side) of the teeth in order that they aren’t visible. However, they will be harder to stay clean.

Traditional bands. These sorts of braces involve a metal band wrapped around each tooth to which the bracket is secured.

No matter what sort of braces you’ve got , the goal is that the same—to apply constant pressure over time to maneuver your teeth into correct alignment.

The ugly duckling stage, occurs during the mixed dentition phase (when both milk and permanent teeth are present in the mouth) of tooth eruption between the ages of 7-12 years. It is a stage of dental development that occurs during the eruption of the permanent canine, in which the lateral incisors become tilted because the erupting canines impinge on the roots of the incisors. It is called ugly duckling stage because dentition in children at this stage looks very ugly due to multiple spacing between their teeth. This is a self-correcting condition and requires no treatment or cause for concern. However, check-ups at regular intervals is necessary to rule out the possibility of crowding and if crowding is suspected, growth modification appliances can be prescribed by the dentist.