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Chessington Dental Practice Blog

Study: Recording Selfies While Brushing Teeth Can Improve Oral Health Care Skills

A little girl brushing her teeth against a white background.

You can improve your teeth brushing technique through the simple action of taking selfies and video recording on your smart phone. Indeed, you can get extra drive and motivation to get the technique right.

Key takeaways:

  • Changing tooth brushing techniques and behaviors often takes guidance.
  • An increment of 8 percent was noted in tooth-brushing skill characterized by improved accuracy of brush strokes.
  • Effective brushing technique will help prevent problems such as tooth decay and periodontal disease.
The very act of recording a selfie may disrupt ingrained habits, making participants conscious of their brushing and reinforced staples of behavior change, including the process of memory formation, association and creating new muscle memory.

Read the full story here

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/312283.php

Watching Cartoons Could Help Children Overcome Anxiety of Dental Treatment

Approximately one in every five children dreads the visit to the dentist. Research findings reveal that watching cartoons during dental treatments can help lower anxiety levels and other disruptive behaviors.

Key takeaways:

  • Children provided with audiovisual distraction during dental treatment exhibit cooperative behavior and have reduced anxiety levels.
  • The best and most effective dental treatment is only possible for calm and cooperative children.
  • Even though the children did not report any differences, indirect measures of anxiety such pulse rate and blood pressure readings indicated lower anxiety levels.
  • Further research is required to fully understand the usefulness of the audiovisual distraction tools in reducing disruptive behavior and lessening anxiety.
During treatment, the children in the distraction group exhibited significantly less anxiety and showed more cooperation than those in the control group, particularly during the local anaesthetic injection.

Read the full story here

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/312199.php

Should I Still Drink Fruit Juice?

fresh juiceFruit juices are presenting a number of health problems owing to the high amounts of sugar. The lack of fiber is identified as the biggest problem. Juicing will remove the insoluble fiber and will release the sugars in the fruit.

The insoluble fiber in fruits helps to slow down the absorption of fructose, the most common sugar in fruits. Health experts say that fruit juices are worse than fizzy drinks and can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Blending rather than juicing is recommended since it preserves both the skin and pulp of the fruit. Fats from nuts such as walnuts can be added to slow down the absorption of sugar.

Read the full story here

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/should-i-still-drink-fruit-juice

Back-to-School Tips for Healthy Teeth

The commencement of a new school year is associated with mad morning dashes. Dental health should not be neglected in the midst of the morning rush. To keep the teeth healthy, children should brush their teeth before breakfast to make sure they do not forget. Brushing should be given preference over other activities such as fixing hair.

Read more here

http://news.health.com/2015/08/23/back-to-school-tips-for-healthy-teeth/

I'm A Dentist. We Have To Talk About Flossing.

Dental hygieneFlossing has never been talked about like this before. It all began with the release of an Associated Press article that indicated there was a lack of sufficient evidence to support that flossing work to improve oral health.

People are now talking about flossing and the debate around it is quite healthy. But wait a minute, flossing should not be stopped. No dentist or oral health professionals will ever tell people to quit flossing.

In fact, no study has recommended that stopping flossing will result in improving health. Flossing has benefits that far outweigh the risk of not flossing. Flossing can help prevent the deposition of plaque in the spaces between the teeth.

Read the full story here

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-swiatowicz/im-a-dentist-we-have-to-talk-about-flossing_b_11353762.html

Why You Grind Your Teeth at Night?and How to Stop

Yong man sleeping in his bed on white pillow

Feeling stressed can affect the mouth since people tend to hold tension in the jaw and the neck. Recurring and continued anxiety may cause teeth grinding when people sleep. 10 to 20 percent of adults often deal with teeth grinding at one point in their lives.

Some of the signs to look out for are waking up with a dull headache, tension in the jaw, and worn out teeth. Teeth grinding also referred to as bruxism can also be caused by certain medications.

Work towards reducing stress to prevent tooth grinding as well as cutting back on the consumption of caffeine and alcohol.

Read the full story here

http://www.menshealth.com/health/teeth-grinding

The Neglected Nutritional Research of Dr. Weston Price, DDS

In the 1930s, nutritionist Dr. Weston Price carried out extensive research and found that dental health had a strong correlation to physical health. A mouth full of diseases was linked to chronic and degenerative diseases in the body.

In his global studies of people in remote locations and native communities, Dr. Price discovered that these people had less than 1 percent prevalence of tooth decay. Other findings besides the examination of the oral cavity were the distinctive nutritional habits and culture.

The native communities consumed high amounts of animal products such dairy, fish and meats, high amounts of fermented foods, and a variety of grains, legumes, tubers, vegetables, and fruits when available - and absolutely no processed food. It's only in recent decades that sugar-laden processed foods have come into the food supply, to the detriment of the nation's teeth.

Read the full story here

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/01/21/weston-price.aspx

Baby Teeth Contain Clues about Early Exposure to Toxins

Close up portrait of preschooler girl with open mouth without milk tooth

Baby teeth are more important than we have thought. Baby teeth are a repository which can reveal everything a person has been exposed to including environmental toxins such as lead and pesticides and stress hormones produced in utero.

The emerging study of the totality of health-affecting exposures a person experiences is referred to as exposome. It will help health practitioners to analyze what a patient has been exposed to and use that information to determine health risks linked to or caused by those exposures.

Researchers believe that exposures as early as pregnancy could affect the onset and progression of conditions such as adult obesity, childhood asthma and cancers.

Read the full story here http://www.themorningsun.com/health/20160810/baby-teeth-contain-clues-about-early-exposure-to-toxins

Dry Mouth: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Dry mouth is a condition in which the mouth has little or no saliva. The effects of a dry mouth go beyond the feeling thirsty -- as it can affect the taste and digestion of foods and drinks. Other symptoms dry mouth are cracked lips, the mouth feels tight and dry, sores in the corners of the mouth, and difficulty swallowing.

Read more here http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/ss/slideshow-dry-mouth

15 Myths and Facts about Cavities

Here are some myths and facts linked to tooth cavities:

1. Myth: Sugar is the only thing that causes cavities. Fact: Acid produced by bacteria in the mouth is the major cause of tooth cavities. The acids break down the enamel on the teeth leading to decay.

2. Myth: Aspirin next to a tooth will help a toothache. Fact: You risk getting an ulcer instead.

3. Myth: Only kids get cavities. Fact: Adults especially seniors get just as many cavities.

Read more here www.webmd.com/oral-health/features/cavities-myths

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