Fun Floss Facts, Part 3.

Battery-operated power flossers can help clean the teeth and can be useful to people with limited manual dexterity skills (children and the elderly).

Teflon is added to floss to make it pass easily through the contacts between teeth.

Dental floss should not to be reused because the bacteria it removed from the mouth can remain on the floss and reinfect the mouth later.

Eco Dent Company offers health-conscious vegan waxed floss in a biodegradable cardboard container.

Dentek's Natural Floss Pick, made from edible plant starch resins became the Kristin 100% fully biodegradable floss pick, is now available to the public. It starts to biodegrade in 180 days when composted.

A controversial chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid, is employed in the process of making Teflon.

Floss toothpicks are a popular interdental cleaning aides that can disturb plaque between the teeth and gums.

When used properly, floss breaks up and removes plaque masses so they can't grow, organize, and mature into efficient, self-perpetuating and expanding, microbiological colonies that can assault good health by causing cavities, gingivitis, and bone loss.

Wash the hands well, maybe even twice, before flossing to reduce the amount of germs introduced by otherwise dirty fingers. If the hands can't be washed, use single-use gloves to floss.

Check with your dentist/hygienist for the best floss for you. See them every six months.

Some floss manufacturers include sodium fluoride or some other antimicrobial ingredients into their products for additional benefits.

U-shaped and F-shaped dental wands, and ergonomic flossers, some with a swiveling head, are available to floss easier. Some of these have floss dispensers built into them.

May you have many…never ending pursuits, forests of floss, even the dark and hidden areas of the smile are cleaned… smiles!

My Partner Is Threatening To Leave Me If I Don’t Stop Snoring! Help Me!

Don’t break up! Get treated!

Snoring is by no means rare. Some estimates put the number of people in the U.S. who snore at one time or another at up to 50% of the adult population- that's nearly 150 million people!

If you want to do something about your snoring, get diagnosed by a certified sleep specialist. It may be covered by your insurance. The American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine is one of several recognized groups that specifically help problem snorers. By the way, twice as many men snore than women (80% to 40% according to softpedia.com). A polysomnogram (PSG) or sleep test for a number of hours or overnight) should be taken to confirm problem snoring.

The sound of snoring is caused by the vibration of the nasal and/or soft palate tissues against the tissues of the walls of the throat during inhalation, exhalation, or both. The actual cause of snoring can be multifactorial and may even "run in the family.” Nathaniel Kleitman, the so-called "Father of Sleep Research" published a book in 1939, called Sleep and Wakefulness, pioneered the classification of sleep disorders for better diagnosis and treatment standardization. If breathing is interrupted or stopped for 10-20 seconds or more at a time, the person may have Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS). Nuvigil.com states that over 18 million people have OSA, the most common sleep apnea where people stop breathing (have apneic episodes) hundreds of times during an eight-hour sleep session. The apnea hypopnea index (AHI) is the average number of pauses in breathing that occurs per hour of sleep.

National Sleep Foundation says that 70% of all congestive heart failure and 60% of all strokes are directly related to some form of sleeping disorder, primarily obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).  People with OSAS are also at an increased risk of suffering from high blood pressure, depression, diabetes, carotid artery atherosclerosis, sudden death, chronic fatigue, restless sleep leading to sleep deprivation or deficits, morning headaches, frequent trips to the bathroom, daytime micro-sleep episodes or sleeping at work or school (watch out for accidents!), lowered sex drive, and memory loss.

All treatments revolve around clearing the blockage of the airway. Recommendations may include weight loss, refraining from alcohol or drugs that relax the throat muscles, reducing the size of the tonsils if they contribute to constricting the airway, sleeping on one's side instead of on the back, dental appliances that reposition the jaw forward, or tongue positioners to move the tongue away from the back of the throat. A continuous positive air pressure machine (CPAP) is a medical device that pumps a controlled stream of air through a hose to a mask placed over the mouth and nose, and may help in extreme cases, if the patient can tolerate wearing it. Many of the appliances offered today may only reduce the amount snoring, not totally eliminate it.

May you have many…meditatively quiet, reconstituting, wake up with energy… smiles

11 Secrets To Getting A Winning Smile…Fast!

1.     Brush often (the American Dental Association recommends twice daily) with a  fluoride-containing toothpaste and a “like new” toothbrush to effectively sweep and clean away food and plaque (biofilm). Message the gums to stimulate them and bring out the rich hemoglobin color in them. By doing so, this can create a more vibrant and healthy color contrast between the teeth and gums.

2.     Floss daily in a well-lit area, preferably in the presence of a mirror to check your technique success. The toothbrush only accesses three of the five surfaces of the teeth above the gums. Use a floss threader to help you debride under dental bridges with frequency.

3.     Use a fluoride-containing mouth rinse, swishing it thoroughly and repeatedly throughout the mouth to optimally nourish and harden the surface enamel of the teeth.

4.     Eliminate or reduce smoking and reduce your consumption of foods that can stain the teeth. A rule of thumb: if your food can stain a white cloth, then it can contribute to teeth staining.

5.      If your teeth need straightening and/or replacing, or even new fillings, please see your dentist and orthodontist for the necessary corrections.

6.     Get your teeth their most luminous by using a whitening toothpaste, or whitening strips, or visit your dentist, who may suggest a take-home tray system, or even a power-bleaching treatment. .

7.     Establish a partnering relationship with a dentist (get referrals from friends) and make that office your family’s dental home. Get checked out by your dentist at least every six months.

8.     Eat plenty of various fresh fruits and raw vegetables. They give the chewing muscles a good workout and provide many of the nutrients you need. The fibrous consistency of natural foods helps to mechanically clean the teeth while chewing.

9.     Studies have shown that chewing sugarless gum for twenty minutes after eating helps to maintain healthy teeth and prevent tooth decay by increasing salivary flow, which, in turn, helps to buffer any acidic pH changes, according to the American Dental Association.

10.  Get healthy doses of sunshine, which helps the body to produce vitamin D. Experiments have shown that vitamin D can offer protection against dental caries and support overall oral health .

11.  Make sure your face and especially the lips are clean and healthy-looking to properly and complimentarily frame the mouth.

May you have many…rescued, blaring, in the snap of a finger… smiles!

Why Am I So Scared Of The Dentist?

Some patients in many dental practices who come in only for episodic care (symptomatic attenders) say that they don't come in more often because they panic about what may happen. The fear of drills, pain, the unknown, loss of control, needles, choking, hitting a nerve, breaking a tooth to make it worse, the instruments, the smells, a previous bad experience, and a number of other perceptions (real or imagined), are all sizable impediments that block many people from regularly visiting the dentist to partner in achieving optimal dental health. And the negative ways dentists are portrayed in movies and cartoons don't help things much at all.

About 100 million people in the United States are so scared of the dentist that they only see one when experiencing intolerable pain (PBS.org/dentistsanddollars). Thinking about going to a dentist can upset people and make them experience anticipatory anxiety. Younger people have more dental anxiety than adults. And women are more fearful than men, yet they visit the dentist more often. More invasive and difficult procedures bring out more hesitation than simple treatments. Patients with severe dental problems may feel embarrassed, guilty, and ashamed about their mouths and may feel that they will be harshly judged and made to feel like a moron or idiot by the dentist preaching negative remarks. A significant number of people are fearful of the budget-busting costs of treatments.

Fortunately, there are things that the dentist at your dental home can do to help you meet your fears, to challenge them, and then to overcome them. Therapies like systematic desensitization, hypnosis, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Reciprocal Inhibition Behavior Therapy, cognitive restructuring, progressive relaxation, guided imagery, Symbolic Modeling, and feeling your own biofeedback responses can help make dental visits more informed, interactive, and possibly less traumatic. Medications to help relax, or even general anesthesia, may be available. But a little TLC from a compassionate, nonjudgmental, empathetic, and gentle dentist may just be all that most people need to help treatment progress proceed. Taking time to give information, explaining the procedures being done, and showing you how the instruments being used work helps to erase the fear of the unknown.

Measuring or quantifying the psychometric qualities of dental fears, phobias, and anxieties are attempted by evaluation systems like the Corah Dental Anxiety Scale, the Short Dental Fear Question, the Dental Fear Survey, the Index of Dental Anxiety and Fear, the Dental Anxiety Inventory, the Hierarchical Anxiety Questionnaire, the Dental Beliefs Survey, and the Stouthard's Dental Anxiety Inventory short-form.

We can’t control many situations we face, but we can learn techniques on how to rationalize our behavioral responses to them, so we can maintain even-keel emotional control through situations and make our health outcomes and qualities of life more positive.

May you have many…learn to trust, see through the fog, inspirationally brave… smiles!