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Senior Citizens Keeping Dentures Clean

August 22, 2014 Afshin Golyad DDS. , , ,

Senior Citizens Keeping Dentures Clean

Keeping one’s mouth and teeth clean is healthy and allows for healthier eating. It is very important to take are of your mouth at any age especially when one is an elderly and has dentures. Senior citizens are at a higher risk of experiencing complications with gums and teeth (Healthy Gums and Teeth).

 

In’s & Out’s of Keeping Your Dentures Clean & Intact

When you start using dentures, it is recommended to start with softer foods to get used to the denture and how it feels. One should also be careful since bones and hot food can not be easily detected with dentures and may cause damage.

Keeping Senior Citizens Dentures Clean

Keeping Senior Citizens Dentures Clean

Dentures or partials should be brushed daily with a soft toothbrush or denture cleaning brush, using a commercially prepared denture powder or paste, hand soap, or baking soda. They should be brushed inside and outside, and rinsed with cool water. Remaining natural teeth and gums, especially those teeth supporting a partial denture, should also be brushed (Teeth Brushing Mastering Tips). It makes them more important since loosing any more teeth causes the partial to be looser or one may need a new appliance which can be costly.

Night Time Guide for Keeping Dentures Clean

When not in use or at night, dentures should be stored in water or a denture cleaning solution to prevent drying.

Those with arthritis or other limiting conditions should try adaptations to make dental care easier. For example, attach a bicycle grip or wrap a washcloth around a toothbrush handle for easier grasping.  Also by using electric toothbrush (Electric Toothbrush Wiki Page), it may be easier to control than a manual one. They are also great for removing plaque (Dental Care | 7 Basic Things You Should Do) and stimulating gums.

 

Denture Fitting

Check dentures for fit. If you wear full or partial dentures, be sure they fit properly and that you are using the correct amount of denture cream. If you experience discomfort, or if you are using more than one tube of denture cream every three weeks, your dentures may not fit properly and should be evaluated. Visit your dentist (Best Dentist in Santa Monica) to see if they need to be adjusted. Ever few years the dentures may need to be relined meaning your dentist needs to add more plastic in the bottom of the denture where it sits on your gums. Over time by wearing dentures and placing pressure on the gums, the gums and bone will shrink producing a gap between your gums and denture. The reline procedure will fill this gap making the denture fit better and tighter.


Extraction Procedures

July 10, 2014 Afshin Golyad DDS. , , , ,

Extraction Procedures 

When you were a kid, losing your tooth was something to be excited about, perhaps achieved by tooth (Baby Teeth | Oral Hygiene) jiggling, biting into a piece of bread or an apple, or tying a string around the tooth and giving it a tug. As an adult, tooth loss (Discuss Tooth Implants With Your Santa Monica Dentist) or extraction are hardly causes for celebration, however sometimes there are no choices but to pull a tooth which is also known as an Extraction Procedure.

Causes For Extraction Procedures

Although permanent teeth are meant to last for our entire life, there are times that they can’t be saved. The most common reason for loosing a tooth or an extraction procedure is having great amount of decay (Understanding the Connection Between Sugar and Tooth Decay) or as a result of accident to trauma.

There are other reasons such as:

  • Not having enough space for all teeth to fit in your jaw. Sometimes as a result of orthodontics, the extraction is necessary to remove a tooth so the others can be align (Teeth Bonding) properly. There are some of us that have smaller than average mouth and all 32 teeth can not fit in our jaws.

 

 

  • High risk of infection:  In people that the immune system is compromise perhaps as a result of chemotherapy (Chemotherapy Wiki Page) or diseases such as AIDS, or an organ transplant the infection in a tooth be a risk to general health of the patient and extraction would be a safer treatment.

 

 


Jaw Pain | Cause & Effects

July 8, 2014 Afshin Golyad DDS. , , , ,

Jaw Pain | Cause & Effects

TMJ disorder which stands for  temporomandibular joint are the result of issues with the jaw, the joint and/or the surrounding muscles on face that controls moving the jaw and chewing actions. The technical name is temporomandibular disorders or TMD.

Anatomy of The Jaw

Jaw Pain | Cause & Effects Image

Jaw Pain | Cause & Effects

The temporomandibular joint is the joint or the hinge that attaches the lower jaw to the skull on the side of the face in front of the ears. These joints are flexible, allowing the site jaw to move up and down and side to side and enabling the individual to talk, chew, and yawn. The cause of TMD pain is not really clear, but it is believed that symptoms are the results of problems with the muscles of the jaw or with the parts of the joint itself or both.

Some possible reasons for these disorders might be:

  • Injury to the joint, and muscles from car accidents to sports or even street fights.

 

 

  • Dislocation of the disc which is a soft cushions between the ball and socket.

 

 

  • Stress, which can cause a person to tighten facial and jaw muscles or clench the teeth (Healthy Gums and Teeth) which could result in clenching and grinding as discussed earlier.

Chocolate & Tooth Decay

June 6, 2014 Afshin Golyad DDS.

Chocolate & Tooth Decay

Your kids will love you for this.  Believe it or not, chocolate can actually be good for your teeth.  Recent studies coming from Japan, England, and the U.S. support the fact that chocolate is effective at fighting cavities (Healthy Gums and Teeth Learn More), plaque (Dental Care | 7 Basic Things You Should Do), and tooth decay in the mouth.  Chocolate  can actually prevent tooth decay. Tooth decay is a multi-factorial phenomenon and the erosion process of the enamel on the tooth surface is what causes cavity. Acid (Healthy Gums and Teeth) produced by the breakdown of food carbohydrates in the mouth is the cause of this erosion.  For tooth decay to form, plaque bacteria (Bad Breath Fight Learn More) on the tooth surface breaks down starch, and changes sugars to form weak acids, mainly lactic acid, which slowly demineralize the tooth surface and making it soft.

Cocoa Beans & Tooth Decay

Children Oral Health ImageHowever not all of chocolates have this effect. The cocoa in the chocolate is the effective part of the chocolate that is actually useful.  Cocoa beans contain tannins, polyphenols and flavonoids (Flavonoids Wiki Page).  These are strong antioxidant that benefits your mouth and teeth.  Tannins are responsible for chocolate’s slightly bitter taste and are responsible for the sweet’s dark pigments.  Tannins prevents bacteria from sticking to the tooth and as a result preventing cavity.  Polyphenols works to neutralize the microorganisms that cause bad breath, prevent periodontal disease or gum infections, and fights tooth decay.  Flavonoid also works to slow tooth decay.

There are three kinds of chocolate (dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate).  Dark chocolate is the one that is processed the least and is the closest to the cocoa bean. This makes it the healthiest option of the three.  For best results, the chocolate should be 70 percent cocoa or higher.

The Appropriate Amount Of Chocolate To Fight Tooth Decay

Eating 3-4 oz of dark chocolate a day is a great way to take advantage of this magic compound and lower the chance of getting cavities. It’s an easy and fun recommendation your dentist (Best Dentist in Santa Monica) can make; it’s been called the food of the gods, a supposed aphrodisiac, and the drink that Casanova favored.  With the recent studies, it’s now more true than ever, that chocolate is considered to be a super-food. Chocolate has over 300 chemical compounds in it, making it one of the most complex foods we know of. Many of which compounds can be good for our health.


Baby Teeth | Oral Hygiene

May 16, 2014 Afshin Golyad DDS. , , , ,

 

Brushing Baby Teeth

Even before baby teeth start to show; it’s a good idea to get into the habit of wiping their gums (Healthy Gums and Teeth Page) with gauze or a soft wet washcloth during bath time or before bed time. At this point, the tooth paste is still not necessary. Simply place the gauze around the finger and gently rub that on the gum.

Bacteria (Bad Breath Fight | Following Tips To Reduce The Bad Breath Page) in the mouth usually can not cause cavity (Cavity Treatment and Prevention Page) or gum disease (Gum Disease | Gum Disease Treatment Page) before the baby teeth are erupted, but it can be hard to tell when the baby teeth are starting to come out, so you’ll want to start early. Getting a baby to get used to getting his/her teeth clean helps in the long term so they can learn to have it done themselves.

 

Maintaining Healthy Baby Teeth

Baby Teeth Oral Hygiene Info.

Baby Teeth Oral Hygiene

As your child’s baby teeth start to erupt beginning around 6 months old, look for a baby toothbrush with a small head.  Use a tiny amount of fluoride (Children Oral Health | When and How to Teach Them? Page) toothpaste. A dot the size of a grain of rice is usually adequate. Twice a day brush inside and outside of each tooth as well as chewing surfaces. Because you are using such a small amount of tooth paste for the baby teeth you do not need to have your child rinse out unless he/she likes to do that. As soon as you see the bristles of the tooth brush being worn out, change the brush to a new brush (Teeth Brushing Mastering Tips Page).  Since most baby teeth have enough gap between them to be able to clean, you do not have to worry about flossing, but it is recommended to practice that so your child gets used to the idea of flossing (Dental Flossing Mastering Instructions Page) at the time of brushing.

 

Baby Teeth | Fluoride

Baby teeth can also benefit from a little fluoride. The fluoride prevents development of cavity, strengthening teeth, and making them more resistance to acids and harmful bacteria. Please be aware that a little of fluoride is very helpful in development of healthy teeth (Healthy Gums | Healthy Teeth | A Lifetime Commitment Page), too much of it can cause a condition called fluorosis (Dental Fluorosis Wiki Page). It causes white spots to show up on the permanent teeth as they erupt.

Most municipal water supplies are fortified with adequate fluoride so it is a good idea to call the department of water in your area and ask how much fluoride they mix in the water. If the amount of fluoride content of less than 0.3 parts per million, ask your child’s doctor or dentist whether you should give your child a fluoride supplement.

For more questions about baby teeth | Oral Hygiene, or if you want to schedule your teeth whitening appointment please contact our office.

  • 12340 Santa Monica Blvd. Suite 241 West Los Angeles, CA 90025
  • (310)820-7010

contact@westladentalcare.com


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