Fluoride penetrates into teeth. Fluoride helps to strengthens teeth by replacing minerals that acid has removed. The benefits of fluoride to teeth were first discovered in the 1930s. Dentists started to notice that people who drank water that naturally contained fluoride had less tooth decay. In 1945, communities started to add fluoride to water supplies. Adding fluoride to water systems has been the most successful cavity prevention method to date. In the early 1960s, fluoride also began to be added to toothpaste. This also had a major impact on cavity prevention. Now almost all toothpastes contain fluoride. Everyone should brush with a fluoride toothpaste every day.

To prevent your teeth from decaying, you can do three things:

* Strengthen your teeth’s defenses with fluoride, sealants and agents that contain calcium and phosphate ions.

* Have your dentist or dental hygienist place sealants on your back teeth.

* Reduce the number of bacteria in your mouth.

According to dental research done, it has found out that certain factors can affect your risk of tooth decay.

These factors include:

* The current number of decayed or filled teeth
* Your fluoride exposure, including fluoride in drinking water, toothpaste and rinses, and fluoride treatments in the dental office
* Parents or siblings with dental decay
* How well you take care of your teeth
* The amount of saliva and the balance of minerals, enzymes and buffering agents it contains How often and what types of foods you eat (especially fermentable carbohydrates) Ask your dentist about the best ways to reduce your risks and limit dental decay.

We may never give much thought to our spit (saliva), but this fluid is remarkable for what it does to help protect our oral health. Saliva keeps teeth and other parts of your mouth moist and washes away bits of food. Saliva contains minerals that strengthen teeth. It includes buffering agents, that reduces the levels of acid that can decay your teeth. In addition saliva also protects against some viruses and bacteria.

Question: I brush my teeth once a day I really do not see the need to do some more often.

Answer: It is advise that a person should brush their teeth at least twice a day. once in the morning and once at night. By brushing your teeth in the morning you are killing germs left in your mouth and fighting not only plaque build up but bad morning breath. By brushing your teeth at night you are removing food debris that was left on your teeth by eating throughout the day. Also it is very important to make sure your dental care habits do not stop at brushing. You need to floss at night every day too if you want to maintain good dental habits and healthier teeth and gums.

Generally under most dental insurance plans a limited oral evaluation is consider preventive service. A limited oral evaluation is problem focused, which is an evaluation that is limited to a specific oral health problem. This may require interpretation of information acquired through additional diagnostic procedures. Definitive procedures may be required on the same date as the evaluation. Typically, patients receiving this type of evaluation have been referred for a specific problem and/or present with dental emergencies, trauma, acute infection, etc.

A periodic oral evaluation is an evaluation performed on a patient of record to determine any changes in the patient’s dental and medical health status since a previous comprehensive or periodic evaluation. This may require interpretation of information acquired through additional diagnostic procedures. Report additional diagnostic procedures separately. Generally under most dental insurance plan it is a type of preventive dental care service that is normally covered at 100 percent.

An Endodontist dentist is a dental specialist who limits his/her practice to treating disease and injuries of the pulp and associated periradicular conditions.

Under most dental insurance plans preventive dental services such as general or basic cleanings are covered at no cost to you. The common dental term used for this type of cleaning is dental prophylaxis, which is a scaling and polishing procedure performed to remove coronal plaque, calculus, and stains.

I would like to get an inexpensive dental insurance plan for my six year old son. I do not have much money, and I am only looking to get dental insurance for my son dental health care. He has been to the dentist once and without insurance it was very costly, I worry that he may get new cavities or something. Can you advise if you have any dental plan that can help me afford proper dental care for my son.

Answer: Dental HMO insurance plan are normally the more affordable dental insurance option however they will also normally require at least one adult on the plan with a minor. Making you pay for a couple plan instead of an individual plan for just your minor son. Cost for a couple plan can range around $15 to $30 a month depending on the plan. Another cost saving option would be a dental discount plan. Many dental discount plan will let you buy the plan for only a minor. They can range around $7 – $15 a month depending on the plan. A dental discount plan is a good low cost way of reducing your dental care cost.

Canker sores are different than fever blisters. They are small, red or white, shallow ulcers occurring on the tongue, soft palate, or inside the lips and cheeks, they do not occur in the roof of the mouth or the gums. They are quite painful, and usually last 5-10 days.

Fever blisters are fluid-filled blisters that commonly occur on ones lips. However, they can also occur on the gums and roof of the mouth, but this is rare. Fever blisters are usually painful, pain may precede the appearance of the lesion by a few days. The blisters rupture within hours, then crust over. They last about seven to ten days.

Question: My son just turn four month old and I think he is already teething. This is our first child, so we are not sure when a baby will normally start teething. Can they teeth at four month? Should I take him to see a dentist or a doctor?

Answer: There are babies that do start to teeth as soon as three months so do not be too worried if your baby it teething a four months. Some of the signs of teething would be: Drooling, Sucking on their hands and fists, fuss more, sleep less and all kinds of good stuff like that. There are teething products you can get at most stores, or if you have it Baby R Us that is a good place to go too. If you are worried about the teething process you can either go to your babies doctor or pediatric dentist either one should be able to help you. Go to the one you feel best about.

There can be many different symptoms and signs that your baby may be teething. Since all babies are different it is hard to say what your baby may do when teething. Listed are some of the signs that seem to appear when a baby is teething, you should always still check with your doctor to make sure your baby is teething and to rule out any other possible causes.

1) Fussy or Irritable: Do to the baby teeth coming in your baby gums may become sore and painful.
2) Coughing: Coughing can happen due to excess saliva during teething.
3) Drooling: Teething may stimulates drooling
4) Chin Rash: If you have a baby drools a lot then the baby saliva can cause a rash around the chin and mouth. This however can be avoided by cleaning the excess drool off of your baby chin and mouth.
5)Biting or chewing: They do this to help with the teething and to relive any pain.
6) Not sleeping well
7) Cold like symptoms and low-grade fevers. Note see a doctor on this symptoms to make sure it is teething and a different issues.

BBTD or Baby Bottle Tooth Decay can also be called Carries. Caries is Latin for “rot”, and in Greek (“Ker”) it means “death”. The term “dental caries” thus refers to a dead tooth, or a tooth that is rotten or decayed. BBTD can be one of a few causing factor for caries. You get BBTD by leaving a baby bottle filled with anything other then water with a baby or child to keep in their mouth. This may help to keep the baby or child quite but can cause BBTD or carries. BBTD is clearly cause by baby bottles as stated above. However, baby can contact Carries from other means. What are some of the causes dental caries?

There are three:

1) specific bacteria (found in plaque)

2) sugar

3) susceptible tooth surface. (Weaken tooth enamel)

Understanding the Basics

Dental crowns are coverings applied over the tooth’s surface, and may be made of ceramic, porcelain, porcelain fused to metal (PFM), resin, or metal, including gold.  Dental crowns are also useful in patients who grind their teeth or have bite problems, addressing the stressed area and stabilizing it to prevent damage.  Dental crowns usually require 2 to 3 visits to your dentist, depending upon the health of the tooth receiving the crown.  Today’s health insurance, including your dental plan, is designed to help you get the care you need at a reasonable cost.  If you cannot afford a dentist, or are not covered by dental insurance, go to a dental school clinic, where dentists in training work on your teeth.  I think they also offer periodic cleaning at reduced rates as well, by dental hygienists in training.

Your baby will probably have at least a few teeth by the age of one. You will want to be on the lookout for tight teeth, which have no spaces in between. These teeth will need to be flossed daily. Your baby’s dentist can show you how to correctly floss your baby teeth.

Studies done show that children who begin dental care by age one have fewer fillings than those whose parents wait until age two or three. Getting to know a dentist at this age will help baby be more comfortable with him or her in the future, and you will get helpful guidance about how to manage habits (pacifiers and thumb-sucking, for instance) as well as tips on what to do if your baby bumps a tooth.

When you baby cut his or her first tooth a visit to the dentist is in order. Therefore you may want to start checking around early on for a dentist who is comfortable taking care of your children. Consider choosing a pediatric dentists or a dentist that in a family dental practice. You can ask your friends or pediatrician for a recommendation to a good dentist that you can feel comfortable with taking your child too.

Prior to teeth you should get into the habit of wiping your baby gums with a finger brush or a clean soft washcloth. Doing this will help keep your baby gums free of bacteria which can hide and cause cavities to emerging baby teeth. When the tooth does cut though, clean it with a washcloth or baby toothbrush moistened with water. Do it after your baby’s morning meal and before bed so it becomes part of his or her regular routine. The last thing in your baby’s mouth before bed should be a toothbrush or water.

I have a dental abscess I went in to see the dentist and was told I would need to have a root canal but that he could not do anything until the abscess was cleared and gave me antibiotics. Yet I am still in a great deal of pain and the antibiotics is not helping.

Reply: It is normal to have some pain when dealing with a dental abscess.  The antibiotics was not really given to help to relive the pain, but to clear the abscess. If the pain is so bad that you can not take it then speak to your dentist and see if they can issue you a pain medicine prescription. When you have an abscess most dentist will not remove or do a root canal until the abscess is cleared. That is why taking the antibiotics as directed is important in order to clear the abscess faster.