It is a myth that as you age you are destined to lose your teeth, If fact there is no reason seniors cannot keep their teeth for a lifetime, since tooth loss is simply the result of an oral disease and not the aging process.  Many seniors do not visit a dentist even once a year, which is one of the key preventive strategies in ensuring that teeth last a lifetime. Family members should encourage seniors who are disabled or have trouble getting around to seek dental care,  In addition for seniors who may be planning to enter a nursing home, they should inquire about on-site dental care.

What not to do after having a tooth remove is just as important as the dos.   Make sure that you are taking care of your dental health by not doing these things after having a tooth pulled.

* Avoid hot food and drink for at least twenty-four hours. You do not want to burn or irritate the extraction site.

* Do not rinse your mouth for twenty-four hours after the tooth removal.

* Keep your fingers and tongue away from the extraction area.

* NO smoking for as long as possible afterward but at the very least twenty-four hours after having the extraction.  Smoking can interfere with the healing process and also dislodge the blood clot.

* Avoid sucking though straws and stuff, no spitting and unless you have to avoid blowing your nose.  These actions can dislodge the blood clot.

* No alcohol for twenty-four hours as it also can delay the healing process.

HAWK-I is a program that offers dental only coverage for kids who have medical insurance but does not have dental care coverages.   The program is for Iowa Children under the age of 19. It is based on family yearly countable income, this is a good source for low income household to get dental care for their children.

Around 30 to 40 years ago people would normally  have worked for one or two employers throughout a lifetime and many did not think about the way their overall appearance affected their professional life.   However, in  today’s working force  more people competing for the same job. Making appearance a heightened factor in their lives.  Though it is agree that looks should not be a factor in getting a job smiles are often one of the first things a person will see.  Having bad teeth can make a wrong first impression.

A University of Louisville scientist has found a way to prevent inflammation and bone loss surrounding the teeth by blocking a natural signaling pathway of the enzyme GSK3b, which plays an important role in directing the immune response.

It is important to know when thinking about getting dental implants that most dental insurance plans do not provide benefits for this type of dental service.  If you have current dental insurance it is advise you check with your insurance company ahead of time to see if there are any available benefits for dental implants.

If you do not have benefits on your current insurance plan or are looking to buy a dental plan that can offer you some saving on dental implants, then you may want to review any available dental discount plans.  Generally this types of saving plans will provide you any where between a 15 to 20 percent saving off the cost of dental implants.  However please note with dental discount plans you need to go to plan providers.

Dental implants can be the best method for replacing a missing tooth, however it is also the most costly.  Also you will want to keep in mind that most dental insurance plans do not provide coverage for dental implants so you are having to pay full cost for this type of dental service making cost a large factor.

Dental Implants will involve surgically placing a titanium artificial root into the space that the root of the lost tooth once occupied.  A crown is then connected to the implant.   One benefit of having a dental implant is that the adjacent teeth are left unaltered.  The dental implant and its crown are a free-standing self-supporting total tooth replacement. Also a dental implant has the same chance to last a lifetime as one of your natural teeth.

Most dental insurance plan provide benefits for having fixed dental bridges, partials and dentures.   Some insurance plans may require that you had past bridges, partials and dentures for at least five years before they their benefits are available.  Make sure to read each insurance plans terms and conditions if you are buying insurance in order to get dental bridges, partial or dentures at a more affordable cost.

Another way to replace a tooth is by getting a Fixed bridge (Dental Bridges are also normally covered by most dental insurance plans)  A fixed bridge does requires some preparing, which involves cutting down, the teeth on either side of the missing tooth.  Tooth preparation of the adjacent teeth is irreversible and involves the removal of quite a bit of the tooth structure.

Providing this type of dental service is technically demanding and will require all of your dentist’s skill.  A well made fixed bridge will look natural, function well, and potentially last a lifetime.  However, 75% of fixed bridges fail within 7 years.  Make sure you go to a dentist that has experience in providing this type of dental service.

A study done by researchers at the Newcastle University, UK reveals adding enzymes from seaweed microbes to toothpaste and mouthwash may offer protection against tooth decay.

They had been studying Bacillus licheniformis to see if it could clean ships’ hulls.  But they now believe that it could protect the areas between teeth where plaque can gather despite brushing.   Their lab tests suggested that the microbe’s enzyme cuts through plaque, stripping it of bacteria that cause tooth decay.

One of the more affordable tooth replacement option is an acrylic removal partial denture. (This is an option that is normally covered by dental insurance)  There are varieties of removable partial dentures and partial dentures are made to replace one to many missing teeth.

The Flipper is one of the more inexpensive type of partial denture.  However for replacing just one tooth, it may not be the best option, since it would be a lot of “hardware” in your mouth.  Along with the artificial denture tooth that fills the gap in your smile, there is a plastic framework that covers all or a part of the roof of you mouth.  This is necessary to keep the denture tooth in position and provide retention to keep the partial denture in your mouth.

In a study that was published in the Journal of Periodontology it uncovered a suspected link between periodontal (gum) disease and pulmonary disease such as pneumonia and acute bronchitis

Donald S. Clem, DDS, president of the American Academy of Periodontology, stated that by working with your dentist or periodontist, you may actually be able to prevent or diminish the progression of harmful diseases such as pneumonia or COPD.

To replace a missing tooth or not can depend a few factors, cost being a main factor that can tend to stop many people. In fact due to dental cost there are still many people that find it cheaper to pull a tooth then to repair it by having a root canal and crown work done.

However what happens once you have a missing tooth and you chose not to replace it?  Over time the tooth that opposes the lost tooth may super erupt. An upper tooth that does not have a lower tooth to chew against will migrate down until it finds something to stop it, and vice versa. In addition if there is one or more teeth behind a lost tooth, drifting and tilting of these teeth can usually occur.  This can lead to a number of serious complications that include developing bite problems and even loss of additional teeth.

How much do you think your are worth?   Well apparently John Lennon’s molar was sold for about $31000.00 an the Omega Auction House in early November of  2010.  it is probably  safe to say your tooth will probably never be worth any money much less $31000.00.  Therefore it is important to take proper care of your teeth to avoid having high dental care cost.  Having dental insurance in place will also help control your cost for dental care.

In a preliminary 2007 study researcher found a possible link between periodontal (gum) disease and a progression toward diabetes.  The study was done on rats who were already pre-diabetic.  While the results are still early it suggests one more possible reason to keep up with good dental health care.  The study was published online in the Journal of Periodontology.

Sugar Substitute that helps to prevent cavities may also help prevent ear infections.  This according to the scientists from the University of Toronto who reviewed published research.  The scientists reviewed the last 61 years of studies on xylitol and ear infections. They found four studies that included a total of about 3,000 children up to the age of 12. Three of the studies included healthy children. Those who consumed xylitol gum, candies or syrup had 25% fewer ear infections.

Dr Alison Coates from the University of South Australia and colleagues from the School of Dentistry at University of Adelaide in Australia reviewed evidence from eight unique studies that involved humans, to evaluate whether fish oil supplementation could be an adjunct therapy for periodontitis.

The studies showed that improvements in clinical measures were common in all studies, but were scientifically significant in two that used a combination of fish oil and aspirin. Although this is not conclusive evidence, intake of fish oil is recommended for health benefits beyond the teeth.

As a person ages so does their teeth.  For senior that live on a fixed income dental care cost can become to costly for them to manage. One way of controlling dental care cost is by having current dental insurance. In most cases dental insurance provides free preventive dental care and other larger dental services at a much more affordable cost.

According to a long term study done, it suggest that dry mouth is common in those over the age of fifty particularly in older women. In the Swedish study, started in 1992 researchers sent questionnaires to every 50-year-old in 2 Swedish counties. Fifteen years later, they sent the same questions to every 65-year-old in those counties. They also sent them to a sample of 75-year-olds.

The study showed that in every age group, dry mouth was more common in women than in men. The authors speculate that the higher prevalence of dry mouth in women may be the result of decreased saliva production in the mouth following menopause. Dry mouth occurred more often as people got older, and more at night than during the day.

There are many people that have missing teeth either do to gum disease, dental decay or trauma. Having missing teeth can effect how you feel about yourself.
Yet replacing a missing tooth depends on a number of factors which you should know before any dental services are started.

Make sure to consider such things as cost, time, comfort, esthetics and the effects of the treatment on the adjacent teeth and the rest of the mouth.  If you have current dental insurance you may want to make sure of your covered options. If you do not have current dental insurance and you wish to get some in advance to replacing the tooth make sure such a service is cover as many dental insurance plan have missing teeth clauses that will not cover for preexisting missing teeth.