Mclendon's Site on Oral Health

Tips to Take Care of Your Teeth While Wearing Invisalign

Teeth’s straightening has become quite easier and comfortable than ever before thanks to Invisalign. Although the operational domain of Invisalign is limited as compared to braces due to the fact that is not made to treat severe issues, it is still an advancement to acknowledge because people would not want to get braces for the treatment of moderate misalignments.

One of the greatest advantages of Invisalign is that it makes dental hygiene and daily care very easy. The case is pretty different as compared to braces which require a person to wear bulky brackets and wires the entire time. They make oral care and hygiene very difficult.

With Invisalign, you will need to take care of your oral hygiene in the following ways.

Getting the trays out

This is perhaps the greatest advantage from the perspective of oral hygiene. When you want to brush your teeth, you do not have to worry about minding the braces because there wouldn’t be any. You will just have to take the braces off and do whatever you want.

Brush your teeth

Dentists recommend brushing your teeth twice in every day. The same recommendation is there when you are undergoing Invisalign treatment. You will have to make sure that you are using soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste for brushing your teeth. It is going to be more ideal if you brush your teeth after every meal to ensure better hygiene. Although brushing this way is not possible every day, you can rinse your mouth after every meal to remove the sugars and starches. That will help you get rid of the food particles that cling to your teeth.

Flossing

We all know how effective the flossing can be. You need to clean interdental spaces to make sure that cavities are not being developed in the interdental spaces. This is the reason that flossing at least once in a day is very important. However, you can make it twice if you are wearing Invisalign to ensure better hygiene. It is not going to be difficult in any way. All you will have to do is to take the trays off and floss your teeth normally.

Clean your trays

While everything related to oral hygiene remains the same with Invisalign, there is going to be one additional thing you may have to do, i.e. cleaning the Invisalign trays. This cleaning will help you ensure that you are not exposing your teeth against any additional bacterial attack. Cleaning them is not going to be difficult. You will have to put the trays in a bowl full of water with Invisalign cleaning crystals mixed in it. These crystals are quite friendly to your teeth and gums.

The additional oral hygiene practices during Invisalign treatment are to make sure that you are not letting your guard down against bacterial attack on your teeth and gums. For more information, you can consult your dentist.

Effects of Vaping or Smoking on Your Oral Health

People have been smoking for decades. However, many people have replaced cigarettes with e-cigarettes which are considered a healthier alternate for the people who smoke and the ones around them. In this scenario, you may wonder how safe the vaping (smoking using e-cigarettes) can be. Moreover, it is worth knowing the effects of smoking or vaping on your oral health.

What is the difference between cigarette smoking and vaping?

The major difference between vaping and cigarette smoking is that the cigarettes produce smoke while e-cigarettes produce vapors. A vaping juice comes in contact with the heating element in e-cigarettes and the vapors are produced as a result. The vaping juice contains nicotine and other chemicals.

How vaping affects your oral health?

Just because vaping doesn’t produce secondhand smoke, it is believed to be healthier by many smokers. But, the matter of fact is that vaping is still dangerous for your oral health. One thing worth mentioning here is that vaping doesn’t discolor your teeth, produce bad breath and cause building up of plaque in the way normal cigarettes do. However, it still has nicotine which can constrict blood vessels in your gums and other areas of the oral cavity. This restriction of blood vessels to allow blood flow results in the mouth’s inability to fight off bacteria. The end result can be the gum disease.

Cigarette smoking and your oral health

The bad impact of smoking on health is well known among general public. The impact of smoking can be quite dangerous for your lungs, hands and teeth. When you smoke, your mouth and teeth come in contact with the nicotine and tar which is produced as a result of burning of tobacco. This contact can cause serious damage to your teeth and other tissues of your oral cavity. When you smoke, your teeth become yellower and tooth enamel becomes weak. It can ultimately result in the vulnerability of teeth and gums against bacteria.

Smoking can also dry out the saliva in your mouth. When there is not enough saliva, you are going to get more bacteria in your mouth. It means that you are going to get your gums damaged as a result of this bacterial crowding in the mouth.

What needs to be done?

The ideal thing that you can do is to work to quit smoking and vaping. Both of these practices are highly dangerous for your oral health. You can visit your dentist to get instructions about how to quit smoking and how to deal with the effects of long term smoking after quitting.

Teeth Staining and the Ways You Can Deal With It

Teeth staining can be a nightmare for anyone conscious about their smile. But the matter of fact is that it is something more than just the outlook of the teeth. Staining of the teeth is more like a symptom of a problem with the teeth. And there can be some types of stains which do not represent any backend problem. No matter what kind of staining of teeth you are suffering from, there are some ways to whiten your teeth.

Typically, there are two types of stains that can result in the discoloration of teeth. The first type to mention is related to the intrinsic stains. Intrinsic stains occur beneath the tooth enamel. Mother’s antibiotic use during the treatment and child’s teeth exposure to excess amount of fluoride are the major reasons for intrinsic stains.

Extrinsic stains, on the other hand, occur on the outer surface of the teeth. The extrinsic stains mainly occur on the teeth due to consumption of certain beverages such as tea and coffee, ageing, development of tartar, and use of tobacco.

There are many ways you can treat these stains in order to whiten your teeth but it is quite essential to visit the dentist and have a discussion before going for any kind of medication or whitening treatment. Typically, there are two ways you can whiten your teeth. Both of them are worth mentioning here.

Teeth whitening at home

If you want to whiten your teeth at home, there are numerous options you can go for. Treatments that you can select for at-home whitening treatment may include over-the-counter toothpastes, mouthwashes, whitening gels, and whitening strips. You can also get gel trays but you will have to get those trays prepared for you by the dentist. In general, at-home whitening treatment is less expensive as compared to in-office treatment.

In office whitening

Teeth’s whitening at dental office is generally more specialized type of treatment that you can get. This treatment is usually more expensive as compared to over-the-counter whitening treatments which you can consider for at-home whitening. Nevertheless, in-office treatment is more effective than any other kind of whitening treatment.

While you can let your dentist decide about the right treatment that you can get, you can also discuss treatment options with your dentist. There can be certain factors which you can consider white selecting any type of whitening treatment.

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