Tag Archive for: oral irrigation
Happy New Year, everybody!
No matter what your dental hygienic history is, there is always room to improve upon how you care for your teeth and overall health. If you’re setting any goals for this year, why not add a manageable habit to your daily dental care? Not that I intend to sound cliche, but since getting a fresh start is the prevailing attitude this week, I’m going to take advantage of it.
Incorporate these small habits that yield big improvements:
- Brush at least twice a day — once in the morning and once before bed (after all food and beverages).
- Floss at least once a day, preferably at the end of the day before you go to sleep
- Take a few minutes to irrigate if you have an irrigator. Irrigation staves off the vast majority of disease and infection and promotes fast healing. Irrigation keeps your gums healthy, wards off canker sores, and provides relief from more painful infections like pericoronitis.
- Cut out refined sugar, flour, and processed foods from your diet, and eat fresh foods and green things. A lack of oral cleanliness is not the only cause of oral disease; your diet, exposure to and storage of toxins, hereditary susceptibilities, and poor lifestyle habits all contribute to disease.
You might even set goals that are a little more major in that they require more time and money. The long-term investment pays off greatly, however. Why not:
- Invest in a better toothbrush (such as a Rotadent, the best you’ll ever find)*
- Invest in an irrigator*
- Replace the chemicals in your bathroom cabinet — mouthwash, commercial toothpaste, commercial ointments, gum or breath fresheners, etc. — with natural options or alternatives*. Also, examine the cause behind the need for these items. Have bad breath all the time? Get checked out!
- Save up for and schedule that surgery you’ve been putting off. I’ve been doing many more implants lately, so if you need them, call us.
- Have your amalgam dental work replaced. Mercury is poisonous and it slowly leaks into your body’s tissues for as long as it is bonded to your teeth. However, if you are pregnant or nursing, it would be best to delay the process until you’re done. If you are trying to get pregnant, get the amalgam replaced immediately and let your body detox before you continue trying to conceive. I will write more about that soon. For now, I use the safest protocols for mercury removal, and getting that replaced, in my opinion, should certainly be done as soon as possible.
- Consult a nutritionist and find out how you can build the health of your teeth back up through proper nutrition. By the way, if your nutritionist thinks you can’t help your teeth by changing what you eat, find a different nutritionist!
So how are you going to take better care of your teeth this year?
Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles
www.dentalwellnessarts.com
*You can ask me about the hygienic and natural dental care products I supply.
I am stating the obvious when I say that the Internet is the foremost consulted source of knowledge and answers to the world’s questions. We do it without thinking. Where was the transition, and why, in retrospect, does it feel like it happened without us noticing? Once upon a time, there was no cyberspace, no “online,”no instant mental gratification (unless you lived next-door to a library). What did we do all day? How did we work? As a dentist highly reliant on the latest technology available, the Internet has become a part of the skeleton of my practice. Without it, my practice would have fizzled out long ago in this fast-paced world.
But I do not mean to get all philosophical with you today. Today’s post just got me partly reminiscing about days gone by when society was more “awake” to the physical world around it, but also causing me to express gratitude in how much computers have transformed science and medicine and my own work.
In the online world of patients searching for solutions for their dental diseases and ails, oral irrigation has been quite a popular topic lately. I must say it’s for good reason. It is one of the best at-home dental hygiene routines you can maintain at home.
Pericoronitis, in particular, seems to be the central purpose for which people seek healing and relief through irrigation. Pericoronitis, if you remember, is an infection which develops under a gum flap of emerging teeth — usually the wisdom teeth of young adults. It is caused by the body defending itself from a foreign invader, which is usually an overabundance of bacteria feeding on a particle of uncleaned food. The pain is quite severe. The infection will remain swollen for up to several days or a few weeks. Even someone in good health has a tough time kicking this infection in less time, which is why it is so important to prevent it in the first place. Irrigation does just that, and it does it very well.
In those hard-to-reach areas around your teeth — and there are many — an oral irrigator shoots thin streams of water, ozone water, or diluted oral cleansing solutions, gently forcing out the debris that is not supposed to be there. Finely squirted liquid crawls into the places that floss can’t reach, effectively cleansing and leaving the mouth refreshed. How does this help healing and preventing infections? We’ll look into that tomorrow.
Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles
www.dentalwellnessarts.com
Inflammation, redness, and painful swelling of the gums are unfortunate complaints among the general public. Gingivitis — the name for this inflammation of the gums — is most often caused by teeth and gums that are not cleaned thoroughly. The bad bacteria get out of control and cause pain. One might experience just a little bleeding or sensitivity when flossing, or a mouth so swollen it becomes too painful to eat. It is a vicious cycle: a small infection produces pain, which begets difficulty to clean, which begets more infection, which begets more pain…
Yes, it is definitely something you want to avoid. If you have frequent “sore spots,” you may need to reevaluate how effective your at-home cleaning routine is. It is good to pay attention to how your gums are doing every day and to be very thorough about cleaning them out, even if it hurts a little. It is better to deal with a little pain now than unbearable pain in the future.
Sometimes, though, regular hygiene at home isn’t enough. In most cases, if gingivitis has developed into a more serious problem, patients on their own can heal from diligent care at home using an irrigator. Daily irrigation gently keeps the gums cleaned out and restores the proper environment for healing. Patients who suffer from mild to severe gum disease report that their gums gradually heal, shrink up against the teeth, return to a normal pink color, and are able to function normally again because the inflammation is greatly reduced. Not to mention, the need for chemicals and drugs is greatly reduced, if not eliminated. Oral irrigation is highly recommended for healing infections, particularly early gum disease or any inflammation around the teeth.
Whether or not you are prone to gum disease, if you do not have an oral irrigator, we recommend you look into investing in one. Not only will your teeth be so much healthier and low-maintenance, but you will save headaches and money for dental expenses in the long run.
Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles
www.dentalwellnessarts.com
Oral irrigators are one of the most valuable tools you could keep near the bathroom sink. An oral irrigator “flosses” your teeth with liquid, cleaning the deeper or more sensitive areas that floss can’t reach. It does not replace floss, but adds to its effectiveness. Cleaning out the pockets between your gums and teeth is the most important step you take to keep your mouth clean. Flossing catches the larger, stickier chunks of plaque that build up in your gums and around your teeth; irrigation deeply washes out anything that the floss misses — and you’d be surprised at how much debris is still rotting in your gums even after a “thorough” brushing/flossing!
Oral irrigators can be used with plain water — we use ozonated water — but special mouthwash-like liquid concentrates are also made for them that can be used at home. We have chosen a supplying company that makes 100% natural, chemical-free concentrates that taste great and do a great job of keeping bad bacteria at bay. Ask us about ordering some if you’d like to try it.
Irrigation should be done about once daily. A good time would be before you go to bed. You are done eating for the day and will want to clean your teeth before sleeping and leaving any food particles to sit in your mouth overnight. Like flossing, after a little while you’ll be able to see and feel a difference in your teeth after irrigating. Your gums become stronger and healthier and your teeth stay whiter. Irrigation is excellent, also, for healing from minor infections and early gum disease. But that post is for tomorrow.
Dr. Boyajian, West Los Angeles
www.dentalwellnessarts.com