Similarities between Finding Nemo & Oral Care

I was walking through a supermarket the other day, when I was asked to fill a survey about oral care. I knew It wouldn’t take me more than three minutes to answer a questionnaire based on good oral care, I mean, how much can anyone really ask about brushing your teeth, right?

So I started filling out a questionnaire which required no thinking at all, or at least that’s what I thought. The first question they asked me was, “Do you think brushing your teeth is important, for oral health or oral hygiene?” I obviously answer, like any other normal person would, in bold letters “Yes”. I don’t even know why someone would ask a question like that, doesn’t everyone know what oral health or oral hygiene means? Anyway the next few questions that followed were on the same lines- basic questions about flossing, mouthwash, visits to the dentist etc. The last question again was a no brainer; “What does complete oral health mean to you?” I promptly wrote “Brushing your teeth, twice a day”. I was extremely happy about my answers and frankly, I was secretly taunting the people who gave this survey.

I handed the survey back to the lady who’d asked me to fill it earlier.  I turned my back and started walking out of the supermarket, when suddenly my name was announced , but it wasn’t the sound of my name that irritated me, it was what they said after- “You got a five on ten in this survey”. That was humiliating to being with, especially for a perfectionist and ‘know-it-all’ like me. How could anyone get only fifty percent on questions that are based on good oral care? More importantly, how can someone as smart as I get only fifty percent. I walked right back and demanded an explanation.

Well, to be honest that was a great decision even though I didn’t admit it at the time. They explained to me, how brushing is not the only process involved in keeping your mouth healthy. In order to keep your mouth protected from diseases and healthy at all times, you need to follow a BFR routine. Which is Brushing, flossing and rinsing. Wow! To think that all these years I was oblivious to this fact seemed incredible. It also got me thinking about how many other people are ignorant about it, which is why I decided to share this event with everyone.  In the hope of highlighting how essential it is to keep your mouth healthy, in the right way. There is only one way to keep it really healthy, to clear your mouth of a virtually hundred percent of the germs.

I hope I’ve been able to express just how important it is to keep your mouth healthy, because a healthy mouth translates to a healthy body. Which is why as soon as they explained it to me, I walked to the “Oral Care Products” section of the supermarket and picked up my very first bottle of mouthwash; Listerine Original! Ever since that day I’ve been following the BFR routine and I’ve got to admit that my mouth feels cleaner and much healthier.

Related Topic : Bad Breath , Gum Problems

Getting Rid of Oral Problems

Getting rid of oral problems is no easy task. Fighting the problem begins with knowing what’s happening inside your mouth.

Oral problems can range from bad breath, a dry mouth, oral thrush, receding gums, bleeding gums, gum diseases like periodontitis and gingivitis, plaque, cavities, teeth grinding, tooth abscesses, tooth aches, discolored teeth, and leukoplakia (discolored patches in your mouth).

There are only a thousand things that could cause oral problems. Oral problems can occur due to improper oral hygiene, smoking or chewing tobacco, low immunity, diseases like diabetes, stress, poor nutrition, and can even be hereditary.

If your oral problems are at an advanced stage you’ve got no choice but to get proper treatment from your dentist. At this dreaded stage, the pain and inconvenience cause more trouble than you can imagine. You can’t eat or talk, either because your mouth hurts or because you’re under treatment! That’s why it’s a hundred times better to prevent any of it from happening or just stop it in its early stages.

The first thing you’ve got to do is get a routine check-up done by your dentist for oral problems. Get ready for additional trips if it’s bad. From there on you’ll need to form a complete oral care routine and stick to it religiously!

The most obvious step toward getting rid of oral problems is brushing your teeth daily. Here are a few things to do for your oral health.

• Make sure you brush after every meal. Brushing your teeth removes most of the germs on your tooth’s surface, but can’t reach the germs between your teeth and other hard-to-reach places.

• Dentists suggest using dental floss to clean the plaque between your teeth.

• Additionally, add a mouthwash like Listerine to your oral care regimen to remove bacteria that cause plaque, bad breath and gum problems from those hard-to-reach places.

Studies have shown that flossing and rinsing is more effective in reducing the formation of plaque and gingivitis compared to brushing alone. So yes, it’s worth the extra effort!

A mouthwash like Listerine ,not only prevents Bad Breath, but also fights oral bacteria, preventing the formation of plaque and gum problems, resulting in better oral health than brushing alone.

But getting rid of oral problems doesn’t stop once you’ve had your oral care routine going for a while. It’s a long term exercise that gives your mouth better health, and you have to continue the routine so long as you want to keep oral problems away!

The mouth rinse takes it all

If you think brushing your teeth twice a day will keep you off the dentist's chair, think again. The gums that protect your teeth need tender loving care too. Periodontal tissues, which surround and support the teeth, are vulnerable to diseases, too. Not following the right rituals of cleaning them can cause problems ranging from light inflammations to something as scary as loss of teeth.

Gum disease like gingivitis, which is the inflammation of the gums, and periodontitis, which can happen when gingivitis remain untreated, are the result of the bacteria that reside in the mouth.

Inching into gingivitis :

While bad mouth odor can be indicative that all’s not well in your mouth, the starting point of any gum disease is with the build-up of plaque on the teeth.

And Plaque? Well, plaque is that sticky, yellowish layer that forms around your teeth. While some bacteria are needed for your body’s daily functions, a lot of them are pretty harmful when they are not flushed out of the body, including those in and around the teeth. Brushing surely is the first step towards the oral hygiene. But sometimes, the plaque still remains unchecked either because of insufficient oral hygiene or because of skipping the advised once-in-six-months dental visits, giving vent to gum diseases like gingivitis.

That’s when the gums around the teeth begin to feel itchy, swell up bleed and become rather painful. It is best to not delay the visit to the dentist.

A periodontal problem

Your dentist might still be able to help remove the plaque from around the teeth area. If not treated even then, the plaque starts receding to areas under the teeth, affecting deeper tissues. The gingivitis has now transformed into a periodontal problem.

A worsened state of gingivitis is when the mouth odor is worse and the inflamed gums around the teeth start detaching themselves from the tooth. The periodontal (which is derived from ‘perio’, meaning around, and ‘dontal’, meaning teeth) tissues that slip downward, form pockets or spaces between the tooth and the gum. Thereon, the tooth can even start loosening and then simply fall out.

Exposed to the pain

So who can get gum diseases like gingivitis and periodontitis? If you smoke, are diabetic and maintain poor oral hygiene, you have a big chance of inviting periodontal trouble. Sadly, heredity, being born with crooked teeth or hormonal changes like those in women also play nuisance and put you at risk of gum diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis.

 

Prevention parameters

·         Try not to miss your six monthly dental appointments. The plaque deposit that doesn’t go away with brushing can be spotted and scraped off by the dentist. At least such visits will alert you to a potential attack of periodontal gum diseases.

Brush and floss regularly.
It helps reduce, and sometimes eliminate, plaque causing bacteria in your mouth.

      Introduce the habit of rinsing soon after you are done with your brushing and flossing. A powerful mouthwash like Listerine gets into crevices of your mouth where the toothbrush or floss couldn’t get to, and washes away germs that build plaque, thereby minimizing the onslaught of gum diseases like gingivitis and periodontitis.

Related Topics :

Oral Problems

Bad Breath cure

Rid of Oral Problems with help of Mouthwash

Oral Problems

A Simple Way to Get Rid of Oral Problems

Some of the most common, yet not too popularly discussed oral problems that people deal with on a daily basis are cavities, gum problems, gingivitis and bleeding gums. Most people are probably not even aware that they may be suffering from or are in the process of developing oral problems like gingivitis because ,well, gingivitis is not a popularly used word so here’s the deal: You have gum problems and gingivitis if your find yourself suffering from:

·       Swollen gums

·       Bright red or purple gums

·       Gums that are tender or painful to the touch

·       Bleeding gums or bleeding after brushing and flossing

·       Bleeding gums while flossing

·       Bad breath

Cavities, and bleeding gums are more popularly known and so, people are more prepared to deal with them or have dealt with them already and know exactly how taxing the process actually is! Keeping these things in mind, if you have suffered from oral problems before you know that you never want to develop them again, and if you are one of the lucky few who have never faced these problems yet, don’t get too ahead of yourself, you never know when they might be around the corner. Plus, it’s always a good idea to make sure you never do get them by putting together a good oral care regimen don’t you think?

One simple way of doing this is to add a good mouthwash like Listerine to your oral care routine every day. Listerine is easy to carry around, and you always have it handy to keep your oral health intact. One awesome thing about this mouthwash is that it’s made up of Eucalyptol, Menthol and Thymol which goes a long way in fighting the germs in your mouth, which really is the key cause of cavities, gum problems, gingivitis and bleeding gums.

Most people are under the impression that food particles stuck in the mouth are the main causes of oral problems. While that is true to an extent, the mouth has a tendency to develop germs which are key in causing and later aggravating oral problems. So, just gargling after eating a meal, which is a prevalent practice, is unfortunately not enough to give you the kind of oral care your mouth deserves.

Listerine has gone into the depths of the nature and cause of cavities, gum problems, gingivitis and bleeding gums and has thus developed a formula of Eucalyptol, Menthol and Thymol which has proved to be a sure solution for the same. It also has a couple of variants, each dedicated to tackle specific oral problems. This means you can find the one that’s best suited for you, based on the kind of problems you face and avoid the generic types of mouthwash that only provide ‘fresh’ breath.

Put to rest the fears of cavities, gum problems, gingivitis and bleeding gums and don’t shy away from eating your favourite food because you can get 100% oral health just by adding Listerine to your daily oral care regimen!