The key to keeping a bright, healthy smile

How do I best care for teeth as an adult?
The key to keeping a bright, healthy smile throughout adulthood is to practice proper oral hygiene. Even adults can get cavities, as well as gum disease, that can lead to serious problems. Throughout your adult life, it's important to continue to:


Brush twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste to remove plaque – the sticky film on your teeth that's the main cause of tooth decay.

Floss daily to remove plaque from between your teeth and under your gumline, before it can harden into tartar. Once tartar has formed, it can only be removed by a professional cleaning.
Limit sugary or starchy foods, especially sticky snacks. The more often you snack between meals, the more chances you give the acids in plaque to attack your tooth enamel.
Visit your dentist regularly for professional cleanings and checkups.
What special dental issues should I be aware of as an adult?
Even if you brush and floss regularly, you may face certain oral health issues as an adult. Luckily, your dentist can help you meet most of these challenges quite successfully.

Gum disease begins as gingivitis, which at this early stage is still reversible. Symptoms of gingivitis include red, swollen or tender gums that tend to bleed when you brush them. If you notice any of these symptoms, see your dentist – before serious problems develop. Advanced stages of gum disease may lead to tooth loss.

The health of your gums can also affect your overall health. Recent studies have shown a possible link between periodontitis (a form of gum disease) and other diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and a possible link to premature births. To prevent gum disease from getting started in the first place, be sure to brush twice a day, floss daily and schedule professional cleanings every six months.

Cavities around existing fillings (called recurrent decay) and decay on the root surfaces of the teeth become more common as we age. So it's important to brush with a fluoride toothpaste, floss daily and see your dentist regularly.
Sensitivity can be an increasing problem as one ages. Your gums naturally recede over time, exposing areas of the tooth that are not protected by enamel. These areas are particularly prone to pain due to cold or hot foods or beverages. In severe cases cold air, as well as sensitivity to sour and sweet drinks and foods, can occur. If you experience sensitivity, try an anti-sensitivity toothpaste. If the problem persists, see your dentist, as the sensitivity may be an indication of a more serious condition, such as a cavity or a cracked or fractured tooth.
Crowns are used to strengthen damaged teeth. A crown entirely covers or "caps" a damaged tooth. Besides strengthening a damaged tooth, a crown can be used to improve its appearance, shape or alignment. Implants and bridges are used to replace missing ones. Dental implants replace one or more teeth or are used to attach full or partial dentures. Consult with your dentist to see if implants are right for you. Bridges are commonly used to replace one or more missing teeth. They span the space where the teeth are missing.
Bridges are cemented to the natural teeth or implants surrounding the empty space.
How can I help make my teeth look whiter?
Thorough cleanings by a dental professional will remove most external staining caused by food and tobacco. Using a whitening toothpaste can also help remove these surface stains between dental visits. If stains have been present for years, you may need to have your teeth professionally whitened to remove these more stubborn external stains.

Internal stains can be bleached, bonded or capped (crowned). While each of these methods is safe and effective, your dentist will recommend which treatment is appropriate for you depending on the state of your teeth and the results that you wish to achieve.

What effect does diet have on my oral health?
In addition to greatly affecting your overall health, proper nutrition is necessary for healthy teeth and gums. Eating a well-balanced diet gives your gum tissues and teeth the important nutrients and minerals they need to stay strong and resist infections, which can contribute to gum disease. In addition, firm, fibrous foods such as fruits and vegetables tend to help clean the teeth and tissues. Soft, sticky foods tend to remain on the grooves and between teeth, producing more plaque.

Each time you consume foods and drinks that contain sugars or starches, the bacteria in plaque produce acids that attack your teeth for 20 minutes or more. To reduce damage to your tooth enamel, limit the number of between meal snacks and drinks. And when you do snack, choose nutritious foods such as cheese, raw vegetables, plain yogurt or fruit.

Stressed Parents Equals Sick Kids

Couple arguing, girl (12-13 years) covering eyes with hands, waist up

STRESSED parents aren't just damaging their own health - they may also be making their children more vulnerable to illness.

Stress is well known to affect a person's own physical health, but the effect on their children's health was unclear. To investigate, Mary Caserta and her colleagues at the University of Rochester in New York asked the parents of 169 children aged between 5 and 10to monitor their child's health over three years, recording symptoms of illnesses and taking their temperatures.


Every six months, the parents took a test designed to assess their own psychiatric health, noting markers of stress such as anxiety or depression.

Caserta's team found that the total number of illnesses, both with and without fever, was significantly higher in the children of parents who reported high levels of emotional stress. The team also measured the levels of immune cells in the children, and found those with highly stressed parents were much more likely to have heightened immune activity - a sign that they were working hard to fend off infection (Brain, Behavior and Immunity, DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2008.01.007)

David Jessop at the University of Bristol in the UK calls the results fascinating, and thinks that future studies should aim discover which stress factors have the biggest impact on children's immunity.

FDA Warns of Cantaloupes Linked to Salmonella Outbreak

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has put out an alert for consumers in the U.S. on Saturday. They have stated that people should throw away all cantaloupes from a Honduran manufacturer named Agopecuaria Montelibano.

They have been working very closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to try and pinpoint the origin of the latest salmonella outbreak, and they believe they have found the source in cantaloupes.


Cantaloupes Recalled over Salmonella Outbreak Concerns.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning that cantaloupes from Agropecuaria Montelibano, Honduras appear to be associated with Salmonella Litchfield outbreak in the United States and Canada.

Salmonella is a common bacterium that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail in elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Symptoms of salmonella include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Most people recover from salmonella illness without special treatment, but cases of severe diarrhea require medical attention and there’s a risk of infection spreading from the intestines to the bloodstream, a condition that could turn fatal.

The warning comes as some 50 people across 16 states, including Colorado, and nine people in Canada have fallen ill following melons’ consumptions. There haven’t been reported any deaths, but the FDA says 14 people have been hospitalized, the Associated Press wrote.

Groceries are being urged to remove cantaloupes from the Agropecuaria Montelibano manufacturer from store shelves and consumers are being advised to check with their local stores to see if any recently purchased cantaloupes came from Honduras.

The states affected by salmonella outbreak include California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

The FDA also recommends consumers purchase cantaloupes that are not bruised or damaged, wash hands with hot, soapy water before or after handling fresh cantaloupes, scrub whole cantaloupes by using a clean produce brush and cool tap water immediately before eating, cut away and not eat bruised or damaged areas of the cantaloupe and discard leftover cut cantaloupes if left at room temperature for more than two hours.

The FDA is further investigating this outbreak in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state partners.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has put out an alert for consumers in the U.S. on Saturday. They have stated that people should throw away all cantaloupes from a Honduran manufacturer named Agopecuaria Montelibano.

They have been working very closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to try and pinpoint the origin of the latest salmonella outbreak, and they believe they have found the source in cantaloupes.

The FDA has also stated that all grocery stores must remove the cantaloupes from their stock immediately.

They are also trying to intercept any cantaloupes which are being shipped to the United States from that particular manufacturer.

They believe that the cantaloupes may be to blame for the recent outbreak of salmonella.

The widespread salmonella outbreak has now stretched across 16 states, as well as into Canada. The states include Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Georgia, New York, Washington, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, and Utah.

There have been over 50 people who have become sick thus far.