Author: 4Smile

Children are susceptible to a variety of dental ailments and oral diseases, the most common being tooth decay. Tooth decay or dental caries is the single most dreaded childhood disease affecting children worldwide. Reports suggest that it is 5 times more common than asthma, 7 times more common than hay fever, 4 times commoner than childhood obesity, and about 20 times more common than juvenile diabetes. As panic-inducing as the figures may suggest, another form of deadly childhood tooth decay is dominating the lives of many infants, the “baby bottle tooth decay”. What is baby bottle tooth decay? Baby bottle tooth…

Have you ever been woken up at the middle of the night by your significant other, complaining that you are making ‘sharp’ or ‘shrieking’ noises? If you’ve ever woken up with sensitive teeth and a relatively tense jaw, you might be a victim of teeth grinding. Nocturnal teeth grinding is actually more common than you think. Business Insider notes that about 30 to 40 million Americans engage in teeth grinding at night; that’s about 10% of the U.S. population! But what’s the big deal? So what if you make ‘nails on a chalkboard’ kinds of sounds once in a while, it’s…

Have you been told to ‘keep a stiff upper lip’ and took it literally? This may be the case with teeth clenching and grinding. If you are used to clenching your teeth ever so often, you may also be familiar with the soaring pain and discomfort you feel in your head, ears, teeth, face, and neck. Teeth clenching is not only isolated to a tight jaw but can also cause referred pain to many parts of your body. The intensity of pain can vary from sharp to throbbing, and tender to severe. In addition, you may also experience a limited range of…

In this modern age, smoking has become rather common, resting comfortably somewhere among people who are absolutely repelled by the smoke, people who like hitting an occasional social blunt, and those who swear by it. In a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the 2018 status of smokers in the U.S. above 18 years of age, the concluding data uncovered a dreadful 13.7% of all adults to be current cigarette smokers. That rounds off to about 34.2 million people in the U.S. alone! Despite the common knowledge of the ill-effects of smoking, people continue…

Palliative dental care is described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illnesses, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial, spiritual. The active care of patients at end-stages of their diseases usually comprise the basis and principle of palliative care. So why should a dentist be a part of a palliative team? What role could they possibly play? While many people are oblivious to the…

Cancer is described as an uncontrollable growth of cells that proliferate quickly, invade the neighboring tissues, and cause irreversible damage to them. Oral cancer, also known as mouth cancer, is cancer that appears as an abnormal growth or sore in the tissue linings of the lip, cheek, mouth, or upper throat. Oral cancer is commonly detected in men over the age of 40 as compared to women of the same age range and accounts for roughly 3% of all cancers diagnosed in the U.S. annually. In its recent report of estimated oral cancer data, the American Cancer Society (ACS) estimated…

Oral health is the window to general health. How you take care of your oral health determines how healthy your entire body is. Numerous studies conducted in favor of the importance of oral health dictate that there is a well-established link between your oral health and your systemic health. In fact, the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) affirms that about 90% of all systemic conditions manifest symptoms in the mouth in the form of oral disease. Despite these explicit sets of evidence, the American Dental Association (ADA) sourced a survey that revealed that more than one in five (21.3%) individuals…

Gum disease can be a deleterious dental condition that affects a majority of people with minimal early symptoms and can progress rapidly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have quantified almost half of the American population over the age of 30 to be at risk of or already battling advanced gum disease called periodontitis. Various treatment options are available for treating periodontitis, however, most relay an invasive approach due to the widespread damage caused by this disease. Periodontitis: A brief overview Periodontitis does not initially appear as it is. According to the American Dental Association (ADA), periodontitis presents…

Tooth loss is a major problem faced by many. It may happen as a result of tooth decay and gum disease that ultimately rear their evil heads in, or because of an unfortunate injury or long-term oral cancer. More than 36 million Americans do not have teeth, and 120 million people in the U.S. are missing at least one tooth, statistics suggest. The numbers are, however, expected to grow in the next two decades due to the increasing demand for a commercially-appeasing high-sugar diet popularized amongst the people. For this reason, edentulism affects our most vulnerable populations – the aging…

If you are currently expecting or have made it safely past a few months of your pregnancy, going to the dentist may be the last thing on your mind. However, researches claim that dental health during your pregnancy is directly correlated to your baby’s general health. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Dental Association (ADA) express great concerns over the growing fetus’ health and urge all pregnant women to maintain their oral health to ensure both the general health of herself and the health of her baby. So, while you are out running for doctor’s appointments,…