Archive for the ‘ Dental Care ’ Category

Natural Dental Care – Heal Your Teeth

The natural dental care focuses on providing safe and natural treatments to patients by getting rid of toxic materials and metals traditionally used by conventional dentists. This field of dentistry also focuses on prevention rather than curing the problems. It focuses on the health of the whole person, not just his dental health. The healthier the body is, the more likely it is for the teeth to be healthy. Diet and exercise as they impact a person’s health are also given consideration.

A practitioner of natural dentistry will never use such potentially harmful treatments as mercury dental amalgams. This substance is a toxin and all dentists must handle it as hazardous waste. Since amalgams are about 50% mercury, do you really want that in your mouth? Mercury has been found to cause many complications in the body including multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. Fillings used in natural dentistry are coloured resins and porcelain as well as gold. Old mercury fillings are often replaced by these safer materials in order to improve a patient’s health.

Crowns used by orthodox dentists are made of materials that contain toxic metals like nickel. Metal free, porcelain and ceramic crowns are an excellent option for those concerned about what goes into their mouth.

Practitioners of natural dental care do not believe that tooth decay is caused by a lack of fluoride, but rather poor brushing techniques and an inadequate diet. In fact, excessive fluoride has been linked to loss of appetite in children, weakness of muscles and nerve damage.

So the patient is not given a fluoride treatment, but rather is shown the best brushing and flossing techniques as well is advised on the best diet which will ensure healthy teeth and gums. The dentist teaches his patients about the harmful effects of white flour, refined sugar and white rice. A diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables as well as protein from eggs, chicken and beef is also recommended. Read more

Healing Dental With Light

Dentists use resin for a variety of different procedures. From fillings to sealants it is an impressively versatile material. In fact, much of its usability is thanks to the simple fact of its consistency. Resin, when applied, is putty like material that may be easily molded to fit the contours and crevices of a tooth. While this loose texture has advantages, it also has costs. During chewing functions the mouth and jaw can generate up to 200 pounds of pressure. With such a sizeable force tooth materials must be incredibly strong. This is where the dental curing light comes in. A curing light is a gun like object that exposes resins to light. Doing so allows the material to transition from putty to a hardened state. Resin is an amazing substance, but without the use of curing lights, many of its benefits would be lost.

What Type of Light Do Dental Curing Lights Use?
First and foremost, curing lights do not use ultraviolet light. Though the original models employed UV rays, as the dangers of this were realized the design was changed. Instead models today use only visible light. Specifically, they use blue light. While the color of the light seems rather unimportant and only an aesthetic feature, it is far from it. The scientific reason behind it’s use is that to harden, resin must begin to polymerize. This can be accomplished by exposing it to light frequencies between 450 and 490 nanomoeters. As any science buff will tell you, this is the precise wavelength of blue light.

What Precautions Must be Taken?
While dental curing lights are not inherently dangerous, there are several precautions that should be taken. First off, the biggest danger of light exposure is damage to the eyes. Therefore, it is essential for both patient and doctor to wear some form of eye protection. Second, light generates heat. While most lights should not cause an issue, some are powerful enough to cause burning. For this reason it is important to make sure the light is not excessively powerful. Lastly, as each resin has it’s own characteristics, each has unique needs. To guarantee a proper and thorough polymerization dentists must understand the exact wavelength his particular resin responds to. Failure to do so could nullify the procedure.

Read more