Month: January 2019

While you have heard a lot about keeping your teeth clean but have you heard about keeping your tongue healthy and clean? Brushing and flossing are important to maintain your teeth but what about your tongue?

What You Should Know About Your Tongue

Most of the people believe that tongue is only a muscle but in reality it is a group of muscles joined with millions of taste buds and covered in the skin tissue known as mucosa. They all work together for making several bodily functions possible. The functions include:

• The tongue not only helps in digesting but also lets you enjoy the food.
• The tongue also helps you in speaking and allows you to create several sounds involved with human language.
• Without the tongue you would have to cut the food in tiny portions and chew slowly in order to avoid clogging the windpipe.

Here’s a Look at Some Tongue Care Tips from Dentist:

One of the first things to do is to keep the tongue clean. You can keep it clean with the help of a toothbrush or a tongue cleaner which is easily available in drugstores.

Once you are done with brushing and tongue cleaning, you can rinse the mouth with a dental rinse by swishing the liquid in mouth for few seconds.

Signs of tongue related issues which need to be resolved:

• White coating on the top of your tongue caused by built up of yeast in mouth.
• A red sore and irritated tongue is a symptom of strep throat and any other infectious disease.
• A nerve-related condition can lead to burning or prickly sensation inside the tongue.
• Bluish or purple color on the tongue is a sign of circulatory issue which needs medical help.

The tongue is also an important part of our body which makes it imperative for you to give the required care it deserves. You will enjoy the benefits in long run provided you make little efforts and spend some time in taking care of the tongue.

Ever wondered why dental cleaning is so important? Is dental cleaning required even if your brush and floss your teeth daily? Why do dentists recommend dental cleaning? One of the significant reasons behind dental cleaning is that the dentist gets a chance to examine your teeth and gums so that any dental issue can be diagnosed and treated on time. The appointment will be followed by dental cleaning by dentist or the dental hygienist.

Why You Should Have Your Teeth Cleaned Professionally

Our saliva contains calcium which protects the teeth. Though saliva has useful properties, it can also lead to calcium deposits on the teeth which can be brown, black or tooth-colored. These deposits transform into calculus over the time, which is also known as tartar. Tartar allows the bacteria to grow and infect your gums. The tartar may be invisible to you, but it gave appropriate environment for the bacteria to grow and affect your gums. Thus, it becomes important to visit a dentist for dental cleaning every few months.

What Should a Professional Teeth Cleaning Involve?

The professional cleaning also known as prophylaxis consists of:

• Flossing
• Removing tartar and plaque
• Polishing
• Applying Fluoride

Here’s a Look at the Steps:

• The first step is just like flossing where the ultrasonic instrument is used for removing large pieces of tartar and scalers and curettes are used for removing small pieces of tartar.
• The next step is teeth polishing. It is done with a hand device with rubber tip that spins. The tip will be loaded by prophylaxis paste and it will run on the back and front of the teeth. It will make the teeth smooth and shiny.
• Some dentists may also apply fluoride as tartar weakens the surface of the teeth.

It is advised not to eat or drink for at least 30 to 40 minutes after the fluoride treatment. The dental cleaning may take around 30 to 60 minutes but may take longer depending on the tartar deposit. A dental cleaning is never painful or uncomfortable.